Neighbour not happy :(

blokespeed · Post by **blokespeed** » Tue May 01, 2007 4:38 am

Hello all,

Only last week I bought a Bb Generations whistle and started learning on my own. I can play the notes ok. Even a few tunes on my own. And this week neighbour comes knocking asking me to stop: saying it has gone on for too long! I am really sad and a bit afraid too as to what will happen next if I continued to play irrespective of what she thinks. I live in a rented accommodation and dont want to move if it gets to my landlord and everything. Ofcourse her husband does DIY every other day and makes a lot of noise but being a bit timid I didnt point that out.

I searched the forum for precedence to this problem but it seems to me you all have wonderful neighbours who love your whistling!

Kindly advise!

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Tue May 01, 2007 4:53 am

Just arrange with your neighbour a time when she doesn't mind you practising. An hour an evening shouldn't be a problem, and a Bb is a lot less annoying than a higher whistle. As you improve she may actually come to enjoy the background music.

My wife and I practise whistle, fiddle, melodeon, bodhran and concertina at various times, but always keep it to a reasonable timespan, ansd not too early in the morning or too late at night.

Our neighbour's children on one side practise violin and piano, and the other side have a 3 month old baby, so we're all quite accommodating when it comes to noise.

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Tue May 01, 2007 5:14 am

Yes, by all means be considerate and find out good times to practice which won't annoy the neighbors: perhaps when they're at work, etc.
You can also practice very silently with your whistle. Put it up to your lips as usual but instead of putting it between your lips, rest the opening of the windway ON your lower lip, covering the hole. Now play as usual. You'll hear a VERY quiet whistle sound that shouldn't bother anyone at all. I've actually done this in the same room as my sleeping wife and she has not awakened!

pipersgrip · Post by **pipersgrip** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:17 am

i know how you feel, my neighbors hate me.

but they make a lot of noise as well, and i point that out at them. i live in an apartment. i feel bad a little, but i love to play so i do.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:35 am

Learn to be less timid

Seriously..if your neighbor's husband makes a lot of noise doing DIY (I assume hammering and stuff), you should easily be able to come to some compromise with the neighbor.

Also, back when I was younger and single, and still lived in apartments, I found that taking my whistle to the park and practicing was a great way to meet girls

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:42 am

If you really have to, wait till the husband's making tool noise,
then play. If the wife comes by, just look pointedly in the direction
of the noise coming from her place... Cock an eyebrow and point if
she doesn't catch the irony right away.

blokespeed · Post by **blokespeed** » Tue May 01, 2007 6:58 am

And they have got a lawn that looks like centre court at wimbeldon which obviously needs careful maintenance with a not so quiet lawnmower.

keuka · Post by **keuka** » Tue May 01, 2007 7:22 am

I agree that the perfect time to practice is when the neighbor husband is DIY.
The Generation Bb is a great whistle and one of my favorites but it does have a big bold sound, while learning you might want a quieter whistle. I play my Dixon Polymer's at night in the house so I don't wake the family. The 1 piece in D at Harp & Dragon is only $18.00 it's a great easy to play whistle.
http://www.harpanddragon.com/

Big Whistle Music sells the Shush a Generation D modified to play quiet.
http://www.bigwhistle.co.uk/index.asp
Click "Shop" and then search "Shush"

I like Wanderer's playing in the park idea and remember most of us play in the car when stopped at a light or in the parking lot.

Adrian · Post by **Adrian** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:04 am

Compromise if possible by finding out when it is best for you to practice.

NEVER let neighbours intimidate you into not playing music at all.

I play out of doors a lot as that is a personal preference but it will help relations with your neighbour in your case.

Use putty mutes to quieten down your whistle. Works very well for me and I play well into the early hours of the morning in my flat without complaint.

Anglorfin · Post by **Anglorfin** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:19 am

That park idea sounds awesome. Once I get a few more tunes under my belt I might try it. That way I can balance my "practice" so that every once in a while when someone takes interest I can really impress them with something I know how to play well.

My neighbors have never complained. Even with my friends and I having the custom of "Thirsty Thursday" firepits in our backyards to which I have recently brought my whistle. The biggest problem comes from my own family. And I am sure that it is the dominant issue amongst the whistlers here.

The cure is the same though. Either practice somewhere else or fight about it

scottkent · Post by **scottkent** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:36 am

A park is a great idea. I play while sitting next to a park (which happens to be on the shore of a lake) and waiting for my dog to finish his business.
Still though, there are times to be quiet when living in an apartment (or dorms or whatever) and then there is the rest of the day. Unless neighbors work at night and have expressed the need for quiet to you then just check the apartment complex rules. So long as you comply all they can do is fume. Of course they could try to retaliate during quiet hours, but that could easily result in them being on the wrong side of the management.
The best place of all (at least here in Orlando, Florida) to practice is while waiting in line for theme park rides. Pick a tune you don't know too well, or one that is bound to stick in someones head

and you'd be suprized at how fast the line seems to disappear.

blokespeed · Post by **blokespeed** » Tue May 01, 2007 8:40 am

Yeah Generation Bb is an awesome whistle. Costs just 5 pounds. A Burger meal costs 4 pounds in comparison..anyway, love it.

I dont like to 'practice' set hours. I would be walking about my house eye would fall on the whistle, pick up and play. It beckons me to play! Sometimes I turn away from it get some 'real work' done

Im also playing it as it comes to me. No learning songs or anything. I try the ornamentation, half-holing etc...just love it all. Maybe it all doesnt sound like any tune to my neigbhour to tap to

How do I use the putty mute to quieten the whistle?

I think Im going to fight the neighbour soon. British politness only goes so far. Too bad she is cute!

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:22 am

blokespeed wrote:Too bad she is cute!

See, you left out some very important information, that changes everything!

Seriously though playing in the apartment shouldn't be a problem if you keep it to a reasonable hour and a reasonable time span. When I moved into my new apartment in March I left a business card on the doors of my neighbors beside and below me with a note saying hello, that I live here with my wife and that I am a musician. I stated that I do practice music in the apartment and that if I was ever doing so at a time that was disturbing then they could feel free to give me a call on my phone. You'd be surprised how far a little courtesy can go. In your situation, unfortunately, it's a little beyond that point of first contact but you should still be able to work out something reasonable with your neighbor... or else tell the landlord that the husband is creating quite a ruckus himself!

Something else I try to do is find a room to practice in that doesn't share a wall with your complaining neighbor. I have a room in the front of my apartment where two walls border my living room and the other two border the outdoors so it puts more of a barrier between me and my adjacent neighbors. The folks who lived below moved out recently and when they did they came up to say thanks for the polite card and that they never heard a thing

Anglorfin · Post by **Anglorfin** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:25 am

Bloke, though I don't normally share youre problem I usually have the same practice methods. Except for the morning which is when I usually learn a new tune, throughout the day I'll just randomly pick up my whistle a belt one out real quick while walking around my house. It gets to be a problem because I am up most of the night when my family is sleeping. So I learned to confine myself to the basement if I get the urge to whistle.

I've had problems with the putty method as well. I've placed it where it's supposed to go but all I wind up getting is a waaaaay too chiffy sound and I have to blow like a sea gale in order to get any tone at all. I have a standard cheapie Feadog if that matters at all.

jking · Post by **jking** » Tue May 01, 2007 9:48 am

take up the "pipes" then switch back to your gen Bb...they will def appreciate your whistle playing more.....