How to Play the Snare Drum
Set up your snare drum., Practice different matched grips., Try a traditional grip for soft sound and jazz., Use correct posture., Practice striking the drums.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Set up your snare drum.
If you want to play an instrument, you need to understand how to set it up safely.
This way, you can follow guidelines and practice efficiently.
The snare drum is a small, circular drum that can be placed on a metallic stand.
Your stand will usually have a base, comprised of three to four moveable legs.
Spread the legs wide enough to create a stable base for the drum.
The stand should not be wiggling at all as you begin to fit the snare drum into it.On the top of your case, there is a metallic chamber where you secure your snare drum.
This called the basket.
Gently fit your drum into the basket, making sure the drum stays relatively still in response to pressure and movement.The snare drum should be at about waist level.
If your snare drum is too high or too low, adjust the stand's height accordingly.
Your snare drum should tilt towards you slightly.
If you feel uncomfortable or awkward as you begin playing, you can tweak how the drum is tilted for your personal comfort.Wing nuts are screws found on your snare drum stand, which have large, wing-like bolts.
Make sure you go through and tighten all the wing nuts slightly each time you begin playing your snare drum. -
Step 2: Practice different matched grips.
Depending on the type of drumming you're doing, you grip your sticks differently.
Before you begin to play the snare drum, spend some time familiarizing yourself with different grips.
In a matched grip, common with beginners, you hold both drumsticks in the same way.
This is a standard type of grip for most drumming techniques.
There are three ways to use a matched grip.
In a Germanium grip, common in rock drumming, find the balance point or fulcrum point of your drumsticks.
Grip your drum with your thumb and index finger here, placing your remaining fingers at the bottom of the drum stick.
Keep your elbows out and bend the drum sticks at a 90 degree angle pointing towards the snare drum.
Your palms should be pointing down.
The American grip is the same as the Germanium grip in terms of how you hold the drumsticks.
However, the angle is slightly different.
Let your arms fall down and point the drumsticks at a 45 degree angle pointing to the snare drum, once again keeping your palms down.
Many people find the American grip comfortable, so it's popular for drumming beginners.The third kind of matched grip is the French grip.
You hold the drumsticks close together and almost parallel.
You also keep your palms up when holding your sticks.
This might not be the best hold for beginners.
While it allows for quicker movements, it can be hard to maintain control over drum strokes., A traditional grip is most common in jazz drumming.
Hold the stick with your palm up, placing the balance point of your stick in the pocket created between your thumb and index finger.
Keep your index and middle finger on top of the stick and your pinky and ring finger on the bottom of your stick.
As you don't get as much power out of strokes with this grip, use it for softer styles and jazz., Your posture is important when it comes to drumming.
You will not play as effectively without good posture and you can also cause yourself back pain.
Learn correct posture before you begin playing the snare drum.
Keep your legs slightly apart when you stand and hold your back straight.
Keep your arms at your sides.
Allow them to rest in a position that's comfortable to you.Once again, the drum should be at waist level.
Adjust the stand if it's too high or too low.
Keep your body relaxed, especially your shoulders, hands, and arms., To begin, just experiment with drum strokes.
Before learning specific moves or techniques, make sure you know how to use your drumsticks correctly.
The end of a drumstick is referred to as the bead.
The bead of a drumstick should move up and down in a straight line as you play.Try your best to hit the same part of the drum with each beat.
This can take some practice as it's hard to have full control over the movement of your drumsticks when you're first starting out.The sticks should bounce off of the drums.
To achieve a bouncing effect, keep your fingers, hands, and arms relaxed.Practice just beating on the drum freely until you feel like you have some control over the drumsticks.
Then, you can start learning some moves. -
Step 3: Try a traditional grip for soft sound and jazz.
-
Step 4: Use correct posture.
-
Step 5: Practice striking the drums.
Detailed Guide
If you want to play an instrument, you need to understand how to set it up safely.
This way, you can follow guidelines and practice efficiently.
The snare drum is a small, circular drum that can be placed on a metallic stand.
Your stand will usually have a base, comprised of three to four moveable legs.
Spread the legs wide enough to create a stable base for the drum.
The stand should not be wiggling at all as you begin to fit the snare drum into it.On the top of your case, there is a metallic chamber where you secure your snare drum.
This called the basket.
Gently fit your drum into the basket, making sure the drum stays relatively still in response to pressure and movement.The snare drum should be at about waist level.
If your snare drum is too high or too low, adjust the stand's height accordingly.
Your snare drum should tilt towards you slightly.
If you feel uncomfortable or awkward as you begin playing, you can tweak how the drum is tilted for your personal comfort.Wing nuts are screws found on your snare drum stand, which have large, wing-like bolts.
Make sure you go through and tighten all the wing nuts slightly each time you begin playing your snare drum.
Depending on the type of drumming you're doing, you grip your sticks differently.
Before you begin to play the snare drum, spend some time familiarizing yourself with different grips.
In a matched grip, common with beginners, you hold both drumsticks in the same way.
This is a standard type of grip for most drumming techniques.
There are three ways to use a matched grip.
In a Germanium grip, common in rock drumming, find the balance point or fulcrum point of your drumsticks.
Grip your drum with your thumb and index finger here, placing your remaining fingers at the bottom of the drum stick.
Keep your elbows out and bend the drum sticks at a 90 degree angle pointing towards the snare drum.
Your palms should be pointing down.
The American grip is the same as the Germanium grip in terms of how you hold the drumsticks.
However, the angle is slightly different.
Let your arms fall down and point the drumsticks at a 45 degree angle pointing to the snare drum, once again keeping your palms down.
Many people find the American grip comfortable, so it's popular for drumming beginners.The third kind of matched grip is the French grip.
You hold the drumsticks close together and almost parallel.
You also keep your palms up when holding your sticks.
This might not be the best hold for beginners.
While it allows for quicker movements, it can be hard to maintain control over drum strokes., A traditional grip is most common in jazz drumming.
Hold the stick with your palm up, placing the balance point of your stick in the pocket created between your thumb and index finger.
Keep your index and middle finger on top of the stick and your pinky and ring finger on the bottom of your stick.
As you don't get as much power out of strokes with this grip, use it for softer styles and jazz., Your posture is important when it comes to drumming.
You will not play as effectively without good posture and you can also cause yourself back pain.
Learn correct posture before you begin playing the snare drum.
Keep your legs slightly apart when you stand and hold your back straight.
Keep your arms at your sides.
Allow them to rest in a position that's comfortable to you.Once again, the drum should be at waist level.
Adjust the stand if it's too high or too low.
Keep your body relaxed, especially your shoulders, hands, and arms., To begin, just experiment with drum strokes.
Before learning specific moves or techniques, make sure you know how to use your drumsticks correctly.
The end of a drumstick is referred to as the bead.
The bead of a drumstick should move up and down in a straight line as you play.Try your best to hit the same part of the drum with each beat.
This can take some practice as it's hard to have full control over the movement of your drumsticks when you're first starting out.The sticks should bounce off of the drums.
To achieve a bouncing effect, keep your fingers, hands, and arms relaxed.Practice just beating on the drum freely until you feel like you have some control over the drumsticks.
Then, you can start learning some moves.
About the Author
Catherine Rivera
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