Traditionally considered an instrument used primarily for improvisation in popular music, the drumset has emerged in contemporary music as a solo instrument with prescribed notation. While there is a growing interest in this repertoire today, composers have drawn inspiration from the drumset since the early developmental stages of the instrument itself in the early twentieth century. In the context of popular music, generations of drummers have explored new musical and technical possibilities of drumset performance. It is this history that remains linked to the drumset even when crossing over into the context of contemporary composition. Drummers in popular music have influenced the musical content, the approach to performance, and even our preconceived ideas of the musical and technical potential of this instrument when it is used in contemporary art music. The purpose is to highlight new performance techniques and musical possibilities for drumset performance used in contemporary art music, while identifying the composed repertoire’s links to traditional and fundamental drumset practices. This will show that an awareness of the drumset’s roots in popular music styles has a significant effect on both composer and performer.