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Complaining neighbour

Jo-sax280

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London
I practice between half to an hour most days , 3 pm in the afternoon but my neighbour responds by 4 hours of loud music and speakers against the wall. The person in question will not talk to me and Complained to the council . when the council contacted me , they said I was not unreasonable in my practice time and duration and I mentioned about my neighbours retaliation and said I will let it go , it’s a bit mad , I suppose i have a neighbour from hell . now with the coronavirus I have no other options to hand . I do feel upset about it because I never want to upset anybody . at least is not a set of a drums !
 
You are not being unreasonable and they most certainly are. There was a court case a few years back over this and the complainant lost. There's a big difference between you practicing for an hour or so at a reasonable time of day and deliberate playing of loud music for an extended period. That is anti-social and that is worth discussing with the council. If they're tenants then they may be in breach of their tenancy agreement.
 
Thank you for yr reply , The council are really supportive but would this neighbours behaviour give me an opportunity to increase my practice time , a kinda better trade off ..
 
Difficult. You'll have to judge the situation for yourself and what else your neighbour might do. Does he play decent music at least? ;)
In seriousness, it's easy to say just screw your neighbour, but I understand from experience that neighbourly disputes can be tricky things to deal with, especially if there is a possibility that things may escalate.
 
I can’t give too many details but this person has unfortunately got reasoning issues , if you get my meaning Halfers , Just unluckily, actually the person plays good music but plays the album on repeat many 100s of times . its bonkers ... really .
 
I recently sold my tenor sax partner (Chinese copy of the esax Japanese thing) to someone in a flat in London with similar issues. They do work but are a but of a faff.
A massive box with "Sax partner" written on it turning up at your home can however prompt "witty" comments that the two Ronnie's or Benny Hill would have been proud of
 
Just in case you may like to check this. Sax mute one is a very good device. I bought one and quite happy with it.
True - but the question becomes should OP make the effort ? IMHO there would need to be some kind of confirmation that the neighbor would knock it off.

Given that neighbor is evading direct communication, I would not be inclined to spend my $ in an attempt to mitigate my volume if there's zero assurance that the deed would be acknowledged. Also, those mute things are really not much fun.....

Personally, I'd contact the res council and inform them of the situation, perhaps invite a few members over while it is going on ....as TenorViol said, it may well be against the rules for him to do that (while it is not against rules to practice an instrument in the middle of the day for a short amount of time).

This may not 'resolve' all by itself, although it might....maybe he will stop, eventually. It's nice that you are sympathetic to his issues....but sometimes you just have to fire a shot across someone's bow, because it's the only message they will understand.....

Best of Luck.
 
I've been on this forum only a few years but I do recall a similar situation that another member had mentioned. One thing in your advantage is that you enjoy the music that you are playing. Your neighbor probably doesn't enjoy either yours nor the music that he is sending your way. Unless he is wearing some awfully good ear plugs, he is listening to that rotten music he is sending your way, too. It must be driving him nuts.
 
I would try again for some sort of agreement on timing. Most people can be reasonable if one agrees with them beforehand of mutually convenient times for ‘noise’. He probably hates the sax or you for not concerting with him before even though by law you are within your rights. Arguments with neighbours can be acrimonious. One pro violin player I knew had her cats poisoned by her aggrieved neighbours for practicing all day everyday. JMO.
 
it's not worth having to fight your neighbor over your right for practice time (trust me i have been there). Better to find a place where you can practice for as long and as loud as you want.
 
What about the other tenants in your building?
I can imagine that there are others that are bothered by his loud music, and not by your sax playing.
Maybe you should ask the other tenants if they are bothered by your sax playing and see what comes up .....
 
I can’t give too many details but this person has unfortunately got reasoning issues , if you get my meaning Halfers , Just unluckily, actually the person plays good music but plays the album on repeat many 100s of times . its bonkers ... really .

I catch your drift on his reasoning powers. Been in the same situation, not that that helps you. I can imagine under the current circumstances, with most people being at Home most of the time and one to one not possible, it's a challenge. Personally, I'd keep my head down, despite who might be in the right.
 
actually the person plays good music but plays the album on repeat many 100s of times
What an opportunity. Play to the album by ear... with repetition you'll be s***hot

You might find you'll need to ask him/her to turn it up
 
That’s a horrible situation @Jo-sax280 - I had neighbours like that, and they defeated me, which meant another 15 years went by before I returned to the sax. Now I think (hope) I would try thinking of them like a thunderstorm or pneumatic drill going in roadworks - something outside of my control, and just do what I can (headphones etc) to reduce the pain. Good luck.
(Ps - the Police have enhanced powers in Lockdown - if you frame it to them as trying to force you and other neighbours to go out, I’m sure they’d be happy to “have a word”…)
 
Actually you can get the council to issue an order against the neighbour but declined to do so. Your decision, but if they're still speaking to you, which seems unlikely, a friendly discussion might get an agreed time. If that doesn't work, then tell them you're retracting the decision not to take things further on your side.
 
I can’t give too many details but this person has unfortunately got reasoning issues , if you get my meaning Halfers , Just unluckily, actually the person plays good music but plays the album on repeat many 100s of times . its bonkers ... really .

Loops are good for practice. Play along with the music. Either they stop it to deny you the fun, or you get more practice out of it.
 

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