For a snare drum is a drum with snares. The wooden or metal cylinder is equipped with two skins of different thickness. While the top coat, the batter is recorded, has the lower pure resonance function. This "resonance head" is set by the drums on the drumhead to vibrate, which in turn called "snares" stimulates the blades and ultimately the specific sound of the drum species accounts, which especially during vertebra is clear. Snares were previously only under the resonant head stretched cords from intestines. Due to their sensitivity to humidity, we designed it later from metal, and finally grabbed a bundle of parallel adjacent coiled steel wires to the so-called "snare" or "gut or wire snare" together, which would not only be stretched, but or a specially designed lifting and had to leave a lifting device if necessary. This increased the sound of a snare drum.

While a distinction is made in the English language does not distinguish between small drum or drum parade, exist in German, the terms "snare drum" and "drum parade." A "small drum" comes originally from the long drums and military music from the medieval Tabor, which already has a snare string, and simply means a snare drum with a slight rib depth. From a parade drum, which also has usually a "snare", can you talk if their height exceeds the size of their diameter. The terminology is not accurate, as derivatives of snare-free tenor and parade drums do also exist.

With the development of Lefima ultra-light drums from 2000, snare drums now entered the market, which are particularly suitable due to their extremely low weight to march longer distances and for youth marching bands.