Drum Terminology

Bass Drum
Large drum played by stepping on a pedal that then hits the drum's head with a large beater of felt, wood, or other material. Often called a "kick drum" or just "kick."

Bass Drum Beater
A metal shaft topped by a beater ball, which is inserted into a hole in the beater hub of a bass drum pedal.

Bass Drum Pedal
A pedal with a lever mechanism and tensioning springs that you step on to hit a bass drum. This kind of pedal clamps to the bass drum's hoop, and has a beater made of felt, wood, or other material.

Bass Pedal Spring
The spring that pulls the pedal back from the head when the pedal is not depressed.

Batter Head
The head of a drum that you hit. If there's a second head, it's not intended for hitting, and therefore doesn't have to be as durable.

Bearing Edge
The point of drum shell where the head makes contact.

Bell (or cup)
The round part of a cymbal near the center that goes "ping" when you hit it with a stick.

Bottom Head
If a drum has a bottom head, it is tuned to resonate (vibrate just like) the top head, and produce a different tone and volume. Some drummers prefer to not use bottom heads on their drums. Often called a "resonant head."

Bottom Rim (or Hoop)
This metal rim holds the resonant (bottom) head in place and provides even tension for tuning.

Claw Hooks
The hooks that grip the outer edge of the bass drum hoop.

Crash Area
The large, flat area of a crash cymbal close to the edge that gives the big, splashy sound when struck with the stick.

Crash Cymbal
A cymbal that builds up a lot of overtones quickly when hit, creating a big splash, or crash, sound.

Cymbal Sleeve
A plastic or nylon sleeve that prevents a cymbal from touching the metal rod of a cymbal stand preventing damage to the cymbal and the stand.

Drummer's Throne
Not as fancy as it sounds, it's a padded seat designed for drummers. It is height-adjustable and doesn't have arms.

Edge
On a cymbal, the outer rim, where most drummers fear to tread, because it's so easy to break a stick there.

Hi-hat Cymbals
Specially selected cymbals, usually 11" to 14" in diameter, meant to sound good when clapped together or hit with sticks on a hi-hat.

Hi-hat
A pair of cymbals on a stand that has a pedal at the bottom. As the pedal is raised and lowered, the cymbals are clapped together or allowed to separate.

Hi-hat Pedal
The pedal that raises and lowers the top cymbal on a hi-hat.

Lug
The bracket attached to a drum that accepts a tension rod.

Lug Nut
The receptacle that fits inside a lug and accepts a tension rod, allowing a drum to be tuned.

Ride Area
The large, flat area of a ride cymbal, where the best balance of fast attack and ringing tone are found.

Ride Cymbal
A cymbal that has a sharp attack and a rapid decay so that each tap is easy to hear individually.

Resonant Head
Bottom head used on tom-toms and snare drums, or the front of a bass drum.

Shell
The cylinder-shaped housing of a drum. It can be made of wood (usually a type of plywood) or plastic. The shell's size and shape have a lot to do with the tone, resonance, and tuning of the drum.

Snare Drum
Bright-sounding medium-high-pitched drum with a buzzy sound due to metal wires vibrating against the bottom head when the top head is hit with a stick.

Snares
Coiled metal strands which vibrate against the bottom (snare side) head of a snare drum.

Snare Side Head
The thinner head found on the bottom of a snare drum.

Tension Rods (Tuners)
Lug nuts around the rim of each drum are used for tuning the drum. When tightened, they stretch the head, and the tension determines the tuning.

Tom-tom
A tom-tom (or just a "tom") can be just about any size drum without snares on the bottom. A typical drumkit has a minimum of one or two tom-toms, and they can either be mounted on a hardware stand or on legs. Some tom-toms have both top and bottom heads, while others just have a top head, depending on the desired tone.

Top Rim (or Hoop)
This metal rim holds the batter head in place and provides even tension for tuning.

Washer
A metal or felt disc that sits between two objects.

Wingscrew
A screw with wing-like finger grips, which make it easy to turn by hand and don't require a wrench.