does anybody know how to help me play the marching snare drum faster?

Answer 1

Let me go ask my 2 1/2 year old son. He plays pretty fast. Seriously...he's a drummer already!!!!!

Answer 2

Let the drum head do most of the the work. The faster you need to play, the less your hands and wrists should move vertically. And since marching snare heads are so tight, they have a lot more bounce than any other kind of drum.

Don't know how long you have been playing for, but when everyone starts out playing drums, we all use too much wrist. It's your hands that should be generating the power to move the stick.

When you do exercise drills, concentrate on playing in time evenly at a constant beat (a metronome helps) and don't start at your top speed -- work your way up to it. The more comfortable you become with each drill, the more your muscle memory will develop and the more feel you will have for the drum head. Gradually you will be able to play that drill faster.

Also, remember to stay relaxed and breathe normally. Holding one's breath is a common reaction when one tenses up, and it never helps with anything you do.

Sorry if this advice sounds generic. Hope it helps.

Answer 3

Faster? As in you want to do faster rolls? Or, do you want to learn the fundamentals of the entire instrument faster?


Anyway, effective rolls have a lot to do with your grip and lack of tension, as well as starting slow and just building up speed slowly. As in anything, you have to start out slow...if you try to begin your learning to do rolls at full speed, you're going to teach yourself bad habits.

If you are talking about just mastering the instrument faster, it all goes back to fundamentals. I'm sure your band teacher has a list of all the basic rudaments somewhere...you need to learn them, and more importantly, learn to apply them to the music. You'd be amazed at how much of your marching band music simply is a re-hash of your fundamental rudiments.

Answer 4

learn the rudiments and other exercises slowly - once you can play them flawlessly, start speeding up. when you get to a speed that you bobble - keep practicing at that speed until you are flawless -- rinse and repeat ;-)

Answer 5

Play the exersice legatos its two bars of eigth note on you left hand then two bars of eighth notes on your right hand then two bars of right hand lead sixteenth notes then two bars of eighth notes on your right hand two bars of eigth notes on your left hand then two bars of left hand lead sixteenth notes and a release. play it over and over and slowly take up the speed the only way to get chops is to get chops.