How To Tune A Drum Set

How To Tune A Drum Set

One of the most essential skills every drummer must know is how to tune their drumset. The reality is, most drummers do not know how to properly tune their kit; resulting in a poor sound. A drum kit can cost a lot of money, so why not make it sound the best it can! Let me try and uncover the mystery of tuning your drums. It is actually not a very hard thing to do at all, so do not think you need to be a professional drummer before you can master this skill. Take the time in your regular practice to learn how to tune your drums the right way; you will be happy you did. If you have tuned your drum set as much as you can and you are still getting a poor sound, you may want to check out the article on drum set muffling; here you will learn of other ways to maximize the sound of your drum set. 

The first thing you need to realize about drum tuning is that it is a very personal thing. Having the right drum sound is completely up to what you are looking for. Depending on what style of music you play, you could want your drums tuned to many different tones. Now that being said, there are a few rules that you must consider when tuning. There are a few steps you must take in order to maximize your tone, resonance and endurance of your drum head. So let’s get started.

Tuning Your Drum Kit

Tuning one drum is the same as tuning them all. The same steps and procedures should be taken to ensure the best sound from any drum you are playing. Let’s say we are tuning a tom drum. Let’s start at the absolute beginning; seating the drum head on the shell. Before you even place the head on the drum, make sure you wipe down both the rim and the head. Any unwanted dirt or chips will cause an uneven sound on the tom. So with a towel, just wipe around the rim of the drum. The next step is obviously seating the drum head on the drum. Once this is done, and the rim is placed over top; screw in the tension rods hand tight. You do not want to screw them in to much right now, or you can throw off the tuning process. This step is just for positioning the rods.

Once all the rods are secure, you want to stretch out your drum head. This is an important step to do; it will strengthen and stretch out your skin as well as help it maintain its tuning once it is found. To do this, simply make a fist, and press down in the middle of the drum. Do not press to hard, you do not want to damage your skin. This is the same idea as a guitarist stretching out his new strings before he tunes. Now you are finally ready to tune! 

This process is similar to installing a new tire on your car. To make sure there is no unbalance, you will have to tighten the tension rods opposite to each other. The best way to do this is to start at any rod, and tighten a few turns with your drum key. Once that is complete, locate the tension rod opposite to that one and repeat the process. Do this until each rod is secure and tight. Try to keep each turn uniform by counting the amount of rotations and imitate that on each tension rod. Here is a diagram of the tightening process:

As you can see, each tension rod is tuned opposite of each other. Start at A, and work your way around the drum.

Once each rod is tightened, try striking the drum. Chances are you will not get the right sound on your first try. This is where you have to start fine tuning. Pick a tension rod to start at, and tap the head around 2 inches from that rod. Again, use the diagram and tap each rod opposite to each other. Try and hear for any inconsistent sounds. If there are any tones that are not even, tune each tension rod accordingly. Remember this is a fine process, tuning a half a turn will change the sound to the whole drum.

Like I said above, each drummer has his/her own preference with sound depending on what style of music they are playing. Whatever the sound you are going for, follow these simple steps. Remember that tuning your drums can be a long process; being patient and diligent will reward you in the end. Do not worry if you cannot get a solid sound out of your drum, a lot of times the room your drums are in can have a huge impact on the sound of the drums. Once you have the best sound you can get from your drums, it's time to start learning some new beats and grooves! Check out the beginners section to learn how to play the drums. When you have this down, you can start learning some other concepts like the double bass drum, and drum rudiments!

You can also check out the Drum-Tuning.com resource for more details on how to tune drums.

Learn exactly how to tune drums with the complete Drumming System!

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How To Tune A Drum Set

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Important Of Drums

Important Of Drums

Drummers are the most underrated members of a band. In the immortal band of all bands, the most popular Beatles were John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals) and Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals). Until today, the popular ones are those holding the guitars and microphones. In the Beatles, Ringo Starr was quite like a footnote when we talk about the whole band. Little did people know that it was the addition of Ringo Starr - who then replaced Pete Best - which made the crucial impact in making The Beatles the music legend that it is today.

The drum is not just a cool instrument. It is a vital component to the desired sound of a certain band. For this reason, drum players should really be adept on how to play drum - should know it like the back of their hands - before they can play with a band. In pop culture, drum is popular in heavy metal and rock music. 

Without drums and guitars, a rock band will sound dry and dispassionate. Consequently, leaning how to play drum is not just for kids possessing exceptional musical inclinations. Adults who are enthusiasts of the instrument can also learn to play drums for leisure and the occasional performances to friends. The advent of modern technology has made the drum an instrument for everybody. All people can learn to play the percussion instrument through the use of online instructions and video lessons. 

There is no feeling of embarrassment for people at any age in learning to play drums because they can learn it by themselves in front of their computer. The combined approach of video, audio, text, and graphics make it easier to learn drums fast.

Important Of Drums

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How to Play Drum Fills and Doing It Correctly

How to Play Drum Fills and Doing It Correctly

Most of the time, how to play drum fills is a test of a drummer's ability to showcase his strength as an artist. It is a perfect opportunity for him to show his versatility, musicality and improvisation skills that are not usually given for drummers. In a concert performance, it is always the vocal soloist who gets noticed. The bands are usually behind to compliment the vocal showcase of the performer. Same is the case during an instrumental presentation. For rock music, bands are given some leverage and drummers usually get the limelight during drum fills. But what are the correct ways of playing drum fills?

A drummer's opportunity to shine is often related whenever he does a drum fill in a song. Also known as "drum break", it is a time to show his skills, doing a solo performance to promote a better transition from one song to the next. However, be reminded that there is a difference between a drum fill to a drum solo. So, how do you play fills? First of all, you need to know where you are going to play it. There are different parts where you can do it. An intro fill is where you play before the song starts, while an outro fill is where you play a small fill towards the song's end. The most common is the transition fill that is used when there is a change in the song from the verse, to the chorus or vice-versa.

Once you've determined where to do it, you need to determine how long you would play it. Oftentimes, this can be based on the drummers preference, but for fast songs, it is common to play 2 bar fill. Be able to know your transitions and how long it would be to make the right length of your fill. Start by playing a basic rock beat, usually the typical 1-2-3-4 or the 1-and-2-and-3-and-4 pattern. You need to keep this basic beat with the snare, the bass and hi-hats, and continuously doing it in a four bar phrase. 

The beginner fills will be played on the fourth bar of the fourth round. You can start by playing the snare, the cymbals or the toms. Make sure not to cut the bar short or make it too long. You'll begin to see how this works as you repeat the process.

One important thing to consider when doing a fill is to be consistent in the timing. It should never offset the beat of the main song. It should enhance the music and not create an out-of-place fill. Drum fills are the drummer's creation but should match the style of music being played. A fast paced rock beat can be improved by striking the tom and adding quick fillers, capping it off with the sound of the cymbals. 

During transitions, the drum fills end by the start of the new section, and it overflows with a crash cymbal sounding as the new section of the song begins. Usually, small breaks occur at the end of the line of the lyrics. However, small breaks need small fills which often include one or two extra drum notes. Practice is important especially in familiarizing yourself with the fundamentals in making it sound good. Familiarity with different styles and determining how other drummers perform their fills are great help for you to develop your own fills.

Knowing how to play drum fills are a great way to widen your artistic license whenever you play for a performance. It highlights your creativity as well as shows your progress in becoming a good drummer. The key to be successful in doing this task is continuous practice and exposure to various forms of fills. Listening to how other drummers creatively perform their fills can be a great start for you to master the fundamentals and thus create your own signature drum fills.

How to Play Drum Fills and Doing It Correctly

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Thoughts on Playing Drum Solos

Thoughts on Playing Drum Solos

When I first started playing the drums, I used to think of playing solos as my time to shine, so I would throw in every lick I knew indiscriminately and with no thought to how everything sounded together. This would usually happen when there was a drum set in the room and someone would say, "You play the drums, right? Play something." The end result was usually less than stellar. Here are some tips that have helped me over the years with playing drum solos.

First of all, this may seem obvious but plan out your solos in advance. Have something worked out ahead of time. Even if you plan to improvise your solos on the spot, the more you practice coming up with something, the better you'll get at it.

Think of your solo like a song. It has a form and one part leads to another. It helps to write out the different parts so you can see how your solo progresses. And just like songwriters write more than one song, you don't have to have only one solo. You can have one that is melodic and another that is bombastic, etc. This will help with the urge to play everything you know in one solo.

I also highly recommend you record yourself. That way you can let your creativity flow without editing yourself as you play. Sometimes what you actually play sounds different than what you thought you played.

With all of this in mind, here are some specific things you can work into your solos. This is not a definitive list but feel free to use these ideas if they sound good to you.

BEATS AND FILLS

A good way to get started is to play an interesting beat for a certain amount of measures and then play different fills for a certain amount of measures. For example, play a beat for three measures and play a fill for the fourth. Keep repeating that pattern while you work up your solo and then change to playing the beat for two measures and fill for two measures. Then play the beat for one measure and fill for three measures.

CALL AND RESPONSE

Play a rhythmic figure on a part of your kit and try to answer what you played on a different part of the kit with a different rhythmic figure. Think of two drummers trading licks and emulate that by yourself on different parts of the kit.

ORCHESTRATION.

You can get some good ideas in general by moving what you're playing to different parts of the kit. For example, play a two-handed 16th note beat with one hand on the ride cymbal and the other on the hi hat. You can also get some interesting tribal patterns by playing the same two handed 16th note beat and moving your hands to your toms. Experiment with alternate stickings to make the beat more melodic. Besides changing the phrasing to other drums, you can also modulate the time (for example, play your phrase in 3/4 instead of 4/4) or change tempos for a portion of the solo.

OSTINATOS

An ostinato is a repeating rhythmic phrase. You can play an ostinato (like a bossa nova or a clave rhythm) with your feet while you solo with your hands. In essence you are accompanying your solo with the ostinato.

POLYRHYTHMS, CROSSOVERS, RUDIMENTS, AND PITCH BENDS

These can definitely add some spice to your solos. Polyrhythms are when you play two different rhythms at the same time. This can add a sense of tension to parts of your solo.

Crossovers are simply when you play a figure where one hand crosses over the other. This can add a big visual appeal.

Pitch bends are when you push down on a drum with one stick while striking it with the other. The more pressure you apply with the stick, the high in pitch it will be when you strike it. This can give you timpani like sound.

And you can orchestrate the 40 drum rudiments around the kit to come up with some really interesting and impressive ideas.

DYNAMICS

One of the most important things a solo can have is dynamics. Make sure the different sections of your solo vary dynamically. If everything is loud or if everything is soft, the solo will lose people's interests.

MISCELLANEOUS

If your solo is part of a song, make the solo fit the style that you're playing. You can actually sing the melody of the song to yourself and play the phrasing. If possible, you can have other band members join you by playing percussion or just accompany you with their instruments during your solo. You may want to get the audience involved in some way. Get them to clap along or get them to respond to a figure you just played.

WATCH AND LEARN

Another great source for ideas is to watch and listen to great drummers. Watch drum videos and go see great drummers play live. Take what you like and experiment with it to make it your own.

I hope these suggestions help you to work out your masterpiece so you'll have something great when someone says, "You play the drums. Play something." and more importantly so that you'll have something to contribute to a show when you are asked to play a solo.

Thoughts on Playing Drum Solos

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