Lesson 06
Tuning the Resonant Drumhead – What, Why, How?
Why do drums have two heads? Learn what the resonant head really does, and the approach to nailing consistent and musical drum sounds.
Do you ever wonder why cylindrical drums have two drumheads, what exactly does the resonant head add to the acoustics of the drum, and how exactly does it influence the sound? Well, there are two main reasons.
Reason 1 — Energy efficiency
A cylindrical drum with just one drumhead is very inefficient, energy-wise, because as soon as the head is hit, all the energy created from the hit gets transferred into acoustic energy that leaves the drum and heads off into the space of the room or performance area. If we have a second drumhead, then a good proportion of that energy is reflected back into the drum, and the two drumheads vibrate together, holding the energy inside the drum...[lesson locked]
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Course content by Professor Rob Toulson – Professor of Musical Acoustics, Inventor of iDrumTune and author of the book Drum Sound and Drum Tuning: Bridging Science and Creativity.