Sound Muffling for apartment practicing

[Mightymo]

Anyone else find it really hard to practice in an apartment without bothering the neighbors? I am in desperate need of suggestions for ways to muffle the sound of my pipes so practicing can resume. External methods are preferable (i.e. sound barriers, foam, etc). I know about closing the reed a bit, or getting a narrow bore chanter, etc. (unfortunately a new chanter isn't in the budget at the moment).

Hopefully, if there are enough sweet ideas this could get a sticky so other people in this predicament can be enlightened as well. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

[Pyroh]

Where do you live? Doesn´t your house have some sort of attic, or a cellar? Maybe you could practise there - plus, if you do sound isolation on the walls of your cellar, it will look much less ugly than in your room

[itisi]

Where do you live? Doesn´t your house have some sort of attic, or a cellar? Maybe you could practise there - plus, if you do sound isolation on the walls of your cellar, it will look much less ugly than in your room

The thread is called "Sound Muffling for APARTMENT practicing"

Now ask him again if he has an attic or a cellar...

[rorybbellows]

Believe it or not ,I once had an apartment that had a attic and a cellar.It was a two storey block and I had the top floor apartment that had access to the loft .but I also had a private stairs that had a hatch underneath that gave access to the cellar.

It may be alot a work but if you had a small room in your apartment (Loo or cloakroom) you could somehow hang bed quilts over the door and walls to deaden the sound.

RORY

[papuga]

Anyone else find it really hard to practice in an apartment without bothering the neighbors? I am in desperate need of suggestions for ways to muffle the sound of my pipes so practicing can resume. External methods are preferable (i.e. sound barriers, foam, etc).

The Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek added extra insulated flooring, walls, ceiling and door to one room of his apartment. It worked so well that he could practice day or night without bothering the neighbors. Another saxophone player I know built a giant, foam-lined box in her living room, complete with reading lamp. Practicing inside the box dampened the sound enough to pacify the neighbors.

[tommykleen]

Hiya Adam,

There was a fellow on this board who made an accoustic chamber of sorts out a giant tube. There were holes for his arms and legs as I recall. I would love to see pictures of that again!

T

[misterpatrick]

Actually it was a padded PVD pipe with holes for the hands. You should be able to find the thread searching board.

[reedbiter]

you could get 6 old full size mattresses and build yourself a cube o'silence

rent/find a practice spot...be a bit more decisive and deliberate about yer playing

[misterpatrick]

If you go the mattress route, be sure and call it a practice fort. Perhaps the "Fort of Jewels"?

[misterpatrick]

If you go the mattress route, be sure and call it a practice fort. Perhaps the "Fort of Jewels"?

[Marcelo Muttis]

Or maybe you could build a padded cone so it could be "the cone of silence" (the one used by superagent 86 and the chief)

[rorybbellows]

you could get 6 old full size mattresses and build yourself a cube o'silence

And when you are not useing it for practising you could rent it out to the local nut house for locking up raving homocidal maniacs.

RORY

[MTGuru]

And when you are not useing it for practising you could rent it out to the local nut house for locking up raving homocidal maniacs.

Or just lock up all the pipers. You'd be doing a great community service, and giving them a great place to practice, too!

[CrackPiper]

David Daye (I think) was talking about making "apartment pipes" for just such an occasion...wonder if he ever got around to that. I live in Manhattan and when I had more greenbacks I used to go a practice at a place called "The Studio" down by Penn Station...think it was something like ten bucks an hour. My chanter is in the semi-narrow bore range as it is (O'Grady) and I just got it re-reeded by Jim Schaeffer (who did great job!!!), and it's a different style reed, which is quieter, sweeter, more stable and more suited for not driving my neighbors crazy.

mq

[Boody]

I am about to move into college dorms and am worried that my neighbors/roommate might not be very understanding about my practicing. The room is pretty small so I don't think any external methods are going to work. Well, my pipes aren't here yet, so I am not sure how loud they are, but hopefully it will work out.