Military Drum for Hire

This is one of most recognisable and oldest of all drums. A double headed drum, the snare drum uses the word 'snare' literally and employs a number of cords or strings underneath the non-playing head. This cord can be made of either gut, wire, silk or several other materials and is strung tightly across the diameter. Older drums may only have 3 or 4 strands of probably gut, while newer snare drums generally are supplied with a 20-strand metal snare. By striking the playing head, the gut vibrates and this produces the unmistakable sound. Modern snare drums generally range in diameter from 10 - 14" and the depth can be anything up to 12". In the past diameters have varied and the heads were animal skin rather than the modern plastic of today. This mixture of past and present regularly causes problems these days, as an older drum requiring a new head is unlikely to match up with modern drum heads leading to a calf head, a flesh hoop and considerable expense. The shell of the snare drum is varied and most modern manufactures offer many versions of metal and wood shells. Generally the metal shelled snare drums provide a brighter but harsher sound. Most snare drums have a mechanism called snare releases. This is a lever on the side of the drum that allows the player to lower the snares away from the snare head. There are several reasons for taking the snares off. An orchestral player would release the snares to avoid buzz from other orchestral instruments in close proximity within the orchestra, such as bass drums timpani and also french horns. However, a drum kit player would use the snare release to add another instrument to his kit, i.e another tom tom for use in Bossa Nova or Merengue rhythms.

Repertoire

Shostakovich - Symphony No 10
Stravinsky - Petrouchka

Translation

Italian - Tamburo piccolo
French - Caisse claire
German - Kleine trommel
Spanish - Caja clara