DRUMMER CAFE

Hey Ranman,
I don't think with me never having a lesson that I am going to start now and I don't think there is any great science to all this. With my early musical training I know what One Three Five sounds like and I know what The Horse Race song sounds like.  The stuff that I think you and James Walker are talking about would be cool to experiment with but
after listening to what every one said we all seem tune the same two ways.  My band does What is and What should Never be.  The Vocals brings the song in, ME.  Unfortunantly if the first vocal note isn't perfect then the song is all wrong.  It helps to have perfect pitch and no book or lesson can teach that. This applies to tuning anything.  What would be cool is if they invented a drum tuner like all the guitar players that I know have a guitar tuner.  The only thing I see is that like someone said earlier, It would make us all sound the same and I think from playing other peoples drum sets, we all tune a bit different.  This has to do with, each drummers ear being a little different. Like tuning higher or lower.  This is all a matter of taste.  Someone also said earlier that there is no wrong way to do this.  I am playing music today at noon and tomorrow I am putting new heads on.  That will give me Tuesday & Friday to practice with new heads and get them stretch out for playing again Saturday and Sunday.  I am going to tune again to the race horse song.  Before my bass player leaves today I will get the floor Tom on the right note.  This will give me a good starting point tomorrow.
One thing that kills me is how much time it takes to properly tune a set of drums. I am sure I will be atleast a half day tuning.  Then I will have to reajust as the new top heads stretch.
                                                      Nutty

so the "racehorse song" would be..."camptown races,five miles long,doo dah, doo dah"

I thought the racehorse song was "Assembly of the Buglers."

http://www.7thcav.org/bugle_calls.html

I don't know what the song is called but Dave knows when they play it.  Being in Kentucky, with all the horse races.  They play it when the horses enter the thingamagig.  
                                           Nutty

I am in Shelbyville Ranman.  Most of the Music stores that I use are in Louisville (MOMSMUSIC.COM). Max Maxwell runs the one in Louisville.
He was the drummer that was contracted to do the Janis Jopland Play that was going on in Louisville and Cin. Ohio and he recorded some drum tracks for Days of the News last CD. Max and his Dad Marvin have been around here for a long time.  His dad played with Lonnie Mac. I think that is how it is spelled.  Most of the bands that I have played with were Lexington based and over the past 19 years Louisville based.
I am with a 3 man combo called Triggerfish right now.  I also jam with two other groups from time to time.  I also sit in with my church doing Christian Rock. Anything to stay actively playing.  Triggerfish practiced about 4 hours yesterday.  We do everything from Led Zep, Satriani,Tom Petty,Hendrix Stevie Ray, Doors, Drivin and Cryin, ZZ Top and as of yesterday we are going to play some Robert Cray too. We have about a 50 song list.  I have been with these guys for over 3 years. If you come through Shelbyville let me know.  May even let you sit in on a few songs, if it is on a day we are jammin. I will go up front and sing.
Take care,
                                    Mark T. Counts
                                 The Nutty Drummer

Not sure what to make of this.  Must have a song going through his head!

Inded, tuning to the harmonic series (or the horse-race song [which is "FIRST POST" or "FIRST CALL"!  Scream! ]) is perhaps best suited to only a few applications as needed, and not as a general rule in some cases.  It's a nice thing to try, though.

I'm reminded of reading an anecdote where Hal Blaine was in the studio with his row of concert toms, and it was suggested to him that he could probably play a song with all of those drums.  Indeed, he did, with a rendition of "I've Got Rhythm".

  .........OIC now!! Tanks,Dave!
Yeah, actually, I was thinking "Camptown" would probably work, too. I'll try it tonight at practice.

Just so no one is put off from going down the 'first call' route, I've used it succesfully on many recordings.
It's also the harmonies on the song 'At The Hop'.
I don't know why but a 4 tom set-up sounds best to my ears at these intervals (your mileage may vary   ). When using two or three toms I might gravitate to different intervals.