This time around we'll start with one of the most over looked details of drumming and that is tuning the drums this is so important to your over all sound it is what separates you from the other drummers.Think of Elvin Jones and his drum sound and the great Stewart Copland ,John Bonham and so on once you hear the drums you know who is playing them of course the way you touch the drums will also dictate your sound.Drum tuning is straight forward it takes a little practice but once you get it you will be trying different tunings every chance you get and it can be fun.1)You may start by changing the drum heads be sure to clean off the dust and wood shavings from the bearing edge next place the new drum head and spin it around the drum surface and place the hoop back on the drum head tighten the screws with your fingers first then use the drum key using only 1/2 turns and moving across the drum to the other tuning lug.2)Place the drum bottom on a rug floor or place a towel so the bottom head is silent the best way to tune is to tighten the opposite tuning lugs across from each other this will keep the head from wrinkling and forming gaps.3)Once the head is tight enough you can start the tuning process,use a stick in one hand and a drum key in the other place your finger in the middle of the drum push down a little bit and strike the drum next to the first tuning lug and remember the 1/2 turns to find a desired sound you like.Next move across to the next tuning lug and using the same process find the same pitch as the first tuning lug and move across to the next try to get all the tuning areas to sound alike.4)Next you can start with the bottom drum head this is sometimes a thicker head it will vibrate less and give more of an attack when the drum is hit from the top head and a thin head will give the drum more sustain.Most drummers will tune the bottom head a little higher then the top the head maybe a semi tone higher this will vibrate the bottom head differently try to use different pitches but remember that nothing is written in stone so you may want to experiment and do the same with all your toms and bass drum.5)The snare drum is a little bit different from the other drums and will be the most important drum in regards to your sound both top and bottom heads are very different the bottom or snare side is a thin head that vibrates with the metal snares . You can tune the top head of the snare drum the same way as you would tune your tom toms find the right pitch and sound you like and keep it there the bottom head is a bit tricky you will need to turn off the snares and wedge a stick between the snares and bottom head so you can hear the pitch of the snare head and here you can repeat the tuning process start with the first tuning lug and move across to the next and find the pitch and sound you like best always make sure this bottom head is not too loose or too tight. If the bottom head is too tight it will choke the drum sound and too loose and the snares will vibrate too long .6) Just one last thing on the bass drum It's not much different then the tom toms but you really need to move your ears to the front or resonating head of the bass drum to make sure the front or vibrating head sounds the way you like.Next bring all of the drum together and listen to hear if the kit sounds good in a collective way if not this is where you can fine tune so the drums sound good altogether now you can start defining your drum sound.You'll learn valuable information in my lessons we can get into greater detail with tuning and quick tuning before a gig and so on . Good Luck with it . Mike