A floor tom or low tom is a double-headed

tom-tom drum A tom drum (also known as a tom-tom) 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, thoug ...

which usually stands on the floor on three

leg A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element cap ...

s. However, they can also be attached to a

cymbal stand A cymbal stand is a stand designed primarily to support a suspended cymbal in a drum kit or percussion section. There are many forms, including: * Straight stands. * Simple boom stands. * Counterweighted boom stands. * Zero-offset boom stands. * M ...

with a drum clamp, or supported by a

rim mount A rim mount is a drum kit accessory that allows a drum to be supported without any contact to its shell. The rim mount attaches instead to the drum rim or hoop. Most commonly used for hanging toms, they are also available for floor toms, and m ...

. It is a cylindrical drum without snare wires, and tend to produce a booming, resonant sound which can vary in pitch. The floor toms are the lowest tuned drums played with sticks on a regular

drum set A drum kit or drum set (also known as a trap set, or simply drums in popular music and jazz contexts) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and sometimes other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The drummer ty ...

. Common sizes are * 16x16, that is, in both depth and diameter. This was the original size and is still most common. * × 14 for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and fusion kits, and very occasionally with a 16x16 as well. * 18x16; that is, in diameter and 16 in depth, the most common size for a second floor tom, used with a 16x16. * 16x18, a rarer size sometimes used for a second floor tom, also with a 16 × 16. Floor toms can be mounted: * In the traditional manner, with three adjustable legs. * On three legs but connected to them by means of a

on the lower rim, the original floor tom rim mounting. * Attached to a

drum rack Drum hardware is the set of parts of a drum or drum kit that are used to tension, position, and otherwise support the instruments themselves. Occasionally, the hardware is used percussively as well, the most common example being a rim shot. John ...

or a (very heavy duty)

by means of a rim mount on the top or bottom rim. * Attached to a

or a

by means of a standard

hanging tom Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerous countries and region ...

mount on the drum shell. This method is generally restricted to the smaller, 14x14 floor toms. The floor tom was popularized by

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

in the 1950s, using a 16x16. The floor tom is also used as a small bass drum by some (mostly

) drummers. In that case it is mounted horizontally on a specially designed rack system. More recently, companies such as

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...

have come out with "floor tom to bass drum conversion sets". These commonly consist of strategically shaped rods that one can put in place of the floor tom legs to stand it up horizontally. Under this method, it is fairly common that a drummer get appropriately sized bass drum hoops to complete the conversion process. Floor toms are also used in music parades, often being carried and then lifted up and hit to add effect. It can also be used as a substitute for

surdo The surdo is a bass drum or a large floor tom-like drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, such as Axé/ Samba-reggae and samba, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section. The instrument was created by Alcebíades Barcelos duri ...

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

and bossa eir. These drums are also found in a jazz band drum kit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floor Tom Drum kit components Drums nl:Floortom