In hip hop culture, Boom Bap refers to an onomatopoeia for the prominent percussive sounds in the style— kick (“boom”) and snare (“bap”). From the golden era of the ‘80s and ‘90s to modern trap music, this groovebased drum sextet pays homage to the evolution of hip hop.
PLAYERS AND INSTRUMENTATION Boom Bap requires 6 players with the following instrumentation:
• Drums (concert bass drum, muffled), 2 mounted kick drums, 4 snare drums, 4 graduated toms, 2 sets of bongos)
• Cymbals (2 splash cymbals, 2 pairs of hi-hats, 2 low-pitched cymbal stacks, 2 high-pitched cymbal stacks (or “crashers”), 2 suspended cymbals)
• Accessories (2 mounted tambourines, 2 sets of 3 woodblocks with contrasting pitch sets)
SETUP The following notes and diagram are intended to illustrate the ideal performance setup for Boom Bap: A number of instruments are shared between players in a symmetrical fashion as follows: • Players 1 and 2 share a mounted kick drum, mounted tambourine, and suspended cymbal. • Players 2 and 3 share a snare drum. • Players 3 and 4 share the concert bass drum. • Players 4 and 5 share a snare drum. • Players 5 and 6 share a mounted kick drum, mounted tambourine, and suspended cymbal. Additional notes: • The four toms should be graduated in size and pitch from tom 1 to tom 4, highest to lowest. • The two sets of three woodblocks should each contain three different pitches. Each set’s pitches should differ enough to create a harmonic blend. • The snare drums for players 1 and 6 are played with a splash cymbal resting on the head. All snare notes should strike the splash cymbal directly.