1. One must not forget to detune your drums slightly before packing up, especially in more humid conditions. This preserves the life of the heads and allows them maintain their elasticity.

2. Don't miss Drum Bum's drum tab database.

3. When you change your drumheads, write the date in small numbers off to the side of each head. This will help you know how long it's been since the last time it's been changed. Remember that there is no specific period of time to gauge when you should
replace your heads. It should depend on how they sound (feel), how hard you hit and how often you play.

4. Simply tape 4 or 5 pennies to the back of a 5" strip of duct tape (about 1" wide) and tape it to the bell of your ride. This will allow your cymbal to sizzle as if it had rivets in it.

5. One must remember the local library as a rich resource of information about drums, drum set, miscellaneous drum things and overall percussion. So one must keep in contact with them to maintain a drum set.

6. It is also very necessary to clean the drum set from time to time. It is cleaned by sandpaper. Sometimes comet used for this use. If that scares you, then try dish soap and water with a heavy nylon scrub brush. A cheap old hair brush with thick wiry bristles works great.
Best type of maintenance is always wiping your cymbals down before storing them away. If you still have the plastic bag that your cymbal came in, put the cymbal in the bag before putting it in your case. This helps to keep gunk off the cymbal while it's being stored and helps prevent the cymbals from wearing each other down as they're bounced around during travel.