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Drum tuning can be quite daunting for any new drummer, and for many experienced drummers too. Don’t be ashamed of this! It takes a number of years for most drummers to develop the required understanding and hearing skills in order to tune drums unassisted. It’s really valuable to understand a little bit about the fundamental (F0) and overtones (F1) of a drum before attempting … [Read more...] about 5. Drum Tuning 101 – Back to Basics

Do you ever wonder why cylindrical drums have two drumheads, what exactly does the resonant head add to the acoustics of the drum, and how exactly does it influence the sound? Well, there are two main reasons..Firstly, a cylindrical drum with just one drumhead is very inefficient, energy wise, because as soon as the head is hit, all the energy created from the hit gets … [Read more...] about 6. Tuning the Resonant Drumhead – What, Why and How?

We’re very used to seeing the audio waveform of different sounds and musical phrases, especially now that people have access to DAWs or Digital Audio Workstations such as Logic Pro X, Pro Tools and Ableton Live. Every sound waveform is unique and tells us a bit about the ‘shape’ of the sound, and by that we mean the profile of how the sound appears, how long its duration is, … [Read more...] about 7. Spectrum Analysis and Filtering Frequencies

Being a drummer is both a blessing and a curse! The great thing about drums is that there are far more ways to personalise a drum kit than there are for any other musical instrument – the number of permutations of drum types, sizes, depths, materials, configurations is endless. But the counter-side to this is that it takes a huge journey of learning, testing and experiencing … [Read more...] about 8. The Wonderful World of Drumheads!

With all musical instruments, there’s a hidden quality that makes some just sound better or different to others, and some instruments which sound more suited to a certain style, genre or even the musician and their performance traits. Sometimes there’s no right or wrong; some pianists play a Steinberg, others prefer a Yamaha. Some guitarists play a Gibson Les Paul and others … [Read more...] about 9. Timbre: The Truth about Drum Shell Vibration

Taking a seat behind a fully-loaded drum kit brings a moment of joy, power, and excitement to all drummers, and even non-drummers too! Just watch someone’s face light up as you pass them the drumsticks and let them experience the thrill of sitting behind your kit for the very first time. Every drummer’s kit has been meticulously setup to enable the perfect performance for that … [Read more...] about 10. Tuning Drums for Different Styles and Genres

Everyone loves a superb snare sound. Even those who don't know it; listeners involuntarily tap and clap along to the backbeat, and if it cuts through a track with power and style then it can make the hairs on your neck stand up. In fact, drummers and music producers are generally very particular about snare sounds, both in live performances and when recording or mixing a song … [Read more...] about 11. Snare Drum Tuning

The kick drum (or bass drum as it is often called too), is a bit of a beast on first sight, and that makes kick drum tuning seem a little daunting to many people. But actually, with some very simple techniques and a little knowledge on drumhead vibration, kick drum tuning can be a very simple task that doesn’t need to be overcomplicated. Getting straight down to it, the physics … [Read more...] about 12. Kick Drum Tuning