The Rimshot: How to Play One Without Wrecking Sticks
A rimshot is played by hitting the head and the rim at the same time, and it produces a crack that sounds nothing like a normal snare hit. It is the loudest, most defining sound a snare makes — and it is also the fastest way to destroy a set of sticks if you play it wrong.
The short answer
Rest the stick across the head with the bead about one to two inches from the rim. Then strike so that the stick hits the head and the rim simultaneously, with the rim contact happening on the shaft just behind the bead rather than on the bead itself.
That last detail is the whole thing. A rimshot where the bead hits the rim is a stick-destroying click; a rimshot where the shaft hits the rim is a controlled crack.
Rimshot versus rim click
Two different sounds that beginners confuse constantly.
Rim click (also called a cross-stick): the stick is laid across the head with the tip resting on the head and the shaft on the rim, and the sound is produced by the shaft hitting the rim alone. The bead stays on the head and produces almost nothing. The result is a dry, woody "tok" — quiet, and used as a backbeat substitute in ballads and quiet sections.
Rimshot: the stick strikes both surfaces at once. The result is a loud, sharp crack with a lot of high frequency. Used to make the snare cut through a loud band.
They are used in opposite situations. A rim click is what you play when you need to be quiet; a rimshot is what you play when you need to be heard over a wall of guitars.
The technique, step by step
One: set up the angle. Hold the stick in a normal grip and rest the bead on the head about one to two inches from the rim. The stick should be at a shallow angle, roughly parallel to the head rather than pointing steeply down.
Two: aim for the shaft. The contact point on the rim should be on the shaft, between the bead and about three inches up. If the bead touches the rim, stop and adjust.
Three: strike down and slightly inward. The stroke is a normal accent stroke aimed so the stick reaches the head and rim together. Do not swing harder than you would for a loud accent — a rimshot is loud because of the rim, not because of extra force.
Four: use the rebound. After the strike, let the stick come away. Holding it in contact with the rim after impact is what chews through the wood.
Five: check the sound. A correct rimshot is a crack with a distinct high overtone. A click with no body means you hit the rim too near the bead. A normal snare sound with extra noise means you missed the rim.
Why it breaks sticks
Three mechanisms, and they are all avoidable.
Hitting the rim with the bead. This concentrates all the force on a small piece of wood at the weakest point of the stick, and the wood splits along the grain. It is the most common cause of broken sticks among rock drummers.
Holding the stick against the rim after impact. The rim keeps vibrating while the stick is in contact, and the repeated small impacts fatigue the wood over hundreds of strokes.
Using thin sticks. A 7A will not survive regular rimshots. Most drummers who play them use 5A or heavier, and some use a heavier model specifically for this reason. Stick selection is covered in best drum sticks.
The practical rule: rimshots cost sticks. Budget for it rather than trying to avoid it. If you play a lot of rimshots, expect to replace sticks roughly twice as often as a drummer who does not, and choose a thicker model accordingly.
When to use one
Three situations, and they are all about being heard.
Loud bands. A rimshot is the only way a snare cuts through distorted guitars. In a rock band at stage volume, a normal snare hit disappears and a rimshot is audible.
Specific accents. A single rimshot at a chorus entry or a stop is a very effective arrangement device — one loud crack and back to normal.
Certain styles. Some genres imply rimshots on the backbeat by default: punk, hard rock, and a lot of live country. See punk drum beats for a style where it is effectively standard.
Where not to use one: almost everywhere else. Jazz, folk, most pop, and anything with a vocal that needs space. A rimshot played constantly in a quiet song is the classic sign of a drummer who has learned one loud trick.
The dynamic range you actually get
A common misconception is that a rimshot replaces dynamic control. It does not — it adds a level above what you had.
The practical scale on a snare:
Ghost note — texture, barely audible, covered in ghost notes.
Tap — quiet but present, the default note in quiet passages.
Normal accent — the standard backbeat in most music.
Rimshot — the top level, roughly 6 to 10 dB louder than a normal accent and with much more high-frequency content.
A drummer with all four levels has a genuinely wide range. A drummer who has only the rimshot has one volume, played very loudly.
Practising it safely
Use an old pair of sticks. Nobody should learn a rimshot on new sticks. The learning process involves a certain amount of rim-contact error, and that is what wrecks sticks.
Practise on a snare, not a pad. Pads have no rim in the relevant sense, and the technique is entirely about the relationship between head and rim.
Start with single rimshots, not patterns. One rimshot, check the sound, reset. Ten of them, then stop for the day. Patterns come later.
Check the rim for damage. Repeated rimshots on a metal rim will eventually dent it, and a dented rim affects tuning and makes the drum harder to play. It is worth checking periodically.
::: callout
The counterintuitive part: a rimshot is louder because of the rim, not because of the stroke, so hitting harder makes almost no difference — and it is the main reason sticks break. Drummers who discover the technique instinctively swing harder to get more volume, which adds force at exactly the moment the stick is in contact with a hard metal edge. The loudest, most durable rimshot is played with a normal accent stroke aimed correctly. Every drummer who has gone through a stick a week has been solving the wrong problem.
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Notation and terminology
A rimshot is written with a small circle or a note with a slash above it, depending on the publisher, and sometimes with the abbreviation "R.S." — the conventions vary enough that it is worth checking the front matter of any book you use. Rim clicks have their own symbol, usually a note with an "x" notehead.
Standard orchestral and drumset notation is covered in drum notation symbols, and roll-related symbols are in how cymbals are notated for the cymbal side of the same system.
And the click, briefly
Since the two are constantly confused: a rim click is a much gentler technique with a completely different purpose.
Lay the stick across the head so the bead rests on the head and the shaft lies across the rim. Strike so only the shaft contacts the rim, keeping the bead pressed to the head. The result is a dry woody sound with almost no ring.
Rim clicks are the standard way to play a backbeat when a full snare would be too loud — quiet ballads, coffee-shop gigs, and sections where a vocal has to sit on top of everything. In those contexts they are not a compromise, they are the correct sound.
::: verdict
Play ten rimshots on the snare, one at a time, checking after each that the rim contact is on the shaft and not the bead. Then play one at a normal accent volume and confirm it is much louder than a regular hit. If you had to swing harder to get there, re-aim rather than push.
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Frequently asked questions
The questions readers send us most about rimshot drum.
A stroke that strikes the drumhead and the rim simultaneously, producing a loud, sharp crack with a lot of high frequency. It is the loudest sound a snare makes and is used primarily to cut through loud bands.
A rim click (cross-stick) produces sound only from the shaft contacting the rim, with the bead resting on the head — a quiet, dry, woody tone used where a full snare would be too loud. A rimshot hits both head and rim at once and is very loud. They are used in opposite situations.
Because the force is concentrated where the stick meets a hard metal edge. Two errors cause most breaks: hitting the rim with the bead rather than the shaft, and letting the stick rest against the rim after impact. Thin sticks such as 7A also break quickly — most rimshot players use 5A or heavier.
No. The volume comes from the rim contact rather than from force, so swinging harder adds little sound and a lot of stick damage. If your rimshot is not loud enough, the aim is probably wrong rather than the power.
When the snare needs to cut through a loud band, as a single accent at a chorus entry or stop, or in styles where it is idiomatic such as punk, hard rock, and live country. Constantly rimshotting in a quiet song is a well-known sign of a drummer with only one volume.