The full family of drums and percussion — acoustic and electronic kits, hand drums, pitched mallet instruments, and everything in between.
- 118 topics
- 453 articles
Inside Drums & Percussion
All 118 topicsThe 12 most-searched of 118 topics. The full index is at the foot of the page.
Electronic Drum Kit
Electronic drum kits for quiet practice, recording and adaptable modern drumming.
5 topics
Xylophone
Xylophones are tuned wooden percussion instruments with a bright, articulate sound for schools, ensembles and performanc...
1 topic
Drum Kit
Choose a drum kit for practice, recording or live work, with acoustic and electronic options to suit every drummer.
14 topics
Claves
Bright, compact rhythm sticks that deliver a clear click for Latin grooves, ensemble work and classroom percussion.
Glockenspiel
Glockenspiels deliver bright, bell-like tuned percussion for orchestral, educational and studio use.
4 topics
Drum Sticks
Drum sticks shape feel, tone and control, with options for practice, performance and different playing styles.
1 topic
Chimes
Orchestral percussion for shimmering accents, dramatic swells and atmospheric colour in live or studio settings.
1 topic
Bongos
Add lively hand percussion to your setup with bongos for Latin grooves, teaching and live performance.
2 topics
Tambourine
Find tambourines for bright accents, rhythmic lift and versatile hand percussion across many styles.
2 topics
Tubular Bells
Tubular bells are pitched concert percussion instruments known for resonant, bell-like tones in orchestral and theatrica...
Maracas
Maracas add bright rhythmic texture and easy-to-use percussion colour for studio, school and live performance.
2 topics
Drums
Drums for every player, from complete kits to upgrade parts, with options for practice, recording and live performance.
26 topicsArticles on Drums & Percussion
All news
Common Paiste Cymbals Mistakes to Avoid
Most cymbal cracks and tonal problems are avoidable — here are the most common mistakes drummers make with Paiste cymbals and how to fix them.
Common Sabian Mistakes to Avoid
Most Sabian problems are habits, not flaws in the cymbal. Here's what trips people up most often, and the fix for each.
Marimba for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Standing at a marimba for the first time can feel daunting. It really isn't, and here's the gentle, honest path in.
Cajon for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Learning the cajon starts with the four tones — bass, tone, slap and snap — and clean hand technique before any pattern work. Here is what the early weeks actually look like.
The Best Sabians for the Money
"Which Sabian is best" is the wrong question — here's how to match the range to what you actually play and where.
Bass Drum Explained: Features, Types and Tips
One name, several genuinely different instruments: what a bass drum actually is, its main types, and what's going on inside the shell.
Triangle Instrument Explained: Features, Types and Tips
It looks like a bent bit of metal on a string, but there's real craft behind the triangle. Here's the honest, no-nonsense rundown of how it works.
Triangle Instrument: A Complete Buyer's Guide
A bent rod of metal, a loop of cord, a beater — simple in theory, tricky to choose well. Here's what genuinely affects the sound before you buy.
Steel Tongue Drum: A Complete Guide
A sealed steel shell with slots cut into it, and somehow a genuinely musical instrument. Here's how it actually works.
Djembes Drums for Beginners: A Complete Guide
The honest first steps for anyone new to the djembe: how to sit, the three sounds one at a time, a simple practice routine, and looking after your hands.
Cajon: A Complete Buyer's Guide
The differences between a budget cajon and a quality one are real and worth understanding. This guide covers what to look for in tapa, snares and body construction at each price.
Hand Drum for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Picking up a hand drum for the first time is genuinely forgiving. Here's a calm, practical start.
Hang Music Instrument for Beginners: A Complete Guide
No wrong notes, no exam to pass — just a calm, unhurried way to begin your first handpan, touch before rhythm, one small step at a time.
Djembes Drums: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Everything worth weighing up before buying a djembe, from shell and head material to tuning systems, sizing and honest sourcing questions.
The Best Drum Rugs for the Money
The best drum rug options at every price point and use case: budget practice, mid-range home use, professional touring, electronic kits and portable gigging.
Rack Toms: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Buying rack toms starts with shell material and size — two decisions that shape every other choice that follows, from mounting hardware to head selection.
Zildjian S Explained: Features, Types and Tips
A plain-spoken look at what Zildjian S cymbals actually are, how they're built, and who the range genuinely suits.
Mapex Drum Kit: A Complete Buyer's Guide
Ludwig Drum Kits: A Complete Guide
Ludwig has produced professional-grade drum kits since 1909, used by Ringo Starr, John Bonham and Neil Peart. Here is everything you need to know about the brand.
Common Brushes Drum Mistakes to Avoid
Most brush technique errors come from applying the wrong approach or skipping the fundamentals. Here are the mistakes worth understanding before you practise.
The Best Hand Drums for the Money
There's no single 'best' hand drum — value depends on your style and budget. Here's how to spend well at every tier.
Electric Drum Set for Beginners: A Complete Guide
Got your first electric drum set in boxes? Here's how to set it up considerately, learn the module gently, and build real technique from day one.
Everything You Need to Know About Steel Band Drums
From a battered oil drum to a chromatic orchestral instrument — here's how steel band drums are built, tuned and played, and where the whole tradition began.
Bongo Drumming for Beginners: A Complete Guide
A calm, step-by-step start for anyone new to bongo drumming: posture, your first three tones, building the martillo, and a routine that actually sticks.
What Drums & Percussion Covers
Drums & percussion is the broadest family in music: it covers every instrument that produces sound by striking, shaking, scraping or setting a surface in vibration. The category divides into membranophones — instruments with a stretched skin or synthetic head, such as a snare drum or djembe — and idiophones, where the solid body of the instrument itself produces the sound, as with a xylophone, cowbell or claves.
Drum Kits: Acoustic and Electronic
The acoustic drum kit — bass drum, snare, tom-toms, hi-hats and cymbals — remains the foundation of rock, jazz and pop. Every component has its own page here, from choosing drum sticks and replacement heads to selecting the right cymbals for a given style. Electronic drum kits and percussion pads use triggers and sampled sounds, and are increasingly popular for practice, home recording and smaller venues where volume matters. Hybrid kits combine acoustic shells with electronic triggering, giving players the feel of real heads alongside the flexibility of on-board sound libraries.
Hand Percussion
Hand percussion spans dozens of world traditions. Congas, bongos and claves draw from Afro-Cuban music; the djembe comes from West Africa; the cajón from Peru; the bodhrán from Irish folk. Frame drums, goblet drums and shakers appear in folk, classical and popular music alike. When choosing a hand drum, the key considerations are playing technique, head material, tuning range, portability and whether it is intended for solo practice, ensemble playing or live performance.
Pitched Percussion
Pitched percussion instruments play identifiable notes and sit at the intersection of rhythm and melody. Xylophones, marimbas, vibraphones, glockenspiels, tubular bells and the celesta are all mallet instruments, found in orchestras, concert bands, musical theatre and studio production. The handpan — a relatively modern bowl-shaped idiophone — has attracted a dedicated following for its resonant, meditative tone.
Accessories and Smaller Percussion
The tambourine, triangle, cowbell, shaker and chimes might not anchor the rhythm section, but in the right moment they define a recording. This section also covers the accessories that hold everything together: drum sticks and mallets, beaters and brushes, mounting hardware, cymbal stands, drum pedals, replacement heads, cases and triggers.
All 118 topics in Drums & Percussion
A
B
C
D
- Djembe
- Double Bass Pedal
- Dream Cymbals
- Drum Bags
- Drum Cases
- Drum Hardware
- Drum Hardware
- Drum Heads
- Drum Key
- Drum Kit
- Drum Mutes
- Drum Pad
- Drum Rack
- Drum Rug
- Drum Shells
- Drum Sticks
- Drum Throne
- Drums
- Drums & Percussion (General)
- Drums & Percussion — Other Brands
- Drums & Percussion — Pearl
- Drums & Percussion — Tama
- Drums & Percussion — Yamaha
- Dw Drum Kit
