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This often leads to the mistaken notion that their drumset is somehow inferior, and then the person embarks on a never ending quest for "a better drumset".  This often results in the purchase of various brands and models of drums for the sole reason that they think it is merely a matter of a drums "brand name" or design that makes it sound good or bad and that eventually they will stumble across that "good set" that is going to have the sound they desire.

The truth of the matter is, even though high quality drums will always sound "better", and to the discriminating professional there are subtle yet noticeable differences in sound between drum brands and models and also that fine quality drums do offer advantages in features and beauty, there is no reason that even the cheapest, most basic budget drumset can't be made to sound "OK" through proper choice of quality drumheads, and most importantly, proper TUNING of those heads.

Often a customer will come into our drum shop and state that his drums just don't sound right and he's reached the point of frustration because he/she feels they have tried everything and that it must be the fault of the drums.  Usually though, it is the case that we find at least one of these tell-tale symptoms when we look at the their drums:

1. The original heads that were on the set when it was purchased are still on it, often just thin economy heads which simply can't be tuned to sound like a good quality drumhead by a name brand manufacturer.
2. The heads on the drums have been played abusively and are full of dents and "baggy spots" which make the drums sound bad and do not allow them to be tuned well.
3. The heads on the drums are of the wrong variety for the kind of music the drummer plays or the sound he/she wishes to emulate, or a misguided choice in drumhead selection has caused him/her to use the wrong type of head for a purpose which is contrary to normal usage, and is making the drum sound bad.
4. The heads are either too loose, over-tightened or simply not "cleared" (the same note produced all the way around the perimeter of the drum at each tension rod).
5. The heads have been "doctored up" with adhesive foam, duct tape, paper napkins taped to the heads, felt strips or pieces of cloth stretched across the drum underneath the heads, or various other "last resort" methods in an attempt to control unattractive, dissonant drumhead overtones. 

1. Basic drumhead selection
2. Selection of drumheads for certain musical styles
3. Basic drumhead changing and tuning 
4. Drum tuning for certain sounds/musical styles
5. The snare drum
6. Discussion of various drum tuning or tone altering "tricks of the trade" 
7. The "DO'S and DON'TS" of drumhead selection & tuning

Today all the major drumhead manufacturers have extensive varieties of heads available, all producing different tonal qualities.  There are heads available with various thickness, in single ply or double ply versions, and with various sound altering features built in such as center reinforcement dots, special coatings, and built in perimeter muffing bands of various kinds on the underside.  Many companies have even developed heads with fibrous consistencies and laminations which are meant to have a warmer, deeper sound similar to natural skin heads.  

Here is a basic run-down of the most popular drumhead types and their characteristic sounds.  Also included are some suggestions about their typical and preferred use in various musical settings, even though this is a very subjective area and totally up to the drummers' choice in what characteristics he wishes his sound to have: 

SINGLE PLY drumheads:
These are the type of heads usually installed from the factory on most good quality drumsets.  Examples would be Remo Ambassadors or Evans G1 heads.  Single ply heads have a universal sound which can be used in a variety of musical styles effectively.  

Tone quality: Crisp stick contact sound, fast responding (the flexibility of a single ply head excites the air inside the drum faster than a thicker, more "lazy" head. 
Volume: Thinner heads always seem to be louder, especially in a loud musical setting, because the initial stick contact sound is more apparent, they have more overall "high" overtone content, and their flexibility allows them excite the airspace inside the drum more than a thicker head, all of which help them cut through an ambient threshold of surrounding music.  
Overtone content:  Thin heads usually contain more high overtones, which give them a crisp, cutting sound. 
Sustain/Decay qualities: Single ply heads possess the most sustain of any drumhead type, although usually the final audible sounds still heard as the drum's sound decays are the higher, "twangy" overtones which some drummers find objectionable (the wide open sustaining sound of single ply heads tuned "high" is usually out of place in pop/rock music, but it is the preferred sound for most drummers who play in acoustic jazz groups). 
Tuning Characteristics: Thinner heads are more difficult to tune to very low pitches because by the time you tighten them enough to pull out all the "wrinkles" they are usually at a fairly high pitch.  But when tuned carefully they can hold a lower pitch pretty well, and the added benefits of loudness, crisp stick attack and fast response can be achieved. 
Durability: The down side to single ply heads is that they are the least durable of heads, being easily dented or broken if played excessively hard or with oversized drumsticks.  All name brand drumhead companies use plastic of a gauge thick enough that they do hold up well under controlled playing, but heavy-hitting rock drummers would do well to choose a more durable double ply head for the tops of their drums.  

DOUBLE PLY drumheads:
These are the type of heads that many drummers upgrade their "batter" (top) heads to in order to gain added "low end" to their sound with less high overtones and a shorter sustain.  Examples would be Remo Emporers, Remo Pinstripes or Evans G2  heads.  Double ply heads are naturally more durable than single ply heads and they have become the accepted standard top head for for any kind of rock/pop/funk music where a powerful, punchy, lower pitched sound is desired.   

Tone quality: Double ply heads have a more subdued stick contact sound, and have slower response than single ply heads (double ply heads are a bit "stiffer" than single ply heads therefore a bit more lazy in exciting the air inside a drum when struck).  
Volume: Thicker double ply heads have a bit less volume than single ply heads because they have less stick contact sound and less higher harmonic content to contribute to the overall volume (even though most rock drummers prefer them for their durability and lower tonal quality).   
Overtone content:  Thicker double-ply heads tend to sound lower than single ply heads, not necessarily because they are tuned lower, but because they have less "high" overtone content and the remaining low pitched overtones are what remain to be heard most. 
Sustain/Decay qualities:  Thicker double ply heads have slightly less sustain than single ply heads, because the higher pitched overtones (which are usually the last overtones heard as the drum sound decays) are the ones absorbed by the double plies of the head.   
Tuning Characteristics: Thicker double-ply heads are easier to tune to low pitches because they are slightly stiffer and require less overall tension too "get the wrinkles out".   
Durability: Double ply heads are definitely the drum head of choice for heavy hitting players.  Double ply heads are the accepted norm for any kind of Rock music because of their added durability.  
Applications: Since double ply heads naturally produce a less sustaining sound which is rich in lower overtones and less higher overtones, they have become the normal head for Rock, Pop, Country and Funk/Soul/R&B music where a punchy, low pitched sound with less high overtone "twang",  but with full resonance is desired, especially on the tom-toms. 

SELF MUTING drumheads:
For years drummers have tried to control the over-abundance of high pitched overtones characteristic of plastic drumheads.  Strips of duct tape, folded pieces of tissue taped to the heads, strips of adhesive backed foam insulation taped to the underside of the head, and strips of felt stretched across the underside of the drumhead are just a few of the make-shift methods drummers originated in their attempt to get rid of high overtones and shorten the sustain of their drums.  

Muting Rings: It is said that famous drummer Steve Gadd was the originator of the idea of cutting a narrow ring of drumhead material 14" in diameter from an old drumhead, which when laid on the snare drum, muted most of the higher overtones of the head and shortened the sustain of the drum considerably.   This resulted in a sound which was controlled, fat, punchy and had a nice "studio processed" sound without all the bother of using electronic gates, compressors and extreme EQing.  Today most drumhead companies offer mylar rings precision cut to fit most regular drum sizes, which when laid on the top of the drumhead reduce overtones and sustain in the same fashion.  

In the late 1970's, some orchestral drummers* found that it was possible to take a 14" double ply drumhead, turn it upside down, and carefully cut out a 12" circle of it's bottom ply, leaving behind a 1" ring around the perimeter of the head underneath the top ply.  This in effect produced the same effect as the loose "muting rings" described above, without their disadvantages (loose tone control rings can fly off the drum in the wind, sometimes get hung around the drumstick, and often don't stay in place when the drum is placed in it's case, resulting in them getting bent or creased and ruining their effectiveness).  (*The "Hinger" drum company actually produced orchestral drums in the late 70's which were fitted with hand cut self muted heads like these.  In fact it is believed that Hinger was probably the originator of the idea).

Today, all the major drumhead companies produce heads of all sizes for toms, snares and bass drums which have some form of self-contained internal tone control rings.  Some examples would be Remo Powerstroke 3 (single ply)  and Powerstroke 4 (double ply) heads, Evans snare heads with built in internal muffle rings, and Aquarian Studio-X drumheads. 

Tone quality:  Less high overtones and less sustain than "open" single or double ply heads
Volume:  Self muted heads definitely have less volume than "open" heads, since much of the higher overtone content (which adds to the overall volume of the head) is absorbed by the internal ring. 
Overtone content:  Self muting heads greatly reduce higher overtones.  This makes drums "seem" to have a lower sound since the higher overtone content of the sound is muted, leaving behind only the lower overtones. 
Sustain/Decay qualities:  Since the long sustaining high overtones of the head are muted, and the tone control ring itself acts as a "damper", the sustain and decay of this type of head is quite short.  
Tuning Characteristics:  Self muting heads are fairly easy to get sounding low, fat and punchy, without annoying high overtones.  
Durability: About the same as un-muted heads.  
Applications: Ideal for Pop/Rock/Funk/Country or any other contemporary music where a low, controlled, punchy, "studio" type sound is desired live, especially in acoustic (non-miked) situations where electronic modification of the sound isn't possible.  Actually, drumheads with self muting tone control rings "mike up" very well, reducing the need for extreme EQing, compression and gating of the sound through electronic means.  *Hint:  Self muted heads such as Remo Powerstroke 3, Powerstroke 4 and Aquarian Studio-X are great for quiet playing situations where a modern, low pitched, "studio" sound is desired from the bass drum and toms but the player cannot "lay into" the drums without being too loud.  This makes them ideal for drummers who play acoustically (without mikes) in small low volume venues such as church music programs.  

Rock:
The standard head combination for most kinds of Rock music is double ply clear heads on top and single ply clear heads on the bottom of the toms, and a single or double ply coated head on the top of the snare (Snare heads are available with reinforcing dots in the center for added durability). Double ply top heads on the toms give a much lower, fatter sound with less "twangy" overtones than single ply heads, and also offer added durability.  A coated snare head is always a good choice because it has an added crispness and good rim shot sound which is characteristic in rock music.  For bass drum, moderately self muted heads such as Remo Powerstroke 3 (or 4) or Evans EQ series heads the best choice.   For a little more control of sustain and more control of high overtones, try double ply COATED on the tops of the toms and snare drum.  For a very muted tom sound with real control of high overtones, consider Remo Powerstroke 3 or Powerstroke 4 (double ply) heads, although for playing live in a loud setting your drums will definitely need to be miked up because the aggressive muffling effect robs a lot of volume and projection from the drums.  There are various other choices for rock playing, such as Remo CS "center dot" reinforced heads which have added durability, control overtones a bit, but do have a noticeable "boxy" sound.  Also, there are Remo Pinstripe heads, which are thick double ply heads popular in the 70's-80's for their low, punchy sound, although they are considered a bit "flabby" for today's rock music.  Also available are Evans Hydraulic heads which are a double ply head with a layer of oil sealed between them to control high overtones.  The idea works, but it is rather outdated over muffled sound, reminiscent of the 70's disco era. 

Pop, Light Rock & Country:
Pop, Light Rock and Country music usually requires runs down fat, low sounding tom toms, a nicely muffled, solid bass drum sound, and a large, low sounding snare drum.  For tom toms, try double ply clears on the tops, single ply clears on the bottoms.  For snare, consider a single or double ply coated top head, with a "gel" muting pad on the edge, a tone control ring or a self muted "Powerstroke" type head.  Keep in mind that heavily muted snare drums don't have a very good "rim shot" sound, so if you use a lot of rim shots in your playing, keep your muffling minimal.  For bass drum, even a self muted head such as a Remo Powerstroke might be too resonant, so consider an Evans "EMAD" (external muffling and dampening" head), an Aquarian Impact 1 or Impact 2 head with built in foam muffing bands, or the addition of a dampening "pillow" device such as an Evans EQ pad (with gate) in the bottom of your bass drum.  For even more dampened tone on the tom toms, consider Remo Powerstroke 3 or Powerstroke 4 heads on the tops (single ply on the bottom).  You will get a nice "studio" type sound that will sound good unmiked in low volume situations or miked up when playing large venues.   For an even fatter, more punchy tom tom sound, try any of the top head suggestions mentioned above, with the addition of extra thin Remo Diplomat heads on the bottoms.  A thinner head is easier to excite when the top head is struck and the air column inside the drum sympathetically vibrates the bottom head.  This makes the drum faster to respond and project the sound.  It is somewhat difficult to get an extra thin head to tune to a very low note, but if you are careful and get the bottom heads tuned to a clear, low pitch which compliments the pitch of the top head, you will probably be quite pleased at the "fat" sound your toms can have.  

Jazz:
Coated single ply heads on top and either clear or coated single ply heads on the bottom of the toms, and a coated single ply head on the top of the snare is the standard, widely accepted drumhead choice for use in mainstream Jazz or "be-bop" music, which gives maximum clarity, definition, sustain and tonal presence, especially in small groups where the drums are not amplified.  For bass drum, a wide open (un-muted) single ply head is characteristic.  For more modern Jazz, coated double ply heads on top of the toms give a sound with slightly less sustain and slightly less high overtones but with good clarity and definition.  This in addition to a self muted bass drum head such as a Remo Powerstroke 3 (or 4) or Evans EQ type would be a good combination to try for modern Jazz, Jazz/Rock or Fusion. This is also a good choice if the drums are miked up, since the double ply top heads will have more controlled high ovetones.  Various drumheads are available which are designed to imitate the sound of natural calfskin heads.  Remo Fiberskyn, Legacy and Renaissance or Aquarian American Vintage and Modern Vintage are heads of this type.  If you are looking for a "1950's" sound for straight ahead jazz or be-bop playing, then these heads are worth trying out.  

Funk/Soul:
While the original Funk & Soul drummers of the 60's & 70's had drum sounds which were pretty much "wide open" with fairly tight single ply heads (listen to some old James Brown tunes), the music we consider today as "Funk" has a lot of it's roots in the "Disco" era, where an extremely low pitched, flat, punchy drum sound was the accepted norm.  A very muffled bass drum (usually with a pillow in it), a low tuned, heavily muffled snare drum, and heavily muffled toms (in many cases single headed toms) were the sounds heard on countless "funky" dance recordings, and that same sound migrated over into progressive Funk music.  This type of fat, punchy sound with very short sustain lent itself to the nature of Funk music, where "linear" timekeeping and break patterns were used.  When playing a set with virtually no sustain in the bass, snare or toms to hide inaccuracies, it took a very articulate, precise drummer to make "linear" patterns sound right.  Fortunately today the over-muffled "Disco Funk" sound is out of vogue, but a solid, low bass drum without much sustain is still desired (Use a self muted head, possibly in combination with a small internal muffling pillow device), along with low, fat sounding toms (heavy muffling is out though, use un-muffled clear double ply heads on top and clear single ply heads on the bottom for a more modern sound). For really punchy, tonal toms, try clear extra thin heads (Remo Diplomats or Evans Resonants) on the bottoms of your toms.  For snare drum, the tubby, over muffled sound is definitely gone, and now is the age of the high, cracking rim shot.  Shallow piccolo snares are used as auxiliary snares, as are small diameter "popcorn" snares.  A single ply coated head, possibly with a center dot will give you the "killer rimshot" sound needed for contemporary Soul/Funk music.  

Bass drum:  Use a self muted head such as a Remo Powerstroke 4 (double ply with internal plastic muffle band) possibly with the addition of a small muffle pillow, such as an Evans EQ pad with "resonance gate".   The Aquarian "Impact" series bass heads (single or double ply with narrow or wide thick foam muffle band) are also an excellent choice.   

Toms:  Use tone muting rings or self muting heads such as Remo Powerstroke 3, Powerstroke 4 or Aquarian Studio-X heads on top with standard single ply heads on the bottoms.  This will give a "close to studio" tom sound, without having to lay into the drums too hard.  

Snare:  Use a tone muting ring or self muting head such as a coated Remo Powerstroke 3 or Powerstroke 4, Evans Dry "with muffle ring" or Aquarian Studio-X head.  This will give a controlled studio type sound, with substantial reduction in volume.  

SOUND CONTAINMENT:

Even a drumset fitted with heads for maximum volume control can be too loud for some small church music programs.  If this is the case, then a "sound containment" enclosure for the drumset should be considered.  These are clear plexiglass panel sets with hinged joints which can be placed in front of the drumset to additionally lower its volume.  The taller, 5 1/2 foot models are recomended since a lower model will still allow the cymbal sounds to project over the top.  For even more sound containment, rigid fiberglass panels are available (cloth covered panels in an attractive basic charcoal black) which are placed behind the drumset to absorb sound which may reflect off the wall behind the drums.  Rigid "roof" assemblies are available for these containment enclosures for even more control. "ClearSonic" is one of the most widely known manufacturers of drum sound containment products (Available through Peeler Drum Center)

Below are a few basic steps that should be followed when changing a drumhead:

Removing the old head:
When removing a drumhead, do not start by removing one tension rod completely while leaving all the others under tension.  This may cause the drums' hoop to distort and warp, possibly irreparably.  This is less of a problem on drums with strong die-cast hoops or large tom-toms which are usually tuned lower with much less tension than a snare drum or small high pitched tom-tom, but it is still always a good idea to start by loosening ALL the tension rods about 1/2 to 1 turn at a time alternately around a drum until they gradually become loose and can be removed.   *Wooden bass drum hoops are especially prone to warping and cracking if you remove all the tension from one tension rod while leaving the adjacent ones under high tension, so heed this advice especially when replacing bass drum heads! 

Checking the bearing edge and counter-hoops:
The "bearing edge" of a drum is the rounded or angle cut edge of the drum shell which the drumhead is "pulled over".  While various drum companies all have different ideas about what angle or degree of sharpness is best for a drums' bearing edge, one thing they all agree on is that a drum's bearing edge must be as close to a perfect circle as possible and on as close to a perfect "plane" as possible.  While there is little that the average drummer can do to correct a drum which is "out of round" or has a warped bearing edge, it may at least help alleviate some of the frustration that arises when it seems impossible to get a drum to "tune-up" well if it is obvious that the drum has problems.  

* After removing the drumhead, use a solid, accurate ruler to measure across the edge of the drum at one tension casing to the one which is 180 degrees across the drum (this applies to drums with even numbers of lugs.  For drums with an odd number of lugs go from one lug to the spot exactly between 2 on the other side).  Measure like this around the drum at each lug casing.  Are the measurements all the same or at least very close?  If they are different your drums' shell is probably out of round.  

* Take your drum shell and lay it down on a very flat surface such as a Formica counter top.  Can you see any areas where light shows through where the bearing edge touches the flat surface?  If you can, your drums' bearing edge is either imperfect, has been damaged or the shell has warped  (*NOTE, most snare drums have indentations cut or bent into the bottom "snare side" bearing edge at the locations where the snare wire strings or straps are pulled over the edge of the drum.  These "low spots" are NORMAL (they are called the "snare bed") and help make a snare drum have more snare wire response with less sympathetic "buzzing").  For those individuals with some technical skills, there is a method of helping to correct an old, warped "off plane" bearing edge.  It involves gluing several sheets of medium grit sandpaper to a large piece of plate glass (making an area bigger than the diameter of the drum, the plate glass being the closest thing to a perfectly flat surface available to the average person), laying the drum flat on the glass with the bearing edge towards the sandpaper and "spinning" the shell in circles (NOT back-and-forth movements) to gently sand the bearing edge closer to being on a perfectly flat plane.  NOTICE!  It should be fully understood that this is a last resort method to help correct an old or damaged drum which is badly distorted and it WILL alter the original rounded or angle cut bearing edge of the drum.  DO NOT attempt this procedure unless you are willing to accept the chance that you might make the problem worse or ruin your drum!  

* You can also lay your drums' metal counter-hoops down on a flat surface to see if they are bent or warped.  If they "rock" back and forth at all then they are warped.  A slight amount of warpage in a regular "stamped" metal hoop can usually be compensated for when tuning the drum, but a large amount will usually make it almost impossible to get a drumhead "clear" (tuned to the same pitch at every tension rod location).  Warpage in a stiff "die-cast" hoop is harder to compensate for.  It is possible to position either type of metal hoop (not wooden hoops!) on some blocks in such a way that pressure can be carefully applied to the high spots in order correct or lessen the warpage, but as mentioned above, be fully aware that you might make the problem worse or ruin your hoop! 

* Your drums' counter-hoop should also be as close to a perfect circle as possible.  Take a new, quality drumhead and slip it into place in the flange of the counter-hoop.  Does it slip in place easily or does it take a lot of effort to get it to fit inside the hoop?  Lay the head into the counter-hoop and look around the edge.  Is the gap between the new drumhead and the flange equal all the way around or does it look like the counter-hoop has a slight "oval" shape?  (Keep in mind not all drumheads are perfectly round either!)  It is possible to manually "squeeze" a badly out-of-round hoop back into a more perfect circle, either by hand or with a large bar clamp, but as stated above, be fully aware that this is a touchy procedure and that you might permanently ruin your hoop!  

* IF YOUR DRUMS' COUNTER-HOOP IS BADLY BENT, WARPED OR OUT-OF-ROUND AND CAN'T BE CORRECTED WITH SOME GENTLE MANUAL "PERSUASION" THEN USUALLY THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE IS TO PURCHASE A NEW ONE! 

Positioning the new drumhead and counter-hoop:
Place the new drumhead on the drum, and then place the counter-hoop over the head.  Look around the inside edge of the counter-hoop.  Does the metal "crimp ring" or "glue ring" of the drumhead appear to be equally centered inside the counter-hoop?  If not the drumhead will be harder to tune and the hoop will have a tendency to "pull over" the edge of the head, especially if the hoop is oversized.  Try to get the drumhead "centered" over the drums' bearing edge and the  counter-hoop "centered" over the drumhead with the tension rod holes positioned directly above the threaded inserts in the tension casings.  

*Start screwing in each of the tension rods around the rim of the drum, but only a few turns.  Making sure the drumhead is properly seated up into the counter-hoop and everything is "centered", begin to finger-tighten all the tension rods down JUST TILL THEIR  HEADS TOUCH the counter-hoop and NO FARTHER.  At this point, going past "just touching" the counter-hoop will pull the drumhead and the counter-hoop into an "unleveled" state which will cause the head to "seat" wrong and make it harder to tune.  Once they are all "just touching", then use your drum key and begin putting an additional 1/2 turn on each tension rod, keeping track of which ones you have already done.  Keep doing this around the drum until the drumhead begins to pull tight. 

At some point you will probably begin to notice an area on the drumhead which has a "wrinkle" to it.  Give the tension rod at at that area, or the two rods on either side of it an "extra" turn or two to see if the wrinkle draws tight.  You might also try giving the tension rod directly across from the wrinkle an extra turn.  In some cases you might have to loosen the tension rods at 90 degrees of the wrinkle as well as tightening the ones near or across from the wrinkle in order to get the head to flatten and start to equalize.  

Once the wrinkles are gone continue to apply 1/2 turns to each of the tension rods until the drumhead becomes tight enough to "sing a note" when you tap it.  Tap around the perimeter of the drum at each tension rod listening for pitch and try to find the "low" pitched areas.  Give the tension rods near the low pitched areas an extra 1/2 turn or so until the drumhead gets close to having the same pitch all the way around. 

"Seating" the drumhead:
With the drumhead under enough tension that there are no wrinkles, it "sings a note" and the area at each tension rod has close to the same pitch when tapped, it is time to "seat" the drumhead.  "Seating" the drumhead pulls its' metal crimp ring/glue ring up into the counter-hoop so that any "slack" is taken out which might eventually release itself and ruin your tuning job.  Place the drum on the floor, put the palm of your hand in the middle of the head, place your other hand on top, and as though you were giving "CPR", use your weight to press firmly into the middle of the head (you can apply a fair amount of pressure but don't get carried away since thinner heads may break).  You will probably hear some stretching, crackling plastic sounds as the head seats into the drum counter-hoop, but that is normal.  *HINT: use the full flatness of the palm of your hand so that the base of your wrist doesn't inflict a dent into the plastic of the drumhead!

*Hint: To make tuning easier you need to be able to "focus" your ears on ONE drumhead, meaning you must eliminate the resonant interaction of the "opposite head" of the drum as you tune.  Only after you have "cleared" each head independently can you work on adjusting how they interact with each other in order to make the drum sound the way you want it to.  Usually just placing the drum flat on the floor or table will mute most of the interaction of the opposite head, but you may also place a small fold of cloth or piece of foam rubber under the drum to totally mute the other head from ringing as you tune.  

After this initial "seating" described above, repeat the process of finding and tightening out the wrinkles, and tightening up the low pitch areas until the drumhead again sings a note when struck and the pitch at each tension rod is close to the same.  THEN, once again "seat" the drumhead as described above with pressure to the center.  You may repeat this process 2, 3 or more times, noticing that less of a dramatic change occurs to the drumhead each time (This is a good thing!).

Fine tuning the drumhead:
At this point tap around the drum head near each tension rod location, and listen to the "pitch" the drumhead sings.  If the overall pitch of the drumhead is still lower than you intend to eventually leave it, just continue finding the "low" pitched areas and tighten the tension rods a slight amount at those areas.  Keep in mind this process not only equalizes the pitch around the drumhead, it also raises its' overall pitch.  

You may find that in "clearing" the drumheads' pitch in this way you will end up with the drum sounding tighter and higher pitched than you desire.  If this occurs you will need to loosen all tension rods around the drum the same amount, perhaps 1/4 or 1/2 turn, and then again start the process of looking for the "low spots".  Your goal is to simultaneously "clear" the drumhead as you raise it's overall pitch to the range you desire it to be in.   

SOME HINTS FOR FINE TUNING:

1.  Rather than tap around the drumhead with a drumstick when tuning, just tap the drumhead lightly with the shank of the drum key you already have in your hand.  You will get used to this trick and find that it saves a great deal of time.  Don't tap your key too close to the edge of the drum shell or you may may put tiny dents into the bearing edge of the drum!  Always tap consistently about 1-1 1/2 inches from the edge to hear the clearest overtone for tuning.  Once you think you have the drum close to being in tune then pick it up by the rim and strike it with a drumstick to see if you have achieved the sound want. 

2.  Keep in mind when you tighten or loosen a tension rod, you will probably have to "compensate" for the effect your action has on the areas next to, and across from the tension rod you just changed.  For example, if you tighten the tension rod at a certain low area 1/2 turn, you will probably have to loosen the tension rods on each side of that rod 1/4 turn to keep the drum at roughly the same pitch.  You may also need to loosen the rod 180 degrees directly across a small amount also.  Sometimes "interactions" between tension rods occur in "triangles", especially on 6 lug drums (imagine a how 2 triangles laid on top each other make a 6 point star).  Or on 8 lug drums you may notice interactions that happen in the form of "diamonds".  Perhaps the hardest drums to tune are those with an odd number of tension rods, such as small "5 lug" tom-toms.  On drums such as these, if you were to draw a line from every tension rod to every other tension rod, you would notice that no line ever crosses dead center of the drumhead.  This produces an troublesome "zone" in the middle of the head which, unless tuned extremely well, is almost always "dead" sounding. 

3.  The process of drum tuning can be tiresome and frustrating, especially to the beginner.  Getting good at it requires a lot of trial and error experimentation, and with that comes lots of failures.  Learning the things to do to make your drums sound GOOD requires that you also learn the things NOT to do which make your drums sound BAD.  Making matters even more difficult is that there are so many variables concerning what "sounds right" for various forms of music.  If you find yourself stumped, GET HELP!  Ask an experienced drummer for advice or take a "drum tuning lesson" from a drum teacher who can help you learn to tune your drums and make them sound the way you want!    

4.  Tuning a set of drums can be a long process.  You may find yourself getting frustrated and your ears getting "tired" to the point that you can't really detect pitch differences as well anymore, and you really can't tell if the drum sounds good or not.  At that point, TAKE A BREAK and let your ears and mind rest for a while.  You'll probably find you will make a lot more progress when you come back to it fresh, after clearing your mind and releasing some frustrations.