Practicing At Home/Soundproofing

This topic has 6 voices, contains 8 replies, and was last updated by Studio Nine Productions 165 days ago.

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December 4, 2011 at 7:52 am #6916
sschermi	<p>Hi all,</p> <p>I love the content of these forums! I hadn’t seen this topic come up (at least not recently), so I thought I’d share my situation…</p> <p>I am a collaborative pianist/MD who moved to New York five months ago from Phoenix with the hopes of making my way as a freelancer in the City. One of the first things on my checklist upon arrival was to buy an instrument and practice as much as possible.</p> <p>I bought a Roland RD-700NX and LOVE the sound quality and action for the price. I set it up in my room (11′ x 12′ in a 3-bedroom apartment in Queens with all-tile floors) and started practicing. It only took 10 minutes behind closed doors for my roommate to have a problem with my practicing. </p> <p>The reason? The sound of the depression of the keys is too loud. Even with headphones in, she is annoyed by the noise of my practicing. I can practice when she’s not home, but that’s only during the day – and, ideally, I’m going to start getting work that will severely limit my practice time.</p> <p>I have tried putting up $150 of cheap soundproofing equipment, shifting the keyboard to other parts of the room (it’s against the wall between us), and putting a towel under the door to block sound. Nothing has worked. I can’t afford to spend $10-20/hr in a practice studio, but my reason for being here will be shot if I can’t practice during the day.</p> <p>Are there any solutions out there, or anybody experiencing similar issues? Does anyone have any wisdom to impart with soundproofing walls/floors? Should I just suck it up and pay for a rehearsal space? I’m determined not to let this get in the way of my dreams, but have no idea what the answer is. Any help would be greatly appreciated! </p>
December 4, 2011 at 9:27 am #8053
jamieryder	Wow, that sounds a little harsh! I take it she’s not a musician as well? To be honest, it sounds like you are trying to make an effort to reduce the noise, can she not compromise? agree to certain slots when she is at home so that you can practise? or practise up to a certain time and then stop? My advice would be to try and talk it out and see if a routine can be set up. Apart from that, the only other thing i can suggest is to either ignore her and get on with it, or move out. Jamie.
December 4, 2011 at 3:15 pm #8057
Joe Stone	The way you describe “the depression of the keys” makes me think that there is a thumping that’s coming from the keyboard when you play. You need to isolate the keyboard from the floor. I think you have two options. You need to either put something between the keyboard and the stand, or the stand and the floor. It has to be firm enough so that the keyboard doesn’t bounce around when you play, but not so firm that it continues to transmit the thumps through the floor. I’d start by putting a heavy rug under the keyboard stand and see if that improves things.
December 4, 2011 at 6:37 pm #8058
David J. Hahn	I had this problem when I lived in Chicago one summer. I was practicing Bach fugues for weeks and the downstairs neighbors didn’t like the “tat tat tat tat” on the ceiling. I ended up having to move my rig out to the screened in front porch (which had a cement floor). The problem was that it’s 90-100 degrees every day in Chicago at that time of year – and I’d sit out there and practice 4 hours at a time. Miserable (but I got much better that summer!). Are you wearing headphones? Maybe try taking the headphones off and letting her hear what you’re practicing. Not ideal, but maybe the thumping won’t be so annoying if she can hear what you’re playing.
December 5, 2011 at 2:33 pm #8067
sschermi	Thanks for the advice, everybody. The roommate is not a musician. She writes articles for radio station websites online…following many pop artists and big names in the VMAs and Grammy Awards, etc. It astounds me that, even with this job, she can’t relate to the need to practice and refuses to compromise. I hate the idea of having to buy more equipment to try and soundproof the room if I’m not 100% sure that it will work. The $150 panels I bought were a complete waste of money and, being a musician, my funds are limited. Unfortunately, there isn’t any other room in the apartment to set up. I will try Dave’s idea – although there are even times when I don’t want to hear the boring repetition I have to go through! :-D
December 5, 2011 at 3:23 pm #8068
jamieryder	Good luck mate, Just keep in mind that you are paying half of the rent in that place, and as such you are entitled to some rights!
December 5, 2011 at 4:25 pm #8073
Andree-Ann	Wow – after years of being in a roommate situation I have never had a situation like this….hope you can sort it out :( I can understand though…when I practice I can hear the thumping and it’s annoying me haha. But yeah, as it was mentioned above you do pay half the rent…
December 5, 2011 at 4:27 pm #8074
Andree-Ann	Also – if you absolutely need to practice when she’s at home, have you ever tried stopping by a piano showroom? I did that the other day – I have my grad school audition coming up and practicing on my stage piano just wasn’t cutting it so I went to a showroom to practice on a grand piano. The people were very nice. At first I pretended that I was in the market to buy so I started practicing and playing on every single piano then I started talking with the guy who was working there and he said I could come in and play anytime I wanted. Maybe that can be a fun alternative?
December 8, 2011 at 5:23 pm #8125
Studio Nine Productions	>I hate the idea of having to buy more equipment to try and soundproof the room if I’m not 100% sure that it will work. The $150 panels I bought were a complete waste of money< Hi, you should note there is a difference between “sound proofing” and “sound absorption”. The panels you bought might have been for sound absorption, designed to absorb a certain frequency range but not to deaden ALL sound as in sound proofing. Total sound proofing requires mass and construction! Probably no panel you buy will help! Michael Nickolas http://www.guidetopricingmusic.com