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The Method of
Snare Drum
Analysis

By Aundre Wesley
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Abstract

This publication is an analysis of an approach to snare drum technique along with a general

theory of musical analysis as it deals with technique. This technique consist of taking motion

capture data from a snare drumming experiment. The analysis of the data consist of determining

maximum and minimum values (displacement over time) of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist of the

right hand, and using these time markers as a guide to keyframe extraction to explain technique

through hand drawn illustrations. This experiment transcribes a specific technique called the

Moeller technique. This analysis is used as a framework which allows one to derive similar

results from a single camera view of about 30 frames per second. This method of analysis draws

knowledge from areas of biomechanical operations and portionality of limb segments based on

height (Winter), classical mechanics, algebratic geometry, and acoustic analysis of sound waves

created by the motion described. This method does not remove a music teacher but a student can

begin to approach snare drumming in a meticulous manner.


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Layout of the Paper

Introduction: Quantifiable aspects of music.

A Phonetic Approach to drumming.

Anatomy and Physiology as it Applies to Snare Drumming

Procedure

Upstroke Temporal Sequencing

Conclusion

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Introduction

There are many elements to music. One of the components that can be studied

quantitatively is the physical aspect of snare drumming. Physical analysis of snare drumming

includes kinesthetic movement and analysis of the sound of the snare drum produced by the

motion of the body. The goal of this analysis is to delineate what can be quantified in the analysis

of snare drumming while leaving other aspects of music and art in the hands of the interpreter.

The simplest frame of understanding this mode of thinking is the concept of the human

body as a composition of geometric shapes that have one set configuration for each point in

space. This concept of reducing the human body to geometric shapes is helpful in developing a

jumpshot in basketball or a tennis serve; this concept of the human body aids in the projectile

nature of the these sports acts. Both motions in their respective sports require a certain

sequencing of the joints. This process of learning deals with kinesthetic intelligence and body

mapping1. Knowledge of human anatomy and physiology could improve teaching of the

technique of a snare drummer if he or she understood how the joints moved in relation to the

body over a period of time. The system of technical analysis that is presented here is a

transcription of a snare drummer’s personal technique and the resulting sound from each strike.

This transcription framework is composed of motion capture data and wave form analysis.
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Phonetic Approach to Snare Drumming Technique: Mouth Drumming

In the field of Linguistics, the study of speech sounds through different configurations of

the respiratory system is known as Phonetics. For every sound found in human speech, there is

one configuration of the human body in respects to speech production. In other words, to

produce different sounds one must fix the the mouth and lungs in a specific manner to produce a

specific sound. There have been many innovations in the study of Phonetics through experiments

involving MRI scans of a speaker producing prescribed utterances which then could be used to

illustrate how the mouth produces certain sounds. The same data is typically analyzed by its

visual wave form representation and compared to the MRI scans. This method of analysis gives

insight into how sound and motion in speech are related to each other, and could provide

evidence for the claim that the vocal tract (more importantly the mouth, tongue, and glottis)

manipulates the air from the lungs to produce the sound represented in the wave form.

This same approach is used in the proposed analysis of snare drumming technique. Like the

study of Phonetics, this method makes certain claims: the body has one set configuration for

every point in space and the snare drum sound in performance is a direct result of the motion

before and after the strike of the drum. The Moeller technique is the motion that will be analyzed

in this text.

Snare drumming technique can be approached from the development of the rudiments.

There is a relationship between certain rudiments and their sound, like the ratamacue.

The ratamacue has a rhythm in its performance of speaking the word that mimics the rhythmic

quality of the ratamacue in performance on a snare drum. This commonality can be exploited and

used to develop snare drumming proficiency though replicating the sound of the word and the
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sound the hands with sticks playing on the drum. Howevern, there is even a more direct practice

of singing the snare drum rudiment which is fairly common among rudimental snare drummers.

For instance, a ratamacue would sound something like: digadutdutdutDA. (There should be

emphasis on the final syllable which is indicated by the ALL CAPS.) Every rudiment can be

expressed this way. Here’s a list of a few of the rudiments in this orthographic notation:

There are four syllables: diga = double or drag, dut = unaccented note, DA = accented note, bla =

flam

Flam: Bla

Flam Accent: Bladutdut

Single Ratamacue: digadutdutdutDA

It is a practice of many rudimental drummers to sing the drum rudiments in this manner.

This practice of singing rudiments allows the drummer to approach rudiments not only as

movement patterns, but sound patterns as well. The goal is to match certain motions with certain

sounds, and this practice encourages the drummer approach playing drum rudiments from a

sound production perspective. This means that the snare drummer has a target sound in mind

which in theory provides the drummer with parameters for adjusting the body to the target sound

(Boyer). “The users adjust their movements in order to achieve a specific goal expressed in terms

of sonic/musical characteristics… the task can be expressed as motion-oriented. The users get

auditory feedback to adjust their movements and to achieve a specific goal in terms of motion

characteristics. (Boyer)” This experiment involved subjects attempting to replicate a sound

through performing a certain motion utilizing a digital instrument. The results they have found

gives evidence for an approach to sensorimotor learning through a target sound. This means that
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a specific motion can be learned through having a target sound in mind. This is the idea of

singing the drum rudiments. This method of kinematic mapping through sound production is not

necissarily unique to rudimental drumming. African drumming traditions include matching

whole phrases of speech patterns to toned drums to reproduce a drum pattern that references

certain speech patterns (Drums). The tongue and the arm share a relationship in molding the type

of sound produced in speech and drumming. The arm acts as the articulator of the snare

drumming activity which enables the sound to be produced on the snare drum.
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Anatomy and Physiology as it Applies to Snare Drumming

The approach to analysing snare drumming through an anatomical perspective is derived

from the idea of motion capture processes that a video game designer or animator employs. This

method of analysis allows for quantitative measures based on movements of the markers which

are connected to various parts of the body. This method also allows for a technical explanation of

snare drumming technique which would allow the data to be used in other environments that

borrow from snare drumming technique (drum set, marimba, or percussion in general). Also, an

anatomical evaluation of drumming can be used as a framework for further analsis of other

experiements relating to music technique. For this experiment, only the right was analyzed from

the shoulder to the wrist. An explanation of this part of the body will be given in as much detail

as the data will allow.

This method of analysis for snare drumming takes into account desplacement of the body

in relation to itself. All of the data can be reduced to displacement of geometric figures over

time. A basic understanding of human anatomy through simple machines. The shoudler is a ball-

and-socket joint. The elbow is a hinge joint and a uniaxial synovial joint having free range

(limited by ulna and radius) of rotation which can be seen by turning the wrist. The method of

analysis builds off of Sanford Moeller’s book: The Moeller Book, which takes still camera

frames of Sanford Moeller demonstrating the technique in reverse. This was extremely beneficial

for people who couldn’t learn from Sanford Moeller directly. The material provided by Sanford

Moeller operated as a sort of Self-Instruction Manuel (as described in the Moeller Book). The

Moeller Book describes the Civil War Era style of drumming with precision by detailing the grip

of both hands, the full stroke (or single stroke), and the flam (right and left handed). The Civil
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War era of snare drumming was much like the Swiss Merchants use of the fife and drum except

the snare drum relayed commands for the General to the soldiers who used rifles. (@percussion)

However, The technology (weaponry) of Civi War did not allow for much use of the drummers

on the battlefield, so the camp was the place were drummers were used. This is the method of

movement which Sanford Moeller transcribed and then replicated (Moeller).

The next analysis of the Moeller technique which improved on Moeller’s approach to

technical analysis was done most recently by Jojo Mayer in his Secret Weapons for the Modern

Drummer DVD, where Jojo Mayer demonstrated a method of learning the technique that Sanford

Moeller first demonstrated in 1925. Jojo Mayer’s DVD is more of an instructional DVD on the

Moeller Technique. He explains how to develop the motion with multiple camera angles, a

computer generated model, and demonstrations of drum set application of the Moeller Technique

as well as some fusion ideas like: The Moeller-Mayer stroke, extensive finger technique, and

application of the traditionally rudimentary style on drum set.

The method of analysis presented in this document introduces the Phonetic component to

the motion capture analysis. The technique is illustrated over time by selecting key frames based

off of maximum and minimum value of each plane (XYZ) of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist for

the basic strokes.

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Procedure

The experiment was conducted in the Primate Locomotion Lab at UT Austin under the

supervision of Dr. Liza Shapiro. The experiment used 1 snare, 1 snare stand, headphone attached

to a metronome at 120bpm, 1 pork pie drum throne, vicom motion capture system, and a camera

phone to sink audio and visual data.. The test consisted of 5 basic strokes and selected rudiments

at 120 and 60bpm. The experiment was designed to catalogue the technique the experiemtee used

in the trials. All trials were conducted in one sitting totalling about 1 hour from first video to last

video. The set up took about 2 hours and the tear down about an hour.

The motion capture data allows for very percise tracking of motion. The system shows

general displacement, angular velocity, general velocity, and provides a model of movement

based on the markers. There were several measurements looked at for this experiment. Key

frames were extracted by gathering maximum and minimum displacement of each limb (Right

shoulder, elbow, and wrist) and cross-referencing time values of each plane. Some time

approximations were made and each frame of a basic stroke was selected by the experimentee to

enable the intention to match the data represented. In other words, the data was analyzed through

the lense of a professional drummer in order to notate where and when events within a basic

stroke occur. This somewhat informal approach to qualitative data pertaining to movement

allowed for generalizations to be made from the perspective of both the data and the

professional. There were no algorithms used rather a traditional hands on approach with a ruler

was used to determine and analyze the data.

The experiment conducted in the primate locomotion lab at UT Austin utilized a motion

capture system and a camera phone to sync sound with motion. This approach to technique
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analysis was used to provide evidence of how an interpretation of the Moeller stroke can be

represented by displacement over time. The purpose of the data presented here is to provide a

framework for technical analysis of any snare drumming video without the motion capture

technology. However, snare drumming technique can theoretically be placed inside of a cube and

annotated through hand drawn illustrations with precision based on set configurations of human

anatomy, analysis of resulting sound wave production, the path of the stick analyzed as a

projectile, and geometrically based equations. The selections of frames are based off of

maximum and minimum values of displacements over one sequence of the full stroke. These

frames cube drawings were reconstructed by taking the X, Y, and Z values of the shoulder, elbow

and wrist separately, and plotting each value on a separate number line. Then, a cube was

constructed to represent, or reconstruct, a calibration frame which could give a somewhat

accurate representation of movement based off of the values given in graphical data. I am

asserting that hand-drawn illustrations provide the best way for expressing movement over time

in the absence of a video or instructor. Here are the data for shoulder, elbow and wrist for the

upstroke (z axis = up and down displacement):

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Up Stroke Temporal Sequencing

Rudiments are composed of an arrangement of basic

strokes. These basic strokes are the tap, up, full, down and buzz

stroke. The basic strokes possess component parts as well. For

instance, the upstroke starts from rest position, performs a tap,

performs an upstroke, and then travels back to rest position.

Rest position can be defined as the point in which the snare

drummer begins and ends each stroke, or rudiment. A tap stroke

is defined when the wrists drop which enable the stick to strike

the drum head. An upstroke can be defined when the wrist is at

its highest point in relation to the drum. At this time, the elbow

is bent and is close to the side of the body. The shoulders are

relaxed and rolled backward slightly.

The upstroke can be analyzed by these component parts:

rest position, up, and tap stroke from the perspective of the right

distal ulna. This explanation of the upstroke is taken from the

upstroke trail and represents one upstroke. The range of time for

an upstroke is 1.96 seconds (from rest, tap, up, to rest). The

frames to the left will be referred to by the number in the lower

left hand side of each cube. The up stroke begins at rest

postition (frame 1). The elbow begins to move away from the

body while the wrist drifts toward the snare drum.

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At .37 seconds (frame 3-4), the tap stroke is performed

with the wrist moving away from the drum and the elbow

continuing to move away from the body until it reaches its

furthest point at .53 seconds (frame 4). The wrist continue to

move away from the drum as the shoulder moves forward

slightly from .58 seconds to .8 seconds (frame 5-7). The wrist

reach their highest point above the snare drum at .71 seconds

(frame 6). As the shoulders begin to drift backwards at .8

seconds, the wrist begins its decent at .825 seconds (frame 7).

At .84 seconds, the elbow is bent and is on the side of the body

(frame 7) and starts to move away from the body. The shoulder

continues to drift backwards until 1.02 seconds (frame 10)

while the elbow is continuing to move away from the body and

reaches its furthest point at 1.14 seconds (frame 10-11). The

elbow begins to move towards the body at 1.14 seconds until

all joints reach rest position at 1.4 seconds (frame 13).

The upstroke is an atomic element of rudiments and

can be found in most rudiments; here are a few rudiments that

contain the upstroke: the ratamacue, the flam tap, the flam

invert, the flam accent, and the drag a diddle. The stick makes

contact with the head at .49 seconds which is about 1/8 of the
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entire 3.96 seconds up stroke sequence (frame 1-13). Here’s a wav representation of the upstroke

as the stick strikes the drum:

This is only one example of an elementary stroke in drumming, but the analysis can be

performed on more complexed ideas as a rudiment.

Here is the ratamacue: performed at 60 bpm

Here is the drag-a-diddle: performed at 60 bpm

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Conclusion

The framework presented can be used to analyze any rudiment performed with motion

capture data and sound wav representation. This form of analysis can be used in explaining the

drum rudiments as physical operations in order to achieve a certain audio and visual effect. This

allows for the upstoke to be understood as an elemental component of rudimental snare

drumming in mathematical terms which can help novice players understand how the body is

configured during the performance of certain strokes. What I hope to achieve is the framework in

which other analysis can be built off of. The goal of demonstrating technique in the manner of

motion capture data and sound wave analysis is to approach single angle camera recordings in

this manner. One should be able to take video of their playing from a camera phone and apply

the concepts expressed in this document. Single camera angle recordings coupled with the

knowledge of human anatomy and physiology should be sufficient to detail the recorded

technique with some accuracy and precision. I believe it is much more effective to have a hand-

drawn example than a computer generated representation of the same data; even if the computer

data is more accurate. This method of analysis can be used for anything dealing with human

movement in general. I also argue that hand drawn illustrations are more effective when

explaining human movement than computer generated analysis. Even though the first drawings

in this publication are based on mathematical data, the next examples are from a camera phone

without the motion capture data.

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Works Cited

Boyer, Eric O., Quentin Pyanet, Sylvain Hanneton, and Frédéric Bevilacqua. "Learning
Movement Kinematics with a Targeted Sound." Springer. N.p., 05 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 Nov.
2016.

Coates, Budd, and Claire Kowalchik. "Running On Air: Breathing Technique." Runner's World. 6
Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

Data captured in the Primate Locomotion Lab at UT Austin Anthropology Department

"Drums in Communication." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Aug. 2016. Web. 20 Nov.

2016.

Gardner, Howard. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic,
1983. Print.

“History Of N.A.R.D.". Nard.us.com. 2016. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.

Moeller, Sanford A. The Moeller Book: The Art of Snare Drumming. Chicago, Ill: Ludwig
Drum, 1956. Print.

“RDMA Fifes & Drums History." RDMA Fifes & Drums History. 2006. Accessed November 06,
2016. http://www.drummajor.net/Fife/1FifesHistory.htm.

Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer. Perf. Jojo Mayer. July 2007. DVD

Winter, David A., and David A. Winter. Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human
Movement. New York: Wiley, 1990. Print.

"@ Percussion Episode 34 with Bill Cahn." YouTube. @percussion, 31 Mar. 2016. Web.
20 Nov. 2016.