What style of music do you play? How hard do you hit? How often can you afford to replace drumheads? The harder you hit and the less often you replace your heads, you’ll want heavier weight heads that can last long and put up with some abuse. Only use your toms for big simple monster fills? Tune them really low for a lot of initial attack and impact. Do you play a lot of fills on your toms? You’ll want a snappy response that comes from having a relatively taught batter head. I’ve done that on occasion on sessions that involve a lot of tom work, but normally pop music doesn’t require much in the way of tuning to particular intervals. Some players believe in tuning their toms to musical intervals (like thirds) or even tuning to the key of the song. The big toms produced the deep fundamental pitch and the higher tuned heads provided bounce and playability. Some players, John Bonham for instance, tuned really big deep toms higher than you would expect. For instance, be-bop favors very high tuned toms. It’s both a matter of personal preference and musical genre. However, I have also found that equal tensioning on both heads provides good results when using bigger toms with a length equal to or greater than the diameter (ex.
It cuts, has the warmth that the pitch bend adds, and retains a “fast” quality. This is a classic sound heard on countless albums. Over time, I have found that I prefer toms with a tighter resonant head. Which of the Three Tuning Relationships Should I Use?Īll of them! Seriously, try them all. Sorry, but your browser cannot render the HTML 5 audio element. Also, the tom sounds a little more “tubby.” If the resonant head is tuned lower than the batter head, you still have less sustain and a pitch bend (as opposed to both heads being the same pitch), but the pitch bend is much more pronounced from the resonant head. Also, because the impact is reflected off the tighter resonant head at a faster frequency (because it is tuned higher), the two heads no longer reinforce each other as much and there is less sustain. If the resonant head is tuned higher than the batter head, there will be a slight pitch bend evident in the sustain of the toms. The drum will have the greatest possible amount of sustain and resonance. If the batter and resonant heads are tuned to the same pitch, the two heads resonate at the same frequency and reinforce each other. The batter head is the one that is struck (top head) and the resonant head is the one that vibrates as air in between the two heads is compressed and expanded (bottom head). The relationship is the same regardless of the drum’s diameter or type (tom, kick, snare, etc). The key to tuning drums is understanding the relationship between the two heads of the drum.
After all, if the drumkit tuning feels and sounds good to you, then you will play with more ease and enjoyment.
It’s best to experiment and find what YOU prefer as a drummer. One drum tuning style may be great for one song, but it won’t be right for all songs. If it sounds good to the microphone, it’s right (if it sounds good to your ear but NOT the microphone – use a different microphone or place it differently). Any drum with two heads presents a quite a combination of tuning possibilities the best sound being subject to personal preference.
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