{"id":12238,"date":"2023-02-23T11:11:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T03:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/?p=12238"},"modified":"2023-02-15T12:13:19","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T04:13:19","slug":"tuning-a-snare-drum-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/2023\/02\/23\/tuning-a-snare-drum-for-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Tuning a Snare Drum for Beginners<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>An important part of playing an instrument is learning to care for and maintain it and its parts (drummers have quite a few parts to look out for!) and the most heavily used part of the drum kit is the snare drum.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drum heads, or drum skins wear out over time and eventually need replacing. When that happens, you will need to tune it back up to where you want it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a look at the absolute basics of how that\u2019s done.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Drum Key<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/akdwFlCdxT0hKomuwrCgt9MVJI2a1DwWARJW3Wj6YI394LSsnDvTK9K0JgpBv977Xdt83yTu5_YJ3D7Lz6NWwcoXgVTFx4m9wHhfoFM5KXG0GHbUB0uFOYgtAbaX2q0xIl23w97gbR22BusAFrP3FKw\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Drumsticks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/qCMt94wH-WLRNW9NjtyisMy4tDWbSKird_HM0OhiF_wK1TED4GJ4Q-pSQ6NhGiNdfVjfiNBkzeyht29RfqOxIhl_MwjNYbq0dBbWAZpuTVIFujP8YOjFratJ8Xf1blhlXUCa8iOxC3krG43IVDRqFDA\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 1<\/strong> After having set the new skin in place on the drum (make sure it\u2019s centered!), reposition the hoop and make sure the holes align to the tuning lugs attached to the shell of the drum. Place the tension rods through each hole of the hoop and into the corresponding holes in the tuning lugs (or they are also just called \u201clugs\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s an illustration to show you which parts of the snare drum we\u2019re talking about.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/CuwQTFxeP1lDQYNEn7ufrONfvoPSU7M-7jd8iIS4oGFc_oFj-VKoVV3LCISZfBT16eenp4TF34U-5W4X8ID2hLdIJaHhA17TT0d9Pk_U5rfCVvCOyPmO_Eq9Xn-M0J8ZQ9bfFYrxQk0Jt0IQ5mgUT3s\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 2<\/strong> Finger-tighten (tighten by hand) each tension rod. \u2018Finger tight\u2019 means you turn the tension rods (these have threads on them, just like any screws) until the tension rod just touches the edge of the rim of the hoop. Do this all the way around. If the lugs are a bit tight, use a drum key to make sure each one is touching the rim.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 3<\/strong> Using your Drum Key, give the rod closest to you a turn to increase the tension, do the same with the one across from that, then the next one, and so on (this method is often called the \u201cstar pattern\u201d). Each one gets a turn in order to get them up to tension evenly. The illustration below shows the star pattern applied to a drum with 8 lugs.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh4.googleusercontent.com\/EiGXJe-xZuEaaTTQyN1n7Xnzh9-3bCl-eau28-co3SmpMcjkcxgV3fSYV40NWvxUauVJkJp3BHA_6M267kK9yiveM5DsWNJ2bHQjlsmWFJbNnLhuJvBEim21dOqrD83rkMYsppFF5dJkxmn4EYL4tGU\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"495\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Step 4 <\/strong>You can check the tension by tapping the skin directly in front of each tension rod. More likely than not, the sound will be a little different at each one. Use your drum key to tune the rods so that they all sound the same when hit.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/drumtuning_05_turningkey-LDV1DYEPAB5A7QpkbZioI5Dez4LzLMLA-601x800.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12239\" width=\"306\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/drumtuning_05_turningkey-LDV1DYEPAB5A7QpkbZioI5Dez4LzLMLA-601x800.jpeg 601w, https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/drumtuning_05_turningkey-LDV1DYEPAB5A7QpkbZioI5Dez4LzLMLA-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/drumtuning_05_turningkey-LDV1DYEPAB5A7QpkbZioI5Dez4LzLMLA-430x573.jpeg 430w, https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/drumtuning_05_turningkey-LDV1DYEPAB5A7QpkbZioI5Dez4LzLMLA-700x932.jpeg 700w, https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/drumtuning_05_turningkey-LDV1DYEPAB5A7QpkbZioI5Dez4LzLMLA-150x200.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/drumtuning_05_turningkey-LDV1DYEPAB5A7QpkbZioI5Dez4LzLMLA.jpeg 751w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 306px) 100vw, 306px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">You can adjust the tone of your snare drum by tightening or loosening the skin.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Do this until you achieve your desired sound. Tightening the rods will make the snare drum sound higher pitched. Loosening it will make it lower pitched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Did you know?<\/strong> Some drummers like to tune their drums with 2 drum keys? Talk about efficient! Here\u2019s how they would apply the star pattern with 2 keys instead of 1:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/9dUjR8cWp_oeairMSKmLyankVKCJ4VYRxTmQRW9q3xCEeXAXN4IdCGyK6410LYmVA5U31yz926NNaphCvAGy2-CMbtZiJpJxss1HekwxMFFxiV7sGLJveZo7_QVM9WDKilOOL2miIzcz_45NeOHAiVU\" alt=\"\" width=\"967\" height=\"363\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>We hope this blog has been helpful. Stay tuned for more general musicianship knowledge articles and more on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/blog\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"9403\">Blog Page<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Get your Rockschool Books and more at our new E-Shop! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/eshop\/\">Click here to check it out<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to see what else we\u2019re up to? Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/category\/blog\/\">Blog Page<\/a>, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rockschoolsingapore\/\">@rockschoolsingapore<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rs_event_center\/\">@rs_event_center<\/a>&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An important part of playing an instrument is learning to care for and maintain it and its parts (drummers have<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12242,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,141],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-general-musicianship-knowledge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12238\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rs-event.sg\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}