Tuning for drums about ear training…cultivating an ear for timbre and pitch together.

Tuning drums is Tedious…A pro drumkit with 6 drums in the set can have over 100 tension bolts (not called lugs) to adjust…Tuning drums is akin to a tuning a full sized piano more than it is to a12 string guitar.

At Drum Lessons Canberra, Symmetrical Drumming Australia, with Mark Campbell we teach tuning your drums alongside playing those drums…Indeed, a good sonorous set of drums will motivate you to practice.

There are many options.

Nate Smith the 8020 drummer has synthesized an approach from DW Drums, Rob BeatDown Brown, and a few others to provide a hybrid approach.

A tip for beginners from Drum Lessons Canberra…both heads need to tuned to create the sound you are after.

 Dont focus on the head you hit only (the batter head)…get that resonant head (the one you dont hit) working in sympathy (either higher, or lower, or at the same pitch) as your batter head.  

Experiment long and often to train your ear and get your speed that you can tune up to ‘fast’ and efficient,

The best site for online learning with respect to drum tuning is called: ‘Sounds like a Drum’ on YouTube and Patreon.  

‘Sounds Like a Drum’ is a YouTube channel that provides tips, tricks, and methods for tuning drums. Some of their videos include: 
Ep. 36 Perfecting Snare Side Tuning: A detailed video on the ruler method for leveling the snare 
Ep. 1 How to Get A Great All-Purpose Snare Drum Sound: A video that discusses the value of tuning videos 
Ep. 46 Tuning to the Drum Shell: A video that explores the idea of tuning drums based on the shell's resonant pitch 
Matching a Snare Sound Reference Track | Season 2: A video that addresses how to match a specific snare drum reference track 

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundsLikeADrum

At Drum Lessons Canberra, Mark Campbell, uses a spectrum analyser, his ears, and specialised drum turntable to get drums sounding sonorous.  Its a unique approach using a big woolly mallet, and expert set of ears, and lots of tension bolt turning…checking and rechecking. Considering the four elements of drum sound generation…the Batter Head, the Resonant Head, the Shell, and the Stick.

Come in a learn how to tune your entire kit…along with your high pedal ballistics, spring tension, and double pedal ballistics and spring angle and tension. 

https://marcuscampbellorum.com/menu

Tuning takes time, its expensive (because you will need to have a large number of differing drum heads/skins, and trial and error is the key to learning. The best resource for which drumheads have what effect on your drums-ound is: 

https://drumheadauthority.com/

That is all from me Mark Campbell from Drum Lessons Canberra…innovator and inventor at Symmetrical Drumming Australia

https://symmetricaldrummingaustralia.org

I hope to see you soon for a lesson in Canberra. Bring your ears!

Mark