 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2011-03-27 08:13
I'm moving to a new apartment, and am wondering if my practising is going to disturb the neighbours. Does anybody have any experience with sound proofing, either homemade or professional. Any suggestions would be welcome.
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Author: Tony M
Date: 2011-03-27 10:20
I once spoke to a sound engineer about the same issue. I didn't understand a lot of what he told me but I did once important thing that he said: people always forget the floor. Make sure that you have heavy carpet on the floor because polished boards (very popular here in Brisbane, and elsewhere I'm quite sure) bounce the sound around like nobody's business.
Beyond that what he said pretty much amounted to spend a lot of money or just go with common sense and use things that will not reflect the sound.
Sorry I can't be of more help but if you have a floor in your apartment, don't forget it.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-03-27 11:21
My teacher had a commercial "housing" (for lack of a better word) in his apartment; it looked a bit like an oversized phone booth.
From outside the noise wasn't worse than two people talking to each other, or the radio at normal room volume.
I remember that my teacher mentioned the heat in that box after half an hour or so - apparently ventilation is something that should be paid attention to.
If you want, I can ask him for the address of the practice booth company.
--
Ben
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Author: vintschevski
Date: 2011-03-27 13:18
Hi, all!
This is definitely a significant topic. Yes, one CAN and DOES disturb the neighbours, and I always take the view that if I were a neighbour I wouldn't want to hear some dill practising clarinet for hours on end. Since I want to practise clarinet for hours on end, I try to find ways to spare the neighbours - and it's not easy.
Tony, did your sound engineer provide any percentages? Which is to say, if one lays thick carpet on the floor of the room one practises in, does that decrease the noise by a certain percentage? Is the floor MORE significant than the walls?
And what is best on the walls themselves? The legendary egg cartons or some sort of heavy cloth material?
vintschevski
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-03-27 14:25
Egg carton will deaden the reflections, but it will not necessarily dampen the sound that escapes the room.
Most designs take multiple layers of material, mechanically isolated ("floating construction") from each other. The surface is often low density fiberboards with structured surfaces.
You don't want to practice in an acoustically dead room. You just don't want the sound to seep through walls.
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Ben
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Author: DougR
Date: 2011-03-28 22:31
I think the phone-booth-like thing referred to above is the WhisperRoom--it's actually a mini-room that lives inside your apartment, comes in many sizes, includes ventilation, and is pretty darn quiet. It's also an overwhelming big Thing in an apartment, especially in smaller ones, and is by no means cheap. However lots of people use them, including voice-over performers (they insulate most outside noise well enough to record in). I don't have the website handy, but they're easy to find on the web.
What I've always wanted is a loft bed for my studio apartment that contained a practice studio underneath. But to really be soundproof it has to be heavy and would have to have doors, which would have to be heavy and seal very well, and the ventilation would have to be specialized too. Which translates into $$$$, which is why I annoy the neighbors (but since I can practice during the day most days, nobody much is home.)
Check out the Whisper Room. Like I say, bulky, expensive (well, maybe not to you?), and would do the job.
As an alternative, there are lots of "How I Built My Home Recording Studio" articles on the web that would give you stuff to try from a d-i-y perspective.
I for one would be curious to know what you decide on! Please report back!
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Author: Brenda ★2017
Date: 2011-03-29 01:43
Hmm...and all we're trying to do is to insulate the walls between the apartments in our house so that the music/conversation/guitar playing from one apartment doesn't annoy the other tenants too much. We found sound-proof insulation, and also sound-proof drywall. The employees at the home-renovation stores can explain the differences and benefits, and can even come up with good suggestions for your needs. I guess each area would have its own special products. These wouldn't work in an apartment building though, would they.
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Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2011-03-29 04:11
This is going to sound super obvious, but often times, it's something we forget! Have you asked the neighbors about your practicing? I, originally, was worried about practicing in my condo, so I would normally do it during the daylight hours, when I knew that they were awake. Most have said that they actually like hearing me practice. A few have said that they "listen" while they get into their cars and stuff. I do adhere to our quiet hours, and also have a fully carpeted condo (aside from bathrooms and kitchen/dining).
But, just introduce yourself to them, and ask them if they have any problem with it, and ask their sleep schedules also, so you don't disturb that. And, I'd also tell them that if it's disturbing to them, just kindly knock on the door and let you know!
Other than that, carpet seems to do a lot for dampening the sound. I wonder if you could hang carpet or a rug on the wall to help. There are also noise-dampening/blackout curtains that I saw in Walmart, that might be of some use to you as well. I haven't tried them, but that might be another option.
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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