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The drum kit

1 Bass drum | 2 Floor tom | 3 Snare drum 4 Hanging toms | 5 Hi-hat | 6 Crash cymbal 7 Ride cymbal | 8 Splash cymbal | 9 China type

Not shown

Sizzle cymbal Swish cymbal Crash/ride cymbal Cowbell Wood block Tambourine Rototom Octoban Temple block Gong Triangle

See also

Drum hardware Drum stick Traps case

A drum kit, drum set^[1] or (archaic) trap set is a collection of drums and other percussion instruments set up to be played by a single player.^[2]

More specifically, a modern drum kit (for a right handed player), as used in popular music, taught in many music schools, and for which qualifications are available from Trinity College London ^[3] consists of:

• A snare drum, mounted on a specialised stand, placed between the player's knees and played with drum sticks (which may include rutes or brushes).
• A bass drum, played by a pedal operated by the right foot.
• A hi-hat stand and cymbals, operated by the left foot and played with the sticks, particularly but not only the right hand stick.
• One or more tom-tom drums, played with the sticks.
• One or more suspended cymbals, played with the sticks, particularly but not only the right hand stick.

A drum kit is normally played seated on a drum stool or throne.

Most drummers extend their kits from this basic pattern, adding more drums, more cymbals, and many other instruments. In some styles of music particular extensions are normal, for example double bass drums in heavy metal music. On the other extreme but more rarely, some performers omit elements from even the basic setup, again particularly for particular styles of music.

Louis Moholo playing a four-piece kit

History[link]

Kit with bass drum pedal and low sock, 1935

Beginnings[link]

The first recognizable ancestors of the modern drum kit were born in the Vaudeville era. Pecuniary and theater space considerations demanded that fewer percussionists covered more percussion parts. In military and orchestral music settings, drums and cymbals were traditionally played separately by one or many percussionists. The bass drum, snare drum, cymbals and other percussion instruments were all played using hand-held drum sticks. Circa 1890, experimentation with foot pedals began. Many patented their systems such as Dee Dee Chandler of New Orleans 1904-05.^[4] Liberating the hands for the first time, this evolution saw the bass drum played (first standing) with the foot of a percussionist and became the central piece around which every other percussion instruments would later revolve. Ludwig-Musser, William F. Ludwig Senior and his brother Theodor Ludwig founded the Ludwig & Ludwig Co. in 1909 and patented the first workable bass drum pedal system, paving the way for what was to become the modern drum kit.

Development[link]

Kit with four non-tunable toms, 1939

Gene Krupa, 1946

Louis Bellson, 1952

By World War I drum kits were characterized by very large bold marching bass drums and many percussion items suspended on and around them, and they became a central part of jazz music, specifically (but not limited to) dixieland. Metal consoles were developed to hold Chinese tom-toms, with swing out stands for snare drums and cymbals. On top of the console was a "contraption" (shortened to "trap") tray used to hold whistles, klaxons, and cowbells, thus drum kits were dubbed "trap kits." Hi-hat stands appeared around 1926.

By the 1930s, Ben Duncan and others popularized streamlined trap kits leading to a basic four piece drum set standard: bass, snare, tom-tom, and floor tom. In time legs were fitted to larger floor toms, and "consolettes" were devised to hold smaller tom-toms on the bass drum. In the 1940s, Louie Bellson pioneered use of two bass drums, or the double bass drum kit. Gene Krupa was the first drummer to head his own orchestra and thrust the drums into the spotlight with his drum solos. Others would soon follow his lead. Krupa is also known to be the first to record a drum solo on a commercial record.

Influential drummers of the jazz tradition included Gene Krupa, "Papa" Jo Jones, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Roy Haynes, Buddy Rich, Louis Bellson, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Morello and many more.

Rock and Roll[link]

John Bonham, 1975

With the ascendance of rock and roll, a watershed moment occurred between 1962 and 1964 when the Surfaris released "Wipe Out," and when Ringo Starr of The Beatles played his Ludwig kit on American television; events that motivated legions to take up the drums.

A trend towards bigger drum kits in Rock music began in the 1960s and gained momentum in the 1970s. By the 1980s, widely popular drummers like Billy Cobham, Carl Palmer, Nicko McBrain, Phil Collins, Stewart Copeland and perhaps most notably Neil Peart were using large numbers of drums and cymbals and had also begun using electronic drums. In the 1990s and 2000s, many drummers in popular music and indie music have reverted back to basic four piece drum set standard.

In the 21st century, it is not uncommon for drummers to use a variety of auxiliary percussion instruments, found objects, and electronics as part of their "drum" kits. Popular electronics include: electronic sound modules; laptop computers used to activate loops, sequences and samples; metronomes and tempo meters; recording devices; and personal sound reinforcement equipment (e.g., a small PA system to amplify electronic drums and provide a monitor for singing).

Recording[link]

On early recording mediums (until 1925^[5]) such as wax cylinders and discs carved with an engraving needle, sound balancing meant that musicians had to be literally moved in the room.^[5] Drums were often put far from the horn (part of the mechanical transducer) to reduce sound distortion. Since this affected the rendition of cymbals at playback, sound engineers of the time remedied the situation by asking drummers to play the content of the cymbals onto woodblocks, temple blocks and cowbells for their loudness and short decay.

This recording-specific particularity had the effect of altering the evolution of the drum set and of stigmatizing the sound of the music recorded at the time. The drum kit featured in many of rock and roll songs and the Rock and Roll period played a big role in modernizing the drum kit.

Components[link]

Foreground: Snare drums. Background: Hi-hat cymbals.

Drums[link]

Drum sizes[link]

See Common configurations below for typical drum sizes.

Traditionally, drum sizes were expressed as depth x diameter, both in inches. More recently, many drum kit manufacturers have begun instead to express the size as diameter x depth, again in inches.

Manufacturers still using the traditional format in their catalogues include:

• ddrum
• Drum Workshop
• Gretsch Drums
• Ludwig-Musser
• Slingerland Drum Company
• Tama Drums

while those using diameter x depth include:

• Brady Drum Company
• Mapex Drums
• Meinl Percussion^[6]
• Pearl Drums
• Premier Percussion
• Rogers Drums
• Sonor
• Yamaha Drums

For example, a hanging tom 12" in diameter and 8" deep would be described by Tama as 8x12, but by Pearl as 12x8, and a standard diameter Ludwig snare drum 5" deep is a 5x14, while a Premier of the same dimensions is a 14x5.

Snare drum[link]

Snare drum on a modern light-duty snare drum stand

The snare drum is the centre of the kit. It provides the strongest regular accents, played by the left hand, and the backbone for many fills.

Toms[link]

Keith Moon with a mixture of concert toms and conventional toms, 1975

Tom-tom drums or toms for short are drums without snares and played with sticks, and are the most numerous drums in almost all kits. They provide the bulk of most drum fills and solos.

They include:

• Traditional double-headed rack toms, of varying depths.
• Floor toms.
• Single-headed concert toms.
• Rototoms.

The smallest and largest drums without snares, such as octobans and gong drums, are sometimes considered toms and sometimes not, and if not there are many borderline cases.

The naming of common configurations is largely a reflection of the number of toms, as only the drums are conventionally counted, and these configurations all contain one snare and one or more rarely two bass drums, the balance being toms.

Bass drum[link]

A drum kit bass drum

The bass drum gives a regular but often varied foundation to the rhythm. Beginners tend to play simple bass drum patterns, moderate players complex ones with many strokes, and accomplished players more subtle ones with fewer strokes.

Other drums[link]

Octobans were designed for use in a drum kit, extending the tom range upwards in pitch.

Timbales are tuned much higher than a tom of the same diameter, and normally played with very light sticks. They have relatively thin, fragile heads and a very different tone to a tom, but are used by some drummers to extend the tom range upwards. Alternatively, they can be fitted with tom heads and tuned as shallow concert toms. Attack Timbales and mini timbales are reduced diameter timbales designed specifically for drum kit usage, the smaller diameter allowing for thicker heads for the same pitch and head tension.

Similarly, most hand drums cannot be played with drum sticks without risking damage to the head and to the bearing edge, which is not protected by a drum rim. For use in a drum kit they may be fitted with a suitable drum head and played with care, or played by hand.

Cymbals[link]

Cymbal innovator Mike Portnoy with many cymbals, 2006

Cymbals are as important in most drum kits as the drums themselves.

Beginners cymbal packs normally contain four cymbals: one ride, one crash, and a pair of hi-hats. A few contain only three cymbals, using a crash/ride instead of the separate ride and crash. The sizes closely follow those given in Common configurations below.

Most drummers soon extend this by adding another crash, a splash or a china, or even all three.

Ride cymbal[link]

The ride cymbal is most often used to keep a constant rhythm, every beat or more often. Development of this ride technique is generally credited to Baby Dodds.^[7]

Most drummers have a single main ride, near their right hand, most often 20" but 16"-24" are not uncommon. It is most often a heavy, standard cymbal, but some drummers use a swish cymbal, sizzle cymbal or other exotic as the main or only ride, particularly for jazz. In the 1960s Ringo Starr used a sizzle cymbal as a second ride particularly for use during guitar solos.

Hi-hats[link]

The hi-hat has a similar function to the ride cymbal; The two are rarely played at once, but one or the other keeps the fine rhythm much of the time, played by the right stick of a right-handed drummer. Changing between ride and hi-hat, or between either and a leaner sound with neither, is often used to mark a change from one passage to another, for example to distinguish verse and chorus.

Crashes[link]

The crash cymbals are the strongest accents, marking crescendos and climaxes, vocal entries, and major changes of mood. A cymbal crash is often accompanied by a strong kick on the bass drum pedal, both for musical effect and to support the stroke.

In the very smallest kits, in jazz, and at very high volumes, ride cymbals may be used as crashes. Some hi-hats will also give a useful crash, particularly thinner hats or those with an unusually severe taper. At low volumes, producing a good crash from a cymbal not particularly suited to it is a highly skilled art. Alternatively, specialised crash/ride and ride/crash cymbals are specifically designed to combine both functions.

Other cymbals[link]

Cymbals other than rides, hi-hats and crashes are called effects cymbals when used in a drum kit.

Most extended kits include one or more splash cymbals and at least one china cymbal. Major cymbal makers produce cymbal extension packs consisting of one splash and one china, or more rarely a second crash, a splash and a china, to match some of their starter packs of ride, crash and hi-hats.

Other acoustic instruments[link]

Günter Sommer with bodhrán and bongo drums in his kit

Other instruments that have regularly been incorporated into drum kits include:

• Wood block and cowbell. These are traditional in some forms of music.
• Tambourine, particularly mounted on the hi-hat stand above the cymbals. An ordinary tambourine can be used, or a tambourine produced specially for drum kit use.
• Timbales can be used to extend the ring of tom-toms, particularly when the drummer owns them for other reasons. A traditional timbale is tuned far higher than a tom of the same diameter, so the result is not ideal. Some makers produce smaller timbales 8" or 10" in diameter more suited to drum kit usage, see Timbales#Non-traditional use.
• Xylophone or glockenspiel.
• Tubular bells.
• Gongs.
• Bar chimes.
• Triangles.
• Found objects, including spanners, brake drums, buckets, cardboard boxes, and jam and kerosene tins.

See also Extended kits below.

Electronic drums[link]

Trigger sensors in use, here they are red and mounted on the rims of the snare drum, bass drum and hanging toms. The larger box in the same colour red is the "brain" to which they are connected.

A Korg trigger pad

Pat Mastelotto playing a kit with both acoustic and electronic drums, 2005

As well as providing an alternative to a conventional drum kit, electronic drums can be incorporated into a kit.

This is possible in two ways:

• Triggers are sensors that can be attached to drum kit components. In this way, an electronic drum sound will be produced when the instrument is played, as well as the sound made by the instrument.
• Trigger pads can be mounted alongside other components. These pads make no significant sound themselves, but purely trigger the electronic sound, and are played with the same drum sticks as other drum kit components.

In either case, a control unit (brain) with suitable sampled sounds, and amplification equipment are both required. Sometimes, for the sake of appearance or of the desired "feel" of the instrument, a drum with a trigger will be used as a trigger pad by muffling it so heavily that no significant sound at all is produced, see Electronic drum#Acoustic triggered drum kit.

A trigger pad can contain up to four independent sensors, each of them capable of sending to the brain information describing the timing and intensity of a stroke. A circular drum pad will normally contain only one sensor, but a cymbal-shaped pad often contains two, one for the body and one for the rim of the cymbal, and a triangular pad may contain four, one for the body, played by the stick tips, and one for the rim of each side, played by the stick shafts. (Commonly called a rim shot and often used to trigger a similar effect, playing the rim of the trigger pad is a significantly different and far simpler technique, as it is not necessary or even desired to strike the body of the pad.)

Trigger sensors are most commonly used to replace the acoustic drum sounds. For example, in a live performance in a difficult acoustical space, a sensor may be placed on every drum and cymbal, and used in each case to trigger a similar sound. These sounds are then amplified through the PA and are all the audience hears, and can be amplified to any level without the feedback problems associated with microphones. The sound of the drums and cymbals themselves is heard by the drummer and possibly other musicians, but even there the foldback system will be fed from the electronic sounds rather than the live sounds. The drums can be heavily muffled, and their tuning and even quality is less critical. In this way much of the atmosphere of the live performance is retained but without some of the problems associated with amplified drums.

Trigger sensors can also be used in conjunction with conventional or built-in microphones. If some components of a kit prove more difficult to "mike" than others, sensors may be used on only the more difficult instruments.

Trigger pads on the other hand when used in a conventional kit are most commonly used to produce sounds not otherwise available. Any sound that can be sampled can be used. Recordings of barking dogs and stereo recordings of aircraft taking off and landing have for example been used to great effect, as well as the more obvious electronically generated sounds.

Hardware[link]

Hardware is the name given to the stands that support the instruments. Generally the term also includes the hi-hat pedal and bass drum pedal or pedals, and the drum stool, but not the drum sticks.

Hardware is carried along with sticks and other accessories in the traps case, and includes:

• Cymbal stands.
• Hi-hat stand.
• Floor tom feet.
• Hanging tom brackets or arms.
• Snare drum stand.
• Bass drum pedal or pedals.

Particularly for large kits, many or even all of the stands may be replaced by a drum rack.

Common configurations[link]

A two-piece kit in action

Drum kits are traditionally categorised by the number of drums, ignoring cymbals and other instruments. Snare, tom-tom and bass drums are always counted; Other drums such as octobans may or may not be counted.^[8]

The sizes of drums and cymbals given below are typical. Many drummers differ slightly or radically from them. Where no size is given, it is because there is too much variety to call a typical size.

Three-piece[link]

Three-piece set for a young player: 16" bass, 10" snare, one 10" hanging tom

A basic, conventional three-piece kit consists of bass drum, 14" diameter snare drum, 12"-14" hi-hats, and a single 12" diameter hanging tom 8"-9" in depth and a suspended cymbal in the range 14"-18", both mounted on the bass drum.

Such kits were common in the 1950s and 1960s and may still be found in small acoustic dance bands. It is a common configuration for kits sold through mail order, and, with smaller size drums and cymbals, for very young drummers.

Four-piece[link]

Mitch Mitchell playing a classic four piece kit in the Jimi Hendrix Experience

A four-piece kit extends the three-piece by one tom, either a second hanging tom mounted on the bass drum and often displacing the cymbal, or a floor tom. Normally another cymbal is added as well, so there are separate ride and crash cymbals, either on two stands, or the ride on the bass drum to the player's right and the crash on a stand.

The standard cymbal sizes are 16" crash and 18"-20" ride, with the 20" ride most common.

Four piece with floor tom[link]

The floor tom is most often 14" for jazz, and 16" otherwise.

Many historic bands and early rock music recordings used this configuration, notable users including Ringo Starr in the Beatles, Mitch Mitchell in the Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Barbata in the Turtles and many others.

The four-piece kit with floor tom remains popular, particularly for jazz.

Four piece with two hanging toms[link]

If a second hanging tom is used, it is 10" diameter and 8" deep for fusion, or 13" diameter and one inch deeper than the 12" diameter tom otherwise, or very occasionally a 14" diameter hanging tom is added to the 12", both being 8" deep. In any case, both toms are most often mounted on the bass drum with the smaller of the two next to the hi-hats, on the left for a right-handed drummer.

These kits are particularly useful for smaller venues where space is limited.

Five-piece[link]

A basic five-piece fusion kit, with one crash cymbal and no effects cymbals, complete with throne and sticks

The five-piece kit is the full entry level kit and the most common configuration. It adds a third tom, making three in all.

A fusion kit will normally add a 14" tom, either a floor tom or a hanging tom on a stand to the right of the bass drum, in either case making the tom lineup 10", 12" and 14".

Other kits will normally have 12" and 13" hanging toms plus either a 14" hanging tom on a stand, a 14" floor tom, or a 16" floor tom. For depths, see Tom-tom drum#Modern tom toms. In recent years, it is very popular to have 10" and 12" hanging toms, with a 16" floor tom. This configuration is often called a hybrid setup.^[9]

The bass drum is most commonly 20" in diameter, but rock kits may use 22" or 24", jazz 18",^[8] and big bands up to 26".

A second crash cymbal is common, typically an inch or two larger or smaller than the 16", with the larger of the two to the right for a right-handed drummer, but a big band may use crashes up to 27" and ride up to 24" or very occasionally 26". A rock kit may also substitute a larger ride cymbal or larger hi-hats, typically 22" for the ride and 15" for the hats.

Most five-piece kits at more than entry level also have one or more effects cymbals. Adding cymbals beyond the basic ride, hi-hats and one crash configuration requires stands in addition to that of standard drum hardware packs. Because of this, many higher level kits are sold with little or even no hardware, to allow the drummer to choose the stands and also the bass drum pedal they prefer. At the other extreme, many entry level kits are sold complete with two cymbal stands, most often one straight and one boom, and some even with a standard cymbal pack, a stool and a pair of drum sticks.

Small kits[link]

Rockabilly pioneer Slim Jim Phantom playing a two-piece kit while standing

If the toms are omitted completely, or the bass drum replaced by a pedal-operated beater on the bottom skin of a floor tom and the hanging toms omitted, in either case the result is a two-piece kit. Such kits are particularly favoured in musical genres such as trad jazz, rockabilly and swing blues.

Some rockabilly kits and beginners kits for very young players omit the hi-hat stand. In rockabilly, this allows the drummer to play standing rather than seated.

Although these kits may be small with respect to the number of drums used, the drums themselves are most often normal sizes, or even larger in the case of the bass drum. Kits using smaller drums in both smaller and larger configurations are also produced for particular uses, such as boutique kits designed to reduce visual impact or space requirements, travelling kits to reduce luggage volume, and junior kits for very young players. Smaller drums also tend to be quieter, again suiting smaller venues, and many of these kits extend this with easily fitted extra muffling to the point of allowing quiet or even silent practice in a hotel room or bedroom.

Extended kits[link]

A professional seven-piece kit with snare, double bass drums, three hanging toms and one floor tom, hi-hats, ride cymbal, three crash cymbals, splash cymbal and china type

Common extensions beyond these standard configurations include:

• Effects cymbals, particularly splash cymbals and china cymbals.
• Double bass drums. Double bass drums or a double bass pedal are standard for some genres, particularly in heavy rock music.
• Extra hanging toms.
• Extra crash cymbals.
• A crash/ride cymbal in addition to the main ride.
• A second, larger floor tom.
• One or more octobans or a pair of mini timbales.
• A second pair of hi-hats mounted as cable hats or X-hats.
• Cymbal stacks.
• Individual tiger, wind or chau gongs.
• Multiple ride cymbals. A sizzle cymbal thinner and larger than the main ride was once common as a second ride or crash/ride even in a four-piece kit but is now less so. Jazz drummers however may still have two or more ride cymbals even in a small kit.

See also other acoustic instruments above. Another versatile extension becoming increasingly common is the use of some electronic drums in a mainly conventional kit.

Less common extensions found particularly but not only in very large kits include:

• Multiple snare drums.
• Multiple bass drums beyond the double bass drum setup.
• Gong drums (single headed bass drums, played with sticks or mallets).
• Sets of gongs, tuned or untuned.
• Sound effects such as a thunder sheet.
• One or more crotales.
• Instruments "borrowed" from orchestral percussion, such as timpani.
• Instruments "borrowed" from marching band percussion, such as the tuned bass drums used in the drumline.

A very large kit played by Terry Bozzio

Accessories[link]

Sticks[link]

The most common kit drumming sticks are wooden sticks modelled on, or in some cases identical to, those originally designed for use with the snare drum. These come in a variety of weights, conventionally expressed as a number, and tip designs, expressed as a letter following the number, with the higher numbers indicating lighter sticks. Thus, a 7A is a common jazz stick with a wooden tip, while a 7N is the same weight of stick with a nylon tip, and a 7B is a wooden tip but with a different tip profile, shorter and rounder than a 7A. A 5A is a common wood tipped rock stick, heavier than a 7A but with a similar profile. The numbers are most commonly odd but even numbers are used occasionally, in the range 2 (heaviest) to 9 (lightest).

The exact meanings of both numbers and letters differ from manufacturer to manufacturer, and some sticks are not described using this system at all, just being known as Jazz (typically a 7N or 8N) or Heavy Rock (typically a 4B or 5B) for example. The most general purpose stick is a 5A (wood tip, for snare tone) or 5N (nylon tip, for cymbal tone).

Other sticks commonly used are rutes, consisting of a bundle of canes, and wire or nylon drum brushes. More rarely, other beaters such as cartwheel mallets (known to kit drummers as "soft sticks") may be used. It is not uncommon for rock drummers to use the "wrong" end of a stick, and in view of this some makers now produce tipless sticks with two "wrong" ends.

Tools of the trade: 7N, 5B, "double bummer", and side drum No3 sticks, standard 19 cane rutes, sheathed 7 cane rutes, nylon brushes, steel brushes, cartwheels

Muffles[link]

This section requires expansion.

Cases[link]

A five-piece kit in hard cases. From left: Traps case, floor tom case, snare drum case (in front), twin hanging toms case, cymbal case. Rear: Bass drum case.

Three types of protective covers are common for kit drums:

• Drum bags are made from robust cloth such as cordura or from cloth-backed vinyl. They give minimal protection, but are adequate for drums transported rarely and in private cars for example, and may be the only option for working drummers starting out, particularly when air travel is involved.
• Hard cases are of similar construction to suitcases, commonly of fibre composite.
• Flight cases or road cases are standard for touring drummers.

As with all musical instruments, the ultimate protection is afforded by a combination of a hard case or road case, padded on the inside, inside a soft padded bag.

Microphones[link]

Carl Palmer with rim-mounted tom mikes

In "miking" a drum kit, dynamic microphones, which can handle high sound pressure levels are usually used to close-mic drums while condenser microphones are used for overheads and room mics.^[10]

Close miking of drums may be done using stands or by mounting the microphones on the rims of the drums, or even using microphones built in to the drum itself, which eliminates the need for stands for these microphones, reducing both clutter and set-up time. In some styles of music, drummers use electronic effects on drums, such as individual noise gates that mute the attached microphone when the signal is below a threshold volume. This allows the sound engineer to use a higher overall volume for the drum kit by reducing the number of "active" mics which could feed back at any one time.

Drum screens[link]

Tris Imboden using a perspex drum screen

In some styles or settings, such as country music clubs or churches, the drummer may use a perspex or plexiglass screen to dampen the onstage volume of the drums.

A screen that surrounds the drummer is known as a drum booth.

Carpets[link]

Two hi-hat stands both with retractible spikes extended

Drummers who play in different venues generally carry carpeting or mats. The primary purpose of this is to prevent the bass drum and hi-hat stand from slipping on a wooden floor or similar slippery surface.

The carpet also reduces short reverberation (which is generally but not always an advantage), and helps to prevent damage to the flooring or floor coverings.

Bass drums and hi-hat stands commonly have retractable spikes to help them to grip on surfaces such as carpet.

Practice equipment[link]

Practice pad on snare drum stand

Drummers often use a variety of accessories when they are practicing. Metronomes and beat counters are used to develop a steady rhythm. Drum muffling pads may be used to lessen the volume of drums during practicing.

A practice pad, either held on the lap or mounted on a stand, is used for silent practice with drumsticks. A set of practice pads mounted to simulate an entire drum kit is known as a practice kit; These have largely been superseded by electronic drums and kits with non-sounding mesh heads.

Playing[link]

Grooves[link]

The basic common time groove with bass (bottom), back beat snare, and cymbal (top) is common in popular music play (help·info)

A swing groove, common in jazz and early rock music, with the complex time shuffle rhythm understood as is traditional rather than explicit.  Play (help·info)

Kit drumming, whether playing accompaniment of voices and other instruments or solo, consists of two elements:

• A groove which sets the feel and provides a framework.
• Drum fills and other ornaments and variations which provide variety and substance.

Fills[link]

A fill is a departure from the repetitive rhythm. Fills vary from a simple, single stroke on a tom, to sequences several bars long that are short drum solos in themselves.

As well as simply adding interest and variation to the music, fills serve an important function in preparing and supporting significant events in the music. A vocal cue is a short drum fill that introduces a vocal entry. A fill ending on a cymbal crash on beat one is often used to lead in to a chorus or verse.

Grips[link]

Most drummers hold the drumsticks in one of two types of grip:

• The traditional grip, originally developed for playing the military side drum, most commonly with an overhand grip for the right hand and an underhand grip for the left.
• The matched grip, in which the sticks are held in similar (but mirror image) fashion.

Within these two types, there is still considerable variation, and even disagreements as to exactly how the stick is held in a particular method. For example, Jim Chapin, an early and influential exponent of the Moeller method, asserts that the technique does not rely on rebound,^[11] while Dave Weckl asserts that it does rely on rebound.^[12]

Notation[link]

Neutral or percussion clef, two versions

Drum kit music is most commonly written on a standard five-line staff. These days a special percussion clef is used, while previously the bass clef was used. However even if bass or no clef is used, each line and space is assigned an instrument of the kit rather than to a note.

Audio samples[link]

Audio samples
Component	Content	Audio (Vorbis: click the arrow to play)
Snare	Unmuffled snare drum
	Muffled snare drum
	Rim click on a snare
Bass drum	Muffled bass drum
Toms	8-inch (20 cm) rack tom
	12-inch (30 cm) rack tom
	Floor tom
Hi-hat	Closed hi-hat
	Open hi-hat
	Hi-hat being opened and closed by its foot pedal (chick)
Crash	Crash cymbal
Ride	Hit on the bow
	Hit on the bell of the cymbal
	Hit on the edge
Beat	A typical rock beat on hi-hat
	Typical rock beat on ride cymbal
Video sample
Multiple components	Video illustrating basic drum kit actions	Video illustrating basic drum kit actions
See the Drums category at Wikimedia Commons for more

See also[link]

People:

• Drummer
• List of drummers

Styles and techniques:

• Drum beat
• Jazz drumming

Other:

• Drum kit tuning
• Percussion instrument
• Rhythm section

References[link]

External links[link]

• Drum resources at the Open Directory Project

Rowan Atkinson
Atkinson at the Johnny English Reborn Premiere
Birth name	Rowan Sebastian Atkinson
Born	(1955-01-06) 6 January 1955 (age 57)[1][2] Consett, Durham, England, United Kingdom
Medium	Stand up, Television, Film
Years active	1978–present
Genres	Physical comedy, Satire, Black comedy
Influences	Peter Sellers, Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Tati[3]
Influenced	Steve Pemberton David Walliams
Spouse	Sunetra Sastry (m. 1990) «start: (1990)»"Marriage: Sunetra Sastry to Rowan Atkinson" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Rowan_Atkinson)
Notable works and roles	Not the Nine O'Clock News Blackadder Mr. Bean The Thin Blue Line Johnny English
BAFTA Awards Best Light Entertainment Performance 1981 Not the Nine O'Clock News 1990 Blackadder Goes Forth Laurence Olivier Awards Best Comedy Performance 1981 Rowan Atkinson in Revue

Rowan Sebastian Atkinson (born 6 January 1955) is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line. He has been listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest actors in British comedy,^[4] and amongst the top 50 comedians ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians.^[5] He has also had cinematic success with his performances in the Mr. Bean movie adaptations Bean and Mr. Bean's Holiday and in Johnny English and its sequel Johnny English Reborn. He also starred in the film Never Say Never Again (a spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball) in 1983.

Early life and education[link]

Atkinson, the youngest of four brothers, was born in Consett, County Durham, England.^[6] His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director, and Ella May (née Bainbridge), who married on 29 June 1945.^[6] His three older brothers were Paul, who died as an infant, Rodney, a Eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the United Kingdom Independence Party leadership election in 2000, and Rupert.^[7][8] Atkinson was brought up Anglican,^[9] and was educated at Durham Choristers School, St. Bees School, and Newcastle University.^[10] In 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford, the same college his father matriculated at in 1935,^[11] which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006.^[12] First achieving notice at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976,^[10] while at Oxford, he also acted and performed early sketches for the Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS), the Oxford Revue and the Experimental Theatre Club (ETC), meeting writer Richard Curtis^[10] and composer Howard Goodall, with whom he would continue to collaborate during his career.

Career[link]

Radio[link]

Atkinson had starred in a series of comedy shows for BBC Radio 3 in 1978 called The Atkinson People. It consisted of a series of satirical interviews with fictional great men, who were played by Atkinson himself. The series was written by Atkinson and Richard Curtis, and produced by Griff Rhys Jones.^[13]

Television[link]

After university, Atkinson toured with Angus Deayton as his straight man in an act that was eventually filmed for a television show. After the success of the show, he did a one-off pilot for London Weekend Television in 1979 called Canned Laughter. Atkinson then went on to do Not the Nine O'Clock News for the BBC, produced by his friend John Lloyd. He starred on the show along with Pamela Stephenson, Griff Rhys Jones and Mel Smith, and was one of the main sketch writers.

The success of Not the Nine O'Clock News led to his starring in the medieval sitcom The Black Adder, which he also co-wrote with Richard Curtis, in 1983. After a three-year gap, in part due to budgetary concerns, a second series was written, this time by Curtis and Ben Elton, and first screened in 1986. Blackadder II followed the fortunes of one of the descendants of Atkinson's original character, this time in the Elizabethan era. The same pattern was repeated in the two sequels Blackadder the Third (1987) (set in the Regency era), and Blackadder Goes Forth (1989) (set in World War I). The Blackadder series went on to become one of the most successful BBC situation comedies of all time, spawning television specials including Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) and Blackadder: The Cavalier Years (1988).

Atkinson's other famous creation, the hapless Mr. Bean, first appeared on New Years Day in 1990 in a half-hour special for Thames Television. The character of Mr. Bean has been likened somewhat to a modern-day Buster Keaton.^[14] During this time, Atkinson appeared at the Just for Laughs comedy festival in Montreal in 1987 and 1989. Several sequels to Mr. Bean appeared on television in the 1990s, and it eventually made into a major motion picture in 1997. Entitled Bean, it was directed by Mel Smith, his former co-star from Not the Nine O'Clock News. A second movie was released in 2007 entitled Mr. Bean's Holiday. In 1995 and 1997, Atkinson portrayed Inspector Raymond Fowler in the popular The Thin Blue Line television series, written by Ben Elton, which takes place in a police station located in fictitious Gasforth.

Atkinson has fronted campaigns for Kronenbourg,^[15] Hitachi electrical goods,^{[citation needed]} Fujifilm, and Give Blood. Atkinson appeared as a hapless and error-prone espionage agent in a long-running series for Barclaycard, on which character his title role in Johnny English and Johnny English Reborn was based.

He also starred in a comedy spoof of Doctor Who as the Doctor, for a "Red Nose Day" benefit.

Atkinson has also starred as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car in the motoring show, Top Gear in July 2011, where he recorded the second fastest lap in the Kia Cee'd with a time of 1:42.2.

Rowan Atkinson in 1997, promoting Bean

Film[link]

Atkinson's film career began in 1983 with a supporting part in the 'unofficial' James Bond movie Never Say Never Again and a leading role in Dead on Time with Nigel Hawthorne. He appeared in former Not the Nine O'Clock News co-star Mel Smith's directorial debut The Tall Guy in 1989. He also appeared alongside Anjelica Huston and Mai Zetterling in Roald Dahl's The Witches in 1990. In 1993 he played the part of Dexter Hayman in Hot Shots! Part Deux, a parody of Rambo III, starring Charlie Sheen.

Atkinson gained further recognition with his turn as a verbally bumbling vicar in the 1994 hit Four Weddings and a Funeral. That same year he was featured in Disney's The Lion King as the voice of Zazu the Red-billed Hornbill. Atkinson continued to appear in supporting roles in successful comedies, including Rat Race (2001), Scooby-Doo (2002), and Love Actually (2003).

In 2005, he acted in the crime/comedy Keeping Mum, which also starred Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze.

In addition to his supporting roles, Atkinson has also had success as a leading man. His television character Mr. Bean debuted on the big screen in 1997 with Bean to international success. A sequel, Mr. Bean's Holiday, was released in March 2007 and this, as recently mentioned by Atkinson in 2011, was the last time he played the character.^[16] He has also starred in the James Bond parody Johnny English in 2003. Its sequel, Johnny English Reborn was released on 7 October 2011.

Theatre[link]

Rowan Atkinson did live on-stage skits – also appearing with members of Monty Python – in The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979).

Rowan Atkinson appeared in the 2009 revival of the West End musical Oliver! in the role of Fagin.^[17] The production was directed by Rupert Goold. A year prior he starred in a pre-West End run of the show in Oxford, directed by Jez Bond.

Comedic style[link]

Best known for his use of physical comedy in his trademark character of Mr. Bean, Atkinson's other characters rely more heavily on language. Atkinson often plays authority figures (especially priests or vicars) speaking absurd lines with a completely deadpan delivery.

One of his better-known trademark comic devices is over-articulation of the "B" sound, such as his pronunciation of "Bob" in a Blackadder episode. Atkinson suffers from stuttering,^[18] and the over-articulation is a technique to overcome problematic consonants.

Atkinson's often visually based style, which has been compared to Buster Keaton,^[14] sets him apart from most modern television and film comedies, which rely heavily on dialogue, as well as stand-up comedy which is mostly based on monologues. This talent for visual comedy has led to Atkinson being called "the man with the rubber face": comedic reference was made to this in an episode of Blackadder the Third, in which Baldrick (Tony Robinson) refers to his master, Mr. E. Blackadder, as a "lazy, big nosed, rubber-faced bastard".

Personal life[link]

Rowan Atkinson at the Mr. Bean's Holiday premiere at Leicester Square in London (2007)

Marriage and children[link]

Rowan Atkinson first met Sunetra Sastry in the late 1980s, when she was working as a make-up artist with the BBC.^[19] Sastry is of mixed descent, being the daughter of an Indian father and a British mother.^[20] The couple married at the Russian Tea Room in New York City on 5 February 1990. They have two children and live in Oundle, Northamptonshire as well as in Ipsden, Oxfordshire and in Highbury, London.^{[citation needed]} In October 2010, his Blackadder co-star Stephen Fry confessed on The Rob Brydon Show and in his second autobiography (The Fry Chronicles) that, although he was already openly homosexual at the time, he had considered asking Sastry (who was his make-up artist) out. However, when Rowan came to him one day and asked if he could swap make-up artists because he wanted to ask Sastry out, 'all idea of [his] asking out Sunetra left [him]'.^[21] Fry was best man at Atkinson's wedding in 1990. Atkinson was formerly in a relationship with actress Leslie Ash.^[22]

Politics[link]

In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the UK's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner, Stephen Fry, and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts.^[23] In 2009, he criticised homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free speech clause in an anti-gay hate law.^[24]

Cars[link]

With an estimated wealth of £100 million, Atkinson is able to indulge his passion for cars that began with driving his mother's Morris Minor around the family farm. He has written for the British magazines Car, Octane, Evo, and "SuperClassics", a short-lived UK magazine, in which he reviewed the McLaren F1 in 1995.

Atkinson holds a category C+E (formerly 'Class 1') lorry driving licence, gained in 1981, because lorries held a fascination for him, and to ensure employment as a young actor. He has also used this skill when filming comedy material.

Atkinson in 2009

A lover of and participant in car racing, he appeared as racing driver Henry Birkin in the television play Full Throttle in 1995. In 1991, he starred in the self-penned The Driven Man, a series of sketches featuring Atkinson driving around London trying to solve his obsession with cars, and discussing it with taxi drivers, policemen, used-car salesmen and psychotherapists.^[25]

Atkinson has raced in other cars, including a Renault 5 GT Turbo for two seasons for its one make series. He owns a McLaren F1, which was involved in an accident in Cabus, near Garstang, Lancashire with an Austin Metro in October 1999. It was damaged again in a serious crash in August 2011 when it caught fire after Atkinson reportedly lost control and hit a tree.^[26][27][28] He also owns a Honda NSX. Other cars he owns include an Audi A8,^[29] and a Honda Civic Hybrid.^[30]

The Conservative Party politician Alan Clark, himself a devotee of classic motor cars, recorded in his published Diaries this chance meeting with a man he later realised was Atkinson while driving through Oxfordshire in May 1984: "Just after leaving the motorway at Thame I noticed a dark red DBS V8 Aston Martin on the slip road with the bonnet up, a man unhappily bending over it. I told Jane to pull in and walked back. A DV8 in trouble is always good for a gloat." Clark writes that he gave Atkinson a lift in his Rolls-Royce to the nearest telephone box, but was disappointed in his bland reaction to being recognised, noting that: "he didn't sparkle, was rather disappointing and chétif."^[31]

One car Atkinson has said he will not own is a Porsche: "I have a problem with Porsches. They're wonderful cars, but I know I could never live with one. Somehow, the typical Porsche people—and I wish them no ill—are not, I feel, my kind of people. I don't go around saying that Porsches are a pile of dung, but I do know that psychologically I couldn't handle owning one."^[32][33]

He appeared in episode 4, series 17 of Top Gear in the "Star in a reasonably priced car" section, where he drove the Kia Cee'd on the test track in 1"42.2, taking first place on the board, but was later beaten by Matt LeBlanc during the second episode of the eighteenth series, with a lap time of 1"42.1.

He attended the inaugural Indian Grand Prix as a guest of McLaren.

Television appearances[link]

• Canned Laughter (1979), an experimental sitcom pilot for LWT
• The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979), a charity special for Amnesty International
• Not the Nine O'Clock News (1979–1982)
• Peter Cook & Co (1980)
• The Innes Book of Records (1980), guest appearance
• Never Say Never Again (1983)
• Blackadder as Prince Edmund (The Black Adder); Lord Blackadder (Blackadder II); Edmund Blackadder (Blackadder III); Ebenezer Blackadder (Blackadder's Christmas Carol); and Captain Blackadder (Blackadder Goes Forth) (1983–1989)
• Saturday Live as guest host (1986)
• Mr. Bean as Mr. Bean (1990–2009 various times)
• Rowan Atkinson Live as assorted characters (1992) (VHS of live sketches)
• Bernard and the Genie as Bernard's Boss (1991) (TV movie)
• Funny Business (1992), a documentary about the craft of comedy
• A Bit Of Fry And Laurie (1992), guest appearance
• The Thin Blue Line as Inspector Raymond Fowler (1995–1996)
• The Story of Bean as himself (1997)
• Blackadder: Back and Forth as Blackadder (2000)
• Mr. Bean (animated TV series) as Mr. Bean, voice (2002)
• The Comic Relief "Red Nose Day" telecasts, including appearances in:
  • Blackadder: The Cavalier Years as Edmund Blackadder (1988)
  • Nosenight sketches (1989)
  • Mr Bean's Red Nose Day as Mr. Bean (1991)
  • (I Wanna Be) Elected as Mr. Bean (1992)
  • Blind Date with Mr Bean as Mr. Bean (1993)
  • Torvill and Bean as Mr Bean (1995)
  • Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death as The Doctor (1999)
  • Popsters as Nasty Neville (2001)
  • Lying to Michael Jackson as Martin Bashir (2003)
  • Spider-Plant Man as Peter Piper and Spider-Plant Man (2005)
  • Mr Bean's Wedding as Mr. Bean (2007)
  • The Greatest Worst Bits of Comic Relief as himself (2007)
• We Are Most Amused (2008), a special show to celebrate Prince Charles' 60th birthday
• Blackadder Rides Again as himself (2008)
• Not Again: Not the Nine O'Clock News as himself (2009)

Guest appearances[link]

• Wogan (1988, 1991)
• Children in Need (1988), guest appearance as Mr. E. Blackadder
• Noel's House Party, guest appearance as Blackadder
• Going Live, guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• This Morning (1995), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• Big Breakfast
• Parkinson (2003)
• Blue Peter (2004, 2007), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• London Tonight (2005)
• BBC Breakfast (2007)
• Richard & Judy (2007)
• The Dame Edna Treatment (2007), guest appearance as Mr. Bean
• Top Gear (2011)

Filmography[link]

Live comedy albums[link]

• Live in Belfast (1980)
• Not Just a Pretty Face (1987)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rowan Atkinson

• Rowan Atkinson at the Internet Movie Database
• Rowan Atkinson biography at BFI Screenonline

Neil Peart
Peart performing a drum solo at the Xcel Energy Center on May 22, 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Neil Ellwood Peart
Born	(1952-09-12) September 12, 1952 (age 59) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Progressive rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer, author
Instruments	Drums, percussion, tubular bells
Years active	1969–present
Labels	Mercury, Anthem, Atlantic
Associated acts	Rush, Buddy Rich Big Band
Website	neilpeart.net
Notable instruments
Sabian Paragon Signature cymbals, designed by Peart

Neil Ellwood Peart ( /ˈpɪərt/; born September 12, 1952), OC, is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer and lyricist for the rock band Rush. Peart has received numerous awards for his musical performances, and is known for his technical proficiency and stamina.^[1]

Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario (now part of St. Catharines). During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer. After a discouraging stint in England to concentrate on his music, Peart returned home, where he joined a local Toronto band, Rush, in the summer of 1974.

Early in his career, Peart's performance style was deeply rooted in hard rock. He drew most of his inspiration from drummers such as Keith Moon and John Bonham, players who were at the forefront of the British hard rock scene.^[2] As time passed, however, he began to emulate jazz and big band musicians Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. In 1994, Peart became a friend and pupil of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber.^[3] It was during this time that Peart decided to revamp his playing style by incorporating jazz and swing components. Gruber was also responsible for introducing him to the products of Drum Workshop, the company whose products Peart currently endorses.

In addition to being a musician, Peart is also a prolific writer, having published several memoirs about his travels. Peart is also Rush's primary lyricist. In writing lyrics for Rush, Peart addresses universal themes and diverse subject matter including science fiction, fantasy, and philosophy, as well as secular, humanitarian and libertarian themes. All five of his books are travel-based non-fiction, though they diverge into his life and these subjects as well. Peart currently resides in Santa Monica, California, with his wife, photographer Carrie Nuttall, and daughter, Olivia Louise. He also has a home in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, and spends time in Toronto for recording purposes.

Life and career[link]

Early childhood[link]

Peart was born in a Hamilton hospital and lived his early years on his family's farm in Hagersville,^[1][4] on the outskirts of Hamilton. The first child of four,^[5] his brother Danny and sisters Judy and Nancy were born after the family moved to St. Catharines when Peart was two. At this time, his father became parts manager for Dalziel Equipment, an International Harvester farm machinery dealer. In 1956 the family moved to the Port Dalhousie area of the town. Peart attended Gracefield School and later Lakeport Secondary School, and describes his childhood as happy and says he experienced a warm family life. By early adolescence he became interested in music and acquired a transistor radio, which he would use to tune into pop music stations broadcasting from Toronto, Hamilton and Welland, Ontario and Buffalo, USA.^[4]

His first exposure to musical training came in the form of piano lessons, which he later said in his instructional video A Work in Progress did not have much impact on him. He had a penchant for drumming on various objects around the house with a pair of chopsticks, so for his 13th birthday, his parents bought him a pair of drum sticks, a practice drum and some lessons, with the promise that if he stuck with it for a year, they would buy him a kit.^[4]

His parents bought him a drum kit for his 14th birthday and he began taking lessons from Don George at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music.^[4] His stage debut took place that year at the school's Christmas pageant in St. Johns Anglican Church Hall in Port Dalhousie. His next appearance was at Lakeport High School with his first group, The Eternal Triangle. This performance contained an original number titled "LSD Forever". At this show he performed his first solo.^[4]

Peart got a job in Lakeside Park, in Port Dalhousie on the shores of Lake Ontario, which later inspired a song of the same name on the Rush album Caress of Steel.^[6] He worked on the Bubble Game and Ball Toss, but his tendency to take it easy when business was slack resulted in his termination. By his late teens, Peart had played in local bands such as Mumblin’ Sumpthin’, the Majority, and JR Flood. These bands practiced in basement recreation rooms and garages and played church halls, high schools and roller rinks in towns across Southern Ontario such as Mitchell, Seaforth, and Elmira. They also played in the northern Ontario city of Timmins. Tuesday nights were filled with jam sessions at the Niagara Theatre Centre.^[4]

Career before joining Rush[link]

At eighteen years of age, after struggling to achieve success as a drummer in Canada, Peart travelled to London, England hoping to further his career as a professional musician.^[3] Despite playing in several bands and picking up occasional session work, he was forced to support himself by selling trinkets to tourists in a souvenir shop called The Great Frog on Carnaby Street.^[7][8]

While in London he came across the writings of novelist and objectivist Ayn Rand. Rand's writings became a significant philosophical influence on Peart, as he found many of her writings on individualism and Objectivism inspiring. References to Rand's philosophy can be found in his lyrics, most notably "Anthem" from 1975's Fly by Night and "2112" from 1976's 2112.^[9]

After eighteen months of dead-end musical gigs, and disillusioned by his lack of progress in the music business, Peart placed his aspiration of becoming a professional musician on hold and returned to Canada.^[3] Upon returning to St. Catharines, he worked for his father selling tractor parts at Dalziel Equipment.

Joining Rush[link]

After returning to Canada, Peart was recruited to play drums for the St. Catharines band Hush, who played on the South Ontario bar circuit.^[3] Soon after, a mutual acquaintance convinced Peart to audition for the Toronto-based band Rush, which needed a replacement for its original drummer John Rutsey. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson oversaw the audition. His future band mates describe his arrival that day as somewhat humorous, as he arrived in shorts, driving a battered old Ford Pinto with his drums stored in trashcans. Peart felt the entire audition was a complete disaster.^[3] While Lee and Peart hit it off on a personal level (both sharing similar tastes in books and music), Lifeson had a less favourable impression of Peart.^[3] After some discussion, Lee and Lifeson accepted Peart's maniacal British style of drumming, reminiscent of The Who's Keith Moon.

Peart officially joined the band on July 29, 1974, two weeks before the group's first US tour. Peart procured a silver Slingerland kit which he played at his first gig with the band, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann in front of over 11,000 people at the Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on August 14, 1974.^[10]

Early career with Rush[link]

Peart soon settled into his new position, also becoming the band's primary lyricist. Before joining Rush, he had written few songs, but, with the other members largely uninterested in writing lyrics, Peart's previously underutilized writing became as noticed as his musicianship.^[11] The band were working hard to establish themselves as a recording act, and Peart, along with the rest of the band, now had to learn to live from a suitcase.

His first recording with the band, 1975's Fly by Night, was fairly successful, winning the Juno Award for most promising new act,^[12] but the follow-up, Caress of Steel, for which the band had high hopes, was greeted with hostility by both fans and critics.^[13] In response to this negative reception, most of which was aimed at the B side-spanning epic "The Fountain of Lamneth", Peart responded by penning "2112" on their next album of the same name in 1976. The album, despite record company indifference, became their breakthrough and gained a following in the United States.^[14] The supporting tour culminated in a three-night stand at Massey Hall in Toronto, a venue Peart had dreamed of playing in his days on the Southern Ontario bar circuit and where he was now introduced as "The Professor on the drum kit" by Lee.^[15]

Peart returned to England for Rush's Northern European Tour and the band stayed in the United Kingdom to record the next album, 1977's A Farewell to Kings in Rockfield Studios in Wales. They returned to Rockfield to record the follow-up, Hemispheres, in 1978, which they wrote entirely in the studio. The recording of five studio albums in four years, coupled with as many as 300 gigs a year, convinced the band to take a different approach thereafter. Peart has described his time in the band up to this point as "a dark tunnel."^[16]

Playing style reinvention[link]

In 1992, Peart was invited by Buddy Rich's daughter, Cathy Rich, to play at the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert in New York City. Though initially intimidated by the request, Peart accepted the offer and performed for the first time with the Buddy Rich Big Band. Peart remarked that he had little time to rehearse, and noted that he was embarrassed to find the band played a different arrangement of the song than the one he learned.^[17] Feeling that his performance left much to be desired, Peart decided to produce and play on two Buddy Rich tribute albums titled Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich in 1994 and 1997 in order to regain his aplomb.

While producing the first Buddy Rich tribute album, Peart was struck by the tremendous improvement in ex-Journey drummer Steve Smith's playing, and asked him his "secret." Smith responded he had been studying with drum teacher Freddie Gruber. As a result, Peart would put Rush-related activities on hold while he regularly met with Gruber.

In early 2007, Peart and Cathy Rich again began discussing yet another Buddy tribute concert. At the recommendation of bassist Jeff Berlin, Peart decided to once again augment his swing style with formal drum lessons, this time under the tutelage of another pupil of Freddie Gruber, Peter Erskine, himself an instructor of Steve Smith.^[17] On October 18, 2008, Peart once again performed at the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. The concert has since been released on DVD.

Family tragedy and recovery[link]

Soon after the conclusion of Rush's Test for Echo Tour on July 4, 1997, Peart's first daughter and then-only child, 19-year-old Selena Taylor, was killed in a single-car accident on Highway 401 near the town of Brighton, Ontario, on August 10, 1997. His common-law wife of 22 years, Jacqueline Taylor, succumbed to cancer only 10 months later on June 20, 1998. Peart, however, maintains that her death was the result of a "broken heart" and called it "a slow suicide by apathy. She just didn't care."^[18]

In his book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, Peart writes that he told his bandmates at Selena's funeral, "consider me retired."^[18] Peart took a long sabbatical to mourn and reflect, and travelled extensively throughout North and Central America on his motorcycle, covering 88,000 km (55,000 mi). After his journey, Peart decided to return to the band. Peart wrote Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road as a chronicle of his geographical and emotional journey.

Peart was introduced to photographer Carrie Nuttall in Los Angeles by long-time Rush photographer Andrew MacNaughtan. They married on September 9, 2000. In early 2001, Peart announced to his bandmates that he was ready to return to recording and performing. The product of the band's return was the 2002 album Vapor Trails. At the start of the ensuing tour in support of the album, it was decided amongst the band members that Peart would not take part in the daily grind of press interviews and "Meet and Greet" sessions upon their arrival in a new city that typically monopolize a touring band's daily schedule. While Peart has always shied away from these types of in-person encounters, it was decided that exposing him to an endless stream of questions about the tragic events of his life was not necessary.^[19][20][21]

Since the release of Vapor Trails and his reunion with fellow band mates, Peart has returned to work as a full-time musician. Rush released a cover EP, Feedback in June 2004 and their 18th studio album Snakes & Arrows in May 2007, supported by tours in 2004, 2007, and 2008.

In the June 2009 edition of Peart's website's News, Weather, and Sports, titled "Under the Marine Layer", he announced that he and Nuttall were expecting their first child.^[22] Peart and Nuttall's first child, Olivia Louise Peart, was born on August 12, 2009.

Peart and the rest of the band toured North America, South America and Europe on the Time Machine Tour, which concluded on July 2, 2011, at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington.

Musicianship[link]

Style and influences[link]

Peart (right, behind Alex Lifeson & Geddy Lee) performing with Rush.

Peart's drumming skill and technique is well-regarded by fans, fellow musicians, and magazines.^[1][23] His influences are eclectic, ranging from Jon Thomas, John Bonham, Michael Giles, Ginger Baker, Phil Collins, Steve Gadd, and Keith Moon, to fusion and jazz drummers Billy Cobham, Buddy Rich, Bill Bruford and Gene Krupa.^[24][25] The Who was the first group that inspired him to write songs and play the drums.^[26] Peart is distinguished for playing "butt-end out", reversing stick orientation for greater impact and increased rimshot capacity. "When I was starting out", Peart said, "if I broke the tips off my sticks I couldn't afford to buy new ones, so I would just turn them around and use the other end. I got used to it, and continue to use the heavy end of lighter sticks – it gives me a solid impact, but with less 'dead weight' to sling around."^[27]

Peart had long played matched grip, but shifted to traditional as part of his style reinvention in the mid-1990s under the tutelage of jazz coach Freddie Gruber.^[3] Shortly after the filming of his first instructional DVD A Work in Progress, Peart went back to using primarily matched, though he does switch to traditional when playing songs from Test for Echo and during moments when he feels traditional grip is more appropriate, such as the rudimentary snare drum section of his drum solo. He discusses the details of these switches in the DVD Anatomy of a Drum Solo.

Equipment[link]

Neil Peart and his 360 degree drumkit

With Rush, Peart has played Slingerland, Tama, Ludwig, and Drum Workshop drums, in that order.^[28]

Peart played Zildjian A-series cymbals and Wuhan china cymbals until the early 2000s when he switched to Paragon, a line created for him by Sabian.^[28][29] In concert, Peart uses an elaborate 360-degree drum kit, with a large acoustic set in front and electronic drums to the rear.

Neil Peart began incorporating electronic drums beginning with 1984's Grace Under Pressure

During the late 1970s, Peart augmented his acoustic setup with diverse percussion instruments including orchestra bells, tubular bells, wind chimes, crotales, timbales, timpani, gong, temple blocks, bell tree, triangle, and melodic cowbells.^[28] Since the mid-1980s, Peart has replaced several of these pieces with MIDI trigger pads. This was done in order to trigger sounds sampled from various pieces of acoustic percussion that would otherwise consume far too much stage area. Some purely electronic non-instrumental sounds are also used. One classic MIDI pad used is the Malletkat Express which is a two-octave electronic MIDI device that resembles a xylophone or piano. The Malletkat Express is composed of rubber pads for the "keys" so that any stick can be used. Beginning with 1984's Grace Under Pressure, he used Simmons electronic drums in conjunction with Akai digital samplers.^[28] Peart has performed several songs primarily using the electronic portion of his drum kit. (e.g. "Red Sector A", "Closer to the Heart" on A Show of Hands (video) and "Mystic Rhythms" on R30.) Peart's drum solos also feature sections performed primarily on the electronic portion of his kit.

Shortly after making the choice to include electronic drums and triggers, Peart added what has become another trademark of his kit: a rotating drum riser.^[28] During live Rush shows the riser allows Peart to swap the prominent portions of the kit (traditional acoustic in front, electronic in back). A staple of Peart's live drum solos has been the in-performance rotation-and-swap of the front and back kits as part of the solo itself. This special effect provides both a symbolic transition of drum styles within the solo and a visual treat for the audience.

In the early 2000s, Peart began taking full advantage of the advances in electronic drum technology, primarily incorporating Roland V-Drums and continued use of samplers with his existing set of acoustic percussion. His digitally-sampled library of both traditional and exotic sounds has expanded over the years with his music.

In April 2006, Neil took delivery of his third DW set, configured similarly to the R30 set, in a Tobacco Sunburst finish over curly maple exterior ply, with chrome hardware. He refers to this set, which he uses primarily in Los Angeles, as the "West Coast kit". Besides using it on recent recordings with Vertical Horizon, he played it while composing parts for Rush's latest studio album, Snakes & Arrows. It features a custom 23-inch bass drum; all other sizes remain the same as the R30 kit.

On March 20, 2007 Peart revealed that Drum Workshop prepared a new set of red-painted DW maple shells with black hardware and gold "Snakes & Arrows" logos for Neil to play on the Snakes & Arrows Tour.^[30]

Peart has also designed his own signature series drumstick with Pro-Mark.^[31] The Promark PW747W, Neil Peart Signature drumsticks, are made of Japanese White Oak, which adds more weight than a standard hickory stick. They have the thickness of a standard 5A (0.551", 1.4 cm) but are longer (16.25", 41.3 cm) with a thicker taper and larger olive shaped wooden tip. When Rush held their Time Machine Tour, Pro-Mark released three limited edition sticks, each with one of the three designs selected from Peart's "Steam Punk" tour kit printed with Copper ink. Some other artists who use the Neil Peart Signature series include Ben Johnston (Scottish musician) of Biffy Clyro, Richie Hayward of Little Feat and Paul Garred of The Kooks.

During the 2010 Time Machine Tour Peart used a new DW kit which was outfitted with brass hardware and time machine designs to match the tour's Steampunk theming. Matching Paragon cymbals with clock imagery were also used.

Solos[link]

Peart is noted for his distinctive in-concert drum solos,^[32] characterized by exotic percussion instruments^[33] and long, intricate passages in odd time signatures.^[23][34][35] His complex arrangements sometimes result in complete separation of upper- and lower-limb patterns; an ostinato dubbed "The Waltz" is a typical example.^[36] His solos have been featured on every live album released by the band. On the early live albums (All the World's a Stage & Exit...Stage Left), the drum solo was included as part of a song. On all subsequent live albums, the drum solo has been included as a separate track. His instructional DVD Anatomy of a Drum Solo is an in-depth examination of how he constructs a solo that is musical rather than indulgent, using his solo from the 2004 R30 30th anniversary tour as an example.

Lyrics[link]

Peart is also the main lyricist for Rush. Literature has always heavily influenced his writings^[37] and, as such, he has tackled a wide range of subjects. In his early days with Rush, much of his lyrical output was influenced by fantasy, science fiction, mythology and philosophy.^[38] However, nearly as much would deal with real world or personal issues such as life on the road and parts of his adolescence.