Monday, June 1, 2009

History and development


Top view: 1 ride cymbal, 3 crash cymbals, 1 splash cymbal, 1 china cymbal, 2 bass drums, 2 mounted toms, 2 floor toms, 1 snare drum, 1 hi-hat, 1 throne
Drum sets were first developed due to financial and space considerations in theaters where drummers were encouraged to cover as many percussion parts as possible. Up until then, drums and cymbals were played separately in military and orchestral music settings. Initially, drummers played the bass and snare drums by hand, then in the 1890s they started experimenting with foot pedals to play the bass drum. William F. Ludwig made the bass drum pedal system workable in 1909, paving the way for the modern drum kit.
By World War I drum kits were characterized by very large marching bass drums and many percussion items suspended on and around it, and they became a central part of jazz music. At that time it consisted of only a bass and snare drum and only occasionally a hi hat. Later, cymbals and a floor tom were added. Finally the mounted toms were added to the set to make it what it is today as a complete set. Hi-hat stands appeared around 1926. Metal consoles were developed to hold rack toms, with swing out stands for snare drums and cymbals. On top of the console was a "contraptions" (shortened to "trap") tray used to hold whistles, klaxons, and cowbells, thus drum kits were dubbed "trap kits."
By the 1930s, Gene Krupa and others popularized streamlined trap kits leading to a basic four piece drum set standard: bass, snare, rack toms, and floor tom. In time legs were fitted to larger floor toms, and "consolettes" were devised to hold smaller tom-toms on the bass drum. In the 1940s, Louie Bellson pioneered use of two bass drums, or the double bass drum kit. With the ascendancy of rock and roll, the role of the drum kit player became more visible, accessible, and visceral. The watershed moment occurred in 1964, when Ringo Starr of The Beatles played his Ludwig kit on American television; an event that motivated legions to take up the drums.
The trend toward bigger drum kits in Rock music began in the 1960s and gained momentum in the 1970s. By the 1980s, widely popular drummers like Neil Peart, Billy Cobham, Carl Palmer, Bill Bruford, and Terry Bozzio were using large numbers of drums and cymbals[1] and had also begun using electronic drums. John Bonham of Led Zeppelin also helped to revolutionize the drum kit and master new unheard of beats. Double bass pedals (Often used in heavy metal) were developed to play on one bass drum, eliminating the need for a second bass drum. In the 1990s and 2000s, many drummers in popular music and indie music have reverted back to basic four piece drum set standard.[2]
In the present, it is not uncommon for drummers to use a variety of auxiliary percussion instruments, found objects, and electronics as part of their "drum" kits. Popular electronics include: electronic sound modules; laptop computers used to activate loops, sequences and samples; metronomes and tempo meters; recording devices; and personal sound reinforcement equipment.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_kit

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