A snare drum, bass drum, rack tom, floor tom, and cymbal make up a basic five-piece drum set. Each drum is made up of five basic components. The shell, the head, and the rim are three of the largest drum parts. The tension rods and lugs are the only remaining drum parts.
The basic shell of every drum is the hollow, cylinder-shaped body of the drum. Of all the drum parts, it is the most easily recognized. It’s usually made of wood, acrylic, or a composite, but it can also be made of metal or carbon fiber in some cases. The sound and tone of the drum can be greatly influenced the material used to make the shell. Each shell has a small hole called a vent hole in it that allows air to escape when the drum is struck, improving the instrument’s resonance.
Among drum parts, the head is also easily identifiable. The drum head, which is usually made of a flexible synthetic plastic, stretches over the cylindrical opening on the shell. The heads of most drums are located on both the top and bottom of the body. The top head, also known as the batter, is the part of the drum that is struck when it is played. The bottom head is usually thinner than the top head and is used for resonance.
The drum heads are held in place metal or wooden rings known as rims or hoops. Metal rings are common on snares and toms, while wooden rings are common on bass drums. Tension rods are a series of metal rods that run along the sides of the shell and allow drummers to adjust and tighten the rim. A drum can have anywhere from five to ten tension rods, which are held in place metal brackets known as drum lugs. Drum lugs are lugs that are attached to the drum shell and come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Mounting devices are attached to the bottoms of some drums, allowing them to be secured on stands and angled to suit the drummer’s needs. Drummers typically use drumsticks or, in the case of bongo drums, their hands to play their instruments. Drummers, on the other hand, do not use sticks or their hands to play bass drums. Instead, they use foot pedals with cushioned mallets to strike bass drums. Despite the fact that the foot pedal is not usually attached to the bass drum, it is still considered an important part of the instrument.
Other specialized drum parts can be found on various types of drums. A snare drum, for example, has thin wires running across the batter head’s base. The snare’s distinctive sound comes from these wires, which are attached a special bracket and controlled a lever on the outside of the drum. Most bass drums, for example, do not have tension rods. Drummers adjust tension with a specialized bracket called a claw hook, which isn’t normally found on the snare drum or toms.