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58-484: A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums . Most contemporary western bands that play rock , pop , jazz , or R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeeping and embellishing the musical timbre . The drummer's equipment includes a drum kit (or "drum set" or "trap set"), which includes various drums, cymbals and an assortment of accessory hardware such as pedals, standing support mechanisms, and drum sticks . Particularly in

116-563: A staff with the same treble and bass clefs used by many non-percussive instruments. Music for percussive instruments without a definite pitch can be notated with a specialist rhythm or percussion-clef . The guitar also has a special "tab" staff. More often a bass clef is substituted for rhythm clef. Percussion instruments are classified by various criteria sometimes depending on their construction, ethnic origin, function within musical theory and orchestration, or their relative prevalence in common knowledge. The word percussion derives from

174-429: A distinctive sound. It is not uncommon to discuss percussion instruments in relation to their cultural origin. This led to a division between instruments considered common or modern, and folk instruments with significant history or purpose within a geographic region or culture. This category includes instruments that are widely available and popular throughout the world: The percussionist uses various objects to strike

232-426: A marimba will mask the silent gaps between strokes. For this reason, the rolls can be much slower and still effective. But for xylophone and orchestra bells a much swifter roll is required, especially for rubber or plastic mallets. A brass mallet used with orchestra bells will add extra vibration to aid in the smoothing of the sound. To get these faster rolls, percussionists (keyboard, snare and timpani) all often use

290-425: A new fulcrum at the drum stick's physical point of contact with the rim. This is one of the easier and more commonly used forms of a "one handed roll". When executed with precision, this doubling of contact means 16th notes can be played while the arm only strokes 8th notes, or 32nd notes can be played while stroking only 16th notes. The technique is also known amongst many drummers as the gravity blast , though gravity

348-492: A percussion instrument to produce sound. The general term for a musician who plays percussion instruments is "percussionist" but the terms listed below often describe specialties: Within rock music, the term "percussionist" is often used to refer to someone who plays percussion instruments but is not primarily a drummer. The term is especially found in bands where one person plays drums and another plays other hit instruments. Drum roll A drum roll (or roll for short)

406-596: A performance of a drum, a group of drummers, or as a part of a larger marching band . Their uniforms will often have a military style and a fancy hat. In recent times, it is more common to see drummers in parades wearing costumes with an African , Asian , Latin , Native American , or tribal look and sound. Various indigenous cultures use the drum to create a sense of unity with others especially during recreational events. The drum also helps in prayers and meditations. Percussionist The percussion section of an orchestra most commonly contains instruments such as

464-423: A pivotal role. In military marching bands and pipes and drums , it is the beat of the bass drum that keeps the soldiers in step and at a regular speed, and it is the snare that provides that crisp, decisive air to the tune of a regiment. In classic jazz, one almost immediately thinks of the distinctive rhythm of the hi-hats or the ride cymbal when the word-swing is spoken. In more recent popular-music culture, it

522-408: A relatively normal manner. Immediately subsequent, at the bottom or end of the down stroke motion, the rim is contacted approximately 1 inch in front of the thumb and forefinger. Contact with the rim rocks the front portion of the stick upwards from the point of contact with the rim. At this moment, the wrist is located just below the rim and the bead is a couple inches above the head. From the bottom of

580-403: A single slash each, or four sixteenth notes RRLL or LLRR . A double slash eighth note would entail playing double strokes for four sixteenth notes RRLL or LLRR. A single slash sixteenth note would entail playing one pair of double stroke thirty-second notes RR or LL. In the case of a half note or whole note, it's common to play alternating double stroke sixteenth notes for the duration of

638-400: Is a technique used by percussionists to produce a sustained sound for the duration of a written note . All drum figures are based upon three fundamental beats, technically called roll , single stroke , and flam ...Sustentation is accomplished upon wind instruments by blowing into the instrument; it is accomplished upon the violin and the allied instruments by drawing the bow across

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696-437: Is almost impossible to name three or four rock, hip-hop, rap, funk or even soul charts or songs that do not have some sort of percussive beat keeping the tune in time. Because of the diversity of percussive instruments, it is not uncommon to find large musical ensembles composed entirely of percussion. Rhythm, melody, and harmony are all represented in these ensembles. Music for pitched percussion instruments can be notated on

754-427: Is commonly referred to as "the backbone" or "the heartbeat" of a musical ensemble , often working in close collaboration with bass instruments, when present. In jazz and other popular music ensembles, the pianist, bassist, drummer and sometimes the guitarist are referred to as the rhythm section . Most classical pieces written for full orchestra since the time of Haydn and Mozart are orchestrated to place emphasis on

812-421: Is difficult to define what is common knowledge but there are instruments percussionists and composers use in contemporary music that most people would not consider musical instruments . It is worthwhile to try to distinguish between instruments based on their acceptance or consideration by a general audience. For example, most people would not consider an anvil , a brake drum (on a vehicle with drum brakes ,

870-589: Is discernible. Percussion instruments in this group are sometimes referred to as pitched or tuned. Examples of percussion instruments with definite pitch: Instruments in this group are sometimes referred to as non-pitched, unpitched, or untuned. Traditionally these instruments are thought of as making a sound that contains such complex frequencies that no discernible pitch can be heard. In fact many traditionally unpitched instruments, such as triangles and even cymbals, have also been produced as tuned sets. Examples of percussion instruments with indefinite pitch: It

928-510: Is equal in length and consists of two double strokes (RRLL) and two singles (R L). The strokes are most commonly taught as (RLLRRL). French and Dutch drumming include several variations on rolls with an uneven number of strokes between the hands. For example, the French Bâton Melée , or mixed stick, can be played in repeating combinations of 3: RRL , LLR , RLL , or LRR . Rolls on timpani are almost exclusively single-stroked. Due to

986-418: Is necessary to use special tactics and techniques to mitigate the loss of sound and cause the repeated notes to sound even. This involves the arm, the wrist, and the fingers. One way to mitigate the loss of sound is to overlap the 3rd bounce from one hand with the first bounce of the next in the manner of a Flam Tap, only much faster and smaller. The loud first bounce occurring closer to the quiet 3rd bounce from

1044-417: Is no definite rule, most timpanists who employ this technique do so on a high "G", and above. In the end, it often comes down to the discretion of the timpanist. These are similar to the timpani rolls in that they are done nearly the same way and are both single-stroked. Yarn mallets usually can be rolled much more easily on a marimba than plastic ones can be on a xylophone, because the extra reverberation of

1102-412: Is not required as the technique can be performed inverted, sideways, or in a gravity free environment. A tremolo in percussion indicates a roll on any percussion instrument, whether tuned or untuned. A tremolo is notated using strokes, or slashes, through the stem of a note. In the case of whole notes, the strokes or slashes are drawn above or below the note, where the stem would be if there were one. For

1160-522: Is played with a single accent and any roll with an even number of strokes is played with 2 accents. This patterns holds for the 5 Stroke, 6 Stroke, 7 Stroke, 9 Stroke, 10 Stroke, 11 Stroke, 13 Stroke, 15 Stroke, and 17 Stroke Rolls of the PAS 40 rudiments. Note that some numbers between 5 and 17 are missing. These additional rolls are possible and are taught in modern hybrid drumming and in older pre-NARD rudimental systems, as well as those from other countries, notably

1218-496: Is produced by a stream of air being blown through the object. However, plosive aerophones , such as the udu , are percussion instruments and may also overlap with the idiophone family. In certain situations, such as in an orchestra or wind ensemble , wind instruments, such as the Acme siren or various whistles , are played by percussionists, owing to their unconventional and simple nature. When classifying instruments by function it

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1276-458: Is the closed roll. The closed concert roll (orchestral roll, buzz roll, or press roll) is performed by creating 3 (or more) equal sounding bounces on each hand alternating right to left, repeatedly and quickly. The aim of a closed roll is to reproduce the effect of a sustained note on an instrument which inherently produces a short, staccato sound. Because a multiple bounce stroke on a drum head loses energy, and volume, with each successive bounce, it

1334-558: Is then the primary quality to strive for in roll; speed is the secondary quality to strive for. There are two possible ways of producing an absolutely even sequence: (1) hand alternation of single stroke and (2) hand alternation of double strokes ...The snare drum roll is produced by hand alternation of double strokes. The "open roll" is produced by [initially] slow hand alternation. Two strokes in each hand alternately are produced by wrist movement and each beat should follow its predecessor in clock-like precision. A common snare drum roll

1392-440: Is useful to note if a percussion instrument makes a definite pitch or indefinite pitch . For example, some percussion instruments such as the marimba and timpani produce an obvious fundamental pitch and can therefore play melody and serve harmonic functions in music. Other instruments such as crash cymbals and snare drums produce sounds with such complex overtones and a wide range of prominent frequencies that no pitch

1450-495: Is widely seen as inadequate. Rather, it may be more informative to describe percussion instruments in regards to one or more of the following four paradigms: Many texts, including Teaching Percussion by Gary Cook of the University of Arizona, begin by studying the physical characteristics of instruments and the methods by which they can produce sound. This is perhaps the most scientifically pleasing assignment of nomenclature whereas

1508-481: The strings , woodwinds , and brass . However, often at least one pair of timpani is included, though they rarely play continuously. Rather, they serve to provide additional accents when needed. In the 18th and 19th centuries, other percussion instruments (like the triangle or cymbals ) have been used, again generally sparingly. The use of percussion instruments became more frequent in the 20th century classical music. In almost every style of music, percussion plays

1566-435: The timpani , snare drum , bass drum , tambourine , belonging to the membranophones, and cymbals and triangle , which are idiophones. However, the section can also contain aerophones, such as whistles and sirens , or a blown conch shell. Percussive techniques can even be applied to the human body itself, as in body percussion . On the other hand, keyboard instruments , such as the celesta , are not normally part of

1624-587: The Basel and Scotch cultures. For example, the 8 Stroke Roll is present in the Moeller Book from 1925 but is lost in later publications. The 4 Stroke, 8 Stroke, 12 Stroke, 14 Stroke, and 16 Stroke are rare but all exist in official published sources. The Scotch Pipe Band style has a rudimental roll up to 25 strokes. This provides the drummer with a consistent set of rolls from 3 to 17 plus the 25, with any other number being an extrapolation from this system. The snare drum

1682-1018: The Beatles ), John Bonham ( Led Zeppelin ), Ginger Baker ( Cream ), Keith Moon ( the Who ), Neil Peart ( Rush ), Buddy Rich , Gene Krupa , Tony Williams , Elvin Jones , Sheila E , Brian Blade , Jack DeJohnette , Tim "Herb" Alexander ( Primus ), Phil Rudd ( AC/DC ), Roger Taylor ( Queen ), Charlie Watts ( the Rolling Stones ), Nick Mason ( Pink Floyd ), Bill Ward ( Black Sabbath ), Chad Smith ( Red Hot Chili Peppers ), Travis Barker ( Blink-182 ), Phil Collins ( Genesis ), Rick Allen ( Def Leppard ), Alex Van Halen ( Van Halen ), Tré Cool ( Green Day ), Dave Grohl ( Nirvana ), Joey Jordison ( Slipknot ), Lars Ulrich ( Metallica ), Tommy Lee ( Mötley Crüe ), James “The Rev” Sullivan ( Avenged Sevenfold ) and Cesar Zuiderwijk ( Golden Earring ). As well as

1740-451: The Latin verb percussio to beat, strike in the musical sense, and the noun percussus , a beating. As a noun in contemporary English, Wiktionary describes it as the collision of two bodies to produce a sound. The term is not unique to music, but has application in medicine and weaponry, as in percussion cap . However, all known uses of percussion appear to share a similar lineage beginning with

1798-590: The bass drum. Before motorized transport became widespread, drummers played a key role in military conflicts. Military drummers provided drum cadences that set a steady marching pace and elevated troop morale on the battlefield. In some armies drums also assisted in combat by keeping cadence for firing and loading drills with muzzle loading guns. Military drummers were also employed on the parade field, when troops passed in review, and in various ceremonies including ominous drum rolls accompanying disciplinary punishments. Children also served as drummer boys well into

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1856-424: The beat of the music and so a regular subdivision, such as 8th note triplets, 16th notes, or 16th note triplets must be chosen and maintained. The drawback of metered rolls is that the ideal rolling speed (for the player, the room, the sticks, and the instrument) may lie between exact subdivisions, depending on the tempo, and the sound quality may vary by tempo. The benefit is that it makes all the rolls fit neatly into

1914-415: The case of a snare drum and some other percussion instruments, rolls may be indicated by individual notes or with the use of tremolos, depending on the sheet music's notation. In percussion, three types of tremolos may be seen in sheet music; a tremolo with a single, double, or triple slash going through the stem: A single slash indicates a diddle, or two double strokes from a single hand, that subdivides

1972-594: The circular hub the brake shoes press against), or a fifty-five gallon oil barrel musical instruments yet composers and percussionists use these objects. Percussion instruments generally fall into the following categories: One pre-20th century example of found percussion is the use of cannon usually loaded with blank charges in Tchaikovsky 's 1812 Overture . John Cage , Harry Partch , Edgard Varèse , and Peter Schickele , all noted composers, created entire pieces of music using unconventional instruments. Beginning in

2030-417: The down-stroke, the hand is then raised for the upstroke. While the hand raises, the bead of the stick is returning toward the head after its bounce off the rim. As the raising hand and falling bead reach the same height, the head is struck for the second time. This creates two beats contacting the drum head out of a single stroke motion of the arm. The precise moment of contact with the rim momentarily creates

2088-493: The early 20th century perhaps with Ionisation by Edgard Varèse which used air-raid sirens among other things, composers began to require that percussionists invent or find objects to produce desired sounds and textures. Another example the use of a hammer and saw in Penderecki 's De Natura Sonoris No. 2 . By the late 20th century, such instruments were common in modern percussion ensemble music and popular productions, such as

2146-509: The field). It included various percussion instruments, often adopted in European military music (as 'Janissary music'). The pitched bass drum is still known in some languages as the Turkish Drum. Military drumming is the origin of Traditional grip as opposed to Matched grip of drumsticks. The drumline is a type of marching ensemble descended from military drummers, and can be arranged as

2204-484: The first and the fingers for the second stroke, the 2 strokes can be made to sound identical. This produces a near-continuous sound when the technique is mastered. In rudimental drumming, open rolls, consisting of double strokes, are often measured out to a specific number of strokes. A 3 stroke roll is the shortest possible open double stroke roll, but is commonly referred to by the specific name "Drag," "Ruff," or "Half Drag." Typically, any roll with an odd number of strokes

2262-544: The hand or by a percussion mallet , such as the hang , gongs and the xylophone , but not drums and only some cymbals . 21 Struck drums , includes most types of drum, such as the timpani, snare drum, and tom-tom. 412.12 Percussion reeds , a class of wind instrument unrelated to percussion in the more common sense There are many instruments that have some claim to being percussion, but are classified otherwise: Percussion instruments are sometimes classified as pitched or unpitched. While valid, this classification

2320-411: The instruments' resonance, a fairly open roll is usually used, although the exact rate at which a roll is played depends greatly on the acoustic conditions, the size of the drum, the pitch to which is it tuned and the sticks being used. Higher pitches on timpani require a faster roll to maintain a sustained sound; some timpanists choose to use a buzz roll on higher notes at lower volumes; although there

2378-419: The membrane or head is struck with a hand, mallet, stick, beater, or improvised tool. Examples of membranophones: Most instruments known as chordophones are defined as string instruments , wherein their sound is derived from the vibration of a string, but some such as these examples also fall under percussion instruments. Most instruments known as aerophones are defined as wind instruments whereby sound

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2436-413: The muscles of their fingers instead of those of the wrists. The fingers have a shorter rotation length and can move faster with less effort than the wrist. The fulcrum roll, or freehand roll, is a roll in which the rim of the drum momentarily replaces the original finger-created fulcrum. Thus is qualifies as a dual-fulcrum or multiple-fulcrum stroke. The initial stroke creates contact with the drum head in

2494-402: The music in time and is easier to count. Unmetered rolls require the player to perform the best possible sounding roll they can, whether or not the arm movements correspond to the musical tempo. The drawback to this approach is that the player must count the beats of the music independently to, and in complete disregard of, the speed of the roll and the corresponding arm motion. The benefit is that

2552-456: The nineteenth century, though less commonly than is popularly assumed; due to the nature of the job, experienced older men were preferred. In modern times, drummers are not employed in battle, but their ceremonial duties continue. Typically buglers and drummers mass under a sergeant-drummer and during marches alternately perform with the regiment or battalion ensembles. Military-based musical percussion traditions were not limited exclusively to

2610-429: The note in two. RR or LL A double slash indicates two diddles, or two double strokes from each hand, that subdivides the note in four. RRLL or LLRR A triple slash indicates four diddles, playing two double strokes twice from each hand, that subdivides the note into eight. RRLLRRLL or LLRRLLRR In a 4/4 time signature, a triple slash quarter note would entail playing double strokes for two eighth notes with

2668-408: The off-Broadway show, Stomp . Rock band Aerosmith used a number of unconventional instruments in their song Sweet Emotion , including shotguns , brooms, and a sugar bag. The metal band Slipknot is well known for playing unusual percussion items, having two percussionists in the band. Along with deep sounding drums, their sound includes hitting baseball bats and other objects on beer kegs to create

2726-453: The open roll, there are many other rolls and rudiments that sound like rolls when they are played fast enough (like the freehand technique or single paradiddle ). In the table below, lower-case letters represent grace notes ( drags , flams etc.) and hyphens represent rests. Also, the six-stroke roll is often used in snare solo and marching percussion situations and is a favorite for jazz and rock drummers. It has four variations; each note

2784-459: The original Latin percussus. In a musical context then, the percussion instruments may have been originally coined to describe a family of musical instruments including drums, rattles, metal plates, or blocks that musicians beat or struck to produce sound. The Hornbostel–Sachs system has no high-level section for percussion . Most percussion instruments as the term is normally understood are classified as idiophones and membranophones . However

2842-436: The other paradigms are more dependent on historical or social circumstances. Based on observation and experimentation, one can determine how an instrument produces sound and then assign the instrument to one of the following four categories: "Idiophones produce sounds through the vibration of their entire body." Examples of idiophones: Most objects commonly known as drums are membranophones. Membranophones produce sound when

2900-505: The percussion section, but keyboard percussion instruments such as the glockenspiel and xylophone (which do not have piano keyboards) are included. Percussion instruments are most commonly divided into two classes: pitched percussion instruments, which produce notes with an identifiable pitch , and unpitched percussion instruments, which produce notes or sounds in an indefinite pitch. Percussion instruments may play not only rhythm , but also melody and harmony . Percussion

2958-399: The preceding hand give the illusion that the bounces have a more even volume. There are many interpretations of concert rolls and while the variations result in a similar rolling sound, there are subtle audible differences. One major point of differentiation between rolling techniques is between Metered and Unmetered rolls. Metered rolls require the players arms and wrists to play in time with

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3016-652: The primary rhythmic function, in some musical styles, such as world, jazz, classical, and electronica, the drummer is called upon to provide solo and lead performances, at times when the main feature of the music is the rhythmic development. Drummers tend to possess considerable stamina and hands-eyes-legs coordination . There are many tools that a drummer can use for either timekeeping or soloing. These include cymbals (china, crash, ride, splash, hi-hats, etc.), snare, toms, auxiliary percussion (bells, Latin drums, cowbells, temple blocks) and many others. There are also single, double, and triple bass pedals that drummers may use for

3074-411: The roll sounds optimal and smooth at any tempo. The metered closed roll should not be confused with the open or measured roll, as described below. Examples of Drum rudiments that are similar to, or precisely like, a concert closed roll include: The open roll ("double- stroke roll" or "long roll") is played with double strokes alternating between the left and right hands. Using a forearm stroke for

3132-399: The string; it is accomplished upon the drum and allied percussion instruments by the roll . THE SNARE DRUM ROLL. The roll consists of an even reiteration of beats sufficiently rapid to prohibit rhythmic analysis. To produce an impression of sustentation, these beats must be absolutely even both in power and in sequence. Uneven beats in a roll destroy the impression of sustentation. Evenness

3190-685: The term percussion is instead used at lower-levels of the Hornbostel–Sachs hierarchy, including to identify instruments struck with either a non sonorous object hand, stick, striker or against a non-sonorous object human body , the ground. This is opposed to concussion , which refers to instruments with two or more complementary sonorous parts that strike against each other and other meanings. For example: 111.1 Concussion idiophones or clappers , played in pairs and beaten against each other, such as zills and clapsticks . 111.2 Percussion idiophones , includes many percussion instruments played with

3248-498: The traditional music of many countries, drummers use individual drums of various sizes and designs rather than drum kits. Some use only their hands to strike the drums. In larger ensembles, the drummer may be part of a rhythm section with other percussionists playing. These musicians provide the timing and rhythmic foundation which allow the players of melodic instruments, including voices, to coordinate their musical performance. Some famous drummers include: Max Roach , Ringo Starr (

3306-659: The western world. When Emir Osman I was appointed commander of the Turkish army on the Byzantine border in the late 13th century, he was symbolically installed via a handover of musical instruments by the Seldjuk sultan. In the Ottoman Empire , the size of a military band reflected the rank of its commander in chief: the largest band was reserved for the Sultan (viz. his Grand Vizier when taking

3364-481: Was the standard for military communication from about 1700 to the 1860s, and a list of British army drum calls from 1800 included the long roll as a call to form a square . During the American Civil War the long roll called the troops to assemble and signaled an attack. Again the long roll of the drummers, Again the attacking cannon, mortars, Again to my listening ears the cannon responsive. Other than

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