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Tuning Your Set
Drum tuning is not bound by specific notes like guitars or pianos but instead can be tuned to your preference. However, if you want your drums to sound their best, they need to be tuned carefully. Follow the suggestions below and you'll have great sounding drums in no time!
1) Tune each head to itself: Choose any drum and finger-tighten the tuning rods on one side. With a drum key tighten each rod 1/2 turn using a criss-cross sequence similar to the diagram in (Fig. 15). Repeat until the drumhead is free of wrinkles and a tone is produced. Tap the head at each tension rod and listen to the sound. If the head has the same pitch all the way around, this is what you want, the head is tensioned evenly. Chances are, however, that the sound will be "high" at some tension rods and "low" at others. To tune the head evenly, locate the tension rods where the sound is "high" and loosen these rods by 1/8 turn. Similarly locate the tension rods where the sound is "low" and tighten these rods by 1/8 turn. Repeat this procedure until the head has the same pitch all around, or in drummer talk, "is in tune with itself. "
Once the head is in tune with itself, you can raise or lower the pitch of the head by tightening or loosening each tension rod by the same amount. Usually, the head will stay in tune with itself however if it should change, simply repeat the tuning procedure above.
Turn the drum over and tune the other head. When you get to the snare drum, tune the top head in this manner, we'll deal with the bottom head later.
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2) Tune the heads to each other: The top and bottom heads can be tuned relative to each other three ways: 1) they can be tuned to the same pitch; 2) the top head can be tuned higher than the bottom; or 3) the top head tuned can be tuned lower than the bottom. There is no right or wrong so experiment with all three methods to see which sounds best to you.
3) Tune the drums to each other: You're now ready to tune the whole set. The pitches descend as the drums get larger. Many drummers like to tune their toms a 4th apart. If you want to try this tuning, sing the first two notes of the wedding march, "Here Comes the Bride." "Here" and "Comes" are a 4th apart. Use these notes as a guide.
If you prefer a more free-form method of tuning, go right ahead. As mentioned before, there are no right or wrong notes when tuning drums. Every drum however has a range of pitches where it sounds best. When tuned too high, drums tend to sound "choked" and constricted. Tuned too low makes them sound "flappy." Experiment until you find the notes that sound best to you.
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