Worried about the neighbors complaining about your drum practice noise. Maybe you just want to get a feel for the world of drumming, before you invest in a kit. This article is about how to learn drums without a drum set. I’ll show you how to get started with the basics, so that you can practice at home without disturbing everyone around you.
It might sound impossible, but it really isn’t – there are plenty of ways to practice drums without having any drums! You just need the right motivation, plus time and patience. The good news is that learning drums has never been more accessible than today. So, if you want to start building your chops, read on!
Get a practice pad
The first step is to get a good quality practice pad. They are made to resemble the feel of an acoustic drum and are an essential piece of equipment for all drummers.
Practice pads are ideal for practising hand technique and rudiments. They are readily available online, or you can visit a music store if you prefer to test one out personally.
The main things to look for when buying a pad are the following:
- Realistic feel - Look for a rebound level that’s similar to an acoustic drum. Avoid cheap foam pads, that have a different feel to real drums.
- Size – Do you want a small, portable pad that’s easy to carry around? Then look at small 6-inch models. Alternatively, you may be after a bigger model that will fit onto a snare drum stand. Be careful when looking at online pads and note the size - don’t get a nasty surprise when it arrives!
- Double sided - Some pads have two different playing surfaces, so you can find the one that suits your playing.
One of my favourite pads is the QuietPad from Drumeo. This has a standard drum pad surface on one side, which feels like a snare drum. On the other is a 'quiet' surface that's ideal for when I’m practicing late at night or in front of the TV.
Kick drum pads and practice kits
Practice pads are great for learning rudiments but they're not so good for developing coordination between your hands and feet or for moving between the drums.
To incorporate the feel of a bass drum (kick drum), you can use a specialised practice pad for the purpose. You will need to have a drum pedal to fix to the pad, but once you have this in place, you're really rolling! Now you can practice proper grooves between your hands and feet.
If you want to take things one level further, you can look at a practice kit. Models like the 'DW Go Anywhere' allow you to learn all the movements involved in using a real kit, including playing grooves, rolls, chops, ride cymbal patterns etc. It's also the perfect way to sharpen up on your independence.
Use a pillow or cushion
A technique for improving hand technique is to use a pillow or cushion as a practice pad. You may initially think this is a bit silly but do give it a go.
The cushion provides an extremely quiet surface to play on, so you won't be driving the rest of the household crazy. In addition, there is no rebound, so you have to really focus on good finger control to execute those fast double stroke rolls.
This is a great technique to combine with some of the other ideas on this page.
Electronic practice drum pad
Another option is to introduce some electronics into your practice routine. This gives you a few more options to spice up your practice and improve your overall skills.
When I was living in an apartment, I decided to go this route and invested in the Roland RMP5. This model has a built-in metronome and a 'Rhythm Coach' feature that tells you if you're playing slightly out of time. I thought I was pretty good on my timing until I got feedback from the Coach!
I particularly liked the time check feature of the metronome. It sounds for a couple of measures and then is quiet for the next couple of measures (or however long you program it for). While playing through the silent part, you're trying to play exactly in time so that when the metronome kicks in again, you're exactly on the beat.
Virtual drumming - Aerodrums and Freedrum
This is a fascinating recent development in the world of drumming. It's essentially air drumming but the sophisticated electronics allows you to hear all the drums and cymbals, as if you're playing a real kit.
Aerodrums launched their first product back in 2014. It uses high speed cameras, special drumsticks and bespoke software to simulate the sound and experience of a real drum kit.
Freedrum launched on Kickstarter in 2017 and have been growing at a rapid rate since then.
Both products have similar advantages:
- They are virtually silent to people around you.
- Unlike a traditional kit, they don't take up lots of room - useful if you live in a small apartment.
- Portable - you can pack them up into a bag and take them with you wherever you need to practice.
- Reasonable price - compared to a full electronic drum kit.
Recorded Music
At the end of the day, drumming is all about playing in a band with other musicians. So, a particularly important skill to develop is being able to play along to music.
You can do this without even needing a drum kit. Put on a song that you like and try to work out the drumming parts. Then simply tap your foot on the floor to simulate the bass drum. Use your hands on your body to mimic the hi-hat and snare. Everybody loves a bit of air drumming, so don't be afraid to go for it!
A further technique is to drum along to some drumless tracks. You can find these on YouTube or get some from online drum tutors. This is the position you'll find yourself in when playing with other musicians - everything is up to you.
A useful app that removes drums from any tune is moises.app. Perfect if you play in a cover band or just want to play along to your favorite tracks.
Next Steps…
As you can see, there are many ways to learn drums without needing an actual drum set.
Technique, imagination and creativity are 3 of the most important skills for a professional drummer. You don't need to be crashing around on a full-sized acoustic kit to develop these skills. You don't even need to shell out much money on equipment.
So go ahead and pick up those sticks; let loose and have fun because there's so much you can achieve.