The document summarizes the history and evolution of the modern drum set. It details how military brass bands with multiple drummers led to the development of the drum set as drummers were forced to play multiple instruments simultaneously indoors. Over time, the drum set incorporated cymbals, drum stands, and foot pedals to become a more practical instrument for drummers. Drumming evolved with the rise of jazz, rock, funk and other genres, with famous drummers pushing the instrument forward. Today's drumming draws from all of these influential styles.

1. A Brief History of American
Drum Set
Presentation by William “Billy” M. Baker

2. Creation of the Drum Set
• Military Brass Bands used
to play with multiple
drummers
• Over time they started
playing indoors and using
fewer players out of A Brass Band in a parade
necessity
• Drummers were forced to
play multiple percussion
instruments
simultaneously
• The arrangement they
used for this purpose
evolved into what we now
call a “Drum Set”

3. • Drum Sets went on
to incorporate
Drum Set Setup cymbals in addition
to snare, tom-toms,
and a bass drum
• Drum stands and
foot-operated
pedals helped to
develop the drum
set and make it
more practical
• These developments
enhanced the
playability of the
drum set
• Drummers soon
became much more
than just time
keepers

4. Jazz Age
• Drummers reached new heights
with the development of Jazz
• Grooves played in a “swing”
broken triplet form
• Improvisation, solos, and media
open the door to fame for
drummers
• Famous drummers of the time
included Buddy Rich and Gene
Krupa (hear his intro to Sing,
Sing, Sing now!)

5. Rock Music
• Drum equipment becomes more sturdy and durable for
louder playing
• Grooves include straight eighth notes and a strong back beat.
• Sets become more diverse: include multiple bass drums and
new varieties of cymbals
• Famous rock drummers include John Bonham, Neil Peart, and
Ringo Star (pictured here)

6. Funk
• Similar instrumentation
to Rock, but different
feel
• Drummers put more
groove in their grooves
with syncopation and
sixteenth note driven
cymbal patterns
• Music for people to
dance to
• David Garibaldi of
Tower of Power makes
new strides
incorporating Latin
influences

7. So Many Other Styles As Well!
• Disco
• Latin (Samba, Bossa Nova, etc.)
• Blues
• Country

8. Drumming Today
• There are so many genres and sub-genres
of music today that it’s hard to say what
“characterizes” drumming today
• Modern drummers have been influenced
by all of the aforementioned styles and
then some
• Drumming has become a very vital and
important part of music in the modern age

9. Attributions
• “Untitled” © 2009 Steingrimur Oli Sigurdarson licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
• “Happy Birthday Ringo Starr” © 2009 Catia Burton licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
• “Hi-Hat!” © 2009 Justin S. Campbell licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs
2.0 Generic License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
• “untitled” © 2010 Hiske Kremer licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
3.0 Unported License: <div xmlns:cc="http://creativecommons.org/ns#"
xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" about="http://i.images.cdn.fotopedia.com/hiskeflitst-
KzEqtfGcxH4-hd/Musical_Instruments/Percussion_instruments/Hi-hat/Hi-hat.jpg"><span
property="dct:title">untitled</span> (<a rel="cc:attributionURL" property="cc:attributionName"
href="http://fr.fotopedia.com/users/hiskeflitst">Hiske Kremer</a>) / <a rel="license"
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/">CC BY-NC 3.0</a></div>
• “Drummer” © 2007 Tim Norris licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
• “Phi Snare Drum” © 2008 Corey Woodruff licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/
• “Tom Tom” © 2009 Nathaniel S. Madore under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
• “Untitled” © 2009 Guillaume Laurent licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
sa/2.0/
• “Ellington Colliery Band” © 2001 Ian Britton licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/3.0/
• Goodman, Benny. “Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing).” Brunswick 7628. Brunswick. 1936.