Apartment for a musician

February 9, 2011 at 06:09 AM ·

This is a tough one. I'm in the end unit of a townhouse complex with a funeral home across the parking lot (at least the neighbors are quiet and don't mind!).  But the neighbors with whom I share a common wall are not in sync with my nocturnal schedule.  so I practice geographically as far from their bedroom as possible, with as many walls and closed doors in between.

The take-home lesson is to be up front with the landlord about your practicing hours and he or she might at least give you an idea of the layout of the adjacent apartments so you can practice as unobtrusively as possible.

One other thing I discovered that you might look into.  I think there is a firewall between my unit and the adjacent one.  They never hear me, nor do I hear them.  But a third resident on the other side of them hears all kinds of sounds from them.  So check out the firewall thing.

Of course, a freestanding unit of some sort is ideal, as you mentioned, over a garage or in a carriage house.  But failing that, maybe looking into the architecture of a possible apartment might help.

February 9, 2011 at 06:53 AM ·

"Mother in Law" houses on a budget are great.  No shared walls and plenty of yard space between you and your nearest  neighbor..  They are typically studio spaces though.

For apartment dwelling, look for a top floor in an end unit with a suitable practice space in the corner with no adjoining walls.  Newer construction tends to be better insulated.  The violin produces high frequency vibrations, so you don't have to worry about sound transferring through the floors or walls as much as you would if you played cello or bass that can transfer through walls or floors more readily.

Make sure the place has A/C so you don't have to open your windows to keep cool.

February 9, 2011 at 09:50 AM ·

Try to minimize the number of neighbors surrounding the apartment. Living on ground floor, makes that you only need to worry for sounds going to the sides or up. Same with top floor.

February 9, 2011 at 12:54 PM ·

Even a modern building with ciment between the walls like where I live is not totally sound prouf...

When I rented it, they said one could play anything anytime and even sing opera if they want...

But sometimes, I hear noises from the neighbours (not loud but just a little) and when one is in the hall, we hear what's going on in appartments.  Well, obviously, I can't do terrible sounding things, do night practices and repeat the same passages again and again for hours as I do home...

In addition, I have for my saying that one should practice as if they were in a concert hall, not as if they were playing for their grandmother home... But that kind of practice is not really appropriate in appartments!  I could use a mute for sure but I don't like their effect on my violin when I take them off... 

Now, I go to the university and pay to have permission to go in their practice rooms...  There it's absoluntly not sound proof but the other students are just as worst in their practicing.  So everyone tolerates everyone.  Of course, it'a a zoo and I'm still even less shy to do strictly "anything" when I'm at my family's house.  (Basement in a house) but it's better than in appartments!

I was lucky to never had such issues until last year where I moved in an appartment.  Yes, doing music is a tricky thing!

Good luck!

February 9, 2011 at 06:32 PM ·

If at all possible, aim for a place above a store, shopping center, restaurant (if you don't mind smelling food all day ;p) or other commercial venue. There won't be anyone there at night to care, and usually too much going on during the day for them to hear!