I t’s the inevitable struggle of every drummer. Every time you jam, you need to be there earlier and leave later than everyone else to set up and dismantle your kit, carry those heavy cymbals around, spend a fortune on upgrading your pedals, literally use up half the space in your room, and above all, constantly worry about disturbing others with the noise.
Wouldn’t it be a dream to be able to carry your kit around in your pocket and practise wherever you are? Well, this Swedish technology has now made this dream come true. Freedrum is a virtual drum kit that fits in your pocket, bringing the drumming experience from soundproof studios to the outdoors, your home, or even on the move. All you need is access to a smartphone.
The founders — August Bering, Philip Robertson, Sonja Rattay, Jonas Knutsson and Rasmus Hedin believe that Freedrum could create an immersive experience for drummers of any skill level. “A year ago, August’s 10-year-old wanted to learn to play the drums. So, he brought his grandfather’s old drum kit home for him to practise. It was falling apart and when they eventually managed to put it together it took up half his room. Also, it was just as loud as August remembers from when he played in a rock band in his garage in the 90’s,” says Rasmus.
Since then, August Bering, the lead inventor, has worked on the hardware that’s strapped to the sticks and the special software that connects it to a smartphone. When he proved that his idea worked, he teamed up with the design and tech studio, Block Zero to design and produce his invention.
Freedrum uses sensors that can make out drum beats from the way you move the sticks. Inside the enclosure there’s a printed circuit board with a gyroscope that detects movements and interprets them as hits on a drum. Together with the detected force and a few other magic parameters, it is then translated into Musical Instrument Digital Interphase (MIDI). The MIDI signal is sent via Bluetooth to a connected app, like Garageband on an iPhone, which then plays the actual sound via headphones or onboard speakers.
It uses the new Bluetooth MIDI standard, which provides very low latency and makes it compatible with most iOS and macOS music software. All you need to do is strap the sensors to your drumsticks, pair them with your smartphone, and you’re ready to go. “If you want the full experience, strap two more units to your feet. The Freedrum units are interchangeable, so you won’t need to buy special feet units,” says Rasmus.
Freedrum can now be pre-ordered via Kickstarter and will be available worldwide from August 2017.