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For my research portfolio, the career I have chosen to investigate is a drum technician. I am particularly passionate about this career as I have been playing drums for the past thirteen years. To research this I have looked at blogs, articles and websites. The role of a drum technician is extremely versatile and exciting as it can allow you to travel the world as well as do a job you love. However, the role also comes with its own issues as well. For example, a lot of people find that this job is not financially stable. While researching this career I read Jeff Diffners’ blog about his experience being a Drum technician for Deff Leppard where he states,
“Simply put, a drum tech’s job is to set up and maintain drum kits. But there’s more to it than that. A tech’s real job is to anticipate an artist’s needs and mitigate any problems — preferably before they arise — that interfere with a musician’s ability to record a track or play a show.”( Diffner, J. 2024)
The qualifications for being a drum technician include; having an in-depth knowledge of how a drum kit works (tuning lugs, kick pedal spring tension, boom stands, hi hat clutch), being able to play to an industry standard level (grade 8 as well as other achievements), having a good ear for tonality and drum tuning or alternatively being able to use a drum tuning device such as a tune bot (tune bots are a very common tool used within the industry as they are reliable and as accurate as possible instead of a possibly untrained ear). In addition to these qualifications certain knowledge and skills you would need include having health and safety training in manual handling as well as stage safety training. This is vital to become a drum tech as without your manual handling training you aren’t able to carry out the standard duties of a drum technician within the industry (carrying large boxes of heavy equipment). As for actual degrees and courses you don’t need any specific qualifications like a degree however BTECs may be helpful. This is because even without a degree you can show you at least have a basic understanding of how things work. Things like informal opportunities and session work can be helpful for getting experience, as well as trying to get free studio work to become well known.
“To become a drum tech, you need to have a deep understanding of drums and their components, as well as strong communication and organizational skills. You will also need to be able to work under pressure and in fast-paced environments, as live performances can be unpredictable.” (Ian.2023)
A typical day as a drum technician includes; waking up on the day of a show and unloading the gear into the venue (this can take a while depending on different factors like; band size, amount of crew and venue size), using any sort of drum mat/ place holders used to mark the drummers’ preferred placements and angles of their equipment to set up their drum kit(typically this is done on a mat and using some sort of fluorescent tape to mark the locations of cymbal stands and their height as well as kick drum and hi hat placement.), tuning up the drum skins to the right frequencies and drummers preferred sound(most experienced drum techs would use the previously mentioned tune bot as well as have spare drums and notes on the frequency readings of the drummer’s preferred sound). “A well-tuned drum kit can make all the difference in the sound of a performance.” (Ian. 2023). After this, the soundcheck would take place and the kit would be re-checked to make sure everything is in working order (to double check everything is tight and sturdy). During the show the drum tech’s role would be standing at the side of the stage ready to resolve any issues the drummer might run into. (For example, drum skins breaking, cymbals falling off, mics becoming undone and monitor malfunctions).
A common issue with becoming a drum tech is that as a career it is financially unreliable as often technicians will struggle to progress their career and are often stuck working for smaller artists or even doing free work as a form of self-marketing and promotion. However, it is possible to progress in this career and become permanently hired for bigger artists at a set rate. To do this you would most likely have to build a portfolio/reputation of your work and be able to market yourself to appeal to the modern audience and utilise techniques including social media marketing on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. You could additionally make your own professional website to add alongside job hunting emails.
“If you want to become a drum tech, the best thing you can do is to be prepared for everything. By that, I mean be ready to for things to break and have a solution to fix them. If your drummer hits hard or has a lead foot, have a spare snare tuned up and ready to go, along with a backup kick drum pedal within arms reach. (Actually, even if they hit light, have those ready.)” (Diffner, J .2024)
Possible intellectual and personal challeneges for this career could include things such as a lack of knowledge in terminology and technique in this specific career path alongside handing personal schedules misaligning with tour dates and gigs. Equally this profession would have very long hours such as 14-hour workdays so stamina and self-care would be very important in maintaining your health. In addition, going back to this career often not being very financially reliable, it would be quite common for
new/inexperienced drum technicians to take up a second source of income which could potentially further impact the opportunities they would be able to say yes to.
Some financial issues that affect this career is linked to how big or small the artist you are working for is. As the bigger the artist the higher set rate and the smaller the artist the less predictable and usually smaller the rate. However, if you choose to work as a freelance technician factor such as years of experience and personal rates for jobs may change this. Becoming a permanent drum tech for larger bands or artists will work out better in the long run as you gain more trust within your work as you build a bond with the people you work with over just working with smaller artists/ bands just the once. However, I do believe that working with smaller artists and musicians to begin with is probably better for your reputation and promotion during your early days as a drum technician.
“I recently stepped away from a tour with Slaughter to Prevail as a drum technician due to an overwhelming amount of disorganization, mismanagement, financial instability, and blatant disrespect toward crew members. I’m sharing this not out of bitterness, but out of responsibility to protect others in our community who might be approached by this camp for future work.” (Finch, T .2025)
To conclude, the role of a drum technician can be very stressful as well as rewarding due to the opportunities it can offer. It requires valuable skills such as; strong communication, patience, talent and time management.
