Snare on 1 and 3?

D

dster

Junior Member
Non-drummer here. I'm working on this tune that I can only describe as a Yee Haw tune. You could use it for rodeo music. Tempo is 200. For drums, I am just putting the snare on 1 and 3. Nothing else except for the bridge. Is that crazy? Are there any tunes you know of like that?

Thanks
 
I have a feeling you're working on a song where the '1' isn't some big kick/crash combo.

Yes, this happens all the time in many types of music. Snare on the 1 happens often in pop/rock/soul/R&B as well.
 
KamaK said:
I have a feeling you're working on a song where the '1' isn't some big kick/crash combo.

Yes, this happens all the time in many types of music. Snare on the 1 happens often in pop/rock/soul/R&B as well.
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Snare is basically the only drum in the tune. Yes, somewhat like the Sly tune.

Tangentially, would you say that Sly tune is 100bpm or 200bpm?
 
The beginning of Jimmy Rogers' "Walkin' By Myself" has the snare on 1 and 3.

The drummer switches after a few bars though. I've always wondered if that whole thing was intentional.
 
Prince Sexy MF has the snare on 1 and on 2-and. It is not crazy to put the snare on 1. It's delicate though, it's like steak with chocolate sauce. It can be done but it can be done very badly. Had Prince put the snare on 1 and 3 in Sexy MF, it would have sucked out the funk and the result would have been terrible.
At higher speeds it might work. I hate Sunshine of your love in its original version, but when Hendrix does it twice as fast it's much more light footed.
 
Bell Bottom Blues ftw :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKAYGVIkbok&feature=kp

Snare on 1&3 is rare, and that's generous. From many points of view, its something you simply don't do. As a technical point: The Sly tune posted earlier is not snare on just 1 & 3, but snare on all fours, which is a different matter completely imo.

Can you post link to the song your are learning? I'm having trouble imagining what kind of tune you have there..
 
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wsabol said:
As a technical point: The Sly tune posted earlier is not snare on just 1 & 3, but snare on all fours, which is a different matter completely imo.
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Indeed you are correct. I was trying to be psychic, since he said that he was not a drummer and the tempo was "200". I was guessing that he simply had a song that had a beat driven by the snare. Man I love Roy McDonalds playing.

That said, I'd love to hear a 200BPM Hee-Haw tune with the snare on the 1/3... Speed-Haw!
 
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KamaK said:
Indeed you are correct. I was trying to be psychic, since he said that he was not a drummer and the tempo was "200". I was guessing that he simply had a song that had a beat driven by the snare. Man I love Roy McDonalds playing.

That said, I'd love to hear a 200BPM Hee-Haw tune with the snare on the 1/3... Speed-Haw!
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Yes I see your point haha

From the way he is describing it (fast/rodeo/yee haw/dance tune), it sounds as if maybe in he needs to plays a fast country beat, like the train beat on On the Road Again and maybe has the counting mixed up.. im not sure, that way I asked for a link...
 
Lump!!

It doesn't seem that rare. I'm not very knowledgeable and came up with one in 10 seconds.

You can place any drum in any position you want .

edit. Maybe Lump wasnt a good example :) In my head it was :)
 
I'm sorry, I won't be posting the tune. I could say that the snare is on all four beats. Indeed, that is why I did ask above about the Sly tune tempo. But if we were to say that the snare is on all four, then the melody would be made up of mostly 16th notes. As the phrases are three bars long, I would then have to put it in 12/8 or 6/4. Maybe that is the best way to think about it. There is no drum set by the way, just a snare. The tune works. I was just wondering how often people come out with a cracking snare leading the way.
 
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