Snare meaning in musicA snare in music refers to a part of the snare drum, an instrument in the percussion family. The snare drum consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched over the top, called the batter head, and another membrane at the bottom called the snare strainer or snare side.
The snare refers specifically to the gut or metal ropes that are stretched across the snare side of the drum. When the batter head is struck, it vibrates against the snare ropes, creating a popping and cracking sound that is characteristic of the snare drum. This crisp, percussive tone adds rhythmic accents and drive to drum parts.
Snare drums are often used to play the rhythm or groove in musical genres like pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz and more. The snare is usually played on beats two and four in common time signatures like 4/4, adding propulsion and helping define the backbeat. However, drummers may also vary the snare rhythm for different feels.
- A group of gut strings, metal wires or thin coated cables that are typically attached to the bottom drum head on a snare drum that vibrate against that head when the top drum head is struck with a drumstick. This produces a distinctive rattle or buzzing sound that accompanies the percussive strike of the drumstick. The tension of the strings, wires or cables can be adjusted to be either tight against the drum head or loose. A tight tension produces a crisp sound that decays quickly and a looser tension produces a longer delay in the sound.
- A common nickname for the snare drum.
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