Glossary of Terms
a - b - c - d - e - f - g - h - i - j - k - l - m - n - o - p - q - r - s - t - u - v - w - x - y - z
a
Attack
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b
Batter Head - The upper skin of the drum, which is struck. Usually it is thicker than the resonant head
Beech – The Beech wood is for the drummer who’s looking for something a little different, a subtle alternative to the more familiar maple and birch. If you fancy a change from the tightness of birch or the openness of maple then beech might be your salvation. Beech is as hard a wood as birch, but with its wider grain seems to emphasise the mid and low frequencies with a little more sustain. It’s a powerful, lively sound, though not quite so wide as maple.
Birch – Birch shells deliver a lower fundamental tone than maple. As a result, they project a warm, rounded sound with a slightly shorter decay, ideal for the controlled environment of the studio.
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c
Clear
Coated
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d
Damping - The process of 'deading' the sound, or shortening the sustain
Double Braced - Here’s an expression you’ll hear bounded about in drum shops. It refers to the legs of cymbal stands, snare drum stands and thrones. Basically each leg is made up of two lengths of metal, braced up parallel to each other. This provides a greater weight and more stability
Double Bass Drum Pedal - Two pedals joined together with a bar, so that you can play one bass drum with both feet. The left side pedal is called the “slave” pedal it operates the second beater, next to the one on the right pedal.
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e
EMAD - Externally Mounted Adjustable Damping
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f
Focus
Fusion - Type of Kit configuration consisting of 10", 12" and 14" suspended toms, and either a 20" or 22" Bass Drum.
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h
Head - The skins on the top and bottom of the drums are referred to as ‘heads’. They are already mounted on a metal ring.
Hoop - The metal rim of the drum. This holds the drumhead (skin) in place and is bolted onto the drum
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l
Lugs/Lugboxes - The metal boxes bolted around each end of the drum. The drum hoops bolt onto these, to tension the drumhead.
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m
Maple – Maple offers a warm sound, a wide-open tone with long decay and outstanding projection.
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o
Oak – a material known for its brilliant grain, unsurpassed strength and durability. The Oak wood produces a distinctive, bright and remarkably loud, yet harmonically rich, sound that is particularly ideal for live performance.
Overtones
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p
Pitch
Ply - This refers to the plies of wood that make up the shell of the drum.
E.g. If you hear that a drum is “6-ply maple”, that means 6 layers of maple wood are used to produce the shell.
Power Tom
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r
Resonance - This is what produces the length of the sound made by the drum being hit. The better the resonance, the longer the sound.
Resonant Head - The skin on the underside of the drum, which resonates in sympathy with the batter head, which is struck. Different thickness’ and tunings will affect the reverberation and tone produced by the drum.
Rimshot - This is the drumstroke of hitting the drum head and the rim of the drum at the same time with the drum stick.
Rock Kit - This is a type of Kit configuration that is made up of a 12" and a 13" suspended tom, a 16" floor tom, and a 22" bass drum.
Remote Hi-Hat - A high-hat on the end of a length of cable so that you can put it anywhere you like on the kit.
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s
Shell - The shell is the main body of the drum, to which hardware and heads are attached. Shells are made from various types of wood, which give the drums a distinctive sound. Maple shells for example have a warmer, softer sound than Birch.
Sustain - Sustain is a parameter of musical sound in time. As its name implies, it denotes the period of time during which the sound is sustained before it begins to fade out
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t
Tone
Throne - The drummer’s word for a stool. Delusions of grandeur perhaps?
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y
YESS - Yamaha Enhanced Sustain system
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Sources
www.answers.com