Pianist singer/songwriters, where do you practice?
I live in a 7-unit (thus, adequately “neighborly”) apartment with fairly thin walls and an ornery downstairs neighbor who I don’t exactly feel like pissing off completely, but I’m a pianist and singer songwriter with needs, i.e., I really need a place to practice both my piano playing and singing at the same time. What’s the most convenient way to go about this? And what are better but maybe not-so-convenient alternatives? I’ve looked into practice rooms, but they are quite expensive and would involve lugging my piano, stand, seat, and amp in every time, which doesn’t exactly exude practicality. Any pianist/singer/songwriters—or anyone else—have any suggestions?
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Hmm, the practice rooms at my local university growing up always had pianos in them already. Of course I didn’t really know about the cost because their use was included with my music lessons.
Practice rooms would be the best bet, but like you said, they are expensive. One thing that’s nice about going to college is that pretty much anyone is allowed to use the practice rooms at school as long as no one else needs them… and they all have pianos already. But if that’s not available to you, you’re in a bit more of a bind.
You mentioned lugging your piano places – do you use a keyboard? Maybe hooking up some headphones to your keyboard would help? Then you’d only be annoying your neighbors if you sing too loudly. :)
@ParaParaYukiko Yeah, I think that’s going to be the most convenient and cost-effective… it is a keyboard and I do have headphones. I could probably rock the headphones during the week and come to some sort of agreement with the on operable practicing hours during weekend…
@mirifique Yeah, other than soundproofing your walls, headphones will probably be the most convenient. It’s too bad though – there’s nothing better than being able to play as loud as you need/want to, without worrying about other people hearing it.
When you do play, try playing during hours when people are the least likely to be annoyed. Early afternoon would probably be the best time to practice – I have a neighbor who practices drums around that time every day, and it’s mildly annoying when you’re trying to take a mid-day nap, but most of the time it’s not a problem.
My brother is a musician/singer/songwriter. His eventual solution was to move into a house so he didn’t share walls with anyone. Before then, he lived in a minuscule apartment in a converted house that was full of other musicians.
Prior to that he simply canvassed his neighbors to find out when they would least likely be home and practiced during those times.
I live in a huge squat by the sea in Brighton. so playing space is not a problem, even for a drummer :)
I practice at home, on a good piano. Composing I do on the computer, or on a scrap of paper, if the computer is not accessible.
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