From dance, hip hop and metal, as well styled of country and other, non-commercial music, the snare is an untouchable sound. So steeped in tradition in many types of music, its use varies from genre to genre and style to style. The tempo of the music is also a big factor in determining what - and when - the snare drum samples do.
In urban music like hip hop and RnB, snare drum samples usually dances around beats 2 and 4 in the musical bar measurement. The kick in these songs usually takes place on one of the stronger beats, like the first down beat, and the reason for this is that the kick is more of a rhythmic statement than the snare, although the latter still has its place - and is very important indeed.
There are so many different types of snares, but two seem to come out on top when making sample libraries and analyzing those of established producers and application developers. Real, live snares are sampled from recorded songs or recorded for the purposes of electronic use in lieu of a live drummer. The other type is the raspy or smooth snares that are developed by synthesizers like the Roland groove boxes; think TR-606s, TR-808s and so on.
Regarding effects, there are limitless possibilities you can spend years wrapping your head around. If you want to alter snare drum samples beyond recognition or to simply tweak them, have at it. From reverbs to distortion and delay effects, just about everything is available. What some music producers do is analyze the snare and determine what makes it sound so good, before trying to make the rest of the samples match its character. Coherence is the name of the game.
In dance music, the snare placement and general use has been tried and tested over 20 years, with different techniques still popping up today and being heard worldwide literally overnight! Two of the most widely used ways to place snare drum samples are heard in songs every day if you're into this sort of music. The first method sees the snare sitting on beats 1 and 4, the weaker spots of the bar, while the kick hits every beat consistently. Basically, the snare relieves the ear from hearing just the kick. The second way is to use it on every beat with with a slightly different groove.
As always, make sure you experiment enough to get a good grip of it yourself. Using snare drum samples effectively is child's play if you know what you're doing, and you will have the advantage of testing if you apply whatever you hear to your own projects, making sure to listen carefully.
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