Okay so I'm making a list of different percussion additions that you can add to the drum kit. I wanna see what my different options are for different sounds. Feel free to add to the list.

Chimes, tambourine, cowbell, wood block, roto toms, timbales, shaker, rain stick

a whistle!

[malletjazz]

Brake drum, ribbon crasher, gankogui (African bells), agogo bells, trash cymbals...IIRC, Omar Hakim used to have a trash can lid set up on the left side of his kit, back in his Weather Report days...

[Buzz Roll]

um okay, I don't know what half of those things are.. can you explain what they are and how you use them with your kit?

[malletjazz]

Originally Posted by Drum Sport

um okay, I don't know what half of those things are.. can you explain what they are and how you use them with your kit?

Yeah, there's some pretty obscure stuff in there...

I'll do my best to describe them:

Brake drum - just that, the brake drum off of a car. Sounds a lot like an anvil. Very common in steel band music (where it's traditionally called an "iron.")

Ribbon crasher - something designed by Pete Englehart, and I believe Rhythm Tech is currently marketing them. They're basically a few strips of metal, loosely laid on top of one another, that produce a really quick, sharp metallic sound when struck with a stick.

Trash cymbals - basically, just old, beat-up, or "trashed" cymbals. Mine are actually my very first set of cheap-o no-name hi-hat cymbals that came with my first drum set, back when I was 12 years old. They're all beat up now - bent over on one edge like a fedora - but they both sound like a really quick china cymbal. If I put them together one on top of the other, I get a sound similar to that of a ribbon crasher.

Gankogui and agogo bells - essentially, double cowbells (two bells fastened together to produce a single two-toned instrument). Gankogui are African, and agogo bells are Brazilian.

Trash can lid - exactly that, the metal lid of a trash can. I haven't used one, but I thought I'd mention Omar Hakim's use of it. If you go to Omar's page on the drummerworld.com site, IIRC there's a picture that shows it on his set, mounted on a cymbal stand.

I'm getting ready to re-record my steel drum group's demo CD. I'll be using some of these instruments on the demo, but while I've got the mic's set up, I'll see if I can't make some quick recordings demonstrating a few of these other instruments.

That's a great list...

I went ahead and googled brake drum and this is what I found:


How the heck do you play this? Where do you hit it? It just looks like a hunk of metal to me.

	Ahead Drumsticks Shop for Ahead Drumsticks at Musician's Friend

[malletjazz]

Originally Posted by escalade

That's a great list...

I went ahead and googled brake drum and this is what I found:


How the heck do you play this? Where do you hit it? It just looks like a hunk of metal to me.

You hit it either on the top (flat) surface, or on the edge of the center opening, using sticks. In some larger steel bands, the iron (brake drum) player will use metal strikers (in place of drum sticks) in order to be heard over the ensemble.

Brake drums have also been used in classical music - especially in compositions for percussion ensemble. Not all brake drums are created equal, either - some do sound better than others.

	Ahead Drumsticks Shop for Ahead Drumsticks at Musician's Friend

I've never seen that before. Very very interesting. How fast do your sticks get chewed up after playing with those heavy duty effects?

[malletjazz]

Originally Posted by wwjd777

I've never seen that before. Very very interesting. How fast do your sticks get chewed up after playing with those heavy duty effects?

Not too badly. Usually, I'm striking on the side, not on the edge, and I usually use the butt end of the sticks. With the brake drum, even if I'm playing on an edge, you don't have to hit one very hard to get a lot of sound out of it.

...and I haven't "played" a trash can lid since I was a little kid - but I'm tempted to give it another try.

[DRUMMER111]

as for the brake drum ur sticks wont get chewed up there is a playing surface on top