Drum Tuning An Introduction

Basics and Objectives of Drum Tuning

Tuning a drumset is a mechanical exercise with the aim of ensuring that the
tensions across a head are as equal as possible; this is the drum in tune with
itself. Additionally, there are tuning relationships between the heads on the same
drum and also with the other elements of your kit.
Tuning is a purely mechanical exercise and therefore there are many varied ways of
delivering an appropriate tone from a drum. The choice of tones, timbres and relative
tensioning is a separate issue and discussed here.
The method that I advocate here is one that works for me, however I recommend you
experiment and take other advice. Once you understand the principles the methods
become apparent.
The materials
Drum heads are generally made from Mylar which is a plastic.
Over a period of use, particularly with batter or top heads,
that plastic will heat and stretch or be forced out of shape by
force as it absorbs the impact of a players strokes. When a
drum head gets to the point that you either cannot tune to /
maintain a single pure tone, or you physically disfigure the
head, it is time to replace the heads.
Regardless of what type of head you are using or the
quality of your kit, there is no point in trying to tune a
drum kit that has old heads that have passed their best.
Doing so is affectionately known as turd polishing
Resonant bottom heads dont lose their tone as quickly, but
they are still under tension and should be checked and replaced regularly, A reasonable rule
of thumb might be to change resonant heads with every third or fourth change of batter
heads.
To get the best out of your drums therefore you should use fresh heads. To really
understand the tuning process and be able to hear the nuances of the skin telling you what
it needs, you should work with single ply heads initially, Im not suggesting that you use
them for your playing, although many professionals do, but they are the best medium with
which to illustrate the tuning process and to let you hear the voices of the drum as we move
through that process.
The same fundamental tuning principles are applied to all drums in a drum kit; whether
kick, snare or toms. Over & above that, bass drums & snare drums involve other
considerations which we will address after looking at basic batter & resonant head tuning on
toms.
The process takes much longer to read than it does to carry out, your first attempts may take a while
but as you do it more & more it becomes easier and quicker. The results are instant. If you have any
comments or questions please feel free to e-mail me

Checking a Drumshell
Checking the integrity and condition of the drumshell.
Irrespective of the type of drum you are working with, it is always good practise to take the
opportunity whilst having the heads off a drum, to give it a health check. Basic checks will
look at bearing edges and shell condition as outlined below, however it is also a good idea
to look at any hardware mounted to the drum, plus to look at the condition of the wood in
the drum and the hoops.
For the purposes of this exercise, we will look at two of those factors which most affect the
tunability and sound of the drum, i.e. the bearing edges and the shell.
Bearing edge

Strip the old heads and hoops off the drum to reveal both
ends of the shell. The bearing edges are the sharpened lips at the top & bottom of the
shell over which the head is stretched. This edge normally has a 40-50 degree main angle
and is offset toward the outer side of the shell so there is a long diagonal cut towards the
centre of the drum and a similar but much shorter cut on the outside. Some drum makers
have cut a double 45 degree bearing edge with the peak in the centre of the shells width
they say this is for improved accuracy in tuning and purity of tone. The bearing edge is
critical to a drums sound as it is the only place on the drum that the head is in direct
contact with the shell It forms the boundary of the vibrating membrane and therefore
defines the sound of that drum to a significant degree.
It should go without saying therefore that any untreated flat
spots, cuts, nicks or other damage to the edge will become
apparent in the tuning process and may be evident through
overtones, harmonics, rings, buzzes or general difficulty in
obtaining a single pure tone.
The only exception to that rule is by design and is the resonant
underside of a snare drum. Snare drums have a snare bed cut
into the bearing edge, this is a shallow flattened area of the
bearing edge indented so that the cable or strip ties can hold the
snares tight against the head. Because the snares muffle the
head to an extent anyway, overtones are not such a
consideration, the snares resonant bearing edge is still
important but not critical. These beds are compensated for in
the tuning process and will be discussed in the section on snare
tuning. See Ronn Dunnetts excellent piece on drumdojo.com
regarding the snare bed.
The edge should be very definite and sometimes can be felt to be sharp,
sharpness will have an obvious fragility. To check for damage, look
closely at the edge. run your finger round the edge (try with your eyes
closed, it helps), is it smooth & even? If not, then you have a potential tuning problem.

Mark the damaged area lightly with chalk or some

other non-permanent method and continue checking
around the drum
Repairs to bearing edges are either straightforward or
not, tiny areas of damage may be ignored,
alternatively you could carefully fill & sand the
damaged areas. If the edges are more severely
damaged you will need to have them re-cut by a
master woodworker or a suitably equipped and
experienced technician.
If the bearing edges are in acceptable condition,
proceed with checking the shell for torsion before
embarking on the re-heading process.
Torsion.
When you have checked the bearing edges, place the drum on a surface that you know is
level. Plate Glass or polished granite are good. Look all around the drum at the bottom
edge where it touches the surface. A true drum will touch the surface at all points and you
should not be able to see any light coming through. it is surprising how many drums are
out of true.

In my experience, this is usually due to the cumulative effects of stress / exposure to heat /
moisture, or just a poor quality instrument. Snare drums particularly or any drum where
the shell depth is much narrower than the width are particularly prone to this. Torsion is a
significant problem to deal with. Re-cutting the top and bottom of the drum and associated
re-cutting of bearing edges is a drastic measure that should be
avoided unless you are absolutely convinced it is necessary. For
the most part torsion can and probably should be left alone.
With the twist across the whole drum you may notice shorter
resonance in comparison with the rest of your drums, or a strong
harmonic. This can be adapted to in part by the use of
flanged hoops which are much more forgiving of shell
inconsistencies than die-cast hoops. Sometimes the torsion has
no audible effect, either way, consider your options carefully
before embarking on an expensive and destructive course of
work. Sometimes there are things you just have to live with!

Seating a Drum Head

Applying and seating the drumhead

Preparation and initial positioning

Assuming that you are content with the shape
and condition of the shell from the previous
section, place the batter head over the shell.
Give it a spin and check that it moves freely
around the drum. Orient the head so that it
lies centrally on the drum and that the collar
extends evenly beyond the bearing edge on all
sides.
Purely as a matter of habit and to give
consistent reference point, I orient the drum
shell in the position I would see when Im
playing the kit, I position the logo on the
heads at 12 oclock which will normally
match either the position of the
manufacturers logo or the tom holder. Not
only is this aesthetically pleasing but it also gives a marker for when you move around
the drum during the tuning process.
Place the hoop over the head and lower the tension
rods into the lugs. Check that each lug allows its
tension rod to turn freely, sticky lugs can be a real
pain, use some lug lube or graphite oil to loosen sticky
lugs. Give the drum a small shake to ensure that
everything is sitting freely and naturally. Grip the
threaded part of each rod and tighten clockwise until
the washer just touches the hoop and no more, do not
start to tighten the hoop down on top of the head yet,
we are just making sure that everything is starting
from an even position at this point. Re-check around the
drum to ensure that everything is centralised and stable.
Give it another shake.
Starting the seating process

The order in which you tighten the lugs is important, similar to tightening the wheels of a
car, you must equalise the tension across the drum at all times, so you should work in small
increments, back & forward across the drum. Depending on the number of lugs on the
drum, you will normally have up to 6 pairs (12 lugs) to deal with; from a tuning perspective,
the more tuning points the better.
The main reason for locating the logo at 12.00 is that
if you always start pair 1 (see two keys method) or
lugs 1 & 2 (one key) for example with the tension rod
1 immediately to the right of the logo, that means
in the event that you lose track of the next move,
you can track back to where you are in the procedure

and continue the process. Eventually you will become familiar with the pattern for your
drums and you will instinctively move in that pattern.
Following the appropriate tensioning pattern for your
drum, hand tighten both opposite lugs of pair one
simultaneously until you feel a slight resistance or
bite, move to pair two and subsequent pairs and turn
them until you feel the same resistance. Return to
pair one again and tighten again to a point of greater
resistance, do this for the other tuning pairs in
sequence 3 or 4 times around the instrument.
Tap the centre of the drum, do you hear a tone? If
you do hear a tone then you are at the low end of
the tuning range for that drum, it might be a bit Boingy but it is a note and the lowest
pitched note that the drum will support (useful tuning for the Indian Subsonic kick effect).
Using your fingertip, a drum stick or the end of your key, tap the head about 1 in from the
rim at each lug point. You should have the same low, flat tone at each node. If there are
any variances, finger tighten the appropriate rods to achieve a single tone. You should also
notice that:
opposite lugs of a pair will deliver roughly the same tone as each other and you
should adjust each lug of a pair evenly to maintain even tension.
Place your drum key on each tension rod of pair one and rotate them through 180 degrees
(a half turn), move around the drum following the pattern you have been using. When you
have finished the last pair, check again for evenness of tone. This time you will notice a
much more resonant tone. If the drum is in good condition, the tension rods move freely
and you have been accurate in your tightening of the tension rods, you should have the
same note at all the points around the drum but with a different timbre in the centre of the
drum.
When one tuning point on the head is at a different pitch to those adjacent to it, you will
also find that the situation is pretty closely
mirrored at the opposite tension rod of the
pair. If one pair is at a lower or higher pitch
than all the others then you need to adjust
the tuning at those lugs to bring them into
line, at this point, very small turns at each
lug should easily be enough; remember to
move each lug of the pair by the same
amount. If more than one pair are out of
sync, i.e. the drum produces 3 or more
tones, I advise tuning them all to match
the pair that has the purest note of them
all. You will find that in doing his you raise
the overall pitch of the drum, or that other
adjustments become apparent. Keep going
until you have consistent tone, were not
concerned about pitch at this point.
When tuning, you should tighten lugs
instead of loosening, as loosening
relies on the head slipping fractionally
back over the bearing edge which is not
always reliable. If you do need to
loosen a tuning rod, loosen to below
the required note and tighten up to the
desired pitch.

With the head evenly tuned, start at pair 1 again and give each rod a further turn using
the key, after working your way around the drum again, check again for pitch in the centre
and at each of the lug points and adjust as necessary. Repeat this procedure twice more
with turns or until the head is tuned well above where you would normally tune that
size of drum.. The glue in the head will probably be heard cracking on the way, this is it
settling and is perfectly natural and expected.This will give you a highly pitched drum for
your normal application, the idea of this is to place tension through the head which is
greater than the normal playing tensions, this sets up the drum for seating.
Seating
Seating for a drummer is similar to a guitar player stretching new strings to ensure that
they dont de-tune drastically under playing conditions. It takes up slack across the drum
head but in particular it shapes the drum head to the bearing edge of the drum. There are
two common ways of seating the head, weight and heat. Weight is by far the most
common.
Place both hands (as if you were giving CPR heart massage) in the centre of the drum and
gently increase the weight on the head until it starts to take your full bodyweight, bounce
gently 2-3 times. (NB if you are a more substantial guy or gal, kneeling in front and leaning
forward will suffice). The glue will very noticeably be heard to crack at this point if it has
not done so already, this is normal. When demonstrating the seating procedure to students
or at a clinic I make sure that the drum is on a carpet or other slightly cushioned surface
and I stand on the drum head. Make sure you have a sound drumhead first!
The second method is to use a hair drier and heat the edges. Heat is Mylars worst enemy
and causes it to deform, however given the tension under which you have placed the head,
heat will allow the Mylar to conform to the shape of the edges and give you a definite point
of contact between the bearing edge and head. To do this simply direct the hairdryer at the
edge of the head and move around the drum, it should take 10-20 seconds to complete the
circuit of the drum. This process should take maximum 2 minutes, do not overdo it!!
The act of seating the head fulfils 2 critical functions.
It stretches the head so it doesnt need constant re-tuning; and
It shapes the head to the bearing edge, thereby ensuring accurate and much easier
macro tunability.
If you tap the head now you will find that the pitch will have lowered markedly from the
pre-stretch tuning. Tune the head once more at the current pitch and re-apply your
weight. This time it will have stretched less and should probably remain very close to being
in tune.
Having seated the head, de-tune each pair of lugs in sequence by intervals of a turn until
it starts to get towards the low tuning range again. When you get there, ensure that the
head is in tune again and you are ready to progress to tuning.

Batter Head Tuning

Tuning a drums main batter head

Batter tuning is the act of accurately tuning the head to its playing pitch. See the section
later in the article on tuning intervals and drum fundamentals to decide how you are going
to pitch the drums individually and as a unit.
Batter tuning is similar to the process that you used to ensure even pitch across the head
when seating. It is an accurate form of tuning and knowing how to tune properly is
necessary when you need your drums to have their best possible sound,
this usually in the studio or some other arena where your tuning will be subject to potential
microscopic examination. YMMV of course.
Using the lug pairings as previously defined for seating, use turns all around the drum
then turns, then smaller turns of the key until you reach your desired pitch with
the tensions pretty even across the drum. Tap the drum in the centre and listen for how

many tones you can hear.

You are striving to achieve one
single pure note, it is most unlikely that you will hear it at this point and you will probably
hear one dominant low tone (fundamental)
plus a number of other tones called overtones which are caused by slightly different
tensions across the head at different points.
Keep checking that you are working with the fundamental, overtones can be
deceptive.
Tap at each tuning point, 1 in from the rim and listen for the overtone mix. Some points
may have one single clear note, others will be a mish-mash of tones. Listen carefully for
modulations in the tone called beat frequencies, you will be able to hear the waveforms

interacting (beating) and this should sound like wah-wah oscillations or moving variations
in the pitch.
Compare the pitch at this lug to the overall fundamental or to the pure-toned lugs and using
very small increments either loosen or tighten the lug.

As you loosen or tighten, tap the tuning point on the head and listen to how the beating
of the waveforms changes, if they get faster / closer together then you are going
the wrong way, if they slow down or flatten out then you are going the correct
way. Be sure to change each lug of the pair by equal amounts.You
may find that the waves get flatter and then start to become more active again, this is
because you have one or more further pairs out of tune, just ensure that each pair has the
flattest possible waveform and continue working around the drum. This takes practise and
the development of your ear, the more you do this, the better you will hear the beat
frequencies and the better you will be able to tune the drum.
Depending on how even you have the base tuning of the drum,

it may take you to work at several of the lugs to get a single pure wave, the best teacher is
experience and you will likely need to tweak the original pure-toned lugs as they will have
changed because of your working with the surrounding tensions.
You know that the drum is in tune when no matter where you hit the head you get
one single solid resonant note that sustains.
Ok so now you have tuned the batter head on your drum, next on the agenda is to repeat
the process on the resonant head.

Resonant Heads
Resonant heads
The resonant head is appropriately named according to its
function. Although not a head that is struck, it is critical to
how your drums sound and the tuning of the resonant
head affects pitch, duration & movement or pitch bend of the
sound.
Rest the drum with the existing head surface (in this case the
batter head you have just fitted) face down on a small cloth
or tissue when seating & tuning the resonant head, this stops
the heads freely resonating together when you are working
solely with one of them. Dont push the pre-existing head too
much into the drum with this damping either, it should still be
almost flat. Pushing the head into the drum will affect the
internal volume of the drum and therefore the overall pitch
and fundamental because of changes in volume and air
resonance.
The resonant head is fitted in exactly the same manner as the batter head and all the steps
outlined above in seating should be followed. The real decisions come when you have to
decide upon the relationship between the two heads which will defines the movement and
duration of your drums sound and decay.
Relative head tensions
Both heads can be tuned to identical notes, this means that
the vibrations moving through the column of air inside the
cylinder are reflected back off the resonant head at the same
frequency as they are generated at the batter head.
Tuning both heads the same gives you the maximum
sustain and resonance, however for many drummers
this may be considered too resonant without some
form of treatment, it is however perfect for playing live
and unamplified as your drums will sing and cut
through the music. The other instruments provide all
the muffling you need.
A second option is to tune the resonant head to a higher pitch
than the batter, this will give a slight pitch bend as the sound
decays. This bend is caused by the vibrations being reflected
off the resonant head at an accelerated rate.
However it is not particularly discernible especially with toms
12 & smaller. One of the features of tuning away from the
same pitch as the batter head is a decrease in resonance.
The higher or lower you take the bottom head the less
resonant the overall sound becomes. A third option is to tune
the resonant head lower than the batter head. This also
gives a pitch bend. This bend is more noticeable and is very
clear on larger toms. Again, the pitching down of the
resonant head serves to reduce the amount of resonance or
duration of the tone.
I use the same single ply heads (Remo clear ambassadors) as
both batter & resonant heads, however putting a double ply
head such as a pinstripe or one of the hydraulic heads on the
batter side will give a lesser amount of initial resonance

thereby damping the sound of the drum somewhat. A resonant head should always be a
single ply unless you want very dull sounding drums.
Really, the best way to find out what works best for you
tuning wise and finding the optimum relationship between the
batter & resonant sides for your applications is by
experimentation. Try different situations with & without
musicians or with different musicians, see how each tuning
fits your playing styles. One kit can have a hundred voices if
you have a drum key and a stock of heads.

Snare Drum Tuning

Snare tuning
The snare batter and resonant heads are seated and tuned according to the method outlined in the
previous sections. The pitching of the snare batter head under normal conditions can be anywhere
depending on the players choice. As a rule of thumb, I look for a pitch which is not an octave or harmonic
of one of the toms so as to avoid unnecessary sympathetic resonance.
The batter tuning procedure is the same as the seating and tuning procedure advocated above.
Resonant (bottom) Head

The resonant head of a snare drum is much thinner than a batter side head do not mix them up! This
thin-ness is the key to a good snare sound. Because of the [usually] higher pitched nature of the drum
and also with the addition of the snare cables there is a degree of choking inherent in a snare. Choking
occurs where conditions where the drum is tuned so tightly that it resonates inefficiently, this is
acceptable and desirable in a resonant head of a snare drum.
If a snare resonant head were to be allowed to resonate freely, the snare wires would be constantly
buzzing. I recommend that you tighten the snare side head high, or as one of the regulars on the RMMP
drumming newsgroup said until its screaming for its lawyer.

To compensate for the dip in the bearing edge on the snare side to accommodate the snare bed, slacken
off each of the tension rods on either side of the snare wires a further turn, this helps the snares sit
lower against the drum skin and will help alleviate buzz. I have heard arguments to loosen also so the
best advice is to adjust it until you get a sound that suits you.
Basically thats it for the tonal tuning of the snare drum, however there is the small matter of adjusting
those wires to (A) make them sound great and (B) minimise their rattling caused by other drums or
instruments
Adjusting snares
Put the snare throwoff in the off position and turn the strainer adjustment to about 75% loosened. Fix the
snare wires to the throwoff & butt using cables or strips as supplied with the drum. Ensure that the snares
hang cleanly away from the resonant head.
Engage the throwoff and adjust the tension so that the snares sound mushy. Keep tapping the centre of
the drum and adjust the strainer by tiny increments until you hear it snapping cleanly against the head.
Stop! This should still be just above mushy. The largest killer of snare drum sounds is over
tightening the snare strainer to try and offset unwanted vibrations.
Lets take a second to think about this. We have an instrument that works [in part] using the principles of
resonance. We then go and put a really thin, ultra-sensitive drum head on this particular drum, ostensibly
to help it become more sensitive, we then add some curly wires designed to vibrate against the ultrasensitive head and then we complain when they start to do exactly what they are intended to do LOL
Sympathetic resonance
The final consideration is that of sympathetic resonance. This occurs when the fundamental tuned tone
of one drum shares pitch with the fundamental or harmonic of another drum, another instrument or other
sound.
This is not normally a difficulty with rack toms unless you are in the studio, however with your snare drum
its a different beast.
Over-tightening the snare wires will help to reduce resonances sympathetic to other sources but after a
point it starts to make the drum lifeless and may give difficulty for snare rolls. On the other hand, undertightening the snares will give you a drum with annoying buzzes from itself and from the drums and
instruments around it -clearly the whole question that you should be considering is one of balance.
The BAD news is that this resonance is impossible to get rid of totally so dont go worrying about trying to
eliminate it totally or you will be in for a whole lot of headache for no potential gain.
The GOOD news is that it is normally masked at playing volume by the sounds of the other drums in your
set and the sound of the other musicians who surround you. Think about it, apart from practise, how often
do you really proparly hear your drums on their own?
If you do find that a particular drum in your set is triggering the snare buzz, then that issomething that you
can do tweak, however you should try to eliminate it by changing the pitch of the snare and not the toms.
Toms generally are tuned to relative pitches with matched sustains, you dont want to adjust each tom.
Re-adjusting the tension on the snare wires also works within the parameters discussed above, but if you
have set the snare up independently, this is drastic and you should re-tune the pitch of the snare batter
head away from the offending frequency or harmonic that is causing the problem.
Often 1/8 turn at each lug is sufficient, if you do tighten the snare side head, you will have to tighten the
snare strainer to achieve the same degree of crispness as before.
Experiment!

Tuning a Kick Drum

kick drum tuning

The kick drum is at the heart of a kit, it does not get even a fraction of the attention it deserves when it
comes to tuning, pitching and treatment (muffling), yet it is the main pulse-giver that the rest of the music
and your audience rely on.
The kick drum is tuned similarly to toms. Because the tension on a kick drum head is very low, it is not
strictly necessary to seat it although I do seat them as a matter of habit.
Tuning the batter
Hand-tighten the batter head and ensure even tension. Tighten in pairs until all the wrinkles have
disappeared from the head and then give each tension rod a further turn or more to taste. You can tune
somewhat higher which will give a tom-like sound. Jazz players may tension their kick drum heads to a
higher pitch than is found in a kit tuned for general usage in other styles of music.
Kick Resonant (front) head
The resonant head operates in exactly the same manner as the resonant heads on your toms, thinking of
a kick drum as a big tom will give a much greater understanding of how you set it up.
Up until a few years ago, it was common for kits to be sold with huge holes in the front heads, the
unfortunate effect of this was the loss of all resonance and warmth and we had lots of clicky kick
drums on the circuits. Contemporary thinking has, thankfully, made the shift to considering kick drums as
toms with the result that we now see the majority of heads with an offset circular 5-6 hole or heads with
no hole at all. A small offset hole preserves a lot of the resonance of the drum when compared to a large
hole, bur not as much as an intact head. The main benefot of the hole is to allow an engineer to insert a
microphone and it allows you to adjust your muffling, if you use any.
Kick Reso tuning
Tuning is similar to the batter head, just past wrinkles but I then give each tension rod turn instead of
again YMMV. That extra turn gives extra tone to the drum which keeps the strokes musical, again
experiment and find out what suits you best.
In the next section well discuss controlling the sound of your drums through treatment and muffling

Muffling / Drum Treatment

Muffling / Drum treatment

Ok so weve all stuck tape, beermats and whatever over our drums because we didnt know how
to tune them. Now that you can tune your drums, lets see how we can maximise the quality of the
sound and break old and very very nasty habits!
Rack Toms
Dont!! is the general rule for toms, but as ever, the advice is not totally rigid across the board. Most
amateur drummers apply their muffling when they are listening to their drums without other instruments
playing. How often do we hear drums on their own? Drum solos, an intro or maybe or a break for a few
bars, maybe. But even then do we hear each drum on its own, not really. The majority of the time those
sustained tones and resonances that youre trying to remove with bits of beermats are the real sound of
your kit, the sound defined by the type of material and construction method, defined by your tuning, head
selection and resonant=specific adjustments sich as reso heads on all drums.
Those overtones are part of the sound of a drumset, any drumset, your drumset!! It is a large part of that
which gives a drum kit the bite, warmth and colour that you should be seeking and it is more than likely a
significant part of your favourite drummers sounds.
The muffling that professional drummers use is usually the sound from the surrounding drums
and other instruments rendering the less desirable tones inaudible. It is pointless going to the
trouble of tuning your kit and then undoing all your work by sticking stuff all over it when in fact
you are going to muffle the kit again with other players instruments when you start playing. Think
about it!.
The significant exception for this rule is in a close-miced environment, particularly in the recording studio.
The resonance from unmuffled toms may be viewed as a difficulty with some styles of music and you
may be obliged to use one of the treatments outlined below [in order of my preference]
use moongel (or Blu-tack) to reduce the sustain without taking all the song out of the drum,
use an O ring,
change to a double-ply or Powerstroke 3 batter head; or
as a last resort, use gaffer tape, cut into a 3 strip and folded so you have two 1 wings to stick to
the head and a high ridge to grip it to remove it afterwards
I have heard of drummers placing cotton wool balls or packing styrofoam inside the drum that lie against
the resonant head and absorb vibrations and the movement of the head, I dont recommend this as its
way too troublesome to undo and there is little control over them once they are inside.

Kick Drum
The kick drum is the drum that about 95% of drummers muffle. With the advent of Powerstroke 3
(PS3) or equivalent heads onto the market, you need no longer stick an assortment of
pillows/clothing/blankets into the drum. The PS3 has an integral O ring that removes a lot of the sustain
yet leaves the note, which is exactly what you want in a kick drum sound. The muffling on my own kick
drum consists of a PS3 on the kick drum batter side, a PS3 on the front and a small Protection
Racket pillow that lightly touches both heads, again this is not a recipe written in stone, a producer or
anyone else who is in a position to demand, may insist that you give him a particular sound, if this is the
case, do what you are told but dont kill the drum totally!
You need to consider also what happens when you strike the head with the beater, most commonly a
heel-up player will leave the beater in contact with the head (generally termed burying the beater), this
is a very effective muffler and is controlled automatically by the player.
With an un-muffled kick drum you can also play it like a tom letting the beater rebound and with the PS3
you have a warm sound with a short sustain. Leaving the kick drum unmuffled gives you many new
timbres of sound to experiment with but its not everyones cup of tea.
Snare
Again no muffling is the recommendation.

If you have a ringy snare (snares are particularly susceptible to torsion because of their shallow depth),
you might want to find out which of the lugs are causing the ring by lightly placing your finger at each
tuning point on the head until you find out which stops the ring. Placing a blob of moongel or blu-tack
there should remove the ring.
To treat your drum to bring out a more dry sound, a famous tool is to use your wallet. A less subtle way is
to apply an O ring, however this will practically kill all resonance in the drum.

Drum Set Tuning intervals

Drum set tuning intervals
As drummers, we have a habit of tuning our drums to particular intervals. This means that
the distance (the interval) between the tuned note of one drum and that of another is a
recognisable one. This does not mean that we need to (or want to) tune to specific
chromatic notes but rather that no matter where we choose to start we can always
guarantee that the musical difference we choose between one drum and its neighbour is
constant at any tension.
There are as many tuning opinions as there are possible combinations of the musical scale,
some are more musical than others. The majority will centre around the major scale which
is most usefully explained in terms of Solfa or as Julie Andrews would say do, re, mi, fa,
so, la ti, do.
The relationship between do and mi is a third (count em) and do-so is a fifth. Playing those
two notes together gives harmony as does playing all three together. This is known as a
major triad. If you tune your drums to these intervals then rolls, flams on two toms etc and
the general tonality of your kit will be harmonious (assuming that this is what you want).
Drumdojo has a page on tuning intervals setting out [mostly] common reference points to
enable you to memorise the intervals.
Read this slowly & Sing the songs!
To apply this, using the do-mi-so triad as an example, pick a tuned tom, any tom that has a
good sound for that drum, I generally start low but thats habit rather than
recommendation.
If drum Xs pitch is taken as the tonic or solfa do then you should tune the next highest
to mi. To do this, sing the first two notes of have yourself a merry little Christmas
starting on the note (do) of the tuned tom for Have and you find the re note at your of
yourself.
The next highest tom to is so which has the same interval of a third, so do the same
procedure it again but starting on the first-tuned tom for Have. When you have done this,
hit any two or the three drums together and you make a chord!
If you have five drums that you can usefully tune, then perhaps pick a pentatonic scale.
The beauty of a pentatonic scale is that any combination of the 5 tones will be harmonious
(like playing the black notes on a piano). The simplest to remember for me is
(chromatically) D E G A B, easy to remember because each is just to the right of a black
note on a piano.
In Solfa it is DO RE mi FA SO LA - ti do -.
Do-Re is a second:, so you sing You Must remember this You = Do (the note from your
tom) & Must = Re
Re-Fa is a third; Have Yourself Have = Re & Your = Fa
Fa-So and So-La are seconds again; You = Fa & Must = so; and then You = So and Must
= La
Useful Interval References
Major Second up
Doe-a-deer
Hap-py Birth-day
Major Second down
Ma-ry had a little lamb
Whis-tle while you work
Minor second up
You must remember this (As Time Goes By)
I left my heart in San Francisco
Theme from Jaws (repeating two-note pattern)
Minor Second down

Shall we dance (from The King and I)

Ride a painted pony (Spinning Wheel)
I know a dark secluded place (Hernandos Hideaway)
Major Third up
From the halls of Montezuma
Have your-self a merry little Christmas Well I come from Alabama (Oh Susanna)
Major Third down
Swing low, sweet chariot
Good night, ladies
Summertime and the livin is easy.
Minor Third up
Lul-la-by and good night(Brahms Lullaby)
A time for us (Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet)
To dream the impossible dream
Minor Third down
Look at me (Misty)
Toot-Toot Tootsie, good-bye
Oh-o say you see (Star Spangled Banner)
Perfect Fourth up
Here comes the bride
Day is done (Taps bugle call)
Perfect Fourth down
Born free
My girl, talkin bout my girl (Motown hit)
Tritone up
Ma-ri-a (from West Side Story)
Bo-oy, boy, crazy boy (from flatted fifth or sharp fourth)
Cool in West Side Story)
Tritone down
European police siren
Perfect Fifth up
Hey there, Georgy Girl
Rain-drops on roses (My Favorite Things, Sound of Music)
Yo-ee-oh (War chant of the Wicked Witchs guardsmen in The Wizard of Oz)
Perfect Fifth down
Feel-ings, nothing more than feelings
Major Sixth up
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
Dash-ing through the snow (Jingle Bells);
N-B-C (network chime)
Major Sixth down
No-body knows the trouble I seen
Gonna lay down my sword and shield (Down By The Riverside)
0-ver there
Minor Sixth up
Cast Your Fate To The Wind first two notes (Black Orpheus theme)
For Papa, make him a scholar (from Matchmaker in Fiddler On The Roof)
Minor Sixth down
Where do I begin (Theme From Love Story)
Major Seventh up
Ba-li Hai will find you (from South Pacific; first and third notes)
Minor Seventh up

 Theres a place for us (from Somewhere in West Side Story)

Theme from Star Trek (first two notes)
Minor Seventh down
Theme from American In Paris (first two notes)
Octave up
Some-where over the rainbow
Octave down
Wil-low weep for me
Intervals between notes
Minor Second One Half Tone A Half Tone
Major Second Two Half Tones One Full Tone
Minor Third Three Half Tones One Full Tone + a Half Tone
Major Third Four Half Tones Two Full Tones
Perfect or Major Fourth Five Half Tones Three Full Tones
Minor Fifth or Tritone Six Half Tones Three Full Tones + a Half Tone
Perfect or Major Fifth Seven Half Tones Four Full Tones
Minor Sixth Eight Half Tones Four Full Tones +a Half Tone
Major Sixth Nine Half Tones Five Full Tones
Minor Seventh Ten Half Tones Five Full Tones +a Half Tone
Major Seventh Eleven Half Tones Six Full Tones
Octave Twelve Half Tones Seven Full Tones