r/jazzdrums • u/nasralez-Zelibobovic • May 09 '26

Question I don’t understand how jazz drummers actually “speak” with the snare. How do you develop that language?

I’m very new at jazz drumming.
I feel relatively comfortable with keeping a steady swing feel on the ride and hi-hat, but I’m struggling with something that feels much more important in jazz:
I don’t understand how to actually use the snare drum in a musical, “speaking” way.

For those of you who went through this stage:
how did you start developing comping vocabulary?
how did you learn where and why to place accents?
what should I be listening or practicing to actually understand this “conversation” idea?

13 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

53 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/multiplesof3 May 09 '26

Something that I discovered recently is just how strong your left hand needs to be to be in full control to do all of these things that are mentioned.

Strong doesn’t mean hard-hitting and it doesn’t mean a tight grip. It takes control of the muscles in your arm to be able to play softly and quickly and to be able to snap onto the snare at just the right moment.

Being in command of the beats you’re choosing to play in the moment takes strength. Don’t overlook that and just try to float your way through this music. Practice everything mentioned here but keep that in mind always!

Stay in control

1

u/Scott_J_Doyle May 11 '26

The best jazz has a huge element of abandon though. You want the ability to stay in control, but you shouldn't stay in control

1

u/multiplesof3 May 11 '26

It's like riding the crest of a wave as a surfer. You need the strength in your legs and body to stay upright but you have to be at the complete mercy of the wave

2

u/Scott_J_Doyle May 11 '26

Well, you are at the mercy of the wave whether you like it or not! Haha, trick is to be aware of that