On the surface it seems somewhat silly: a drum is a shell with a
vibrating membrane covering one or both ends; when the membrane
is struck a sound is created. The characteristics of that sound
depend on many factors: shell, membrane ("head") properties,
striking velocity, striking area, head tension, and the room
acoustics. "Head tension", or tuning, is the subject of this
page, and the silly part is this: the basic principle behind the
acoustical physics of a drum might seem to deny any complexity -
a struck head will produce a sound - however, the range of types
of sounds any given drum can make are unlimited. One major
factor in this variance is the tension of the drum head - the
tuning. Shell composition, size, and depth all play a factor in
the timbre, volume, and sustain of the resulting tone, but head
tuning impacts the pitch, resonance, attack, decay, and tone -
as well as contributing in a large part to the final timbre,
volume, and sustain. No other single factor affects your drum's
sound, and no ot