Quote:
Originally Posted by JakeDTH
Does one not tune drums by ear? If not, can you recommend a good drum tuner? (or can an electric guitar tuner be used?)
|
I don't think you're really understanding what drum tuning actually is, as a whole.
You don't really need to tune drums to specific keys unless it actually plays a part in the music. The main thing about tuning is tuning each top and bottom skin so that they resonate sympathetically with each other and the size of the drum itself. When you're doing this, you can do it by ear because you're not going for a particular key.
For example, let's say you're tuning one of the wing toms. Let's say it's 10" wide by 12" deep. That particular size is going to have a particular resonance, decay, etc. Say you start with the resonant head (bottom head), loosen it up until it's flappy. Then, turning each lug opposite one another, get the head EVENLY tight until it begins to produce a tone when you tap on it.
Now flip the drum over and do the same to the batter head (top head). When you're there, flip it back over to the resonant side and begin tightening and tapping near each of the lug points. You'll know if they're unevenly tightened because there will be differences in the tone. Just go a single turn on each lug, adjusting the turns so that all the lugs produce the same exact tone near each of the lug points. When you achieve that, flip it back over to the batter side and do the same thing and achieve the same tone as the resonant side. When you achieve this, pick the drum up into the air and hit the batter side with your stick. Does it have a long, smooth sustain and resonance? If not, you need to either tune both sides higher or lower. There are "zones" you'll hit, but it's pretty easy to hit the right one because the right zone is where the heads are pliable, not too tight, not too loose, and you get a lot of sustain and it sounds EVEN. As in, no warbling ring. Just smooth tone.
If you get that right, you have tuned the heads correctly to the drum. If you want to sacrifice some sustain just so you can have the drum in a specific key for some weird reason, you can go up or down on both sides EVENLY... but I just gotta warn you, if you tune to keys instead of the drum itself, you're probably going to end up sounding like you're playing a stack of boxes.
Correct drum tuning means that you adjust the heads so that the heads work together and with the fundamental note of the drum, as dictated by its size and accommodation of the vibrations being produced inside it.
This isn't just music theory, it's physics.