Tuning Your Drums

Most of the info below is from drumnetwork.com, about how to tune your drums.

Tuning Your Set Unlike guitars or pianos, drums can be tuned any way you want! However, to sound their best, they need to be tuned carefully. Follow the instructions below and you'll have great sounding drums in no time! 1) Tune each head evenly:Choose any drum (other than the snare drum...we'll save it for last) and loosen all of the tuning rods on one side then retighten them finger tight. Tighten each rod 1/2 turn using the criss-cross sequence shown below.
	Repeat this procedure until the drumhead is free of wrinkles and a tone is produced. Tap the head next to each tension rod as shown and listen to the sound.
	If the sounds you hear are the same note or pitch all the way around, you're in luck—this is what you want! However, chances are you won't be this lucky and the sounds will be "high" at some tension rods and "low" at others. Our goal is to get them to be the same note all around…here's how we do it. At the places where the pitches were "high," loosen the rods by 1/8 turn. Where the pitches were "low," tighten the rods by 1/8 turn. Again, tap the head at each tension rod and note your progress. Continue this procedure until the head has the same pitch all around, or as drummers say, "is in tune with itself." Turn the drum over and repeat the entire process on the other head. 2) Tune the heads to each other: Next we need to tune the top and bottom heads relative to each other. Note: There are three ways that this can be done: 1) the top and bottom heads can be tuned to the same pitch; 2) the top head can be tuned higher than the bottom; or 3) the top head tuned can be tuned lower than the bottom. There's no right or wrong method…experiment to see which sounds best to you. For now, we're going to tune the top and bottom heads to the same note. Select a drum and tap the top and bottom heads to determine which is higher. If the pitches are the same, you're in luck—go to the next drum. If they're different, do the following: lower the pitch of the "high" head and raise the pitch of the "low" one*. Repeat this procedure until the top and bottom heads are tuned to the same pitch. Move on to the next drum. *Once a head is in tune with itself, it can be tuned higher or lower by tightening or loosening each tension rod by the same amount. Most of the time, the head will remain in tune with itself; however, if it should change, simply fine-tune using the tuning procedure we practiced above. 3) Tune the drums to each other: You're now ready to tune the whole set. The smallest diameter drums are tuned the highest; the largest diameters, the lowest. Many drummers like to tune their toms a 4th apart. If you want to try this tuning, sing the first two notes of the wedding march, "Here Comes the Bride." "Here" and "Comes" are a 4th apart. Use these notes as a guide. If you prefer the "free-form" method of tuning your drum, go right ahead…as mentioned before, there's no right or wrong notes to tune drums. However, every drum has a range of pitches where it sounds best. Tune it too high and it'll sound "choked;" tune it too low and it'll sound "flappy." Experiment until you find the notes that work for you. Take some drum lessons at Earthtone School of Music! And follow us on Facebook. Tim Kurteff-Schatz

A CHORUS OF SOUNDS - 12 STRING GUITAR

As I mentioned in the last blog, the standard guitar has 6 strings, and there are many variations on the number of strings a guitar might have. A common variation on the 6 string guitar is the 12 string guitar. Take a look here...

At first glance, it looks like a normal guitar, except for the 12 tuning pegs at the end of the neck, instead of the standard 6 tuning pegs. The guitar is plucked or picked much like a 6 string guitar, because each group of 2 strings is placed very close to each other. So, the player usually plays two strings at a time. This creates a very cool chorus effect with the sound. It's sort of a fuller sound than a typical guitar. 

Since it is hard to rip out killer solos while plucking individual strings on this guitar, it is usually used in a more accompaniment-type role...in other words, it is often used as a rhythm guitar. Here's some nice 12-string playing by a guitarist I have never heard of, Dave McDowell...he deserves some recognition, so here you go Dave...

Take some guitar lessons at Earthtone School of Music!

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Tim Kurteff-Schatz

Double Neck Guitar = More Shreddage!

Alright, we're going to talk about the double neck guitar today. I bet you've seen one of these before. They can seem a little silly, but hey, why not have more options to nail a killin' performance?!

Here's a photo of one, in case you haven't seen it before:

This particular one (which is associated with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page) has six strings on one neck and twelve strings (maybe I'll do the next blog on twelve string guitars) on the other. This just allows for the guitarist to switch back and forth quickly from one sound to another.

There are many other combinations of double neck guitars, such as bass guitar on one neck and regular six-string guitar on the other, or you can have a neck with frets and a neck without, etc.

Double neck guitars always seem a little cumbersome to handle while on stage, but the trade-off is that you can switch quickly between sounds, which can add to a dynamic and fun performance!

Here is a GREAT application of a double neck guitar. This was an awesome guitarist (rest in peace), Stevie Ray Vaughn, and his brother Jimmy playing together at the same time on a double neck guitar. This double neck is a little unusual in that both necks are six-string, but the guitar on top is tuned an octave higher, giving it more of a mandolin sound. Check out this fun solo:

Take some guitar lessons at Earthtone School of Music!

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Tim Kurteff-Schatz

SLIDE ON OVER HERE: TROMBONE

In Italian, the word trombone means long trumpet. That kind of makes sense, don't you think? The most common trombone you will see is the tenor trombone, which looks like this:

Of course, you will occassionally encounter the bass trombone, seen here, which has a lower pitch range than the tenor trombone:

Trombones create various pitches depending on where the slider is positioned. Trombonists have to practice for a long time before they can be adept at getting the slider to just the right spot and a moment's notice.

Trombones had a long run as a classical instrument, and they have also become widespread in jazz and other genres. Let's look at how the trombone is being used in a contemporary setting...this is someone doing something different with trombone. His name is Trombone Shorty and he uses the trombone as lead instrument. Never be afraid to try something different in musical situations...you just might have success...like this:

Tim Kurteff-Schatz

Drum Set Instructor

Earthtone School of Music

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BLAST ME WITH BRASS - TRUMPET

Well, trumpets can blast very loud, but they can also play some sweet and mellow tunes. While the saxophone is a newer instrument comparitively, the trumpet is one of the oldest instruments, dating back to 1500 BC! Wow, I just learned that myself, that is really old!

The most common trumpet is a Bb (B flat) trumpet, which is pitched in Bb.

Early trumpets did not have valves, but the modern trumpet has three valves. Trumpet playing during medieval times was a guarded craft, and trumpeters within the military were the most heavily guarded, because they were needed to relay messages to various sections of the army.

In classical playing, trumpet parts in the music are often paired up with the percussion section. Both sections can be loud and have sharp attack. When these sections are paired together, the effect can be intense!

At Earthtone School of Music, we love jazz, and now we would like to show you what you might achieve by learning jazz trumpet. Here is one of the most smokin' trumpet players today: Roy Hargrove...

Take some lessons at Earthtone School of Music and follow us on Facebook.

Tim Kurteff-Schatz

VOICE, THE ORIGINAL INSTRUMENT

Before there were any instruments made by the hands of humans, there was the original instrument, our voice. Our voice is possibly the most emotional of all the instruments. To be more specific, I think the voice has the greatest ability to stir emotions within the listener. We can all immediately identify with a voice, rather than a man-made instrument. Plus, the voice can actually make words that have meaning. This is just my humble opinion. Some people say that music that is played without words is the best stirrer of emotions, due to the fact that the man-made instrumental sounds can express things beyond words. I can understand that point of view too. Here is one of my favorite singers, Jeff Buckley. Let's see if this song strikes a certain chord with your emotions...it does for me.

To develop a good singing voice, here are some things to consider. These are techniques that most vocal instructors will work on: Vocal exercises - Vocal exercises have several purposes, including warming up the voice; extending the vocal range; "lining up" the voice horizontally and vertically; and acquiring vocal techniques such as legato, staccato, control of dynamics, rapid figurations, learning to sing wide intervals comfortably, singing trills, singing melismas and correcting vocal faults.

The voice is an amazingly adaptable instrument. One thing that cannot be said about most man-made instruments is that they can play in any genre. The voice can sing in any genre of music, although there are different techniques to be learned depending on the style you want to pursue.

To learn more about singing, take some lessons at Earthtone School of Music.

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Tim Kurteff-Schatz

PIANO - THE HEART OF MUSIC

Piano is the heart of music for many reasons.

First, the piano keys are laid out in a very logical order, and this can help students learn music quickly. What do I mean when I say the keys are laid out in a logical order? There are seven pitches in a major or minor scale. The simplest major scale is C Major, which has the following notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B. Here is how the keyboard is laid out - if you look right in the middle of this keyboard image (on the white keys), you will see C, D, E, F, G, A, B. That is the C Major scale:

So, people often say the piano is easier to learn than its chordal (being able to play more than one pitch at a time) friend, the guitar. The guitar is not laid out in a linear and logical way like the piano. This is one reason the piano is so often used for songwriting. Even musicians who do not play piano as their main instrument, can sit down and plunk out (even if it is slowly) some chords and notes, and then have an actual pianist play their tune later.

Take a look at what pianos looked like when they were first invented. They were called fortepianos. They were smaller, and were used by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven for writing music.

With the advent of large orchestras during the classical period (1750-1830), the piano as we know it today came to being. The reason for the invention of the modern piano is that the orchestra, music halls and audiences got larger, so they had to create this amazingly strong behemoth we know today as the piano. Some of the classical pieces that were being written demanded that the pianist bang the heck out of the piano...it had to take a beating, and it could, with it's metal frame and thick metal wires.

We like classical at Earthtone School of Music, but we really love jazz. Check out two of the greatest jazz pianists ever right here (Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock), and learn to play like them, at Earthtone School of Music. Also, check us out on Facebook.

By Tim Kurteff-Schatz