In my apartment, I use an upright piano that is 131 cm tall with strong sounds and resonances. Given all the usual premises, and since I do not want to soundproof the room using particularly "invasive" methods, I was wondering: are there any materials (rugs, devices for the wheels...) to help improve the problem of excessive ambient noise? For my needs, I don't have traditional rugs in the room, so I would be looking for a sort of insulating material rug to place underneath and perhaps behind the piano, something not very visible... I am excluding platforms or similar things due to aesthetic reasons.
Any advice?
Thank you
B
BackSpace
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Reply 2 by BackSpace
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181
Given that the word isolation does not go hand in hand with that partial one
To answer your request, I would use some layers of Linoleum cut specifically to be placed under the piano feet, cover with a rug and place under the instrument...but I repeat, isolation close to 0.
You are right about the terminology .... Thanks for the tip! Bye
Luca
B
BackSpace
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Reply 4 by BackSpace
Posts
181
lucapiano wrote:
You are right about the terminology
I don't know if I explained myself well, I meant that it is difficult to achieve partial isolation... either you isolate completely or you get benefits close to 0. Sound propagates through a million things (both visible and invisible) that are in a room. From the metal contained in a reinforced concrete wall, to the pipes that carry water to the radiators, etc. ...
Therefore, the classic rug under and behind the pf is practically useless. Solutions to problems of this type are usually quite radical... so I was not referring to a merely terminological problem
I agree with Backspace. Acoustic insulation is a subject of very high engineering. It is not enough to cover the house with soundproofing materials. If you live in an apartment building, it is very difficult to achieve good insulation. The radical solutions that Backspace rightly speaks of consist of building a "room within a room". The inner room is formed by a layer of soundproofing material on the floor that remains suspended thanks to a spring system. The side walls have an air gap into which soundproofing material is inserted, and the ceiling, also composed of the same material, is suspended from the ceiling above. Finally, if necessary, one thinks about normalizing the room by applying (depending on the RT60 reverberation time desired) panels of sound-absorbing material positioned at strategic points. Of vital importance are the corners of the room where low frequencies tend to cluster most and where "bass traps" are applied. It remains a fact that achieving 100% acoustic insulation is a utopia, but certainly a radical application significantly reduces the dB perceived outside. The more extreme the solution, the greater the dB reduction, and the higher the implementation cost will be. Depending on the size of a room, it can easily reach 30,000 euros.
If your problem is not being able to play in an apartment because of neighbors complaining, rather than spending thousands of euros on soundproofing solutions, I would propose a dialogue between good tenants of the building, deciding on the times when one can play to avoid disturbing someone's siesta and a maximum daily practice time. If such time is not enough for your studies, you can always supplement it by purchasing a digital piano, which certainly costs much less than the aforementioned soundproofing solutions.
It remains a fact that at a legislative level, there are dB limits that must not be exceeded, and the law also protects those who study an instrument (with due precautions). In the event that you cannot reach a "peaceful" agreement, you could carry out dB measurements in the apartment of the complaining neighbor and try to implement solutions to bring yourself within the limits. In that case, according to current regulations, you would have the possibility to play 4 hours a day from 9 AM to 1 PM or from 4 PM to 8 PM. The 4 hours can nonetheless be distributed across these two time slots, and once compliance with the regulations is achieved, the neighbor could do nothing but close their eyes and listen to good music.
