Drum kit
A combination of drums and cymbals for one player (drum set), central to jazz, rock, and pop.
What it means
The drum kit, also called a drum set, is a combination of several drums and cymbals assembled for a single player, supplemented by foot pedals for the bass drum and the hi-hat cymbal pair.
A typical basic setup consists of a snare drum, a bass drum, one or more tom-toms, a hi-hat, and at least one cymbal (crash or ride), but can be expanded freely depending on style and player.
Musical use
The drum kit in its present form emerged in the United States around the turn of the twentieth century, when drummers began using foot-operated mechanisms to let a single player control several instruments that had previously been played separately. In jazz it quickly developed into an independent, improvising instrument, while in rock and pop it became the rhythmic backbone of the band.
Setup, tuning, and playing technique differ considerably by style: jazz drummers often favor brushes and finer ride cymbal work, while rock and metal drummers favor more powerfully tuned, lower-pitched drums and forceful playing.
The drum kit should be distinguished from the percussion section, the broader term for all percussion instruments in an ensemble, which in the orchestra usually remain spread across several players, and from percussion in the narrower sense, which includes additional rhythm instruments such as congas or bongos outside the classic drum kit.
Performance practice
Practice the coordination between hands and feet separately and slowly before combining them into a groove. Keep the dynamics even between the individual drums and cymbals, so the overall sound isn't dominated one-sidedly by a single loud element.