Drums create beat and rhythm, which help structure some of the most unique and interesting musical pieces of today. One of the most commonly known drums is the snare drum or the "Military Drum." This paper will examine the snare drum in its entirety. We will discover where the snare drum came from, how the snare drum is made and finally what type of music it accompanies.

The snare drum originated from the middle ages as European folk music (5th century to 15th century AD) and was played in combination with the three-hole pipe. At the time it was called a Tabor and increased in size from the 15th to 16th centuries when it emerged as a military instrument. The Snare Drum really caught on with the Swiss foot soldier during the 1400’s as part of the "Fife and Drum Corps." In the 1500 and 1600’s the Germans caught on with their own military music. Soon the rest of Europe who would use Swiss and German mercenaries caught onto the idea. The player carried the drum by suspending it from the right shoulder. By the time of the Revolutionary War in America these and other similar drums were used in military to signal to others and to keep the troops in line with different beats. Before bedtime sometimes one player would start a beat and the other players in the other camps would signal back letting them know that they were still alive and well. A group of approximately 100 men would have one or two fifers and one or two drummers. Napoleon and in his conquest of the world soon found out that music would help motivate his troops to travel long distances. The drums told everyone when to wake up, when to eat, and when to go to bed as well as how to perform in battle. The snare drum is still commonly used for the military along the fife and by the 18th century it started to replace orchestra drums.

The drum is made from two heads attached to a shell of approximately 15-16 inches in diameter and an approximate depth of 5 inches. The top head is called a “batter head” while the lower head, which holds the snares, is called the snare head. Modern day drumheads can be made of plastic or the traditional animal skin tightened to the shell or metal or laminated wood with lacing with a W or Y pattern. Eight to ten snares, or wire bound gut strings are stretched across the lower head to help create the rattle dry sound when hit with the traditional wood sticks. The snares can sometimes be disengaged if this effect is not needed.

The snare drum has much in common with the Mbira or Sansas of Africa. The Mbira is a part of the MBIRA ceremony or a religious practice by the natives of Africa. Both instruments use an instrumental rattling type of effect to create a different and unique instrument. The Mbira is a thumb piano, which often has bottle caps and such stuck to it so when the correct key is struck it will create a similar to snare drum sound of a rattle. This is desirable in the African music and has also become a part of our modern music.

The snare drum has recently been incorporated into many different types of music. A common use for this drum is for playing taps, drumroll and bounces. Wikipedia Online states, "Today, the snare drum can be found in nearly every form of western music. Snare drums are used by marching bands and drum and bugle corps to provide a steady source of rhythm. The snare drum was incorporated into classical music to provide color for march-like segments of music. It is used in popular music styles like rock and roll and jazz to provide an accented backbeat. The snare drum is the driving force in samba music: ghost notes are played continuously with accented strokes outlining the rhythm. The snare is also used extensively in death metal, to provide a "blast beat": a rapid alternation of snare and bass drum beats."

The actual snare drum sound has no perfect sound and each type of drum has a unique but not necessarily correct or incorrect snare sound. The drum lets out a short burst of noise some lasting for very short periods of time while others may last as long as half a note. The snare is generally without pitch and is classified as a percussion instrument. The unique feature about the snare drum is that it has no specific range of frequencies. This feature makes it more desirable for pop bands. Some examples of bands identified by Alex Case who use the snare drum are as follows: Led Zeppelin in D’yer Mak’er, Nine Inch Nails in Closer, Red Hot Chili Peppers in The Power of Equality and others. When speaking about R.E.M’s song, “It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)” Paul Nelson said referring to the snare drum, “The instrumentation is varied throughout, and often to great affect. The opening snare drum ruffs are a startling kick start to the work.” The snare drum is obviously heard in modern music.

The snare drum has become an important part of our world music and will continue to do so. Few instruments have done so much to change the musical form as this drum.

Bibliography:

Brief Look at Contemporary Percussion, A. Rhythm Spice. 11-24-03 <music.rhythmspice.com/>.

Case, Alex. Recording the Snare Drum. 11-24-03 < http://www.fermata.biz/snare.pdf>.

Iben, Hayley. Snare Drum. A Guide to Symphony Orchestra Instruments. 11-24-03 < http://www.mathcs.duq.edu/>.

Kentish Guards Fife and Drum Corps. A History of Fife and Drum Music and of the Kentish Guards Fife and Drum Corps. 11-24-03 <http://www.kentishguards.org/>.

Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation. CD. Microsoft, 2000.

Snare Drum. Hyper Music. 11-24-03 <http://www.hypermusic.ca/>.

Snare Drum. Wikipedia Online. 11-24-03 <http://en.wikipedia.org/>.

© Copyright 2004, John Heathcote. All Rights Reserved.