Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Step1
Prepare your practice area’s walls to absorb sound. This isn’t completely necessary to do, but it will give you even better results. You can buy strips of acoustic foam insulation and arrange them evenly across the walls of your practice area. However, if money is tight, you can go down to a carpet supplier and ask for carpet remnants. They are usually free or very cheap and are a good alternative to acoustic foam insulation. Place the remnants on the walls in an even fashion for good sound absorption. Another thing to note is that having pieces of furniture in your practice space will also help absorb sound as well. This is a good thing to do if your area has enough room for furniture.
Step2
Place the drum set on one side of the room. You could also put the set in a corner of the room, but keep in mind that wherever you place the drum set will determine where everything else goes. So, pick a spot that will give everyone a comfortable amount of space. Another good choice would be to face the drums away from the exit of the room if noise will be a problem with anyone else in your house or neighborhood.
Step3
Arrange the amplifiers and cabinets in a variety of ways, after the drums are in place. One way is to put the amps in a line at the opposite end of the room, facing the drums. This will ensure everyone can hear each other, including the drummer. This isn’t recommended if you’re going to be playing any gigs, however. The reason is that the drummer will become used to playing with everyone’s amps facing him, and that could cause problems in a live situation. Another way to arrange everything is in a circle facing the drums. This is nearly identical to the previous option, but it does alter the sound. It will be up to your band to decide which arrangement sounds better. Finally, another option is to arrange the amps in a line in front of the drums, facing away from them. This will prepare your band for a live setup, and it will allow the band to hear everything easily if they play facing the drums and amps. This will allow your band to adjust their equalization and volume to get a good mix throughout.
Step4
Place your band’s PA. Depending on how you arranged everything else, you can set up the PA in a couple ways. The first arrangement, and probably the most used one, is to set your PA on a table off to the side of everything and have the PA speakers facing the same direction as the amps. This works well with the arrangement that has all of the amps facing away from the drums and the members facing their amps. Once again, this way allows everything to be heard clearly and adjusted properly to achieve a good sound. You could also have your speakers on the opposite side of the room, facing the amps and drums. It’s all trial and error from there to get a good sound.
Step5
The final step to arranging your practice area is managing power outlets and instrument cables. You’ll want to be sure, for safety reasons, not to have too many things plugged into the same outlet. If you can’t reach another outlet from where your equipment is positioned, you can buy a power strip from a hardware store that will allow you to plug multiple things in at once. This is a safer option than using extension cords since it’s designed for more powerful things. You’ll want to connect your amps and cabinets in a way that allows you to have the least amount of cords in the space you’ll be standing and walking around. Run all the cords behind the amps and try to keep the cord going from your instrument into the amp from tangling with everyone else’s. Tangling can be avoided by using a shorter cord for practice than you use live. You’ll just need to keep these things in mind and experiment with different options in order to find a sound that works for your band.
Organize Band Practice Area
Novice 
