Snare drum technique

There are two categories of grips used in snare technique: matched grip, in which both hands hold the sticks in an overhand grip, and traditional grip, in which one hand uses an overhand grip and the other an underhand grip. Traditional grip is almost exclusively used on snare drum, and concert bass drum,^[1][2][3] while matched grip is used on all percussion instruments. Traditional grip is also primarily used in drum corps style marching environments, such as Drum Corps International.

Snare drum technique is learned mainly by learning specific sequences of drumstick strokes, each of them known as a drum rudiment and most of them short. Examples of rudiments are the paradiddle and the drum roll. Rudiments are often practiced in the Open, closed, open method where the player increases and decreases the tempo of the pattern in a steady methodical way. Rudiments can be built up into larger phrases, as in the purely rudimental playing of military and marching bands, or used for technical mastery by drum kit players or orchestral percussionists.

Snare drumming is accomplished with a series of individual strokes, a more basic level of organization than rudiments, which fall into a small number of major categories, such as Up, Down, Full, or Tap.

A distinctive feature of snare drumming is the use of rolls, or sustained sounds made from a series of repetitive notes placed close together.^[4] Rolls can be played open, as in single or double stroke rolls, or closed as in the orchestral or concert roll.^[5]