Why Does One Person Play Five Instruments at Once? Somebody Had to Save Money

Nineteenth century theatre and dance bands employed several percussionists, one on bass drum, one on snare and others on cymbals and effects, because the instruments could not be played by one person. Two developments changed that. A pedal allowing the bass drum to be struck by foot freed the hands, with practical designs appearing around 1900 and a reliable one patented in 1909. A stand holding cymbals within reach did the same for them. Once one player could cover the whole section, theatres and small venues employed one instead of four, which is why the assembly spread so fast and why its development tracks the economics of live music rather than any musical argument.

The core arrangement stabilised and remains recognisable:

• •A bass drum played by a foot pedal
• •A snare drum, with wires beneath the lower head giving the characteristic rattle
• •Tom toms of several sizes, mounted and floor standing
• •A pair of cymbals on a stand operated by the other foot
• •A ride cymbal for continuous patterns and crash cymbals for accents
• •A seat positioned so all of it is reachable without moving

Each component is doing something specific and the design reflects it. The bass drum is large, low and short in decay, since its job is to mark time at the bottom of the texture without ringing over the next beat, which is why it is damped internally. The snare produces a sharp broadband crack because the wires stretched beneath its lower head buzz against it, which adds noise across the spectrum and makes the instrument cut through anything. Tom toms are tuned to indefinite pitches and are used in sequence for fills. Cymbals sustain, which is why the pair operated by the foot exists, since closing them stops the sound instantly and gives a crisp articulation that a free cymbal cannot.

Four limbs doing different things at once is the technical demand and it is unlike anything asked of other instrumentalists. A common pattern has the right hand playing a steady division on a cymbal, the left hand placing accents on the snare at specific points, the right foot marking the pulse on the bass drum and the left foot closing the cymbals on other beats, with all four patterns of different lengths and none aligning except occasionally. Learning that is a matter of building each limb pattern until it requires no attention and then adding the next, which is why practice is slow and repetitive. Experienced players report attending to the overall pattern rather than to any limb, which is what makes improvisation possible.

The instrument has been rearranged repeatedly by the music played on it. Early jazz players used a large assortment of effects including woodblocks, cowbells and whistles, most of which disappeared. Swing playing moved the continuous pulse from the closed cymbals to the ride. Rock playing increased the size of everything, added multiple bass drums and demanded far more volume, which changed how drums were built and eventually required amplification. Recording practice shaped it further, since a studio wants each component separately controllable. Electronic pads and hybrid arrangements now sit alongside acoustic ones. The assembly is therefore not a fixed instrument at all but a personal arrangement that every player configures.

A foot pedal for the bass drum around 1900 and stands holding cymbals within reach let one seated player cover what had been a section of several, which venues adopted for cost. Bass drum, snare, toms and cymbals each do a specific job, with the snare wires adding broadband noise and the foot-operated cymbals giving articulation a free cymbal cannot. Every style since has rearranged the assembly.