Toms Maintenance

While tom tuning is subjective to player preference, it is recommended to first find the tuning range in which a tom will sustain a good tone. Begin by tightening the batter head to its lowest while still holding tone; tune the resonant head to the same pitch. Once a rough range is found, the player can tune to the higher or lower end of that range depending on musical context. For jazz settings, tune higher and for rock settings tune lower. If you are already confident with where the drum sounds good, tune directly to that pitch. Tom pitch is relative to what feels and sounds good. Rarely do drummers tune to a specific pitch.