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Analyzing Snare Drum Samples
Snares are just about an essential part of most popular songs; everything you hear on the radio and nearly all songs on all CDs in the rhythm and blues and hip hop, rap and dance genres. Snare use is determined based on the type of music and the groove of the song.
In urban styles of music ranging from the RnB genre to gangster rap and soul, snare drum samples use is quite varied, but a lot of songs display it on beats 2 and 4 in the music bar placement. The kick usually sits on the first beat or third and this is because it has more of a downbeat impact, while the snare subtly modifies the groove.
There are so many different types of snares, but two seem to come out on top when making sample libraries and analyzing those of established producers and application developers. Real, live snares are sampled from recorded songs or recorded for the purposes of electronic use in lieu of a live drummer. The other type is the raspy or smooth snares that are developed by synthesizers like the Roland groove boxes; think TR-606s, TR-808s and so on.
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.
If you listen to a lot of dance music (or even just a bit), you're probably instantly reminiscent of the two most widely used techniques for placing snare drum samples strategically. The first method sees the snare occupying the first and fourth beats in just about every bar, and this relieves the ear from hearing just the kick constantly, as it usually hits on every single beat. The second method involves applying different groove templates to the kick and snare to have a back-and-forth going on musically.
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.
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