440 drumset tuning

440 hz is an "A" note.
I have no idea what 440 tuning refers to in a drum realm.
In a guitarists world A 440 is the tuning standard
Hendrix (from what I understand) used to tune a half step down, I suspect it was to assist in his singing, and to be a little different.
 
Only a very few drum makers seem to worry about shell pitch, John Good of DW being the best known example. But generally speaking, drum makers go for tone and sustain on their drums, not specific pitches.

When you tune the drums so that it achieves the most resonance and sustain from both heads, you could hold a tuner up to it and see what the approximate pitch is, but this will not usually be uniform even between identically sized, constructed, and tuned drums.

The best way to go about this is to try and tune as close to the natural sweet spot of the drum while maintaining a decent tonal interval between the drums. A very common way to achieve this is to find the spacing of a major chord between the toms, so that if you have four toms, the highest tom will be approximately an octave above the lowest tom, and when played in sequence, you get a major arpeggio, or, if you prefer, something that sounds like the "charge" bugle call. But again, this will depend on a number of factors, primarily what heads you use and how you like to tune them.
 
Everything alparrott said is true.

Very few people ever tune to notes.

Keep in mind, if you do tune to a specific notes, then you have to keep in mind what key the song your playing is in. I've read stories of guys in the studio re-tuning for each song to keep the pitches of their drums in the proper key. Which seems like a lot of work.
Which is why most drummers don't tune to specific notes, so that their drums fit every song, regardless of key.

But, to each their own.

EDIT: Terry Bozzio is known to tune to specific notes. But then again, he has enough drums to cover several octaves, so he can adjust to any piece of music.
 
Keep in mind, if you do tune to a specific notes, then you have to keep in mind what key the song your playing is in. I've read stories of guys in the studio re-tuning for each song to keep the pitches of their drums in the proper key. Which seems like a lot of work.
Which is why most drummers don't tune to specific notes, so that their drums fit every song, regardless of key.

You don't need to worry about key signatures just because you are tuning to pitches. Think about it. If that were necessary the guys not tuning to specific pitches would REALLY sound bad. You certainly can but the advantage is in how the kit works together, not being in key with any particular song.
 
BUT...when you do take the time to tune your drums in the key of the song, on a single recording session for example, the results can be stellar.
Still, dissonant drums sound awesome too.
A well played part on a horrible sounding kit is still gonna be a well played part.
 
Very few people I know ever tune to notes.

Fixed! ;-)

Keep in mind, if you do tune to a specific notes, then you have to keep in mind what key the song your playing is in. I've read stories of guys in the studio re-tuning for each song to keep the pitches of their drums in the proper key. Which seems like a lot of work.
Which is why most drummers don't tune to specific notes, so that their drums fit every song, regardless of key.

Nope. While it's true that some producers have a fetish about tuning toms to the notes of a song, it's not necessary or even necessarily desirable. What if tuning to the key of a song takes the drums out of their best ranges, i.e., sweet spots?

Meanwhile, even when you tune to specific notes, the audience hears high tom, medium tom, low tom. The notes don't "clash" with the key of a song. Think for a minute: even if you don't tune to specific notes, you are tuning to specific pitches anyway. Why don't those pitches clash with songs?

But, to each their own.

Now yer talkin'.

Tuning to pitches is handy for several reasons:

1. It helps you get a handle on the intervals between your toms, and lets you explore different tunings in a systematic way. How do perfect fourths sound between the toms? How about thirds? How about a combination?

2. It's a quick and easy way to replicate a previous tuning without having to reinvent it every time you rehead.

3. It's an easy way to make sure any two adjacent toms sound good when struck together. If you just tune toms to "where they sound good" you can end up with a nasty interval between drums--you can even get beating between them. Oftentimes it's an easy matter to turn that bad interval into a nice third, fourth, or fifth without going outside the best range for each drum.

4. For me it makes tuning quick and easy--all I need is a pitch pipe and my ears.

To the OP: if you want to fool around with pitches, be sure to find each tom's sweet spot first. It's usually a range of about 2-3 semitones. Once you find the notes the drums play well then you can fool around with pitch schemes. For this reason, no one can tell you what notes to tune your particular drums and heads to.

In general, if you play out miked you can get away with closer intervals (major and minor thirds) and lower overall tunings. If you play out unmiked, however, try and skew your overall pitch a bit higher and try fourths or fifths between the toms. If you have a lot of toms, keep your lower toms farther apart in pitch (fourths or fifths); your higher toms can be closer (thirds) and still sound differentiated enough. My kid's setup is 16f, 14f, 12, 10, 8. Currently we're tuning them to C, F, Bb, D, F. And, pace DrumEatDrum, that Bb chord never clashes with E-minor rock songs. ;-)
 
For me I always loved the tuning of Dave Weckls kit. So I matched (as close as I could) the tone of his 10" tom and matched that to my tuner and it turned out to be pretty close to a D note. So I did that with the rest of the kit.
 
I have a quick question about doing this because it sounds like an interesting idea...

I was wondering how you guys did it? I've tried before but the drum never resonates clearly/long enough for the tuner to pick up a pitch.
 
I have a quick question about doing this because it sounds like an interesting idea...

I was wondering how you guys did it? I've tried before but the drum never resonates clearly/long enough for the tuner to pick up a pitch.

Chromatic tuners are not always useful. Not all go down into the range of drum fundamentals (ca. 50-200Hz). And because drums are so rich in overtones, sometimes tuners get confused and read the wrong pitch--they're "hearing" one of the overtones instead of the fundamental.

When using one, be sure to strike the batter in the center (most fundamental/least overtone) and you may have to hold the tuner over the center, too.

I find them more trouble than they're worth, and slow. I just use a pitch pipe to get in the ballpark and my ears to make the intervals in tune.

Also: making both the batter and reso the same pitch makes it much easier to hear.
 
Fixed! ;-)
I suppose, but I've met a lot of drummers in my life. But I suppose Terry and I aren't on a first name basis. :p


Nope. While it's true that some producers have a fetish about tuning toms to the notes of a song, it's not necessary or even necessarily desirable. What if tuning to the key of a song takes the drums out of their best ranges, i.e., sweet spots?
That was pretty much my point.


You don't need to worry about key signatures just because you are tuning to pitches. Think about it. If that were necessary the guys not tuning to specific pitches would REALLY sound bad. You certainly can but the advantage is in how the kit works together, not being in key with any particular song.


. Think for a minute: even if you don't tune to specific notes, you are tuning to specific pitches anyway. Why don't those pitches clash with songs?

Because the average sound of a drum contains complex frequencies through which no discernible pitch can be heard. Which is why it blends nicely with every key.

A drum's pitch is relative, but not a specific note.

Although you can tune a drum head to specific note, and not have the drum itself at a specific note, due to the shell and bottom head adding additional frequencies.

But if one were to tune a DRUM to a specific note, there would indeed problems.
If there were no such issues, singers would never worry about going flat. :)
 
Drums are certainly note playing instruments, but a single drum will make many notes all at once through harmonics. A drumhead is merely a 3d guitar string, and it can be tuned to specific notes. It just has lots of harmonics so it is hard to identify what the primary note is.

Tune the bass drum to the predominant note the bass guitar is playing. Tune your snare to the key of the song. Tune your toms to where they sound appropriate for the style of music you are doing, ringy, dry, muted, no bottom head, etc....

Good luck!
 
I have a quick question about doing this because it sounds like an interesting idea...

I was wondering how you guys did it? I've tried before but the drum never resonates clearly/long enough for the tuner to pick up a pitch.

Go to "Tom tuning" in the drum thread. Start at post #69. It tells you all about it. Drumtechdad and I use similar methods. Works great every time. Never had a problem.
In a nut shell, here's what we're doing. Like D'dad was saying, even if you don't tune to specific pitches (and by that I mean tapping in front of each lug point on the head so the pitches are all identical), whenever you get the drum to sound good to your ear, that pitch in front of each lug (assuming you try to get them all the same) will be some note, right? All we're doing is documenting what note it is and then using an interval method to tune the rest of the kit and tune the top and bottom head on the drum. That way, you'll know evry time where the sweet spot is at and replicate that tuning in seconds via a pitch pipe. It's very cool once you get the hang of it.

Also, just because the head is tuned to a certain note at each lug point doesn't mean the drum is going to ring out in that exact note, especially if you tune the bottom head differently. Doing it that way eliminates unwanted overtones and allows the drums to sound good together as a whole. Gavin Harrison is one who tunes this way, along with many other techs and famous drummers. It works and it's very useful when good sounding drums are a must.
 
Go to "Tom tuning" in the drum thread. Start at post #69. It tells you all about it. Drumtechdad and I use similar methods. Works great every time. Never had a problem.
In a nut shell, here's what we're doing. Like D'dad was saying, even if you don't tune to specific pitches (and by that I mean tapping in front of each lug point on the head so the pitches are all identical), whenever you get the drum to sound good to your ear, that pitch in front of each lug (assuming you try to get them all the same) will be some note, right? All we're doing is documenting what note it is and then using an interval method to tune the rest of the kit and tune the top and bottom head on the drum. That way, you'll know evry time where the sweet spot is at and replicate that tuning in seconds via a pitch pipe. It's very cool once you get the hang of it.

Also, just because the head is tuned to a certain note at each lug point doesn't mean the drum is going to ring out in that exact note, especially if you tune the bottom head differently. Doing it that way eliminates unwanted overtones and allows the drums to sound good together as a whole. Gavin Harrison is one who tunes this way, along with many other techs and famous drummers. It works and it's very useful when good sounding drums are a must.

I wish I had been as clear as you were just now!

I suppose, but I've met a lot of drummers in my life. But I suppose Terry and I aren't on a first name basis. :p

Nor I, alas, though I've seen him play enough! I think I've just been around so damn long I've met more drummers than most. ;-)

Because the average sound of a drum contains complex frequencies through which no discernible pitch can be heard. Which is why it blends nicely with every key.

A drum's pitch is relative, but not a specific note.

Although you can tune a drum head to specific note, and not have the drum itself at a specific note, due to the shell and bottom head adding additional frequencies.

See, I've never understood this concept--it sounds like a high school science text written by a science guy who's never heard a well-tuned drum. As in: "two-headed drums are of indefinite pitch." Well they can be if they're not tuned well!

Look, the sound of everything contains both fundamental and harmonics. It's only when the fundamental is so weak, and the harmonics are so strong, that you can't pick a pitch out of it. Cymbals would be a good example.

But with a drum tuned to a note, you hear the note clear as day--it is not overwhelmed by harmonics. The "discernable pitch can be heard." There are plenty of harmonics, and weirder ones than with most instruments, but the fundamentals are perfectly audible.

The same thing is true of a drum not tuned to a "note"--it's still tuned to a "pitch." Over the years I've made many posts on this subject, and while folks quote that silly science text to me they can never explain why a drum can't be tuned to a note. If I tune a drum to 105Hz, I get a "pitch," and that seems to be alright with them. But if I tune it to 110Hz, I get the note A, and that is all of a sudden impossible. Weird!

I usually play just a 4-piece and simply put a fifth between my toms. But if you sat down at my kid's kit and rolled around the toms you'd hear C, F, Bb, D, F, perfectly obvious. But with drums there's a lot of attack (stick) sound and almost no sustain compared with other instruments, plus the high level of overtones. It simply turns out that the audience isn't the least bit bothered by drums "in the wrong key." Not because you can't hear the note from them.

But if one were to tune a DRUM to a specific note, there would indeed problems.
If there were no such issues, singers would never worry about going flat. :)

Well, I've tuned drums to specific notes for decades; other drummers have done it for generations. There are no "issues" for the reasons mentioned above. This is a case where theory is all well and good, but it collapses in the light of experience.
 
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420 tuning works like a charm for me too. I always tune to 420 before playing.
 
1)Because the average sound of a drum contains complex frequencies through which no discernible pitch can be heard. Which is why it blends nicely with every key.



2)A drum's pitch is relative, but not a specific note.

3)Although you can tune a drum head to specific note, and not have the drum itself at a specific note, due to the shell and bottom head adding additional frequencies.

But if one were to tune a DRUM to a specific note, there would indeed problems.
If there were no such issues, singers would never worry about going flat. :)

1)Have to disagree. My tuner reads a pitch for my toms and it matches the pitch reference I use from my keyboard. No instrument produces a straight fundamental pitch. That argument doesn't hold water.

2)Relative to what? If it can have a pitch, it can be a note. Just because its not tuned to a note in the western scale does not change that. You just have to decide to tune that pitch to a note in the western scale if that's what you want.



3) If the bottom head is tuned to the same pitch/note as the top head there is no problem
 
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