tuning toms to particular notes.

I have four toms on my kit. 10 and 12 inch rack, 14 and 16 inch floor. My friend plays piano and I was thinking about tuning my toms to particular notes so when we play together we can be on the same page I suppose. Perhaps the same note on each tom but at different octaves or perhaps any other alternatives. Does anyone know how to properly tune to certain notes? I have been developing my tuning skills by ear but it

Toms can be tuned to notes pretty easily. Granted, there are all kinds of "notes" coming from a drum depending on how its tuned, but one dominant note should stand out.

When I used to do this (same sized kit), I had my 10" tom tuned an octave higher than my 16" tom. The 12 and 14 were tuned in between.

That might be a good place to start with. Find out what "key" the guy wants the drums tuned to, and ask him for 4 notes within one octave that might sound good. Then get a keyboard or piano and try to match those notes.

The easiest way that I've come up with is to remove the bottom head, and tune the top head to the note you want. Repeat for all the toms. Then put the resonants back on, and match the bottom head to the top.

Before you do this, take your current kit and figure out what notes the drums are already tuned to (you may not need to re-tune all your drums). Just take one, hit it, and start hitting notes on the keyboard until you find which one it matches. It might also be helpful to have your piano playing friend give you a hand, as he's probably better at hearing pitch than you are (since he does it more often).

Finally, there are pros and cons to doing this. It can make your toms sound really good if they're in tune with the song. On the other hand, if song #1 is in "C", and song #2 is in "B flat", then you can't have the drums "in tune" with both keys. Retuning between songs is at best a hassle (i.e. in the studio),and at worst impossible (i.e. live). Still, if you can find a key that MOST of your songs are played in, it might be worth the hassle.

Wow, thanks man. I'll show my piano playing friend this message and I'm positive we can make it work. I'll try all of your suggested techniques. I really appreciate the help.

Tuning your kit to the same key that a song is in is a really bad idea. Say you are playing a song in D, so you tune your toms to (starting with the highest tom) a D, A, D, chord. Chances are that you are going to be playing fills when the guitars are doing some kind of thing with powerchords, so your toms won't come through at all. Since they are tuned to the notes the guitars are playing, they will get buried in the mix.

Try tuning your drums to not a specific key, but rather consistent intervals. Tune your smallest tom to any given note that you like, then tune your next smallest tom a major third lower from that, then your next smallest another major third down from that, and finally your largest tom a major fourth down from that. Example: Your smallest tom is tuned to a C, so in descending order your toms would go C, G, E, and C. This will ensure you have a more consistent sounding kit. Also, this will help your kit sound "bigger", because everytime you play a tom the sympathetic harmonics will cause the other drums to vibrate. This can take a so-so kit and make it sound much fuller.

If you really wish to labor at it - not necessarily a bad thing, you can work with the pianist to establish the actual harmonic schemes you are dealing with. You can then sort through the myriad of available notes to determine the best choices. Your basic orchestration problem IOW.

You would look for common tones - those that function with multiple chords and throughout each piece, first. You might then map things out looking for hits and grooves primarily where you can apply your custom tuning. It still comes down to issues of convenience and practicality but (and I think you know this) the music doesn't give a s**t.