The Problems

This page is directed at all kinds of problems that arise in the field of playing (mostly classical) percussion. Some problems are not related to the type of music you are playing.

Select a topic:

Buzzing Snares on Snare Drum.

There are quite a few instances where the sympathetic resonances of the snare drum snares with other instruments (especially Brass players or other drums) are quite annoying. E.g. the use of the snare drum in Bartoks Sonata where both Timpani and Pianos can cause problems. Also in a regular drum set this problem can arise easily.
Also many drumset plyers face the problem of sympathetic resonance caused by the nearby tomtoms.

What can be done to diminish this phenomenon?
The cause of the problem is the fact that the tuning of the snare drum shares some components (overtones that is) with other instruments. Most modern snare drums are quite sensitive to this problem and one step would be to alter the tuning of the snare drum as to avoid as many as possible common overtones (altering the tuning of the pianos is normally out of the question!). But this is only partly a solution, as the snare drum itself is very rich in overtones (independent of tuning) and removing one overtone (by retuning) is likely to introduce a new one!
A completely different approach (one that I have used many times) is to put some very thin piece of paper between the snare and the bottom head. You have to experiment a bit with thickness and placement, but it is possible to reduce the problem a lot.
Another solution would be to experiment with different heads. In the past (40 years ago) it was hardly a problem because the calfskin head (and it's companion snare head) were less sensitive to this phenomenon. It is thinkable that the use of calfskin-like heads (e.g. Fiberskin 3) also reduces the effect.

Dave Reynolds reythmband@aol.com:
Read with high interest all the solutions to "buzzing snares". I just this week purchased the Pearl 6-1/2'X 14" free-floating snare. Disappointingly, it does not not have the clean-cut, crispsnaresound that i want. I like my snare tuned with te bottom head at about F-natural with the batter head a minor 3rd up, on A-flat. This SHOULD allow both depth of tone AND crispness to occur, I believe. BUT it all comes down, I'm learning - after years & years of playing - to snares that act right, that lay really cleanly and evenly across the bottom head. This drum, which seems to be a beautifully engineered drum, has this problem which I think is the culprit in causing snare buzz: I can see that the snares lift off the head slightly just at the edge of the drum instead of laying flat. I got some improvement by loosening the tension straps up and pulling them down slightly more evenly, but still, the minuscule gap is still there.
Tele Lesbines:
I've had "success" with a Ludwig Super Sensitive with calf heads and gut snares.
Rick Walker:
The best solution to buzzing snares aside from retuning the snare side head or the offending tom was given to me by a roadie that I trained for the Doobie Brothers gig many years ago:
On the snare side of a ten lug snare with a stamped hoop detune both lugs on either side of the snare where it attaches to the shell until the head ripples. Then tune it back up until the ripple just disappears. This means you will have detuned 4 lugs. Now, compensate by over- tightening the remaining 6 lugs (3 on either side of the snares).
What this accomplishes is the head is only tightened in the middle of the snares. The worst area for snare buzz is the place on the snare where the steel plate is soldered to the wires. It consequently has a small gap that causes the most offensive buzzes. The snare head around this area is completely detuned: no buzz! You will notice that the drum now looks out of round on the bottom. It is not. Only the snareside rim is bent. The bendability of a triple stamped hoop is why it is so accurate for tuning (though there are also advantages to owning a die cast hoop). This doesn't work well with an inflexible die cast bottom hoop which is why William F.Ludwig III advised me once never to buy one. I consequently, have a die-cast top rim and a triple stamped bottom rim on all but my vintage drums.
Rebecca Kite wrote:
Sometimes it works to drape a towel or other heavy cloth from the bottom of the snare drum, in between the drum and the closest source of the offending vibrations.

J. Parrett has another solution:

Sometimes, a piece of elctrical tape applied onto the snares about 1 inch from the rim will help. It will also give the drum a crisper sound.
Fred Opie has yet another solution:
The TYPE of snares you use will have the greatest influence on whether or not sympathetic buzzing is a problem. Wire snares are the most problematic. Try using cable snares such as those made by Patterson or Hinger. Traditional gut snares are also less likely to buzz. I have seen baffles made by draping soft instrument covers over a music stand for isolation. Also, setting up on a rug may lessen the sound reflection off a hard floor surface.
Gerry Kennett wrote:
Buzzing snares seem to be the biggest problem when a 12" tom and and 14" snare are tuned too close to the same pitch. The problem can be worse if either drum is out of tune with itself, which causes more strange overtones to ring. Try tuning the two drums at least a 5th away from eachother, but not exactly, as that interval has a very sympathetic resonance. The waveforms of the two notes intersect every other wave.The relationship of the drum pitches is the worst culprit in this buzzing problem.
Chris DeChiara wrote:

In the case of the Bartok Sonata, it has helped to place a kind of shield or music stand in between the two snares, obviously not higher than the rims of the drums! It helps to have cable on the drum that will be played as a snare, too. Also, a kind of rug underneath the snare stands dampens unwanted overtones. If you want to go through the trouble in the 2nd movement of the Sonata and you have a smooth, noise-free strainer, you can literally just shut them off any chance you get. If you coordinate it, there's plenty of time to do it if you run into trouble last minute.

In general, for regular snare or drumset playing, loosening the two lugs closest to the snare bed on each side lets the bottom head rest closer to the snare bed, thereby eliminating snare buzz. Tightening the top head and even muffling the top head has also helped, depending on the snare being used.

John Piper wrote:
The snare seems to be activated mostely by the tom closest to it. If you match the drums correctly when you buy your set so that when the tom tom closest to the snare and the snare are tuned to your favorite tunings but are far enough apart in range, you will have less buzzing to dampen.
Brian Mickelson wrote:
To solve the problem of sympathetic snare vibration on a drum set snare try tuning up the drum to normal playing condition. After that tighten your snares a little bit more than usual and detune the tension rods just to either side of the snare bed. This allows you to keep less tension through the snare bed and lets the snares respond to the head anyway. It also doesn't affect your bottom head the way tape would.
William Patterson gives information about cable-snares to diminish the buzz:
The amount of vibrating head surface on the snare side so overwhelms the 3 or 4 inches of actual head contact of wires. The wires dont have enough contact to "fight back," as it were. The cables actually somewhat balance the relationship of head vibration vs snare contact. The increased surface contact of the cables actually reign in, so to speak, the liveliness of the bottom head. The cables , since they lay absolutely flat all the way across, have a much more marcato sound and response. They also, unlike most wire units, extend PAST the bearing edge. Patterson cables reduce snare buzz from anywhere between 80 to 90% from toms, bass drum, brass, and amps.
Another consideration...Since the point of a wire coil is sharp enough to break a bottom head under heavy playing, manufacturers have compensated by mounting thicker heads (Ambassador) on the bottom. This contributes to a choked drum sound. With cables, since they lay flat, you can use a thinner more delicate head--like the Diplomat- to increase resonance and sensitivity. I perform with the San Antonio Symphony--primarily play snare drum and big mallet parts. Have 6 snare drums. Use uncoated stainless on 14" drums. Use the Mega Combo 20 strand (12 blue with 8 stainless) on my 15" and 16" drums.
Stephen Smith has yet another solution:
I have found that by placing a "sound-off" pad (one size larger than the size of the drum being played: 13" drum 14" pad) onto the snare tray of the stand helps tremendously, plus I don't have to sacrifice my favorite tuning. For an added help, depending on the instrument I'm using, I selectivly place a piece of "gorilla snot" at a non-interfering point on the batter side. I hope this might help some others, play-on.
Tim smith reported:
I found that using rhythm tech active snares eleminates buzz if correctly installed. I play in a very loud and heavy band and could never get the buzz out. I got the active system for 6.5"x14" pearl free floating snare and it completly eleminated the buzz. It also improved the attack of the drum.
John Kearney offers his solution:
Though I have noticed that it kinda depends on the situation, I have found that if you use mics for your set, (yes, I was surprised to do a `big` show) that heavy studio heads, which the sound guy will really appreciate, will help to kill the buzz, though you might need to dampen the toms (which of course you can always adjust at the sound desk) to compensate for the lack of sound from your snare. The only other valid trick that I have been told or heard would be to loosen the lugs on either side of the snare and tighten the others to compensate but with this ( I like my snare kinda Silverchair tight) may screw with your prefered tuning.
Tom Moje has yet another solution:
I found this system works quite well for me:
I have a Ludwig 6 1/2 x 14 'Classic' maple shell snare drum. I had problems with excessive snare buzz on this drum, which I for the most part have under control now by:
  1. get the drum in tune with itself. I.e., tune the snare side head to be in tune with the sound of the shell itself. With the snares off, suspend the drum by a tension rod (be careful not to drop it!). Tap the snare head with a stick, then tap the shell. Tune the head until it matches the sound of the shell.
  2. Tune the batter head to approximate 'F'.
  3. I replaced the Ludwig batter head with a Remo 'Legacy Pinstripe' (coated pinstripe head that looks something like a Fiberskyn) Immediate improvement! Nice and fat sound with a good crack when struck hard or rim-shot, yet still has a lot of sensitivity for brushes or Blastix.
  4. Replaced the standard snares with something called 'Activ' snares. This has an aluminum snare frame somewhat similar to the Rogers Dynasonic snare frames. Very well made with heavy gauge snare wires, thus not prone to excessive buzzing. I do not tighten snares too much so as not to choke.
  5. Adjust built-in muffle to just touch batter head. OR if no built in muffler, put a small piece of duct tape on the head just near the rim. Trust me--my snare drum now has a killer crack to it yet is fat with a lot of body. I won't part with it!

Matched or Traditional?

This is a tough one!
Not only drum set players have to face the dilemma of the correct stick grip. If you have to play Psappha (by Xenakis) you cannot do this with the traditional grip. Did you ever saw someone perform I Ching (by Nørgard) with the traditional grip? It's not possible (unless you want to be taken to the hospital with severe injuries). Also Stravinsky's Soldiers Tale is easier to perform with the Matched grip.
The Matched grip (both hands alike) is the most used grip worldwide seen. Almost all percussion playing cultures (e.g. Africa, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, South America) use this grip because there is no need to do it in an other way. It is also the most natural way of playing and it has been in practice for thousands of years.
Enter the Traditional grip (seen in the light of the above statement, the Matched grip really should have been named Traditional, because this grip -the matched grip, that is- has been with us all the time!).
The Traditional grip came into use when the players started to carry their drum (with the help of some belt or sling) on their body. Usually on their left leg. In this position it was very uncomfortable to use the old (matched) grip and players adjusted their grip to this new playing. This happened somewhere between 1300 and 1500 in Europe. This Traditional grip became the standard grip in all military styles of playing and finally was adopted the grip of playing the snare drum. When these very players moved into the jazz scene (around 1880-1900) this grip was used for their (rudimental style) drum set playing.
During the years following this period the traditional grip was in use by almost all jazz drummers and also all blues and rock drummers used this grip. The turnaround (back to the matched grip) came with Ringo Starr who influenced so many drummers in the great Beatle era. Before that time a drummer was often measured by his grip: Trad was OK, Matched wasn't! But nowadays even in the drum corps style drumming the Matched grip is widely in use.
Both grips have their strong and weak points and both have their own advocates. For the normal Jazz drum set - Snare, 2 toms, 2 cymbals - the Traditional grip is all you need. All instruments are within reach of both hands, although playing time with the left hand (on the left cymbal or hihat) is a serious problem. But in normal playing practice that was almost never done either! When the drum sets in use grew bigger (with more toms and cymbals) the need for more (and equal) span was obvious and for this reason the Matched grip was (and still is) the perfect solution.
In the field of classical percussion setup pieces, players who were trained in the Traditional grip often had to face the problem of performing all kind of pieces in awkward playing positions which could be easily avoided by using the Matched grip. Rapid stick changes, movements over many different instruments (2 bars vibes, 5 bars wood blocs, 1 bar marimba, another bar with marimba by left hand and triangle with right hand....Do you get the idea?) are easier to perform when you can use the same grip for all instruments. For that reason the training of a classical percussion player should focus on the Matched grip.
Either grip is equally suited to play any rhythm but Traditional grip is sometimes the only way to perform good sounding brush patterns. On the other hand, I have developed some new brush patterns which are very hard to play with Traditional grip.
And then, of course, there is the point of muscle efficiency. In May 1967, Gene Pollart published an extensive article in Percussionist (Vol. 4, number 4) where he compared both grips. [I could not find any on-line reference to this article]
The conclusion of Pollart:

"...The matched grip involves more coordination of the participating muscles, has more potential power at its disposal to help control the action of movement, and because of its simple movement and more potential power, it will produce more sustained endurance."

Aaron Smith wrote me:

This is a popular controversy at Slippery Rock University (where I am attending school.) Everyone has their own view, of course, and here is mine.
Traditional grip was created because the drums that the field drummers used were tilted, due to the strap. They discovered no scientific evidence that proved the left hand should do something completely different from the right hand. They didn't pick it because they could play faster, or do cooler visuals, or to be different. They did it because the drums were at an angle, and the easiest way to hit the drum was to screw up your hand so you could strike it level.
Today, we are no longer the victims of faulty drum straps. With revolutionary technology, we have discovered a way to make our drums STRAIGHT. You no longer need to turn your hand upside-down to play. I'm sure if the drummers of the 1500's were here, they would go right back to playing matched grip.
Some other food for thought. If traditional grip is better, than why don't we use it with BOTH hands? It doesn't make sense to me that what is good for one hand is not good for the other. Since drums are LEVEL now (I'd like to emphasize that) we can use any grip we want. But it only makes sense that both hands should do the same thing, and I haven't seen an advocate of traditional grip yet that did it with both hands.
I've also heard that traditional grip is better because there are things you can do with it that you can't do with matched. I would agree with this - however, I would point out that you can hold your sticks any number of strange ways and do things you could never do with matched grip, or traditional either, for that matter.
To me, it is obvious that matched grip is the easiest way to learn and should be the standard everywhere. If you want to hold your sticks funny later, go right ahead. But learn to play the drum first.
Dave Moadel wrote:
Reasons why I believe matched grip is better than traditional grip:
  1. More power (or volume) when you want it
  2. Better finger control: With traditional grip, only the two fingers on top of the left stick (index and middle fingers) are controlling the downward motion of the stick. With matched grip (and thumb on top, not off to the side), all fingers are controlling the downward motion of the stick. For a demonstration of this, see the Dave Weckl video "Back to Basics".
  3. Requires less patience to learn. Therefore, more encouraging and less frustrating for young drumming students.
  4. Better angle for fuller-sounding rim shots
  5. When you learn matched grip you're also learning the grip for marimba, bells, timpani, etc.
  6. The hands can play more evenly and sound more even
  7. Better balance on the drumset, because matched grip is symmetrical and traditional grip is asymmetrical
  8. Easier to manoeuver around large drumset
  9. Easier to play left-hand ride on hi-hat or on cymbal on left side of drumset
Sean Henderson contradicted:
I have to admit being a fan for traditional grip for all playing, and that the matched grip as described (thumb on top) has a couple of flaws, the primary one of which the hand has a hard time with keeping lateral movement to a minimum where the wrist is perpendicular to the surface.
1) The correct disciplined movement for the right hand in any case is the thumb on the side and the top of the hand parallel to the striking surface. The wrist should not rise as the stick falls.
2) The left hand, or cross grip hand should have the stick resting on the crotch of the and and in between the middle joints of the ring finger. The index finger only is used to hold the stick in place. The striking movement is accomplished mostly by rotating the arm without lifting the elbow. After a student has learned this grip in it's "strict" style, a more relaxed style can be adopted with experience.

Calfskin heads.

Especially when used on Timpani, the Calfskin head has superior tone quality over (all types of) the plastic head. But it's sensitivity to weather conditions make it a poor candidate for player controllable performance quality! Therefore many players prefer the plastic head for most situations. But when performing Baroque music on authentic instruments, you have no choice but the calfskin head (played with hard -wooden or ivory- sticks of course).
For the jazz drum set player who performs in a small group without amplification, calfskin heads might be a perfect choice, but here the tone quality of calfskin can be closely resembled by e.g. Fiberskin 3.

David Gross commented on the above:

Most timpanists prefer the sound of a calf head and more are going back to calf because of the poor quality of plastic. Calf can be controlled in the winter months by putting an appropiate number of wet sponges in the air hole in the bottom of the kettle. Obviously the larger drums will need more sponges. I do not recommend calf in warm humid conditions since it is very difficult to remove humidity from the air surrounding the drumhead. I use calf for most of my winter season and other timpanists such as Paul Yanncich, (Cleveland) Gerald Carlyss did (Philadelphia),David Herbert (San Francisco), Duncan Patton (Metropolitan Opera) and myself of the Grand Rapids Symphony use it. It is more difficult but the added effort is rewarded with a far superior sound.
Tele Lesbines (Telemann@sbcglobal.net):
For my 28 years with the Milwaukee Symphony I've used calf heads and plastic only when "necessary", but since discovering the "Drum Dial" I've been able to true plastic heads so that they really sing and adding moisture inside the bowl "warms them up"

High drum left or right?

The way players place their timpani with the high timpano on the left or right side, varies per country. And even in one country not all players use the same placement. The problem is not restricted to timpani, but all instrument setups where instruments of varying pitch have to be placed next to each other, face the problem of how to place the instruments in such a way that playing becomes easier (or at least not more difficult).
The reasons for those different placements are obscure and nobody really knows the correct answer, because there is no correct answer to this question. Through the whole history one can see both possibilities used with equal chance. If we were forced to come up with an international accepted setup, then we should select the high drum right solution, because that's the way the piano and tuned bar instruments have their layout (But no right handed drummer in the world would agree with this setup - while playing the drumset of course!).
But other possibilities are also possible! I once met a player who had two play a very difficult part on two (small) tomtoms. It didn't matter if he switched the setup, it was almost impossible to play the part (very fast rhythms to be played softly) as it should have sounded. He solved the problem by placing the instruments such that the smaller drum was not on the left or the right, but behind the larger drum (like the normal drum set snare drum and small tomtom)! He now could play without any difficulty!
We have to make a choice then, and this choice is highly influenced by the country where you live and study, and the custom setup used in your country. Problems arise when people from different cultures play or study together, as is the case at the Conservatory where I teach. We have students from all over the world who studied the instrument already in their home country and are now studying with us.
One thing should be clear: if someone uses a certain setup for the timpani (e.g. high on the left), then this setup should be used for all other multi-instrumental setups (e.g. 5 toms and 4 cymbals). This has simply to do with ease of playing and movement of hands. Sometimes players share instrument-groups in the same piece, and it would be very awkward to constantly have to think about which hand to use! This should be a natural decision (acquired by sufficient practice) that all players should have. But when players with different backgrounds are joining forces, problems can easily arise, especially when instrument-groups have to be shared. Changing the set-up during the performance is out of the question as is forcing a player to re-do his basic studies! So, sometimes no other solution exists than using another (second) setup for one (or more) of the players.
I must admit that by sufficient practice it is very well possible to learn to play on any setup, although the one that one has learned initially is more comfortable.
One very annoying side effect of those different setups, is the fact the most method books that indicate which hand to use for a certain passage, are difficult to use for players who are learning the other way! So, my advice to publishers and writers: Never indicate hands. And if you have to, use symbols like an open and closed small circle or square above the notes. In that way we just have to change the definition of the symbols and explain that to the student. But it is very unnatural to have to play a note with your L-hand when there is a big R above or below it. Especially when these very letters mean the same hands in another language!

Carolyn (Melohawk@aol.com) wrote:

Always have played Tympani with high drum(s) to the right, even a 5th "piccolo" tymp was at my far right. Many times, in order to change pitches rapidly, I have had to use a stool, as I did not have time to balance my weight on the floor and change 2 or more drum pitches while I was playing. I have not found, at least in the orchestral and show playing that I have done, any need to set up another way. I prefer it because of my mallet and piano training being based on Middle C (L side-low pitches, R side - high pitches. When called upon to cover many different parts at one time, it helps if all pitched instruments are based on the same direction from low to high.

Timpani sticks.

Making and repairing timpani sticks is an art in itself.
Most professional players now how to do some repairing or putting a new layer of felt on top of an older layer, but it takes a lot of practice, experience and feel to make good quality sticks.
First we have to cope with the various possibilities for the shafts: solid wood handles (of various type of wood) or bamboo (hollow shafts). Most professionals prefer the latter type as tone production is superior with this lighter type of stick. The bamboo handles are more prone to damage (hitting the square tension screw by accident is fatal!) but (as it turns out), most professional players don't hit the tension screws!
The length of the handle is a point of concern: short handles make for speed of rolls but cannot deliver as much power as a longer handle. The size of the hands of the players themselves influences the preferred length of stick.

There is now an excellent photo-instruction where you can see how professional timpani sticks are made!