Need advice on finding a place to practice

[ongakujin]

Hey, guys. I wanted to ask all of you musicians on the boards for some advice, but first, here's a completely unnecessary rant to give some context:

So you know the story of the Princess and the Pea? Yeah, well, I live above that girl's brother. Apparently even the sound of me walking from one part of my apartment to another has proven to be enough to through this guy into a rage and make him start hammering violently on my floor to the point where everything in the room shakes. For my being a musician this is a bit of a problem. My main instrument is the Piano, and I have an electric keyboard, which you would think makes problem easy to avoid.

Plan:
1. Only play with headphones on. Check.
2. Only play during the day, so as not to disturb people's sleep. Check.
3. Place the electric piano in the living room and up against a load bearing wall to make sure if the floor creaks at all, it will be minimized. Check.

Result: Failed.

Even doing all these things, the guy below me will begin pounding incessantly on my floor. I don't even know what he could possibly be hearing, because I can't hear anything. I've tried all different times of day and places in my apartment to practice my muted keyboard, but to no avail. I would try to talk to this person to come up with a compromise, but given that I live alone, and my only interactions with him have been him hammering on the floor, and him leaning out of his window, shirtless, to shout at me for one reason or another... yeah, I don't feel comfortable approaching him, and I doubt that if I did any kind of civil exchange would take place.

I also play the French Horn, but I haven't dared practicing that since I've moved in a few months back, so by now my chops are probably total crap, and I was planning on auditioning for some groups on it in January. I would invest in a practice mute, but I don't want to spend the money only to find out that either it's not quiet enough, or the sound of the valve action affects my neighbor like a dog whistle.

Even an electric guitar played though headphones somehow bothers him. I guess that the bit I move in my chair while strumming must send shock waves through the floor and into his fragile little body.

I've all but stopped caring about making this human seismograph comfortable; obviously if even walking to the closet at night is enough to through him into a fit, then I will never be able to please him, whether I am playing muted instruments or not. The thing is that when he starts the hammering, I get myself so worked up about it that I can't get myself to keep playing, at least with any kind of feeling.

So here's my question:

Can any of you give me some kind of advice on finding places to practice musical instruments when you can't do it at home? I should clarify that I am a student, but I'm on an internship out of town, so I can't go to friends' places. I've googled the heck out of "practice rooms," "rehearsal spaces," and the like. The only things close that I have found are geared more for one-off rehearsals for live bands, and cost well over a hundred dollars for just a few hours -- hardly feasible for daily practice.

Any other advice for a way for me to get some practice in without busting an artery over this guy before my repertoire completely goes away would be greatly appreciated as well.

[Dream]

Call your landlord and complain, call your local council/police/building management and complain. Keyboard keys are not loud enough to be called a noise problem, but bashing on the ceiling every time their seismograph ears detect a disturbance in the ambient pressure level is grounds for actual police action. And there are crazy people who will spend their days at home, waiting to overreact about anything, just because that's the only social interaction in their lives, so don't think that this all means that this nutcase is actually being disturbed. You;re being victimised, stand up for yourself.

Then practise in your own home, as is your right.

[ongakujin]

I dunno. Maybe I'm playing the doormat here, but given that I'm only going to be here until the end of the year, I don't see it as worthwhile starting what could easily turn into a battle of "Well, HE started it!!!" and turn normal ignorant dickery into focused, intentional harassment. If I was living here permanently, I would probably feel differently. I'm just trying to pick my battles.

[Dream]

and turn normal ignorant dickery into focused, intentional harassment.

That happened long ago, in this eejit's own mind alone, and probably to do with some previous tenant in your flat. But that's that point made, let's drop this so people can give ideas about practise locations.

[Adam H]

These might be slightly oddball ideas...

You can practice your horn outside in a public park or somewhere similar. If you leave a hat out you might make a couple bucks, too. That won't work for practicing keyboard, unless it's battery powered... BUT if you have a car you can get a cigarette lighter adapter so you can plug it in, and rock out in some relatively abandoned parking lot.

Your neighbor's a dickhead. My advice would be to get a drumset.

[Obby]

Your neighbor's a dickhead. My advice would be to get a drumset.

That's what I was thinking. I'm just as likely to be a dickhead right back, but that's just me and probably won't work for a lot of people.

Anyway, really, I think Dream has the right of it, here. Call and complain to your landlord and see what's up with the douchenozzle below you. If nothing comes of it by calling your landlord, I'd honestly just ignore the guy. Let him bang all he wants. If he actually does decide to come up and start banging on your door about it, just tell him what you've done to reduce the noise and there's nothing else you can possibly do unless the guy wants to pay out of his pocket for you to move out.

[JBJ]

Don't know what your budget for rehearsal space is, but I have a friend whose band practices from a storage unit.

Monthly rent for a unit is usually between $30-$70 depending on the size, and they are usually located in industrial parks so noise is rarely an issue even into the wee hours. There's also the benefit of not having to lug equipment around since you can just lock it up when done. A couple of cons though... if it's an outside unit without climate control, you're often at the mercy of the weather. Not to mention the effect that temperature and humidity might have on your instruments. If it's an inside, climate controlled unit, then your okay on the weather issue, but they are a little pricier and may not be as receptive to using the unit as a practice room. If you pursue this route, check with the owner/management first to make sure that they are okay with you using it for that purpose.

All that said, I agree with the others. Your neighbor is a dick.

[Isaac Hill]

Maybe get a plush throw rug to put under your keyboard to muffle whatever vibrations are getting through. If you like the rug, then even if it doesn't work, it's not a waste of money.

Do you mind posting your location? Someone might know a spot in your area. If you're in the Boston area, I think one of the spaces at 155 North Beacon Street in Brighton, above the furniture store, might do. I'm not entirely sure, since I've only walked down the hall while going from the adjacent club to the bathroom, but it seemed like a bunch of small, individual rooms, and I could hear people in a couple of them practicing instruments.

If there are any colleges near you, you can try wandering around their music building and look for individual practice spaces. If there are enough that there's no wait, I doubt anyone will bother you. At worst, you'll be asked to leave and be no worse off.

Are there other people in your building? If this guy's punding enough to shake your place, your neighbors must feel it to. If you call the landlord to complain about his noise, he'll just complain about yours. If a neighbor calls to complain about the pounding, but not you, that might make it easier for the landlord to tell who's at fault.

[ongakujin]

Do you mind posting your location? Someone might know a spot in your area.

I'm in Germantown MD, if anyone has suggestions for that area. Its in the Northwest corner of the Washington DC metro area.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I actually tried Adam H's suggestion and played in my car in the Library parking lot after hours. They keyboard isn't going to fit, but it works for the horns. I probably look like a total wierdo, but hey, no one knows me around here, though I did choose not to do it in my apartment complex's parking lot because there are a lot of kids around and I didn't want any of the parents around to think I was some sort of child molester or something.

[Роберт]

You really should complain to your landlord.

And yes, practicing in random corners in public is great. Sometimes I like practicing under a bridge. Way to much reverb, but that's why I like it when I'm in the mood.

[PatrickRsGhost]

I also agree about practicing in random public places.

A few other ideas:

1. Look into practicing out on the patio.

2. Talk to the landlord/property manager. If you are in an apartment complex, ask if you could use the clubhouse or pool area. Most complexes will have closed down their pools by now, so all you would need is an access key, or let maintenance know ahead of time when you plan to practice. Maybe schedule a specific time every day or every week, so that maintenance or the manager/landlord will know when to unlock the gate into the pool area. This can be beneficial for any instrument, since in most complexes the pool is right up against the clubhouse/management office, and there would be a 99% chance of an outside electrical outlet, for plugging in anything requiring plugging in.

3. How big are the closets in your flat? If they're of decent size, look into covering the walls with acoustic foam padding. You don't have to glue it on the walls; just use double-sided tape. The foam plus any clothing you might have in the closet should make for great sound insulation.

[TheAmazingRando]

If it's during normal waking hours, you're well within your right to be making a little noise. Your neighbor lives in an apartment, noise is part of the deal. He's paying for a place to live, not a private sanctuary.

If you do have the cash, though, renting out practice space is a pretty good option, especially if you have friends who also like to play music and can split the cost. Jamming out until 2 in the morning, without having to consider the possibility of disgruntled neighbors, is great.