So little Johnny has taken up the drums, and he’s actually pretty good. He could even join a successful rock band one day and make enough money to take care of you in your retirement—if you don’t lose your mind from all the noise he makes first. Luckily, there are ways to reduce the amount of noise coming from your young drummer’s practice space.
Seal Doors and Windows
Sound travels wherever air does. The means that all the soundproofing in the world won’t help you if you don’t seal gaps and cracks that the sound will leak through. Make sure you caulk around windows and seal up any cracks or holes that leak. Install a sweep under any doors as well, to keep sound from leaking out underneath them. If your doors are hollow rather than solid, hang a quilted fiberglass sound dampener on them.
When dealing with air leaks, decide what to do with vents. Leaving air conditioning and heating vents open will make the room more comfortable, but some sound will be transmitted through them. If you soundproof them, the room could get hot or cold in a hurry. For a good compromise, consider rigging a flap or cover so that you can cover the vents during practice but leave them open at other times.
Look Up and Down
If you have rooms above or below the practice space, address the floor and ceiling. On the floor, install a sound-absorbing drum mat. These mats absorb sound and also tightly grip the base of a drum set so that it remains stationary during intense jam sessions. If you have neighbors above you, hang sound-proofing baffles from the ceiling or install foam ceiling tiles.
If your drummer has been practicing her musical art for a long time and her obsession with the drums is more than a phase, consider adding drywall to her practice space. Drywall is affordable and quite good at dampening sound waves. The thicker the drywall the better, so consider installing multiple drywall layers. Drywall works on ceilings and walls.
Cover the Walls
Of course, the largest surface area in your drummer’s practice area is likely the walls. For a fast and easy solution, cover the walls in the practice room with sound absorption sheets. Easy to install and remove later, these sheets can reduce the sound leaving the room by up to 60 percent. If you need a little more protection, add acoustic paneling. Available in various sizes, acoustic paneling simply hangs on the wall to reduce sound. These panels are available in plain colors and artistic designs that add pizzazz to a space while reducing sound.
You certainly don’t want to stifle your child’s drumming dreams, but you probably don’t want to buy stock in headache medicine either. Luckily, there are lots of sound-absorbing materials on the market today that can help keep the noise from drum practice to a minimum. With the right soundproofing materials, you and your young drummer can live in perfect harmony.
