Marching Snare Percussion
Between band camp, competition weekends, and late-season run-throughs, marching season can be rough on you and your gear. That’s why we created the D’Addario Marching Percussion Survival Guide: to help you stay ahead of the wear and the weather and face the season head on.
Essential Accessories
Explore our line of EVANS and ProMark marching gear, built for peak performance and designed to help you lock in, level up and lead the line.
Essential items like drum keys, stick bags, and maintenance tools to keep your equipment performance ready.
How To Tune Your Marching Snare Drum
1. Mount the top head and finger-tighten all tension to equal tension.
2. Using this sequential tuning method which aligns with the number of lugs on your drum, begin with ½ key-turns on each tension rod until the drum beings to resonate. Tap in front of each tension rod to ensure that it produces an identical clear tone.
3. We recommend tuning your snare-side (bottom) head to a "C-sharp" or "D" with a chromatic tuner.
4. The batter (top) head is typically tuned slightly lower in pitch than the bottom head.
5. Disengage the snare strainer and turn the drum upside down as illustrated. Place a pen between the snares and the drumhead so the snares can resonate freely.
6. Remove the pen. Engage the snare strainer, turn the drum over, and rest on a stand.
7. Use the snare tension knob on the side of your drum to adjust the snare response until you reach your desired sound.
Pro Tip:
Beware of over-tightened snare drums. Aside from damage to the player’s hands and the instrument, marching snares that are tuned too high do not have a lot of projection and don’t blend well with other instruments.
