Whaled or waled?

He waled on the drums ... he was waling on the drums.

Wait a minute! Your title is "Whaled or waled?"

I've never heard "waled."

I once got a good whaling, and I've wailed on various instruments, including the drums. I think it's all slang, to be honest.

It's true, some drummers really punish those skins!

I assume he was wailing (literally, loud lamentation).

Though he could have been whaling.

whale:
...

2 : to strike or hit vigorously

CJ

homerfarmsbyHe waled on the drums ... he was waling on the drums.

I think "on the drums" may be taken two ways.
If you say he was wailing on the trumpet, the trumpet is the instrument of his wailing, so to speak.

But if he's whaling on the trumpet, he's perhaps unhappy with it, and therefore is beating the @%* out of it!

It's "wail."

http://www.yourdictionary.com/wail?