drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

ming, a trigger is an electronic

transducer A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Usually a transducer converts a signal in one form of energy to a signal in another. Transducers are often employed at the boundaries of automation, measurement, and contr ...

that can be attached to a drum,

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

or other instrument to enable it to control an

electronic drum Electronic drums is a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sounds ...

unit or similar device. Specialised triggers are produced for specific instruments. A

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

trigger, for example, will often have two channels, one each for the rim and head, while a

tom-tom drum A tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, though floor toms can go as la ...

trigger usually needs to only register strokes to the drum head. Drum triggers gained great attention in the beginning of the 1990s, being extensively used on bass drums in heavy metal music. The advantage of using drum triggers is that potential problems associated with using microphones can be overcome by triggering pre-recorded samples. It is commonly quoted that less effort is required from the drummer when using drum triggers. The drum module to which the trigger is connected can be adjusted to accommodate a range of volumes, thus preserving the dynamic range of the drummer's playing. Triggers have a greater use in live performances than in studio recordings, since some drummers dislike the processed triggered sound, labelled by some as artificial.

External links

Video demonstration of drum triggers (YouTube)
Audio transducers Drum kit components {{Percussion-instrument-stub

See also

External links