I Play Piano

I'm going through a dispute with this random college professor over a piano that's near his office. I've been given full permission to play it whenever the room it's in isn't being used, but this profs. room is literally just through the wall.

Today he walked in as I was playing for a friend, and asked me to stop. I told him I was allowed to use the room, and he was like "that's the first thing you think when I ask you that?" as if I was being super self centred or something. I genuinely don't wanna disturb him, but at the same time... I really don't give a damn. Everyone else in the building has told me they're glad someone comes in to play xD He comes across as really touchy

I'm a little worried though, because I want to keep being able to practice during my breaks, and I get the impression that if I annoy him too much, he'll try and make crap for me so I can't play anymore. :/ I'm not really sure how I can get my way and keep him from being pissed off at me all the time.

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HyacinthMay

What type of room is it in? If it's at a college ask if it can be moved into one of the practice rooms and if you can play in there, all colleges that have music programs are required to have practice rooms due to disturbance issues with residents and stuff (though most colleges give priority to music majors for the reason described above) a practice room is required to be sound isolated, the rooms at the local college are basically small cubes shoved inside of larger cubes (the larger cube being the practice room entrance but the interior of the practice room is actually the smaller cube, a room within a room basically) that have things on the wall to deflect sound waves, they're also air tight so sound waves can't bounce off of air molecules outside the room. In other words, practice rooms are ideal practice spaces because no sound escapes them unless you're literally standing with your ear against the door basically.

DaveTheMedic · 26-30, M

That would be awesome, though my college is split into two, so half the school is on one side of town, and the other half is on the other side. It makes no sense...
Anyways, the music program gets run on the half of the campus I don't go to, so the piano I'm playing is in this cultural room, which is basically like a mini-amphitheatre with almost no sound proofing. The doors look handmade, and they're really light ._.

I really wish there were practice rooms on both halves of the campus though, cause they're so cool. I've only been in one, but it's so amazing to step inside and hear nothing but the piano...

HyacinthMay

I mean you could always make use of the prop up room. Just take a bunch of carboard v shaped panels and surround the piano, leave gaps so you don't need as much cardboard and put them close the piano especially the back of the piano, won't lower the sound much but it WILL help (you'll also feel like you sound better like this cause of the reflection of sound and guess what, you'd be correct, this is the same idea behind an orchestra she'll, reflect sound to the audience so shut sounds better)

DaveTheMedic · 26-30, M

That's a good idea actually.... Maybe grab some blankets from home too, and shove them under the door to keep the sound a little better contained xD I'll try the panel idea tomorrow morning if I can find the stuff for it.

HyacinthMay

Blanket works better when draped over the piano (grand piano obviously you know where, wall piano draped to cover the back without falling off while playing and not block keys, paperweights could help with the not falling off part

DaveTheMedic · 26-30, M

I feel like you have a massive book with every trick ever about anything related to piano, and you've memorized it completely. Sure, all your ideas make logical sense, but I coming up with them offhand and back to back like this is pretty impressive. If I knew you in real life, I think I'd learn a lot from you... I'm packing a blanket now lol

HyacinthMay

I mean I've was accepted into the Royal College of Music this year, and decided not to go..... I've been playing piano and violin for ages, I've picked up a thing or two

HyacinthMay

I have friends here, can't just leave them early