Things You'll Need:
- A snare drum
- A tuning key
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Step 1
Determine what sort of sound you want. If you want to avoid a ring, get a heavier snare drum head—coated white, rather than transparent. This is standard for a snare drum, even if you have different heads for the rest of your drumset. A thicker bottom head can help as well, though this shouldn’t be coated.
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Step 2
Use a ring muffler. This can either be a clamp mechanism or else something that lays on the snare drum itself. A common method is to cut a ring out of an old snare drum head—around an inch wide—and lay that on the snare drum. An even cheaper method is to stick a piece of duck tape on top and/or on the bottom of the head.
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Step 3
If the snare drum is still ringing, tune the top and bottom heads down. If you want more ring, don’t do the above step and tune the drum up. Also use a thinner drum head.
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Step 4
Check the snare on the bottom. If the snare buzzes a lot, make sure that the snare is centered on the drum and is laying flat against the drum. The further away from the drum, the less of a snare sound there will be. Snares can snap as well, so replace the snare if any are broken. At the very least, remove the broken snare string.
