What Are the Different Parts in a Drum?

Modern drums typically combine wood, metal and plastic parts.

Most parts of a drum are designed to facilitate one of two key working concepts---tension and resonance. The lugs and tension rods keep the drumhead stretched tightly so that both it and the shell may resonate to produce sound. On snare drums, the snare is held tense so that it may resonate with the bottom head.

Shell

The shell is the main cylindrical body of the drum. Most modern shells are composed of several thin layers (or "plies") of wood that have been stuck together with an adhesive and then bent into shape. Various types of wood are used to produce distinct qualities of sound, and sometimes different types are combined within a single drum shell. Popular varieties of wood used in drum shells are maple, birch and mahogany. Less often, drum shells are made of a single, solid piece of wood. And less often still, drum shells can be made of plastic. These became popular in the 1970s but have since fallen out of favor.

Drumhead

This circular plastic sheet is stretched tightly over the opening of the drum. Each drum has two drumheads, one of which (the "batter head") is meant to be struck, while the other (the "bottom head") is meant simply to resonate. The bottom head is typically one thin, clear ply, whereas batter heads can be one- or two-ply and sometimes have a textured coating. A coated head produces a more pronounced attack when struck. Also, it can be played with a brush in order to make the "swish" sound sometimes heard in jazz.

Rim or Hoop

This circular frame sits atop the outer edge of the drumhead, holding it in place. On most snares and toms, the rim is metal, but certain artisanal brands feature hoops made of the same wood as the shell. Most bass drum hoops are wooden.

Lug

This bass drum features lugs that accept two tension rods each.

This metal bracket is affixed to the side of the drum and receives the tension rod, which is inserted through a hole in the rim and then screwed into the lug. A typical drum has between five and ten lugs per side. Some lugs, however, are double-sided, having a hole at each end. These lugs can receive two tension rods---one from each end of the drum. In this case, half as many lugs are present on the drum.

Tension Rod

Essentially a flat-tipped screw, the tension rod holds the rim in place and is tightened to apply tension to the drumhead. Between five and ten tension rods are used on each side of the drum.

Snare

The arm of this throwoff switch is in the diagonal, "off" position.

Used only on snare drums, this piece is constructed of a set of parallel wires running across the bottom drumhead. Sometimes the wires are formed into tight, tiny, spiral shapes, giving them a more lively response when the drum is struck. The snare is attached to a fixed bracket on one side of the drum, and an on-and-off lever on the other side. This lever is called a "throwoff switch" (or "throw") and also features a bolt that can be turned by hand to adjust the tension on the snare.

Claw

Bass-drum hoops do not have holes to accommodate tension rods. Instead, each tension rod runs through a separate bracket that wraps around the hoop like a little claw, securing the hoop in place. Claws can be seen in the picture of the blue bass drum, above.

Air Vent

Every drum has a small hole in the side of the shell that allows air to pass into and out of the shell when the drum is struck. The air vent allows both heads to resonate freely without being constrained by changes in air pressure inside the drum---changes in air pressure that are a natural result of compression when the drum is struck.

Mount

Some drums, especially tom-toms, feature a mounting device used to suspend the drum in the air at a comfortable angle for the player. Most mounts are fixed onto the side of the shell and have a hole for inserting a mounting rod, which can be secured with a wing screw. Because this type of mount affects the resonance of the shell by absorbing some of the vibration when the drum is struck, another type of mount has been developed that features a crescent-shaped metal rail that fits underneath the drum's rim. This type of mount allows the drum to hang with an even distribution of weight around the top side of the rim, allowing the shell to resonate more freely.

References

• You Tube: How Drums Are Made