One of the key aspects in developing a musical concept for show and studio performance—or any other area of performance for that matter—is the tuning of your drums. Too many players overlook this elementary consideration. When your drum set is in tune with itself, it should produce its own tonality. This is a consequence of being combined with the rest of the musical instruments—especially the bass. Just as the sounding of a chord on piano will cause that instrument to ring out due to its audible overtones, a well-tuned set of drums will ring out for similar acoustical reasons. I’m not speaking about the sound produced by just any set of drums. I’m speaking about the total musical effect resulting from careful tuning. When you think of your drums as a carefully tuned musical instrument, and not just percussive apparatus, you will then appreciate the importance of tuning. Drums may […]

June 2021 Issue