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Ok, now that you have your drums tuned to your liking, or maybe not. Maybe they just don’t sound quite right. Have you tuned your music room sound for your kit? You do not have to be a sound tech to do this very successfully, if you understand a little about how sound waves travel and bounce off objects. For a moment, let’s compare your music room to a racket or hand ball court. The sound coming from your drums is the ball. As the ball is struck with the racket or hand, it bounces from flat wall to flat wall, pretty much uninhibited. But what if the walls and floor had different shaped objects on them and the ball struck one of these objects. The ball would no longer bounce straight back as before. The shape and texture of the object the ball struck would determine the way and speed the ball bounced. Sound waves can be changed by the shape and texture of the objects they strike. If your music room is in your home, it is nothing more than a box with six flat sides from which the sound bounces every time a drumhead is struck with a stick, as well as the music playing, if any. If the room is completely empty, the sound waves bounce uncontrolled from the six flat surfaces. The objects placed in your music room have everything to do with how your drums sound when you are jamming. If you have a hardwood floor, a rug is necessary to cover some or all it. The wall décor is also very important in controlling sound waves. Large glass frames are a no-no. Glass reflects sound like water. Canvas décor is much more pleasant for sound, especially, textured painted canvas. Wood absorbs sound better than glass and metal, but is not the best. Think cloth for wall décor, as well as, soft pillows of different sizes, placed throughout the room in strategic places. A collection of your favorite baseball caps displayed on a wall or on a flat tabletop works very well for sound absorbers. Think of horizontal flat surfaces as a rock skipping on water when thrown. Blinds that can be adjusted over windows break-up sound waves much better than window panes. Even better, are full length curtains than can be opened and closed to control sound waves, as well as light. Don’t forget the back of the door, which you probably close when playing. Un-obstructed, it is a large flat object, which can be a problem with bouncing sound waves. A large beach towel works great for the back of the door and is hidden when the door is open.Closet doors need to be dressed as well. Full length bookcases can be a hindrance or a great sound breaker, depending on what is placed in them. Place different shaped objects in them and don’t make all books flush, but random sizes and distances from the edge, like a piano keyboard. Stay away from a lot of metal or wooden furniture and place different shaped objects on flat surfaces. “Big” old school stereo speakers, with cloth fronts, work great placed in the corners of the room to distribute sound, as well as controlling bounce. Now you need to think about how to muffle sound bouncing off the ceiling. Consider a ceiling fan or a fairly large light fixture hanging down, or maybe a Disco Ball, (just kidding), or pendant lamps hanging from the ceiling, or a nicely textured piece of cloth draping down. Floor and table lamps with cloth shades are great sound pieces for your music room. Thin bubble wrap works great on the back of wall décor to prevent rattling from the boom-boom of the kick. Simply put, make your music room yours. Experiment, keeping these few thoughts in mind, and hopefully, your drums will find their perfect sound, and you will get more enjoyment in playing them in your well tuned music room. Vintage Jammer
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soundwave, sound bounce, tuning, wall decor, jamming, music room, mancave,
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