Between band camp, competition weekends, and late-season run-throughs, marching season can be rough on you and your gear. That’s why we created the D’Addario Marching Percussion Survival Guide: to help you stay ahead of the wear and the weather and face the season head on.
How To Tune Your Marching Tenor Drum
1. Mount the top head and finger-tighten all tension to equal tension.
2. Starting with the largest drum, use the appropriate sequential tuning method and use 1⁄2 turns on each lug, until the drum is within its general tuning range. As you bring the head up to range, use a stick to tap in front of each lug to ensure that each lug produces an identical clear tone. Select a specific pitch and tune using a chromatic tuner.
3. When selecting specific pitches, 2 refer to the chart below as a guideline.
- 6" F#
- 8" C#
- 10" A
- 12" F#
- 13" D
- 14" Bb
4. Repeat steps 1-3 with the rest 4 of your drums, tuning all drums in reverse order of size. Use a chromatic tuner to ensure the correct interval.
Pro Tip:
Tune your spock drum(s) highest, and work downward. The goal is a melodic, stepped spread that’s musical but not disjointed.
Essential Accessories
Explore our line of EVANS and ProMark marching gear, built for peak performance and designed to help you lock in, level up and lead the line.
