I’ve written before about the joys of high rise living, worrying about the neighbors, and a desire to keep the peace as it pertains to subjecting people to the undeniably problematic sounds of a beginner playing the violin.  Happily, our units do a pretty good job of soundproofing, but still, violins are made to be loud, and though I’m improving day by day I do still produce some mighty awful sounds here and there.

When Michael’s home I go into the bedroom to play so he can go about his life.  Until last week I had basically made it my regular practice room when he’s not home as well.  The bedroom further isolates the sound – we have an open floor plan, and not much floor to begin with, so playing in the main living area allows the sound to escape into the hallway more successfully – the bedroom door is a good barrier that might help to keep the neighbors happy.

A conundrum I’ve developed is that the acoustics in the living room are far better than in the bedroom.  The sound expands and becomes more full and rich.  I know next to nothing about acoustics, and I’m not any kind of audiophile, but I have to think any ears could hear the difference.  Superior tone production and sound quality are a major part of what playing the violin is all about – now that I know I can improve simply by being in a different room I’m finding the allure nearly impossible to resist.

I have yet to hear a peep from the neighbors complaint-wise, though one did reference my playing to me in the elevator one time back in the beginning – “Who’s the new violinist – you?” he said with a smile.  “Yep.  It’s the joy of my life!”  “That’s great, really great, never too late to start, eh?” “That’s what I’m talking about,” and we parted ways.

So I think I’m going to come out of the bedroom on a more permanent basis.  I’m doing this thing for my joy, and if there’s more joy to be had in the living room then I might as well seize it.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan