How to Make a Marching Snare

Putting together a marching snare drum for your marching band tends to be an easy task. Much of the activity involves obtaining the right type of snare drum and the appropriate equipment to hold it while being mobile or marching. While it is possible to use any snare drum in theory, the activity works better with a particular size. This gives the marching snare drum a distinctive sound associated with a parade band versus any other drumming.

Things You'll Need

  • Deep snare drum, 6 inches to 10 inches deep
  • Snare drum strap
  • Thick drum sticks, 17 inches long, 0.7 inches diameter at the grip
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Instructions

    • 1

      Go to a drum or musician store and obtain a deep snare drum approximately 6 inches to 10 inches deep. Do not use a regular snare drum that comes with a sitting drum set. Ignore the need to use a snare drum stand, this is not necessary for marching.

    • 2

      Obtain a marching snare drum sling. Position it around your neck so that that it sits comfortably with the bottom plate positioned in front of you. Lift the snare drum and attach the bottom hooks of the sling to the drum side brackets. Confirm the drum is properly hooked to the sling and won't fall off.

    • 3

      Obtain a set of thicker-than-normal drumsticks, with a length of 17 inches and a 0.7 inch diameter at the grip. Check that the tips have a rounded, egg or oval shape to them on the impact end of the stick. Hold the sticks either in military traditional mode at an inward angle or in a modern full-grip mode.