DOWNLOAD DRUMLESS PLAY ALONG TRACKS HERE: Qsdigitaldownloads.sellfy.store/ SIGN UP FOR A GROUP LESSON WITH ME HERE: www.quincydavisjazz.com/projects-6 LESSON TIME STAMPS 00:00 - Playing Intro 00:37 - Lesson Intro 02:03 - #1 way to tune your drums like a pro 03:13 - Group Lessons 03:39 - #2 way to tune your drums like a pro 05:42 - #3 way to tune your drums like a pro 09:58 - 3rd Inning stretch (playing interlude) 10:21 - Watch me tune my tom tom 18:47 - #5 way to tune your drums like a pro 22:33 - Gracias!
@@drumqtips I concur! Maybe address the varied muffling techniques, or lack of muffling in Jazz bass drums and how to get a good sound muffled or open? Thank you Q!
@@drumqtips I completely agree with the above question, I can always get great jazz sounds out of my toms and snare but its hard for me to get a good jazz bass drum sound!
This is a very informative lesson!!! Thanks for demystifying the phenomenon of tuning with a reasonable explanation and overview. You always keep things so straight forward and simple…Happy New Year!
Really appreciate the expression that using a combination of brands is fine, and that one shouldn’t choose heads based on other drummers but on personal experience. Find myself telling students this (not just with drum heads) a lot.
Your videos just feel great to watch and are so enjoyable. What I love about this is that it gives permission to just listen and be yourself, trust your ears and intuition. I've been using a drum dial for a while and can honestly say it doesn't sound any better than when I tune by ear, though its a nice starting point.
I agree with you. I think the drum dial helps me to train my ear to learn different pitches. Once I develop a better ear, I think that I can then tune more freely to different pitches.
Thanks, Q! Always interesting to get different insights on tuning. (Thought of you over the weekend, Heard the Jeff Hamilton Trio in Austin. As usual, a phenomenal performance!)
@@drumqtips Not only do his drums (and cymbals) sound great....his taste, timing and chops are incredible. He was here in Atlanta a few weeks ago....inspirational for sure.
Great info & video man!, you're such a phenomenal player! For the music I am currently playing, I use REMO CS coated on the snare, Evans G2 on the toms and Aquarian Super Kick II clear on the bass, great sounds. I wish you and your family perfect health, peace , love, happiness & prosperity!! Cheers from an old Las Vegas drummer!
I always tuned equal on both sides but that worked great on my late 60,s slingerlands. Some jazzers say tune the reso head a half tone under the batter! That increases the articulation!
This is important, thanks for doing this. I think a lot of us think there is science to tuning, I know I did for a long time that is until I met Paul Wertico and he said basically the same things you’re talking about. You want the drums to work together in a musical way. Just like you I check the lugs but it’s not the most important thing I’m doing. If it sounds and works well with the other drums then they’re in tune. Usually tune to the melody of the first call bugle horn when the horses are ready to race! Thank you Quincy…
This is very helpful, especially as I just invested in a new kit and am still figuring out the tuning. Looking forward to my UNT audition in a few weeks.
I use a tone generator and tune my Toms and snare to the same note and my kick to the 1 in the key I pick. Then I tune my resos to 4ths. I usually tune in C but C# also sounds great. The whole kit sounds “connected” when I tune this way and I can reproduce the exact same sound everytime I go to tune. As much as going by ear is an important part of tuning, the uniform nature of using a tone generator I prefer. On top of that, my ear tuning has improved by using a generator. I just use an aux thru a guitar amp, set it next to my drum and tune normally as the tone plays. The only important thing to know is to not use anything other than the 1st, 4th or 5th in whatever key you choose as to not make the kit minor sounding or else it’ll clash with the music. C, C# and D I’ve found sound the best with drum kits. I go: 14” Snare: (IV F#) 185hz / 246.9Hz 12” Tom: (IV F#) 92.5Hz / 123.5Hz 18” Floor: (IV F#) 92.5Hz / 123.5Hz 20” Kick: (I C#) 69.3Hz / 103.8Hz I use an app called ToneGeneratorEX on iOS(Because it has the decimals in Hz which other generators don’t have, also can save preset tones).
i like my floor toms to ring w the bass drum, too. i keep my floors tuned high and tight, with a 26 kick. when you whomp that bass drum, especially with a single hit, placed in a nice breath-y spot and you get a nice overtone from the floors-- man, there's just no other way to replicate that sound.
My uncle Mike told me that there's only one tuning for drums, but watching videos like this one have taught me different, a lot of it is just fitting the music you're doing. You don't always have to be C, G, D.
I’ve been experimenting with a more Tony Williams sound,Where he would have the reso heads lower than the top.Much lower.The projected sound comes from the top head.
Thank you very much for your fantastic advice that you leave open to personal experience and the particular taste of each one. They are always of great help to me. A nice incentive to continue this. Very grateful to be able to access these videos, I have a very pleasant time watching them.👈🏽 Kind regards Quincy
Thank you for this tuning video!! I really enjoyed your performances at JEN this past weekend, especially the Roy Hargrove tribute!! You all played beautifully!! Thank you!!
I have played guitar for 37 years . I take great pride in being able to play almost any guitar . No matter the quality or price of a guitar . Though practice amps have improved . A cheap guitar is the the same . I make it work on my Les Paul or my Squire start . My point is I try hard to make my 12 inch wuhan china sound great with my cheap drums ( Wow I can not even think of the name brand of my drums ) . My long winded point is that you can not buy sounding good . And it feels better to make junk ROCK or better yet to make it groove .
Great video Quincy - pragmatic and down to earth! Wish I had Tama Star Classics; after years of inspiration from Simon Phillips, they’re my favorite (I have a mix of Yamaha birch & maple customs)!
Great video. The heads you use will make a world of difference as well. Get the right heads for the type of music that you play. And, don't obsess over exact pitches... it's nearly impossible to tune drums that way. Just do what works best for you.
Thanks Q-Tip! Super interesting to hear your approach. Does your rack tom ever make the snare ring too much? Sometimes I tune the drums and am all happy then turn the snare on and am like "no" and adjust the rack tom again to try and limit the snare ring.
Great lesson and great lessons 🙂 I have a question about tuning to notes. What octave are you turning each drum to? I’m guessing: B=E2 HT=G3 FT=B3 S=A3. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers
@@drumqtips it’s the first time I’ve tuned to notes and it really helped me find the right ballpark. I then tweaked the hole kit as one by ear and got some great results. Thanks again for the lesson ✌️❤️
It’s confusing me a bit that some tune the resonant head for pitch, and others the top. I’m not sure what’s right and if it even matters. I’m also not sure what a good ratio between top and bottom is in pitch.
Great video Q! I've experimented with intervals of 3rds or 5ths in the past but I've always felt like it made the sound too confined to certain types of music or tunes. Or it interferes with the key of a tune sometimes. Have you had similar experiences?
I have experienced that Neal so I either tune up or down slightly to avoid the clash. But it only really applies to modal tunes or ballads. Thanks for watching!
Awesome lesson! I just have one question about point 5. Is the resonant drumhead pitch important when we are talking about adjust the drum to a specific note? Thanks!!!!
Yes I think it is. The resonant head controls the tone of the drum and will determine the general range that you're able to tune the top head. Thanks Roberto!
It's all a matter of preference honestly. With my Yamaha drums, I didn't like the way die cast hoops sounded on them so I replaced them with triple-flanged hoops. Thanks for watching Tim!
Thank you Quincy! ...what is the note of the resonant head of the snare drum? how do you do if you want to have less "snare wire sound"? ....and..to install an heavier resonant?...
I’m not sure I can distinguish a note from that head actually. I generally tune my snare side head fairly tight and the top head not nearly as tight. I find it helps the drum project and sing with clarity. Thanks for the question.
Hi Quincy!! I've been watching your band live at Smalls!! Amazing! Also, what size are your floor toms? It looks like a 16 & 18? Or is it 14 & 16? Thanks for all you do! Rita
k hi Quincy thank you/ I want to take lessons from you when I go to usa in a couple weeks. I ve wrote to you before. please give me a answer, thank you. I am in Brasil now
High tuned toms always sound way better than low tuned ones,low tuning on toms sounds like crap,at least in my opinion,also your toms sound very good but i think they would sound even better if they were tuned even much higher than they already are
Tuning videos suck. I have a pearl export kit and I've reheaded it and I've never,ever,never in 15 yrs if owning it,have gotten all 3 Tom's to agree and sing in unison despite seeing video of it done online. Most of these videos have great drunsets where they're just quality and they just tune right up. But the explanation is the dumb part. "We want q good roundness of the drums,we want them to sound good"; yea no shit. And than it's all about just making small adjustments. I get it. I just can't make my drums sound the way I want them to. So Im Gunna spend 15-2500 so I never have to deal with this shit again
I agree with you. That’s why I didn’t want to do a tuning video. But as I say in the video, having good drums makes a big difference in how well we can tune drums. Anyway, thanks for your candor.