Several students can practice in the same room without interfering with each other or with people in adjoining rooms. Students can also practice at home without fear of disturbing family members. I know some parents who would pay any amount of money for such a drum set. Striking a percussion controller can trigger pitched tones as well as non-pitched or traditional percussion sounds. With the appropriate hardware a single percussion controller can be set to produce a series of pitches or chords.
Students can trigger melodies and chords by hitting pads with drumsticks, mallets or fingers.
Teachers can introduce melodic and rhythmic improvisation by programming pre-set melodies and harmonies. This is also a fun and interactive way to introduce students to composition. While most drum machines excel at playing rhythmic patterns some can also act as sequence recorders. Drum pads permit students to record drum performances in real time as MIDI data. This MIDI sequence data can be written out and printed in standard musical notation by a computer notation program such as Encore, Finale or Overture.