Drums are like any other instrument.  Tuning is crucial in order for the drums to sound their best.  Tuning drums can be a frustrating experience, but with a little knowledge and practice, it can be a lot less elusive.  Some people tune the drums to a particular song, but most drummers tune their drums to resonate at their best.  Where the pitch ends up is really a matter of personal preference.  The more you practice tuning, the better you will become.  Let's get started.

    1.  First, we will cover achieving even lug tension.  It is best to start with the smallest drum first.  Place the bottom head on a soft surface, a towel or carpet to dampen the resonant head.  The first thing to do is achieve a general pitch by tightening the top head lugs opposite each other.  The idea is to keep an even tension all around the drum.  See Fig. 1.


2.  Second, now you want to get all the lugs tightened to the same pitch.  To do this, lightly place a finger in the middle of the drum, to dampen the drum.  Now tap the drum one inch away from lug number 1.  Listen to the pitch of the drum.  You will want to adjust the lug to get it to the pitch you prefer.  Once you have found the desired pitch, move to lug number 8 and tap the drum until it matches the pitch of lug number 1.  Once you have matched the pitch, move to lug number 3 and tune it to the same pitch as number 8.  Repeat this process until you have reach all the way around the drum back to number 1.  See Fig. 2 below


3.  Third, turn the drum over and repeat steps 1 & 2 described above.  Try to get the pitch of the bottom head as close as you can to the pitch of the top head.  Most likely the top head will be a little different sounding than the bottom head.  If they are different, pick which pitch is most pleasing, then continue to try and get the two heads as close to the same pitch as possible.  The closer you get the top head pitch and the bottom head pitch, the more the drum will resonate.  You may want to tune the bottom head slightly lower than the top head, but this depends on your playing situation and/or personal preference. 

4. Fourth, move on to the next large size drum and repeat steps 1-3.  Try to find a pitch that's lower than the first drum but sounds natural, in the context of how you want the whole drum set to sound.  Keep in mind, this will be the middle drum tone and the floor drum or tom will be a pitch even lower.  The idea is to make all three drums sound as natural as possible together.  This is up to your personal preference.  Remember the more you practice tuning the easier it will get, and the more satisfying it will be to play your durms.