Oddly Intimidating Solution

I've been wondering how to find more practice time when I work full time, have a long commute and don't want to ditch the family when I get home.

So I bought a 2nd hand practice pad on a stand and went down to the parking garage under our office building at lunch. Found a remote corner, put in one earbud, set the ipod for random tunes and practiced rudiments for 40 minutes.

Didn't see a soul while I was there, which was good because I felt terribly self-conscious. I know I wasn't bothering anyone or doing anything dodgey, but was still glad to go un-noticed.

Hopefully I'll get more brazen after I have a few sessions under my belt.

PS I do like practicing rudiments to random songs because it forces me to mold the rudiments to the groove of the song, so I end up playing them with different tempos and feels, rather than just playing them straight.

I can relate to that, lost my job 18 months ago and tried to get back to drumming, joined Bill Bachman's Drumworkout and started to practice 3 hours + everyday. Then 2 months ago when I got a job it became hard to find time to practice, I too have a family. Maybe I can put in 45 minutes on weekdays and 2 hours on weekends if I get up before the rest of the family does, which means 06:00... I found a practice space at work in an old shelter room where I try to put i 30 minutes every morning break. But so far I stop whenever someone comes by, it just feels awkward and as I try to work on what I'm no good at it doesn't sound very good either. Selfconcious yes. It will get better with time though, I'm pretty sure of that. And maybe the comments like "how hard can it be to play the drums" will fade and disappear

By the way, congrats on the new job. They're not so easy to find.

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Thanks! No they don't come easy when over 50, sad but true.

Whatever works man. I used to practice in a broom closet in school.

I caught some slack from my in laws and wife when they realized my drum set was a wealth of kids toys. Shakers, wood blocks, wind chimes, xylophone, sleigh bells, chimes, gongs, mini-hats, splash, whistles, etc. I call it my new age jungle kit.

I let my baby daughter hold mini-sticks or mallets, while I play the hats and bass, some times we play counter point on wood blocks and xylophone. She also loves getting her hands into the chimes.