V.com weekend vote: Where do you practice?
It's important to have a place where you can practice - where you can experiment, make mistakes, repeat things a zillion times - and not worry about the neighbors, relatives, or anyone else listening, being critical, interrupting, or telling you to be quiet.
While I live in a pretty densely-populated area, I do have a little music room in my place where I feel comfortable practicing. (And if the hours are late, I have a new practice mute that works very well to lower the volume while keeping me happy with the sound!)
Over a lifetime, I have had different places where I've set up my practice routine. As a child, I started out practicing in my bedroom, but as I grew older and practiced more, I moved to the basement, where I could have some space to myself and feel like I wasn't bothering anyone. At school, there were the practice rooms, but actually I felt better in the basement of my dorm, which was kind of like a giant house!
Where do you practice most often? Do you have a designated music room in your home? Do you practice in a bedroom? Is it difficult to get privacy for practicing? Please participate in the vote and then share your thoughts in the comments.
* * *
Enjoying Violinist.com? Click here to sign up for our free, bi-weekly email newsletter. And if you've already signed up, please invite your friends! Thank you.
Replies
I voted "somewhere else" because there are multiple equally good places for me to practice in my current home. The piano is in the multipurpose/family room, so I obviously have to practice piano there. For violin and viola, I can either practice in the family/multipurpose room, my bedroom, or the living room depending on what else is happening in the house and my mood.
Somewhere else. The garage is my top choice. It has the acoustics I like. Here in the American Southeast, around the 34th parallel, it's warm enough out there about 8 months of the year. Neighbors and passers-by have told me that they hang around to listen, so this gives me the incentive to make the sessions as musical as possible - from the first warm-up exercises through whatever rep I'm doing.
In winter, when I have to move indoors, the kitchen has the next-best acoustics. The living room, which is about 18' x 30', serves well, too.
Side note: In high school, I sought out unused gym floors, locker rooms, and washrooms after hours. These areas had great acoustics. Reactions from those still on premise ranged from curiosity to amusement to mild derision.
I live in Canada. In cooler weather, as an old guy with no kids at home anymore, kitchen is preferred, and/or ivingrooom. Somewhere I can close the door so as not to disturb. Accoustics are best in the kitchen. (Sometimes I'll take myself to a mirror in the bathroom, to check on bowing etc.) In summer time, when at a cottage, I will practice by the lake (if no mosquitos buzzing). There's also a nice wood-shed where I often have a small audience of garter snakes who live in the woodpile. They never applaud, but I think they enjoy the music. Or possibly they're just sleeping.
I gave violin lessons in my basement for 40 years. It has extra insulation and acoustial tile in the ceiling to not disturb the rest of the house. I am retired now, but all of my equipment and piano are there. It is my haven.
Bedroom in present circumstances, where all my instruments are on the wall or floor stands, ready for instant access. But over the next few years I'll build a music shed up the hill behind my house. It will have an irregular shape due to my desire for architectural experiment. Much glass and high ceiling, emphasizing views into nature without human artifacts. Passive solar heat. My lot is quite tilted, so the shed will look down on my house. Further up the hill I'll be building a labyrinth, for meditational walks, with more graded terrain that will set it apart from all the flat labyrinths I've walked elsewhere.
I currently live in a semi-basement studio, so it formally ticks most of the boxes above. I never thought about practising somewhere else, since I'm lucky not to have neighbours (other than above, and I've never seen them) and noise isn't an issue, but maybe I should. It's very distracting to have work/laptop/kitchen/everything else you could possibly do within a few steps.
I practice in my bedroom so that I don’t disturb anyone else and I also have all my books in my bedroom. I also record videos in my bedroom. Sometimes I also practice at school as I am in a strings program.
In my office. It’s my studio. It also has a daybed in case I need a nap between sessions. I can also look out a window and watch birds feed and drink. Very private, very peaceful, good acoustics. I’m lucky.
My bedroom (currently about 10' x 10') is also my recording "studio". Any flattering reverberance has to be added artificially.
My home office is my personal dedicated space, so my violin is always out and accessible. Its also upstairs and away from where any sound can carry, so it's a perfect location for practice as well as any actual "work" lol
I have an office that functions as both my home office and music studio. There's a sliding door which doesn't offer much privacy, so I'll also use a mute (sometimes regular, sometimes practice) when my significant other is home and in the adjacent living room.
My laundry room! With two young kids with lots of activities for them, my only time to practice is early morning before they wake up. The only room quiet enough to play without a mute is my laundry room which is the furthest room away from all the bedrooms. It's cramped, but it works!
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
Violinist.com is made possible by...
Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases
Johnson String Instrument/Carriage House Violins
Subscribe
Laurie's Books
Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine
April 13, 2025 at 04:17 AM · My home office is in my basement guest room. I built it myself so I insulated it very thoroughly, walls and ceiling, so I can practice pretty much whenever I want to.