snare drums <table border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td colspan="5">Double-headed cylindrical drums characterized by having several gut, nylon, wire, or wire-covered silk strings (snares) stretched across the lower head; the snares vibrate sympathetically with the lower head (to which vibration is transmitted from the upper, or batter, head by air vibrations inside the drum), causing a snappy, penetrating, relatively high-pitched sound. The use of snares on drums was known in ancient Egypt</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Source: Art &amp; Archtecture Thesaurus </p> <p>http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300041755</p>