Ludwig Lug

What Affects Have Drums And Percussion Had On The Development Of Music - (Part Two)

In the 1930's more genres came into the mainstream giving drummer more options e.g. swing, big band era. The typical drum was still made from wood although the aesthetics were changed making drums more attractive. American Gene Krupa one of the greatest jazz drummers of the big band era, developed a style of playing which predominantly featured toms. He established the drums as a solo instrument. Krupa made history and is credited as the first drummer to record using a bass pedal.The 1940's saw drums change due to another American Jazz drummer Max Roach, he is also considered to be one of the greatest jazz drummers. Max Roach was the first drummer to tune his drums higher by tightening his drum heads and his playing encouraged the shifting of the rhythmic emphasis from the bass drum to the cymbals, more specifically the ride cymbal. This technique allowed for more flexible use of the bass drum and other parts of the drum set.
The 1950's saw the sound of drums change forever with the invention of remo's beli synthetic drum head. Before this drum head were made from calf skin and drummers found it difficult to keep the drums in tune. The 1950's also saw the invention of nylon tip drumsticks and the "swiv-o-matic" tom holder pioneered by Rodgers Drum Company, which featured a ball and socket design for maximum for a maximum flexibility. American jazz drummer Louis Belson popularise the use of two bass drums, he is credited to have pioneered the use of two bass drums.
The 1960's saw the rise of rock music and the great drummers it produced. This included great drummers such as Ginger Baker of rock trio cream, Keith Moon of the who and American jazz- rock drummer Billy Cobham. These are just a few of the great drummers from the sixties, but these drummers are said to have pioneered a drum set up still used by rock drummers today. The rock drummers set up was a 5 piece kit which consisted of a bass drum, two rack toms, floor tom and a snare. Sizes varied but the standard was 22" x 18" bass drum, 12" x 9" rack tom, 13" x 10" rack tom, 16" x 16" floor tom and a 14" x 5.5" snare drum. The typical drum had improved with various changes in aesthetics and build quality. Another great drummer that burst onto the scene was Buddy Rich, considered to be one of the best drummer's of all time, His unprecedented speed and dexterity gained him recognition throughout the industry as a great drummer. The 1960's also saw improvements in all aspects of the music. There was significant improvement in recording techniques; there was improvement in amplification of instruments which was brought about by rock music. This enabled rock drummer to play louder and were no longer in danger of overpowering other instruments. An advancement within manufacturing also helped drums, this advancement allowed better quality drums to be made with more compact materials which meant the drums were stronger and more durable. And finally drum heads were also improved; more durable plastic heads were created to replace the old calfskin heads.
The 1970's saw the rise of one of the most influential drummers of all time, John Bonham of led zeppelin. Bonham is also remembered in the drumming world because of the ideas he left behind such as the Bonham shuffle and the way Bonham played his triplets, not only did Bonham influence the way people play , he also influenced the way the drum kit was set up. Bonham had a new set up which included bigger size drums for example a standard bass drum size is 20" x 14" where as Bonham had 26" x 14" bass, he continued with a similar concept with his toms. The drums of this period were very easy on the eye with new ideas on how to make drums kits being developed such as the Ludwig vistalite which was a drum kit made from plastic that was see through, because plastic was used it made the drums lighter hence the model name vistalite, sadly they were removed from the market due to the shells cracking under the pressure of over tightened lugs. They were improved a re-introduced in 2001. There was also advancements technology. The modern rock drum kits on the 1970s were known to include four or more toms with a variety of percussion instruments.
The 1980's saw a big development in drums. This was the invention of the electronic drum kit. The way an electronic drum kit works is, when a drum pad is struck it triggers a digitally stored sound. The sound is stored within the drum brain, the drum brain has all the components of a drum kit. Essentially it's a drum machine attached to a drum kit; this allows you to create an array of sounds that are stored on the drum brain. Most drum brains have various different kit sounds such as rock, funk, blues, soul etc.
The 90's to the present saw plenty of improvement in all areas of drums such as the drums themselves, there are now made from better material giving the drums a better sound and more durability an example of this is previously drums were made from cheaper materials, normally a combination of wood and plastic where as now drums are made of a variety of material such as birch, oak, bubinga. There are also a variety of cymbals available with various sounds and sizes for many purposes and genres. To Be Continued..
(words: Andrew Buckley)

About the Author

Drummer, Teacher, Author and Columnist for over 15 years / founder of http://www.dansdrumlessons.com - The Online Drum School

Ludwig Lug

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