Percussionist or Drummer?

Are you a young musician, and you’re having trouble deciding whether you want to be a percussionist or a drummer? Maybe I can shed some light on this subject.

When I first started playing the drums in 6th grade, I never thought about the difference between being a percussionist or a drummer. I don’t think I even knew what percussion was. My band director called my section ‘drums’, and didn’t refer to us as percussionists, percussion, or drummers. I wouldn’t hear the word percussion regularly until the following year when I was in a new school. I remember being 12 years old and in 7th grade having a discussion with my band director, Marc Blanchette, about what the difference was between a percussionist and a drummer.

He said, “Drummers play drums or a drum set, but percussionists can play everything.” I am not sure if Mr. Blanchette had a secret motive for telling me this. I don’t know if he secretly hoped that I would feel challenged to not only learn drums but mallets as well, thus being able to program a wider variety of music for the band. Regardless, his words influenced me. I accepted the challenge to be as proficient on all percussion instruments as I could.

Truthfully, my competitive nature and desire to separate myself from other less serious drummers in the band was what drove me to want to learn percussion and be considered a percussionist. However, after a while I began to be very curious and motivated to learn as much about percussion because it made me happy.  

The reality is that the difference between percussionists and drummers is small. All percussionists are drummers, but not all drummers are percussionists. Does percussionist imply smart and drummer imply dumb? No. Drummer implies a specific musician that plays mainly drums, and a percussionist is a musician who plays multiple instruments in the percussion family.  

If you are reading this blog and asking yourself, “Should I be a percussionist or a drummer?”, I would say not to worry about what you want to call yourself. What may be more helpful is to ask yourself “What music do I want to play and what options are available to me?”

 By the time I graduated high school I had performed with the following musical groups:

-          Concert Band

-          Jazz Band

-          Handbell Choir

-          Choir

-          Men’s Choir

-          Liturgy Ensemble (Church Music at Church and School)

-          Youth Orchestra

-          Garage Bands

These were the ensembles that I wanted to be in and what was available to me. If you are looking at my list wondering why I didn’t want to be in marching band, the answer is that there was not a marching band at my school. Marching band did not seem like an option, nor did it seem appealing. My high school did not have a football team and the closest we did to marching band was a once a year parade in which members of our concert band walked down the street playing a John Philip Sousa march.

Playing in jazz and garage bands and also church gave me the chance to play drum set. Singing in choirs helped me become more comfortable with pitch and using my voice. Playing in concert bands and orchestras meant I was playing snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, xylophone, glockenspiel, chimes, vibraphone, marimba, tambourine, triangle, wood blocks, and so much more.

After graduating high school, I went to college for music at The Hartt School at the University of Hartford. What I thought I knew about percussion and music before my freshman year of college would turn out to be a mere drop in the ocean. Not only did I have to become way more proficient at instruments that I already knew, but there were new instruments and new ensembles. I was not only in orchestra and concert band, but percussion ensemble, chamber music ensemble, new music ensemble, world music ensemble, and steel band. I couldn’t believe all that I was learning and being exposed to.

It may seem that based upon what I have written that I would suggest that everyone should choose being a percussionist over being a drummer. Not necessarily. It really comes down to what you want to do, what you have time for, and what is available to you. There are some people who love sitting at a drum set and never want to touch a mallet instrument. There are some people who live for playing one loud cymbal crash in a symphony that last over an hour to play, but don’t ever want to be in a marching band.

I hesitate to say that there may be a financial consideration when choosing between being a percussionist and a drummer. If we go back to our earlier idea that drummers just play a drum set and percussionists play everything, then it does seem like being a percussionist is more expensive. However, it all depends on what you choose or need to spend your money on. You could take $700.00 and buy a decent drum set, or you could buy one really nice, concert snare drum. You could take $3,000.00 and buy a really nice drum set, or you could buy lots of mallets and accessory percussion. The point is that spending money on musical instruments should be considered an investment, and investments have to be weighed and measured carefully.

In closing, I hope this has been helpful or at least interesting for you to read. If you are still wondering what to do, I would say just try it out and see what you like. If you have an questions you want to ask me, email me at fraley.percussion@gmail.com.