Rimshot Rimshot A rimshot is a percussion technique used to produce an accented snare drum backbeat. The sound is produced by simultaneously hitting the rim and head of a drum with a drum stick: "the sound is part normal snare and part loud, woody accent," "generally sharper, brighter and more cutting," as this produces large amounts of overtones. The stroke is used on the snare in rock, pop, and blues and on the tom-toms in Afro-Cuban music. The technique is very common in ska, reggae and rocksteady. In marching percussion there are three types of rimshots. The most common is the
Rimshot rimshot when used to accent the punchline of a joke being told by a live comedian may or may not simultaneously be played with a small cymbal crash. This was popularized in comedy as staged by stand-up comedians performing at one of the resorts in the Catskill Mountain region. Many of these comics were of Jewish heritage and were known as "borscht belt comics." The best illustration of how a rimshot might be applied to a comedy routine is to look at the classic style of Henny Youngman who in addition to playing a violin would tell fast-paced, one-liner type