History of the Snare Drum
Short Description
percussion repertoire...
Description
Snare drum as a means of communication
The snare drum o orr side drum is a widely used unpitched percussion instrument. It is often used in orchestras, marching bands,concert b ands,concert bands, drum corps and many other applications. The snare drum is almost always always double-headed, double-head ed, with rat rattles tles (called snares) of gut, gut , metal meta l wire or synthetics synthet ics stretched across one or both heads.
Pronounced as: “tay-bur.”
Medieval Europe around 1300.
doubleheaded drum that had a single snare strand called a Tabor . In the Middle Ages the tabor was often played in unison with a three-holed pipe flute. German tambur , French tabour , tambour
A drum with a single gut snare strung across the bottom. It is a bit bigger than a medium tom.
first used in war.
often played with a fife or pipe.
the player would play both the fife and drum.
Tabors were not always double headed and not all may have had snares.
The origin of the snare drum can be traced to the medieval tabor, which is clearly represented in early thirteenth and fourteenth century art as a rope-tensioned drum with one or more snares, usually on the head that was struck.
The chief function of the pipe and tabor was to provide music for dancing. Dance music was always the pipe and tabor’s principle function, as is shown by many old miniatures.
Used to provide music for jugglers and performing animals, and being played in the military bands of nobleman at tournaments and other occasions; the tabor is often clearly shown being beaten on the snare.
Both the “pipe and tabor” and the “fife and drum” are mentioned separately by Tabourot in his Orchesographie et Traicte en Forme de Dialogue par Leguel Toutes Personnes Peuvent facilement apprendre & Practiquer l’honneste exercise des dances. Generally speaking, the “fife and drum” was associated with military functions.
In the 14th century the practice of one man playing both pipe and drum ended, the instruments being played henceforth by two musicians. This situation required two performers instead of one, which was the case with the “pipe and tabor”.
The relatively soft-sounding tabor was made larger to increase its volume, which was a requirement particularly of military music. The result was the side or field drum.
Historically, snare drums have been used in military and parading contexts to produce drum cadences which is different today. Today in popular music, especially with rock drum kits, the snare drum is typically used to play a backbeat pattern. A drum cadence or street beat is a work played exclusively by the percussion section of a modern marching band. It is stylistically descended from early military marches, and related to military cadences, as both are a means of providing a beat while marching. Cadences, are also: 'a chant that is sung by military personnel while parading or marching'.
To acquire a knowledge of the true nature of the [snare] drum, it is absolutely necessary to study military drumming, for it is essentially a military instrument and its true character cannot be brought out with an incorrect method. When a composer wants a martial effect, he instinctively turns to the drums". -The Art of Snare Drumming,Sanford A. Moeller
The use of a snare drum in the military, probably came directly from instruments that were used by the powerful Ottoman Empire's armies in the 1500s.The Ottomans possibly influenced Swiss drummers, which in turn influenced their local drum builders. The Ottoman cavalry – Turkish Empire
Before the advent of radio and electronic communications, the snare drum was often used to communicate orders to the soldiers. American troops were woken up by drum and fife, playing about 5 minutes of music, including the well known Three Camps. Troops were also called for meals by certain drum pieces such as "Peas on a Trencher," or "Roast Beef." A piece called the "Tattoo" was used to signal that all soldiers should be in their tent, and "Fatigue Call" was used to police the quarters or drum unruly women out of the camp.
Also know as the Side Drum/Soldier Drum. In the course of the 15th century the drum that was struck from the side became ever larger and ever louder to meet the changing requirements of military bands. It became too large to be hung over the forearm and was now attached to a strap over the drummer’s shoulder or tied to a belt around his waist. The widely known “Swiss” drums became the model for drum-makers all over Europe.
It became very popular in the 1400s with the fife-anddrum corps of Swiss mercenary foot soldiers for relaying signals. This version of the drum was a very big instrument that was carried over the player's right shoulder, secured by a strap. The drum heads were tensioned by pulling a rope, very much like lacing a shoe. The method was to lace a cord in a W or Y pattern around the shell.
Around the same time frame the European version of the snare drum spread to other countries. England had similar drums by the 1500s, although the name tabor was replaced with drome or drume. . “Fife and drum” symbolized the common foot soldiers, while trumpets and kettledrums represented the cavalry. The widely known “Swiss” drums became the model for drum-makers all over Europe.
In the 1600s, new methods of tensioning the drum were developed. This allowed the snares on field drums to be tightened more securely with screws. The former loose rattle sound of the snare's gut was now more of a tight snap. The increase in the tension on the drum heads allowed drummers to play faster and more complex rhythms.
By the mid 1800s, snare drums were being built from brass and reduced in size for a higher pitched, crisper sound popular in symphony orchestras. Classical music added the snare drum to provide color, or timbre, for march-like segments of music. In the 19th century it replaced the tenor drum of military bands. The sound of a marching snare is a classic military sound.
100 years later than the timpani – in the second half of the 18th century – the side or field drum appeared in the orchestra for the first time, under the name tambour : Because the drum had often been used in the midst of battle its first tasks in the orchestra were to evoke a military atmosphere.
In 1837 the Englishman Cornelius Ward was a central figure in the invention of screw tensioning, which rapidly replaced rope or cord tensioning. This innovation meant that the snare drum could now be even flatter: the shell depth was reduced to 20 cm, in some instances even to 10 cm. At the beginning of the 20th century this small version became generally known as the snare drum or side drum.
According to James Blades, the tabor began to appear in larger forms during the thirteenth century. The association of the fife and drum is recorded as early as 1332 in the Chronicles of Basle In the 14th century the practice of one man playing both pipe and drum ended, the instruments being played henceforth by two musicians. By the fifteenth century, the enlarged tabor along with the fife, had formed the first organized type of military band in England.
By the 15th century, the size of the snare drum increased and had a cylindrical shape. This simple drum with a simple snare became popular with the Swiss mercenary troops who used the fife and drum around the 15th-16th century. The drum was made deeper and carried along the side. Further developments appeared in the 17th century, with the use of screws to hold down the snares, giving a brighter sound than the rattle of a loose snare. The first written rudiment was in Basel, Switzerland in 1610. Rudiments with familiar names are listed in Charles Ashworth's book in 1812 such as the (single) paradiddle, flam, drag, ratamacue, the roll (a double stroke roll, also called the "ma-ma da-da" roll), among others.
During the 18th century, the snare drum underwent changes that would improve its characteristic sound. During the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, the military bugle largely supplanted the snare and fife for signals. Most modern militaries and scouting groups use the bugle alone to make bugle calls that announce scheduled and unscheduled events of the organization Snare heads originally were of calf skin. The invention of the plastic (mylar) drum head is credited to Marion "Chick" Evans, who (apparently) made the first plastic drum head in 1956.
Metal snares appeared in the 20th century. Today the snare drum is used in pop music and modern orchestral music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snare_drum http://www.drummuffler.com/history-of-the-snare-drum.php http://www.pas.org/Libraries/PASIC_Archives/Gauthreaux.sflb.ashx http://www.vsl.co.at/en/70/3196/3211/3212/5783.vsl http://randyholland.hubpages.com/hub/The-Snare-Drum-Medieval-toModern-Day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire Google.com
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