Percussive Arts Society
The Percussive Arts Society is a nonprofit international organization serving percussionists, percussion educators, researchers, and enthusiasts.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
The Percussive Arts Society (PAS) is a United States-based nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the study, performance, teaching, and appreciation of percussion. Established in 1961, it serves professional percussionists, music educators, students, composers, researchers, instrument makers, and other participants in the percussion community. Rather than operating as a conventional consumer brand, PAS functions as a professional association, educational platform, publishing organization, event producer, standards-setting body, and cultural institution. The society is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and operates through a chapter network. Its membership base includes more than 5,000 members associated with approximately 40 chapters in the United States and a further 28 chapters outside the country, according to the organization’s Wikipedia description. This structure gives PAS both a national presence in American music education and an international role in connecting percussion communities across performance traditions, educational systems, and geographic markets. One of PAS’s most visible activities is the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, commonly known as PASIC. Held annually since 1976, PASIC brings together performers, teachers, students, clinicians, manufacturers, exhibitors, and researchers. The convention is described as the largest gathering of drummers and percussionists in the world. Its programming provides a forum for concerts, masterclasses, demonstrations, workshops, educational sessions, and professional networking, making it a major meeting point for the global percussion field. PAS has also influenced percussion pedagogy through the PAS 40 International Snare Drum Rudiments. This group of rudiments is widely treated as a standard reference for snare-drum technique and instruction. By identifying and promoting a common set of foundational patterns, the society has helped support consistency in teaching and examination practices while also preserving an important part of percussion’s instructional tradition. Publishing is another core part of the organization’s work. PAS publishes Percussive Notes, a bimonthly journal containing material relevant to percussion performance, education, scholarship, and professional practice. The society has also used other publications to serve specialized and general-interest audiences. Rhythm! Scene was published as a magazine from 2014 and became the organization’s official blog in 2020. PAS previously published Percussionist, later renamed the Percussive Notes Research Edition, before its functions were incorporated into Percussive Notes. In addition to its association, event, and publishing roles, PAS operates a public-facing museum. The society owns and manages the Rhythm! Discovery Center at its downtown Indianapolis headquarters. Opened in 2009, the 15,000-square-foot museum contains an approximately 800-piece collection, rotating exhibitions, and interactive programming. The center extends PAS’s mission beyond its membership by offering visitors an accessible way to encounter percussion instruments, performance practices, technological developments, and the history of drumming. PAS’s overall positioning is educational, professional, international, and community-oriented. Its activities combine practical instruction with scholarly documentation, live performance with museum interpretation, and member services with public outreach. The organization’s principal areas of value are the creation and circulation of percussion knowledge, the development of professional and educational networks, the staging of major events, and the preservation and presentation of percussion culture. It remains an active nonprofit association rather than a publicly listed company or a subsidiary of a larger corporate group.
History
The Percussive Arts Society was founded in the United States in 1961 as a nonprofit association for professional percussionists and percussion educators. Its formation reflected the growing need for a dedicated organization capable of connecting performers, teachers, students, researchers, and other specialists across the expanding percussion field. From the beginning, PAS combined professional association functions with educational and cultural objectives, helping percussion occupy a more clearly defined place within contemporary music institutions and pedagogical practice. In 1963, the society began publishing Percussive Notes. The bimonthly publication became an important channel for sharing information about percussion performance, instruction, research, and professional activity. PAS also developed additional publishing initiatives over time. Percussionist was later renamed the Percussive Notes Research Edition before its functions were combined with Percussive Notes. These publishing changes consolidated the society’s written resources while retaining its commitment to both practical and scholarly material. A major expansion of PAS’s public and professional role came in 1976, when it began hosting the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, known as PASIC. The convention developed into an annual international event bringing together artists, educators, students, manufacturers, exhibitors, and researchers. Its concerts, clinics, demonstrations, workshops, and educational sessions established PASIC as a central forum for the percussion community. It is described as the largest convention for drummers and percussionists in the world. PAS also became associated with a widely used framework for technical instruction: the PAS 40 International Snare Drum Rudiments. The rudiments provide a standardized reference for foundational snare-drum patterns and remain influential in percussion education. Their significance lies not only in the individual exercises but also in the common vocabulary they provide for teachers, students, performers, and assessment systems. The society broadened its public-facing activities with the opening of the Rhythm! Discovery Center in 2009. Located at PAS’s downtown Indianapolis headquarters, the museum occupies approximately 15,000 square feet and houses an 800-piece collection. Its rotating exhibitions and interactive programs present percussion instruments and practices in a format intended for both specialists and general visitors. Through the center, PAS combines collection stewardship, interpretation, hands-on learning, and public outreach. PAS continued adapting its communications during the 2010s and 2020s. Rhythm! Scene was published as a magazine beginning in 2014 and later became the organization’s official blog in 2020. This change illustrates the society’s shift toward digital communication while maintaining its role as a source of news, commentary, and community information. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis and operates through a substantial chapter network in the United States and abroad. Its reported membership and chapter structure give it an international reach while preserving a strong educational and professional base in the United States. Across its history, PAS has operated through several mutually reinforcing activities: member and chapter services, convention production, periodical publishing, standards and instructional resources, and museum education. It is therefore best understood as an international nonprofit knowledge and community organization for percussion rather than as a conventional commercial product brand.
- 2020
Rhythm! Scene becomes the official blog
[1]The publication transitions from a magazine format to the society’s official blog.
- 2014
Rhythm! Scene magazine begins
[1]PAS begins publishing Rhythm! Scene as a magazine for the percussion community.
- 2009
Rhythm! Discovery Center opens
[1]The society opens a 15,000-square-foot percussion museum at its Indianapolis headquarters.
- 1976
First annual PASIC convention period
[1]PAS begins hosting its annual international convention, later recognized as a leading global gathering for percussionists.
- 1963
Percussive Notes launched
[1]PAS begins publishing its bimonthly journal, which covers percussion performance, education, and research.
- 1961
Percussive Arts Society founded
[1]The nonprofit society is established in the United States to serve professional percussionists and percussion educators.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit professional and educational society that connects the international percussion community through events, publications, standards, chapters, research, and museum-based public education.
International convention · 1976
PASIC
The Percussive Arts Society International Convention is the organization’s flagship annual event. Since 1976, it has brought together percussion performers, educators, students, researchers, manufacturers, and exhibitors through concerts, clinics, demonstrations, workshops, and professional programming. PASIC functions as both a large-scale public event and a specialist meeting point for the international percussion sector.
Educational standard
PAS 40 International Snare Drum Rudiments
The PAS 40 International Snare Drum Rudiments are a structured set of foundational snare-drum patterns promoted by the society. They are widely used as a reference in percussion teaching and practice, giving educators and students a shared vocabulary for technical development and helping standardize the presentation of basic snare-drum skills.
Journal · 1963
Percussive Notes
Percussive Notes is PAS’s bimonthly journal. It provides a formal publication channel for material concerning percussion performance, music education, research, professional practice, and developments within the percussion community. The journal also absorbed functions previously associated with the Percussive Notes Research Edition.
Museum and educational center · 2009
Rhythm! Discovery Center
The Rhythm! Discovery Center is a public percussion museum owned and managed by PAS in downtown Indianapolis. Opened in 2009, it occupies approximately 15,000 square feet, holds an approximately 800-piece collection, and presents rotating exhibitions and interactive programs designed to introduce visitors to percussion instruments and culture.
Digital publication and blog · 2014
Rhythm! Scene
Rhythm! Scene began as a PAS magazine in 2014 and later became the organization’s official blog in 2020. Its transition reflects PAS’s use of digital publishing to communicate with members and the broader percussion community.
Brand decisions
2020
Transition of Rhythm! Scene to an official blogStrategyBackground
PAS had published Rhythm! Scene as a magazine since 2014 and subsequently shifted the publication into a digital blog format.
Action taken
The society made Rhythm! Scene its official blog, consolidating the publication as an online communication channel.
Aftermath
The change expanded the organization’s digital publishing role; the available reference material does not provide audience, financial, or performance results.
Recent events
- 2020
Rhythm! Scene transitions from magazine to official blog[1]
Other
Rhythm! Scene, which had been published as a magazine since 2014, became the official blog of the Percussive Arts Society.
- 2009
Rhythm! Discovery Center opens in Indianapolis[1]
Product launch
PAS opened the Rhythm! Discovery Center at its Indianapolis headquarters as a public museum with a percussion collection, rotating exhibitions, and interactive programming.
- 1976
PASIC becomes an annual international convention[1]
Other
The society began hosting the annual Percussive Arts Society International Convention, which developed into a major global gathering for drummers and percussionists.
- 1963
Percussive Notes begins publication[1]
Other
PAS began publishing Percussive Notes, a bimonthly journal focused on percussion-related performance, education, and scholarship.
- 1961
Percussive Arts Society is established in the United States[1]
Other
The Percussive Arts Society was founded as a nonprofit organization serving professional percussionists and percussion educators.
Sources2 sources
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