For a committed drummer, practice and real action make for a complete life. But you are more likely to cause harm to the neighborhood.
Drums are the loudest instruments I have come to know. As you hit them, the sounds get transmitted really fast through the air, floor, and walls of the room.
This can make just about anyone in the compound and outside pragmatically sick.
If you don’t have a specific soundproofed room to play the drums, try to find out a studio where you can practice comfortably.
While the latter idea may prove to be a bit difficult, soundproofing a room in your home for drums practice is not far-fetched. Yes, a few resources will be needed and sometimes expensive materials involved.
You want to be able to soundproof your room to calm down the serious noisiness during your music and drum rehearsals. Unless you are ready for a heated confrontation with the neighbors.
That aside, there are many cheap and effective ideas on how to soundproof a room for drums. I will be looking in the coming sections.
Why Should You Soundproof the Drum Noise?
Drum noise can be transmitted both as airborne and impact noise. These add up to create a noxious acoustic problem.
Airborne noise to mean that all the vibrations and sound waves created by the drum activity are transmitted through the air. This noise is a very notorious form.
It can travel very fast, far and goes through the tiniest of spaces and gaps. So you can be sure of a real menace if you don’t soundproof your room.
Impact noise can penetrate the solid surfaces; walls, floors, and ceilings name them. For you to feel the drum rhythm, you can’t compromise the beating – it has to be really hard.
It is this physical action on the drums that bring about the impact noise. The outcome is incessant vibrations running all across and through the structure of your home.
Both types of noise can be extremely annoying. Because of this, you need to be thorough in your soundproofing efforts in order to stop noise from causing disturbances in the locale.
Is Soundproofing Alone Enough to Eliminate Unwanted Noise?
Soundproofing comes with incredible advantages once it’s done right. A proper soundproof drum room might not allow a lot of sounds outside.
All the soundwaves and vibrations are stopped by the soundproofing materials. Hence, reducing the loudness of the drums.
This process focuses on canceling noise so that it doesn’t reach the outside environment. But it does little when it comes to the inside of the room.
On that note, it is important to improve the room acoustics so that the quality of your music is not compromised. Echoes are the main problem in drum rooms.
To eliminate them in your room, you will need to install sound-absorbing materials. These materials do not block sound but rather absorb the echoes, vibrations and sound waves and turn them into heat energy.
Soundproofing for drums is going to effective when also the room acoustics are put into consideration. This way, you take down two birds with the same stone.
Here are 7 Incredibly Cheap Ways to Soundproof a Room for drums: Number 7 Will Stun You.
1. Seal All Gaps and Openings
Let me start here. Find out all gaps, openings, crevices, cracks – all spaces and close them off. You should not let even the smallest of these wherever uncovered.
I guess that you understand the physics of sound travel. Any hole that can allow light to pass through will definitely be a good pathway for sound.
A quick reminder where these gaps are prominent: you will see them between the doors and their frames. Even on windows.
Once you identify them, you will want to consider suitable soundproofing sealants to seal them off. You can get inexpensive acoustic materials online like the acoustic caulk or weatherstripping tapes.
2. Air Vents Are Obvious Culprits For Leaking Noise.
But they are called air vents for a vital reason – because room ventilation is going to be key for fresh air. So, you are never going to seal them just like that as if you were as good as dead.
The balance of keeping the needs of the room vs. soundproofing is a delicate one. It is easier said than done.
For you to make up the mind to seal the air vents, try to bring into the mix the goals you are targeting to accomplish. You can seal off the air vents temporarily, practice with your band as long as you want and after you finish, reopen them.
Having said that, there is a whole list of things you can do to block the vents on your drum room. For example, the use of Great Stuff Big Gap Filler would just okay.
Other methods you want to implement are the use of curtains, sound maze or even get the best acoustic foam for drum room.
The bottom-line is to ensure that you strike an undisruptive balance between your airflow and sound blocking.
3. Soundproof the Windows
In the first place, you simply do not require these. But in case there are windows on the current room you want to convert into a music room, let’s see what you need to do.
You can use the professional soundproof blankets and curtains to cover them. Usually, they come with more thickness and density than the ordinary ones.
In other words, they are designed to serve the purpose. So find the best in terms of quality and price and hang them.
A DIY window plug can help around with blocking sound. Learn how to create one and install them on the window.
4. Soundproof the Door
A door on the room is a vast surface and cannot be left in any soundproofing project. All gaps between the door and its frame can be sealed using appropriate soundproof materials such as acoustic caulk and weatherstrips.
The space between the door and floor should be covered using a door sweep. Alternatively, finding the right soundproof curtains that run from top to just below the bottom of the door would help, along with other methods, block some levels of noise.
You could as well hang or nail blankets on the door to reduce the escaping noise. Especially if the door has a hollow core.
Such doors can also be completely removed. Then invest in a solid core door that doesn’t allow sound through it.
Another idea of working on the door involves adding mass to it. Quilted fiberglass panel like this one can considerably thicken the door’s surface and reduce large amounts of noise spilling through its structure.
5. Soundproof the Walls
You don’t want to leave the hard parts of your room. And the walls are the most suspicious.
If you leave them bare, how attracting are such surfaces for sound waves to bounce off and cause irritating echoes! You know what I mean already.
So, the obvious solution is to cover them with appropriate noise blocking and sound-absorbing materials. Drum room sound absorption is vital for improved acoustics and quality of the music.
The bass from drums can split a heart. Therefore, a bass trap or absorber shouldn’t be far from your big plan.
Just position them cleverly at the corners of the room and they will be able to do their job the near-perfect way. This, you can do alone – you don’t need a professional to install them on your behalf.
I suggest that you look at this one Acoustic Foam XL Bass Trap Studio Soundproofing by Foamily.
You can also go miles up by getting affordable drywalls and installing them on the wall. Drywall is a material that is good at absorbing both the high and low-frequency sound waves.
Mount enough drywall sheets until you are completely satisfied with the outcomes. Attach these the layers using soundproof sealant between them.
I have talked about the acoustic caulk for long and I don’t see myself recommending another sealing material.
More sound-absorbing materials and products you can use on the walls and improve their soundproof properties are acoustic foam panels, fiberglass panels, blankets, and curtains. You can’t get short of materials for your wall soundproofing project.
6. Work on the Floor and Ceiling
The floor and its direct congruent, the ceiling, should not be sidelined. Assuming that you are upstairs, your floor is the down-stair neighbor’s ceiling.
The physical impact as you hit the drum hard for bass is tremendous. The vibrations generated can cause the family restless and sleepless moments.
Literally, the vibrations will be transmitted through the floor and felt in their real state by the person below. Which is not fair for Christ’s sake.
With that said, soundproofing the floor is significant. And you need the sound absorbers to dampen this impact noise.
Perhaps, an acoustic underlay material is going to be great insulation for the floor. Check out on Amazon for this FloorMuffler Flooring Underlayment which can work both on laminate and wood floors.
Foam rubber padding can be laid across the floor to block sound waves. Other people have even used soundproof mats or interlocking noise-proofing tiles to cover the floor and achieve both sound and heat insulation.
7. Make a Room within a Room
Making a room (space) within another is becoming a profitable strategy for soundproof pros. It is a creative method that involves the use of the extra medium in the room to muffle the sound.
It is arguably the most effective when it comes to the proper drum practice environment. As a matter of fact, I am not classifying this as the cheapest way to soundproof a room for drums – it can’t even come close to the upper limit of cheap.
You will definitely have to spend a lot of bucks (up to thousands of dollars) to separate this space.
Practically, you will need to create another small room with walls and ceiling. Soundproof materials like drywall and sheetrock come in handy for this task.
To attach these materials together, Green Glue will be a suitable adhesive to make sure that your structure is stable. This adhesive also comes a soundproof material so this is a win-win for you.
The following are some of the ways to create this space:
· Use Drum Shield Panels
Drum shields, made from acrylic and plastic, help to restrict the flow of sound waves. Simply, refer them to barriers.
You will need to buy multiple panels and surround them around the drums. For instance, this drum shield with deflectors comes highly recommended to stall the movement of sound waves.
· Buy a Drum Sound Booth
A drum isolation booth works as a drum shield but with better soundproofing outcomes. This alternative offers more pragmatism of the room within a room – you are basically encaged with your drums.
So, all the sounds are trapped within the drum enclosure. This creates real quiet within your drum practice room.
8. Place a Drum Rug Underneath the Drum Set
A good drum rug placed underneath your drums can be a revelation. It has to have reliable sound-dampening properties – and you will be amazed at the results.
This Meinl Cymbals MDR-BK Drum Rug is an investment you can count on. It will dramatically reduce the amount of noise your drum emits.
Final Thoughts
I have not recommended only one cheapest way to soundproof a room for drums. This is a huge list of easy methods.
You can take time to pick which ones you think can do a great job for your next drum room soundproofing mission. Normally, I advise people to combine many methods to get near their goals.
The seven strategies I have discussed are just but a part of the many ideas available to you. I haven’t even talked about using the electronic drum set or the silent practice drum pads or even stuffing the drum with blankets.
How Much Does It Cost to Soundproof a Room for Drums?
If you are planning to soundproof a drum practice room, you want to make sure that the cost is well known for informed budget making. There is no need to worry much over the budget – you may never even need to spend more than a few hundred (for some methods).
Of course, others would require your full financial commitment. And by this I mean you could spend thousands.
