Parts of a drum set: every drum, cymbal and stand, and how to set them up
We took the labeled kit and the setup photos from the Hal Leonard Drumset Method, Book 1, by Kennan Wylie and Gregg Bissonette. It opens with the kit itself, naming each piece and placing it around the throne, before it gets to tuning, grip and the first beat.
A drum set looks like a pile of drums and metal until someone names the pieces. Each piece has one job, and all of them stand around one seat so that two hands and two feet can reach them. Once you know the names, the layout makes sense and the setup goes faster.
This guide names every part of a standard drum set and what it does: the drums, the cymbals and the hardware that holds them. It explains what a 4-piece and a 5-piece kit are, then walks through setting the kit up around the throne, tuning the snare and changing a head, with the sticks and accessories a beginner needs. A printable worksheet is included.
A standard drum set has three groups of parts: the drums, the cymbals and the hardware. The drums are the bass drum, the snare drum, two mounted toms and a floor tom; the cymbals are the hi-hat, the crash and the ride. The hardware holds and plays them: the bass drum pedal, the hi-hat stand and pedal, the cymbal and snare stands, and the throne you sit on.
Parts of a drum set at a glance
Every part also has a usual place. The places below are for a right-handed drummer; left-handed drummers often set the whole kit up as a mirror image, with the hi-hat on the right and the floor tom on the left.
| Part | What it does | Where it sits | Played with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bass drum (kick drum) | The lowest, biggest sound, the pulse under the beat | On the floor, straight in front of you | Right foot, through the pedal |
| Bass drum pedal | Swings a beater into the bass drum head | Under your right foot | Right foot |
| Snare drum | The sharp crack of the backbeat; wires under the bottom head buzz against it | On its stand, between your knees | Sticks |
| High mounted tom | The higher of the two toms above the bass drum, used in fills | Above the bass drum, left of center | Sticks |
| Low mounted tom | A lower tom, the next step down in a fill | Above the bass drum, right of center | Sticks |
| Floor tom | The deepest tom, standing on its own legs | To your right, at about snare height | Sticks |
| Hi-hat | Two cymbals that open and close; keeps time in most beats | To your left, on the hi-hat stand | Sticks, and the left foot on its pedal |
| Crash cymbal | A loud accent, often at the start of a section | Left of the toms; a second crash often sits on the right | Sticks |
| Ride cymbal | A steady pattern in place of the hi-hat | To your right, above the floor tom | Sticks |
| Throne | The adjustable drummer’s seat | Behind the snare drum, facing the kit | — |
| Stands and mounts | Hold the snare, the toms and the cymbals at the right height and angle | Under each drum and cymbal | — |
The photo below shows the same parts on a real five-piece kit, seen from above the throne. It comes from the Hal Leonard Drumset Method, which opens with this page.
To learn the names, print the worksheet: one page has the kit with every part labeled, the second has the same drawing with blank lines to fill in, and an answer key.
The drums
Every drum in the kit is built the same way: a round shell with a head stretched over each open end, held on by a hoop and tension rods. The snare adds a set of wires.
Bass drum
The bass drum, also called the kick drum, is the largest drum and the only one played with a foot. It lies on its side on the floor, and the bass drum pedal clamps to its hoop. Press the pedal and a beater strikes the head facing you. Most beats put the bass drum on the strong beats of the bar, so it carries the pulse that the rest of the band locks to.
Snare drum
The snare drum sits on its own stand between your knees, and it is the drum you hit most. Under the bottom head runs a set of thin metal wires called the snares. When the top head is struck, the snares buzz against the bottom head, which gives the drum its crack. A lever on the side, the snare strainer (also called the throw-off), presses the snares against the head or lifts them off. With the snares off, the drum sounds like a tom.
Learn the parts on the snare and you know them for every drum, because the toms and the bass drum have the same shell, heads, hoop and tension rods. The book’s labeled photo shows the drum from below, with the snares across the bottom head.
Read the labels from the top. The batter head is the one you hit, and the snare head is the thinner one underneath. The hoop (rim) holds each head on the shell, and the tension rods pull the hoop down into the lug castings bolted to the shell. Turning the rods tightens or loosens the head, which is how a drum is tuned. On the strainer side the snares hook to the strainer; on the opposite side they hook to the butt end.
The most common snare size is 14 inches across and about 6 inches deep, so a 14-inch head fits most snare drums.
Mounted toms and floor tom
Toms, short for tom-toms, are drums without snare wires, tuned from high to low. A five-piece kit has two mounted toms and one floor tom. The mounted toms, also called rack toms, sit above the bass drum on a mount or on a stand, angled slightly toward you. The floor tom stands on three legs to your right and has the lowest pitch of the three. Played in order from high tom to floor tom, they give the falling run you hear at the end of many drum fills. On a standard rock kit the toms are often 12, 13 and 16 inches across.
The cymbals
Cymbals are bronze or brass discs that ring when struck. A beginner kit has three kinds, each with its own job.
Hi-hat
The hi-hat is a pair of cymbals on one stand, facing each other. A clutch holds the top cymbal on a rod that runs down to a pedal under your left foot. Press the pedal and the top cymbal closes onto the bottom one, giving a short, tight “chick”. Lift your foot and they open and ring. Most beginner beats keep time on the closed hi-hat, so it is the cymbal you play most.
Crash cymbal
The crash gives a loud, bright burst that fades quickly. Drummers use it to mark the start of a chorus or the end of a fill. Hit it on its edge with the shaft of the stick, a glancing blow, and let it ring. Many kits have two crashes, one on each side, as in the book’s photo.
Ride cymbal
The ride is the largest cymbal on most kits. It gives a clear “ping” with a wash under it, and drummers ride a steady pattern on it in place of the hi-hat, for a chorus or a whole song. The raised center, the bell, gives a sharper, louder note.
Bigger kits add effect cymbals: a small splash for short accents, a china with an upturned edge for a trashy accent, or two cymbals stacked on one stand. None of them is needed to start.
Drum hardware: pedals, stands and the throne
Hardware is everything metal that holds the kit together. The two pedals are the hardware you play: the bass drum pedal drives the beater, and the hi-hat stand has its own pedal. The snare stand has three arms that grip the drum’s hoop. Cymbals sit on either a straight stand or a boom stand, which has an arm that reaches out over the drums.
The boom lets you put a cymbal where you want it without the stand’s legs fighting a drum for floor space. The toms hang on a mount attached to the bass drum or to a separate stand. The throne is the drummer’s stool: a round seat on an adjustable stand. Pick one that adjusts, because the height of the seat sets how your feet meet the pedals.
How many pieces: 4-piece, 5-piece and bigger kits
When a kit is sold as a 5-piece, the number counts the drums only. Cymbals, stands and the throne are not pieces. A 5-piece kit is a bass drum, a snare drum, two mounted toms and a floor tom, and it is the most common setup. A 4-piece kit has one mounted tom and one floor tom, so it is smaller and usually cheaper. Bigger kits add more toms.
For a first kit, either works. A 5-piece gives more choices in fills; a 4-piece fits a smaller room and takes less time to set up. Electronic kits follow the same layout with pads in place of drums and cymbals, and they can play through headphones, which matters if you practice at home.
How to set up a drum set
Set the kit up from the seat outward. The Hal Leonard Drumset Method starts with the throne, then the snare drum and the pedals, and fits the drums and cymbals around the player from there.
1. Set the throne height
Sit on the throne and look at your legs. Some drummers sit with their thighs almost parallel to the floor; others sit a little higher, with the heels just below the knees. Your feet should rest comfortably on the pedals. Try a few heights and keep the one where you feel most relaxed. Avoid chairs or stools that do not adjust.
2. Place the snare drum between your knees
Set the snare stand between your legs and the drum on it, a few inches above knee level. Its position should leave your forearms and hands in line when you play. Drummers who use matched grip usually keep the snare flat; drummers who use traditional grip may tilt it slightly down. How to hold the sticks in each grip is in the guide to how to hold drumsticks.
3. Put the bass drum and hi-hat pedals under your feet
With the snare in place, set the two pedals on the floor. The bass drum pedal goes under your right foot, with the drum just below or in front of your knee. The hi-hat pedal goes within easy reach of your left foot. Once your feet rest on both pedals without strain, slide the bass drum in to meet its pedal. Some drummers start with the pedals and the bass drum and add the snare after; either order works if you end in the same relaxed position.
Set the hi-hat at a height you can hit without raising your arm much. Many setup guides suggest a gap of about 1 to 2 cm between the two cymbals when the pedal is up.
4. Mount the toms
Fit the mounted toms as close to each other as you can without them touching, or they will rattle against each other as you play. Tilt them slightly down toward you. Too much tilt changes the sound, because the stick then strikes the head at a steep angle.
5. Set the floor tom
Adjust the floor tom’s legs until its head is almost level with the snare drum, angled slightly toward you. Leave room for your right knee: the leg that plays the bass drum pedal should move freely without rubbing against the floor tom.
6. Place the cymbals
Put the crash to the left of the toms, tilted slightly, and close enough that the shaft of the stick meets its edge without a reach. Put the ride on your right, where the stick can land three to four inches in from its edge without straightening your elbow.
Finish with a check: sit down and touch each drum and cymbal with a stick. If you have to lean, stretch or lift a shoulder to reach one, move that piece in. Every drummer’s setup ends up a little different. Once you like yours, mark the stand heights with tape so you can repeat it every time you play.
The Hal Leonard Drumset Method begins with exactly this setup, photo by photo, then moves on to tuning, grip and reading music, with demonstration and play-along audio and video lessons by Gregg Bissonette.
Tuning the snare drum and changing a head
The sound of a snare drum depends on two tensions: how tight each head is, and how tight the snares are. The tools are a drum key, which fits the square top of every tension rod, and your ear.
Start with every rod finger-tight. Then tighten with the drum key in quarter turns, giving each rod the same amount. Always work in opposite pairs, across the drum rather than around it, so the head stretches evenly. The book’s diagram numbers the order on an eight-rod drum.
Follow the numbers: 1 then 2 straight across, 3 then 4, 5 then 6, 7 then 8. Now and then, tap the head in front of each rod and adjust until every spot sounds close to the same pitch. The batter head on top is thicker and takes a little more tightening than the thin snare head underneath.
Last, set the snares with the screw on the strainer. If they are too tight the drum sounds choked; if they are too loose they buzz long after each note. Turn the screw a little at a time until the drum sounds crisp to you.
Changing a head is the most regular job a drum needs. Loosen every tension rod with the drum key, take the rods and the hoop off, and remove the old head. Wipe the dust out of the shell and check that the screws holding the lugs are tight. Put a small drop of lubricant, such as petroleum jelly, on the thread of each rod so it turns smoothly, then fit the new head and the hoop and tune as above.
Drumsticks and the gear around the kit
A drumstick has four parts: the bead or tip that strikes the drum, the tapered shoulder, the long shaft, and the thick butt end. Your hand holds the stick a few inches from the butt. The book suggests three sizes to start with, 7A, 5A and 5B, and says to use the stick that works best for you.
Three more things belong next to the kit. A practice pad lets you work on your hands without the volume of a real drum. A metronome gives a steady pulse at any tempo; the free online metronome does the job from a phone or laptop. And ear plugs protect your hearing, which a drum kit in a small room can damage; headphones or ear buds let you hear the click or the music at a safe level.
From the kit to the page
Once you know the parts, drum music starts to make sense, because each line and space of a drum staff stands for one of them. The guide to how to read drum sheet music shows where each drum and cymbal is written and walks through a first beat on the hi-hat, snare and bass drum. When that beat feels steady, pick a first song from the list of easy drum songs for beginners.
Frequently asked questions
What are the parts of a drum set called?
A standard drum set has a bass drum (or kick drum) with its pedal, a snare drum, two mounted toms and a floor tom, a hi-hat, a crash cymbal and a ride cymbal. Stands hold the snare and the cymbals, a mount holds the toms, and the drummer sits on a throne.
Is the kick drum the same as the bass drum?
Yes. Kick drum is another name for the bass drum, the large drum on the floor that you play with your foot through a pedal. Drummers and sound engineers use both names.
What is a 5-piece drum set?
A 5-piece drum set has five drums: a bass drum, a snare drum, two mounted toms and a floor tom. The piece count does not include the cymbals, stands or throne. A 4-piece kit has one mounted tom in place of two.
What order do you set up a drum set in?
Start with the throne, then put the snare drum between your knees, set the bass drum and hi-hat pedals under your feet and slide the bass drum in. Add the mounted toms, then the floor tom, then the crash and ride cymbals, and check that you can reach everything without stretching.
How high should a drum throne be?
Set the throne so your thighs are about parallel to the floor, with your feet resting comfortably on the pedals. Some drummers sit a little higher, with the heels just below the knees. Try a few heights and keep the most relaxed one.
Know the kit, then play it
Print the worksheet and fill in the blank page until you can name every piece without the answer key. Then set the kit up from the throne outward, tune the snare in opposite pairs, check that every piece is within reach, and play your first beat.
Once the kit is set up, the Hal Leonard Drumset Method, Book 1 continues with tuning, grip and reading, with video lessons by Gregg Bissonette.
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