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Lets say that I am making a track in the key of E, should my drums (snare, kick, hat, ect) also be in the tonic note or key of E? I know some people like to detune there drums a few keys just to add some flavor if you will to the track, but I am not concerned with that I simply want to know if the drums are usually in key as well? I did a search and couldnt find this answer so any help would be greatly appreciated.

skills4kills wrote:Lets say that I am making a track in the key of E, should my drums (snare, kick, hat, ect) also be in the tonic note or key of E? I know some people like to detune there drums a few keys just to add some flavor if you will to the track, but I am not concerned with that I simply want to know if the drums are usually in key as well? I did a search and couldnt find this answer so any help would be greatly appreciated.

IMO tuning your hits is very important.

you need to be careful. Tuning your kick and Sub to the same note will probably end up poorly. Look to tune them to compliment. Depending on the focal point of your song, the snare should be tuned to a single spot and everything else around it, or if your snare is less prominent perhaps tune the snare so that it fits between other elements.

A tuned sample may not hit as hard due to room resonances, so this may kill the vibe of some samples.

The quick answer is "yes" but nothing is ever that simple.

Don't waste your time. It sounds like your just starting out, so just make music.

Aphile wrote:

skills4kills wrote:Lets say that I am making a track in the key of E, should my drums (snare, kick, hat, ect) also be in the tonic note or key of E? I know some people like to detune there drums a few keys just to add some flavor if you will to the track, but I am not concerned with that I simply want to know if the drums are usually in key as well? I did a search and couldnt find this answer so any help would be greatly appreciated.

IMO tuning your hits is very important.

you need to be careful. Tuning your kick and Sub to the same note will probably end up poorly. Look to tune them to compliment. Depending on the focal point of your song, the snare should be tuned to a single spot and everything else around it, or if your snare is less prominent perhaps tune the snare so that it fits between other elements.

A tuned sample may not hit as hard due to room resonances, so this may kill the vibe of some samples.

The quick answer is "yes" but nothing is ever that simple.

Thanks for the reply,

For the past couple years I have just left my drums in their default note, im not sure it really matters that much but im asking to make sure I am not wrong this whole time. As far as samples I think you are correct. I know this is a difficult topic thats why I hoped I could start a discussion, thanks again for your input.

Gusto wrote:Don't waste your time. It sounds like your just starting out, so just make music.

Actually I have been making music for about 3 years now I dont know why you would assume just because my post count is low on this message board.

Remember my friend, when you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME. So please take your useless comments elsewhere.


EDIT:
After doing some more research I think the consensus is to not tune the drums to the key of the song, except in rare instances or if you are trying to add some grime in electronic music.

I dont think gusto was being funny mate. As for tuning drums this has come up a few times the general consensus seems to be whatever sounds good. I reckon a lot of people, including myself, will pitch hits by ear til they fit but most won't bother getting the frequency to note chart out and working out each hit exactly. Then again photek swears by it and his drums and pretty nice. Vast majority does it by ear though I think.

benjaminC wrote:I dont think gusto was being funny mate. As for tuning drums this has come up a few times the general consensus seems to be whatever sounds good. I reckon a lot of people, including myself, will pitch hits by ear til they fit but most won't bother getting the frequency to note chart out and working out each hit exactly. Then again photek swears by it and his drums and pretty nice. Vast majority does it by ear though I think.

I dont think he was trying to be funny either. The first part was solid advice, I was simply informing him to think twice before assuming about how long I have been producing.

And I would never go to that extreme of looking at a note chart, I was just wondering if the opportunity presented itself and it would be easy to tune the drums to the key of the song, would it be *fundamentally speaking* ideal?

Obviously I know "there are no rules" and "do whatever sounds good over all" Im just curious about the theory behind key and if drums are included. I know some electronic genres do this occasionally but other genres such as rock it would sound silly. As it has been said, I think it is just a case by case basis.

Cheers mate!

I repitch kicks, snares/claps and hats a lot if they sound "off" in context of the tune I'm making, I find very often even slight pitch changes can improve the gelling of the drums.

I very occasionally have pitched kicks to the key of a tune (mainly in house when everything is sidechained), I'd never try and pitch a snare or hats to the key of my track.

mthrfnk wrote:I repitch kicks, snares/claps and hats a lot if they sound "off" in context of the tune I'm making, I find very often even slight pitch changes can improve the gelling of the drums.

I very occasionally have pitched kicks to the key of a tune (mainly in house when everything is sidechained), I'd never try and pitch a snare or hats to the key of my track.

thats very true about the kicks in a sidechained house track, can make a big difference in some cases.

It isnt necessary, but can be the difference between things sounding good and things sounding great. I personally always tune my 808s, if its a higher 100hz kick, well, just depends how its hitting and how it sounds in relation to everything else.

There are discussions about this even among drummers and people recording real drums. Some people tune their drums to specific pitches and use guitar tuners to achieve this. Some people say certain intervals work best for toms (I've heard that good intervals for 3 toms would be the first three notes in "here comes the bride"). Some people just use their ears.

Also, what about kicks that have a quick pitch slide down and no discernible pitch? What do you do about that if you're trying to be music-theory conscious with it?
I find myself wanting to stay away from really siney percussion sounds like the 808 claves. I guess I'll just have to try putting them in a beat that is consonant or dissonant with the key and see how I feel about it.

skills4kills wrote:Remember my friend, when you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME. So please take your useless comments elsewhere.

Whatever sounds good. I think people get carried away with keeping things in "key" because if you changed a drums pitch to match a note in the scale you were working around and it sounded bad you wouldn't keep it. You would make it sound like you wanted to in the context of the track anyway. But yes tune your drums dont forget them. On and on and on and on

How to tune drum samples?

DOLGAP wrote:How to tune drum samples?

Load Kick into sampler
Play C3
Play D3
Try other notes, find out the ones you like.
Record your kick at the pitch you prefer.