How to make Drums quieter: 5 tips for happier neighbors
Air drumming not included
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How to make Drums quieter: 5 tips for happier neighbors
How to make Drums quieter: 5 tips for happier neighbors · Source: Tama
How to make drums quieter – if e-drums aren’t your thing and Jazz isn’t the way, then practicing drums in your garage or living room can be challenging. Especially when you have noise-sensitive neighbors. Who will let you know the exact times of day and the exact volume levels you can practice at. Constantly. But there are ways to quiet a drum set and still hit it hard.
Take a look at these tips
How to make Drums quieter: What is it all about?
Before we get in to the actual suggestions, let’s back up for a second and think for a moment. You love playing the drums. You love hitting those drums just as hard as your idol did – looking at you, Tommy and Lars. So, why, why, why, must Mr. Nextdoor make such a fuss about it?!
Acoustic drums are by far the loudest, un-amplified acoustic instrument you can play. If you to talk to other drummers about way on how to make drums quieter, every single one will have a million tips! There are interviews from the one and only Dave Grohl talking about is early drumming days as a young boy, where he describes how he learned all the Bonham songs while just playing on cushions!
That’s certainly a way to do it, but we just really want to bang on those drums, don’t we? There are ways to quiet a drum set by using tissues and tape on the actual drums and towels on the cymbals. But these can leave a nasty residue that’s hard to remove. Let’s take a look at some better alternatives.
#1: Damp ’em and Mesh ’em
If tissues and towels are a bit too DIY for you and the boxy sound these measures often result in is too annoying, then you can get a variety of practice pads and low-volume cymbals. For these, there are cymbal packs from Zildjian*. The sound might be a bit off-putting at first, but you’ll still get to hit your drums pretty hard.
In terms of practice pads, you’ll still have a drum kit that might sound a bit like a set of cardboard boxes when you hit it. But at least you won’t get any residue from the tape. One step further from practice pads are mesh heads*. These are actual drum heads you replace your normal ones with.
#2: Rods, rods, rods – Use quieter drumsticks
Playing drums with rods is a very different affair. Especially when you play faster genres like Death Metal or Doom, playing with rods or brushes will feel very wrong in the beginning. But only might this improve your technique significantly as you’re forced to pay much closer attention to each hit as rods and brushes practically have no rebound.
This can also help a lot in the quest to make drums quieter. The more you practice with these, the more likely you will start paying much closer attention to the dynamics of it all!
#3: Work on your technique
The longer we play, and that’s true for every instrument, the more we all realize how important dynamics are for any musical instrument. But I would argue it’s nowhere as accurate as it is for drums. Sure, many of us started out because we loved beating the crap out of a drum kit.
But if you’ve ever been on a more extended tour where you need to play every night. Or if you’ve played with other musicians who were significantly more experienced. Or you start paying closer attention to what your idols do. Then, you will realize just how essential dynamics are. To achieve a more dynamic way of playing, you need to work on your technique. So, a straightforward, cheap way to quieter drums is to adjust your technique and play all your favorite songs at low levels.
#4: How to make drums quieter by playing a smaller kit
I know, I know, I can see the Metal drummers and the fusion guys fuming in the comments from a mile away – “A smaller drum kit?”! Hear me out. How to make drums quieter is to realize what made them loud in the first place. And one place to look at is the size of the actual kit.
Smaller shells with lighter heads naturally don’t sound as massive as those 24-inch bass drums or that pair of thundering 16- and 18-inch floor tomes. While playing a cocktail kit might feel odd, you’ll also have the benefit of having a much smaller and lighter instrument to carry when you play shows.
#5: Switch it up – Percussion or e-drums
If none of these tips have helped calm down Mr. Nextdoor, then maybe it’s time to consider alternatives until you’ve found a rehearsal room. Meanwhile, maybe try playing a cajon. It’ll very much keep you on your toes in terms of practicing rhythmic feel and groove.
Or perhaps just get a small e-drum pad? It doesn’t have to be an entire kit because these can get expensive fast. But even a small pad, combined with a pair of headphones, might get you at least some feeling of drumming back. And you might even come to find that it’s a wonderful musical addition to your acoustic set.
Conclusion on how to make drums quieter
I get it, I get it – all of these measures add or change something with your acoustic kit. But few other musicians have to be as compromising as drummers! Unfortunately, few people enjoy listening to hours and hours of drum practice at higher levels.
What have your experiences been on how to make drums quieter? What measures have you taken that have helped? Let us know in the comments!
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2 responses to “How to make Drums quieter: 5 tips for happier neighbors”
thumbnail is AI generated garbage…
I used bits of old bed sheet draped over the drums; it was a bit quieter & duller sounding but at least had some stick rebound so felt fairly normal to play. It’s bound to be a compromise. An isolated room helps, i.e. if you have a room with one either side of it. If it’s your own place, mineral wool between the joists above & below & some dense mineral wool pads over a window works well enough. Or a floating floor on buffers, but kits are so loud that none of these is a perfect cure & can be an expensive labour to do . All pretty difficult in an apartment tho. Really an electronic kit is the only solution for that, unless you can be home when all the near neighbours are out. Playing fast but quiet is definitely something to improve your skills. Then you’ll be much better when you can let rip at a gig