question: once you tune your drums is there any way to stop it from untuning? i have to completely retune my drums every week because they get so AWFUL i mean ugly sounding. maybe its just that they're older heads but if anyone knows anything bout it that would be great

The short answer is no.

Maybe try to tweak at each rehearsal, but if the drums are old and the heads are shot, you're pretty much screwed.

Yeah, our drums are getting up there in age. At this point, we've just found it easier not to fight with them. Tune them up to wear they feel good, because they're really not going to sound great in any situation, haha. Especially the lug where I hit rim shots on my first drum... I always get a nice pucker, because that particular lug likes to detune.

Hello :-D What a place for my first post to be, some helpful information (Hopefully)
Anyways, I've found the best way to tune my tenors with the perfect fourth (With the "Here comes the bride" from drum to drum all the way up)
First I tune the 1 drum to whatever I feel it needs to be at, which could depend on the show we are playing, or just my personal feelings at the time.
Then I will tune a perfect fourth down for each drum down to 4.
For my spock, shot, whatever you would like to call it drum, I just tune it to a nice high pitch above the one drum (Usually a fifth or so)
I'm going to have to check on what type of heads we use, because they are brand new and look amazing, white heads on our white tenors :-D
I found that our old tenor heads fell out of tune rather quickly and the new ones hole the tone for a much longer time.

I've found (through LOTS and LOTS of trial and error) that tuning and keeping tenor heads tuned is something that takes constant effort. There really is no perfect or best way to tune them. One of the main things to consider is what kind of show you're doing, i.e. a big band or swing show would call for slightly lower pitched drums, while a latin show would call for a more timbale-esque timbre. I'm a big fan of the cavaliers tenor line, i try to emulate the sound of their drums. once you've decided how you want them to sound tune one set of drums starting with the #1 drum. this is the drum that is usually tuned to high or to low, so get it sounding right. The method I use for intervals is 1-2 maj 2nd, 2-3 minor 3rd, 3-4 maj 2nd........but that's just what sounds good to my ears. make sure that you always cross-tension tune the drums so that each head is intune with itself. (listen to the overtone). once a set of drums is tuned, simply tune the other sets head by head to the 1st one. also, the drums will need to be tuned almost daily due to the constant climate changed. don't crank them, just make sure each lug is still in tune. i try to think of tuning tenors like tuning a wind instrument. evertime it is taken out and put away, the intonation changes, therefore they need to constantly be kept in tune. bass drums are pretty much the same way.

MHS tenors -01
ICC tenor line - 02-03
Delta State tenor line/percussion section leader -04-05

"...Our tenors are tuned to Jingle Bells.

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

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

Hmmm, I didnt know that "the way" in Jingle Bells is the same pitch... I had always thought that "way" was the same pitch as "Jingle". hehe

I just tune them by ear. I tune them to play "Charge!". Our school has never had two tenor players, but if we did, I'd suppose one of us would tune this way and the other would simply copy afterwards.

My tech usually just goes by ear, but bill bachmans technique works really well. on the right spock we use evans whites, which work really well under high tension, and you get a nice crisp "pop" out of it. Our tech usually tunes the left spock to the snare's bottom head, so it doesnt sound shlocky.

DRUM DIAL? some one told me about that and i still havent figured it out. i suppose once i do itll be great cuz all the respective drums would be tuned to the exact same tension therefore with the exact same pitch, but it seems a little time consuming. anyhow we use 4 notes from the marimba. usually C major scale or somthing like that. it works great and sounds better.