How to Tune a Drum to a Specific Pitch | Season 2 - Episode 14
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
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The concept of tuning a drum to a specific pitch comes up every now and then but there’s a bit more to it than you’d expect- you can’t just go and tune the batter and reso heads to the desired pitch from the drum. This week, we dive into the process of tuning to achieve a specific pitch from a tom.
Tom: Pearl Masters Custom Extra Maple
Batter: Evans G2 Clear tinyurl.com/Ev...
Reso Head: Evans G1 Clear tinyurl.com/Ev...
Presenting Sponsor: Promark by D’Addario
Production Partners: Evans Drumheads
Hosted by: Cody Rahn
Production: Ben O'Brien Smith @ Cadence Independent Media
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The minor third relationship between the two heads has always worked well for me. I find that the drum will sound a fourth above the pitch of whatever the batter is tuned to in this relationship, though that does start to change as the drums get larger. Certainly helps to get me in the ball park though! Really useful in getting consistent melodic intervals between the toms that, more so than anything else, is just easy to repeat.
could you please make a video one day on tuning the heads differently, while tuning to the same pitch over and over again, it would be really useful to hear, how the tone actually changes, without the note changing
That’s a definite possibility!
@@SoundsLikeADrum I'd love to hear that as well :)
@@SoundsLikeADrum Yes please!
*What a video!* Thanks for sharing Ben!
I saw from Eric Valentine and tested myself on all toms and snare, he did the reso head a 5th higher than the batter head. and typically it made whatever pitch the reso head was at. pretty interesting. and its what ive been using and I really dig it
Hi, just want to say that you guys are making some fascinating stuff! Keep it up guys😀
Thanks, Sam! We appreciate it. -Ben
Super cool video.
Ok, then what note should I tune my drum set tom1, tom2, and floor tom to?
I have my 12 inch tom tuned to 2nd octave c, 13 inch tuned to an a, 16 inch to an e. For my 7 piece kit I have 10 inch-3rd octave E, 12 inch 2nd octave C, 13 inch- g#, 14 inch- 2nd octave E, 16 inch 1st octave C so each drum is 4 semitones away and as I go around the kit I run into octaves of the same notes.
I changed my tuning for the first kit to 12- 3rd octave d, 13- 2nd octave A, 16-2nd octave D, kick-1st octave D, snare- 3rd octave A. So the toms d,a,d form the notes of a D chord and those notes harmonize well together so when I play the 13 and 16 in toms together they harmonize pretty well.
Im a beginner drummer and very little knowledge of chords/music theory. What are the benefits/reasons of tuning your drums to some specifc tunes especially when playing with a band?
So, as I commented on your Facebook post for this video, I was just experimenting on this topic. However, I was getting more into the global concept of the drumset as a whole. -Different ways to make the drums fit into a song regarding the song's key-.
This time I'm getting out of the 'root chord' (which I've had previous success with) while staying inside the diatonic realm of the song's key, which I've never tried before.
I've realized that, whenever I use notes from the root chord spreaded around the drumset, I find myself overusing eq to make them stand out at all times.
I still need to record the drums to a progression so, I don't have any conclusions to share just yet. But, I would love to know your thoughts about this concept on a whole drumset for a song or maybe a simple progression.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Very nice Episode. 3rds work great for me. Tuning to notes help me to reprodiuce the sound of my drums. I know the rockstar tom works fine on f the signature tom works better on g.
Excellent vid. Thx for your time A+
REVOLUTIONARY!!! Wow, what a video! This explains why my toms with over- and under heads tuned to specific pitches seem to produce a whole different note. I'm not actually crazy, you just taught me :)
So... The million dollar question:
If I want my toms tuned to 16" = A, 13" = D and 12" = G, with the reso head something like a third lower than the batter head, then how do I tune the heads? Is there such a thing as a chart for this somewhere online or in a book or whatever?
Thanks a bunch for your work with producing a GREAT drum channel!!
Does the depth of the drum play a role in this mystery?
Awesome explanation of the tom tom tuning. As always, you give information everyone should have when starting learning the drums... By the way, is there a chance to see a video about small tom toms? 10 inches are now common use, but the 8 inches became rare those days. They gave me some hassle when I first got them but they do offer interesting tonal possibilities.
What is the phone app you use?
It's called "Tuner Lite" though you can also just use a piano app or anything that allows you to control the pitch and you can match the pitch with your tuning. Cheers! -Ben
I like how you talked about getting faster tone using different notes on each head. I've experimented a ton with different relationships and have ultimately settled on having the reso about a whole step higher for this exact reason. I'm kind of in a standard bebop range, though (C-C# on 14" and F-F# on 12"). Do you know why the sound seems to jump out more with this approach compared to even tuning? I've found drums project well like this, too. Some folks think the sound just goes back in your face, but the fundamental of the drum has always been clear out front when listening to guys sit in on my kit (no mics).
My hypothesis here would be that the slightly higher pitched reso will require more tension and will reflect more back at the batter, causing an almost instantaneous boost of tone. There's also a phase relationship where the reso is doing more to help promote the tone rather than filter it. As far as projecting goes, I find that has almost everything to do with activating the shell (which is much more difficult at lower drumhead tensions) and then also tuning for the room. That's where a lot of people who rely on preset settings on dials or meters to achieve their sound get tripped up. Cheers! -Ben
Again, very nice content!
Additionally to the minor 3rd relation demonstrated in the video; if you tune to a perfect 4th relationship the note of the reso head is the same as the fundamental pitch of the drum.
This reference point helps me out a lot :-) but I wasn’t aware of the minor 3rd reso being a half step below the fundamental pitch of the drum so that’s very helpful as well!
Since I’ve watched nearly all of your content and spend a lot of time tuning I am now confident to say that I am a decent tuner and you’ve saved me tons of time and frustration. And above all: all my drums now sound awesome. I swear: the last couple of weeks multiple band members said my drums sounded awesome and big. I still use the same drums…
I love experimenting now and also developed some knowledge on what works on which of my drums in what kind of context.
For example, I like most of my drums around minor 3rd - perfect 4th relationships but my Sakae trilogy 10” and 12” open up way more at the unison relationship. Also, it’s fun to play around with different relationships between the smaller toms and floor toms.
Also something I’ve experienced and you point out a lot: small adjustments go a loooong way. Everyone is talking about half turns, quarter turns etc but that is A LOT. For fine tuning, it’s way easier to keep the head cleared by going up or down in fractions of that. And usually, those kind of steps do the job.
Your channel really got me going and enjoy drumming even more. Thanks for that!
+soundslikeadrum *tune-bot® has a full dossier on this situation on their Website:*
tune-bot.com/
My TAMA®/Hoshino® composite IS2F6 poplarbuilt kit wants to sing at very specific notes: G3 for the IMT08A, D3 for the IMT10A, A♯3/B♭3 for the IMT12A, F♯2/G♭2 for the IPF14A (post-facelift IMF14A), D♯2/E♭2 for the IMF16A, and F1 for the IMB22E. Simple physics - each drum has a Helmholtz frequency. Currently I'm using EVANS®/D'Addario® EC2S coated batters across the toms; the floors now pack EC2S clear resonants due to stability issues with the stock 7-mil resonants, and I plan on EC2S clear resonants for the racks; set both heads to a minor sixth above target note for ultimate sustain. The IMB22E packs an EVANS®/D'Addario® BD22EMADHW with the thick foam ring as batter, a TAMA-branded REMO® ES-1022-00 Ebony Ambassador for the resonant (I couldn't get the stock edge-damped resonant, a crimplocked equivalent of the BD22RC-NP, stable at target pitch).
Should I rebuild the TAMA®/Hoshino® φ14"x6.5" stripped steel shell in my storage, I may use REMO® FaLams® heads (KS-0124-00 batter, KL-0214-SA reso) with ten SuperStar™ upgrade one-piece lugs (the stock coffin lugs had a materials flaw resulting in premature cracking), wood hoops, and a modified Marching snare strainer set with on-release handle (in order to handle the Buzz Killer™ gut frame). The shell will handle the tensions required for a perfect-fifth tensioning at any reasonable batter note.
I was just trying to figure this stuff out last week! I was trying to experiment with different intervals between the ahead but try to keep the same fundamental pitch of the drum. Thanks so much for this video. One point I'm still a bit confused on. When you tune both heads to the same pitch, you get a sixth below. When you tune to a minor 3rd between the two heads, you get approximately a half step higher than the bottom head. Is that note really an octave lower than that, meaning like 11 semitones lower than the bottom head?
Hey there! Yep it does appear to be according to both the tuner and our ears in the room. I was as surprised as you especially since I’ve rarely experimented with these sorts of things to this degree of scrutiny. Physics is bizarre :) -Cody
this kind of stuff is where tune bots rule... perfect tuning to each head, and perfect tuning between toms.....
Jonathan Reddish i have a tune-bot. Is very good to find a fundamental pitch . But you must be careful, I found lugs with different pitch. How is possible? Well if you tune a tom with 6 lugs in 2 triangles pattern you have a combination to make the pitch in the display. Science Bitch !
Always go by ear first, then fine tuning.
Hey i have that same T shirt.
Another useful video, thanks!
IK Multimedia will soon be releasing MODO Drum which is hyped to be their first physical modeling drum virtual instrument. Everything is controllable, from stick weight and tip size to playing style, drum material and size, muffling, where on the head it's hit, etc. etc. etc. While you deal mostly with acoustic drums, I thought this might fall under the theme of 'sounds like a drum' and would make a good review. It hasn't been released yet, but as a UA-cam "influencer" (gotta love that word) maybe you can get an advance copy for review? Would love to hear your take on it, as I learn from all your videos. Thanks again!
Thanks! That looks like some pretty impressive software/synthesis. That's a bit outside of our focus here but if IK Multimedia is interested in having us do a product feature video, we'd be happy to discuss. Cheers! -Ben
hmm is that a piano?
It's a MIDI controller keyboard (we don't have an acoustic piano here in the studio).
@@SoundsLikeADrum Sure sounds like a drum!
Please introduce a little more saturation into your video. Everything looks very grey.
It's a drum video not a makeup tutorial relax lol
@@jangobango2847 it's called constructive criticism. You mad?
We appreciate the feedback. The look we have is what we're aiming for right now. Thanks!
I’m assuming this works the same for a snare and a kick?
My question relates to pitch relationship between my two toms. What interval in pitch would you go for using a 10” rack tom and a 16” Floor tom?
I have until now been using a 12” rack with the 16 with a Fifth interval between the two.
Thought please. Thank you.
Hey there! I don’t use a 10”/16” combo much but I’d probably be going for a 5th since my 13/16 interval seems to hover around a 4th. Hope that helps! -Cody
I’d do a full octave with 10/16.
So what note should I tune my drums to? I have an over whelming 7 pc set
This is the most informative & in-depth drum channel!
There is always something inspirational here!
Thank you!
Glad you’re enjoying it! -Ben
This seems to work differently for the snare, is that right?
I'm so happy with this channel and the content! I was literally just watching the tuning a floor tom episode and thought... how did he know the note... then looked it up which led me right here! SO GOOD!
I like this video but if you want in depth videos for tuning search for Kenney Sharretts here on UA-cam he has lots of tuning videos that are worth checking out.
Hey Clint! We have new tutorials every single Tuesday (this one is our 66th!). Every week we cover a new topic for tuning and go WAY in depth into the process and application. Enjoy! -Ben
@@SoundsLikeADrum I certainly didn't mean to step on any toes just thought it would be fun to share 😃
Oh not at all! Toes are fully intact 😁 Just wanted to make sure you were aware that in depth tuning videos are the focus of this channel. Cheers!
@@SoundsLikeADrum I love your videos and I look forward to seeing every new video that you post. I have learned so much and look forward to future posts. Thank you for doing want you do!
What app are you using to tune?
Just a run-of-the-mill tuner app, nothing special. - Cody
@@SoundsLikeADrum thanks Cody
I just got a tunebot recently its kinda fun to experiment. For my 5 piece kit I have 12 in tuned to C, 13 in tuned to A, 16 in tuned to E. So c is 3 semitones away from A and E is 5 semitones away from A. So when I hit the 12 and 13 inch together they are "harmonizing. When I hit my 13 and 16 inch toms they are "harmonizing" as well. Idk if this even matters but it sounds pretty good in my opinion. Would like to hear your opinion. On my 7 piece kit I tuned the intervals from drum to drum 4 semitones away so that as I go around the kit I run into octaves of the same notes.
Thanks for this episode! I like to use reference pitches when tuning the heads on my drums so I can replicate a sound that worked for me in a given situation. However, I haven't paid attention to the overall pitch of the drum. I was focusing on the top/bottom relationship and the character of sound I was achieving.
In another tuning video I learned that a drum with the bottom head tuned a perfect fourth higher than the top head will result in the overall pitch of the drum being the same note as the bottom head at an octave lower. This was confirmed during soundcheck at a gig when the keyboard player, sitting several feet away from my drums, commented that my floor tom was tuned to a C. It struck me since the bottom head was tuned to a C, a perfect fourth above the top head at a G.
I find it interesting and completely sensible that intervals that work well between two drum heads are intervals that are common in chord structure (unison, minor third, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth). As you say, that's just physics. Cheers and thanks for all you do!
Thanks for all your great videos! I really appreciate all the work you are putting into this series!
I got a question: I sometimes hear drummers say that they are tuning their drums for the microphones. And when they are playing them in the room, the drums sound like crap, but when going through the pa-system they sound full, rich, huge! Do you guys have an idea how to get this sound?
Greetings from Norway!
Lutz
Hey there! Yes I know what you're talking about. It means different things to different people but basically my ideas regarding this concept are that if you know your sound is going into close microphones primarily, you don't necessarily have to tune for projection and can focus instead on the sound you're hearing right where you are as the player. This might mean different muffling techniques, different head choices etc. It does need to be taken into account however that the work done to the sound by the audio engineers will have a lot to do with the ultimate sound in the PA too (compression/eq/gating etc). Hope that helps! - Cody
What notes should I tune my drums to for a good multi purpose studio set up? I have 10", 12", 14", 16" toms (plus kick and snare, obviously)
Peace
I recommend tuning it to a maj7#9#11 chord
5:30
van halen on the end?
Minor 3rd lower both heads that the pitch you want overall. For example a C on a 12" tom, tune both heads to Bb (oops, A)
Yes, if you're fine with tuning both heads to the same pitch, you'll want to tune them a minor 3rd below the desired pitch. However, if you're looking to get a C natural (such as in your example) you'll want to tune both heads to an A natural, as a B flat is only a major second below C natural and will yield a D flat overall. Cheers! -Ben
@@SoundsLikeADrum sorry my mistake, A even
No worries!
Would love a cross over episode with Kenny Sherretts!
Kenny's got some great vids!
what about cross over love with kenny?
Definitely one of the best drum channels on the internet!
Thank you!
Sounds Like A Drum mate thank you! Your method of tuning the snare reso with a ruler is a game changer. It stopped me from selling my 402 as I could never get the sensitivity out of it. Now my snare bangs. Life changing content!
clear as mud
Hey, I use pitch to tune my drums. It is not perfect and obviously the two heads acting together will make an effect on the overall tone. My chromatic guitar tuner is what I use. Thanks.
I never had much confidence in my ability to tune drums well, so about 3 years ago I bought a TuneBot. I learned how to use it and experimented with all different kinds of tunings (with generally fair results) by trusting what the Bot was telling me. But as time went on and I used it more, I began to realize that my ear was getting better about confirming what the Bot was telling me (most of the time). I was getting better at distinguishing the differences in pitch. Now I'm to the point where I can trust my ears totally and I know when the Bot is flat out wrong (they can be temperamental) and I can hear the subtle differences in pitch so I don't even need the Bot anymore, so in that sense, it really has been a terrific ear training tool. It was worth the $ for it even tho I don't need it anymore. Just my own experience. Great vid!