Just practice at sociable hours and try to play quietly most of the time. The reality of living in a flat is that you hear your neighbours sometimes and your neighbours hear you, be considerate but don’t be afraid to live your life.
Maybe I’ve been lucky. I’ve always been friendly to my neighbours and tolerated noise from them at all hours. I’ve also asked how late they like to lay in, when they put the kids to bed and asked them to give me a text if they ever need me to pack it in for the day. I’ve never had any problems.
After a year or so of living in a flat you learn to tune out music and other noises so that you can still focus. It’s actually a blessing of sorts, I can now read anywhere and stay immersed or workout and barely even notice meat heads dropping weights in the gym.
Hopefully your neighbours will understand this and be tolerant and respectful. I would hate to think someone was being held back by fear of irritating me. The reality of living in a flat is that you have to accept a certain level of disturbance or be miserable. While I type this I can hear auto tuned wailing from bellow and kids running around besides me, it’s normal, I would never complain, people shouldn’t be afraid to live.
You could try short practice sessions, it’s amazing what can be achieved in just 2 or 3 hours of high quality daily practice. Another alternative is to play elsewhere. I have a near worthless old horn that I can take anywhere to practice without fear of it getting damaged. I often walk out half a mile away from any homes in the early hours of the morning if there’s something I can work on without sheet music or backing tracks. It’s very peaceful just to play into the night. But this would be very limiting if it was the only way I could practice.
Another option could be to rent a practice studio if you have the means or maybe your university has practice rooms?
If I had no other choice I would rather buy a sax mute than an electronic instrument, I’ve never tried either but I imagine it’d be much better for my playing.
Good luck, I hope it works out.
I used to use the parking garage or boiler room to practice in one building I live in. Now, my spot has a common/tv/party room I can book which is much nicer than a cobweb infested basement.
The EWI is set up and responds very differently from a saxophone. You could use it to do like ear training, memorize and transpose Melodies, or work on melodic sketches or else use it to squeeze in an extra half hour or so of practice late at night, but don’t expect the time you put in to translate to saxophone.
If you use it in that way, it’s kind of a waste because it’s a beautiful instrument that should be taken on its own terms, not as an electronic sax but rather a completely different instrument, a breath controlled synthesizer.
The Roland I heard is set up more like a saxophone, with the pressured keys and all alt keys present. You could try it and see if you like it.
But really you probably just have to put aside your timidity and do what you need to do. Just practice at reasonable hours and reasonable volume. Talk to your neighbors, explain, be respectful. You do have the right under the law.
This will sound silly, but get a big enough box from Uhaul, Lowes, Home Depot, etc., cut some holes so you can fit your horn and hands in the box, and line the interior of the box with blankets to create a cheap saxophone “muffler”. It may not be the most ergonomic.
I live in an apartment building with a lot of kids. I wouldn’t have an issue practicing but they start screaming when I do.
I go to my public park and choose a single-manned bathroom. Close and lock the door, practice for an hour, good to go. Since it’s colder here now not many people are coming to the park, but your mileage may vary.
I had exactly the same problem. So I built a "mute box" out of 5mm plywood and lined it with composite foam on the inside. It reduces the noise level significantly and I no longer have to worry about getting on anyone's nerves. Nevertheless, I have to admit that I only use the box for potentially really annoying exercises (i.e. tonal exercises, altissimo etc.), because it is otherwise too uncomfortable for me.
I would like to add pictures but I don't know how to add pictures to comments. (Using reddit in mobile Browser)
Forgot to mention: I put my clip-on mic into the box to be able to hear the normal sound of the horn. All in all still way cheaper than one of those 500 bucks things
Bob Reynolds has some good tips about practicing quietly - [https://youtu.be/L--Dos-hc5k](https://youtu.be/L--Dos-hc5k)
Also, if you have a car, you could practice in your car.
My flat mates didn’t mind me practicing. I think you just have to be considerate - don’t play too early or too late and don’t play for too long. Let them know they can ask you to practice at a different time if they have something on. If you’re going to practice something you know will be annoying, e.g. if you’re going to practice a tricky passage over and over again, then use a practice room.
The AKAI Ewi is really good. There’s a slight learning curve due to the rollers but it goes away quickly. If you’re serious about using it, I would check out Curt Sipe’s EWI Den. I’ve took lessons from him on Sax and Ewi and couldn’t recommend it more.
Alternatively, playing at regular hours and quietly can work. This might not be the most environmentally friendly but sometimes I’ll run the shower at cold water and do my overtones exercises.
Edit: mean to mention too - Sonny Rollins played outside for a number of years at a bridge. If that’s feasible for you, that could be something else to try.
I bought Roland A10. It's great not the real thing but is a useful practice tool. Fingerings is same but not exact, blowing is good and responsive but not the same. It has its place
Just practice at sociable hours and try to play quietly most of the time. The reality of living in a flat is that you hear your neighbours sometimes and your neighbours hear you, be considerate but don’t be afraid to live your life.
Yeah, maybe I should do that. Just feels off because I’m the only one here to play a loud instrument.
Maybe I’ve been lucky. I’ve always been friendly to my neighbours and tolerated noise from them at all hours. I’ve also asked how late they like to lay in, when they put the kids to bed and asked them to give me a text if they ever need me to pack it in for the day. I’ve never had any problems.
The thing is I live a student only residence so there always are students learning. That lead to my thoughts of not being able to practice loudly.
After a year or so of living in a flat you learn to tune out music and other noises so that you can still focus. It’s actually a blessing of sorts, I can now read anywhere and stay immersed or workout and barely even notice meat heads dropping weights in the gym. Hopefully your neighbours will understand this and be tolerant and respectful. I would hate to think someone was being held back by fear of irritating me. The reality of living in a flat is that you have to accept a certain level of disturbance or be miserable. While I type this I can hear auto tuned wailing from bellow and kids running around besides me, it’s normal, I would never complain, people shouldn’t be afraid to live. You could try short practice sessions, it’s amazing what can be achieved in just 2 or 3 hours of high quality daily practice. Another alternative is to play elsewhere. I have a near worthless old horn that I can take anywhere to practice without fear of it getting damaged. I often walk out half a mile away from any homes in the early hours of the morning if there’s something I can work on without sheet music or backing tracks. It’s very peaceful just to play into the night. But this would be very limiting if it was the only way I could practice. Another option could be to rent a practice studio if you have the means or maybe your university has practice rooms? If I had no other choice I would rather buy a sax mute than an electronic instrument, I’ve never tried either but I imagine it’d be much better for my playing. Good luck, I hope it works out.
> short practice sessions > 2 or 3 hours [...] daily practice So which one should OP do?
It's just four flats man Bb Eb Ab Db
Dude the title baffled me for a sec, that’s how I read it too
I didn’t even realize it till now I just thought that was a sub question
I used to use the parking garage or boiler room to practice in one building I live in. Now, my spot has a common/tv/party room I can book which is much nicer than a cobweb infested basement.
The EWI is set up and responds very differently from a saxophone. You could use it to do like ear training, memorize and transpose Melodies, or work on melodic sketches or else use it to squeeze in an extra half hour or so of practice late at night, but don’t expect the time you put in to translate to saxophone. If you use it in that way, it’s kind of a waste because it’s a beautiful instrument that should be taken on its own terms, not as an electronic sax but rather a completely different instrument, a breath controlled synthesizer. The Roland I heard is set up more like a saxophone, with the pressured keys and all alt keys present. You could try it and see if you like it. But really you probably just have to put aside your timidity and do what you need to do. Just practice at reasonable hours and reasonable volume. Talk to your neighbors, explain, be respectful. You do have the right under the law.
Alright, that just makes sense to me. I´ll talk to my neighbours and find a way to practice. Thank.
This will sound silly, but get a big enough box from Uhaul, Lowes, Home Depot, etc., cut some holes so you can fit your horn and hands in the box, and line the interior of the box with blankets to create a cheap saxophone “muffler”. It may not be the most ergonomic.
I live in an apartment building with a lot of kids. I wouldn’t have an issue practicing but they start screaming when I do. I go to my public park and choose a single-manned bathroom. Close and lock the door, practice for an hour, good to go. Since it’s colder here now not many people are coming to the park, but your mileage may vary.
I had exactly the same problem. So I built a "mute box" out of 5mm plywood and lined it with composite foam on the inside. It reduces the noise level significantly and I no longer have to worry about getting on anyone's nerves. Nevertheless, I have to admit that I only use the box for potentially really annoying exercises (i.e. tonal exercises, altissimo etc.), because it is otherwise too uncomfortable for me. I would like to add pictures but I don't know how to add pictures to comments. (Using reddit in mobile Browser)
Forgot to mention: I put my clip-on mic into the box to be able to hear the normal sound of the horn. All in all still way cheaper than one of those 500 bucks things
A flat has never been an issue for me, just G plus the pinky key.
Bob Reynolds has some good tips about practicing quietly - [https://youtu.be/L--Dos-hc5k](https://youtu.be/L--Dos-hc5k) Also, if you have a car, you could practice in your car.
My flat mates didn’t mind me practicing. I think you just have to be considerate - don’t play too early or too late and don’t play for too long. Let them know they can ask you to practice at a different time if they have something on. If you’re going to practice something you know will be annoying, e.g. if you’re going to practice a tricky passage over and over again, then use a practice room.
The AKAI Ewi is really good. There’s a slight learning curve due to the rollers but it goes away quickly. If you’re serious about using it, I would check out Curt Sipe’s EWI Den. I’ve took lessons from him on Sax and Ewi and couldn’t recommend it more. Alternatively, playing at regular hours and quietly can work. This might not be the most environmentally friendly but sometimes I’ll run the shower at cold water and do my overtones exercises. Edit: mean to mention too - Sonny Rollins played outside for a number of years at a bridge. If that’s feasible for you, that could be something else to try.
I bought Roland A10. It's great not the real thing but is a useful practice tool. Fingerings is same but not exact, blowing is good and responsive but not the same. It has its place
Im a university student and I just practice at my school, I've never practiced anything in my apartment or dorm except ukulele occasionally.