What's The Best Environment To Practice Music In?

Learning to play a musical instrument is both a challenging and rewarding hobby. Whether you favor the violin, saxophone, or guitar, becoming a master with your chosen instrument takes years of diligent practice. Therefore, creating the perfect environment to practice your art is important if you want your talent to truly flourish. Whether you live in a large home or a small apartment, it’s possible to create a suitable space for practicing music with a few simple steps.

Mind the Neighbors

Both newcomers and long-time enthusiast alike often worry about disturbing neighbors while practicing. If possible, keep your sessions to normal business hours on weekdays, or strictly practice on weekends. If that isn’t possible, then you’ll need to take a few steps to prevent noise from traveling. This is easy to overcome with electronic instruments like keyboards or small guitar amplifiers, where you can simply plug in a set of headphones to contain noise while still being able to here yourself playing.

Otherwise, preventing noise from traveling is fairly simple. If you live in an apartment or share a home with others, carefully consider the floor plan of the property. Avoid choosing spots that lay over or under surrounding apartments’ bedrooms, and stick to the center of your chosen room if your walls are thin.

While it may feel silly, a relatively spacious closet is perfect for vocal training or practicing with smaller instruments. Most closets have small, uniform dimensions which makes the installation of soundproofing materials fairly inexpensive. Since you’ll be limited for space, consider using apps rather than relying on physical devices that take up space. A small tablet computer is perfect for reading sheet music and there are plenty of metronome apps available.

If you’re committed to practicing in your bedroom or living room, invest in a few simple soundproofing measures. Acoustic window and door seals will not only improve the sound quality for your own listening, but will also prevent sound from traveling beyond your property. Unlike wall soundproofing, door and window seals are unobtrusive so they shouldn’t stick out much from your home decor.

Optimal Conditions for Instruments

While soundproofing your home plays a role in the acoustic quality of your practice space, environmental conditions can as well. You might not expect it, but even temperature affects musical instruments.

Too much heat can effect the friction of stringed instruments like violins or guitars, altering the sound. Likewise, flutes, trombones, and other wind instruments perform better when cooler. To maximize the performance of your instrument, you should evaluate your practice space’s environmental controls. Have an HVAC company like Derek Sawyers Smart Energy Heating & Air check your central air system to make sure it’s running efficiently, as having accurate and responsive temperature control has a noticeable impact on your instrument’s performance.

A Space of Solitude

Whether you’re practicing in a small apartment or a family home, the biggest concern for most musicians is to keep their practice sessions from disturbing others while still having a space with responsive acoustic properties. Soundproofing measures not only keep your music from traveling, but also improve the overall sound quality so you can enjoy your practice sessions without disturbing others. Once your space is secured, consider atmospheric concerns like temperature to get the best performance out of your instrument.

What's The Best Environment To Practice Music In