Piano playing in a terraced house!

[FuckingPiano]

Have put up with the neighbours fucking piano playing for the last couple of years! We live in a terrace housed, 2 up, 2 down. Theirs end-terraced with 2 reception rooms, the fucking piano could go in the reception room not attached to our house. But no, they've decided the reception room that shares the wall with our house is their music room!
It has actually got better. The playing was anytime from morning through to 10pm at night whenever they fancied a 'quick tinkle'. I haven't asked nicely if they'd move the fucking thing to their other room away from our house as if they respond with no (which I imagine they will) I'd combust! Banging on the wall stops the fucking thing.
It is now a half-hour piano lesson a week for the kid but is on the day I work from home and dread having to listen to the fucking thing whilst trying to concentrate on work. There's been no progress with the playing in these couple of years and don't get why they don't give the fucking thing up!
However, they do still occasionally like to have a 'quick tinkle' on the thing at random times -usually late at night. (We have small children and none of us can get away from the fucking playing it can be heard in every room).
The kid is now also learning the fucking trumpet!
All this time I've considered contacting environmental health and providing a record of the times it's played. However, we don't plan to stay in this house forever (all uncertain, dependant on finances) and don't want to have to declare a dispute if we do (as per plan) move in the next 5 years.
What would you do?

I'd consider some anger management classes before you speak to your neighbours, OP. Honestly. This is one of the more aggressive posts I have read on here about something relatively innocuous.

YABU.

I haven't asked nicely if they'd move the fucking thing to their other room away from our house as if they respond with no (which I imagine they will) I'd combust! Banging on the wall stops the fucking thing.

My very good communication expert friend says, "don't bitch about things if you haven't asked for them". Banging on the wall is very rude and likely to make any normal person think, "fuck you" frankly.

Environmental health would want to know if you've even asked them, which you haven't.

Ask nicely, in person, using 'I statements' and expressing your needs.

Really? It's a piano, not heavy metal music, and if it's only being played in the day and not late at night, then I don't see the problem. It could be a lot worse.
I used to have horrendous neighbours that played godawful heavy metal all night long, so just be thankful it's only a piano.
Do you really bang on the wall? Your poor neighbours. You need to grow up a bit and get out more.

I think you are being a bit unreasonable, just get over it or speak to them, contacting environmental health without warning them is a bit drastic. If your children get used to it they will be able to sleep through anything think what a lifeskill that is. FYI I also live in terraced house next door to a musical family, but I know our small children are sometimes very rowdy and wake them up in small hours.

YABU. You can't call environmental health on people for playing the piano, especially if you haven't actually spoken to them about it.

Our neighbours have a piano in their house. I realised they had one when I came home one day and our kids complained they couldn't hear the tv - and went in the living room and I couldn't hear it (volume right up) as next door were banging away at full volume on their piano right up against our wall. I went round and asked if they could play quieter and/or move it away from the shared wall as we couldn't hear our tv set - the dad came round and listened and understood the issue and they moved it.

Do you think they don't realise how badly you can hear it? I would go round and explain, nicely, the issue, invite them to come over to hear for themselves and see if it can be positioned away from the shared wall and if they could minimise the late night playing given how much sound travels.

Also if someone I'd never spoken to had banged on the wall at me as a kid when I was doing my piano practice/having my piano lesson during the day I think I'd have started playing something loud, obnoxious, or both.

Scrumpy - Have you ever had someone learning to play the piano right next/above/below you? Oh it is not fun. Especially at midnight when they've had a few glasses of wine and decide to entertain their friends.

Plinky plink plonk plonk plonk...plunk...plonk plonk...plonkkkkk tink tink tink TINK [pause]
Plinky plink plonk plonk plonk...plunk...plonk plonk...plonkkkkk tink tink tink TINK tinkatinktina [pause]
Plinky plink plonk plonk plonk...plunk...plonk plonk...plonkkkkk tink tink tink TINKTINKTINK [pause]
Plinky plink plonk plonk plonk...plunk...plonk plonk...plonkkkkk tink tink tink TINK T I N K [pause] mutter, swear, slams down lid 'BONK'

Hard to say, late at night you can of course ask to stop. Half an hour of a kid learning the piano-YABU about that one. Are your children silent at all times? I feel for you regarding the trumpet beginner, that is dreadful, but again, a child learning an instrument is normal childhood noise in my book.

We have a piano and a violin going, our neighbours are really lovely about it, they were even lovely when the budding violinist was new to it and really awful. Maybe the adjoining wall can be soundproofed?

If you live in a terraced house you're always going to hear something of the neighbours, be it TV, arguing or children playing/crying.

I do think it's odd to be so angry about something you haven't even raised with them.

We had a professional musician live below us and it was beautiful. He'd throw open the windows and play the most lovely classical music, then finish with show tunes. I miss him...

You've never been round to visit and now want to contact environmental health

Get a grip, it's normal
Household noise for 30 minutes a day

And yes, agree with dinkystinky, they may well have no idea how much the sound carries and could quite possibly move it IF YOU ACTUALLY ASKED THEM NICELY rather than fuming and banging at them. Playing a musical instrument during waking hours in your own house is a perfectly reasonable thing to want to do, unless it's, eg, drum solos at 2am.

You cant moan about this if you haven't actually gone and said anything. You need to do that first,. ten consider environmental health.

Being passive aggressive and reporting neighbours before confronting them personally is just going to lead to a long time of crap relations.

I used to live next to someone who did that. It was horrific. He did eventually start turning it down (electric piano) after much complaining from me. You need to ask the neighbour to move it first before taking further action.

I think your language is a bit strong. Have you even NC to post this (and do you need all those fs)?

YAB completely U.

This is part of living in a terraced house. Suck it up.

nochocolate I agree, piano playing at midnight after a few glasses of wine sounds extremely irritating
OP's neighbours are not playing the piano at midnight, only for 30 mins during the day, which doesn't seem too horrendous to me...

A child learning an instrument will sound awful for quite some time and is of course super-repetitive. But so is a baby crying or a toddler having a tantrum. Just stages of most childhoods.

• I haven't asked nicely if they'd move the fucking thing to their other room away from our house as if they respond with no (which I imagine they will) I'd combust! Banging on the wall stops the fucking thing

How in gods name are they supposed to know its an issue for you>

Go and ask very nicely for them to move it. Take flowers, and wine, and ask very polity and say its been years of angst building up but you cant take it anymore....see what they say, give it time to digest then if no joy go down council route.

But for goodness sake, they are NOT mind readers! This is YOUR fault. Own it.

I'm a pianist (it's my job) and we have a semi detached house. We have done sound checks at our neighbours house and set the piano at a level we know won't disturb them. We bought an electric piano as there is no way to muffle a real piano. I dream of one day having a detached house...but that's just me as we had noisy neighbours in the past and I can't bear the thought of disturbing anyone with music, which is something I love!!

However, if all you have done is ranted and raved without even talking to them then there is no reason to expect them to understand. If you approach them politely and lose the swear words you'll get much better results than banging on the wall!

Given how unreasonably aggressive you are being (all the swearing) and that you are too passive to even go and speak nicely to them, I rather hope that their next purchase will be a drum kit...

30 mins during the day is fine - its how you learn! If this a regular lesson then you know when to take a long tea break or nip to the shops for a newspaper.

There are far worse/antisocial things your neighbours can get up to, oh yes.

Even if you involve env health there is a 'loudness' threshold it would have to meet for anything to be enforced. A piano alone without an amplifier will not meet that threshold

Yabu and horribly aggressive. If they stop when you bang on the wall then why wouldn't they respond when you speak to them??

Get some class! Think your lucky stars it isn't a teen blasting rap music or playing assassins creed without a headset