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The last one has me stumped.
During the nicer days up here in the north of Idaho, I enjoy sitting outside and practicing my drumming - usually 30 to 90 minutes a day. Most often this is late afternoon to early evening. And, its not as if I don't know how to play. I practice rythyms; some fast, some slow.
Apparently, I'm disturbing someone, but I don't know who, and the local police claim the person is anonymous. I checked the local noise ordinance, and to my dismay there is no time frame associated with Disturbing the Peace. I can disturb at Noon as well as at Midnight.
So, today I called the local PD and made it very clear that I would work with whoever is being disturbed. In other words, if they are a shift worker I can and will respect their right to sleep. I asked them if they would consider coming over with the person who called, since this person is afraid of facing me directly and alone. (Hey, I'm scary looking, but I don't bite). I know most of my immediate neighbors and they all keep normal hours. Several of them have told me they enjoy the drumming.
What's a bad boy like me to do?
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Too bad, I traded away the bongos a few years back...
Some people just have no taste. I don't know what to tell you, grandpa - if the guy won't talk, you'll just have to get hauled into court where at least you'll find out who it is....
[Edit: with luck, it'll turn out to be the guy with the nasty rottie-poo that bit your ankle outside the mom-n-pop-shop last month....]
When I was in grad school the girl in the apartment above me subletted her place one summer to an ex-boyfriend who played the bango. He was actually pretty good at it, but two hours of that f*&^ing instrument EVERY day, despite it's never being late at night or early in the morning, simply wore away at my sanity.
While I agree completely that every person should have the right to pursue and enjoy whatever hobbies they wish, it's really unacceptable (and frankly--nothiing personal--a little selfish and rude) for those hobbies to interfere with the quietude of another person's life.
Have a spare room or garage where you can put up some acoustic tiles and soundproof the room?
mfishy - I am curious. Would you deliver any packages with or without prior notification.
Nah, come to think of it, I would prolly just torture you like they tortured the cop in reservoir dogs :)
Practice Pad.
Anyone know where I might find a 10" round mouse pad?
I spend many of my working hours attempting resolve neighbour despute involving loud music - like yours.
If it can be heard outside your apartment then you (UK based) are breaking the law. Penalty's over here can be severe i imagine the USA has similar laws, my advice?
Cut it out before the who ever complained comes around and drums on you - this is often the case.
Me, I'm notsomuch musically inclined, but when I get time off, I tend to work on the house and/or build stuff. This involves making tons of noise (skilsaws, drills, hammers, etc), but I'm careful about the hours I keep doing it.
I was out in the afternoon a few weekends ago working on a project on the front of the house, making a heck of a racket, thoroughly enjoying myself and oblivious to the world, and one of the neighbours came by to ask if I wanted to go in on a complaint against another neighbour who likes to sit on his porch in the afternoon and play music.
No one in the enigbourhood has EVER complained about the noise I make working around the house, and that's way louder than the fellow who plays music on his porch.
Music, or hammer banging, which is easier on the ear to you? I have my hammer and saw, and love the sound of hard work. He enjoys a bit of rock and roll. To each his own.
p.s. Don't any of you DARE mention to the wife that I actually enjoy working on the house. Going through all the "pain and agony" of doing home repair buys me out of my other misdemeanors.
We are, needless to mention, also an hour from law enforcement.
Oh well, at least no one knows how painfully bad I am when I try to play Jimi's version of the Star Spangled Banner.
no one knows how painfully bad I am when I try to play Jimi's version of the Star Spangled Banner
Wanna bet? ;) If it wasn't for having a bad wrist I'd still be trying to learn how to play that song. You couldn't make it sound any worse that I did...
On the following day, I did my practicing again, but from a slightly different location. I saw 2 police cruisers and one unmarked drive by while I was practicing. So, as previously noted I will look into making a practice pad. That requires a run to wally-world to locate some sort of rubber padding for the top of the pad.
There are a couple of other options too.. find a better place to practice, build a 'bass muffler' from some PCV pipe and a couple of rags, go form a band and play on stages where people pay to hear my noise.
What bugs me the most is that 'anonymous' won't bother to talk to me directly. Maybe that is a good thing and I just don't know it - perhaps he/she would be inclined to react more like mfishy, and I'd be digging drum splinters out of my head for a month.
Another step closer to hermitdom.
Thanks for letting me see both sides.
Oh well, at least no one knows how painfully bad I am when I try to play Jimi's version of the Star Spangled Banner.
You could always upload an MP3 for us... ;)
What bugs me the most is that 'anonymous' won't bother to talk to me directly.
I hate neighbors like this. A guy two doors down called the police on me for having a small fire in the back yard (for cooking hotdogs). Even the cop thought it was rediculous but had to come and ask me to put it out b/c someone had "called the cops". I found out through the neighborhood grapevine who did it. It really ticked me off that the guy didn't have the guts to walk two doors down and ask me to put the fire out and afterwards acted like he was just the friendliest neighbor I could have (b/c he didn't know that I know).
Out where I live, nobody can see my backyard, so fires are OK... half the people in the larger neighborhood own sled dogs, so they've got no right to complain about *anyone* else's noise, and nobody seems to mind when we turn the stereo up way too loud with the windows open...
Then again, I think we live outside of 'noise ordinance' boundaries, so there's not much any of us can do about someone else except learn to be patient (which seems like a better solution in general if you're out in the country).
This past weekend featured some awesome drumming (with 4 or 5 lead drummers participating), all night long Friday and Saturday. And, when someone walks up and says something like, "Dude, you are amazing", I have to consider it only happened because I practice. Screw the (one cranky) neighbor, I'm going to keep at it, and maybe the judge and I can become friends too.
