Exploring the Modern Solo Snare Drum Tradition through Analyzing Five Snare Drum Solos

Abstract

The modern solo snare drum tradition has become one of the more popular traditions of solo music available to percussionists. This tradition has evolved from the rudimental and concert style drumming traditions to make a parallel construction. However, in comparison to rudimental and orchestral drumming, modern solo snare drum music does not have as easily definable compositional standards. As this tradition has evolved, so too has its compositional techniques, performance expectations, and analytical interpretations. This lecture-recital document will investigate the modern snare drum tradition in order to establish a more standard set of identifiable compositional features via an analysis of five solos: American Suite for Unaccompanied Snare Drum by Guy G. Gauthreaux II; Fragments II by Jean-Charles François, Music for Snare Drum, Pure Wave Oscillator and One or More Reflective Surfaces by Alan Lucier, Peeping Tom by Dan Senn, and Stop Speaking by Andy Akiho.