Q&A for How to Tune Your Drums

Drums have a sweet spot when tightening the head and the resonant head. This takes practice and is also a matter of taste. Personally, I like my drums to ring long. I want them to resonate and hold as much sustain (how long the note lasts) as possible.

Both the top and bottom will vibrate when you hit the drum, so both should be tuned for the best sound possible.

Yes, whichever is your smallest mounted tom will ideally have the highest pitch. Wherever your highest drum is tuned to, the others should follow suit in a pattern that complements the sounds of the previous. Start with your snare, work your way down.

No, you don't have to have bottom heads on, you can just use the top head. However, you lose about 75% of your drum's tone and tuning ability when you do, and you also have less bounce from your sticks. That may make it more difficult for your rolls to be smooth.

The top head is the batter head.

I have found that a very heavy blanket placed inside the bass drum has made the sound I think you're describing. However, it may dampen the volume a bit. Experiment with cloths of different weights. Usually heavy linen is best.

You can, but you're probably not looking for a note if you're doing a drum set. Try to just find what feels good to play, tension wise, and what sounds good with the instruments you're accompanying. Those two things won't necessarily be at the same tuning, but you'll have to settle for a happy medium.

You can try tuning the resonant head slightly up or down on the tom causing the problem. This sometimes will work to reduce snare buzz.

This depends on what sounds good to you and where you want your tom tuning to sit at. Some common pitch techniques include tuning to minor third for example, where the top head is three semitones lower than the bottom head. Experiment with different sounds and figure out what works for you.

The more you practice, the smoother sounding you will be. Drums are not a quick-to-learn instrument, it takes a lot of time and patience to get to the point where your drums sound "smooth", as in a two-stroke roll. As you practice, slowly and gradually speeding up then slowing back down builds the muscles in your wrists and fingers, to the point that it sounds smooth because the beats are more evenly-spaced.

For a 6.5" snare drum, the pitches G - Bb are what you should listen for (Ab - B for a 5" drum). Using your drum key, tighten each tension rod one even half turn always working in opposites across the drum until you come near the pitch. Use a piano or keyboard percussion instrument to help find your pitch.

It is a good rule of thumb for the bottom head to be slightly tighter than the top head, especially for the snare drum. This sets up a good resonance.