Drum stick Drum stick A drumstick is a type of percussion mallet used particularly for playing snare drum, drum kit and some other percussion instruments, and particularly for playing unpitched percussion. Specialized beaters used on some other percussion instruments, such as the metal beater or "wand" used with a triangle, and particularly beaters or "mallets" used with tuned percussion such as xylophone and timpani, are not normally referred to as "drumsticks". Drumsticks generally have all of the following characteristics: The archetypical drumstick is turned from a single piece of wood, most commonly of hickory, less commonly of maple, and least commonly but
Drum stick still in significant numbers, of oak. Drumsticks of the traditional form are also made from metal, carbon fibre and other modern materials. The tip or bead is the part most often used to strike the instrument. Originally and still commonly of the same piece of wood as the rest of the stick, sticks with nylon tips have also been available since 1958, originally conceived by Jonathan Humphrey and Joe Calato in Niagara Falls, NY. In the 1970s, an acetal tip was introduced, designed by Ken Drinan and Paul Kiersted. Tips of whatever material are of various shapes, including acorn, barrel,