Be Verry Verry Kwhyet

[roughrider]

My living arrangements will most likely be changing. I will be moving into an apartment or a condominium. I want to practice daily, so what recommendations do all of you make regarding mutes? I have heard of the Dennis Wick and Schlipf mutes, any other suggestions or helpful hints to make this work? Also, will using the mute change my playing?(other than making it better!) Thanks.

[Biggs]

I've lived in apartments for the last 8 years (small towns and huge cities). I have practiced, unmuted, in my apartment throughout this time and never had a single complaint from neighbor or landlord. I only play between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. and I am otherwise a clean, courteous, conscientious, dare-I-say-outstanding neighbor at all times. YMMV, but if you consider yourself a good neighbor and are willing to be reasonable about your practice routine/habits, I say just go for it. Even a worst-case-scenario warning from the cops and you won't be any worse off than you are now, wondering where to practice.

[nycbone]

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[ralphbsz]

Have you looked at the sound-isolated practice rooms you can buy? I've seen one in a local music store. It's about 5x5 feet by 8 feet tall. Seems to be virtually sound-proof; my kid was trying out tubas in it (and wailing on them), and you could barely hear him.

I think they cost many thousands of $. That may sound pretty expensive, but compared to having to rent a much bigger apartment or a house for a year, it may actually be affordable.

[ralphbsz]

I play the piano. I used to have a 6' grand in an apartment, and I never got in trouble with neighbors. The trick is: Maintain really good relations with the neighbor, avoid practicing at odd hours, and look for trouble. I was a student, so I was often up to the wee hours studying and doing homework, but I avoided playing the piano after dinnertime. Before even moving the piano in, I talked to the neighbors, and made sure they knew that it is OK to knock on my door and stop me if I'm making too much noise. And I knew their schedule, and tried to arrange practicing to when they're not at home.

One concrete example: the lady in the apartment underneath me had a dog. One day I noticed that she was carrying her dog to the yard late at night, and carrying it back inside, every hour or so. So the next morning I knocked on the door and asked if the poor puppy is sick, and indeed: the dog was very ill, had had surgery, and she was caring for it all day and night, and taking little naps at odd hours. So for about a week I didn't play piano at all, and was super careful to not make noise during the day. Then the dog got better and life returned to normal.

On the other hand: The place was a few hundred feet from the main cathedral in town (Aachener Dom), and on Saturday evening and several time on Sunday the church would ring its massive bells. If you had your windows open, you could not even have a conversation while the bells ring, and I didn't need an alarm clock on Sundays.

[Biggs]

The trick is: Maintain really good relations with the neighbor, avoid practicing at odd hours, and look for trouble.

This, a million times over. Being a good tuba-playing neighbor is easy if you are already a good neighbor.