How To Tune Your Toms To The Key Of The Song - Part 1

[@jedrekantkiewicz]

I've had a hard time tuning drums for a very long time and I was pretty frustrated. This method is brilliant, easy to understand and most of all it's super fast. Thank you Rick, that's the best drum trick I've ever learned. Cheers from Poland! :)

[@michaelinglis8516]

This is honestly the first time I've seen this done convincingly. Great video!

[@CaseyJust]

I love this! I use a Tune-Bot to get my drums in tune quicker. I read somewhere that as long as the kick and snare are tuned to scale notes of the same key of the song it will work. To my ear this works great! I’ve also gotten great feedback on my drums from professional engineers that I trust not to BS me and give no credit when it’s not due. So far Rick’s Tom Tuning and tuning the kick and snare to scale notes had brought me great results.

[@dougstewart6581]

i can't belive how clever this is! using the resonant frequency and constructive interfecrence. when music and science meets it toally tickles my pickle

[@rootvalue]

Rick, I'm so thankful you made this video. I always feel like I'm the only drummer I know who (tries to) tune my drums to a designated pitch, usually the root and the fifth of whatever track I'm doing. Your video made this so much easier with the speaker method. I would play a sustained frequency instead and try to get the "beats" generated by the tom fighting the frequency playing. With this method, it's so much easier to find the note! I'll be watching the rest of your videos now!

[@jerryocrow1]

Thank you. I am an engineer. So, what happens with song #2 (live)? It's in a different key. The drummer can't re-tune so, what key is "universal"?

[@alejdr]

@@jerryocrow1 I believe this method is just for recording pourposes.

[@kraigompls]

Thanks for the speaker tip! I hadn't seen that one before.

[@AimeeNolte]

Great information! All drummers need this!

[@jonathandowney7000]

I would love to one day shake your hand and thank you for making me a better artist. Even at 47 years of age I have learned so much from you I've watched your videos for so long now I consider you a friend but can't say I have ever spoken to you that I remember anyway. You are like the mad scientist genius when it comes to drum tuning and to me the one place everyone who plays guitar or drums should go first if they need to solve an issue they can't figure out so for all of us that watch and appreciate your videos being here thank you Rick Beato. We do appreciate the effort, expense and your time you put into making these videos. I am hoping for some vocal mic and vocal mixing as well as drum mic and drum mixing videos this year would help me alot. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has done this but I spent two years trying to find THE vocal mic for me and vocal sound as well THE drum mic setup to find the sound I was trying to get i came close with Blue Hummingbirds as overheads SM57 on the snare too only and Aston Origin on the kick still lacked something that I never found I sold everything took a two year break now once again On a mission sooner or later you'll do a video and I'll find what I am looking for. Thank you in behalf of all of us sorry it's so long

[@ProfessorSwing]

I always been "taught" that drums were an indefinate pitched instrument, except for timpani. But Yes, you are definately getting an exact pitch out of that drum.

[@rappsongs]

George Edwards “indefinite” is argumentative. Most sound engineers will pitch drums in their DAWs to make blend well with the music.

[@PAAmsterdam]

I wish someone had taught me this from Day-1. Thanks Rick!

[@drumst1x]

very cool method. never thought of using a tone generator before! one thing I noticed, whenever I tune my top floor tom head, I take off the legs so I don't have to prop a pillow like that :) that way, no difference in setup/height when tuning top or bottom heads. great video, Rick!

[@LetThereBeDrums]

drumst1x Put it on your throne instead. I do that with all my drums, including the kick.

[@EricT43]

Using the speaker and tone generator is a great idea.

[@j_quyatt]

pro tip: make sure the drums and the vocals are in the SAME KEY

[@jedrekantkiewicz]

cant remember which song that was about, could you please remind me?

[@patrickperlasjulian]

@@jedrekantkiewicz the adam neely cover of clarity by zedd

[@philjackson6859]

Love your videos Rick and I don't know as much about music as I should but I know drums and that's not a particularly well-tuned floor tom. You can hear the change in pitch through the length of the note. I wouldn't be happy with it

[@jerryocrow1]

I appreciate perfection.

[@strassercaster]

Wow just wow. I spent the last few days checking 50 of your videos out. Joe Pass , John Williams , Mixing techniques I could go on and on.! . I am an instant fan Rick! I am a hack guitarist for 35 years .I have a an old pro tools rig . I finally fixed my interface and I am recording tomorrow.. The three tunes we are doing tomorrow will all be in e flat so this could be a lot of fun . so Basically what notes for a 5 piece kit. ? I am so impressed with your vast knowledge . YOur amazing !

[@RickBeato]

Thanks so much!

[@hannibalixlecter]

That was very helpful and useful information. Thank you Rick! I follow you from Ecuador

[@QuixoteX]

My main question is: Why? I've encountered many people who insist this is important but rarely could give any real insight besides "well shouldn't everything be in tune?" Drums are often just setup to be mostly attack with very little tail and engineers will EQ out ringing and gate out tails. So I'm guessing that if your drums are in tune, playing "notes" that are diatonic (root and 5th) you can actually use a more un-muffled sound and let them decay a little without it sounding bad. Is this the reasoning here?

[@samchoate1719]

Late response, but yes. I believe that’s the idea. I’m currently in the process of learning this technique for a song I’m drumming on in F Major. I typically tune the drums to just sound good by themselves, but I’d like to try them being in key because the verses of the song are reliant on the floor tom.

[@jonathandowney7000]

Had to add this since I had to come back to this again to check a couple things I couldn't remember and thought I would add a laugh for ya since I would most definitely love to see this be broken down because I myself can think of a million reasons why it's so great but anyway here's the laugh and I'm sure you'll know what song I am speaking of. Domo arigato misuta Beato!!

[@the_dwt]

So for an example, I need to tune my drums to record for a song in F minor. What notes would I tune my rack and floor tom? Is it always the 3rd and 5th of the scale? Also what about kick and snare?

[@HollywoodRecordingStudio]

Thank you. This is incredibly helpful.

[@ngocaihaivo4500]

I have learned so much from you. Thank you very much!

[@ProfessorSwing]

But what happens if you've tuned the drums so perfectly to one key and then the song modulates to a different key. Or on a live gig, where all the songs are in various keys?

[@RickBeato]

George Edwards I would only use this the studio :)

[@ProfessorSwing]

Hi Rick! Wow, that's the quickest reply I have ever recieved! Nice to meet you again. Thank you!

[@RickBeato]

George Edwards I'm here's to answer any questions:)

[@dressedtosmellgood]

I've found that tuning to any key, even one which isnt enharmonic to a song you are playing, still sound much better than tuning outside of the dodecaphonic scale

[@34672rr]

George Edwards they just sound like regular drums, which are almoat always out of tune. the tonality just gets lost. same with timpani. if you play a timp put of tune like bonham, it just sounds percussive. but when you do play in key with perfectly tuned drums, it sounds much better, which is why timps are tuned to notes. 2 headed drums are much harder to tune but once you get a tunebot and get the hang of it its a breeze.

[@HubLocationSound]

Wow thanks! I never saw that speaker trick before. Tuning drums into the songs key makes a huge difference. Snare too!

[@rawrimhungry78]

I was hoping for a short piece from you with an in tune kit, and one that isn't.

[@flakkito]

Love this video😀 I have a question for you - what about the kick and snare? I tune to eflat and am trying to apply this information to Addictive drums. Thanks for your time!

[@matnrocknroll]

You have really helpful content on your channel! Thank you for that!!!

[@walljam]

The close captioning has your name as Rigby Otto. New solo project.

[@aperez12374]

this is genius

[@batuhanguner8103]

Very helpful and informative! Thanks for the vid

[@paulrose765]

I have never seen the "mute the bottom head with a pillow trick." It makes so much sense. It also makes me angry that I've been trying to tune my drums for years without doing that.

[@ralphbenites1819]

I’v got pinstripes on my kit haveing a little trouble with my tom’s i’v had the pinstripes for a long time great condition no dents at all.its a accent power kit from 2005 thinking of different kind of heads I’m pretty sure the shell’s are phillpine mahogany or some other kind of wood 🤔 pretty deep tom’s that’s why I like them

[@atishep]

Wow, that's an interesting trick! Thanks!

[@djevlhelvete]

Hey Rick, so if the floor and rack tom are tuned to the dominant and tonic, respectively, to what do I tune the bass drum & snare? Great vids! Thank you very much!

[@adrianmutimer5022]

Never seen this done before. I am sitting here thinking about how to implement this in Superior Drummer.

[@guitarofdestiny]

this is awesome, thanks man!

[@peteasarisi2536]

That's great!!

[@steveboris6286]

Working in the DAW I have been trying to wrap my head around tuning not just the toms but also the rest of the kit. I guess what confuses me is during a concert I have never seen a drummer change tuning between songs. If the key of the song is important and they don't tune to it what is happening? Is there a basic tuning that is acceptable for a number of keys?

[@musiclabfolsom]

Great video but why and when would an engineer need to do this? Should this be done on every song? What happens if you don’t do it? Can you give some examples of songs where the drums are tuned like this and make the song sound better versus songs where the drums aren’t tuned to the key the song?

[@Guuu182]

great idea never thought of that generator thing :))!!Where's part 2, can't find it ?! Do you tune the snare and rack toms with the same method ?! Which intervals do you use for 3 Toms, a major triad ?

[@uk7769]

I've never seen using a speaker to tune drums. It made me wonder if you could use a strobe light of some kind to tune drums?

[@chentianyun8036]

Amazing!

[@RogerSartet007]

Hello Mr. Beato, Is there something like a rule to tune drums? I mean: Kick = tonic, Snare=? Hihat=? Thank you for all your videos!

[@xavier-patrickwannabe6372]

Hi Rick. You mentioned in the video that you will post what kind of blu tooth speaker you used in the comments, but forgot to do so. If you don't know the make and model, it would be helpful for us who want to try this method to know the weight of the speaker. I tried with a speaker weighing 1.6 lbs. I guess my speaker was too light because it didn't work.

[@ralphbenites1819]

Ludwig accent power kit 🥁

[@davidgilfillan1934]

"There we go!"

[@s4m3nt]

Have you tried a device called the Tune-Bot? Very fast and exact

[@GeorgeFarrarDrummer]

That's amazing

[@alexh7336]

what's the story on getting a specific fundamental, when the heads are tuned in an interval? i.e. minor third higher on the bottom head.

[@PEPPERMINT606]

I love this! But i have a question.... so i play in standard e and play blues. Most of the songs i play are in the key of e. What should i tune the bass drum to? And what about the snare and other two toms? I know all songs are different but for a song in the key of e what would be the best generic tuning for the drums. Btw that bluetooth speaker trick. Super helpful

[@vOddy75]

Interesting, but what about chromatic songs? I suppose that we can still tune to the tonal centre and the fifth of that.

[@alexh7336]

Great Job, very cool technique! Im wondering if you think that if you were to take a little more time going around and fine tuning would you be able to ditch more of the harmonics? I tend to hear alot of dissonant intervals within each skin in some of these examples. like just at the end of this video i'm hearing and A, Bnat, F#... Also I'm unclear, do you ever try to do this with different combinations, or your feel it only works with matched 1 ply? If you do how do you approach the difference in tension between top and bottom?

[@mantzini]

Brilliant idea with the BT speaker really! Just 2 questions: What if the music style you are recording requires a different type of head such as an Emperor or Powerstroke? And what if you need to otherwise muffle the drum? Does it still apply? Anyway this is probable the best drum tuning video I have seen

[@RickBeato]

mantzini I use different types of heads for different songs all the time. Sometimes there are songs that have Tom parts that happened in the verses and you want them to be right in key with the music. You notice a massive difference if the pictures are right and key with the song. it sounds amazing. When John Bonham plays the times at the end of stairway to heaven, they are right in tune with the guitars.

[@logandarlington5073]

thank you, very helpful! what is the best key for live shows...all around? if that even makes sense, thanks again

[@stephenbaldassarre2289]

Logan Darlington I myself tune the floor tom to D and do 4ths up the toms.

[@BenjaminKlein96]

Great video! What note (in the key of Eb, for example) would you tune the snare and kick to?

[@mediumstudio]

wow!

[@kanvolu]

And the following parts never came :"v

[@mikeevangelista1177]

Really amazing videos thank you. When I tune heads to the same pitch my overall note when I strike the drum doesn't ring to the note I tuned it to. Could that be because of different head combinations like you mentioned? I love the way my drums sound but if I were to ever try this would I have to use the same single ply heads to achieve this result? Example I have a DW 14x14 x shell. It's an A. So I have tuned both heads to A around 111Hz before with the same heads but my over all pitch is around C-C# which is a couple notes higher. Just curious if you have came across same problem. Obviously adjustments can be made to achieve the pitch required. Again thanks keep em coming. Can't wait to try the speaker to tune my bottom heads to pitch of shells. Ive been using a tune bot it works pretty good.

[@RickBeato]

mike evangelista hi Mike - you do need to take into account the residence of the shell and the size of the drum. They can't be tuned in and infinite range you just need to find the sweet spot that's close enough to an important note in the key. Times are a little different story when you tune the times to the same pitch they usually will sound about a major third above. There's a reason for this that I will get into in my next video on this topic. Thanks! Rick

[@mikeevangelista1177]

Awesome thank you so much. I don't know why but for quite some time I have been addicted to tuning drums one to get them to sound good and two just to try to see what sounds I can get or try to copy. Thanks so much I really dig your approach because it's one I haven't really tried. It's those little tricks. Much appreciated.

[@TH-gu4wj]

I'm surprised that this is a thing that people do considering you cannot hear a definitive pitch in the context of accompanying instrumentation. I always thought pitch was more useful after you've already dialed in your drums. More as a means to get it back to that place again, than any musical note context. Terry Bozzio is the only person I can think of without googling that plays melodic drums....I doubt you'll be humming those melodies though. YouKnowWhatImSaying?

[@TH-gu4wj]

This is not to say that this video isn't an awesome trick and super useful.

[@JamesCooley]

Great video as always. One question I was wondering about - how to tune the toms when the batter and resonant heads are at different pitches. In the previous video about tom tuning, I think you mentioned the resonant would be up a minor third. So, in the case of this video, if the desired pitch was Bb, would we actually want the resonant head to be Db? I guess the question is: what's more important, having the heads the same pitch or the heads' tension the same (assuming different thickness heads, of course)?

[@RickBeato]

James Cooley They are both tuned to Bb. Both heads are single ply unlike the other video where the batter head was a 2 ply and bottom head single ply.

[@JamesCooley]

I should've mentioned that I caught that detail...I'll experiment. These videos are solid, btw.

[@SlotraceDK]

What if you play without skins at the bottom of the tom toms?

[@peterbull3955]

SlotraceDK Then you just do it once!

[@zsujsk]

miracle happen! “卧槽”

[@bluewizard30gaming43]

What was the speaker model?

[@bluewizard30gaming43]

Also which way was the speaker facing relative to the drum? Thanks!

[@JacksonWhyte]

What notes do you reccomend tuning for Metal?

[@cjr1971]

when you turned drum over to batterside you said tune to A flat

[@ronnysrecords]

YOu can actually tune a tom to a pitch. Not physically possible unless the drum is perfectly manufacture and every lug is exactly the same tension. You can sorta kinda get close though.

[@RickBeato]

That is very true. The drum needs to be in excellent condition for exact tuning but really just to sound good. I always keep up on my hardware and bearing edges and I'm not even a drummer :)

[@34672rr]

Ronnys Records not true. i tune all my drums to definite pitches with a tunebot. the point of having multiple lugs is to tune each one to the right pitch.

[@34672rr]

Rick Beato using a tunebot is much much easier. i am able to tune my drums to exact (within a couple of cents) pitches and keep them there with a tunebot. best $100 i ever spent on drum gear

[@gustavopanazzolo1233]

and what about a song that doesnt stay in the same key?????

[@lmcriminals]

stop recording and retune at the modulation? or ya know. deal with it.

[@willpowell7039]

I missed who i used to be my dam mother rob me of who i use to be

[@zeppelinfan82]

The people on here just looking for every excuse to complain about something in this video 🙄😡

[@UngKristen]

Retune drums to every new chord