The drum kit is one of the defining symbols of rock and roll. A set of usually four or five drums, these instruments are as memorable for their look as for their music. Yet when listening to a drummer rip through a drum solo, it is not just the sounds of the drums that stand out, but the sounds of other percussion instruments as well. Drum kits can include a number of other percussion possibilities besides the drum, including cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, tambourines and of course, cymbals. Each of these lends a certain quality to the music created by the drummer, and each has an accepted place in the drum kit.



Cymbals are probably the most common and certainly the most dramatic of the non-drum instruments in the drum kit. These instruments are thin metal discs made of various alloys. A basic drum kit will almost always include cymbals, which are usually used in one of two ways. Hi-hat cymbals are mounted on a stand with one cymbal on top of the other but not touching. The top cymbal is connected to a pedal which, when pressed, causes the cymbal to crash down into the one below. The development of the hi-hat is thought to have occurred in the mid-1920s. The other set up for the drum set cymbal is that of a suspended cymbal. In this instance, the cymbal is suspended horizontally from an arm and us played with a drumstick rather than struck against another cymbal. Both types of cymbal setups are usually found in basic drum kits.

The cowbell is another fairly common percussion instrument used in drum kits. Although it resembles an actual bell, musical cowbells do not have clappers, but are rather hollow, metal, semi-conical instruments that are meant to be played with a drumstick. Despite its unassuming name and appearance, the cowbell is used in various types of music, including salsa, pop and even R&B and hip hop. Certain cowbells are used for their distinctive sounds, some of which sound nothing like an actual cowbell. In a drum kit, a cowbell can either be hooked to the stand for cymbals or provided with a stand of its own.

Musical triangles, which some believe to have been around since the Middle Ages, are also used in drum kits. These instruments are typically made of steel and, as the name suggests, in the shape of a triangle. They are played with a specially designed stick, which is also steel. Although traditionally used in music like samba and orchestral, rock music has adopted the triangle to enough of an extent that it can usually be found on a drum kit of the genre. Groups like Queen and artists like Joni Mitchell have helped make the instrument popular. The triangle's greatest rock and roll moment was probably the 20-second triangle solo used by the Foo Fighters in their June 2008 performance at Wembley Stadium.

Finally, wood blocks make an interesting addition to the drum kit. These instruments may be the oldest musical instrument known to man, as some authorities hold that its use predates the Bronze Age. In its essence, a wood block is a small slit drum, or a hollow percussion instrument with slits in it to increase its resonance. Wood blocks are stuck with sticks and make a characteristic sound. They can be used either alone or in conjunction with other wood blocks of varying size and pitch.