Piano in a flat- asking for trouble?
- Thread starter SiD the Turtle
- Start date
I have recently gotten' new neighbours, not a flat though, a semi. last chap that was in watched sky tv till 3 am in the morning (yey"!) i could play anytime. now, however, its a family of about 6, with 3 young ones at school, so i assume they'll be tucked away in bed now. so i don't play after 9 PM
Other chap (elderly) told me he couldn't hear a thing, but some people (experience) tend to "listen in at the wall" to complain - just for the sake of it. I have a Grand piano, and a Korg OASYS (88 note keyboard), and practice scales on THAT, whilst playing pieces on the grand piano itself.
i recommend a CASIO PRIVIA http://www.privia.co.uk/ don't worry about the casio tag, i've heard these are very good
Ant
Other chap (elderly) told me he couldn't hear a thing, but some people (experience) tend to "listen in at the wall" to complain - just for the sake of it. I have a Grand piano, and a Korg OASYS (88 note keyboard), and practice scales on THAT, whilst playing pieces on the grand piano itself.
i recommend a CASIO PRIVIA http://www.privia.co.uk/ don't worry about the casio tag, i've heard these are very good
Ant
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Man of Honour
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I firmly believe in treating neighbours how you wish to be treated, so in 41 years of semi-professional playing no neighbour has ever heard me because I wear headphones.
They might hear me unloading the car at 1:30 in a morning though.
Get a synth with headphones.
They might hear me unloading the car at 1:30 in a morning though.
Get a synth with headphones.
I got someone playing a piano here, but must be a few floors off as its not loud, but nice to wake up in the morning to some free piano music. Well I am fairly sure its a keyboard as theres no way in hell any real piano can fit into flats here.
I would say it was asking for trouble in all honesty.
Does it wind me up? YES IT DOESNot only does he keep playing the same notes over and over again, he goes into ape **** mode and plays some scary piano pieces sometimes.
Hahaha It's only funny because of what I imagined whilst reading that, but in reality I'm sure it would annoy the hell out of me.
The weight was my first thought too, I thought the OP was going to ask that when I saw the title.
Soldato
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Yep, we have an organ and a friend has a piano, no probs.
rented house anyway, didn;t say no heavy items on the contract. sux for them and the person below if anything did happen but I doubt it.
As for noise, We try not to make much noise at antisocial hours but tbh the hifi is usually the problem.
rented house anyway, didn;t say no heavy items on the contract. sux for them and the person below if anything did happen but I doubt it.
As for noise, We try not to make much noise at antisocial hours but tbh the hifi is usually the problem.
Soldato
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Purpose built block of 36 flats. Hopefully building standards have improved since the mid 80s, but decent soundproofing is very expensive, and flats are built for investors these days, not the people who have to live in them, so I'm not confident. Basically it's safe to assume that If you live in a flat you live with your neighbours in the same way you live with your family in a normal house. It's just less acceptable to yell at them.
In France & Germany a lot more people live in flats, but the culture is quite different to ours in most areas. There is an unwritten code of conduct which means just about everyone appreciates the fact that you have to be considerate. Here the attitude (displayed in many similar threads over the years) often seems to be very much along the lines of "it's my flat and I'll do what I want with it." And it doesn't take many people like that to cause widespread problems.
Perhaps that's why the UK has such awful stats when it comes to complaints about noise. Of course it's not all down to people living in flats, because a terraced property can be no better, and having a semi or even detached place doesn't protect you from antisocial neighbours.
It's not a bad start though. Ten feet of solid granite would probably be best unless your neighbour's hobby is juggling nitroglycerin.
Andrew McP
PS FWIW in the 10+ years I've been here and partially involved in managing the block, all the complaints we've had about noise have come from the minority of flats which are rented out. That's not a slur against all, or even most renters, because many -- like the OP here -- are very considerate. But there is a "knack" to sharing a home or living in a flat which many people take time to learn. And some never do.
Personally I've never wanted a big house (big house, big running costs), but I would like a very small one in the middle of a large field.
Wrong, a common misconception.
If you really want a piano and are not just taking one because you're friend is getting rid of one, get a clavinova. They're electronic and thus allow you to use headphones, but they have weighted keys and play virtually like a piano. They have fully working pedels also, and they usually come with a few different piano sounds incase you feel a bit creative. I got one after I was sick of the **** plastic unweighted keys on a keyboard. I have a piano at my dads and honestly I prefer the clav.
Pianos really are quite loud. An upright may not have the same volume as a grand, but the grand at my old uni was seriously loud when played by a professional. I'm certain the sound would travel into several nearby flats, not just those immediately adjoining you. A quality digital piano is a better bet really.
What about the right of a person to learn to play a musical instrument if they so wish?
I do my best to be respectful to neighbours with my practice on the saxophone - it is bloody loud, and there's no way of quietening it down. I try to observe when they are out, and do my best to fit in with this, but this doesn't always work out...