Snare drum

What it means

The snare drum (German kleine Trommel) is a flat cylindrical drum with two heads. Across the lower head a carpet of coiled wires is stretched that vibrates along when the upper head is struck and produces the characteristic rattling, snarring sound. The carpet can be lifted off with a lever; then the drum sounds dry and dull. It is played with two wooden sticks, occasionally with brushes or bundles of rods. It has no definite pitch but does have a tuning that is set via the head tension.

In the notation

The snare drum is notated in a percussion line on one line or in the percussion staff. Rolls appear as tremolo strokes, grace notes as small notes. Playing instructions concern the type of stick, the striking point, and the carpet; the markings with snares and without snares, or snares on and snares off, are usual in scores.

Musical use

The snare drum comes from military music and kept this overtone even in the orchestra, where it has been firmly anchored since the nineteenth century. It supplies sharp rhythmic contour, drives intensifications, and can build up tension with a long roll. In wind and marching-band music it is the rhythmic backbone; in the drum-kit writing of popular music it carries the accents. Because of its cutting power, dynamic gradation is especially important — it stays audible even in pianissimo.

Other names

Snare (snare drum) is the English designation and refers to the snare wires under the lower head that produce the typical sound. In the drum kit it is the central instrument for backbeat and rudiments.

Performance practice

First build up an even hand position and practise single strokes, double strokes, and the roll separately; the closed roll arises from controlled rebounding of the sticks, not from fast drumming. Watch the striking point — the middle of the head sounds full, closer to the rim thinner. Tune both heads and check the tension of the carpet; a too-loose carpet rattles on afterward. For quiet passages, lay a cloth on if necessary when the score calls for a muted sound. Keep the sticks loose so that the rebound can work.

Bear in mind that the type of stick and the choice of head change the sound more strongly than the strength of the attack: thin sticks and a fine head give clarity, heavy sticks power. Keep several pairs ready for orchestral duty. Practise the transition from the roll to the single stroke, because most uncertainties arise there. Check the tension of the carpet in the room and not in the rehearsal room, since it acts differently there. With long rolls, plan the dynamic course exactly, for the instrument tends to become louder of itself.