Requires tuning.

-[Drummer Teaching] Tuning of Jazz Drums

1. If the shell of any drum is not round, or the shell edge (Bearingedge) of the contact surface with the drum head is not round, If it is uneven, it cannot be tuned.

2. Usually the lower skin is looser than the upper skin, but if the length and pitch of the sound are taken into consideration, it is not absolute. Generally speaking, the lower skin of snare drums and tomtoms with shorter barrels is looser than the upper skin, while the lower skin of floor toms with longer barrels is tighter than the upper skin, and the tone is sweeter.

3. ***Ming: The sound-emitting body is a vibrating body. The sound waves it generates in the air can also cause another object to vibrate. If the natural frequency of the object is close to or equal to the frequency of the sound wave, it will vibrate, making the object vibrate with a large amplitude, so it It made quite a loud noise. The vibration of this kind of sound-emitting body is called tinnitus.

4. The drum sound must have a ringing sound, so that the sound will be mellow and can be transmitted far. Therefore, a difference of plus or minus 10% in the tightness of the upper and lower skins can generally achieve a better ringing sound.

5. It is best to adjust the duration of the buzzing sound of different drums to be consistent. The lower skin can be tightened or a thick tape can be applied to shorten the buzzing time. However, It takes a lot of effort to get it right.

6. The sound-receiving hole of the bass drum should not be larger than 8 inches, otherwise the sound will only be the sound of the drum skin, but not the sound of the upper and lower skin. PS. It can also collect sound without a sound hole.

7. It is better to adjust the lower skin first and then the upper skin, but not absolutely.

8. When tuning, lightly press the center of the drum with your left index finger, and use the drum stick in your right hand to strike 4 times about 1 inch away from the drum frame (Hoops). The process of drum adjustment must be carried out by fine-tuning the drum lock by increasing 1/2 turn each time. After adjusting one screw, adjust the diagonal screw.

9. The intervals between drums and drums are adjusted according to the requirements of the song: 5, 1, 3 or 1, 3, 5 or 6, 1, 3. Someone uses a tuner to adjust the 12-inch TomTom. The reference is C3 or A3, and the difference between the other drums is 3 to 5 degrees. Some textbooks mention that the snare drum is tuned to A (440Hz), and Tom Tom is tuned to G, E, C or C, G, G in the key of C major. The intervals between the upper and lower skins can be the same or 3 to 5 degrees different.

10. The pitch (Pitch) between drums should not be too close, otherwise it will cause vibration interference (10-inch TomTom and snare drum often have vibration interference).

11. When playing in a large venue, if a weak tone ring is added, the drum sound will not travel far, the drum sound will be short, the drum beat will be unclear, and the rebound force of the strike will be reduced.

12. The scale of the drum is not absolute, and most small tuners cannot measure the pitch of the drum.

13. The structure, wood, accessories, and hanging system of the drum, as well as the thickness and material of the drum skin, have a great influence on the timbre and sound quality, and the timbre has a far-reaching impact on the percussion method and music style.

14. It is best not to stick the drum skin from east to west for tuning. This is a last resort and must be used.

15. The timbre of a drum depends on each person’s subjective preference. The material of the drum set, the thickness of the drum skin, the nature of the music, etc. will all affect the timbre.

16. Jazz drummers hear that their drum sounds are different from the sounds heard in the audience when playing. Especially when the drums are tuned, the sound in the audience should be used as the standard to tune the drums. , so the tuning of jazz drums usually requires two people to complete.

-[Drummer Teaching] In-depth Jazz Drum Tuning

1: Tom Tom and Floor Tom suspension systems

Due to the increasing advancement of recording technology, With the improvement of drum-making technology (especially in the iron-hardware part), the complete presentation of the resonance of jazz drum sounds has become increasingly important. Therefore, how to hang Tom Tom or Floor Tom will Accurate presentation of complete frequency and perfect tone has become the focus of modern drum making technology. Major drum factories in the world have also successively developed many different suspension systems. Taking the three well-known brands of YAMAHA, PEARL and SONOR as examples, they have developed various suspension systems. The purpose of the suspension system is generally to achieve the maximum dynamic range and sustain as well as the most saturated resonance. The systems used by major drum factories are as follows:

Yamaha

Pearl

Adopt I.S.S (Integrated Suspension System)

or O.S.S (Optimount Suspension System) system< /p>

Sonor

Using A.P.S (Advanced Projection System)

With T.A.R (Total Acoustic Reconance System)

Based on experience, Tom Tom or Floor Tom can achieve the desired results after using various but similar suspension support systems. The research and development of the entire jazz drum suspension is therefore oriented towards the smallest contact point (the contact between the suspension system and the drum wood) and the maximum* **The ringing speed is in progress.

Two: Suspension and tuning of the bass drum

The fixed brackets on both sides of the front end of the bass drum have become more stable after the diameter is increased and the materials are improved. But increasing the size of the bass drum The thick feeling and loudness still need to be achieved by the following methods:

1: The front end of the bass drum is slightly higher and tilted towards the drummer at about 10 degrees, which serves to reduce the contact surface and increase the loudness.< /p>

2: It is not easy to use excessive amounts of shock-absorbing materials such as cloth, pillows, and blankets in the bass drum. Excessive materials will affect the circulation of air in the bass drum, and the low frequency will lack a sense of thickness.

3: The front edge drum head (the first vibration surface) must be kept in a free vibration state, and the shock-absorbing material should not be placed on the first vibration surface drum skin.

4: If the microphone hole on the first vibration surface is too large The sound of the big drum will be reduced, and the size should be about 6 inches.

Three: Tuning and use of the snare drum

The snare drum is the soul of pop music and defines the song style. Therefore, the adjustment and application of snare drum tone has become the most important part of jazz drum tuning. Basically, due to the strong impact of snare drum, a drum head that is too tight (tight) or too loose (sloppy) cannot It can withstand heavy blows and the timbre is not pleasant enough, so it is usually not favored by ordinary drummers. Snare drums have made great progress in materials, sizes, and designs. Different types of snare drums have quite different timbres. For this job, drummers should have multiple snare drums at the same time. One snare drum has become the norm. Usually a recording usually requires multiple snare drums to select the most suitable tone. The following tips on tuning the snare drum are shared with you.

1: Before using the new snare drum, first The strings are locked.

2: Basically, the tightness and pitch of the upper and lower drum heads are approximately the same. Moderate drum skin tightness can easily present the original tone of the drum.

3: The rim sound (rim) is the characteristic of metal snare drums. If you don’t like it, use a wooden snare drum instead. Try not to use “excessive tape” to cover the drum head. Tape is the killer of beautiful sounds. .

4: The change of the striking method is the key to the timbre (detailed in the lesson). The interchangeable use of the tip and tail of the drum stick will also affect the timbre.

Four: Up and down The tuning relationship between the drum head (batter and resonance side)

1: In my experience, basically, the upper drum head is more related to touch, and the lower drum head is more related to pitch.

2: Fixing the touch (the tightness of the upper drum head) is more important, because it is related to the feel and stick handling skills. Pitch can be achieved by adjusting the tuning rod of the lower drum head to achieve the roughly required pitch.< /p>

3: Adjust snare first, then adjust Tom1, Floor Tom, and finally adjust Tom2.

4: Generally speaking, each drum has an optimal ringing degree. Therefore, the ideal tuning situation is to find the optimal sound of each individual drum, without interfering with each other's timbres and integrating them to be related to each other.

Three factors that affect jazz drum tuning Elements

1: The demand for musical style

Specific timbres in the history of music form specific styles. The tight sound of the 18-inch bass drum in Jazz music.

Very dry snare drum and tom tom sounds from the 1970s. The extremely compressed snare drum sound of Rap music from the 1990s to the present. Players must have a correct understanding of timbre adjustment for different music styles.

2: Hardware characteristics

The overall coordination of various types of drum heads, jazz drum materials, and accessories (iron) affects the player's tuning

3: The player’s subjective feeling of timbre

Each player’s musical background, influences, and frequency perception will be somewhat different. Therefore, the same hardware , the timbre produced by each player will definitely be different.

Two key points in choosing a drum head

1: First check the appearance to see if there is any damage

2: Tap the center point of the drum head lightly with your fingertips. Uniform vibration is a good product

Three factors that determine the sound of a drum

1: Shells + components (the wood used in the drum and various accessories on the drum) = Timbre ( sound quality).

2: Head + tuning of the head=tone.

3: suspension system (drum suspension system).

Note Timbre= the color of the sound, the nature of the sound. Even if the drum head is replaced, the Timbre sound should still be clearly distinguishable.

Inspection before tuning

1: Before replacing the drum head, lightly grind the wooden frame edge (bearing edge) of the drum with your hands. If it is smooth and flat, it is a good quality and can bear the drum evenly. The tension after skin tuning.

2: The iron ring (rim) placed on the drum head must also be placed on the flat floor or on the kitchen counter to check whether it is flat.

3: Check the drum head (see title 6)

2-key tuning method (double drum lock tuning method)

A: Advantages

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1: Save time

2: The number of turns after the tuning lock (tension rod) is inserted into the tuning lug is also more accurate (the snare drum usually has 8 or 10 tuning lugs) . Tom Tom has 6 or 8)

B: Step (for snare drum and Tom Tom)

1: Place the new drum head on the drum and tune the lock (tension rod) ) into the tuning syllable (tuning lug) and just put it in your mouth.

2: Place the 2 drum locks on both sides of the opposite corners, turn clockwise to start snapping and stop.

3: Skip one key syllable clockwise and repeat step 2.

4: Repeat step 3.

5: Begin to lock each tuning lock diagonally in the tuning syllable (gradually, do not lock it in one go).

6: Lock to a very tight state, and then begin to relax and tune to the appropriate pitch and elasticity (touch).

7: Keep the lower drum skin moderately tight and maintain resonance.

Suggestion: In principle, the pitch of the upper and lower drum heads can be adjusted to the same pitch. The upper drum head (batter) is usually adjusted tighter to echo the trend of modern music.

C: Step (for bass drum)

1: Place a moderate blanket or muted cloth inside the bass drum against the striking surface.

2: If the striking surface is loosened, bass will be produced.

3: The vibration surface of the bass drum reflects the pitch and tone, which is very important. Do not place weak-sounding materials against the top vibrating surface of the drum.

4: The tuning of bass drum, tom tom and floor tom has its own consistency and coordination.