Imagine you just bought a new house, perhaps on Cedar Street, and you want to play your drums night and day. It’s essential, after all, you need as much practice as possible to become better at playing. You need it!
How can you play whenever you like without disturbing your new neighbors?
Here are some creative ways to reduce the noise coming from your new home studio playhouse. These snazzy tips can apply to just about any noisy activity done inside while living in close proximity to others, but most are specific to drums.
Some options for quieter practicing:
1. Close windows and doors. If you will be doing this often, fill each window with newspaper, packed top to bottom, then cover with a layer of cardboard, seal the window, and then cover the cardboard with egg cartons. Repeat for each window and door. Put carpet on the floor and sound absorbing materials on the remaining walls and ceiling.
2. Muffle your drums.
3. You can buy mute pads and put them on your drums:
4. You can recycle old drum heads to make your own mute pads:
5. You can buy acoustic blankets and hang them around the drums.
6. Or even build an isolation room:
In any case, it is good to know about how sound works in rooms, so here is a quick lesson on acoustic geometry using nerf guns and fluorescent string.
And this guy, a drummer, gives a first person account of many of the above, offering his excellent advice.
