Drum Dampers: Snare Drum

Dampening Percussion instruments can be a divisive topic.

• Let it ring completely
• Dampen it
• How much dampening
• Where to place the dampener
• What to use for dampening

I'll start with the last part. In so many schools, I've seen wallets, credit cards, cell phones, books, towels, socks (yes) used. Essentially anything handy at the time. Different instruments, situations and affects require different solutions.

For the most part a snare damper is used to remove all or part of the higher partials of the vibration. 

High dynamics require a snare drum damper to stay in place without moving around the head. It also needs to be placed in different locations on the head depending upon the tuning of the drum. It needs to be readily available at all times.

The best solution that I have found is based on the Black Swamp designed damper. This is a thin piece of split leather shaped to match the contour of the drumhead arc. A piece of looped cord is placed around the tension rod of the drum so as to be added or removed as needed.

However this damper moves around the head of the drum and will even bounce off during higher dynamics. Using super glue, I permanently attached a Glue Dots brand reusable square to the bottom of the damper. This allows it to stay in place regardless of the dynamic as well as being easily and quickly repositioned or removed.

I use the damper for lessons and sectionals. This provides the cleanest and driest sound to monitor rhythmic precision. During rehearsals and performances the damper is adjusted to give little or no dampening effect. The ring or resonance is what gives the sound it's projection. If the drum is dampened completely to the player, the conductor and the audience will hear a dead 'cardboard' sound. A metal shell snare drum will have a more pronounced ring than a wood shell drum thus requiring the damper to be adjusted accordingly.
I caution my students to not confuse a loose snare sound with ring. Loose snares are a different aspect of tuning.