What Is Loud?
I feel I’ve been somewhat protective of my ears over the years; still, a drummer talking about relative volume has an ironic aspect. The crack of a snare alone can deaden your sensitivity over time, or worse, making it hard to gauge “loudness” But if you are intent of getting your child a kit, do we start from the assumption of loud, and enforce the wearing of earplugs and headgear, like we do with helmets and pads today for bicycles, etc (none of which was a thought when I was growing up).
Though it’s important to protect your ears, drummers also have to play by feel. If you muffle the sound at the ear, the child won’t be able to associate his strike strength with absolute loudness, or accurately gauge relative dynamics around the kit, as high pitched frequencies get easily muted, creating perceived lower volume. So be a protective parent, but allow the child to self-regulate as well.
This is why drum lessons are so advantageous. Any good lesson includes dynamics, which attempts reign in rogue volume. Mimicking Rock Drummers wail away onstage or in videos is fun, but that comes after years of practice, where they play as such because they want or need to, not because they can’t help themselves (well, that’s for most drummers anyway).
Of course, if your child is two or three, too young for lessons, and too young to curtail the primitive desire to thwack everything thwackable, well, then you the parent might want to invest in ear protection! (or invest it drum kit mufflers, or fasten some light rags onto the drum pieces)
Hopefully this was Loud and Clear.
Cheers!
Barry Kaye
DadDoesDrums.com
