1.How to tune a snare drum?

Depending on the music you play, you'll be tuning the snare drum lower or higher. There are a few rules to keep in mind when tuning your instrument.

1.Tension the bottom snare drumhead high so that the strings sound good, while the top drumhead - struck - tune according to the principle of steady tension - on each side the snare drum tension should be tensioned with the same force, so it is important to tune "crosswise", tightening the bolts on the opposite sides of the snare with the drum tuning key.

Secondly, check the sound with each part of drumhead tightening screw, striking the stick after turning with the drum tuning key around the screw. The sound of the snare drum on each side should be even (tighten so that the snare drum on each side sounds as similar as possible, tightening more or loosening - crosswise - specific tensioning screws).

The higher tuned snare drum provides a better stick bouncing, but the higher means the less of lower frequency range, which makes the snare drum less noble.

More used drumhead does not sound well tuned low - because it is already stretched - so if you have older drumheads, tune the snare drum higher.

2.How to develop the precision of hitting the drum?

It just so happens that virtually every drum (including snare drum and toms) sounds the most beautiful, full of sound when is hit in the middle. That is why it is worth practicing the technique and improving your sound so that you always hit the center of the instrument.

How to learn to hit the center?

Technical awareness of hand work will be helpful. Make sure your elbows are close to your torso and at a proper distance from the snare - a comfortable position is one in which the hands holding the drumsticks freely touch the center of the snare.

You can also draw a small circle exactly in the middle of the snare (e.g. with a pencil or a pen) and try to hit only in the middle. Similarly with toms. The toms hit exactly in the middle also sound much more powerful.

3. Control Stroke / Down Stroke Technique

This is another technique worth attention (called Down Stroke or Control Stroke). It recommends that after hitting (from the Up Stroke high stick position) the stick stays down (Down Stroke), i.e. you use the inertia of the stick, which under the influence of its own weight falls down (after you hit) and stays there (at a height of max several centimeters above the snare surface).

The hand that stops the stick at the bottom cannot be tense, but loosely "quenches" the elastic force of the stick, which in this technique does not bounce up.

Up Stroke with left han and Down Stroke with right (position after hitting)

www.pawelostrowski.pl/snaredrum

Copyright © 2008-2024 Paweł Ostrowski. Wszelkie prawa zastrzeżone!