Playing a drum is an old tradition and cultural heritage of human civilization. For various ritualistic, cultural and entertainment purposes the tradition of playing drums have entered into the body of history of human civilization. Drum sticks are popular instruments with which you can play drums. With the help of these sticks a drummer strikes the drum heads to produce various sounds. Here is some basic information that will give you an idea on all about drum sticks.



There are various types of drum sticks like beaters, mallets and brushes, percussion sticks, orchestral, marching, traditional Japanese, alternate materials etc. They are made of different parts like

Tip

Shoulder

Shaft

Butt

Tip is the portion with which a drummer strikes the drum head. There are various types of drum sticks tips. According to the shape, it can be barrel, acorn, round, oval etc. Generally, tips are made with the same material as the rest of the sticks. But the modern drum stick manufacturers are experimenting with various coats and materials for different purposes. The shape of the tip determines the quality of the sound in many ways. For example

Tear drop. Low, heavy tone

Barrel. Full, loud volume

Ball. Prominent and floating sound

Acorn. Full, round tone

Oval. Lasting mid-tone sound

Next to tip, comes shoulder portion, which narrows at the beginning then thickens as it comes near to the shaft area. The shoulder portion has an important role to play on the weight distribution of the over all stick, and also it can produce different types of resonance with changing shape and size. The shaft area is the thickest part of the whole stick, though it has a tendency to break down at the time of rim shots or cymbal use. The shaft again slowly narrows down to end with the narrowest butt part.

Drummers employ a pair of sticks for playing the drums. There are various methods of holding the drum sticks such as matched grip, traditional grip, French grip etc. The vibration on the drum head, the reaction of the drum sticks and the quality of the resulting sounds depend on the grip, angle, strength and method of using the drum sticks. These are the basic things to know all about drum sticks. To get deeper information, you need to know about the various points that make them distinguish from another

Straightness

Density

Tip shape

Length

Wood type

Diameter

Balance

Taper

The length of the drumsticks determines the balance of the instrument. The thickness assures the durability and weight. Moreover, the thickness also defines the strength of the drumsticks and the vibration and sound of the drums.

For proper utilization of drumsticks and to know all about them, you also need to have an idea about different stick accessories like gloves of drummers and stick rap. These are helpful for their flexible and accurate use.

The pricing of drum sticks depend on various factors like

How much straight is the stick.

Whether the it is lacquered

Durability

Finishing

The manufacturing of drum sticks have been evolved sharply creating a large market. The new brands are experimenting with shapes. The latest developments in this field includes dipped sticks, anti vibration sticks etc.