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 ...

ming, a trigger is an electronic

transducer A transducer is a device that Energy transformation, 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, M ...

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 sou ...

or other instrument to enable it to control an

electronic drum Electronic drums are 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 Drum synthesiser, synthesized or Sampler ...

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

snare drum The snare drum (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 u ...

trigger, for example, will often have two channels, one each for the rim and head, while a tom-tom drum 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. The new generation of drum triggers gives the possibility to install triggers inside the drum shell and not only from the outside; this allows any acoustic drum to be converted into an electronic drum. A trigger for converting an acoustic drum to an electronic one is called a UFO plate and can be obtained in a variety of sizes and also as a drum head with a built-in trigger for a bass drum.

References

External links

Video demonstration of drum triggers (YouTube)

Acoustic to electronic drum conversion video
Audio transducers Drum kit components {{Percussion-instrument-stub

See also

References

External links