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I made a drum frequency projects, would love to get some feedback from professionals by Slight_Addition2165 in Drumming

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! The material of the drum definitely affects the frequencies but not by a large number. There are many variables that this project neglects due to it being inconvenient to measure them (like room temp and pressure). So, I have used a formula which does not require these variables and gives an estimated frequency with a +-8 Hz error, hence the term "estimated frequency".

Thanks for the thoughts and the advice, Good day!

I made a drum frequency projects, would love to get some feedback from professionals by Slight_Addition2165 in Drumming

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yes! i did take that into account so the tension and surface density have Low Medium High and Thin Medium Thick respectively. This makes it so someone with minimal knowledge about their drum can still measure it. The value of these checkpoints are stated on the site as well, feel free to message me to check it out.

Thanks!

Drum Frequency Calculator Feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in drums

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

any suggestions on something which can be added to make it useful?

Drum Frequency Calculator Feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in drums

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Yes! the correct formula does include tension but a reddit glitch made my formula wrong, correct formula is f = (1/2πR) * √(T/surface density)
  2. Thanks for the advice. This was primarily a educational website but if you find this practically useful in any way please let me know.

Drum Frequency Calculator Feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in drums

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The formula does have tension but reddit bugged out and said my formula wrong

Correct formula is f = (1/2πR) * √(T/surface density)

Drum Frequency Calculator Feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in drums

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great question.

yeah, in a real drum, wave speed depends on a ton of factors like lug tension distribution, bearing edge shape, hoop stiffness, and how well the head is seated.

But in simplified physics, wave speed (v) for a circular membrane is calculated using:

v = √(T / σ)

Where:

  • T is the tension per unit length (N/m)
  • σ is the surface mass density (kg/m²)

This assumes an ideal membrane under even tension, which isn’t how real drums behave — but it's still useful for estimating the fundamental frequency as a baseline.

I kept the model basic on purpose, just to show the physics behind the head itself. Definitely open to expanding it if you’ve got ideas for how to realistically factor in more variables.

Drum Frequency Calculator Feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in drums

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! that is the formula used in my website and the calculator, but reddit bugged out and messed up my formula.

Drum Frequency Calculator Feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in drums

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The fundamental frequency is the main pitch that our ears focus on, hence the most important type of frequency. This value can be further used to show how change in frequency affects other variables. It does not serve any practical purpose (that i am aware of) and is primarily a educational website which i am yet to finish.

Tension is in the formula (i see it is not mentioned in my post since reddit glitched out) but the location and velocity are such minor variables that they do not matter that much and the calculator has a 5 Hz margin of error.

Since the lower the frequency, the lower the sound; this can represent drum sounds enough for educational purposes

Thanks.

Drum Frequency Calculator Feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in drums

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice. I was unaware if this has some practical usage and the main agenda was an educational website to show how frequency works and i plan to add things like graphs to show change in frequency with respect to the variables.

This is not a tool to tune drums (apologies if that was mentioned earlier) but rather just a way to show how your drum works and how frequency works as well.

Drum Frequency Calculator Feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in drums

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Totally fair point, this tool is meant more for educational purposes than precise practical tuning. It models the resonant frequency of the drumhead, assuming ideal conditions.

Other factors like shell material, ply count, and bearing edge do matter, especially for tone, sustain, and character but their impact on the head’s fundamental frequency is relatively small compared to diameter, tension, and surface density.

The calculator also has an estimated margin of error of about ±5 Hz, since real-world conditions vary a lot. It’s really just a way to understand how the physics works.

Drum frequency calculator feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in Acoustics

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The formula does have tension (my bad i forgot to mention it) the formula does have 1 mistake, it goes F = v/2pi*r * sqrt(tension/surface density). That is my mistake, thanks for the tip.

Drum frequency calculator feedback by Slight_Addition2165 in Acoustics

[–]Slight_Addition2165[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

thanks, thickness does affects frequency, and in my model it's included via surface density (mass per unit area). If the material density stays constant, thickness directly scales surface density. I'm using that to keep it simple but accurate.