4 comments

1. 

   Comment by Zach S on October 2, 2009 at 10:45 am

   As many as you can think of.

2. 

   Comment by Ace of Clubs on October 2, 2009 at 10:45 am

   infinate

3. 

   Comment by Saul on October 2, 2009 at 10:45 am

   I think the other answerers are thinking in terms of "beats" as in "drum loops"… and sure, the answer for that is really "infinite".

   I think you mean "different tones" or "different sounds"… and there’s a *lot* of those, too.

   Besides specific playing techniques like paradiddles and things of that nature, I think I can probably name off a few different tones that are commonly associated with drum sets.

   The basics are the kick, snare, hi-hat, ride, and splash/crash, I think. Well, toms too.

   The kick is the bass drum, and while it can have different timbres, it has one basic tone - a short percussive low-pitched thump.

   The snare is going to have two basic tones - muffled or unmuffled… one being a short snap, the other ringing out. The difference between "pssh" and "pssssshhhh", if you will.

   The sound of a stick hitting the edge of a drum is a rimshot, and I think its most commonly done on the snare.

   Hi-hats can be open or closed - "tchk" vs "tssss".

   Toms can also be dampened or undampened (is that the correct word? dunno…). The first is that tribal-sounding "thump" vs more of a "toooom" sound. I don’t think most players have more than three or maybe four toms… up to three on the rack and a big ol’ floor tom, whose tone can be as low as the kick even.

   The ride cymbal usually rings out, and usually has kind of a "ting" sound to it.

   I’m honestly not sure if the terms "splash" and "crash" are the same…. they might describe varying degrees of a more intense "tsssshhh" sound. Usually used as emphasis rather than regularly, if that makes sense. More of an exclamation point than a comma or period.

   There’s other stuff, too… the cowbell comes to mind ( "more cowbell!" ), triangles, and odd varieties of cymbals including china cymbals, gongs, and the different textures and sizes of the aforementioned rides, crashes, etc.

   Most software drum sets have the following sounds stock (in order on the MIDI piano roll) -

   Kick, Clap, Snare, Closed Hi-hat, Hi Tom, Open Hi-Hat, Mid Tom, Splash/Crash 1, Low Tom, Splash/Crash 2 (more intense than 1).

   Many software kits will also include other percussion like rim shots, conga, casaba (sp?), ride, etc. It depends on the style… a techno kit won’t have latin percussion instruments like the conga, and a jazz kit will most likely have brush hits rather than stick hits for their snare and toms.

   Saul

4. 

   Comment by jwildmanbamf on October 2, 2009 at 10:45 am

   Pretty much infinate dude.