Basic Tuning Concepts

 The heads of a drum are its primary source of resonance. Without these flexible membranes, you'd have some very expensive buckets (and they wouldn't even make good buckets since they couldn't hold anything). The rest of the drum also contributes to its final sound, but a lot less so. This is covered in the Miscellaneous section.

 In order for a head to achieve maximum resonance and pure tone, it must be tuned evenly all around. Picture yourself jumping all around the edges of a trampoline. You could probably bounce to the same height at each point. Now some mean kid cuts the springs on one side. When you bounce there, you won't bounce as high because the tension is less than the rest. Then another bully replaces the springs on one side with the springs from large garage door. When you come around to that side, you'll probably fling yourself into a passing 727.

 This is exactly (well, more or less exactly) the same as the tension applied to a drum head by the tension rods. The head needs to be able to vibrate at the same speed at each point around the circumference. If it can't, then the vibrations will run into each other as they travel through the head, causing the vibrations to die prematurely and cause annoying boing sounds.

 Here are the basic steps to tune a drum head.
 
 

1. Check the bearing edges

Remove the head. Feel around the bearing edge for bumps, dips, or roughness. Also set the drum on a known flat surface, like a thick glass table or a Formica covered countertop. Shine a light inside the shell, then look around the edge of the bottom of the shell. If you see light coming out through thick gaps, this is a dip (or a bump is nearby). Bumps and dips can cause uneven tension in the head. Rough areas don't cause as much of a problem, but can damage the head and cause slight variances in the sound. You can probably sand out rough areas, but repairing bumps or dips should be done by someone who has experience doing this, or a respected woodworker.

 

 

2. Seating the head

Start with a new head. If your old heads have dents or are deeply dished in the center when they're off the drum (or even on the drum), replace them. Place the head on the shell, then the rim and tension rods. Tighten the rods finger tight. Now beat on the head with the flat part of your fist. Beat it hard. Just be careful you don't dent it if you're using a thin head such as a Remo Diplomat. You can also sit or stand on the head and bounce. Some people are afraid that this will damage the shell, but unless it's a very thin or fragile shell, it won't. These two processes will cause the resin that holds the head in the hoop to crack a little. This is okay. If you don't do it now, it will usually end up doing it after it's been tuned up and you're playing a gig, and it will go out of tune. You can see why it's a good idea to do it now instead of letting it happen on its own.

 Some people take a different approach and just tune the head very tightly, then let it sit overnight. This also works, but it's a waste of time, IMO.
 
 

3. Your work area

Your drum should be situated so you can easily get to each tension rod. It should also be free to resonate all around. So don't - for instance - set the drum on a padded chair. Hold the drum between your legs or mount it on a stand.

 

 

4. Finding the basic pitch

Again, tighten all the rods finger tight. Do this two or three times, since tightening one rod will cause another to loosen up a bit, and so forth. Now, with the drum key, tighten each rod 1/4 of a turn. Following are the patterns you should use whenever you tighten lugs. Using these patterns will help keep the head evenly tensioned all around. By the way, these are not set-in-stone patterns, just common suggestions for even tensioning.

 

 

4 lugs	5 lugs	6 lugs
8 lugs	10 lugs	12 lugs

After all rods have been given a 1/4 turn, hit the head with a stick. If the pitch is too low, give the rods another 1/4 turn. Repeat until you get to the approximate pitch you're looking for.

 

 

5. Tweaking

Now comes the fun part. Place your finger on the center of the head. Just touch the head - don't press. This slightly mutes the head and lets the higher harmonics come through. Take a stick and softly tap the head near each lug. Compare the pitch of the head at each lug. Some may be lower than others. Tighten those in small amounts (1/8 of a turn or less) until they match the rest. Never tune down! The friction of the head against the bearing edge will not allow the head to stretch down to the tension you've tuned down to, so it will not be the final tension until after you've played the drum for a while. If you must tune down, tune it down past the desired pitch, whack the head with your fist, then tune it back up.

 Repeat this step until the head is evenly tuned around the circumference. Now it's properly tuned.

 A good tip: Sometimes you might find a point on the head where the pitch is too high or too low, but tuning that lug doesn't help. This usually means that the lug opposite that one is the one that's affecting the pitch.
 
 

That's about it. Any type of drum can be tuned with these steps. Some types may require different techniques (such as congas), but the basic form is still the same.