The first US patent for a drum practice pad was granted in 1920 to Henry Bower, a drummer and teacher who created a “drum practice device” so that drummers could practice anywhere without having to lug a drum along. There was no claim made about the practice device being quieter than an actual drum, only more portable; Bower’s design utilized a wood base, with a wool batting as a middle layer and topped by a piece of hard fiberboard, the same as was used for drum cases (and which was still used for drum cases, up through the late 1980s, when hard plastics improved enough to supplant fiberboard). The result was a practice pad with a very hard, articulate response and tone which was barely muted at all by the wool batting. Bower then licensed his design to a drum shop in Los Angeles, which then produced the pads in quantity and had distribution rights.
But drummers had made their own pads for private use before Bower got his patent. These homemade pads were essentially one-offs, made by the drummer for his personal use.
A number of working drummers continued to make and use their own practice pads after mass-produced pads became widely available. Why? There’s no single definite reason. The pads in the first photo below represent different decades in modern drum history, from the 1950s into the early 1980s, when mass-produced practice pads were plentiful and relatively inexpensive. However, most of the mass-produced pads during this time were made with a built-in tilt, rather than flat. (Remo’s tunable pads even came with a slight tilt built into the design, which didn’t really go away until the 1990s. They also cost more than the simple rubber-on-wood pads did.)
Most drummers were still being taught traditional grip up through the late 1970s, and drums were still carried on the march at a tilt (using a webbed shoulder sling and a leg rest) until the early 1980s, when the modern drum corps movement took off. West Coast drum corps such as the Santa Clara Vanguard taught their snare drummers to use matched grip and carried their snare drums as parallel to the ground as possible. These corps inspired and spearheaded development of sturdier drum carriers with adjustable tilt so that players using matched grip didn’t have to wear a shoulder sling. By the late 1980s, more commercially-made pads were being made flat to accommodate matched grip players.
(Incidentally, when I began learning snare drum in 1973 I was taught traditional grip. I didn’t learn matched grip until I began high school and the section leader insisted on everyone using matched grip for the sake of uniformity. I learned to use both, but whenever I sat behind a drum kit I tilted my snare drum and used traditional grip. I still play that way today, and my practice pad station at home utilizes a tilted platform so I can use flat pads on it with traditional grip. I’m just stubborn, I guess.)
Photo, L to R:
Homemade pads made and used by Jim Dinella, Don Wunn and Norman Grossman.
The Don Wunn pad (center) is probably a 1950s Leedy pad that was refurbished with a replacement base of plywood and the rubber top reattached. Don Wunn ran a drum shop in Portland, Oregon in the 1950s, and sold the business in the early 1960s.
Jim Dinella was a music educator and professional drummer who wrote articles for a modern Drummer magazine and was a historian for the Percussive Arts Society. His pad was probably made in the 1970s and was obtained from his estate.
Normal Grossman ran a drum shop in New York City and authored several drum methods, while also maintaining a full private studio and performing at clubs around New York. As of 2024 he was reported as living quietly in New York City. I obtained this pad from Jon Singer, who was charged with disbursing his drum equipment and instruments.
Below: a practice pad made and used by Solomon Feldman, a drummer/percussionist based in New York. Made from a plywood base (which looks like it may have once been part of a utility cable spool) with a panel of leather affixed to one side. While leather is not widely used on mass-produced practice pads today, tanned leather has continued to be a responsive playing surface for drummers.**
I continue to look for homemade pads from drummers of an earlier age. I think they’re a great example of “beausage” — something made beautiful through usage, acquiring a patina that could only come from being well-worn. And in this era of mass-produced deck being made unsustainably and shipped from overseas, these old pads carry a poignancy that I really cherish.
(** Tackle Instrument Supply offers a fancy leather pad affixed to a hardwood base. At only 6” diameter and with a retail price of $75, I t’s meant as a coffee table collectible more than a serious practice implement.)
Note: depending on the age and condition of an old homemade pad, and whether or not you intend to play on it, you *may* choose to stabilize older wood by applying a thin coat of wood hardener. Wood hardener does exactly what it says it does — it hardens the wood by filling in the wood fibers. (On furniture projects, it’s often followed up with light sanding and staining or paint.)
Working in a well-ventilated area, tape off any areas you don’t want to touch with the liquid hardener, apply a thin coat with a small sponge brush and let dry overnight. Choosing to alter and/or play on an old wood is a personal choice that can be influenced by many factors, including the age of the pad, the fame of the drummer who made it, the scarcity of that drummer’s personal equipment and the condition of the pad before altering.
I would never alter my Bower pad! It’s over a hundred years old and extremely rare, and even in better condition I wouldn’t really want to play on it. Conversely, I did make some attempts to stabilize the Jim Dinella pad because it was newer and in relatively good condition. I added a little foam on the bottom to keep it from skidding, and I stabilized a couple of joined corners with a small amount of clear glue. Again, consider all the factors and use prudent judgment.
Happy drumming.
