Brushes Drum Explained: Features, Types and Tips

Drum brushes are a fundamental part of the drummer’s toolkit, offering a range of sounds that sticks cannot produce. Whether you are playing jazz, blues, acoustic folk or any style where a lighter touch is required, understanding what brushes are and how they work is essential before you start playing with them.

What Drum Brushes Are

A brushes drum implement consists of a handle and a fan of flexible wires or nylon bristles spread at one end. Unlike drum sticks, which produce a sharp attack through direct impact, brushes create sound through contact across a wider surface area. This produces a softer, more diffuse attack, a hiss on sweeping strokes, and a texture that blends into the kit rather than cutting through it. The difference in sound is substantial: a brushes drum performance in jazz has an entirely different tonal character from the same pattern played with sticks.

Types of Drum Brushes

Two main construction types are available:

• Wire brushes: Made from steel or brass wires. Steel wires are more common and produce a brighter, crisper sound. Brass wires are softer and produce a warmer tone. Wire brushes are the standard choice for jazz and acoustic work.
• Nylon brushes: Made from plastic or nylon bristles. More durable than wire, with a slightly different texture. Nylon brushes produce less hiss on sweeping strokes and a fuller tap sound. Often preferred for genres that need more attack than wire offers.

Within these categories, designs vary between retractable (wires pull back into the handle for storage and spread control) and fixed-spread (wires permanently angled outward). Retractable designs are more practical for travel and allow the spread to be adjusted for different sounds.

Key Techniques

The two foundational brushes drum techniques are sweeping and tapping:

• Sweeping: Moving the brush across the drumhead in a circular or arc motion to produce a continuous hiss. This is the characteristic brushes drum sound used for ride cymbal patterns played on the snare in jazz.
• Tapping: Striking the drumhead with the tips of the wires to produce individual attack sounds. Used for patterns that require more definition than sweeping alone.

Most brushes drum playing combines both techniques, with sweeping providing the continuous texture and tapping providing rhythmic definition.

Notable Practitioners

Joe Morello, drummer with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, is one of the most influential figures in developing brush technique. Papa Jo Jones brought brushes to prominence in Count Basie’s orchestra. Max Roach was central to developing the more complex, compositional use of brushes in bebop and post-bop contexts. Their recorded work is the best education in how brushes function in practice.

Where to Go from Here

Our buyer’s guide covers what to look for when choosing brushes. Our best value guide gives direct recommendations. Our beginner guide covers technique from the start. And our mistakes guide explains the errors worth avoiding.

Frequently Asked Questions