Leonard Smalls Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 11 hours ago, oldslapper said: it might make a difference to the complainant (no matter how unreasonable you believe them to be) if they were given notice. Arguably! I had a "neighbour" (he's 400m away, on the other side of the valley!) complain about band rehearsals we were doing in our garage - it was once a week from 630pm - 8-30pm. So I told him I'd sound proof the garage and could he let me know if it was any better. So we built a box in there, he wasn't happy, so we moved into our garden room - this is double glazed, brick-built and insulated. We also moved rehearsals to Sunday afternoon, 3-5pm which coincided with his incessant chain-sawing. Didn't hear anything, assumed all was fine (it was audible 20 yards outside the house but by no means loud). Then we got a letter from the council detailing the noise complaint. I told them the story so far - but it appeared we'd been noisy again for 1/2 an hour, I think we'd had to open a window due to it being boiling. I told the council we wouldn't open the window again, and that we'd stick to those hours. And also I told them TW@ttyBollox had a name for being a whinger; he'd complained about his next-door neighbours "burning noxious rubbish" - turned out it was a kids bonfire party on 5th November. So we got three more letters saying that they were setting up monitoring equipment. Then Covid and lockdown came along; during one of the breaks our then reduced band (drummer had left) recorded a couple of on-line charity gigs using EZ drummer. Lockdown started again, I noticed one of the bass tracks could do with re-recording, so I played back the band through the PA and re-recorded my bass parts - this had to be at decent volume as bass had to match. Imagine my surprise when the police turned up to investigate an alleged breach of covid regulations, and their surprise to find me on my own playing along to a backing. How we laughed! After all the lockdowns had ended we starting rehearsing again. Just as we'd finished 2 chaps turned up, said they were from the council and that monitoring was finished, and they'd just listened from the other side of the valley. They explained that while it was faintly audible, it was by no means a nuisance ( a lot quieter than the b road below) and that Complain-Man had been told he was being deeply unreasonable, and that we had shown ourselves to be just the opposite. Council said that "unless something changed substantially" they wouldn't act on any more of his complaints. About anything. So it goes to show, there's miserable gits everywhere! 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 You can be polite and unreasonable at the same time, just because someone words something in a pleasant way doesn't mean you have to bow to their every whim. The OP isn't doing anything wrong IMO and he can tell them that in an equally polite manner without fear of being the bad guy, nobody is entitled to absolute silence during daytime hours. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 About 4 houses down from me there’s a group of guys who use their summerhouse for band practice every 2 weeks on a Sunday afternoon, they play heavy rock and are really dreadful, all out of time , the drummer is too loud and you can’t hear the bass, I often want to knock , not to ask them to be quiet but to tell them to get more practice in and sort their sound out , or even better, play some reggae 😁 2 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelDean Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Some people really don't like any noise/music at all. Back when I was a teenager, living in rural sleepy Wiltshire and in my first band, we practiced in our garage, mid week, during working hours in the summer holidays. Thought that was fairly considerate. We got complaints from one of our neighbours in the close who were retired stating that they couldn't even hear the news on the TV. We weren't that loud that you wouldn't be able to hear a TV turned up a bit. No-one else minded so we ignored them. The band then ended when my brother went off to uni and the drummer joined the RAF at the end of that summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Why not ask them when they’re going to be out? i.e. if they visit the derby and Joan club every Thursday for a couple of hours for example, then try and coordinate your rehearsals with their schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 12 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: About 4 houses down from me there’s a group of guys who use their summerhouse for band practice every 2 weeks on a Sunday afternoon, they play heavy rock and are really dreadful, all out of time , the drummer is too loud and you can’t hear the bass, I often want to knock , not to ask them to be quiet but to tell them to get more practice in and sort their sound out , or even better, play some reggae 😁 Leave a metronome on the doorstep? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 30 minutes ago, Reggaebass said: About 4 houses down from me there’s a group of guys who use their summerhouse for band practice every 2 weeks on a Sunday afternoon, they play heavy rock and are really dreadful, all out of time , the drummer is too loud and you can’t hear the bass, I often want to knock , not to ask them to be quiet but to tell them to get more practice in and sort their sound out , or even better, play some reggae 😁 But they are enjoying themselves. Isn't that the point of playing? Plus they will improve with practice. I wish people would live and let live. I used to hear the folk behind us playing music loudly and thought, magic, now I can play music without worrying about complaints. We used to rehearse quite loudly in my spare room. I worried that it was too loud for the neighbours and Mrs Ubit went out to monitor the noise. She said you could hear it quite loud but I said you are standing right out side the house and everyone round here has double glazing so they would need to be standing in our garden to hear it loudly. We never ever had any complaints anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 5 minutes ago, ubit said: Plus they will improve with practice They haven’t in the last 3 years so I can’t see it happening any time soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted August 8, 2022 Author Share Posted August 8, 2022 13 hours ago, oldslapper said: I’m not having a go 😂 These people may be incredibly unreasonable and exaggerating their experience, I don’t know. I can only say from my own experience with “noise” from a neighbour. For 7 years he has been “working” on his house. Over this time work can start without warning and stop at an undetermined time. It’s very annoying and inconsiderate. However, he has taken to messaging me beforehand to say when he is planning to do some work and for how long. It has made a huge difference to my own capacity to cope as I now have a choice to plan my day accordingly and my wife no longer has to prevent me from using his lump hammer on his skull. From what you’re describing, the 2 “noise” experiences aren’t the same. I understand that. However, it might make a difference to the complainant (no matter how unreasonable you believe them to be) if they were given notice. It lets them know that you recognises their perspective and gives them the choice to f00k off somewhere else for the period of the rehearsal if it’s that invasive to them, or sit and enjoy the wonderful music you’re producing instead of the Archers. @oldslapper, I've worked shifts myself so have always been painfully considerate of others. My house is a small 2 bed terrace with thin walls and I wish my neighbours were as considerate as I try to be. I think when reading posts online one naturally thinks of their own life. A 25w practice amp a three minute walk from a house, pointed the other way is going to be considerably less intrusive than most Basschatters at home practising in semi or terrace houses. My friend has done considerably better on the property ladder than me (I have nicer kit, more records and shoes - life is a balance!) and it's more about some people being pompous. Neither of them works shifts. The summerhouse is also down loads of steps so I think they really are just being silly. By all accounts it's her more than him. And no, I didn't think you were having a go - my exact thought was that I bet you had neighbours that were noisy so had just empathised. I have similar where I live and this just isn't the same. 2 hours ago, ubit said: Why not try to sound proof the summer house? Is that possible option? Is it actually used as a Summer house or as a shed? @ubit. It's for music and we will be soundproofing it as he's turning it into a studio. In 34yrs of playing I wouldn't have said it was jumping out as needing it but given the neighbours, it would be a sensible way forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Pretty much the first thing I did when I met my new neighbours was to mention that I was a musician and that if my practicing ever got on their nerves to just knock on the door and ask me to stop, and that it wouldn`t offend me at all as I was aware that people might be ill/working shifts/have visitors over etc. Reverse psychology practiced very well indeed methinks as 18 years on and it`s yet to happen 😄 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Many years ago I lived with my band in a back to back terrace in Harlesden... We stuck carpets to the walls, covered the window and did everything we could to damp down the noise, but it was still pretty loud outside... But one day I was out in the back yard, waved at a couple of our neighbours and they both came over for a chat - basically they said how much they enjoyed the band playing cos it brought life to the place. They also requested some reggae; but not being a reggae band we wrote a song for 'em based on a funky sleng teng riff. Here it is! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 53 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: Pretty much the first thing I did when I met my new neighbours was to mention that I was a musician and that if my practicing ever got on their nerves to just knock on the door and ask me to stop, and that it wouldn`t offend me at all as I was aware that people might be ill/working shifts/have visitors over etc. Reverse psychology practiced very well indeed methinks as 18 years on and it`s yet to happen 😄 Altough with all the racket you make, you wouldn't hear even a bulldozer knocking through the front wall..! ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinnDave Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Around 1975/6 I was playing in a local heavy rock band - bass, drums, 2 guitars. We rehearsed in the front room of one of the guitarists - just a normal semi. His mum and sister would sit in the next room watching TV and occasionally would pop in with tea and biscuits for us. We were using 100 watt stacks and a full drum kit - I would have thought that we were clearly audible up to at least 1/4 mile away, possibly more. I don't remember there being any soundproofing, though I think we did close the windows. No one ever complained, nor even mentioned it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knirirr Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Living in a terrace I am concerned about disturbing neighbours due to practice; I do about 90 minutes a day, never after 10pm (usually well before), and either unamplified acoustic, electric through a small practice amp with 4" speakers or brass with a practice mute in. I asked the more sociable neighbours on one side about it and they said they rarely heard anything and didn't mind what little they did hear. The other neighbours have a loud dog and like to let it out to bark a few times per day, starting early. A few weeks ago, after 7 days straight of barking at 5:55 am I asked them if they wouldn't mind keeping the dog indoors until an hour or so later. The response was more or less "this is the price of living in a terrace, and anyway we have to listen to your constant music practice". They did reschedule the morning bark as requested, though, until this morning when it was back to 5:55am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 7 minutes ago, knirirr said: Living in a terrace I am concerned about disturbing neighbours due to practice; I do about 90 minutes a day, never after 10pm (usually well before), and either unamplified acoustic, electric through a small practice amp with 4" speakers or brass with a practice mute in. I asked the more sociable neighbours on one side about it and they said they rarely heard anything and didn't mind what little they did hear. The other neighbours have a loud dog and like to let it out to bark a few times per day, starting early. A few weeks ago, after 7 days straight of barking at 5:55 am I asked them if they wouldn't mind keeping the dog indoors until an hour or so later. The response was more or less "this is the price of living in a terrace, and anyway we have to listen to your constant music practice". They did reschedule the morning bark as requested, though, until this morning when it was back to 5:55am. Reminds me of a guy I used to work with, Brian. A new couple moved next door to him, and were doing up the house, hammering/drilling etc til well past 11pm. after a bit he knocked on the door and asked them if they would be mindful of the sound & time, he got a mouthful of abuse & threats in response. Now Brian wasn`t scared of anyone, he was ex military and a boxing coach, but he just smiled, left and thought "you`ll get yours". A couple of years later the couple had a baby, whose bedroom was next to Brians house. In the evenings when he got home from work, every hour on the hour he would place a piece of wood onto the adjoining wall and hit it with a hammer until 11pm/midnight. For some reason this woke up the baby who started crying loudly every time. When the man of the house (and chief responder/hurler of previously mentioned abuse & threats) asked him to stop he replied as per the response he had received years before. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Nothing to do with noise, but in the mid 80s when I was living with my parents, a neighbour accosted me as I was leaving for work to complain that our cat had been 'going' in her garden. I didn't know how to respond to this so I said I would "have a word with her." The neighbour seemed to be happy with this response and never mentioned it again, even though I never actually discussed the matter with the cat. 1 1 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Cats just know…… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knirirr Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 1 hour ago, Lozz196 said: A new couple moved next door to him, and were doing up the house, hammering/drilling etc til well past 11pm. after a bit he knocked on the door and asked them if they would be mindful of the sound & time, he got a mouthful of abuse & threats in response. Strange that people feel the need to respond with abuse. "Sorry about that, I'll see what I can do" would get far better results. I recall a chap I knew (a metal singer) who behaved as those DIY fans you mention did and was punched when he told his (justifiably annoyed) neighbour to f. off. He called the police who, when taking his statement for the assault, found various stolen street signs in his flat and charged him with theft. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 I’ve been on both ends of this situation and know what it’s like. Rehearsed a few times at my folks bungalow when in my teens. The neighbours were a lovely lot who got on with our family, but eventually had a word with my dad who wasn’t aware of the noise as we always rehearsed when my folks were out. Scroll forward to fairly recently when living in our last house, end of terrace Victorian. Shortly after we moved in, there was the sound of what appeared to be someone playing drums in our kitchen. Literally couldn’t hold a conversation or hear the TV above it. Popped next door to have a friendly word with the parents of said drummer, and they were quite defensive, saying he was studying music at college and needed to practice. Reluctantly agreed to certain times we were prepared to put up with it, which of course were soon forgotten. Eventually had to threaten them with alerting the Council, and they took up my recommendation to get the lad an electric kit. We could still hear him rehearse but nowhere near as bad as the acoustic one. Oh yeh, the parents snubbed us for the next 10 years too, as it was our fault obviously. In fact they were one of the reasons we moved recently. Now live on the edge of a village where quiet is the norm, which suits us fine. I have a well insulated room where I can make some noise if I want, and mentioned to our neighbours to let me know if I ever bother them - so far no problems. If I wanted a full band rehearsal then I’d book a rehearsal room somewhere rather than risk good relations with folk nearby. Only noise that bothers us is the daily early morning cockerel opposite, but we’re happy to let that continue rather than rock the boat. I think everyone is entitled to reasonable amounts of quiet wherever they are, although understand it’s all relative to the neighbourhood and it’s location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 6 minutes ago, casapete said: I think everyone is entitled to reasonable amounts of quiet wherever they are, although understand it’s all relative to the neighbourhood and it’s location. Indeed! The bloke wot whinged about us also complained to his neighbouring farmer about the noise of sheep... And he called out the fire brigade about a grass fire he'd seen - they chased around searching for it for 3 hours and found nowt, which was unsurprising as it was morning mist. I think it's basically about a) being reasonable b) a bit of live and let live and c) don't be an @rse. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 35 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said: I think it's basically about a) being reasonable b) a bit of live and let live and c) don't be an @rse. This! 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steantval Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 I agree that Debbie and Steve were being very reasonable with their request regarding your noise pollution. These folks were obviously enjoying the previous Summer months in a nice quiet environment prior to you guys practicing. I would personally be dipping into my pocket and hiring a proper rehearsal studio where you can avoid these noise issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted August 9, 2022 Share Posted August 9, 2022 (edited) Our band rehearsal used to take place in the kitchen of our singer and harmonica player ( a couple) and last from 7.30-10.30 every Wednesday night. When I joined I had a Bass Ukelele and as they were acoustic guitar, harmonica and vox it fitted well. The house was in a terrace and the singer's Mum lived one side and an old guy next door. I kinda thought 10.30 was a bit late to be playing but was assured we were OK. Our biggest issue was parking as old terraces are not renowned for providing multi parking spaces.... Anyway, I progressed to an electric Bass having asked the band if they felt it fitted better ( The Thomann Uke Bass was not brilliant) and when I used to see the singers mother at a gig she'd always complement me on the Bass sound through their wall! Scroll forward 6-7 years and the singer's mother moved out into a wooden house built in her garden and the singer moves into the Mum's old house, which is the mirror image of the daughters as there was a passage way inbetween ( still following)? Friends of the band have now moved into the singers old house and love hearing our stuff at rehearsal through the wall and at gigs. When we had lockdown all the neighbours used to say how much they missed the music and in fact this Saturday we are playing a mini garden party at the singers house and all the immediate neighbours and those from further afield are coming too. Also we have now morped into an electric band with drums which has affected sound levels but the drummer does not usually attend. As I said the biggest issue has been parking 3 more vehicles on rehearsal nights, usually the singer and partner park theirs up the road leaving space for us non residents. Edited August 9, 2022 by yorks5stringer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 The direction the bass amp is pointed has next to zero impact on how much boom reaches the neighbours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 08/08/2022 at 08:58, yorks5stringer said: Tell them they are lucky it's not Diana Ross.... Thought the text was very passive aggresive, I mean only 1 x and a small one at that? Yeah - obviously they’re being sarcastic and disrespectful and should be finding a horses head in their bed and sleeping with the fishes and so on … Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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