The definition of the drum kit – and consensus regarding its appropriate study – have changed dramatically over the course of the instrument’s history. This chapter is a rough guide to unpacking that history, and in doing so it treats the drum kit not as a fixed object, but a theoretical concept. What follows is a discussion of the drum kit in theory divided into three parts: (1) the invention and changing status of the instrument; (2) the trajectory of drum kit studies within the wider field of musical instrument scholarship; and (3) a discussion of the ‘drumscape’ as a theoretical tool. Building on Kevin Dawe’s concept of the ‘guitarscape’, the drumscape is a lens through which to consider how the drum kit has been written about, thought about and talked about; the power and agency of the drum kit in culture and society; and what kind of experience it is to play the drum kit (an experience involving both the mind and the body). Viewed through the lens of the drumscape, the seemingly simple term ‘drum kit’ can be understood from at least four different but related perspectives: the drum kit is a technology, an ideological object, a material object, and a social relationship.

Between the 1950s and 1960s, a generation of Colombian drummers created a rich percussive lexicon. These musics circulated in Colombia and abroad under different names, cumbia being one of the most popular ones, we use the term 'música tropical sabanera' to group them. This chapter focuses on four drummers and analyses five rhythmic structures of música tropical sabanera to unveil the understudied yet deeply influential work of these Colombian drummers. Through their drumming practices, we trace the networks of music transnationalisms, media technologies, and commercial circuits that afforded the emergence of these musics. In a liminal space between the local and the transnational, the indigenous and the cosmopolitan, tdrumming practices we analyse unsettle the discursive predominance that the global north has had in the history of the drum kit and its aesthetic, technical, and musical developments in the twentieth century.

This chapter examines the role recorded music has to play in representing the drummer in the years spanning acoustic and early electric studios. Through archival research, a detailed look at what made it onto the record will help determine how – for better or worse – recordings have continually influenced generations of drummers that followed. This chapter argues that drummers in particular must be careful in how they treat early recordings that feature early drummers, especially when trying to learn from them, as above all else, early recordings have the most influence on early jazz performance today.

The drum kit is one of the most explicitly gendered instruments in Western popular music, while drumming culture continues to be male-dominated. Despite the visibility of drummers like Anika Nilles, Taylor Gordon, and Sarah Thawer, women and gender non-conforming drummers remain underrepresented at both amateur and professional levels. This is slowly changing in the digital age, as social media platforms like Instagram provide opportunities for drummers from underrepresented groups to form online communities, make themselves visible, and participate in popular discussions regarding the instrument, musical performance, and gender politics. Nowhere is this more apparent than on ‘Drumming Instagram’, where women and gender non-conforming drummers can connect, learn, and find inspiration from each other. Although social media can enhance the visibility of underrepresented percussionists, is Instagram a space where emancipatory feminist politics can emerge? We answer this question by conducting a content analysis of user comments (n=3,370) from three Instagram accounts dedicated to promoting women drummers: @femaledrummers, @tomtommag, and @hitlikeagirlcontest. Our findings suggest that social media visibility both legitimizes women drummers while rendering them vulnerable to public scrutiny and unwanted attention. Although Drumming Instagram makes it easy for women to be seen, it nevertheless remains challenging for feminists to be heard.

In this chapter, I explore the aesthetics of drumming in Americana, focusing particularly on the work of session drummer Jay Bellerose. By attending to the material cultures and various lineages of drumming in the genre – spanning from the blues to country, jazz, rock, and early field recordings – I consider how an underlying aesthetic discourse inflects Americana drum kit performance and reception. Specifically, I outline how discussions about ideal drum tones, ‘less-is-more’ approaches, and preferences for American-made vintage kits signal shared understandings about percussive music making in the genre; highlighting key figures that helped develop recording techniques and drumming conventions.

Jazz music has long been understood as a generational practice, one where older musicians mentor, encourage, and teach younger, aspiring players. That tradition of tutelage is evident in the long lineages of musicians who have graduated from the ensembles of noted bandleaders. Historical examples include Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. In this chapter, the author considers mentoring as it relates to two drum kit players; Jack DeJohnette, a major figure in the history of jazz drumming and a bandleader recognized for nurturing younger musicians, and Terri Lyne Carrington, a premiere figure in contemporary jazz drumming and a celebrated leader of ensembles that feature young, developing musicians. The chapter is organized according to four broad themes: (a) the importance of mentors; (b) challenges of learning to play the drum kit; (c) the unique place and space of drummers; and (d) ‘something bigger than just the music’. Those themes emerged during a series of interviews with the two participants and in qualitative analysis of the participant thoughts, statements, and expressions.

In this chapter we examine the intersection of drumming and disability by foregrounding the experiences of drummer and co-author Cornel Hrisca-Munn, who describes his disability as multi-limb deficient. Commencing with a discussion of concepts from the field of disability studies, we explain how drumming exposes the inadequacy of either/or medical- and social-model thinking. Nuanced understandings of lived experiences help to make sense of disability theory, and we use examples from Cornel’s life as a drummer to highlight the importance of complexity and context. We proceed with a narrative by Cornel on how he has experienced others’ perceptions of him through his online presence on internet and social media platforms. Cornel’s experiences of being the object of others’ inspiration porn or trolling on social media highlight how difficult it is for him to be regarded solely as a drummer; instead, he is compartmentalized as a ‘disabled drummer’. Following, we provide a detailed description of how Cornel plays the song ‘Everlong’ by Foo Fighters to illustrate that how people see Cornel play drums changes how they hear him play drums. Finally, Cornel details how he is often compared to Rick Allen of Def Leppard, and explains why this comparison is problematic.

In this autoethnographic essay, the author – a drummer – describes how he derives meaning from playing the drum kit. He presents accounts of playing drums both alone and in the context of an original rock band. Drawing from existing scholarship on aesthetic experience and meaning in music making, the author argues that while he plays drums often in a state of flow, it may be unhelpful to construe this – as others have done – as music making for its own sake. Rather than positioning his drumming as autotelic or intrinsically worthwhile, the author explains how he plays for the fulfilment derived therefrom, as part of a life lived in search of eudaimonia – flourishing both individually and as part of a community. Drumming in these contexts is, the author argues, a locus of spirituality, understood through the lenses of embodiment, authenticity, and personal agency as a form of success. Playing drums – for this drummer – provides a connection to, and a window into, his soul.