How to Play the Snare Drum

Co-authored by Matt Khoury

Last Updated: February 14, 2022 References

The snare drum is one of the most widely utilized percussion instruments in Western music. Snare drums are featured in both orchestral and marching percussion scores and this drum is also the cornerstone of the modern drum set. Learning how to play the snare drum is often the first step a budding percussionist will take. To learn the snare drum, practice basic techniques and rolls and then focus on keeping time.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Learning Basic Technique

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.^{[1]
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- 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.^{[2]
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- 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.^{[3]
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- 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.^{[4]
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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.^{[5]
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- 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.^{[6]
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3
Try a traditional grip for soft sound and jazz. 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.^{[7]
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4
Use correct posture. 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.^{[8]
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- 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.^{[9]
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EXPERT TIP

"Focus on comfort first. If you're comfortable, your posture tends to be okay."

Matt Khoury
Veteran Drummer
Matt Khoury is a seasoned drummer with over 25 years of experience. He started playing in high-school band and at church, which expanded into opportunities to play with bands in front of thousands of people across the United States.

Matt Khoury
Veteran Drummer
5
Practice striking the drums. 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.^{[10]
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- 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.^{[11]
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- The sticks should bounce off of the drums. To achieve a bouncing effect, keep your fingers, hands, and arms relaxed.^{[12]
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- 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.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Practicing Drumming Rudiments

1
Try basic strokes. There are five basic drum strokes for a snare drum. As you learn how to play your snare drum, try simply practicing the basic strokes. This will help you become more proficient as you learn more about the snare drum.
- The full stroke means you hold the drums, using your preferred grip, in a slightly upright position. That is, your drumsticks will be pointing upward towards the ceiling. When you're using a full stroke, your drumsticks will begin in the upright position at the start of a beat and return to the upright position at the end of a beat.^{[13]
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- A down stroke is a slight variation of a full stroke. Your drum sticks start in the upright position. However, at the end of a beat they should be pointed downward slightly towards your snare drum.^{[14]
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- In a tap stroke, at the beginning of the beat your drumsticks are in the downward position. At the end of the beat, they return to the downward position.^{[15]
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- In an up stroke, your drumsticks are in the downward position at the beginning of a beat. By the end of the beat, they're in the upright position.^{[16]
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- When reading music, drum parts will usually indicate which strokes you are using. F stands for full stroke, D stands for down stroke, T stands for tap stroke, and U stands for upstroke.^{[17]
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2
Try a single stroke roll. The single strike roll is an important drum rudiment. If you want to learn how to play the snare drum, you'll need to know a basic single strike roll. Practicing a single stroke roll can be a great introduction to basic drumming. It will help you get a feel of your drumsticks and teach you how to control them.
- A drum roll is a simple move in which you quickly alternate between playing with your left and right hand. You start with your dominant hand. For example, if you're right-handed you would play right, then left, then right, then left, and so on. If you're left-handed, play left, then right, then left, then right, and so on.^{[18]
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- Start off slow. Just aim to have good control of your drumsticks. Make sure they rise and fall in a straight line and land on the same point on the drum each time. Do not pay attention to timing as you begin practicing. Just focus on going from left to right or from right to left while maintaining control of your drumsticks.^{[19]
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- Once you feel in control, begin to incorporate timing. Make sure the beats are even. That is, make sure you spend equal time on each beat. Try to challenge yourself. Increase you speed with each practice session, trying to remain in control of your drumsticks while keeping an even tempo as speed increases.^{[20]
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3
Practice a double stroke roll. A double stroke roll is a slight variation on the single stroke roll. Like the single stroke roll, it can be used to get a feel for your drumsticks. It's another basic snare drum rudiment to master as you're starting off.
- In the double stroke roll, you use two strikes per hand instead of one. This creates a faster-paced, more intense tempo. Once again, lead with your dominant hand. If you're right-handed, play right, right, left, left, right, right, left, left, and so on. If you're left-handed, play left, left, right, right, left, left, right, right, and so on.^{[21]
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- Your drum sticks should bounce naturally when you keep your wrist relaxed. Hit the drum and allow the stick to bounce twice. Then, stop movement in your wrist and fingers and pull the drum stick upward. Repeat on the other side.^{[22]
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- Start off slow. When mastering any new technique on the snare drum, you'll need time to gain control. Make sure you're moving your drum sticks in a straight line. Make sure the beads of the sticks hit the same spot on the drum for each beat. Practice as long as it takes to feel in control.^{[23]
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- As you feel more comfortable controlling the drum sticks, move up to a faster pace. Eventually, you should be able to do a quick-paced double and single roll.^{[24]
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4
Try a buzz roll. A buzz roll is a slightly more advanced drum roll. Similar to the double stroke roll, a buzz roll uses a more relaxed grip to allow more fluid movements.
- Learn the buzz roll one hand at a time. Start with whichever hand you prefer. Use your index finger and thumb primarily to guide the drum stick. This hold can take a bit of practice before it feels secure.^{[25]
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- Say you're starting with your left hand. Use your left hand to strike the snare drum. Allow the drumstick to bounce freely, allowing it to continue bouncing until movement stop naturally. Do not, as you did with the double roll, use your wrist to stop the drumstick. Repeat this with your left hand.^{[26]
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- Keep going back and forth with your hands. As you go, increase the tempo slightly. Minimize time between striking your left drumstick and striking your right drumstick. The buzz roll is meant to build intensity and excitement over time.^{[27]
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5
Use correct technique when practicing. As you practice basic drum moves, remember to follow the proper technique. You'll need to keep technique in mind to practice efficiently.
- Keep your posture in mind. Remember to relax your body, keep your legs apart, and make sure the drum is at waist level.
- Use the proper grip. The grip, as outlined, depends heavily on the type of music and your level of proficiency. Matched grips are best when you're starting off drumming as they allow for the most control. However, if you're going into jazz drumming specifically use the traditional grip.
- It's very important to keep your hands relaxed. Gripping too hard on a drumstick does not provide more control. It can also cause tension in your hands, leading to fatigue and cramping. Even if you feel a loss of control, try to remember not to hold too hard on your drumsticks.^{[28]
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6
Practice finger technique. Solid finger technique is what allows you to maneuver your drumsticks efficiently. As you move through the basics of drumming, take a moment to familiarize yourself with basic finger techniques.
- To gain greater control over your drumsticks, practice moving the sticks with only your fingers. Keep your wrists and arms completely still as you move your drumsticks up and down. Do some of the basic moves we have outlined, like a single roll, double roll, and buzz roll. As you practice these moves, only use your fingers to move your drumsticks.^{[29]
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- Keep your hands loose as you play. Do not stress out about playing fast. You can increase tempo later on, when you feel more in control of your drumsticks.^{[30]
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- With finger technique, you should actually train your weaker hand first. This way, you're more likely to spend adequate time training your less dominant hand. If you're right-handed, start with your left hand. If you're left-handed, start with your right hand.^{[31]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Keeping Time

1
Listen to the cues of your band. If you're working with a band, learn to work as a team. Timing is vital if you want to be a good drummer. Pay attention to the band's beat to determine the tempo you should use.
- Drummers provide the backbone of rhythm in a song. The underlying beat of a song is usually defined by a drum. You need to be able to speed up and slow down when necessary and play in the tempo required by the piece you're performing.
- Review the songs you're playing ahead of time to get a sense of when to speed up and when to slow down. Practice playing along to a recording before going to band practice, keeping an eye on your time.^{[32]
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- Be open to criticism. Teamwork is important in a band or orchestra. If your bandmates or conductor tell you that you're playing too fast or too slow, accept this as constructive criticism. Try to ask them what you can do to play at a more even tempo.^{[33]
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- If you feel you're playing too slow or too fast, listen to the tempo of the other instruments and players. Try to match that tempo as you work your drum beats.^{[34]
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2
Practice with a metronome. A metronome is a small handheld device that keeps beats. All drummers need to start off practicing with a metronome if they want to learn to keep time. You can set a metronome to whatever tempo you want and try to hit your drum with the beats it keeps.
- As you practice with a metronome, pay attention to when you start slipping. For some drummers, keeping beat is difficult towards the beginning of a song. It may take them a few minutes to get into the swing. However, for other drummers the end of the song is where they tire down and begin to slip. If you know your weak spots, you'll be able to know when to be extra vigilant during performances.^{[35]
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- Ask your band or conductor if you can keep a metronome going into practice. For some drummers, having the clicking tempo in their head keeps them focused. You may find using a metronome while playing with others is tremendously helpful.^{[36]
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3
Put timing first. If your beats are not in time, they will sound off to the audience. Even if other aspects of your technique are solid, bad timing interferes with other musicians and creates confusion for the audience. As you begin moving past the basics of the snare drum and playing with others, prioritize learning to keep time. Practice with a metronome each night and ask your bandmates and conductors for constructive feedback.^{[37]
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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Moving Forward

1
Rest your thumbs. Your thumbs tend to cramp and become sore if you play the drums a lot.^{[38]
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2
Practice each day. There's no magic trick to getting better at a musical instrument. You simply need to practice each day. The only way to become proficient in playing the snare drum is to put in the necessary work.
- Practice should be part of your daily routine. Just as you brush your teeth and shower in the morning, practicing your snare drum should be a daily priority. Take half an hour to an hour each day to practice.
- Schedule practice time into your weekly routine. If you get done with school or work around 3 o'clock each day, see if you can schedule practice time around 4 o'clock. You can adjust this schedule on weekends or if there are extenuating circumstances.
- Make sure you're conscientious of others when practicing. Drums can be loud. If you're playing on a second story, make sure you put down carpeting or a rug under your drums to muffle the sound. Try not to practice too late at night or too early in the day.
3
Record yourself. Keep a record of yourself practicing. You can listen to yourself playing afterwards and check for your strengths and weaknesses. You do not need extensive equipment to record yourself as your primary goal is to gauge your own proficiency. You can use your laptop or phone to record practice sessions.^{[39]
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4
Consider lessons. Lessons can be a great way to increase your proficiency. There are many different techniques and styles involved in playing the snare drum. After learning some basics, consider seeing a professional instructor. He or she will be able to observe you playing and offer specific feedback based on your style.
- If money is an issue, consider buying a book on the snare drum. While this is not the same as one-on-one instruction, it could provide some additional insight on technique and style.