This means that the frequency distribution of the drum's modes is quite unlike the modified Bessel distribution of a single suspended membrane.Įxperiments show that, like the orchestral bass drum, the snare drum produces two frequencies for each of the 0,1 and 1,1 modes, and that the modes are distributed enharmonically. Furthermore (and this is not something that we have discussed in the past) the heads are also coupled by the shell of the drum itself. If you've just re-read January's instalment of this series, or have been following my previous analyses of drums month by month, you will not be surprised if I tell you that the snare drum's two heads are coupled by the enclosed air between them. Indeed, without the snares, the snare drum sounds much like a shallow, dual-headed tom - and in fact, we'll start this month by omitting the snare and considering the drum as if it were a tom. This is because, unlike a carry head, it has a snare of chains or cables stretched across it, and it is these that give the drum its distinctive sound. However, whereas the bass drum had a carry head, the lower head on the snare drum is called the snare head. And, as on the bass drum, the upper surface is the batter head. Like the orchestral bass drum, the snare has two complete heads. Now, armed with an understanding of pitched membranophones and - more importantly - an unpitched membranophone (the bass drum) we're ready to begin our analysis of the snare drum. This is because many of the concepts used this month were explained in detail in those articles, particularly those concerning quasi-harmonic series and the use of the frequency-shifter. Sure, we need metalwork such as hi-hats and cymbals to embellish the rhythm, and toms provide needed variation for fills and other effects, but it is the bass and snare combination that provides the drive and 'oomph' of most percussion tracks.īefore embarking on any discussion of the snare drum, I recommend that you go back over the instalments of this series from November 2002, and January 2002. After all, these two types of drum form the basis of almost all the percussion tracks in pop and rock music. Actually, strike the word 'almost' from the last sentence. So how is it that the analogue snare sound is so well known? And how do you go about creating it? We find out.įor the past two months, we've been discussing the science and synthesis of bass drums, so it is almost inevitable that we're now going to move onto the snare drum. If you thought synthesizing realistic bass drums was complex, that's nothing compared to snares.
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