Breaking News: Drummer Making Too Much Noise! 10 Tips for Drum Noise Reduction

10 Tips for Drum Noise Reduction

Do your angry neighbors hate your amazing drumming skills?

We’ll be talking about sound absorption and reduction today and what you can do as a drummer in order to keep those neighbors happy, all while you practice.

As drummers and percussionists, it’s often hard for us to keep the noise levels down. No matter how soft we try to play, the sound just somehow finds a way to escape and bother our neighbors. The last thing you want is to get the cops called on you to turn it down.

HOWEVER…

There are some nice solutions to this problem in order to keep the noise levels a lot lower and to avoid any potential conflict. Here are some ways you can keep on practicing without getting in trouble.

Tip #1 - Sound Absorption

In one of our previous articles we talked about the difference between soundproofing and sound absorption. While most of us probably can’t afford to soundproof our rooms, we can use sound absorption materials in order to reduce the amount of frequencies that get bounced out to the neighbors.

Acoustic foam, panels, and curtains are all popular choices in order to tame some of those room reflections. You can also try to make them yourself for a cheaper option if you really want panels. Even placing blankets on the walls and hard surfaces is better than nothing! Sound absorption placed on walls and ceilings will likely help with mid to high frequencies, so like your cymbals and snare.

In order to help escaping bass frequencies that come from your toms and bass drum, take a look at some bass traps and place them in the corners of your room. This is typically where bass frequencies like to hang out.

Tip #2 - Drum Risers

While soundproofing may not always be a feasible solution, you may be able to mimic a certain aspect of soundproofing in a way. I say this lightly

and very loosely since this isn’t going to be nearly as good as a soundproofed room. However, using a drum riser helps provide isolation. This is especially a good idea if you happen to live in an apartment and you’re not on the first floor.

For a cheaper solution, you can choose to DIY it, and make it yourself. I’ve personally seen risers made out of plastic pallets to tennis balls sandwiched between wood. Do make sure though, that it can support your drums and most importantly you.

Tip #3 - Drum Dampening

Let’s start getting onto the drum set itself. You can try dampening your

drum to reduce overtone ringing by placing Moongels, folded towels, dampening rings, drum mutes, gaffer tape, etc… If you do go the tape route, DO NOT use duct tape. Duct tape can damage

your heads so steer clear from that, along with any kinds of tapes that can leave residue on your heads.

Tip #4 - Ditch the Head

If you don’t want to go for drum dampening, you can also just ditch your regular drum heads and go for a mesh drum head. While it won’t feel the same as a regular acoustic head, it’ll still give you a decent feel and quiet down your set A LOT. This is a really great option when you really need to keep it down, but have to practice.

If you don’t want to change out your heads for mesh heads, use practice pads instead.

Tip #5 - Ditch the Cymbals

What do you mean ditch the cymbals?? Believe it or not, but there are quieter cymbal options that are out there on the market today. There’s rubber cymbals that are usually found on electronic drums, cymbal mutes, but there’s also low volume cymbals which I’m personally a fan of.

These low volume cymbals typically have holes drilled directly into the cymbal in order to reduce that cymbal “wash.” You still get a very similar feel to regular cymbals with a lot less noise involved.

Cymbal mutes are also a cheaper and great alternative to still get that real feel and keep it down.

Tip #6 - Ditch the Sticks

Ditch the sticks! While it’s always great to play with drum sticks, sometimes they can be quite loud. For a quieter option, you can choose rubber tipped sticks that help reduce your volume levels. You can also choose to play with rute/dowel sticks instead. These sticks look and feel a little different than tradition sticks. Rutes are made out of a bundle of slim, wooden dowels that are taped together to form one rute stick.

Brushes are also another way to go if you really want to start experimenting outside that traditional stick comfort zone. While these options won’t sound the same as a traditional stick, it can give you the opportunity to explore different things. However, if you don’t want to ditch your sticks, choose a lighter stick if at all possible.

Tip #7 - Drum Shields

Get behind a drum shield! Drum shields help provide an extra barrier for high frequency sounds. You can also place bass traps and use other acoustical absorption while inside your drum shield. If you are playing for a band or doing some recording with a band, drum shiel

ds can be helpful with reducing mic bleed.

Tip #8 - E-Drums

While it may or may not be a favorite choice among drummers and percussionists, sometimes going the electronic drums route is a way to go. While it won’t feel

like a natural, acoustic set, electronic drums have many benefits like having the ability to not only stay quiet, but also you have the ability to change the sound of your cymbals and drums. There are definitely pros and cons to e-drums, but if you definitely need a quiet solution, this is a great alternative.

Tip #9 - Scheduling

Don’t be playing too late into the night. This one may be an obvious one, but definitely needs to be said. If there are times when your neighbors are out of their house or apartment, choose those times to practice. Practice in the middle of the day if you can, while they’re out.

If that isn’t possible, block your practice time and stop practicing as soon as it gets to that late boundary. For example, my personal stopping boundary is at 10 PM. Once it’s 10 PM, I can no longer practice. This will also help to ensure that your practice sessions are productive, so consider it a nice practice hack if you will.

Lastly, if it helps, talk to your neighbor and see how late they’re willing to tolerate your practicing sessions, nightly. Communication is key to a lot of things.

Tip #10 - Practice Dynamics and Light Playing

Lastly, try practicing using dynamics and playing lighter around the kit. Maybe you don’t really need to go all out and thrash around your set the entire time. Think about the type of music that you’re playing. Do you really need to play at the loudest possible dynamic when you’re practicing some light jazz?

Even then, just experiment with trying to play lighter and playing with those softer dynamics. Aiming towards playing softer can actually help you grow as a musician. So if you’re only playing loud all the time, try aiming towards bringing your playing volume down. This will help you become an even better musician at the end of the day. Remember, play within context.

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You can try a combination of these tips all at once, only a few of these tips, only one tip, whatever it is that will help improve your current situation. Not all of these tips may be in your budget or feasible depending on many other factors and that’s more than okay, but if you are struggling with keeping the noise down, see if you can try some of these things. See what works best for you!

So with that, my question of the day is this:

Have you tried some of these things already? What did you find that worked the best for you?