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Hello all,

I graduated from music school about a year ago and since have gotten a non music related job, it is what it is. I would still like to be able to play with some local groups and practice, but given my current living situation that is not the easiest. I do have a practice mute, but it's not something I would like to use all the time. Does anyone have any suggestions on finding a place to live that would be musician friendly?

Thanks!!

I'll take stab at it. There are lots of community ensembles in western North Carolina.

Check with local schools/colleges for practice room availability. Drive to a park. I used to practice in the garage.

I currently live in a Minneapolis, MN. I played in the basement of the apartment for a little bit, but eventually neighbors got annoyed. I've been to a few music schools in the area, but the practice rooms are locked down and I haven't gotten to the point of begging the colleges for access, I'm not sure how successful it would be. My current lease is up in a couple months so I have begun my search for a new place that will allow me to play.

While in school I had rented a couple with some friends a couple times so that we could play, but I'm not sure a decent house in Minneapolis will be in the price range for my girlfriend (flute player) and I. Although a house would probably be the best bet, utility bills for a Minneapolis winter can be a little scary. Keeping in mind that there is no guarantee that we plan to stay in Minneapolis all that much longer.

There's still the options of searching more schools and churches for a place to play. Aside from that what have other people done when they have left school to find a place to play, and are there any tips for finding an apartment that may be more permissive of playing. Keeping in mind, graduating from college...student loans....hard to find a job...make it difficult to fund things like renting out a practice facility. Although any suggestions are appreciated, I'm sure I'm not the first person to leave college and miss the convenience of the music building.

Have you considered a senior living facility?

What I've done in a similar situation is put my horn and a folding chair into my car and find a location where nobody will mind the tuba for an hour or two. My personal favorite spots were the lower levels of parking garages!

Rent or buy a mobile home (trailer).

That is what I have done in the past (Including here in New Jersey.) Find a mobile home that is on a corner lot. That way at least two sides of you have no neighbors right next to you. I lucked out and found my last one on an end leaving no neighbor on 3 sides of me. The other neighbor had noisy kids and no room to complain about my little bit of practicing.

With a trailer (mobile home) there is nobody above or below you. 1st time was a rental. The one here in NJ was a 2 bedroom 720 sq ft single wide that I was able to sell for what I paid for it used. The lot fee and mortgage (actually a personal loan as trailers are considered too mobile, etc.) was actually less than similar sized nice apartments.

Now I have a house. Actually it is just a mortgage. Really, the bank owns my upside down house since I am the one who bought a house for way too much and caused the housing bubble to burst. And of course all that money the government is "giving away to help people upside down in their mortgages" manages to exclude me one way or another. If only I had bought an even bigger and more expensive house I could be getting it paid for by taxpayers like myself.

Oh well, now I don't have time to practice because there is always something that needs fixed around my "upside down", modest, fixer upper of a money pit. Plus I have to work whatever extra I can to pay my ever increasing property taxes that help politicians and municipal employees live better than me while I do without so that they get pay raises, bonuses, and fat pensions.

I've suggested this here before. Approach a local church. They're often hard up for money, and have large often unused spaces.

russiantuba wrote:Have you tried to get on the private lessons roster at a local school district? Even of you teach 2 lessons and can use their facilities, you can schedule a free hour so you can practice between teaching.

Good luck!

That's a really great idea! I have spots like that built into my own teaching schedule. In my case, I'd rather not have them, but that's how the scheduling works out. Rather than just sit there, I practice.

As for the apartment search, if it were me, I wouldn't really want to live in an apartment that would permit me to make that level of sound. That would mean I would be at the mercy of others, whose tastes would quite possibly not be the same as mine. They might even like (c)rap. For me, that would not sit well.

I live in a house that is theoretically mine. Most of my sound stays in my house. Before I bought this house, I lived in a rental house. Pretty much the same story. Not as nice a house, and more of my sound got out. Still no complaints. I just couldn't practice late at night. I can now. Not a problem.

TubaRay wrote:I live in a house that is theoretically mine. Most of my sound stays in my house. Before I bought this house, I lived in a rental house. Pretty much the same story. Not as nice a house, and more of my sound got out. Still no complaints. I just couldn't practice late at night. I can now. Not a problem.

Your neighbors are just happy that the sound is coming from you, and not the previous owner.

Rick "ahem!" Denney

Rick Denney wrote:

TubaRay wrote:I live in a house that is theoretically mine. Most of my sound stays in my house. Before I bought this house, I lived in a rental house. Pretty much the same story. Not as nice a house, and more of my sound got out. Still no complaints. I just couldn't practice late at night. I can now. Not a problem.

Your neighbors are just happy that the sound is coming from you, and not the previous owner.

Rick "ahem!" Denney

Naw! The nearest neighbor who was around then lives in the corner house opposite of mine. Perhaps 40 yds. away. I wish we could get that guy back to perform with the TubaMeisters, sometime. We could have used him this coming Sun.(church performance, w/Lee Hipp subbing) and later this month for a regular polka gig, that we will perform with two subs. I believe he'd have a great time performing from the book we have now.

I think it's part of NYC rental laws that practicing musical instruments is allowed during some specified hours like 9 to 9 or something (or at least, it's in my lease). Not to say that I wouldn't stop playing if a neighbor complained, but it hasn't happened yet in the last 3 years.

TubaRay wrote:Naw! The nearest neighbor who was around then lives in the corner house opposite of mine. Perhaps 40 yds. away. I wish we could get that guy back to perform with the TubaMeisters, sometime. We could have used him this coming Sun.(church performance, w/Lee Hipp subbing) and later this month for a regular polka gig, that we will perform with two subs. I believe he'd have a great time performing from the book we have now.

He'd have to find some chops.

Rick "who has the place, but struggles to have the time" Denney

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-most-remo ... -earth.php" target="_blank

bort wrote:I think it's part of NYC rental laws that practicing musical instruments is allowed during some specified hours like 9 to 9 or something (or at least, it's in my lease). Not to say that I wouldn't stop playing if a neighbor complained, but it hasn't happened yet in the last 3 years.

Actually, that has changed. If it is in your lease, you have a better leg to stand on, but the noise laws are now written so that it's all decibel based. If you exceed a certain number of decibels for your zoning (Several levels of residential and commercial), as measured from the spot closest to you from the complainants residence, then you usually get a warning to stop. If you don't, then you are fined.

Wife and I found this out the hard way, and are now selling our co-op to move to NJ so we don't have to deal with this anymore.