A wonderful idea, according to psychologists, is to teach a child to music from the very beginning early age... The drum can be purchased at a toy store or you can make your own. A simple tin can and a little imagination can help you easily implement your plan.

Benefit or noise?

Many adults believe that a baby drum is of no use at all. It is simply the source of the noise and accompanies the onset of the headache. Nevertheless, the drum is very often instructed to tinker with parents along with the kids in kindergarten. However, this does not happen for the extra workload of the crumbs and the parent on the weekend. Most often, a loud attribute is intended for performances at a matinee. And you can't do without it.

Do not think that making this item is a waste of time. Who knows, maybe the child has acting skills, and already in kindergarten he will decide on his future profession. And such a craft will bring a lot of benefits, even if it is carried out at the request of a teacher from kindergarten.

What to make a tool from

Among the mass of necessary tips for making drums with your own hands at home, it is worth highlighting one not entirely serious recommendation. She wears rather comic character, but every joke has its own bit of true meaning. A homemade drum for a child may not be used for a matinee at all. It all depends on the imagination of the parents.

One has only to look around him, each person can notice a few cans or packages that are unlikely to be useful. From these materials, you can make a drum for playing with your hands or with special sticks.

Reasons for creating crafts

This question certainly worries all adults. Every parent wants to find out the reasons for such a pastime with their child. There may be several examples of a reason for such an activity:

• Rapprochement with the child through joint activities.
• An exciting start to the evening for the whole family.
• Development of coordination of movements and a sense of rhythm in the baby. After all, with a craft that was invented and created with your own hands, you can participate in an impromptu march.
• The kid may not easily knock on the drum with sticks, but try to reproduce an interesting favorite melody from a children's song or cartoon.
• Drums played with your hands can be an excellent option for practicing crumbs for some time on summer cottage.
• Finally, the drum can become an instrument of vengeance on annoying neighbors who constantly make repairs on Sunday mornings.

It should be borne in mind that an act of retaliation for neighboring apartments can occur without disturbing the peace of adults. To do this, tenants of an apartment with a newly-minted drummer need to buy beads or a pair of headphones in order to muffle the noise in the room.

Plastic bucket with lid

Not every adult knows how to make a drum with his own hands from a plastic country bucket. You can paint a similar tool with simple paints, it can also be pasted over with ordinary colored paper. It all depends on the imagination of the little master. The lid on such a bucket should fit snugly. After all, the tool will be damaged if the upper part of the tool falls off at the most inopportune moment.

The drum from the plastic bucket can be simply held in your hands, and can also be hung around your neck. This action is very simple. The material has two holes from the handle on the sides. It is in them that you need to thread an impromptu strap, fixing it with knots.

Sticks for like plastic tool can be picked up from scrap materials. This role can be easily played by pencils or old felt-tip pens that no longer draw. So, things will be given a second life and the child will be satisfied. Brushes for the kitchen, which every housewife has, can also make interesting sounds.

The child can try to sound absolutely any object in the apartment, choose the most suitable one. Do not limit the imagination of a future musician or composer. The child must sometimes be given freedom of action.

Paper product

A decorative drum for a little musician can even be created from plain paper or cardboard. To do this, you need to cut out two circles of the same diameter. They can be of any size. Then a strip of paper is cut out, which will become the connecting element for the top and bottom of the instrument.

The paper structure can be glued with glue or taped together. You can decorate the craft with paints or pencils, glue it over with various paper illustrations, stickers, cover it with a bright satin fabric and sew funny pom-poms on the sides. So, a children's handicraft with their own hands will acquire its individuality. This part of the work, no doubt, can be done by the little mother's assistant himself.

Almost any idea of ​​a little dreamer can and should be implemented. And for this it is not at all necessary to run around the shops and spend large sums. Do-it-yourself drums will not only look unusual and original, but also will not take a lot of time to create.

Required tools and materials

In this case, the basis of the craft for the child will be a simple round-shaped tin can. Among others necessary materials refers to:

• hole punch for leather fabric;
• small piece of fabric bright color(can be replaced with colored paper);
• leather flap;
• glue gun;
• leatherette laces;
• glue for fabric elements;
• cotton wool.

And also in the process of work it will be impossible to do without wooden sticks.

Tool making step by step

At the beginning of the work, you need to cut out a part of a suitable size from a bright fabric and glue the jar with it. The fabric can be any. In its absence, the base is simply pasted over with colored paper, which is sold in any stationery store or supermarket.

A jar is placed on a piece of leather material and outlined. It is necessary to add 10 cm to the resulting diameter of the tool. Draw another circle.

Along the radius of the part, using a pencil, mark the areas where the holes will be located in the future. From the edge in any version of making a drum with their own hands, an indent of 1 cm is made. Holes in the skin are made with a special hole punch.

A leatherette lace is passed through the holes. It must subsequently be tightened tightly on one side of the jar. The same steps must be repeated when creating the bottom for making a drum with your own hands. The lace is also used for additional fixation products diagonally. In this case, the element is threaded under the lacing, which is located at the top and bottom of the drum.

The final stage is making drum sticks by hand at home. To do this, a stick made of wood is connected to a knob bead. A small cotton ball is glued on top of the bead, wrapped with threads so that no empty spaces remain. This is how a drumstick is made.

Instead of a total

It's so easy to create drums with your own hands. Without a doubt, this exciting activity will appeal to the kid. After all, a child at work can act as an apprentice. And creative activities with the whole family will not only contribute to the development of the child's imagination, but will also have a beneficial effect on the imagination and thinking of the crumbs. If a child seeks to create things with his own hands, then this activity should be encouraged by adults, because such spending time contributes to the development of children, the consolidation of various everyday skills, and it just brings joy.

Drum sticks are the most essential accessory for playing on various percussion instruments... Usually they are made of wood, they are also found from maple, hazel, oak, hornbeam and beech.

In any music store, you can see different models of this accessory. The number indicated on the stick is the marking of the thickness of the sticks, and the letter is the purpose of the sticks. For a budding drummer, sticks labeled '' 2B '' are good examples of how to make drumsticks yourself. You can play with them in brass and symphony orchestras, as they are technically very good at developing the drummer.

Drum sticks are musical objects that, in light of their diversity, often confuse people who want to acquire them. The thing is that today there is no single principle for the designation of drumsticks. For example, in the case of some manufacturers, drumsticks as they are called become clear only in the process of classifying according to musical styles - drumsticks for Rock, Jazz, etc.

The skill of rotating drumsticks only has only an indirect connection with the experience and skill of the drummer. But the acquired skills of how to twist drum sticks will definitely make a strong impression on people watching the musician. Indeed, in a psychological context, this is an indicator of fluency in the drum and a friendly attitude towards it.

As in any business, it is clear that this, first of all, requires practice. It takes a little work to learn how to rotate drumsticks. First you need to place your hand up with your palms. Then bend at the elbow, raise the hand to the chest (fingers should not be tense, but on the contrary, free). Then you should clamp the drumstick between the tip of your index finger and the pad of your thumb. The drummer should rest on the tips of the middle, ring finger and little finger on a drumstick. As for the center of gravity of the drumstick, it should be closer to the wrist, and not between the index and thumb.

In order to learn how to learn how to twist drum sticks, you need to continue the steps by doing the following - to loosen the pressure with the index finger, pulling the stick back a little and pushing hard with the middle one. At the same time, you need to press all fingers except the thumb to the palm, until thumb will not '' run around '' during the rotation of the stick. In the event that the fingers are in the starting position, the stick will stumble and thus the fight will not be completed.

The last thing to do is to release the stick to its original position, closing your fingers at the end of the rotation, and then repeat. In general, learning this inventive attitude towards drumsticks, if desired, is not difficult, but even fun.

"If a person has golden hands, it doesn't matter where they grow from!" (with) Russian radio

It all started with a strong desire to play drums and practice at home, not just at the rehearsal room. I already had a homemade simulator for practicing at home. But knocking on rubber bands and felt without hearing "normal" sounds got bored with time. Creative itch and engineering education pushed me to look for something else. Installing an acoustic drum kit at home would be inadequate. An apartment in a panel high-rise building with all that it implies, as they say ... Therefore, I stopped at the option with an electronic drum kit. And I really wanted to electronic drum set it would feel as much like an acoustic one as possible. Option with hard drum pads was discarded at once. But the drums with grids - it seemed very interesting!

The price issue was also not the last one. Having studied the materials of various forums for drummers, I realized that it is quite possible to make a drum kit that you want yourself.

Further - drum module... Which? Conditions: home use, flexibility of settings, connection to a computer and the price, of course. In the end, the choice was reduced to a purchase Alesis Trigger IO module and requiring self assembly the MegaDrum module. Defeated MegaDrum.

When I first learned about MegaDrum and got acquainted with this project in detail, then, to be honest, I really liked it and aroused my sincere admiration! Particularly captivating (in a good way) is the reverent attitude and attention of Dmitry Skachkov to his brainchild and a very informative forum where you can get answers to almost any questions regarding the module. Taking off my hat!

Below I will try to tell you in detail and in an accessible way about how I made my electronic drum kit and what nuances and difficulties arose in the process. Some things and solutions were not invented by me and are described in various forums. So this article (among other things) is an attempt to combine your own and others' practical experience.

DRUM MODULE

As I indicated above, the MegaDrum module is used as a midi-converter. At first I wanted to build it from scratch, but then I leaned towards the All In One v3.2 PCB 56i Kit. The kit allows you to assemble a module for an electronic drum kit with 56 inputs based on the Atmega644. Yes, it came out more expensive, but the advantages outweighed:

• all items are "in one package". This is important, because it is not always possible to purchase everything you need at once and in one place;
• prefabricated double layer printed circuit board with applied markings to facilitate the installation of elements;
• already "flashed" PIC and Atmega with a protected bootloader.

All this contributed to the fastest assembly electronic drum modules and reduced the likelihood of "jambs".

The payment was made by a payment card through PayPal. After 2 weeks I received a parcel post from France. The package bundle and quality corresponded to the declared (and expected too).

There were no problems during assembly. Soldered with a low-power soldering iron (25 W) with a thin tip. Solder in the form of a wire with a diameter of 1 mm with a flux inside. At the end of the soldering, the flux splashes were washed off with a brush and a PCB cleaner.

It took about a week to solder. he soldered after work in the evenings, when the household cleared the kitchen. The kitchen with an extractor hood is unambiguous!
As soon as the editing was completed, there was a desire to check whether the animal was alive. Plugged into USB and ... Works !!! At least the system (I have WinXP SP3) recognized the device and the display showed information that it was MegaDrum and copyright D. Skachkov. The next step was to check the inputs and buttons.

At the weekend I went to the radio market in Kardachi. They bought a plastic case of a suitable size, jacks, buttons (I decided not to use those in the set), additional connectors (for connecting drums and cymbals for drums) and ten pieces of piezics with a diameter of 35, 27 and 20 mm. Just in case, I took it with a margin (and as it turned out, not in vain).

Returning home, I quickly soldered the cable with the piezoelectric and the connector. I connected the MegaDrum, loaded the EZDrummer program and began to plug the jack with a piezo into the module connectors one by one. I couldn't believe it myself, but EVERYTHING worked! It seemed like it should have been, but deep down I was expecting some kind of joint. And then - I collected it, connected it and here's your happiness!

I didn't need 56 inputs. 32 was enough even with plans for the future. Therefore, I postponed the payment with 24 inputs. I made markings on the body and drilled holes for the connectors. For the USB connector, I had to work with a jigsaw to cut it out. I decided not to use the midi connectors.

For drilling relatively large holes in plastic (more than 5 mm), use wood drills. This will create smooth, neat holes, not torn holes.

I managed to spoil the "native" front panel of the case, having drilled holes for buttons of a larger than necessary diameter by mistake. Swearing, I thought about how to make a new one. The office that deals with outdoor advertising came to the rescue. I drew a drawing of the panel in Adobe Illustrator and emailed them. For 20 UAH ($ 2.5), a new socket was cut out of 2 mm acrylic with a laser with all cutouts for screws, buttons and LCD. Looking ahead, I will say that they also made round blanks for cymbals for drums made of acrylic with a thickness of 5 mm.

In the same Adobe Illustrator, I made a drawing of the front panel. Printed on photographic paper and laminated. Then I cut the holes and glued it on with double-sided tape on the acrylic panel. Here's what happened in the end.

At final assembly module, I did become a victim of my carelessness. Plugged the keyboard connector into the encoder connector by mistake. After launching, I tried unsuccessfully to get to the settings using the buttons. But it doesn't work! As a result of my chaotic button presses, I turned off the display contrast to zero and stopped seeing anything at all. Climbed to the forum to ask the eternal question "What to do ?!". The jamb was discovered the next day. The connector was plugged in where it should be, after which everything worked out. Contrast and settings have been restored. Hooray!

DRUMS

• Kadushki

After assembling the module, it was the turn of the drums. It was decided to make drums standard sizes, namely: bass drum and snare drum - 12 inches, toms - 10 inches. Such dimensions were chosen in order to obtain the optimal ratio of such parameters: the quality of removal, the possibility of installing firm nets, dimensions and ease of play.

Initially, I wanted to cut PVC pipe tubs of appropriate diameters. And very soon I realized that everything is not so simple! It was very expensive to buy pipes of such diameters and lengths of 2-2.5 m, and pipes with a length of 1 m exist only in price lists. None of the suppliers saw them live. Those. the situation is like in a Soviet joke about toilet paper... It seems to exist, but it is impossible to buy.

Again the same question: what to do? On bourgeois forums, people solve a problem using a flexible wood. The thing, of course, is useful, but for our region it is still exotic. It seems like a couple of companies in Kiev began to supply this so-called. "flexible plywood", but the price ... And bending shells from ordinary plywood at home is still a hassle. In the end, I decided to try to make tubs from fiberboard. After all, I’m not acoustic drums was going to do.

Cut evenly fiberboard sheet at home was not possible. Therefore, I went to the nearest "Epicenter" and bought a sheet of fiberboard 2440x1220 mm with a thickness of 3.2 mm. I also ordered sheet cutting into strips of 1220x110 mm.

Because the thickness of the material was 3.2 mm, then when using 3 layers, the shell wall turned out to be about 10 mm, which seemed to me to be quite sufficient.

I put 3 strips of fiberboard in a bathtub with a little warm water... After 15 minutes, the stripes began to sink. This was a signal that the fiberboard has absorbed enough water and is ready to bend.

It should be borne in mind that fiberboard strips during the drying process receive various internal stresses and deform. If you just twist the strip into a roll, securing it along the edges, then the result will be an egg-shaped spiral. And it will not work out of it to glue a perfectly round tub. The strips should be dried by wrapping something around it and securing it tightly. I used 2 saucepans of the correct size. More for snare and kick drums, less for toms.

In turn, I rolled the strips into rolls and laid them inside the pan for a minute (so that they could remember the shape a little). Then, one after the other, he tightly wound it on the pan, joint to joint. On top, I also tightly wrapped it with nylon twine and left it to dry for 4 days.

After 4 days, I removed the "bagel" from the pan and wrapped it with twine around the ring, leaving it to dry for another 3 days.

So, the blanks for the tub are ready. Can be cut and glued. Next, I will describe the process of making a tom shell.

The first layer is the outer one. If the shell has an outer diameter of 10 inches (254 mm), then the length of the first strip should be 798 mm (L = 2 * Pi * R). To accurately measure the given length, I took a flexible sewing meter and using an accurate tape measure put a mark on it (you cannot believe the graduations on the sewing meter). Having fastened one end of the meter to the strip and wrapped it tightly around the workpiece, marked the desired length. I cut off the excess with a hacksaw for metal.

It is not necessary to calculate the exact length of the second (third) layer using the formula corrected for material thickness. It is enough to estimate the length with a small margin, and cut off the excess during the gluing process, when the actual length is clear. The "seams" of the layers must be opposite each other.

For gluing the fiberboard, I used moisture resistant B3 glue. It is similar to PVA, but becomes tougher as it dries.

First missed with glue small area at the junction of the outer layer, outside and inside, overlaid pieces of the previously cut strip and clamped with clothespins on both sides. After 30 min. took off the clothespins and glued the right half of the ring, holding it with clothespins. Leave to dry for 40 minutes.

During gluing, it is very important to make sure that the edges of the strips do not climb over each other!

Then he took off the clothespins and cut off the excess glue from the edges with a knife. I firmly pressed the left half of the inner strip and determined how much to cut off so that later it would stick to the joint with the right one. Cut it off. Then I glued it in the way described above. I did the same with the third strip and left it to dry overnight.

The next day, I sanded the sides and edges, rounding the top (under the mesh). Next, I made markings for the holes for the screws (fastening the lags and the bottom) and the connector (jack-mother).

I decided to decorate the tubs from the outside with the help of a self-adhesive film "under a tree". In order for the film to adhere well, I covered the tub with water-based varnish in 3 layers with intermediate sanding, leaving the upper part about 7 mm wide intact. Accordingly, the film was cut 7 mm wide less than the shell height. The indent is needed so that the mesh does not tear off the film when pulled. I impregnated this indent with wood varnish and sanded it. In general, I would like to note that after the fiberboard was impregnated with glue and varnish, its properties began to resemble a piece of wood.

The rest of the shells were made in exactly the same way.

• Hoops for drums, bottoms and logs

Every drummer, from beginner to experienced, has thought about how to learn how to twist drumsticks. As with anything else, tricks are easy to learn if you have enough determination and time to practice.

The main thing to remember when starting these exercises is that only regular training will help you achieve excellent results. First, feel the sticks, their weight, structure, how comfortable they are in your hand. Feeling of balance - important factor both when playing and when demonstrating tricks.

False rotation

One of the most common tricks. This is a good start to learn how to twirl drumsticks with your fingers. The main attraction is that at high RPM it feels like there is a small propeller built into the player's hand, looks really cool and professional. Although the stick itself remains in one position.

To do this, you need to clamp the stick between the first phalanges of the index and middle fingers. The fulcrum is in the center of the stick, i.e. it should be balanced between the fingers, not falling in different directions. Your task is to minimize hand interference and start moving only with your fingers. "Shake" the stick from side to side, feel the weight, do not lose it from your hand. At high speed, this threatens with an unintentional attack on someone else's property or health - a tree can fly far.

When you get used to it and understand how the stick behaves approximately in this position, try to give it an impulse forward so that the tips "draw" not a line, but a circle, feel how the stick moves by inertia. Take your time, listen to your feelings, watch how the stick behaves. As soon as it gets better, pick up the pace.

Roll between the fingers

How do you really twist a drumstick? Start by placing the stick between the second phalanges of your index and middle fingers. As in the previous rotation, the stick should be balanced, resting against the center.

Swing the stick up and down gently, this should not cause strong tension in the hand and fingers. Next, roll the stick over the middle finger with an impulse forward, without using your hands or hand, squeeze it between the middle and ring fingers. Keep wiggling, getting used to this position. Hone the transition through the middle finger, achieve freedom in this movement. The next step is to roll over the ring finger and fix the wand between the little finger and the ring finger. Continue rocking in this position, practice rolling over your ring finger if necessary.

Reverse roll

Once you have mastered the transition from index to pinky, you need to master how to twist the drum stick in the opposite direction. To do this, hold it between the index and middle fingers, make a transition through the middle one, wait a little, feel the balance and return the stick back by rolling through the middle finger to the other side. This will bring the wand back to the index finger and you can repeat the maneuver. The next step is to move from the second position to the third. Those. to the location of the stick between the ring finger and the little finger by rolling through the ring finger - and backward movement.

Having mastered the movements of the descending and ascending separately, combine them, gradually rolling the stick from the first position to the third and back. Later, when you get used to it, you will be able to perform turns in this way. different directions for a different number of times. Everything will depend only on your imagination.

360 degree turnover

To perform this trick, you can simply toss the stick in the palm of your hand, let it do 1 - 2, or even more full turns, catch and continue the game. This element of the show is also quite common and looks impressive, but another option for full rotation will be considered here.

The stick must be taken so that it lies on the little finger, ring and middle fingers, and on the other hand it is held by the index finger. By pushing the stick sharply with three fingers, you give it the necessary impulse. Forefinger here it serves as the axis of rotation. You need to push hard so that the stick makes a 360-degree rotation and returns to the palm. Do not be afraid to let her go, this is necessary for the trick to take place. The more you practice, the less noticeable the movements will be, and therefore the more effective the rotation itself.

Remember that all exercises should be done with both hands, developing them equally.

Once you've mastered these three stick spinning tricks, you can surprise your friends and add fire to the game on the rig.

The process begins at the sawmill, where the logs are cut into squares and then dried for further stabilization. The squares are then cut into pins and graded according to quality for different models. During this process, parts of inappropriate quality are removed. The pins are then machined a second time to the exact specification of that manufacturer's models. The sticks are sanded, tips are put on them, and they are ready for further packing. Today, most pairs of sticks match each other in weight and density. Below in the article I will explain how to pick up the sticks myself.

Wood

90% of the drumsticks are made from wood and 90% of the wooden sticks are made from American walnut. Walnut is the most popular because it absorbs recoil well and is very durable (hammer and ax handles are made of walnut). The remaining 10% are sticks made from Japanese oak, maple, birch, beech, or even more exotic woods like ebony, rosewood and bubinga to expand tonal possibilities and increase strength. Maple is the lightest wood used in the manufacture of drumsticks. Although maple is not as hard and durable as walnut or oak, sticks made of it are perfect choice if you prefer light feel and quick response. Japanese oak is a very durable tree and therefore weighs more than maple and walnut and is much more durable. Rosewood is a very durable and very hard wood and sticks made from it are especially durable. They are preferred for their wonderful shade and feel, but they are quite expensive.

Synthetic sticks. Pole manufacturers from synthetic materials use a variety of materials and processing methods. Structurally, they are composed of various alloys, cast or turned into the shape desired by the manufacturer. Synthetic poles provide greater strength than wooden poles and offer some possibilities that cannot be achieved with wooden poles. For example, Easton's Ahead poles have a polyurethane-coated aluminum body that can be replaced as it wears out. Additionally, there are various screw-on tips, such as beaters, for different sound effects.

Length and weight

Almost all sticks are over 385mm (15.1 ") long and 415mm (16.3") shorter. By weight, sticks are available from 40 grams (1.4 ounces) to 70 grams (2.5 ounces). Longer sticks have the advantage of greater reach and greater leverage, but are more difficult to control. If you want more power with the same diameter, choosing a longer stick is good decision... Weight affects sound, strength, and your ability to control sticks. In general, heavy sticks sound thicker and louder. If the sticks are lighter, then they sound thinner and softer. Heavy sticks have more inertia, so their trajectories are more consistent and they plow through most mistakes, making them easier to handle for beginners. You will extract the full sound spectrum from low to high frequencies using heavy sticks.

When you play the drum with light sticks, the sound is terrible, no matter how hard you hit. By playing softly with heavier sticks, you can get a richer, clearer sound out of the drum. Compare for yourself and you will see how different the sound is !! Using heavy sticks when playing cymbals will also give you the ability to extract much large quantity frequencies than a light stick. In addition, playing with heavier sticks develops the stamina and strength of the drummer himself, regardless of his natural ability. So it's a good idea to have some extra heavier sticks in your arsenal to expand your sonic capabilities. You will notice that when you switch to lighter sticks, they are more difficult to control.

Density and strength

For wooden sticks, density is the most important indicator of strength: heavier wood = more density and strength. For example, oak is denser than hickory (walnut), and this fact is reflected through the measurement of their density. Hickory: 51 pounds per cubic foot, while oak: 61 pounds per cubic foot. However, as we stated earlier, hickory absorbs hitting force well and is therefore chosen by most drummers.

No two trees are the same, hence the density of the tree differs from log to log and even within the log itself. This explains why some sticks feel solid and powerful, while others feel hollow despite being the same brand and model. Synthetic sticks are designed by people, and therefore do not differ from model to model, have good density and strength. However, they are more expensive and feel different than wooden sticks the same size.

Anatomy of sticks

The body is the largest part of the stick. In addition to being an area to hold onto, it is also a striking part when playing a rim shot. Some manufacturers suggest tying the body of a stick with a ribbon, making grooves, grooves and various devices to prevent the stick from slipping out. Johnny Rabb's RhythmSaw sticks have a grooved body to produce a rolling sound (especially good for jungle grooves) that is produced when the stick is pulled through the drum rim. If you get a chance to see Johnny Rabb play, check it out, he's good at this style.

The shoulder is the area of ​​the stick just behind the tip that many drummers use for crashing cymbals, rim shots, and kickbacks. By playing the hi-hat alternately with the tip of the stick and the shoulder, you can easily create the popular “cheat-chat” sound of the shoulder shape. The length and thickness of the thinning affects the flexibility, feel and sound of the stick. Short, thick thinning sticks feel more stiff, offer greater durability, and produce a stronger sound than long and narrow thinned sticks, which tend to be more fragile and pliable but sound more delicate.

Tip shape

There are three basic shapes for drumstick tips:

1. Round form
2. Oval shape
3. Triangle Shape

Effect of head shape on sound

Triangular tip. Here we have the smallest point of contact, therefore we will extract higher frequencies and excellent sound. This tip produces a medium focused sound. Since all the forces acting on the stick during the impact are great (since the point of contact is very small), the wear on the stick is quite high! This can be avoided by choosing sticks with a high density.

We have now repositioned the stick so that the side of the triangle is in full contact with the plate. Sound changes are not positive.

A stick with a round tip always has the same contact area. By changing the position, you don't change anything. The small round tip produces a bright, highly focused sound and is especially delicate with cymbals. A larger size produces a fuller sound than a smaller size. The barrel-shaped tip has a larger contact area than the round tip, so it produces a medium-filling sound with a wider focus.

The oval tip has the largest contact area of ​​the above and therefore has a darker sound (even though it is made from the same wood species). Compared to the triangular-headed stick in the first position, its sound is more dull, but brighter than in its second position. This tip produces a full low sound. It spreads energy over a wider area, thus extending the life of plastics, a good choice for those who play hard.

Nylon lugs

Terminals made from hard wood produce a brighter sound than those made from soft wood. However, as the wood wears down, it becomes loose and the sound comes out washed out and dark with less focus. In order to guarantee a smooth sound throughout the life of the stick, Regal Tip introduced nylon tips for the first time. The shape of the nylon tips also affects the sound, just like the wooden ones, but due to the hardness of nylon, they produce brighter hues with more attack and projection, which is why they are preferred by many. The biggest advantage of nylon tips is their durability, they just don't loosen or chip like wood. But despite these advantages, it is quite rare, but there are times when the nylon tip simply flies out.

Before the purchase

For a smooth feel when playing, you should have sticks that are straight as an arrow and not warped. To check the evenness of the stick, roll it on a flat surface. Separate the good from the bad and move on to the next step. You can have perfect technique, but sound like a beginner (higher, lower, higher, lower) if your sticks are not of equal pitch. To pick up the sticks in height, hit the sticks on a flat surface as evenly as possible (to hear the differences in the sticks, not the technique). Once you find sticks of equal pitch, you can move on to the third and final step in the selection process, weight comparison. If you want to be really accurate use a scale, in the West some drum shops have scales for this purpose. If weights are not available, use your senses and select pairs that are most similar in weight. They should be equal, as the heavier sticks are stronger than the lighter ones and produce a stronger sound.

Numbering of sticks

Modern numbering is intended only to distinguish one manufacturer from another and does not overlap from firm to firm. For example, the 707 and 739 sticks are from ProMark, the Quantum 3000 is from Galato, and the Magnum Rocket is undoubtedly Vic Firth. Traditional model numbering such as 3S, 2B, 5B, 5A, and 7A was the earliest common drumstick numbering, with a number and letter indicating the size of the stick and its purpose. The exact specification of each model varied slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer, especially in the thinning and tip (we will discuss this below), however, the main dimensions and shapes have been standardized throughout the industry. The numeric position indicates the diameter of the stick. Basically, a lower number means larger diameter and the larger number is the smaller diameter. For example, 7A stick is smaller in diameter than 5A, which is thinner than 2B. The only exception is 3S, which is larger in diameter than 2B, despite the number.

The letter suffix "S", "B" and "A" indicates recommended use. The "S" model of sticks was designed for Street use such as drum and marching bands. Most large diameter today, their large mass develops the volume and power needed for these styles. The "B" model was designed for ensembles (Band) such as brass bands and symphony bands. Smaller in diameter than the "S" models, they are easier to control and especially popular with aspiring drummers. Model 2B is especially recommended by practicing teachers as ideal starting sticks. "A" are for Orchestra. The "A" models have been designed for large orchestras and dance bands. They are smaller in diameter than "B" and are much better suited for playing softly.

Unfortunately, we have not yet come up with a system by which we could immediately get complete information about the chopsticks only by their indices. Moreover, different manufacturers the same series may differ. But be sure that all sticks of the same series from any particular manufacturer will be as identical to each other as possible. Besides the numeric indices, you can see a large number of other descriptions like "John Doe Jazz Model", "Dolly Parton Swing Model", "Band", "General", "Bolero", "Steve Gadd" and a thousand others, which do not carry any specific information.

Matching a pair

Good drumstick makers try to match equal weight pairs. But factors such as temperature and humidity have a huge impact on the wood, so before buying, choose a pair so that both sticks are the same throughout. Sticks are susceptible to deformation, so when choosing, roll them on glass or some other surface and immediately notice the presence or absence of stick defects. Probably the most important factor in the durability of your poles is the grain position of the wood. More specifically: if the fibers go straight along the stick and end at the very end of the head, then the stick will last as long as possible. It will not break (depending on how you play), but will crumble. And if the fiber ends, for example, in the middle of the stick, then the most likely that it will break is in this place.

Translated by Backs. Significant additions and comments to the article were sent by Drummen F