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How to Get a Deep Tone Out of Drums

Interpreting vibration as sound, the brain perceives higher frequency waves as a higher pitch, or tone. Drums produce sound waves when the drumhead membrane, or ̶0;skin,̶1; is struck, sending vibrations into the shell. The tighter the drumhead is stretched over the shell, the more vibrations the skin will produce; the larger the area inside the drum shell, the more the vibrations will resonate. To deepen a drum's tone, vibrations must be slowed or shortened inside the shell.

Things You'll Need

Drum head key
Corrugated cardboard
Duct tape
Felt-tipped marking pen
Scissors
Heavier drumhead membrane

Instructions

- 1
  Turn the drumhead lugs clockwise with a drumhead key to loosen the lugs, decreasing tension on the head and lowering the tone. Adjust the lugs a fourth-turn at a time and play the drum to test for sound before adjusting the lugs further.
- 2
  Wrap a layer of corrugated cardboard around the interior sides of single-head drums -- like traditional tom-tom models -- to reduce resonance. Secure the cardboard in place with duct tape and play the drum to test for tone. Adjust the cardboard insert's thickness as needed.
- 3
  Insert a cardboard disc inside a double-head drum -- like a base drum -- to shorten the sound wavelengths. Place the drum shell's bottom on a piece of corrugated cardboard. Trace around the outside of the drum with a felt-tipped marking pen and cut out the pattern with a pair of scissors. Remove the drumheads with the drumhead key and place the cardboard disc inside the drum. Affix the disc to the interior sides of the shell with duct tape. Replace the drumhead with the key and test the drum for sound. Increase or decrease the disc's thickness as necessary.
- 4
  Remove the drumhead with the head key and install a thicker or multi-ply membrane. The thicker head will slow down the vibrations transferred to the inside on the drum, deepening the sound.

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