29 Surprising Statistics And Facts About Drumming

Drumming is an integral part of many music genres, from rock and pop to jazz and hip hop.

It’s a highly skilled and technical art form that requires a lot of practice, dedication, and talent. There are countless interesting statistics and facts about drummers, drumming, and drum kits that can shed light on the industry and the people who play this instrument.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most interesting drum statistics, including information on drumming world records, average drummer salaries, the evolution of the drum kit and more.

Drums statistics and facts

1. The largest drum set in the world has a total of 813 pieces and was created by Mark Tempesta source.
2. The oldest drums found are dated from 6000 BC and were found from Neolithic or ‘New Stone Age’ period excavations source.
3. The most expensive drum set in the world is Ringo Starr’s Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl Drum Kit which was auctioned in 2015 for $2.2 million dollars source.
4. The most expensive manufactured drum set was the Neil Peart Commemorative R30 Drum Kit produced by DW in 2006. Only 30 were made and they sold for approximately $30,000. Unlike the Ringo Starr drumkit above these were not owned by Neil Peart source.
5. The most expensive snare drum in the world is the 1925 Ludwig, William S. Hart Jr. Gold Snare, currently for sale for $117,995 source.
6. The largest single drum measures 5.54m (18’2”) in diameter is 5.96m (19’6”) tall and weighs 7 tonnes (15,432lb 5.76 oz). It is a traditional Korean “CheonGo” drum and was created by Yeong Dong-Gun local government and Seuk Je Lee in Simcheon-Meon, South Korea on 6 July 2011 source.
7. The first drum set was created by the Ludwig Drum Company in 1918. Named the “Jazz-Er-Up” the set included a single-bass drum and pedal, a snare, two cymbals and a woodblock source.
8. The modern hi-hat was only invented in the 1920s, before that the hi-hat was referred to as a “low-boy” and the cymbals were only about a foot off the ground (so too low to play with drumsticks) source.
9. The average drum set has a total of 5-7 drums, including a bass drum, snare drum, and tom-tom drums.
10. The average drum set has a total of 3-4 cymbals, including a hi-hat, ride, and crash cymbals.
11. Graeme Edge, the drummer of The Moody Blues, and Brian Groves, a Professor at Sussex University worked together to create the first electronic drum in the early 1970s. The drum was featured on the song “Procession” from The Moody Blues’ 1971 album “Every Good Boy Deserves Favour” source.
12. The bass drum pedal was invented by William Ludwig in 1909 source.
13. Playing with a double bass was pioneered by the drummer Louie Bellson in 1952 source. It was later made famous by Ginger Baker of Cream source.

Drummer statistics and facts

1. The fastest drum roll on record was played by 11-year-old Pritish A.R. at a speed of 39.5 beats per second with a total of 2,370 strokes per minute source.
2. The longest drum roll on record was played by Pandit Sudarshan, a British drummer, who played a continuous roll for 16 hours 41 minutes and 50 seconds. He broke his own record of 14 hours from July 2018 source.
3. The largest drum ensemble consisted of 10,045 drummers and was achieved by the Hong Kong Federation of Young Groups in Hong Kong on 29 June 2007 source.
4. The most nationalities in a single drum circle was achieved by the City of Stirling in Australia with 77 different nationalities present during the Harmony Day Event on 15 March 2019 source.
5. The longest group drum roll was achieved in 2014 by 40 members of the Corps of Drums of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Band Service who took it in turns to play on the same snare drum for 64 hours, 27 minutes and 59 seconds source.
6. The largest full drum set ensemble consisted of 798 drummers and was achieved by Richard Prince and Stick it to MS (UK) at EventCity in Manchester, UK, on 15 July 2012 source.
7. The biggest drum lesson had 2,285 participants and was achieved at an event in Vöcklabruck, Austria on 13 September 2019 source.
8. Drummers can burn on average 600 calories per hour while playing source.
9. The largest air drum ensemble included 2,297 participants. It was organized by the San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino in Highland (California, USA) on October 12, 2012 source.
10. The average salary for a drummer in the US is $58,302 per year. Chicago has the highest average salary at $60,782 per year source.
11. The highest paid drummer in the world is Phil Collins, who has a net worth of $45 million source.
12. The longest single drumming session by an individual is 134 hours and 5 minutes which was achieved by drummer Steve Gaul in Canada. He started playing on the 14th of August 2015 and finished on the 19th source.
13. The first drummer to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was Ringo Starr of The Beatles in 1988. The Beatles were inducted by Mick Jagger (The Rolling Stones). Ringo Starr was also inducted as a solo performer in 2015 by Paul McCartney source.
14. 581 drummers achieved the world record of “most people performing a drum roll online”. The feat was organized by Legacy 150 Celebrations Society on 1st of July 2021 source.
15. The record for the largest djembe drum ensemble was set by Dell Technologies Greater China on March 15th 2019, with a total of 1,197 participants source.
16. The largest collection of autographed drumsticks belongs to Peter Lavinger who has collected over 1,300 sticks which have all been played by drummers from popular bands and handed to him (including Ringo Starr’s sticks from the Beatles) source.

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Conclusion

It was quite interesting collating these facts and figures - hope you’ve learned something new through this article (at the very least you can impress your friends at parties with your esoteric drumming knowledge).

If you have an interesting fact I’ve missed please let me know so that I can add it!