Download a PDF of Etude No. 1 for FREE by clicking here!
Then…download a play along track for Etude No. 1 specially written to help demonstrate a melodic approach to snare drum phrasing by clicking here! Need a slower tempo for practice? Get the 92 bpm version (with metronome) by clicking here!
ABOUT THE BOOK
This book contains 14 intermediate to advanced etudes for snare drum that will give percussionists a great deal to explore both technically and musically. There are also performance notes and exercises to help illuminate the challenges of each piece. The final seven etudes are conceived as not just works for study but also performance. They can be played individually or grouped into suites for recitals. Program notes for those etudes are below.
Etude No. 8 - There’s Always More Calculus
One of my students finished his calculus quiz early, zipped up his backpack, and handed the paper to his professor. The other students were still working and he was excited to head out for some extra time in the practice rooms. But as the professor took the quiz with one hand, he handed back a new page of problems with the other. My student said, “I’m sorry. I thought we could leave after the quiz.” The professor’s response? “There’s always more calculus!”
Etude No. 9 - Starlight
Starlight uses the soft and subtle sounds of the snare drum to create a sense of pulsating, shimmering energy.
Etude No. 10 - Summerwaltz
Summerwaltz begins in Old Vienna and quickly tumbles forward. I guess the title could also be spelled “Somerwaults.”
Etude No. 11 - Cloudburst
The word cloudburst always reminds me of the Thomas Dolby song Cloudburst at Shingle Street. Dolby was one of my musical heroes when I was a teenager (in part because I had career plans to be a synth player for Prince or Journey or any British band from the 80s). This piece isn’t based on Dolby's song, but like the song, it tries to capture the intensity and unpredictability of a cloudburst.
Etude No. 12 - Ice Dragons
Is this etude about Ice Dragons? Yes! But the title also holds a clue to the origins of the rhythmic structures on which the piece is built.
Etude No. 13 - UnRaveling
UnRaveling is an orchestral snare audition fever dream. Performing Bolero with an orchestra is a lot of fun. Playing the two-bar rhythmic figure non-stop for hours as you prepare for the audition that might just give you the opportunity to practice it for many more hours to prepare for the performance is a very different experience. It will haunt your dreams. But…it’s worth it!
Etude No. 14 - Nicolai’s Risky Organ Loft
Nicolai’s Risky Organ Loft is loosely based on rhythms from Capriccio Espagnol (and a brief visit with a captivating storyteller). The title is a malapropism of the composer’s name. I like to imagine the rhythms imitating an imaginary Rimsky-Korsakov deftly jumping around an unstable organ loft filled with traps and puzzles while working the pedals, pulling out all the stops, and still making great music.
Excerpt from the Preface to 14 Etudes for Snare Drum
The world probably already has more snare drum etudes than it really needs. Still, after over a quarter century of teaching, I think I have a few ideas that could be useful to those who want to be better at playing the snare drum. I hope these etudes will be interesting and enjoyable, and that they will help percussionists understand, organize, and refine the skills they already have while also building new ones.
These etudes are written to demonstrate important concepts that will solidify technical abilities, build rhythmic integrity, improve sensitivity, and encourage musical expression. Look for the music in each etude and work hard to bring the pieces to life. The etudes in the book's second half were conceived not only as pieces for study, but also for performance. You can combine them in groups of three or four (or maybe even five) to create suites for recitals.
I came to the snare drum the long way around. When I was seven, I began studying piano and then wound up playing keyboard percussion when I joined the marching band in ninth grade. It was over a year after that when I had my first snare drum lesson. But, even after playing (and practicing) snare drum for years, I still didn’t feel musically connected to it the way I felt connected to the marimba or to playing timpani in an orchestra or wind ensemble.
When I was 23, I began studying with Michael Burritt. His approach to the snare drum inspired me to see it as a truly expressive musical instrument. Not long after I met Mike, I began taking lessons on the derabucca with Halim El-Dabh. Halim taught me that a single drum head doesn’t contain just one sound, or three sounds, or five sounds. Instead, if you listen closely and sensitively, it can reveal thousands of timbres and colors to you. These revelations changed how I played not only the snare drum but everything else. As I became more connected to the snare drum, I became an even better player on the instruments I had loved for years.
I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to find the connection, and so I hope the music in this collection will help others find a meaningful musical bond with the snare drum—a way to communicate music, emotions, and ideas through the instrument. The most important thing we can do is find a connection to the music we play. Then, once we have found it, we can share the magic we feel with others through our performances and our teaching.
– Blake Tyson