Drum Glossary

Every term a beginner meets on the way to playing real songs, in plain language. No jargon answers jargon — each entry explains the thing itself, then how to use it.

Kit & Gear

• Crash CymbalA crash is a thin, flared cymbal you hit once and let ring. It's the punctuation mark of t…
• Drum PedalsA drum pedal turns your foot into a drum stroke. The kick pedal connects a footboard to a …
• Drum SticksDrum sticks are matched wooden dowels, usually hickory, maple, or oak, with a shoulder tha…
• Effects CymbalsEffects cymbals are the odd-shaped extras: splashes, small and bright with a fast decay; c…
• Hi-HatThe hi-hat is two cymbals on a stand, operated by your left foot on a pedal. Press the ped…
• Kick DrumThe kick drum is the big drum that sits on the floor in front of you and gets played with …
• Ride CymbalThe ride is the big, heavy cymbal on your right, built for repeating strokes instead of on…
• Snare DrumThe snare is the drum across your knees with wires, called snares, stretched under the bot…
• Tom-TomToms are the double-headed drums without snares: usually a couple of rack toms mounted abo…

Grip & Sticking

• Double Stroke RollTwo strokes per hand: R R L L R R L L. The first stroke is a full wrist stroke; the second…
• Drag RuffA drag is two low, quick grace notes that resolve into a primary stroke — the softer, rasp…
• Eleven Stroke RollFive sets of double strokes closed by a single accented stroke: R R L L R R L L R R L, mir…
• Five Stroke RollDid-dle, did-dle, accent: R R L L R, mirrored as L L R R L. Two even doubles and a landing…
• FlamOne quiet grace note tucked just before a full primary stroke, played by the opposite hand…
• Flam AccentA flam, then two quiet taps inside an eighth-note triplet — one flammed accent followed by…
• Flam ParadiddleA paradiddle with a flam on the first stroke: a flammed right, then L R R, mirrored by a f…
• Flam TapTake a double stroke roll and flam the first stroke of each pair: a flammed right-hand str…
• Matched GripMatched grip is the way most drummers hold their sticks: both hands hold the stick the sam…
• ParadiddleR L R R, then L R L L. Two single strokes followed by a diddle, and because the lead hand …
• Paradiddle-DiddleR L R R L L, then L R L L R R. Think of it as a paradiddle with a second diddle bolted on:…
• RatamaqueA drag — two low grace notes — followed by short alternating single strokes that close on …
• RudimentsRudiments are the standard sticking patterns that drummers agree on and pass down. The Per…
• Single Drag TapTake the flam tap and swap the flam for a drag: two low grace notes, an accented primary s…
• Single Stroke RollThe single stroke roll is nothing more than alternating right and left hands — R L R L R L…
• Six Stroke RollModern charts write it as four single strokes closing on a diddle: R L R L R R, mirrored a…
• StickingSticking is the pattern of which hand plays which note. Writers mark it with R and L, righ…
• Thirteen Stroke RollSix sets of double strokes plus a final single: R R L L R R L L R R L L R, mirrored with t…
• Traditional GripTraditional grip is the older, asymmetric way of holding the sticks. The matched hand work…
• Triple Stroke RollThree strokes per hand: R R R L L L R R R. The middle stroke is the troublemaker — you get…

Sound & Dynamics

• AccentAn accent is a note played louder than the notes around it. Drummers use accents to point …
• Cross-StickA cross-stick is made by laying the shaft of the stick across the snare head and pressing …
• Dynamic ControlDynamic control is your ability to play at whatever volume the music asks for, and to swit…
• Ghost NoteA ghost note is a drum stroke played quietly, often barely above a whisper, so it slips be…
• RimshotA rimshot is a snare hit where the stick strikes the head and the rim at the same time. Yo…

Time & Groove

• BackbeatThe backbeat is the snare drum on beats 2 and 4. That is the whole definition. In 4/4 the …
• Beat & BPMThe beat is the steady pulse you would tap your foot to. It is the "1, 2, 3, 4" underneath…
• FillA fill is a short pattern that links one section of a song to the next. It fills the gap a…
• Four on the FloorFour on the floor is a bass drum on all four beats of 4/4: "1-2-3-4", every beat, equal we…
• GrooveA groove is a rhythm that makes you want to hear it again. It is the pattern a song walks …
• Half-Time & Double-TimeHalf-time and double-time are ways of playing against the pulse without changing the tempo…
• In the PocketThe pocket is what it feels like when a groove locks so hard the band moves like one machi…
• Note ValuesNote values are names for how long a note lasts against the beat. A quarter note takes one…
• PolyrhythmA polyrhythm is two rhythms played at once that do not divide evenly into each other. Thre…
• SubdivisionSubdivision is what happens between the beats. If the beat is "1-2-3-4", the subdivisions …
• Swing FeelSwing feel is playing eighth notes unevenly on purpose. The first note sits on the beat an…
• SyncopationSyncopation is a note landing where you did not expect it. The strong beats, 1 and 3 in 4/…
• Time SignatureA time signature is the counting rules for a song. It looks like a fraction: 4/4, 3/4, 6/8…
• TripletA triplet is three notes played in the space where two normally fit. In 4/4, three quarter…

Technique & Care

• Damping and MutingDamping means stopping a drum or cymbal from ringing when you don't want it to. Every head…
• Drum IndependenceIndependence means each of your limbs can play what you tell it to, without dragging the o…
• Drum TuningTuning is how tight you pull the heads on your drums. Turn the tension rods and the pitch …
• Moeller TechniqueThe Moeller technique is a way of playing drums with a whip-like, flowing motion instead o…