# Drum pads ## Big, soft drum pads for small drummers A drum kit that fits in a tablet and won't wake the baby: six pads, each a different sound, big enough to hit with a whole hand. Nothing to win, nothing to record, just banging out a beat. ## About this toy Six big drum pads fill the screen, each with its own colour, picture and sound: a deep big drum, a dry snare, a round small drum, a soft hi-hat, a shaker and a little bell. Every tap makes the pad bounce, so the beat can be seen as well as heard, and several pads can be played at once with different fingers. The pads are big enough for a three-year-old's whole hand, and older children like copying a beat that a grown-up taps first. Drumming feels loud even when it isn't, so check the device volume before starting; a built-in limit keeps many hits at once from getting harsh. ### How to play Tap a pad to play it. Use two hands to play two pads together, or drum a rhythm with all your fingers. Hold a pad down and nothing more happens; each new tap is a new beat. ### A good first go Try "big drum, snare, big drum, snare" slowly, then add the shaker in between. Or copy a rhythm a grown-up plays on a table. ### Good to know There is no recording, no rhythm game and no score: it is a set of drums to bang on. The sounds are soft by design, with no crashing cymbals. On a phone held upright the pads stack two across; on a tablet on its side, three across. How the sounds are made, with the numbers: [how the sounds work](https://fidgetkey.com/how-the-sounds-work/#drum-pads). Last updated 11 October 2026 ## The six pads - **Big drum** (red): a deep, pillowy boom, like a bass drum hit with a soft beater. - **Snare** (yellow): a short, dry tap with a little buzz. - **Small drum** (green): a round "bom", higher than the big drum. - **Hi-hat** (blue): a soft, closed "tss", kept gentle on purpose. - **Shaker** (purple): a quick rattle, like beads in an egg. - **Bell** (pink): a small, clear "ding" that rings on for a moment. The sounds are made on the device at the moment of each tap, and every hit comes out a tiny bit different, the way a real drum does. How each one is built is described on the [how the sounds work](https://fidgetkey.com/how-the-sounds-work/#drum-pads) page. ## Ways to play together - **Echo me:** a grown-up plays three or four beats, the child plays them back. - **Loud and quiet:** tap slowly for a lullaby beat, quickly for a parade. - **Band:** one person keeps a steady big drum, the other adds the bell and the shaker. - **Sing along:** keep the beat on the big drum while singing a favourite song. ## Setting it up A tablet lying flat on a table makes the best drum: the pads are big enough for a flat hand, and two children can sit on either side. Turn the device volume down before the first tap; the drums fade in at the start of a visit, but a quiet room makes even a soft boom sound big. If the sound bothers anyone, the round speaker button turns it off while the pads keep bouncing, and a child can still play a silent rhythm and watch it. On a phone, holding it upright puts the six pads in two columns of three, which suits two thumbs. There are no settings to learn and nothing to win. The pads don't light up in a sequence or ask to be copied; whatever a child plays is the right answer. ## Gentle on ears and eyes There are no cymbal crashes or sharp bangs: the loudest sound, the big drum, is mostly low and soft, and everything goes through a limiter so a flurry of taps can't get suddenly loud. The first sound of a visit fades in. Pads bounce when hit rather than flashing, so fast drumming doesn't make the screen flicker. ## Questions people ask ### Can my child play two drums at once? Yes. Every pad listens to its own finger, so two hands (or two children) can play together. ### Can we record a rhythm? No. Nothing is recorded or saved; the drums only make sound while they are being played. ### Why does the drum not keep playing when I hold my finger on it? Like a real drum, each tap is one hit. Lift the finger and tap again for the next beat. ### Will it be loud? The sounds are soft and go through a limiter. Turn the device volume down before the first tap, then bring it up to a comfortable level. ### Does it work without sound? The pads still bounce with every tap, so a child can see the beat with the sound off. ### Can I play it with a keyboard? Yes. Press Tab to move between the pads and Space or Enter to play one.