Neighbours piano

[GreasyHairDoNotCare]

Aibu to want to smash my neighbours piano into a thousand tiny pieces?

It seems every single day at around 3pm the families eldest teenager returns home and spends the next few hours playing the piano. Really really loud. We're not just talking a nice little melody. He is what seems to be mixing music I think. This is accompanied by various beats, vocals ect.

2:45/3pm is also the time my 6month old has his afternoon nap. It gets disturbed every single day. I am currently trying to get him back to sleep but nothing is working. When it is the school holidays he is constantly noisy all day every day so all of DS's naps are disturbed and then I have to deal with a grumpy, tired, teething baby for the rest of that day and night.

He has also been known to do this late at night, 10:30-11:30 and so keeps me awake. My bedroom wall backs onto their house. I just want to sleep!!

I want to cry I am so tired and fed up and I feel sorry for my DS who just wants to nap!

I feel for you, noisy neighbours are the worst. I don't think playing at 10:30pm is acceptable either!

It wasn’t clear if you get on with your neighbours or if you’ve mentioned this before. If they’re friendly, I would send them a nice note or knock on the door (take baby to use the cute factor to your advantage) and ask nicely if there’s anything that could be done. If he’s mixing he could probably use headphones easily.

Is it an electric piano? I wonder if you spoke to them he wouldn’t mind plugging in earphones to the piano so only he can hear it?

You could report this as a noise nuisance to your local council. I'm not sure they could do much about the piano in the day (unless its over a certain noise level and goes on for a certain period of time) but they can certainly to the late night one.

Agree with if He's mixing he can use headphones, my BIL does this drives me insane He's a good player but he always does it when other music or the telly is playing; he does have a volume control and we have to remind him regularly to use it.

Also 10:30pm is definitely antisocial, even if not on the friendliest of terms I would be having a word about that

I think you need to have a polite chat with your neighbours

We've never really spoken to these neighbours. I have been thinking I need to talk to them to be honest. The only problem is that there may well be a language barrier as I only ever hear them speaking in what I assume is their mother tongue. I assume the children can speak English as they attend school but I am unsure about the parents and would hate to be caught in an embarrassing situation on their doorstep.

Well go round when the teenager is home from school then. But it's only the 10.30 noise that is unreasonable really.

You can politely ask if the piano is electric and if the child can use headphones, but you can't stop the child from singing along.

Frankly, there's nothing you can do for musical instrument/singing practice for those late afternoon hours. They have every right. The 10.30 noise, that I would address.

Can your baby nap earlier? Can your baby nap on the other side of your house?

My baby can't nap earlier because he naps when he is tired, which is at 3pm. He also naps in his cot, in his bedroom which I also cannot move.

Personally I would buy a box of chocolates or treats wait until the kids were home just in case their English is poor and go speak to them. Tbh if they are Asian or Muslim they are more likely to be agreeable to a compromise such as waiting 1 hour after 3 to practice and not playing at 10.30. If they don't listen to you then send a man or partner round sometimes families are more traditional. Otherwise file a noise complaint and make logs and notes of the noise.

You are entitled to quiet - please ask them. Growing up my brother played music and my neighbours told us what times suited them. He stuck to the rules or my mum would have had a fit.
Your neighbours are entitled to play music and do remember one day your DC will make noise. If you think "oh but they will never do xyz" you are probably wrong. One day they will do something that annoys some neighbour.
Think about what times suit you - write them down and say please can you stick to these times, my little one is really struggeling with the noise.

You can't complain about him playing when your baby is napping if you haven't even told him when your baby naps! Talk to them. Think about it, suppose you knock on the door and Mum or Dad answers and doesn't speak English (very unlikely). What's so embarrassing? He can fetch a kid who does speak English to interpret if he needs to.
Think about what you'd like them to do, say an hour of quiet at 3 and not after 10pm? Ask really nicely, every chance the problem is sorted. Most people are nice, even teenaged people. If they refuse to make adjustments then YANBU much, at the moment YABU not to have talked to them weeks ago.

Playing a piano at 3pm is not unreasonable though - only to you because you want your baby to sleep. Try putting the baby down earlier (after lunch).

If the baby was tired it would sleep through the noise anyway.

By the sound of it the teenager is probably working on his composition part of his gcse coursework.

Yes the 10.30pm playing is unreasonable but the rest - too bad!

Record your baby crying. Play on loud at 6am Saturday. When they come round complaining, reply with ... speaking of keeping the noise down,

3pm isn't late.

Although it is late for a babys nap..... but that's another story

You could put little one in a travel cot in another room maybe?

All the people suggesting to put the baby to nap earlier, would you like to come and explain to my nearly 7 month old that he must sleep At 2 pm instead and get him to do it?

Yes I will go and speak to them when someone else is home. A few of your suggestions have been really helpful Thankyou.

So you want the world to change for your baby? How would you feel if your neighbors came around to complain about the baby crying in the night?

Your right to quite does not trump their right to make noise (other then the 10pm that's unreasonable).

Adjust your schedule babies on the whole are very flexible if the baby nap is 3pm (which is very late) how about you get up earlier change the feeding times a bit and bring babies nap time to 1pm-2pm so you can have some leeway, otherwise suck it up like your neighbors have to when your baby disturbs them during the night.

But by the same argument the lad next door can't play and earlier either as he is at school. I think the late playing needs to be addressed but i don't think you can demand the lad doesn't play at 3pm just because your baby naps then.

So, we had this with our neighbour. 11pm to 1am playing frequently. I also fantasised about smashing the piano to bits and / or throwing it off a large cliff. My neighbours are generally inconsiderate but we spoke to them about it and it stopped... for a while... Eventually, they built some sound proofing around the piano Baffling to me that they didn’t just send the CHILD that was practising to bed at a reasonable time... So - speak to your neighbours. Complain to the council if they don’t change their ways. I hope things improve. Noisy neighbours are torturous when you have small kids x

Speak to them nicely and ask for the teenager to wear headphones if it’s an electric piano and also not to play after 9pm or so.

As the wife of a music teacher but also a mum of a toddler, YABU if you think your baby’s schedule should take precedence over theirs. If you can hear their piano they almost certainly hear your baby crying.

I am NOT suggesting that he stops playing completely. Just that he turns it down or wears headphones if he can.

Unlike him, I cannot turn down my baby or put headphones in him so only I can hear the noises. He also doesn't wake at night so there would be no complaints there.

Neighbours are both entitled to have a piano and to play it. 3pm sounds a perfectly reasonable time to do that. 10.30pm does not. But unless you talk to them, politely, reasonably, you'll never know if it could change.

Have you tried playing white noise in your bedroom before the piano music starts? It might drown it out enough that the baby keeps sleeping. I am really sorry for you OP, having had a tricky napper who woke easily and wouldn't just go to sleep on the schedule that suited me. I think people who haven't experienced that don't understand how desperate you can feel. It's your only free time, very often. This must be driving you mad. I bet your neighbours have no idea.

You could also ask if the piano could be moved away from the wall next to your house if that's where it is. I would consider bringing round a note if you are really worried about the language barrier (but don't hand it over and run; try to explain!).

We live in a semi detached house and our neighbours' young child practices the piano at 7am. I have politely suggested that practice would be better later in the day but have been informed that early am is the only suitable time for them. We are quiet and considerate neighbours who are supportive of him learning to play a musical instrument but we cherish our quiet time, especially my husband who works shifts and needs to sleep.