• 13 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Snare Drum

A snare drum from above, from underneath, and with its bottom taken apart.

Parts of a Snare Drum

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
More options

Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Batter head
  2. Hoops
  3. Shell
  4. Lugs
  5. Tension rods
  6. Strainer
  7. Vent hole
  8. Snare head
  9. Snare wires
  10. Snare cord
  11. Butt plate
  12. Bearing edge
  13. Snare beds

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain curves. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the whole drum set

All 13 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Shell, heads and hardware 7

  1. Batter head The top head, the one the drummer strikes. So it is called the batter head. Modern heads are usually plastic.
  2. Hoops A hoop, also called a rim, holds each head onto the shell. The tension rods pull it down to tighten the head.
  3. Shell The body of the drum, made of wood or metal. Wooden shells have a warmer tone and metal shells a brighter one.
  4. Lugs Threaded fittings fixed to the shell. Each tension rod screws into one.
  5. Tension rods Bolts that pass through a hoop and screw into the lugs. Tightening them with a drum key tightens the head and raises its pitch.
  6. Vent hole A small hole that lets air escape when the head is struck. Without one the drum sounds muffled.
  7. Bearing edge The edge of the shell that a head is stretched over. It carries the tension of the head.

The snare mechanism 6

  1. Strainer It holds one end of the snares. Its lever, the throw-off, brings the snares against the bottom head or lets them drop away, and a screw sets how tight they are.
  2. Snare head The bottom head, thinner than the batter head. So it answers quickly and sets the snares buzzing. Also called the snare-side or resonant head.
  3. Snare wires Strands of coiled steel wire stretched across the bottom head. They rattle against it when the drum is struck, which gives the drum its sharp sound.
  4. Snare cord A woven cord ties the snares to the strainer at one end. At the other end, to the butt plate. Some drums use plastic tape instead.
  5. Butt plate A fixed clamp that holds the other end of the snares. It sits on the far side of the shell from the strainer.
  6. Snare beds A shallow dip in the bottom bearing edge on each side. The snares cross the edge there. The dips help the snares lie flat against the head.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it for this part. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Snare drum (two heads; the top or batter head, the bottom head also called the snare head; snares; rim; shell; tension rods; the strainer lever that engages and disengages the snares; vent hole) and Drum hardware (hoop or rim; tension rods screwed into threaded lugs with a drum key; a strainer on one side and a butt plate on the other to hold the snare wires; the throw-off lever; the screw that sets snare tension; the vent hole). (2) Yamaha Musical Instrument Guide, what drums are made of: https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/drums/mechanism/mechanism002.html (shell, head, hoop, tuning bolt, lug, snare, strainer; air holes or vent holes and what they do; the snare as curled wire across the bottom head; the thinner bottom head; wooden and metal shells). (3) Passages found by archive.org full-text search in Geoff Nicholls, The Drum Handbook: https://archive.org/details/drumhandbookbuyi0000nich (batter head, snare-side head or snare head, hoops or rims, tension rods, snare wires of coiled steel, strainer and throw-off, butt plate, snare cord or plastic tape, air hole, bearing edges as the shell edges over which the heads are stretched, snare beds and their purpose). (4) Passages found the same way in James A. Strain, A Dictionary for the Modern Percussionist and Drummer: https://archive.org/details/dictionaryformod0000stra (batter head, snare head, butt plate, tension rods, vent hole, snare cord, snare bed, bearing edge). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain curves; no maker's drum, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A snare drum is a shell with a head on each end and a band of wires against the bottom one. See it whole, then turn it over to find the snares.

Read the full guide

Top, underside, then taken apart

Numbers 1 to 7 are the whole drum: batter head, hoops, shell, lugs, tension rods, the strainer and the vent hole. Numbers 8 to 11 are underneath: the thin snare head, the snare wires, the snare cord and the butt plate. Numbers 12 and 13 are on the bare shell: the bearing edge and the two snare beds.

What makes the snare sound

Hit the batter head and the bottom head moves with it, rattling the wires stretched across it. Flip the lever on the strainer and the wires drop away, and the drum sounds like a tom-tom.

  • Tighter tension rods give a higher note, looser ones a lower note.
  • The strainer is on one side of the shell and the butt plate is on the other.

Questions and answers

What are the main snare drum parts?

A shell, a batter head on top and a thin snare head underneath, a hoop around each head, lugs and tension rods to tighten them, and the snare wires, held by a strainer on one side and a butt plate on the other.

What is the strainer on a snare drum?

The fitting on the side of the shell that holds one end of the snares. Its lever brings the snare wires against the bottom head or releases them, and a screw on it sets how tight they are.

What is the bottom head of a snare drum called?

The snare head, or snare-side head, because the snare wires lie against it. It is also called the resonant head. It is thinner than the batter head on top.

What is a snare bed?

A shallow dip in the bottom edge of the shell, one on each side, where the snare wires cross it. The dips help the wires lie flat against the head.

More quizzes

Show 6 more

Browse Science Quizzes