We've got Premiers (ugh) they are four years old and i don't know how they survived that long. We use Remo Suede Emperor which do a good job but our tech reefs the you no what out of the drums but they come out especially after he has had a long time with them sounding really good

my tuning techniques depend on the drums i'm using and the heads i'm using. like if i'm using yamaha drums(mahogany and beech, depending on model), and remo's, i'll tune by ear. but if i'm using dynasty(don't remember what type of wood)and evans, i'm most likely to use some kind of tuning device. we like to have a really clean, warm tone to our drums.

We have 2001-2002 era Championship quints (6, 10, 12, 13, 14) and Evans MS Clear Tenor Heads. Our tenors are tuned to Jingle Bells. I'm not sure of the exact pitch/key it is in because our caved-in shells cause our tenors to go in and out of tune, so we constantly retune to each other.

2: Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jin-
1: -gle
4: All-
3: -the way

Our spock is just tuned to a piercing high pitched note.

well i dont know how our tech tunes the tenors. ive tried using the arpeggio and it kind of sounded good. but i just realized he tunes them differently for marching season and for indoor. at our last competition, they were tuned real high. our 1st drum is 8" and it was tuned like a 8" spock, or at least the kind ive heard. and the drum four was about the tuning of a normal drum 3. it was really weird to me, but it sounded alot better in the gym than other tenors lines who had the outdoor tuning. too much overtones for the gym.

If you go to Bill Bachman's website, and watch his Beatlicious video, his Dynasty quints sound awful. He must of tuned them really low that day.

I make the 4th drum a pitch that sounds good. For example, if it is "C", the third and second drum would be "E" and "G". Basically starting from the 4th drum and going up I do the 1, 3, 5, and flat 7 of a scale. Then the spock i just tune it high, but low enough so you can get a tone out of it. That is how I have always done it.

Hey guys I'm new to the site and this is my first post but I figured I'd shed any insight I have on this. I'm the tenor captian for WHS in Ohio and I've been the one tuning the tenors, snares, and bases for the last 3 years (Freshmen, Sophmore, and Junior year...Which I'm in now). I use a keyboard to tune both the basses and tenors. As for the tenors I don't quite use the "Jingle Bells" technique like slrchs07 does, but I do use some similiar, the "Pop Goes The Weasel" sounds always fit me best. After having someone play it on the piano I play it on tenors and tune them accordingly. 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3...4, 4, 3, 3, 2(buzz roll), 1. That bring out the sounds of "All around the Meaberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel". It helps me tune it a lot, and as for the shot drum I tune it a 4th higher then drum 1. Just thought I'd share my methods hope it works for some of you.

Im the drum captain on my high school line and Im the one tuning the drums. i learned how to from my older brother who was captain my freshman year. the way that i tune the tenors is that i know the tenor sound so well that i have what it should be memorized. Also i know the feel of my drum key and how tight the head should be so i combine the two and nearly everytime it comes out just right. about the spock i normally just tighten it until i like the sound of it. If anyone has any suggestions id greatly appreciate it.

i always clear the head first, a big thing that has been missed on this forum. If a head is not tuned to it self than you can't tune it to anyhting else. Tenors are the worst about this. If you think you heads are dead they might jsut be miss tuned. I have had a lot of heads that my students think are dead (after they tuned them for the first time) and i jsut remind them about clearing the head (making sure that every part of the rim with a lug is tune perfectly to its counter parts).

For the tunning to a pitch, well i dont. i look for the best sound out of the tenors. i have tried the pitch thing before but after a few weeks it starts to get a little hairy. i like the relative pitch thing better. singing your favorite tune. Mine is Mighty Mouse, "here i come to save the day!" 1,2,3,4,3,2,1

I'm a tenor tech, and I go for relative tuning rather than absolute. I feel like the drums are going to be ok as long as the line is together, rather than at a certain pitch. To that end, I usually start at drum one, even out the lugs, get it a pitch that sounds nice and has adequate rebound, and move on down. Then I move to the next set and tune it to whatever the first set was. Sometimes I'll go back and forth a bit, if the second set sounds better to my ear.

Now that I think of it, I'm horribly unscientific.
Time to buy a pitch pipe....