I always say-

If you can't play good, at least play loud.

If your neighbors let their dog bark incessantly, they're probably jerks. You're not doing anything wrong. Have fun and don't worry about it.

 

I just want to know if anyone has had any experience with this. I live in a rental house and I am surrounded by homeowners. The neighbors I am in closest proximity for whatever reason refuses to speak to me since the day I moved in.

This sounds perfect to me whats the problem!!!:evil:

 

Thanks Mope and sonnymobletrane.

I don't know why they won't speak to me; I've tried several times to talk to them; they turn their backs. I hate to say it, but I think when they saw me moved in, it was one of those "there goes the neighborhood" type of things.

I feel they are inconsiderate with their dog and if they're going to be oblivious to its' non-stop barking; they should be equally oblivious to me playing.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Actually i have a neighbor who has Dalmatians and they bark way too much, but no one has ever said anything about my practicing so I deal with it.

 

I think its worth it to go over to tell them you are going to be practicing, and that you promise it will be in courteous hours.

Sometimes one random act of kindness goes a long way.

That being said, I like the idea of getting a nice mic, a stack of speakers, turning em up, and pointing them at their house at 2am!! Then tell them to deal with it, haha. Might make them grateful to only hear you in daytime hours then, and all acoustic, lol

 

Soprano sax is one of the least likely to disturb of the saxophone family. The tenor out of all the horns is the one that really projects and can get your neighboors bent out of shape. If you live in a house then your neighboors probably can't even hear you. If so, sound proof a closet and play in that.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice and some much needed laughs. I am starting to feel better about playing now. I brought this up on a legal forum, and this one guy said it would be very annoying for the neighbors; hearing me play scales, my mistakes, etc. He said I should rent a room or studio; but I don't have money to do that.

I wonder if band students have problems with their neighbors when practicing. I feel everyone has to start somewhere.

 

one guy said it would be very annoying for the neighbors; hearing me play scales, my mistakes, etc. He said I should rent a room or studio; but I don't have money to do that.

Blimey, that's what practising an instrument is all about, isn't it? Making mistakes, horrible scales, etc etc. Hope so, otherwise I'm screwed :shock:

Really do recommend the whisper mute (or e sax) though. Dramatically reduces your noise. I know it's pricy, but I think it can really open your whole world up if you are surrounded by awkward neighbours in close proximity. I'm sure their kids will be learning an instrument soon enough.
And by the way, I think just cos you are renting, doesn't make them any better than you, especially if you are a good neighbour and tenant. So, hold your head up, make out you know something fabulous about yourself that they haven't learnt yet. They'll soon catch on........................

 

Grip it and let it rip; just don't be surprised if the dog "sings" along with you as my golden retriever did when I was learning. That might prompt the neighbors to speak to you! Seriously, if the windows function and are closed, it should not be a problem, even if you're really close to one another.

 

Hey rd,

If you use the search function you'll find several lengthy threads on this topic on here, threads which contain a number of different perspectives on this age-old problem.

For me the bottom line is not so much what I can and can't get away with, but rather how freely I can practice knowing I might be disturbing somebody else. This has nothing to do with being a really nice guy; it's more about feeling like I'm "performing" badly. I have found it almost impossible to practice in my apartment.

Rory

 

I consider my self blessed. I live in the mountains, the nearest neighbor is 20 acres away, there are no barking dogs except mine, no sirens, traffic noises, one mile to the main higway, only the incessantly rattling of my wifes mouth telling me to do stuff. I have a big barn away from the house where I can can screech and honk, fart and play my congas. Ain't life grand?

 

like spartacus, i have no neighbours either so i can play my tenor as loud as i like. but if i did have them i'd still practice and the neighbours could go take a long walk off a short pier.

if it's during daylight hours then it's all well and good.

 

One of my neighbors made a big deal that I was playing 2 o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday, she said it was "interrupting her football time". So now when theres a game on any day, any time I practice as loud as i can. Her kid also kicked my dog in the face so I have strong feelings towards her.

 

Her kid also kicked my dog in the face so I have strong feelings towards her.

If he had done this to MY dog, he would have both legs broken by now.

Victor.

 

I know this is really lame but thank god I outgrew this phase:

For about 2 years I would never want to practice at home (an apartment that I still live at) not because I feared I would be disturbing my neighbors (they were actually pretty cool about it,) but because I felt like it was a performance. Instead of working on the tough stuff, I'd just give up and rip something that sounded crazy but that I've played a million times. It really hindered me for those 2 years.

Now I don't care anymore. I practice all that ugly stuff all day so it will eventually not be so ugly, and I don't care what people think.

 

People Sorry to hear about all of the mishaps with neighboors. Don't want to sound like I am bragging, but I sometimes play on the porch, and my neighboors are all doctors or lawyers and teachers, and they ask me when I am going to play outside more. I would think that they would be the most rude towards this, but they actually enjoy it.

 

lol, I know a friend of mine's dog... you play a G3 on Alto and the dog will howl like a wolf it's the coolest thing! try some higher altissimos maybe they're activate their inner wolf nature!!

 

My Miniature Dachshund does that when I play the blues! So Hillarious!

 

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I can relate to those who feel somewhat self-conscious about people hearing them play the tougher stuff, or initially learning to play. I am in the rudimentary stages of learning to play, and let me tell you; it's not going to be pretty.

I have to laugh about the dogs howling along with the playing; however; I hope my neighbor's dog doesn't; I hear him enough as it is.

ChuBerry47, I think that is so cool for your neighbor's to ask when you're going to play outside. I can picture mine surrounding my house with clubs and baseball bats; total opposite in my case.

Bossman, I'm glad you now play whatever you want to. See, that's something I'm concerned with people also; people hearing all my mistakes and reed squeaks, etc. It will be embarrassing to me.

Hopefully, they will not be able to hear me when I play if their inside their homes; if they're outside I know they can because my brother heard it out in my yard.

 

The thing is if you're really practicing then it's usually not going to sound great to others around you. Even Sonny Rollins had to find a place away from his neighbors to practice some of the things that would come off as noise at first. Same with someone like Eric Dolphy who I'd imagine made noise until he worked it out and into his performances.

Is the guy on the street corner with everyone surrounding him with fanfare really practicing or is he just entertaining and running things he already knows how to do. Finding a place that you never feel self conscience about practicing things you don't know how to do, that's how you grow as a player, it's called shedding for a reason.

 

Amen Heath (which is to say, I agree 100%)

And, by the same token (i.e. that's why it's called woodshedding), if you're out on your porch yacking with neighbours, you're also not practicing. There's a young guy who does the porch thing near where I live. I'm sure he thinks he looks cool, but he sounds like s*** and he looks (to me) like a complete idiot.

I guess that's my $0.04

R.

 

I brought this up on a legal forum ...

Big mistake.

Good legal advice costs money (though it doesn't sound as if you got any good legal advice). If you had an expertise worth several hundred dollars an hour, would you offer it free?

The internet is full of barrack-room lawyers, however.

 

They probably don't know how lucky they are not having a drummer, trombonist or trumpet student living next door.

 

As if you haven't had enough advice already ! I think you maybe misinterpreting the signals your neighbors have been giving out. For whatever reason, they don't want any contact. That's all. That's it. Take that as a green light regarding your playing. Even if they could hear you they won't say anything because......they don't want any contact. They sound like perfect neighbors to me. On a more practical level, and I know it's not ideal, if you haven't already, use a mute. Just for the first few weeks maybe.

http://www.saxmute.com/saxmute_reduce_noise_saxophone_clarinet.html

 

Plenty of good advice here already, but I'll toss my $.02 in anyway.

First, your neighbors might just be jerks. Lots of them around, so perhaps you got unlucky. If this is the case, there's probably nothing you can do to make them happy... so blow to your heart's content.

However, if you don't have jerks next door, you might just try the direct route: knock on the door, introduce yourself, hand them your phone number (especially if they're new, or you are), and let them know that if they ever need anything at all, to give you a call. You can size up what you're dealing with then, and short of slamming the door in your face there's not much they can do to avoid that olive branch.

My husband and I are both musicians, so my neighbors get a double-whammy, particularly when one of us is learning something new. We try to do the really annoying stuff (for me that's things like overtones, altissimo, or anything on piccolo) before 9pm, and knock everything else off by 10:30 or so.

One of my neighbors made a big deal that I was playing 2 o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday, she said it was "interrupting her football time". So now when theres a game on any day, any time I practice as loud as i can.

I'm going to suggest the opposite approach. All my neighbors know how to reach us by phone, and if someone has a sick kid (or whatever) and they need us to cool it for the night, we will. I mean, hey... if there's a game on and it's important to someone, I can always find some other time to practice that day. The BIG payoff in this agreement is that if people know you'll compromise, they're more likely to, and since we rehearse a nine-piece band here every other week, any goodwill we can rack up with the neighbors is a priority.

YMMV...

 

I'd probably try going over and introducing myself, just to let them know the avenue for communication is open. Tell them you got a new instrument, and you're gonna sound horrible, and ask them if there are any consistant hours when they are out. If they are out every evening from 4-7, then you got no worries, right?

Her kid also kicked my dog in the face so I have strong feelings towards her.

Man, that's a whole 'nother issue... you have to make allowances for young kids and all, but as a rule, anyone who kicks an innocent animal is really asking to get hurt. My dog is a member of the family, and anyone who kicks her (not a mean bone in her body, I mean she wouldn't even bite to defend herself) is taking his life in his hands. Luckily, all our neighbors seem to be good people, so we don't have that problem!

 

Sorry I can't offer you any advice, rd, because I am lucky in that my neighbours are in a graveyard (though I'd be seriously worried if any of them came round to complain).:shock:

However I can offer sympathy, because it's very easy to fall out with neighbours and it's not a good situation to be in.