Most engineers and even a lot of drummers dont know the proper way to tune their drums,but its not a difficult process. You dont have to play at all to know how to tune a drum. Sounds drum tuning bible if you havent seen this yet, youre in for a treat. The drum tuning bible pdf steve such drums ss drums.
In fact, i believe that it would be easier to make a working violin from just reading a. An oldy but a goody, its most likely everything youll need to get a grip on tuning drums. This pdf guide to choosing and tuning drums was written by scott johnson. Drum tuning bible single 1 or 2 vents in the shell have little effect on tone. For someone starting out, this can be confusing and contradictory. From drumhead type to shell quality and even lug number, almost everything will influence the way each drum sounds and is tuned.
Now 45 residing in indianapolis, in usa, played since. Drum tuning can be a quite difficult subject to master because of the many variables that influence its outcome. Analyzing thousands of drum hits in the course of developing the tunebot, we gained considerable insight into drum acoustics and also discovered a useful relationship between the. Most of these methods were too simple to produce the results i sought. Raised in the chicago, il usa area, ownedoperated first studio at 17. The musical ability of someone playing drums is not synonymous with an ability to technically understand it. But seeing as i dont play guitar or something similar, i wanted to apply it to my drum kit. In reading a variety of drumrelated books i have come across many approaches to tuning. This means that the distance the interval between the tuned note of one drum and that of another is a recognisable one. When im drum tuning for somebody else, im usually doing it for a genera other than rock the style im best at. Toms can be a little bit more flexible in terms of tuning in terms of range. There is knowledge around there about the subject, tuning drums to notes in scales, but its very little and really scattered.
Mick berry has been playing drums for over 30 years, having studied with such legends as new orleans drummers james black and john vidacovich, and afrocuban drummer walfredo reyes, sr. Then up and back over the rightmost vertical, under the left vertical, and up over it to the right again point s. As i continued my search i did come across an excellent web site prof sounds drum tuning bible v3. Jazz always has a very smooth sound, and therefore, the drums need to ring out longer than they would in rock so that the individual hits sound more connected. With the bass drum we follow similar rules to the toms, but we are trying to find the lowest possible pitch in the batter head the first head to start tuning on the bass drum. However this does it mean it challenges the actual bible in length, so make sure youre sitting comfortably. The resonant head should also be at a medium tension but slighty tighter than the batter head. This is after we decide what kind of tuning will be a good fit for the song. When it comes to pitch separation between toms, again its down to personal preference, but a pitch separation of thirds is the most common setup. As drummers, we have a habit of tuning our drums to particular intervals. Tips and insight from rip rowan on tuning a drum featuring an emphasis on bass drum tuning. In the second part of this thesis, we focus on drum sound separation. This version of the drum tuning bible is the 3rd iteration. I refer to it anytime im having trouble tuning a particular drum.
A good starting point is to tune the lugfrequency of the resonant head a perfect fifth 1. The no drum tuning method by john good will definitely help to understand how you can the any drum within minutes. Finally, if you read the entire bible, it should aid you in choosing a. The drummers bible how to play every drum style from afrocuban to zydeco is the most thorough compilation of drumming styles ever assembled in a single volume. Others online have written tutorial guides who explain in simpler terms how to get a sound out of your drum. Although most drums are unpitched instruments, they still require tuning in order to remove unwanted overtones and produce the sound that the drummer prefers. Its been floating around on the internet since the 90s and i refer to it anytime. Stretch the heads this is a concept that is controversial, and in my opinion, is often taken out of context. Even after tuning all the lugs to return the same note pitch with conventional drum tuners, they can still disagree enough at higher overtones to create a muddy dissonant sound texture as these slightly different higher overtones interfere with each other. Diameter has a greater impact on tuning that does depth. Tuning your djembe only if you only need to do a bit of tuning, here is what to do. For bass drum tuning, youre going to to want medium tension on the batter head.
Gatzen says, first and foremost, develop your style. Then, of course, the mics get set up and we choose preamps. Drum tuning, the art of tension always in transition. Youll want to stay in the medium, medium low range down to low. A powerful replacement for mscardfile, adding a second dimension with hierarchical notes. Drum head round membrane which stretches across a drum to produce sound. This is perhaps the greatest, most comprehensive tuning guide i have ever seen. See how easy it to read drum music and how reading can help you to become a better drummer. Keep in mind that in most majorlabel sessions the drummers will usually bring in an expertto tune the drums for them, but this is the basic technique that would be used. Drum tuning bible by scott johnson for all of you engineers, producers and. In otherwords, at this time, the pdf file does not contain all that this site does. Each video corresponds directly with the included exercises, for an easytofollow and fun way to learn. Drum tuning tips from the famous drum doctor drums, drum.
Never force a drum to play a note out of its best range or you will have an unevenso. Hi all, recently ive been wanting to learn more about notes and other music theory. Put the rope underneath the next two verticals see figure 4, point r. In otherwords, at this time, the pdf file does not contain all that this site does because i. If you take 10 drummers and ask them how they tune their drums, youll get 10 different answers. Tuning is a purely mechanical exercise and therefore there are many varied ways of delivering an appropriate tone from a drum.
For more info, check out bobs many youtube videos on tuning, as well as his dvd drum tuning. Get the bottom head very tight, tune the top a third or a fifth lower. Drum tuning notes software free download drum tuning notes. An integrated digital bible study library including complete notes from the niv study bible and the nkjv macarthur study bible. All these subjects and more are discussed in this free drum lesson by jason kliewer. Supports rich text, powerful searchreplace, advanced printing, autosave, password protection, flexible importexport, hyperlinks, and much more.
Source separation and restoration of drum sounds in music. Drum tuning bible john eye productions beach house. Learn how to read drum music with drumnuts free drum lessons. Dont waste thousands buying a new drum kit when you can release the clear tone trapped inside your current drums. How to tune your drums online drum lessons free drum. A good way to tune your toms and your snare as well, if you like, is to use notes in musical intervals or chords for the fundamental pitches of the drums. As well as tuning, the tightness of the snare wires will reflect the tone and resonance so experiment with this. Tension rod the bolt that goes through holes in the rim, used to pull the head down across the bearing edge, and tighten or loosen for tuning. However, multiple large vents or holes in the shell can make a drum extremely loud and bright sounding. The air hole or vent in the shell is to allow the shell to breath when two heads are used and atmospheric changes occur, thereby helping to eliminate moisture buildup. A lot of factors go into tuning your bass drum such as, the type of heads, use of cutouts or kickports in the resonant head and the type of damping, eg. If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the faq by clicking the link above.
If you want a tight and crisp sound with sensitivity, use a combination of heads and tuning. So what i want to do, and i need your help on this, is to make this a sticky with all the. Some drums such as timpani and rototoms are tuned to a definite pitch. Bass drum tuning a lot of factors go into tuning your bass drum such as, the type of heads, use of cutouts or kickports in the resonant head and the type of damping, eg. Its been floating around on the internet since the 90s and i refer to it anytime im having trouble tuning a particular drum. The choice of tones, timbres and relative tensioning is a separate issue and discussed here the method that i advocate here is one that works for me, however i recommend you experiment and take other advice. For example, if you tune your top head to an a, tune your bottom head to a d. Scott, the spiral starecase, the new leviathan oriental foxtrot orchestra, the san francisco mime. Tuning toms is similar to snare drum tuning, but some people recommend tuning the bottom head higher than the top in order to get a more controlled sound.
This is perhaps the greatest tuning guide i have ever seen. First you must determine where each tom sounds best. Drum tuning is the process of adjusting the frequency or pitch of a drum. Coated doubleply is a nice way to get a warm controlled sound with those nice heavy undertones. The connection between musical style and personal style is like a finetuned recipe. No right or wrong when it comes to tuning drums, theres no right or wrong. A drum will usually be happiest if the heads are in tune with each other, and with the drum itself, and the closer you can get to that, the happier the drum will be. Remember to keep the snare wires moderately loose as a matter of course. Because you are musically proficient, does not mean you can or know how to explain how to make a drum sound the way you want it. This is the drum set i want for christmas dumbing for drummies.
He has accompanied such renown artistsgroups as henry butler, eddie henderson, michael wolff, e. A comprehensive guide to tuning drums larry nolly updated in 2012 this highly acclaimed book drum tuning is an indepth guide to tuning. The drum tuning bible is the first thing on the subject i read. Then you can determine a tuning scheme using notes. Each drum has to be tuned and matched to the rest of the kit. When it comes to tuning drums, theres no right or wrong. If im tuning a drum set for a jazz band, i instantly think higher in pitch unless im doing the snare. The hd1 starter book lessons are designed to help you quickly learn the basics of drumming. This pdf guide to choosing and tuning drums was written by scott johnson aka prof. Drum tuning by gene okamoto, pearl corporation tuning.
Shortly after introducing the tunebot electronic drum tuner in 2012, we were flooded with phone calls and emails asking how to tune different brands of drums or how to get the sounds of various wellknown drummers. So im sure a lot of you have heard of the drum tuning bible. Focus was on rock, progressive rock and country music. It provides over 350 drumming grooves in over 70 styles, plus dozens of fills. The interval between drums is more important than many realize and size is the key to get even resonance and the incremental notes between drums. Drums are tuned by tightening or loosening the tension rods or ropes, which control the. How to prevent drum tuning drift and lug rattle pro. This detailed treatise is written for the drummer who also records so take the recording. It takes time to get a great drum sound in the studio. All files are available in both wav and mp3 formats. Some very good tips, but text is pretty limited on any subject that is basically ear training.