What do you do to keep your wife 'sweet' whilst you practice

[newtotenorsax]

This is not a solution you can easily accomplish, but by the grace of God :wink:, my in-laws bought a house within a block of ours to be close to their grandchildren. I practice at their place when they are not in town and at my place when they are. 8)

[Bernards20040]

i bought my wife a wide screen TV and a Head set with a long lead. she can even go into the yard with them on :)
Now what to do about the neighbours :?

[mayho]

My wife actually sleeps on the sofa next to me while I practice!

[Sigmund451]

My wife threatend to throw my selmer in the river weighted by a concrete block today. I better think of something fast. :argue:

[Bernards20040]

At this point in time 222 views :confused:
A lot of people with the same problem and no solutions :cry:

Mayho is your wife deaf :?: or is your playing sooooo soothing and smooth, Sigmund451's obviously isn't and i know mine's not

[saxfreak]

I'm not married, but I've been in a long term relationship for several years. My girlfriend dives for the earplugs if I pull out any high-pitched horn (I don't even bother with piccolo or Eb clarinet). She says it hurts her ears - I try not to take it personally.

[mayho]

Bernard: It must be love, because every time I practice I make up new notes. (I was tempted to lie and say I sounded so smooth).

[DeltaBlues]

When we first started dating, I played in a rock/blues band. After college, the band broke up and I didn't feel comfortable trying to find another group to play in. With the demands of a regular job, marriage and kids, I just didn't make the time to play. My wife has been bugging the crap out of me to get back to playing. She has no musical ability and said that I was wasting my talent. Now I'm playing at church and with a community band and I love it. My wife and kids love it also. Hopefully they will have an appreciation for music. My daughter (who just turned 10) has been playing the violin for about a year now.

[saxophrenic]

I don't know how to figure it. My wife says she loves to hear me practice. She often falls asleep when I play (?) but says she likes to be seranaded. What puzzles me is she even likes it when all I play are scales, etudes, and long tones!

Curiously she has no musical talents and is tone deaf. Not sure how to take her praise and devotion. At least I'm not upsetting her ... 8-)

[MusicMedic]

A practice room with Carpet on the Floor and walls will take the edge of your tone for listeners in the rest of the house.

[goodsax]

My wife is my greatest fan and most severe critic. When I'm in the groove during practice sessions, she comes into the room and shows her approval. But, when things aren't going exactly right, she doesn't hesitate with a "WHAT WAS THAT??!!" comment. I actually wince when I play a bad note, or miss a run - it could mean no dessert. :(

[Fred]

My wife doesn't have to gripe about my playing . . . we've got two dogs that do it for her. Even when I'm playing well, they howl so loud they don't even know when I've stopped playing. This is very discouraging and highly insulting!

My solution? Am I not the king of my domain . . . the king of my home?
Of course I am. So I go to the farthest bathroom, close the door, and practice there. Otherwise known as the throne room.

[Martin Williams]

She's not a wife yet, but I don't have to worry about the better half, shes a clarinet/sax doubler so she doesnt mind!

Martin Williams

[foresterdjb]

I've only been learning for a bit over two months, so you can imagine the notes I sometimes emit. Usually I am sent to the basement at the opposite end of the house. This works for her, but setting at my work bench is not the most comfortable for me. I am considering the construction of an insulated room to be more comfortable for me, and possibly allow me to play while she is asleep.

[Jerrystrick]

My wife of 11 yrs sits at the computer next to the shed, which is a "bonus", sun room off my bedroom in the apartment. She has guided me to easy standards, which is about all I do these days, and we go together to the library to check out sheet music books.

She helps to select the pieces, and I try to play the tunes she likes. The more romantic the better. I have mastered some disney and Spongebob for my 7 yr. old however.

[normandp]

I build a practice room in the basement and now I can practice whenever I want. It was well worth it, you actually have to go down in the basement to hear something....the problem now is to manage to get more time for me ;)

[JASaxman]

I have sort of a different problem. My wife "wants" me to practice in front of here. To me thats just odd. She loves to hear me play, but I tell her that its different when I performing and when I'm practicing... You hear all the stuff that your not suppose to if she hears me practice. I have to find reasons to get her out of the house so I can play. I just feel "weird" practicing when she's around. :disgust: ...but don't get me wrong, I love her to death ;)

Does anyone else have this problem?

[Doremifaman]

I try to practice at normal hours when no one is sleeping or even taking a nap so I have it easy on me. My wife likes my playing and encourages me to play better. She is even encouraging me to get a new and better horn 8-)

Now, my problem is my neighbour. Every time I practice, they will turn on their hi-fi playing techno music at full blast. So much so that I got fed up and had an 'audio duel' where the loudest and baddest wins. Ha, I won! :twisted:
So, now they tone down already.

Cheers!

[martysax]

I never play when the wife is home. I only play on my day off when I'm home alone. The dog goes upstairs and hides beneath my bed.

[Bob M]

My wife is a good sport about the whole thing. I go down to our basement and close the door, an other than a few cracks about how loud I play, she puts up with it. :D

[brettpauley]

I ended up insulating and sheetrocking my garden shed to have a practice space outside of the house. It works great when the kids are sleeping.

[Gandalfe]

I find this thread kind of odd. Today my wife and I worked on the following duets, she on clarinet and me on tenor sax:

Indiana
A Swing Thing
Slow & Easy Blues
St. Louis Blues
Ballin' the Jack
Chicago
Funky Blues
Wild Flower
Alexander's Ragtime Band
Ja Da
Bop's Back
Rio Rosa
Boogie Woogie Baby
Jazz Waltz

Then lunch time was over and I had to go back to work. Tomorrow's classical music, which she prefers.