Glossary

adjustment knob: The knob used to adjust the tension of the snares against the resonant head.

auxiliary percussion: Any of the smaller, less common percussion instrument such as tambourine, cowbell, and triangle.

• backbeat: An emphasized attack on beats two and four in 4/4 time, used particularly in jazz and popular music.

• bass drum: A very large unpitched drum, usually mounted on a frame for orchestral or concert band playing, or set on the floor as part of the drum set.

• bass drum pedal: The device used to play kick drum with the foot in a drum set.

• batteria: The Italian word for percussion.

• batter head: The top head of a snare drum that is struck or “batted,” hence the name.

• bead: The top tip of a drumstick, which can be round, oval, acorn-, or barrel-shaped. bell (cymbal): The raised protrusion in the center of a cymbal.

• beater: A specialized implement that is neither a mallet nor drumstick, used to strike certain percussion instruments such as the bass drum, gong, or triangle.

• bell tree: A percussion instrument consisting of a set of stacked metal plates shaped like inverted bowls. Not to be confused with “mark tree.”

• bells: A pitched percussion instrument in the keyboard family, consisting of metal bars of various lengths, on a frame without resonators, and played with hard rubber, plastic, or brass mallets. Also known as glockenspiel.

• bongos: An Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small hand drums attached to each other.

• bottom head: See “resonant head.”

• butt: The thick lower end of a drumstick. Generally not used for striking the drum, except when

• using the cross stick technique.

• buzz roll: A drum roll with multiple bounce strokes, imitating a continuous sound. Also known as a closed roll or press roll.

chimes: A set of large pitched metal tubes, arranged in a vertical frame and struck with a rawhide mallet. Also known as tubular bells. Not to be confused with mark tree (windchimes).

conga: A Latin American percussion instrument consisting of a tall, upright, single-headed hand drum.

cowbell: A metal bell with straight sides tapering out to the opening, often struck with a drumstick.

crash cymbals: A set of two cymbals that are held vertically using holding straps attached to the bell and clashed together.

cross stick: A technique in which the drumstick is flipped over, with the tip pressed against the rim, and the butt is struck against the rim on the opposite side.

claves: A Cuban percussion instrument consisting of two hardwood cylinders. One is cradled in the hand and struck by the other to produce a sharp “click” sound.

closed roll: See “buzz roll.”

cymbals: Unpitched percussion instruments consisting of large, round metal plates.

diddle: A double stroke, especially when involved in a paradiddle pattern.

double-stop: The act of producing two different notes at the same time on a keyboard instrument, by using multiple mallets.

double stroke: A consecutive pair of strokes produced in the same hand. At a slow tempo, this will be two wrist motions. At a fast tempo, this will involve just one wrist motion, with the player controlling the rebound of the initial strike to produce the second stroke.

double-stroke roll: A roll consisting of alternating double strokes. Also known as an open roll.

down position: A position in which the drumsticks are held just above the drumhead, about parallel to the ground.

down stroke: An accented stroke that starts in the up position and ends in the down position, with no rebound, to prepare for an unaccented note.

drag: A rudiment in which two grace notes played by one hand (a double stroke) lead into an accented note by the other hand. See “ruff.”

drum: Any of the percussion instruments known as membranophones, in which a skin (or plastic) is stretched over a wooden or metal frame.

drumhead: The flat surface on the top or bottom of a drum, traditionally made from skin or plastic.

drum key: A small wrench-like tool used to tune a drum.

drum kit: See “drum set.”

drum set: The traditional set of unpitched percussion instruments played by a drummer for jazz and popular music, consisting of a kick drum, a snare drum, hi-hat cymbals, a ride cymbal, various toms, and various splash/crash cymbals.

drumsticks: The handheld wooden implements used to produce sound on drums.

flam: A rudiment consisting of an unaccented grace note (down stroke) leading into a primary accented note played by the other hand.

floor tom: A large tom that stands on the floor on three legs, traditionally used in drum sets.

fulcrum: The point of contact on the stick created by the thumb and index finger, upon which the stick can pivot to allow rebound. full stroke: See “natural stroke.”

glockenspiel: See “bells.”

gong: See “tam-tam.”

grip: The hand position used for percussion instruments.

güiro: A Latin American percussion instrument consisting of a hollow gourd with ridges along the outside, which are rubbed with a scraper to produce sound.

head: See “drumhead.”

hi-hat: A pair of cymbals mounted horizontally on a stand and clashed together using a pedal. A standard component of the drum set.

hoop: See “rim.”

idiophone: Any of the percussion instruments that produce sound from the vibration of their own material, including cymbals, claves, castanets, güiro, gong, keyboard percussion, and maracas.

implement: The general term for an item used to strike a percussion instrument.

kettle drums: See “timpani.”

key: See “drum key.”

kick drum: The bass drum used in a drum set.

left-hand lead: The use of a sticking pattern in which the left hand plays on strong beats (1 and 3 in 4/4 time).

legato stroke: See “natural stroke.”

lug: The metal casing for a tension rod, affixing it to the shell of a drum.

mallets: The implements used to strike keyboard percussion instruments, that can have a rubber, yarn, plastic, wooden, or brass top.

maracas: A Latin American rattle instrument consisting of a handled oval vessel filled with seeds.

marimba: A pitched percussion instrument in the keyboard family, consisting of wooden bars, each with resonators underneath, and played with yarn or soft rubber mallets.

mark tree: An auxiliary instrument consisting of a set of thin, metallic tubes. Also known as windchimes. Not to be confused with bell tree or chimes (tubular bells).

matched grip: A percussion grip in which the drumsticks are held the same way in each hand, in an overhand grip with the palms facing downward. The right and left hands are thus mirrored or “matched.”

membranophone: See “drum.”

micro stroke: See “tap stroke.”

muffler: A felt pad sometimes placed inside of a snare drum to dampen its tone.

multiple bounce stroke: A stroke involving a single wrist movement that hits the surface three or more times.

natural stroke: A type of stroke that starts and ends in the up position, used for loud or accented notes followed by more accented notes.

neutral clef: A clef used in the written music for unpitched percussion instruments, which has no need to designate specific note names or pitches.

open roll: A roll in which individual strokes are able to be distinctly heard. See “double-stroke roll.”

paradiddle: A rudiment consisting of two single strokes followed by a diddle, thus creating one of the following sticking patterns: LRLL or RLRR.

pedal: See “bass drum pedal.”

percussion: The section of musical instruments that create sound by being struck, scraped, or shaken.

posture: The body position one uses while playing a musical instrument.

practice pad: A small surface resembling a drumhead used to practice drumming without producing as loud of a sound.

rebound: The natural bounce back up after a drumstick strikes a surface. rebound stroke: See “natural stroke.”

resonant head: The bottom head (side with snares) of a snare drum. Striking the batter head causes this head to resonate.

ride cymbal: A suspended cymbal commonly included in the drum set, often used to play repeated rhythmic ostinatos, especially in swing music.

right-hand lead: The use of a sticking pattern in which the right hand plays on strong beats (1 and 3 in 4/4 time).

rim: The hoop connecting the drum head to the shell.

rimshot: A loud stroke produced by striking the rim and the head of the drum at the same time.

roll: A method of creating a sustained sound on a percussion instrument by repeatedly producing strokes. There are two types of rolls on snare drum: open rolls and closed rolls.

rudiment: Any of the foundational rhythmic patterns for percussion. There are 40 total rudiments now recognized by the Percussive Arts Society.

ruff: A rudiment consisting of multiple grace notes followed by a primary note in the other hand.

shaft: The main body of a drumstick, between the bead and the butt. shell: The outer casing around a snare drum between the two rims.

shoulder: The part of the drum stick where the taper meets the straight part of the body, about a third of the way from the bead to the butt.

snare drum: A percussion instrument consisting of a medium-small drum with a series of wires held against the resonant head.

snares: The set of wires held against the resonant head that rattle when the drum is struck to obtain the snare drum’s characteristic sound.

stand, drum: The device used to hold a concert snare drum.

sticking(s): The pattern indicating which hand to use for each note while playing a percussion instrument..

sticks: See “drumsticks.”

stick shot: A technique in which one stick is held with the tip against the center of the head, and shaft against the rim, and struck with the other stick.

strainer: The switch that is flipped to turn the snares on or off. Also known as a throw-off. stroke: The movement used to produce sound on a drum.

suspended cymbal: A cymbal that is suspended from a stand, usually struck using mallets or drumsticks.

tambourine: A percussion instrument consisting of a ringed frame lined with metal jingles. It may or may not have a head made of skin or plastic.

tamburo militare: The Italian name for snare drum (or military snare).

tam-tam: A metal unpitched percussion instrument, with a turned-over lip around its circumference. Usually suspended from a frame and struck with a mallet or beater. Also known as gong.

tap stroke: The kind of stroke used for a soft or unaccented note followed by more soft notes. Starts and ends in the down position. Also known as a micro stroke.

taper: The part of a drumstick flaring out from the bead to the shoulder.

temple blocks: A set of hollow wooden blocks (usually 5, pitched in an approximate pentatonic scale), struck with mallets or drumsticks.

tenor drum: See “tom.”

tension rod: A small rod used to adjust the tension of the drum head against the hoop.

timpani: A set of large, pitched drums traditionally used in concert band and orchestral music. Singular: timpano. Also known as kettle drums.

tip: See “bead.”

throne: The stool a drummer sits upon to play a drum set.

throw-off: See “strainer.”

tom or tom-tom: A cylindrical drum without snares, often double-headed. Usually found in sets of 2-4, including on drum set.

traditional grip: A percussion grip in which the right hand stays overhand, as in matched grip, but the left hand holds the drumstick in an underhand grip, with the palm facing upward.

triangle: A small percussion instrument made from a medal rod bent into the shape of a triangle and struck with a metal beater.

tubular bells: See “chimes.”

tuning: For drums, tuning refers to changing the tension of the batter and resonant heads.

up position: A position in which the drumsticks is held high, with the bead potentially as high as chest level, to prepare for an accented note.

up stroke: An unaccented stroke that starts in the down position, but ends in the up position to prepare for a loud/accented note.

vibraphone: A pitched percussion instrument in the keyboard family, consisting of metal bars played with yarn or rubber mallets and incorporating a pedal and motor. Commonly used in jazz.

windchimes: See “mark tree.”

woodblock: A percussion instrument consisting of a wooden rectangular block, partially hollowed out, and struck with a mallet or drumstick.

xylophone: A pitched percussion instrument in the keyboard family, consisting of wooden bars of varying size played with rubber or plastic mallets.