How to play the snare drum

[Drummer's Instruction] Basic Snare Drum Skills

Snare Drum Skills can be said to be the most basic of all percussion instruments and **** through the skills, so if you want to learn to play a good percussion instrument, the first thing you need to do is to have a considerable degree of snare drum skills, or else you'll be twice as good as you are!

Snare Drum Stick Grip:

There are generally two ways to hold a snare drum stick, one is the traditional grip and the other is the relative (symmetrical) grip. Because the traditional grip is more difficult to get started with, we will only introduce you to the relative grip here.

When we get the bat, we first have to find the pivot point of the bat. If we divide the baton into three equal parts, the pivot point will be near the end of the baton in about one-third of an equal part. Why is this point the pivot point? Actually, the easiest way to solve a problem when you have a question about something is to experiment and prove why the answer is the way it is! So try grabbing the rest of the stick as a pivot point and see. You'll find that the best balance and flexibility is found when you grab the bar about 1/3 of the way to the end of the bar and hit it. Next, grab the pivot point with your index finger and thumb. The drumstick is positioned on the index finger at the first joint of the index finger. The thumb grasps the stick symmetrically with the index finger at the top of the knuckle. Apply force in such a way that the stick can move up and down easily between the two fingers without dropping the stick. Next, the other three fingers gently clasp the stick with the palm completely down, trying to keep the stick in line with the arm so that more muscles are available to control the stick. The left hand grip is the same as the right hand grip. This is called the relative grip. Next, whether you are playing from a seated or standing position, your body must be relaxed. Straighten your back and raise your arms naturally. If you feel stiffness in any part of your body, your posture is incorrect. Please be sure to do each step before proceeding to the next. Please don't ask me how many degrees the angle of the hands should be! As long as you have done the above, and your arms are naturally raised to place the head of the drumstick in the optimal striking position as described below, then you are in the correct position to prepare for striking.

Striking Style and Position:

Strike with your wrist without moving your arm. Strike regardless of height. Light and heavy. Fast or slow should not affect the natural and smooth movement of the wrist. The closer the two points of the drumstick head are, the better. Because of the timbre, if the two points are too far apart, the timbre will produce two different sounds, which will affect the quality of the performance. Therefore, it is important to develop this habit when you start practicing. Usually, you don't hit the snare drum at the center of the snare drum. Because hitting the center is too direct and violent. Imagine that there is a circle in the center of the snare drum with a diameter of 8 to 10 centimeters. The circumference of this circle is the best place to hit the snare drum. Don't ask why. Just try it. Regarding the movement of the percussion, simply put, it is a continuous movement, just like the feeling of bouncing when you shoot a soccer ball. So when practicing, maybe imagine your hands as a ball, and visualize the bouncing sensation.

Next, we'll talk about four striking methods that are more theoretical for beginners.

1. Down stroke: Starting at about ear level (high), the stroke goes down and stops about an inch above the drum.

2. Up stroke: After striking downward at a height of one inch, quickly pull back up to the starting point of the Down stroke.

3. Tap: The start point is about an inch above the drum surface and then gently downstrokes the drum before returning to the original start point.

4. Full stroke: The start point is about ear level (high), and this is followed by a downward stroke back to the original start point.

The above four strokes should be practiced with one hand at a very, very slow speed, and then with the other hand, and then with both hands when they are ready. Use a metronome and start at the slowest speed. These exercises are boring and tedious, but they will be very helpful for your future technique, so please be patient and practice some more! I'll explain the relevance of these exercises in future chapters where appropriate.

Single Stroke

Single Stroke is usually not a problem for the average person! However, here are some points that should be

noted and reinforced.

WARM UP exercises: Practice balance, stability and speed. Stabilization and speed.

Before each exercise, just as before exercise, there must be a warm-up exercise to help the muscles and bones, to avoid injuries, and to achieve

the best effect of the exercise. So warming up your hands is the first thing you need to do before practicing.

There are three ways to practice the warm-up exercises above:

The first is to hold the end of the stick in your hand and hold it in your fingers (but not too tightly), and only move your wrist (not for too long, as

this can lead to muscle tightness).

The second is to play in the normal batting position.

The third is to hold the hand in the normal position and practice speed exercises with only the fingers without moving the wrist. The purpose of this exercise is to train the sensitivity of the fingers

and to strengthen their muscles. It can be very helpful in the speed technique later on. Speed

is a very important part of striking technique. And for speed, the fingers play a very important role.

When practicing, please pay attention to the stability of the beat and the balance of the left and right hands. The technique is an A-B-A-B exchange cycle (so that both the left and right hands can be used as a starting balance)! Please pay attention to the height of the left and right hands, so that there is not too much difference between them. Keep the strikes as close to each other as possible (for the tone). Be careful not to overdo it! Last but not least, please use a metronome, from slow to fast.

Practice of strength (expression marks)

1. Practice of gradual strength and weakness:

Often when people see expression marks, they react to the music as if they were frightened. However, this kind of reaction usually affects the whole piece. The result is not enough or too much tension. So how you add and subtract the right amount of intensity is a very important part of

the tension of the piece.

When practicing, use a 4-measure unit of 4/4 beats based on a 4-measure legato. Practice 8 bars, 6 bars, 4 bars, 2 bars, 1 bar, etc.

Practice the strength and weakness of the repeating unit. Try to create a sound that is as low as possible to as loud as possible. The key point to note

is that you should be able to make an exaggerated effect that will make people stop breathing and concentrate.

2. Exercises of different strengths:

Practice the same as in the 4-consecutive tones as the basis of the 4/4 beat as a unit of the bar. Practice 6 bars of repeated exercises of different strengths. Strength

The unit of strength is ff > f > mf > mp > p > pp. Then from pp < p < mp < mf < f < ff. Keep practicing over and over again

, going to make different volume differences from different small sounds to different loud sounds.