weird question about practicing with earplugs..

mcbike

Silver Member
Today I was working on rudiments at my kit, and I didn't have my practice pad with me. The noise was getting really loud so I put on ear muffs (the kind for using at a shooting range). I was amazed at how smooth my rudiments sounded, and impressed by how good and even everything sounded even playing them on the toms.

I ended up having a good session and got some really good speed up doing different rolls around the kit.

Then I took the headphones off and heard what It sounded like. It was pretty bad, the strokes sounded uneven, some of the tom strokes sounded like they were missing even.

does anybody have this problem too? I think that my actual problem might be just the sound of my drums, everything is super resonant single ply heads, no muffling on anything, 3 ply ludwig drums. I am inclined to try using some more controlled heads just to see if the problem is just the overtones ringing out of control or if the problem is with my playing.

I am kind of bothered becuase with the headphones on I really sounded great.
 
you have to sound good on any drumset!
don't try to go the easiest way beacause it won't make you a better player.
WORK on getting a good sound out of your kit (and by work i don't mean going to your local music store and buy new heads). practice slowly and softly (pianissimo is the keyword!). pay attention to eveness of the sound (all unaccented notes at the same volume etc).
 
Hearing protection blocks harmful amounts of sound from entering your ears, and in doing so blocks a high percentage of high frequencies (such as overtones from drums, etc). It's like turning the treble knob down on your stereo. What you're left with is the tones and depth of your drums. So sure, i agree with you, the drums sound great that way.

However, no hearing protection on Earth makes you play better - as in, making your technique, feel, groove, rudiments, or touch better. Maybe you feel more comfortable (I know I do!), but it's not going to be responsible for any improvement. That's between your ears, not in them.
 
McBike, my guess is you're feeling inhibited because of the noise and it's affecting your playing. I play worse when I worry about noise and I've read comments by others here who have found the same thing. As Al said: "That's between your ears, not in them".

The scientific approach would be to record a few practice sessions and see what gives.
 
Yeah, record yourself playing while wearing those earplugs and listen to it if it actually is that bad. It's a mental battle during playing but it's less mental when you can objectively listen to it afterwards.
 
Today I was working on rudiments at my kit, and I didn't have my practice pad with me. The noise was getting really loud so I put on ear muffs (the kind for using at a shooting range). I was amazed at how smooth my rudiments sounded, and impressed by how good and even everything sounded even playing them on the toms.

I ended up having a good session and got some really good speed up doing different rolls around the kit.

Then I took the headphones off and heard what It sounded like. It was pretty bad, the strokes sounded uneven, some of the tom strokes sounded like they were missing even.

does anybody have this problem too? I think that my actual problem might be just the sound of my drums, everything is super resonant single ply heads, no muffling on anything, 3 ply ludwig drums. I am inclined to try using some more controlled heads just to see if the problem is just the overtones ringing out of control or if the problem is with my playing.

I am kind of bothered becuase with the headphones on I really sounded great.



Me and you are on the same exact page as I have had my balls busted over and over from the infamous speed clip where I was wearing exactly what you are. Isolation headphones used for gun ranges etc. They do infact make your drums sound very compressed and better. I actually do enjoy playing much more with them because I for one do not like the way a snare drum sounds not miked up and compressed (acoustic.)

So if I have that annoying banging in my ears I do not enjoy playing as much, do I play the same? Of course. Do I enjoy it as much? Definitely not. Keep on wearing them as they are saving your ears and making you enjoy what you do that much more which is what it is all about. I thought I was the only one....

SD

Insane Drumming Videos:

www.youtube.com/themoellerkiller
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I disagree. I think the headphones DO allow you to play better and here is why. Imagine you are at a gig and the monitor mix is awful. You cannot hear your drums very well...you will play worse because you cannot hear yourself...now the same gig with an awesome monitor mix and you can hear everything, you will play much better...with the headphones its the same thing....you will play better when you can hear yourself clearly....now alot of it will be mental, but that will manifest itself into better playing....I cannot imagine practicing with out headphones....However when I play live I generally dont use hearing protection....but I dont bash the SH*t out of my drums either and I make sure my monitor mix is clear. plus the venues I have played generally have much better accoustics than my garage.
 
I practice with Metrophones and I have started using an overhead and a bass drum mic. That way, I still get the compressed acoustic sound through the headphones, but I can mix in the treble signal and actually hear what's going on.

This setup uses a small mixer, of course, and it has the advantage that I can easily mix in MP3 playalongs and get a good drum sound in the mix. I can also easily record the whole thing. So even if it is a little cumbersome, it is worth it in terms of realism, and of course, I learn a lot about recording too.

Casper
 
I play with ear plugs and vary how tightly I put them in to get a good sound.

I find I play better when I'm not as concerned with slap back and over ring.

If I am fortunate enough to have a stage monitor so I can hear guitar and vocals better, then I keep my ear plugs really tight. I have to crank the wedge a bit but then I can play out and I think I play better without all the racket and overtones.

For quieter parts, I will loosen the one ear plug on the opposite side of the stage monitor so I can hear myself.
 
for the record I think my drums do sound amazing when i'm playing. they have a huge open sound, they just dont sound good when i'm playing extended single stroke rolls and high dynamic levels. as for putting new heads on the kit, the heads are new, they are just all single ply with no muffling. they work great for playing, just without headphones playing loud extended rudiments they get out of control.
 
Are you playing right after you take the earmuffs off?

For me, if I do that, the high end of my drums are REALLY loud to me. If I play without having headphones on for a while, things are fine.
 
I always wear earplugs or in ear monitors for practicing along with music... I agree 100% that everything sounds better to me with the plugs in.

I know I play more relaxed and confidently with the plugs in - probably because I'm not worrying about destroying my hearing.
Also - keep in mind that what you hear with the plugs in is probably closer to what the audience hears at a show then your un-miked drums do a few inches from your ears. You hear every little detail of sound from each strike when you play without hearing protection. When you play at a show, the overtones and high end are probably somewhat drowned out by the other instruments.
 
I can't speak to the feeling as though my playing is better with earplugs, but I can however attest to the fact that when I practice without hearing protection I suffer from ear fatigue and the onset of the fatigue happens fairly fast. It's interesting because for me ear fatigue usually shows up in the form of mild headaches, lack of concentration, or general tiredness. With earplugs or isolation phones I can practice for 1.5 to 2 hours easily. Without them I can do 45 minutes max. I am sure that this phenomenon has a bit to do with the room that I rehearse as well as how I have mistreated my hearing in my younger days. Nonetheless I get way more done in t he practice room with earplugs in and that's what matters most. When I walk away from the drums feeling as though I have accomplished something, I feel a lot better about my playing, so perhaps there's a link to success within that.
 
I always wear earplugs or in ear monitors for practicing along with music... I agree 100% that everything sounds better to me with the plugs in.

I know I play more relaxed and confidently with the plugs in - probably because I'm not worrying about destroying my hearing.
Also - keep in mind that what you hear with the plugs in is probably closer to what the audience hears at a show then your un-miked drums do a few inches from your ears. You hear every little detail of sound from each strike when you play without hearing protection. When you play at a show, the overtones and high end are probably somewhat drowned out by the other instruments.

wow this makes alot of sense to me. My snare always sounds really bright and pangy behind the kit and when I listen to recordings done on my portable tascam digital recorder it is alot more punchy, which is what I hear when I wear the earmuffs.
 
I definately play better with earplugs, which I have proven in recording myself. For me its the fact that I can hear individual notes much more clearly and this helps get everything much tighter. Once these basic notes are there, the kit takes care of the rest. To be fair, these are custom earplugs I'm talking about so they supposedly cut frequencies out evenly.
 
keep in mind that what you hear with the plugs in is probably closer to what the audience hears at a show then your un-miked drums do a few inches from your ears. You hear every little detail of sound from each strike when you play without hearing protection. When you play at a show, the overtones and high end are probably somewhat drowned out by the other instruments.
I came to this conclusion also and stopped worrying about the sound of the drums without ear protection. Sitting on top of the drums in my small drum room what I hear is not what a listener would hear.. I do tune my drums with both ear protection on and off. But I practice with ear protection on only.
My drums sound more realistic and I protect my hearing.
 
This isn't a weird question at all. I think it's a great idea to practice like this. After all, the drummer, above anyone else, should be able to hear the best. You don't want to block off the sound too much while practing, because you've got to hear all of what you're playing.
 
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