Tuning is essential, if you want to enjoy playing your drums. Have you ever experienced an out of tune drums? If you did, you know it's no fun whatsoever. Even a great drummer can sound terrible on an out of tune instrument. In this article we'll discuss the importance of tuning and what is needed in order to learn how to do it.

We'll begin with why - why is tuning important? The number one reason is probably because you will sound better if you play a well tuned instrument. It will also be easier to play and you will get much more out of it. Plus, you will prolong the life of your drums.

So, you want to tune your drums, what do you need? You'll need a drum key (goes without saying), a good ear, and some patience. It will take time to learn how to do it properly, no doubt about it, but always remember - practice makes perfect. And the sooner you start doing it, the better.

When tuning you have to be careful. It is quite a delicate process. You have to know what you're doing, because it's pretty easy to permanently damage your instrument. Let's take new drum heads, for example. Most beginners believe that when you first put on a new head, you must tension it down in order to seat it. But if you overdo it, you can easily damage it. If you do that, no amount of fine tuning will help you.

Go slowly, don't rush it. Break it in naturally. Patience is important. It's essential that you learn proper techniques like for example - the opposite lug tuning sequence. With this technique you move back and forth across the drum and not around in a circle. This way you're tightening more evenly.

You probably won't learn how to do all this overnight, but remember -practice makes perfect. Just get yourself some good instructions. You'll see it's not as difficult as you might think.