Good neighbors in a band
June 29, 2017 2:58 PM Subscribe
We've just started looking for a house to buy. One of the main things we're looking for is a house that has the space to accommodate a band practice area (in the basement most likely), since we rent a separate space for that now.
We want to be able to play live rock music in our basement at reasonable hours, basically in the evenings and on weekends, but we don't want to be bad neighbors. My husband's band practices 1 night/week about 7-10pm (probably should be more) and he and I like to jam sometimes as well.
We're specifically looking for houses that are not very close to other houses, but we don't know exactly how close might be too close? Is there anything else we should take into consideration? We will of course check noise ordinances for whatever town we end up in, but I don't think we're going to be that loud.
We probably won't have the funds for soundproofing initially, but it's something we'd do at some point. I think my husband secretly would like to have a home recording studio.
We want to be able to play live rock music in our basement at reasonable hours, basically in the evenings and on weekends, but we don't want to be bad neighbors. My husband's band practices 1 night/week about 7-10pm (probably should be more) and he and I like to jam sometimes as well.
We're specifically looking for houses that are not very close to other houses, but we don't know exactly how close might be too close? Is there anything else we should take into consideration? We will of course check noise ordinances for whatever town we end up in, but I don't think we're going to be that loud.
We probably won't have the funds for soundproofing initially, but it's something we'd do at some point. I think my husband secretly would like to have a home recording studio.
My neighbor plays in a band and frequently practices in his basement. Our houses are about 10 feet apart. These are old houses and well constructed I guess, because I almost never hear him.
I do appreciate that my neighbor does always send me a quick note via email to give me a heads up about band practice. It's a nice thing to do even though I'm never bothered by their playing.
If your husband plans to play after 10pm, maybe don't move in next to people with young children who might have early bed times and be disturbed by a band playing after 8:30pm.
posted by brookeb at 3:09 PM on June 29, 2017
I do appreciate that my neighbor does always send me a quick note via email to give me a heads up about band practice. It's a nice thing to do even though I'm never bothered by their playing.
If your husband plans to play after 10pm, maybe don't move in next to people with young children who might have early bed times and be disturbed by a band playing after 8:30pm.
posted by brookeb at 3:09 PM on June 29, 2017
This is a crapshoot from all sides. You can say how sensitive your new neighbors will be and you can't say how responsive the city will be in practice. I don't really see what sort of advice might be given here. "Normal" close will be too close under the worst of conditions. Way too amorphous of a criteria for your search.
posted by humboldt32 at 3:36 PM on June 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by humboldt32 at 3:36 PM on June 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I know a person who routinely hosts concerts in the basement of her home. As best I can tell, this works because she has insulated the basement windows, soundproofed the basement ceiling with blankets, and there's only a neighbor on one side of the house. I think there is a garage between the house and the neighbor house too. There's also a fairly loud street behind the house, and I wonder if the traffic noise helps conceal the band noise.
posted by areaperson at 4:21 PM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by areaperson at 4:21 PM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
I used to record live bands in the vaulted living room of a house I rented. Neighbors houses were probably fifty feet on one side and 100 feet on the other. You could often hear it outside but I don't think you would have heard it much inside their house- I never had a complaint.
I wasn't doing them as late though. I was almost always doing them between noon-7pm since the bands were on tour and usually playing a show elsewhere later that night.
posted by noloveforned at 6:06 PM on June 29, 2017
I wasn't doing them as late though. I was almost always doing them between noon-7pm since the bands were on tour and usually playing a show elsewhere later that night.
posted by noloveforned at 6:06 PM on June 29, 2017
This happened to me.
I am a big fan of live music, and I am out late seeing a show at least once a week.
My home is early 1900s, the neighbor house is 1950s stucco. We are on a busy street with a popular bus stop directly in front of my house. We are not afraid of noise. We are about 15 feet apart, very typical for my area.
The neighbor had a band that would practice once a week from about 7-9 in the basement. A stucco house is well-known for dampening sound and cell coverage. The neighbor had DIY'ed soundproofing, including putting acoustic foam in between the double paned basement windows and on the walls and celing.
On days of band practice, we would try to be gone, or we would have to turn the tv up REEEEAAALLY loud to hear our own tv. We did not complain because it was just 7-9, we knew when it would start and end, and we wanted to keep a good relationship. We had no children or elderly occupants that needed rest at that time.
BUT THEN he sold the house to one of the bandmates, and all of the neighborliness went out the window. He began to play after bar close on weeknights, and the sound was jolt-you-out-of-bed-loud in our bedroom at 3 am. It could be heard all along the block, despite soundproofing.
When we rang the doorbell, he could not hear it. We kicked on his basement windows, and he could not hear it. Finally, after trying for a long time at that early hour, he heard us and quit.
Long story short: despite our attempts at neighborly negotiation, he continued to play at irregular times and this story ends with police and tickets for noise violations.
Please do not attempt this in a neighborhood.
I have seen several homes with professional practice spaces or recording studios. Most of them are on acreage. The ones in the city are professionally done, with sound booths that cost Big Bucks. This is not a DIY endeavor.
The grown up thing to do is to rent a professional practice space, if you don't have the five figures to professionally outfit a soundproof area.
posted by littlewater at 7:18 PM on June 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
I am a big fan of live music, and I am out late seeing a show at least once a week.
My home is early 1900s, the neighbor house is 1950s stucco. We are on a busy street with a popular bus stop directly in front of my house. We are not afraid of noise. We are about 15 feet apart, very typical for my area.
The neighbor had a band that would practice once a week from about 7-9 in the basement. A stucco house is well-known for dampening sound and cell coverage. The neighbor had DIY'ed soundproofing, including putting acoustic foam in between the double paned basement windows and on the walls and celing.
On days of band practice, we would try to be gone, or we would have to turn the tv up REEEEAAALLY loud to hear our own tv. We did not complain because it was just 7-9, we knew when it would start and end, and we wanted to keep a good relationship. We had no children or elderly occupants that needed rest at that time.
BUT THEN he sold the house to one of the bandmates, and all of the neighborliness went out the window. He began to play after bar close on weeknights, and the sound was jolt-you-out-of-bed-loud in our bedroom at 3 am. It could be heard all along the block, despite soundproofing.
When we rang the doorbell, he could not hear it. We kicked on his basement windows, and he could not hear it. Finally, after trying for a long time at that early hour, he heard us and quit.
Long story short: despite our attempts at neighborly negotiation, he continued to play at irregular times and this story ends with police and tickets for noise violations.
Please do not attempt this in a neighborhood.
I have seen several homes with professional practice spaces or recording studios. Most of them are on acreage. The ones in the city are professionally done, with sound booths that cost Big Bucks. This is not a DIY endeavor.
The grown up thing to do is to rent a professional practice space, if you don't have the five figures to professionally outfit a soundproof area.
posted by littlewater at 7:18 PM on June 29, 2017 [14 favorites]
We live in a part of our city where the houses are a single driveway's width away, maybe ten feet at the most. Stone foundations, plaster walls, the houses on either side are similar construction. The basement windows are the original frames and glass, narrow but not exactly well sealed and not double paned. These are hundred-year-old plus houses in a place where thick construction means not freezing in the winter, but also not hearing someone yell from the next room.
I can honestly *just* hear the music from my husband's band practice in the basement from outside, with no additional soundproofing. If he were to put some foam baffling up in the window wells I'm pretty sure I couldn't hear it at all from outside. He's down there recording a guitar solo right now and I can only barely hear him from the floor right above. A live drum kit will really be your biggest hurdle, but an electronic kit is way less of a concern.
On the other hand in our old house in California they'd play until 10 and only on weekends for fear of being obnoxious to neighbors, but one night on New Years Eve we had a late night jam and some dudes heard us from the street and wandered in to join us, even though we'd put an Ikea mattress up against the walk-out basement door to muffle the sound. So the construction of the house really matters. Also, sometimes your jam sessions get hop-ons.
I would no kidding bring a practice amp and guitar to houses you're serious about and take turns walking around outside while one of you is playing to really get an idea of how the sound travels, taking into consideration what a full amp setup will sound like.
You can have a recording studio in a house in a city neighborhood--we came close to buying a pretty famous one in our city but decided we weren't ready to move here quite that soon.
When you do find the space that seems to really work for you, letting your neighbors know about your music proclivities is a good idea. Ours have never yet asked but if someone were to mention noise, or ask for a quiet week because of guests, this would be no problem.
posted by padraigin at 9:03 PM on June 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
I can honestly *just* hear the music from my husband's band practice in the basement from outside, with no additional soundproofing. If he were to put some foam baffling up in the window wells I'm pretty sure I couldn't hear it at all from outside. He's down there recording a guitar solo right now and I can only barely hear him from the floor right above. A live drum kit will really be your biggest hurdle, but an electronic kit is way less of a concern.
On the other hand in our old house in California they'd play until 10 and only on weekends for fear of being obnoxious to neighbors, but one night on New Years Eve we had a late night jam and some dudes heard us from the street and wandered in to join us, even though we'd put an Ikea mattress up against the walk-out basement door to muffle the sound. So the construction of the house really matters. Also, sometimes your jam sessions get hop-ons.
I would no kidding bring a practice amp and guitar to houses you're serious about and take turns walking around outside while one of you is playing to really get an idea of how the sound travels, taking into consideration what a full amp setup will sound like.
You can have a recording studio in a house in a city neighborhood--we came close to buying a pretty famous one in our city but decided we weren't ready to move here quite that soon.
When you do find the space that seems to really work for you, letting your neighbors know about your music proclivities is a good idea. Ours have never yet asked but if someone were to mention noise, or ask for a quiet week because of guests, this would be no problem.
posted by padraigin at 9:03 PM on June 29, 2017 [3 favorites]
Littlewater's experience seems extreme and worst case to me.
Look for distance, look for plant cover, look for good modern windows on the neighboring properties, Look for deep basements, laid out with open space on the corner most distant from other houses/bedrooms. Be willing to spend some money on plant installation and mild sound dampening in your playing space.
Don't be assholes with your amps. Don't play so loud that you will damage your own hearing when practicing without ear protection (hint, maybe play quieter than you think you need.)
Invest a few buck in a proper sound meter, and use it to check your sound leakage. Know the local ordinance on quiet hours. Maybe even bring an amp and use it to test when you look at the house.
This is not crazy, it is doable to have band practice in a residential basement while also being respectful and good neighbors. You just have to want to do it right and pay attention and not be jerks about it.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:03 PM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
Look for distance, look for plant cover, look for good modern windows on the neighboring properties, Look for deep basements, laid out with open space on the corner most distant from other houses/bedrooms. Be willing to spend some money on plant installation and mild sound dampening in your playing space.
Don't be assholes with your amps. Don't play so loud that you will damage your own hearing when practicing without ear protection (hint, maybe play quieter than you think you need.)
Invest a few buck in a proper sound meter, and use it to check your sound leakage. Know the local ordinance on quiet hours. Maybe even bring an amp and use it to test when you look at the house.
This is not crazy, it is doable to have band practice in a residential basement while also being respectful and good neighbors. You just have to want to do it right and pay attention and not be jerks about it.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:03 PM on June 29, 2017 [1 favorite]
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is looking for a neighborhood where this is normal/part of the culture. The part of my city that I live in is well known for having lots of musicians, and I can hear a band practicing usually any day of the week when walking my dog around. It's unusual for anyone to be practicing later than 10, so there's kind of that unwritten rule, as well as a city noise ordinance that starts at 11, so things are reportable. But also, there's an expectation that you're going to hear some live music when you move in here.
posted by pixiecrinkle at 8:59 AM on June 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by pixiecrinkle at 8:59 AM on June 30, 2017 [2 favorites]
Just want to note that plants and trees do not block sound. They're not dense enough. Whatever you end up doing, communication and scheduling are key. If you have neighbors any reasonable distance from your house, tell them right up front that you'll never play after, say, 10:00 PM on a weeknight and 11:00 PM on a weekend. Tell them about how often you'll play as well. I would 100% agree on DIY soundproofing. You can even make foam inserts for your basement windows that should block a fair bit of sound.
Being completely honest, and speaking as a sound sensitive sleeper, I'd be hostile to this as your neighbor unless and until you were *super* responsible about it. That being said, we've lived right next to (non-rock) musicians and it was actually really nice.
posted by cnc at 11:05 AM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
Being completely honest, and speaking as a sound sensitive sleeper, I'd be hostile to this as your neighbor unless and until you were *super* responsible about it. That being said, we've lived right next to (non-rock) musicians and it was actually really nice.
posted by cnc at 11:05 AM on June 30, 2017 [1 favorite]
The grown up thing to do is to rent a professional practice space, if you don't have the five figures to professionally outfit a soundproof area.
This is nice if you can afford it, but one of the reasons I even want to buy a house someday and stop renting is so I can rehearse in my own home and stop payimg for a practice space. I agree with those who have said its hard to tell without using a space, however. I don't think it would be weird if you were considering a home to try out the same decibel level (record your band's decibel level first, they have apps for that) in the area in the house you want to rehearse...go outside and see what that sounds like from your neighbor's perspective.
It would be your house, and I don't think it's reasonable most of the time for a courteous and reasonable musician to be expected to never rehearse in their own home.
posted by agregoli at 7:01 AM on July 3, 2017
This is nice if you can afford it, but one of the reasons I even want to buy a house someday and stop renting is so I can rehearse in my own home and stop payimg for a practice space. I agree with those who have said its hard to tell without using a space, however. I don't think it would be weird if you were considering a home to try out the same decibel level (record your band's decibel level first, they have apps for that) in the area in the house you want to rehearse...go outside and see what that sounds like from your neighbor's perspective.
It would be your house, and I don't think it's reasonable most of the time for a courteous and reasonable musician to be expected to never rehearse in their own home.
posted by agregoli at 7:01 AM on July 3, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
And some basic soundproofing is probably not that expensive and may benefit you more than the neighbours - playing in a concrete box is going to have pretty brutal acoustics even if the neighbours can't hear it. Putting up some foam or rugs on the walls will help a lot for the band.
posted by GuyZero at 3:07 PM on June 29, 2017 [8 favorites]