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penz
10-22-2006, 04:03 PM
Hey guys, I'm a guitar player first and foremost and I've recently started programming drums in midi for my tracks. However, I am uncertain when I should tune my drums. Like everything else, percussion has a pitch. Does this mean I should change my drum tuning for every track so it is in key with the rest of the instruments? Am I thinking about this correctly? I would appreciate any advice since I am a newb when it comes to percussion. Thanks guys!
Janeway
10-22-2006, 04:04 PM
You just tune them how ever you like and leave them...
Mr. Grill
10-22-2006, 04:07 PM
No, drums don't nesacarally have a 'note' that you tune them to. You tune them however you feel like tuning them, and leave them. You should retune them when they go out of tune also (deet dee durr). Plus imagine how much of a pain it would be to retune them between each song.
MeaninglessPhoto
10-22-2006, 04:14 PM
Drums are considered an instrument where a certain note doesnt have to be achieved, unlike guitars, basses, etc.
Mr. Grill
10-22-2006, 04:14 PM
Drums are considered an instrument where a certain note doesnt have to be achieved, unlike guitars, basses, etc.

Yes, but you wouldn't want your drums to be flapping thuds either.
MeaninglessPhoto
10-22-2006, 04:17 PM
True, but its not like you need to tune your drums to Drop D for a song thats in Drop D on guitars.
Mr. Grill
10-22-2006, 04:20 PM
Well I tune my drums to the 9th degree of the scale of the 5th in the chord being played.
raz0r
10-22-2006, 05:01 PM
When to tune drums?
Always.
White Rabbit
10-22-2006, 05:23 PM
No , the drum sounds dont have to be in key. They just have to sound right for the desired sound of the tune.

Having drums tuned the same throughout a whole album becomes monotonous , so I advise you mix it up.


Is the kick boomy? Is the kick thuddy . is the kick punchy? does the kick have enough sustain for this type of track? etc etc
Det_Nosnip
10-22-2006, 06:30 PM
Well I tune my drums to the 9th degree of the scale of the 5th in the chord being played.

What the hell?
LittlePound
10-22-2006, 06:41 PM
/\/\ i understood what he was saying.:cool: :p
Josiah
10-22-2006, 06:42 PM
Ahaha that is pretty funny...
Loser
10-22-2006, 06:43 PM
I find it is best to tune my drums at night, ususally right after the sun sets.
LittlePound
10-22-2006, 07:17 PM
/\/\but you can only get the brilliant magical sound around 2 a.m. when the moon is shining through the window on my drumsets making the cymbals shimmer and the drums call my name. That's the best time to tune them, at 2 a.m. when it's magical.


Further on, just so i'm being productive. To threadstarter
Most drummers don't tune to a certain note, in fact i've heard it's pretty much impossible using two heads (though i don't know the accuracy of the statement, i would expect if it is possible it'd be pretty darn hard and a waste of time). Regardless, most drummers don't tune their drums, they TONE them. The get their drums to a certain tone they want, and then they tune the botton heads to get that tone to SING how they want it to. Not tuning to a different note, and when do you TONE your drums? Whenever you feel like it, it doen'st have to be an everyday thing, but i normally reTONE mine about once a month, but i don't play on my actual set a lot. So it just depends.
FockerTheLopper
10-22-2006, 07:30 PM
Tune them how you like them and don't retune for songs, the reason is that double headed drums don't produce notes and they can't produce dissonance.
drummguy731
10-22-2006, 08:04 PM
True, but its not like you need to tune your drums to Drop D for a song thats in Drop D on guitars.

Danny Carey does...
MeaninglessPhoto
10-22-2006, 08:13 PM
Not everybody is like Danny Carey though
Seafroggys
10-22-2006, 08:58 PM
Tune them how you like them and don't retune for songs, the reason is that double headed drums don't produce notes and they can't produce dissonance.

No, they are dissonant.
Caleb3221
10-22-2006, 09:36 PM
You guys realize this guy isn't talking about acoustic drums, right? He's asking whether he should change the pitch of his midi drums to match the tracks. The answer, in general, is no. I'd alter the sample to get the tone you want rather than changing the pitch, that's actually one of the advantage of programmed drums.
Win A Rabbit
10-22-2006, 11:00 PM
Drums give more of a sound than a pitch in my opinion.

A tom that sounds good is a tom that sounds good. I've never heard a good sounding tom that didn't sound good when played along with a certain chord.
FockerTheLopper
10-22-2006, 11:56 PM
No, they are dissonant.

Really? Have any musician on any instrument play any note in any room at any time while you strike any 2 headed drum and tell me if you get any dissonance.
To win a rabit: its because drums don't produce notes, they produce sounds(theres a better word but I forget it) it would be impossible to be a drummer if drums created dissonance because every song would have to be in the same key or you would have to have 12 toms all tuned to a pitch and you would have to arrange them all for different songs...
Seafroggys
10-23-2006, 12:12 AM
I thought you meant within itself. Since you cannot tune top and bottom heads to the same note (or, well, you can, but its hard) then by nature they are dissonent with each other, yet because of the acoustical nature of the drum they don't sound dissonent.
Caleb3221
10-23-2006, 12:51 AM
Drums do produce notes, they just produce a whole lot of them at once and create a somewhat pleasant dissonance that does not clash with other notes(that's very simplified, but that's the essense of why they sound good in all keys).

At least that's how it has been explained to me.
Doez86
10-23-2006, 06:53 AM
True, but its not like you need to tune your drums to Drop D for a song thats in Drop D on guitars.

Very true! However not completely unheard of, Danny Carey of Tool when talking about 10,000 days (the album) says his tuning revolved around the note 'D' simply because wings for marie pts. 1 & 2 are the only two Tool songs in a different key (key of A). He commented on how he didn't want his tom sound clashing with the overall sound of the songs.
pitchfork
10-23-2006, 12:42 PM
I tune my drums how i like them regardless of whether its a note or anything.

And fyi (I have no idea what fyi means but it sounds right) if one person tunes to drop d you don't have to get the rest of the band to follow.
Win A Rabbit
10-23-2006, 02:58 PM
And fyi (I have no idea what fyi means but it sounds right)
For Your Information.
pitchfork
10-23-2006, 03:08 PM
Oh thanks :)
Loser
10-23-2006, 03:38 PM
Honestly now, the threadstarter doesn't care how to tune a drum, he only cares about when to do it! There have only been two on topic posts in this thread.
FockerTheLopper
10-23-2006, 04:08 PM
I thought you meant within itself. Since you cannot tune top and bottom heads to the same note (or, well, you can, but its hard) then by nature they are dissonent with each other, yet because of the acoustical nature of the drum they don't sound dissonent.

Ah okay