I want to talk a little bit about tuning. Basically, I am just going to show you this one tom here, the higher pitched tom. There is a bottom head on it and there is a top head on there. Some drums are designed without bottom heads. My opinion is the way that I like to have my drums tuned is the bottom head is to be tighter than the top head. The reason why is that it resonates the sound more. The sound goes in and bounces off the head and just has a better resonating sound and that is my personal preference. But, you can do it in different ways. You can have the bottom head looser than the top. You will find what works for you as you continue to play. Just experiment with it a little bit.
But when you first put your head on the drum, this metal rim around the hoop or the drum hoop or some call it, you would remove that and loose all the lugs, these each are lugs on here. And then, put the head on and put the hoop and take each lug and then just tighten it with your fingers as fast as you can around and then take a drum key. You can pick this up at any music store and then take and tighten it but go on with it. So, you start on this lug for example and then go straight across and then move straight across over here. The reason why is that it helps tighten it down evenly and do not wrench it down too hard. Just get it tight all way around. And then from there, you can do and tighten it to get as tight or as loose as you want and then just tap around on each level. You want to get similar tones on each lugs all way around and just tighten it until they would sound about even.
I am going to put this back on and show you a little bit more with the top head once you get the bottom head on then be the same with the top head as far as putting the head on and then tightening it on the hoop. As you see, I am locking my drum back down. This is an important thing to remember too as you play. Everything around like the cymbals here, they have each of these keys where you tighten it down. After you get the drums and the cymbals in a sec, the areas that you like them, make sure that they are tight. It is very important – all the way around because there is nothing worst than being in the middle of a gig and you did not tightened down your cymbal or your drum lock and they fall. It is a nightmare. It is hard to work with that in the middle of the show where your cymbal or drum falls. So, make sure that each thing is tightened down good.
So, tuning the top head and all, again like I said, it is similar to the bottom. Put the hat on and tighten each lug down with your fingers with the best that you can and then go opposite lugs. What you will want is to have drums go from a higher pitch to a lower pitch. So, listen to what I have already set up.
[demonstration]
So, it is higher to low. This is set up for a right handed drummer. If you are a left handed drummer, it would just opposite with a similar effect going from a high pitch to a lower pitch.
And then, we have the snare drum. And tuning the snare is the same way except for this key on the side of this drum where you can turn it off and on. That is the wiring on the bottom of the snare, it is actually the snare. This is with the wiring off, it almost sounds like a tom. With the snare one, here it is. That is what gives a crisp crunch on the snare, the sound of the snare. Now, it is the same thing. When you tune the snare though, you want to turn the snare off with the key off its side and do the same thing. Just tap around each lug until you get the sound that you desire on the snare drum. Turn it back on and then you are ready to rock.
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