Drum Kit Research Articles

Toward deep drum source separation

In the past, the field of drum source separation faced significant challenges due to limited data availability, hindering the adoption of cutting-edge deep learning methods that have found success in other related audio applications. In this letter, we introduce StemGMD, a large-scale audio dataset of isolated single-instrument drum stems. Each audio clip is synthesized from MIDI recordings of expressive drum performances using ten real-sounding acoustic drum kits. Totaling 1224 h, StemGMD is the largest audio dataset of drums to date and the first to comprise isolated audio clips for every instrument in a canonical nine-piece drum kit. We leverage StemGMD to develop LarsNet, a novel deep drum source separation model. Through a bank of dedicated U-Nets, LarsNet can separate five stems from a stereo drum mixture faster than real-time and is shown to considerably outperform state-of-the-art nonnegative spectro-temporal factorization methods.

The applications of dynamic time warping in the source separation of percussive sounds

Music source separation (MSS) is the process of splitting various components of a musical piece into individual tracks. This process combines the fields of acoustics and machine learning to extract useful data from music, which assists in a variety of music information retrieval tasks. In the past decade, many methods have been employed to perform MSS with varying levels of success. This research explores the use of dynamic time warping (DTW) for MSS tasks in the time domain. DTW is an algorithm that performs a temporal alignment of two time series to measure their similarity. It is unique in that the algorithm will minimize the Euclidean distance between the two sequences by stretching or compressing them to optimize similarity. This makes DTW a distinctive method for MSS, as it operates entirely in the time domain and classifies sounds without the interference of time warping. The research performed focuses only on the separation of transient, percussive sounds. Measurements taken with a drum kit and a selection of digital drum sounds served as the foundation for tests of the algorithm. The results of this research illustrate the potential of DTW in time domain MSS applications.

ФИЗИОЛОГИЯ БАРАБАНЩИКА. ИНДИВИДУАЛЬНЫЙ ПОДХОД К ВЫБОРУ ТЕХНИК И ПОСАДКЕ ЗА БАРАБАННОЙ УСТАНОВКОЙ С УЧЕТОМ ФИЗИОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ОСОБЕННОСТЕЙ МУЗЫКАНТА

The drum is one of the most spectacular instruments that unites musical com-position, filling it with rhythm, drive and dynamics. Historically, the drum was the instrument of communications and warnings about danger, part of military affairs. Some issues of physiological work in forming an effective technique for holding sticks, sitting of the performer and his footwork have arisen when using drums in everyday practice and in training drummers. The article con-siders the key directions of work at the class of percussion instruments: vari-ants of locks and techniques for holding (German and French) percussion sticks, features of sitting at the drum kit and the technique of playing with feet that allow to form the musician’s correct sitting excluding physiological clamps of the apparatus.

Evidence of a Double Pulse Muscle Activation Strategy in Drummers’ Trunk and Upper Limb Muscles During High-velocity Cymbal Crashes

Background: Playing the drum kit is a physically and cognitively demanding task, and skilled drummers share many such attributes with elite athletes. The ‘double pulse’ muscle activation (DPMA) pattern is a motor control strategy that has been observed in athletes of sports involving ballistic movements (e.g., baseball, golf, Mixed Martial Arts), and is believed to function to increase force transfer to the target. Objective: This study examined the muscle activation patterns of highly skilled drummers for evidence of a DPMA during high-velocity cymbal crashes. Methods: Five drummers were instrumented with electromyography electrodes on the right latissimus dorsi, triceps brachii, erector spinae, rectus abdominis, deltoideus posterior (DP), teres major, extensor carpi radialis, and flexor carpi ulnaris muscles. Six trials of data were collected, including a resting baseline, three maximum voluntary exertions (MVE) consisting of maximal effort cymbal crashes, a drumming pattern that included multiple crashes, and a ‘free-play’ trial. Results: The DPMA waveform was observed in all trials, but only those observed during the MVE trials were confirmed to coincide with the crashing movement via video analysis. The DP muscle – which functions to extend the shoulder joint to crash the stick on to the cymbal – exhibited confirmed DPMAs the most frequently. Conclusion: The extent to which drummers use the DPMA to produce high-velocity cymbal crashes within authentic playing conditions is inconclusive and needs further examination. Future study of the DPMA phenomenon in drummers would benefit from the addition of 3-dimensional motion capture to further understand the purpose of the muscle contractions of the DPMA.

Adaptive Drum Kit Learning System: Impact on Students’ Learning Outcomes

Computer technology is increasingly integrated into various teaching and educational processes. The role of various educational tools and artificial intelligence in the educational process is becoming more and more significant for overall educational success. In this paper, a review of the scientific literature on the application of computer technology for music education is given, with an emphasis on learning to play musical instruments. It has been observed that for many created systems, proper evaluation was not conducted to determine the created systems’ effectiveness in achieving desired learning outcomes. An innovative part of this paper is a description of a new conceptual model of an adaptive system for self-paced learning to play musical instruments. A prototype of an adaptive drum kit learning system has been created based on the presented model. The main goal of this research was to determine the effectiveness of created prototype in achieving students’ learning outcomes. In the evaluation process, the use of created prototype was compared to other self-paced learning methods to learn how to play the drum kit. The obtained data were analyzed by ANOVA method, along with other appropriate statistical methods. The results of the research showed that the use of an adaptive drum kit learning system has a positive impact on achieving learning outcomes. The participants who learned to play using the created prototype were more precise in playing, played more accurate rhythmic patterns, and were rated with higher marks by an independent expert compared to the control groups. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that there is a potential for the application of computer technology in the process of learning to play musical instruments.

Toward a meaningful technology for instrumental music education: Teachers’ voice

In musical instrument training, researchers have gradually started exploring the potential of interactive technologies supporting learning processes and teaching methods. Although numerous technological tools have been proposed to enhance instrument learning and teaching, these methods rarely find their way into daily practice and teaching routines. In this study, we report data from an online survey study administered to violin and drum kit teachers. Results reveal distinct learning profiles of novice violin and drum kit students and exhibit a variety of teaching approaches toward adults and children. Furthermore, they provide more insight into teachers’ opinions on the use of virtual reality (VR) and smart wearable technologies in early instrumental training, as well as their attitudes regarding technology design. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of involving teachers in the initial stages of technology design to facilitate technology acceptance and adoption, prevent potential mismatches between requirements regarding technological functionality and actual user needs, and promote musical growth and skill acquisition.

The Hairy Ape

The Hairy Ape

Whiplash, Buddy Rich, and Visual Virtuosity in Drum Kit Performance

AbstractThe 2014 film Whiplash depicts successful jazz drumming as an athletic exhibition of speed and endurance, in a manner that reflects its protagonist's idolization of Buddy Rich (1917–87). The crowd-pleasing virtuosity of Rich and Whiplash has drawn critics’ ire, but this article interrogates the ideas of musical authenticity that underpin their complaints, and offers a more productive analysis of the film's drum kit performances and their inspiration, informed by a range of jazz, film, and performance scholarship. Specific attention is drawn to the performances’ visual attractions. Whiplash's fast editing style and shots of exertion – grimacing, sweat, blood – give non-expert viewers a sense of drumming's physical and mental demands, and much the same is true of Rich's exaggerated movements and expressions, whether seen live or (as is commonly the case) amplified by a screen's mediation.

Injury Prevention Considerations for Drum Kit Performance.

For any skilled performer to deliver their optimal performance, preparation must extend beyond task-specific skill development to include psychological skills training, physical conditioning, and injury prevention. The keynote lecture upon which this article is based (delivered at the International Symposium on Performance Science 2021) explored current research that demonstrates the importance of physical conditioning and injury prevention for drummers (i.e., percussionists who play the drum kit). Early results revealed that professional drummers’ heart rates during live performances can reach similar levels to those of other professional athletes during competitions. They also established that playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) are very common in drummers, particularly those affecting the upper limbs such as tendinitis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Evidence from laboratory-based studies supports non-neutral postures, repetitive movements, and exposure to hand-arm vibration as risk factors for the development of these injuries in drummers. Embedding injury prevention education within drum kit curricula is a promising strategy for reducing the rates at which drummers report experiencing PRMDs, and the barriers and facilitators that drum kit educators encounter when attempting to do so are currently under investigation. When drummers include both physical conditioning and injury prevention within their overall preparation regimen, they will maximize their potential to deliver their peak performance.

Sonic Ecologies

Sonic Ecologies

The Beginning of Memory

The Beginning of Memory

A Critical Examination of Percussion and Drums in the Collegiate Curriculum

Abstract The drum kit is a musical instrument comprising various items of percussion. It is ubiquitous in popular music (the majority of music produced and consumed by contemporary society) but is largely excluded as a requirement in the collegiate percussion studio. The authors contextualize this phenomenon in the wider cultural disparity between music in society (99% rock, pop, hip-hop and other contemporary styles) and music in higher education (almost exclusively Western art music and jazz). We ask the following four research questions: (1) How frequently is drum kit taught in the collegiate percussion studio, relative to other percussion instruments? (2) If drum kit is taught, what topics are taught? (3) If the participants play drum kit themselves, how did they learn? (4) What opportunities and/or challenges exist for drum kit instruction in the percussion studio? Fifty collegiate percussion instructors completed an online survey. Participants agreed that drum kit is important for music-making and teaching after leaving college, but for most, drum kit takes a backseat to snare drum, timpani, and marimba as foundational instruments of Western art music. We argue that including drum kit in the collegiate studio would require a shift in pedagogy and aesthetic orientation, but that such shifts are necessary in order for the collegiate percussion studio to remain relevant. Further research is required to understand how the percussion studio and higher music education more broadly can better serve students and society, including in music teacher education and in kindergarten through 12th grade schools. This article's exploration of drum kit and percussion underscores the importance of discussing the places and purposes of myriad musics and musicians throughout music education contexts.

The Acoustics of the Modern Jazz Drum Kit

The Acoustics of the Modern Jazz Drum Kit

Drum Groove Corpora

Patterned microtiming deviations from metronomic regularity are ubiquitous in the performance of metered music. The relevance of microtiming to the perception of music has been studied since the 1980s. Most recently, microtiming has been investigated as a cause of groove (i.e., the pleasant urge to move in response to music). The study of microtiming relies on the availability of microtiming data. This report presents three large corpora of onset timings derived from drum kit performances in popular Anglo-American popular music styles. These data are made freely available (CC 4.0 license) to provide a resource for use by analysts and experimenters alike. They offer a common point of reference for future studies into the temporal facets of music performance. The datasets adhere to FAIR principles; they thus facilitate replication of analyses and experimental stimuli.

The Musical Language of Rock

The Musical Language of Rock

Chinese toms in the making of the drum kit: Localization and exoticism

The late nineteenth century and early decades of the twentieth century saw the drum kit emerge as an assemblage of musical instruments that was central to much new music of the time and especially to the rise of jazz. This article is a study of Chinese drums in the making of the drum kit. The notions of localization and exoticism are applied as conceptual tools for interpreting the place of Chinese drums in the early drum kit. Why were distinctly Chinese drums used in the early drum kit? How did the Chinese drums shape the future of the drum kit? The drum kit has been at the heart of most popular music throughout the twentieth century to the present day, and, as such, this article will be beneficial to educators, practitioners and scholars of popular music education.

Tone and training: Teaching drum kit students on acoustic versus electronic instruments

This article explores elements of tonal production in acoustic drums to support an argument for its use in the learning environment, as opposed to electronic drums. Aspects discussed include tonal production, range of dynamics, dynamics between components of the drum kit, articulation, specific sticks, specific types of strokes and stylistic elements. The argument focuses on describing how each of these factors work on acoustic drum kits, in what ways they differ on electronic kits and how auditory perception and training can work hand in hand with developing technical facility. Tonal quality is an important aspect for all musicians, irrespective of the instrument. An important thread in this discussion is tonal quality on the drum kit and how it is valuable in the process of training musical drummers.

Finding the drummer: A reflection during isolation

Drummers, in providing a cohesive role in a group setting, are generally valued by other instrumentalists depending on their ability to accompany sensitively and supportively; while important to all forms of popular music in which the drum kit features, the part itself is usually not created to exist independently. In recent times of lockdown and enforced isolation during the first half of 2020, drummers have found themselves deprived of the ability to make music with other people in a traditional live setting. This article examines the drummer’s reliance on the group, the value that this gives the drum kit, and the implications for identity and purpose of the drummer. In reflecting on the author’s own situation of musical ‘standstill’, and in conversation with other drummers, this article discusses the consequences this has for the drum kit (creative autonomy as an instrument) and for the drummer (implications for drummer’s self-identity), in how it may be taught, learned and viewed in the wider context of music making.

Injury prevention education provided during formal drum kit training is associated with lower frequency reporting of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders

This study explored the relationship between receiving ergonomics/injury prevention education (PrevEd) during formal drum kit training and drummers’ histories of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) and their engagement in PRMD prevention behaviours. It also explored what they were taught with respect to PrevEd. A mixed-methods analysis of a subset of previously collected survey data (N = 831) revealed that while 81 per cent of the respondents had completed formal training, only 42 per cent had received PrevEd from their instructors. Respondents who had not received PrevEd were nearly twice as likely to report both lifetime and seven-day histories of PRMD than those who had. They also engaged in warm-ups, cool-downs and exercise significantly less often. Overall, the findings suggest that including PrevEd within drum kit curricula, while reinforcing the importance of regular engagement in optimal PRMD prevention behaviours, warrants further consideration as a primary PRMD prevention strategy.

‘Feeling Brazilian’: The search for authenticity in drum kit playing

The influence of Brazilian rhythms is pervasive in modern drum kit practices. Information about them can be accessed through drumming books or online searches, with ostinatos for the feet and sticking combinations for the hands, which usually are adaptations from patterns traditionally played with hand percussion instruments. Those patterns instruct drummers on what to play; however, the discussion on how to play them to sound authentic is scarce. This article explores this topic and suggests that timing nuances and performance gestures are fundamental for its comprehension. In that sense, an exclusively analytical approach to the rhythmic nuances, in which grooves are described in terms of milliseconds, is not considered sufficient. In order to fully grasp the ‘Brazilian feel’, it is suggested that a broader spectrum of elements of expression should be observed, as dancing, religion, spoken language and other aspects of everyday life might have effects on musical outcomes.