Bass drum

The earliest known predecessor to the bass drum was the Turkish davul, a cylindrical drum that featured two thin heads stretched over hoops and attached to a narrow shell. This instrument produced a sound much deeper than that of any other drum in existence, making it indispensable for war and combat where a deep, percussive tone was needed to ensure forces marched in proper step. The Ottoman Janissaries in the 18th century were one of the first groups to utilize davuls in their music, creating military bands primarily made up of davul, cymbal, and kettle drum players. These drums were ideal for military use because of the unique way they could be carried; Ottoman soldiers hung their davuls at their breasts with thick straps, allowing them to transport instruments from battle to battle with ease. This practice was not limited to the Ottoman Empire, as Egyptian soldiers also braced similar drums with cords to carry them during military movements. Beyond the battlefield, davuls were a major aspect of Turkish folk dances, with davul and shawm players performing together in groups called davul-zurnas, or drum and shawm circles, within Ottoman society.

From Wood to Metal

As the use of the davul spread across Europe, composers and musicians began seeking even deeper tones for their compositions, leading to the introduction of the gong drum in Britain during the 19th century. This narrow-shelled, single-headed drum measured 70 to 100 centimeters in diameter and was deep-shelled, similar to the long drum in both size and construction. When struck, the gong drum produced a deep sound with rich resonance, but its immense size and lack of a second head to balance the sound meant it produced a definite pitch. This characteristic made it nearly impossible to incorporate into an orchestra in any meaningful way, causing it to fall out of favor with many composers. Music makers then began building smaller gong drums that would not carry a definite pitch, creating the prototype for the modern orchestral bass drum. The modern bass drum is double-headed, rod-tensioned, and measures roughly 40 inches in diameter and 20 inches in width, typically situated within a frame that allows it to be positioned at any angle.

The Pedal Revolution

In 1900, the Sonor drum company introduced its first single bass drum pedal, but it was William F. Ludwig who made the bass drum pedal workable in 1909, paving the way for the modern drum kit. A bass drum pedal operates much like the hi-hat control, where a footplate is pressed to pull a chain, belt, or metal drive mechanism downward, bringing a beater or mallet forward into the drumhead. The beater head is usually made of felt, wood, plastic, or rubber and is attached to a rod-shaped metal shaft. The pedal and beater system are mounted in a metal frame, and like the hi-hat, a tension unit controls the amount of pressure needed to strike and the amount of recoil upon release. This innovation allowed drummers to play the bass drum with their feet, freeing up their hands for other instruments and transforming the role of the bass drum from a stationary orchestral instrument to a dynamic component of the drum kit.

From Wood to Metal

The Pedal Revolution

The Double Bass Drum

The first person to use and popularize the double bass drum setup was jazz drummer Louie Bellson, who came up with the idea when he was still in high school. By 1941, Ray McKinley was also using this setup, but it was not until the 1960s that double bass drums became popularized by rock drummers such as Ginger Baker of Cream, Keith Moon of The Who, Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd. After 1970, the technique became an integral part of heavy metal, as pioneered by drummers like Les Binks, Carmine Appice, Ian Paice, Cozy Powell, Phil Taylor, and Tommy Aldridge. American thrash metal band Slayer's former drummer Dave Lombardo was named the godfather of double bass by the magazine Drummerworld. Double bass drumming can be achieved with a number of techniques, most commonly with simple alternating single strokes, but some drummers use the heel-toe technique to perform two hits with one foot movement, causing less fatigue at higher tempos.

The Marching Bass Line

The bass line is a unique musical ensemble consisting of graduated pitch marching bass drums commonly found in marching bands and drum and bugle corps. Each drum plays a different note, giving the bass line a unique task in a musical ensemble to convey complex rhythmic and melodic content, not just to keep the beat. The line provides impact, melody, and tempo due to the nature of the sound of the instruments, and usually has from as many as seven bass drums to as few as two, with most high school drumlines consisting of between three and five. The drums are typically between 16 and 32 inches in diameter, but some groups have used bass drums as small as 14 inches and larger than 36 inches. The drums in a bass line are tuned such that the largest will always play the lowest note with the pitch increasing as the size of the drum decreases, and individually, the drums are usually tuned higher than other bass drums of the same size so that complex rhythmic passages can be heard clearly and articulated.

Techniques of the Foot

There are three primary ways to play single strokes with one foot: the heel-down technique, where the player's heel is planted on the pedal and the strokes are played with the ankle; the heel-up technique, where the player's heel is lifted off of the pedal and the strokes originate from the hip; and the floating stroke, where the heel is lifted off the pedal as in heel-up, but the stroke is played primarily from the ankle. Drummers such as Thomas Lang, Virgil Donati, and Terry Bozzio are capable of performing complicated solos on top of an ostinato bass drum pattern. Thomas Lang, for example, has mastered the heel-up and heel-down to the extent that he is able to play dynamically with the bass drum and to perform various rudiments with his feet. In order to play doubles on the pedal, drummers can employ three main techniques: slide, swivel, or heel-toe, with the heel-toe technique allowing the foot to be suspended above the footboard of the pedal, bringing the entire foot down and snapping it up to play very fast double strokes on the bass drum.

Bass drum

From Wood to Metal

The Pedal Revolution

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The Double Bass Drum

The Marching Bass Line

Techniques of the Foot

From Wood to Metal

The Pedal Revolution

The Double Bass Drum

The Marching Bass Line

Techniques of the Foot