| Analyzing Snare Drum Samples |
| Articles - Lifestyle |
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From dance, hip hop and metal, as well styled of country and other, non-commercial music, the snare is an untouchable sound. So steeped in tradition in many types of music, its use varies from genre to genre and style to style. The tempo of the music is also a big factor in determining what - and when - the snare drum samples do.
From dance, hip hop and metal, as well styled of country and other, non-commercial music, the snare is an untouchable sound. So steeped in tradition in many types of music, its use varies from genre to genre and style to style. The tempo of the music is also a big factor in determining what - and when - the snare drum samples do. In urban music like hip hop and RnB, snare drum samples usually dances around beats 2 and 4 in the musical bar measurement. The kick in these songs usually takes place on one of the stronger beats, like the first down beat, and the reason for this is that the kick is more of a rhythmic statement than the snare, although the latter still has its place - and is very important indeed. The amount of different snare types is staggering, but two of the types seem to be head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to popularity and identification. I'm talking about the live and real snares played by people in a recording setting, which are then sampled for use as drum samples in other applications. The second type is the raspy type of snares generated by electronic synthesizers and drum machines. They're not always so unrealistic, though; some of the machines today can make great-sounding emulations! Regarding effects, there are limitless possibilities you can spend years wrapping your head around. If you want to alter snare drum samples beyond recognition or to simply tweak them, have at it. From reverbs to distortion and delay effects, just about everything is available. What some music producers do is analyze the snare and determine what makes it sound so good, before trying to make the rest of the samples match its character. Coherence is the name of the game. In dance music, the snare drum samples are often combined with the kick drums and 'teamed up' for beats 2 and 4 from the bar, with the kick hitting consistently from beats 1 through 4. This technique is used simply to relieve the ear of the persistent bass kick on every beat, and also serves other uses, especially if the snare and kick do not share the same groove template. This sort of an affect can result in a dynamic drum samples groove that is very pleasing to the ear and we can actually spot this in many club hits playing today. The technique has been popular for over 10 years now! Using snare drum samples as best as you can is an art form, and it is an easy goal to reach consistently if you experiment enough. You need to keep an ear out for new methods and new techniques all the time, and apply what you want to your own tracks, not worrying about the fine things at this point. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. If you're a music producer and want the highest-quality drum samples to use, click on: http://www.mydrumsamples.com/. |