I chose to write this essay on the drums, which is an instrument that I play myself. The drum is one of the oldest instruments known to man and has been used by many cultures around the world. Primitive tribal societies used drums to celebrate victory in battle, as well as in ritual dance and deity worship. The drum set (also known as a drum set or trap set), however, is an American invention whose rise was seen in the late 19th century. This is an instrument that has taken the work of several percussionists and transformed it into something that can be mastered by just one; a phenomenal contraption that has only gotten better with time and continues to develop over the years. The battery has no defined inventor but, instead, has many pioneers and innovators in the field. As the name suggests, drums are a collection of various drums and cymbals played by a single drummer using his hands and feet. The first recognizable ancestors of modern drumming arose in the Vaudeville era. Financial and theatrical space considerations required fewer percussionists to cover more percussion parts. Porter/Hullman/Hazel (1993). This was also seen in early North American brass bands; whenever the need arose for these bands to perform "indoors", they needed a way to save space and therefore found it impractical to have more than one drummer and from then on ingenious innovations began to flourish. Two such examples are the creation of the snare drum stand and the bass drum pedal, where previously the snare drum was hung around the drummer's neck or placed on a stool and the bass drum was played with a stick. The very first bass drum pedal to be created was in 1909 by William F. Ludwig Sr., percussion...... middle of paper ......drum playing has long been a male-dominated field time . However, female drummers like Nikki Glaspie and Cheryl Muchapondwa have inspired me to achieve great things. Many other drummers have left a great impression in the drumming world. Such examples are Gene Krupa (1909-1973) who is credited with encouraging a drum company to develop tom-toms with tunable top and bottom heads (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Krupa , accessed 04-09-2013). Another similar example is Buddy Rich (1917-1987), considered "the greatest drummer in the world" and was known for his virtuoso technique, power, groove and speed. Yanow, Scott. "Buddy Rich" (2007). kit is a very versatile blend of percussion instruments. It's truly a phenomenal contraption that has only gotten better with time and will hopefully continue to progress to ever greater heights.