How to Revolutionize Your Snare Drum Practice with EDM
- Nathan Coles
- Nov 28
- 3 min read
Here’s how changing your listening environment can help you overcome mental blocks and find the groove in complex concert percussion etudes.
We have all been there. You are standing over a snare drum, staring at a complex page of music—perhaps a Tompkins or Delécluse etude—and the metronome is clicking away relentlessly. You play the passage, mess up, reset, and try again. Suddenly, you aren't making music anymore; you are just doing math in your head. Overthinking leads to tension, tension leads to mistakes, and the joy of playing disappears.
But what if the solution to mastering a classical etude wasn't more focus, but a better groove? In this post, we are going to explore a creative approach to rhythm that swaps the sterile click of a metronome for the energy of electronic dance music.
Table of Contents
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Meet Your Instructor
To guide us through this concept, we are learning from Bella Scotti, a dedicated Black Swamp Educator. Bella is an accomplished percussionist known for approaching the instrument with both technical precision and a fresh perspective.
As an educator, Bella understands that student percussionists often struggle with the mental game just as much as the physical one. By sharing personal insights into their own preparation for major repertoire, Bella provides actionable advice that helps students bridge the gap between the practice room and the stage.
The Trap of Overthinking Complex Rhythms
When you are working on high-level repertoire, such as the famous Douze Études for Snare Drum by Jacques Delécluse, it is easy to get "in your head." These pieces are rhythmically dense and unforgiving.
The standard approach is to set a metronome and grind it out. While the metronome is an essential tool for accuracy, relying on it exclusively can sometimes lead to a robotic feel. You might find yourself so focused on lining up the next sixteenth note with the click that you forget to listen to the phrasing. This over-analysis causes physical stiffness, making it even harder to execute the technique required for the piece.
Refresh Your Snare Drum Practice with EDM
Bella Scotti suggests a different approach to break the tension. Instead of a click, try practicing your concert or rudimental snare drum music while listening to Electronic Dance Music (EDM).
When Bella was tackling the notorious Delécluse Etude #9, they utilized a song called "Good Thing" by Zedd featuring Kehlani. The track provided a steady, driving beat that replaced the anxiety of the metronome with a musical pulse.
Why This Works
This method is effective because it changes your relationship with the tempo. A metronome demands you follow it; a backing track invites you to groove with it.
Consistent BPM: EDM is produced on a grid, meaning the tempo is just as steady as a metronome.
Mental Ease: Listening to a pop or dance track loosens you up. It distracts the analytical part of your brain just enough to let your muscle memory take over.
Musical Context: It forces you to feel the downbeat and the phrase structure, rather than micromanaging every subdivision.
Student Action Plan
Ready to try this out? Here is a step-by-step plan to integrate music into your routine.
Identify the Tempo: Look at your etude. Let's say your goal tempo (or current comfortable tempo) is 112 BPM.
The Search: Go to your streaming service of choice. Search for "Songs at 112 BPM" or use a site like GetSongBPM to find EDM tracks that match your target speed.
Check the Vibe: Choose a song with a heavy, consistent backbeat. Zedd, Calvin Harris, or Avicii are great artists to start with because the beat rarely fluctuates.
The Session: Put your headphones in. Don't worry if the song style doesn't match the etude style (a classical etude over a pop song is a funny juxtaposition!). Focus on locking your hands in with the snare and kick drum of the recording.
Reflect: After the song ends, ask yourself: Did my hands feel more relaxed? Did I breathe better?
The Final Stroke
Music is meant to be enjoyed, not just analyzed. While we must respect the technical demands of our repertoire, we cannot lose the "dance" inside the drumming. Whether you are preparing for a jury, an audition, or just trying to improve your hands, remember Bella Scotti’s advice: loosen up.
Next time you feel the walls of the practice room closing in, turn off the click, turn up the Zedd, and find the joy in the rhythm again.
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