Drum tuners come in two flavours: those that display Hz (Hertz) and those that display musical notes. Both are describing the same physical thing — the pitch of a vibrating drum head — just in different units. This page explains the relationship between the two, gives a full conversion table for common drum frequencies, and covers the practical question of whether you need to tune your drums to specific musical notes.
What Is Hz in Drum Tuning?
Hertz (Hz) measures cycles per second — how many times a drum head vibrates back and forth in one second. The higher the Hz number, the higher the pitch. A 22-inch kick drum at medium tuning targets a fundamental near 60 Hz: the head oscillates 60 times per second. A 14-inch snare at medium tuning targets 200 Hz — more than three times as many oscillations per second, producing a pitch roughly two and a half octaves higher than that kick.
Frequency-based tuners like Tune-bot display Hz directly, which makes them precise and reproducible: if you note down that your snare batter head sounds best at 290 Hz, you can return to that exact target every time you change a head. Musical note notation (A3, G#2, etc.) is less precise because each note name covers a range of frequencies, but it gives a useful reference for discussing the pitch in musical terms.
What Musical Notes Do Drums Tune To?
The table below converts the fundamental frequencies used in the calculator to their nearest musical note. The notes use standard scientific pitch notation (C4 = middle C = 261.6 Hz). The "nearest note" column shows the closest standard pitch to each Hz value using the same formula the calculator uses for its note display.
| Hz | Note | Nearest drum fundamental |
|---|---|---|
| 45 | F#1 | 24" kick — Low |
| 50 | G1 | 22" kick — Low |
| 55 | A1 | 18" floor tom — Low / 20" kick — Low |
| 60 | B1 | 22" kick — Medium / 18" kick — Low |
| 65 | C2 | 16" floor tom — Low / 20" kick — Medium |
| 70 | C#2 | 22" kick — High / 18" floor tom — Medium |
| 75 | D2 | 20" kick — High |
| 80 | D#2 | 16" floor tom — Medium / 14" floor tom — Low |
| 85 | F2 | 13" rack tom — Low / 18" floor tom — High |
| 95 | F#2 | 14" floor tom — Medium |
| 100 | G2 | 16" floor tom — High |
| 105 | G#2 | 13" rack tom — Medium |
| 115 | A#2 | 12" rack tom — Medium |
| 120 | B2 | 10" rack tom — Low |
| 125 | B2 | 13" rack tom — High |
| 140 | C#3 | 10" rack tom — Medium |
| 145 | D3 | 8" rack tom — Low |
| 165 | E3 | 8" rack tom — Medium |
| 175 | F3 | 14" snare — Low |
| 190 | F#3 | 13" snare — Low |
| 200 | G3 | 14" snare — Medium |
| 210 | G#3 | 13" snare — Medium |
| 225 | A3 | 14" snare — High |
| 235 | A#3 | 13" snare — High |
Notes calculated using MIDI formula: round(12 × log₂(Hz / 440) + 69). D#/Eb, F#/Gb, G#/Ab, A#/Bb are enharmonic equivalents.
Do Drums Need to Be in a Musical Key?
Not necessarily — but choosing fundamentals that form musical intervals between your toms makes a kit sound more cohesive, particularly on recordings. A kit where the tom intervals form a perfect fourth (e.g. D3 → A2 → E2) will sound more intentionally musical in a fill than one where the toms are tuned to random pitches that happen to be in the right ballpark. Some studio drummers and producers deliberately tune kits to complement the key of the song being recorded.
For live playing, tight pitch intervals between drums matter much more than matching a specific musical key. The most practical approach is to use the same tuning character (Low, Medium, or High) across all your toms and let the shell sizes produce natural pitch intervals. You can then check the resulting notes against the conversion table above and make minor adjustments if you want the intervals to align with specific musical intervals.
Hz vs Notes on a Tuner
Some tuners display only Hz (Tune-bot, many phone apps in spectrum mode). Others show only note names with cent deviations (guitar-style chromatic tuners, some Drumdial-style gauges). A few show both. Either format works as long as you know your target. If your tuner shows notes, find the Hz target from this site's calculator, look up the nearest note in the table above, then tune to that note with the appropriate sharp or flat adjustment (measured in cents: 100 cents = 1 semitone).
The drum tuning calculator on this site shows both Hz and note for every drum and every head, so you can cross-reference whichever format your tuner uses. The note display uses the same hzToNote formula as the conversion table above.
Frequently Asked Questions
What note is a 22-inch kick drum?
A 22-inch kick drum at medium tuning has a fundamental around 60 Hz, which corresponds approximately to B1 in musical notation. At low tuning (50 Hz) it sits near G1, and at high tuning (70 Hz) near C#2. The exact note depends on the precise tension of the heads.
How do I convert drum Hz to musical notes?
Use the formula: MIDI note = round(12 × log₂(Hz / 440) + 69), then convert the MIDI number to a note name. For example, 55 Hz gives MIDI 33 = A1. Alternatively, use the drum tuning calculator on this site, which shows both Hz and the corresponding musical note for every drum in your kit.
Should I tune my drums to a specific musical key?
Tuning drums to specific musical notes is helpful in a recording context — particularly when tom intervals form musical intervals like fourths or fifths, which sound pleasing in fills. For live playing, it matters less. More important is that each drum sounds good on its own and that the kit has clear pitch separation between drums.
What Hz is concert A on a drum?
Concert pitch A4 = 440 Hz, which is well above the fundamental frequency of most drum heads. Drums typically operate in the A0–G3 range for fundamentals (roughly 28–196 Hz). The snare drum comes closest to concert-pitch territory — a 14-inch snare at high tuning has a fundamental around 225 Hz, close to A3 (220 Hz).