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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think neighbours shouldn't be playing music all day in the garden

84 replies

Cooperativebox · 10/09/2023 12:29

Hear me out, I'm not exactly frothing at the mouth, but I do think it's rather inconsiderate of the neighbours to do be doing this.
We all live practically on top of each other on this street - small terraced houses with gardens right next to each other. Neighbour plays her music loud enough for me to hear inside my house, in her back garden.
AIBU to be a bit irritated at this? I'm grateful it's quite classy music at least - I'd be asking her to put in earphones if it was drill Grin I'm just surprised at her more than anything, I'd be embarrassed for my neighbours to know my music taste!

OP posts:
BMW6 · 10/09/2023 16:57

Why not go and tell her that her music is far too loud?

If she doesn't turn it down then beat her at her own game. Bagpipe music is very annoying.

JudgeRudy · 10/09/2023 16:59

I think music in the garden (or house with open windows) is a bit like a party or BBQ, in that it's something that disturbs others so should only be done occasionally. As a neighbour listening to this, as a one off I'd let it go but if it became frequent or was going on from 9am to midnight I'd speak up.

gidabo · 10/09/2023 17:04

ShutTheDoorBabe · 10/09/2023 16:27

Wow, calm down love, you'll get high blood pressure! I did say it was quiet not booming music. I put the speaker on when I'm in the summerhouse and fall asleep to it. I don't think you can even hear it outside of our garden, especially when there's other neighbourhood noise going on at the same time.

Show quote history

Sure, it's fine if no-one outside your garden can hear it. No problem with that. If your neighbours could hear it, that'd be different, no?

(Already got high blood pressure, btw. Not caused by bad music, though. Oh, and my neighbours feel the way I do - it's nice and quiet round here, apart from the occasional sound of children being children. Really I shouldn't complain. But someone might move ... aargh!)

megletthesecond · 10/09/2023 17:08

I can tolerate garden music as long as it's not stupidly loud. My weird neighbour sings along to Adele which makes me laugh as she's so bad at singing.

The Shameless family in my street play dance music most Saturdays until late and have big drunk arguments. They do turn off at 11 though. Out of all the things I have to annoy me in my estate, music isn't a priority.

Colinswheels · 10/09/2023 17:26

My neighbour does this every sunny day. Drives me insane. Listening to other people's music choices is the worst. Had to come in from my garden on a weekday lunchtime recently due to his ambient shite!

ShutTheDoorBabe · 10/09/2023 17:56

I don't mind overheating other people's music tbh. Quite a lot of people round here play it and it doesn't bother me.

Floofydawg · 10/09/2023 19:05

Sat here in my garden at just after 7pm and I can literally hear kids screeching. The music is going on to drown them out.

Mooda · 10/09/2023 20:13

Probably unreasonable but other people's music gives me the absolute rage. Don't mind kids playing and shouting, lawnmowers etc but music (and god forbid the radio) are just incessant and completely drown out the birdsong, bees buzzing, leaves rustling in wind etc which for me is the joy of a garden.

ohtowinthelottery · 10/09/2023 20:19

I quietly seethed about my neighbour's loud music for months. DH was off work one day and we were sitting in the garden when the music came on. He yelled over the garden fence 'turn it down please, neighbour' and they did. It is still played but atca much lower volume. We know they use Alexa so could always shout 'Alexa, turn the music down ' if it got too loud again!

VeridicalVagabond · 10/09/2023 20:21

I used to hate this when I lived in a semi on a street where all the back gardens were connected, especially when you have multiple neighbours doing it and it's just overlapping din. How hard is it to use headphones?? Or just play it quietly, or inside, or just... not at all?

I still use headphones to listen to music in my garden even now when most of our neighbours are sheep and might actually enjoy a bit of Nick Cave.

Abracadabra12345 · 10/09/2023 22:48

Mooda · 10/09/2023 20:13

Probably unreasonable but other people's music gives me the absolute rage. Don't mind kids playing and shouting, lawnmowers etc but music (and god forbid the radio) are just incessant and completely drown out the birdsong, bees buzzing, leaves rustling in wind etc which for me is the joy of a garden.

Well given some posters' attitudes to wildlife in their gardens on another thread ie a negative one, I'm guessing they don't want to hear bees and birdsong. Assuming there's any kind of habitat left to have bees or birds...

Abracadabra12345 · 10/09/2023 22:50

Oh and they didn't like trees so there would definitely be no sound of leaves rustling 😁

fliptopbin · 10/09/2023 22:54

In our house, the rule is that if music can be heard outside of your room, it is too loud
So windows always closed if music is on.

gidabo · 10/09/2023 23:12

ShutTheDoorBabe · 10/09/2023 17:56

I don't mind overheating other people's music tbh. Quite a lot of people round here play it and it doesn't bother me.

That's fine. But some people are bothered by it; some of us are bothered a lot.

So people shouldn't do it. It really is as simple as that. Particularly these days when, if you really want to listen to music you can always wear earphones.

Please everyone, it's selfish and super inconsiderate to impose your choice of music on others, at any volume, in their garden or house ... if you don't want to be selfish and inconsiderate, don't play music so others can hear it.

Please!

[Of course selfish inconsiderate people won't be at all moved by such pleas, I know. But it's always better to think well of people, and maybe some of you hadn't realised just how selfish and inconsiderate it is. So, anyway, now you do know.]

ImCamembertTheBigCheese · 12/09/2023 07:51

It's always shit music as well, never anything good.

DingDongDenny · 12/09/2023 08:08

The odds of your neighbour having the same music tastes as you are pretty slim. The odds of the street having the same music tastes as you are Zero, so people know when they play their music loud enough for others to hear that they are being selfish fuckers and annoying everyone

Most people rarely get time to sit in their gardens in the sun and the world is just so full of noise everywhere you go, for me sitting in my garden enjoying the peace and sounds of nature is one of my favorite and rare things to do. When you play music, you are taking that away

gogomoto · 12/09/2023 08:13

All the time isn't fair but it's fine sometimes in my opinion, I often listen to my neighbours music (who have excellent taste!) we are all within about 10 years age of each other so its classic 80's and 90's on our block. When dd is home she practices (studying music) and neighbours asked to come around and listen

gogomoto · 12/09/2023 08:16

Anyway music is better than the kids shrieking on the trampoline (though to be fair my neighbours quickly make them come in if they are over excited and they are on the older side now for loud garden play, by next year I doubt the older ones will be out their much

SallyWD · 12/09/2023 08:16

I agree. Once I heard my DH playing the radio in the garden (I think it was the news, not music) and I rushed outside and told him to put ear plugs in and that he shouldn't impose it on the neighbours! I do think it's rude. No one does it in my street.

Sayitaintso33 · 12/09/2023 08:21

Music at normal talking/speaking volume is fine in my opinion - otherwise we will have to ban talking.

Music at shouting volume is anti-social.

Having lived in a flat on a main road for 6 incredibly noisy years, I much prefer other people's music to other people's cars etc.

Givemepickles · 12/09/2023 08:39

Floofydawg · 10/09/2023 12:59

Oh I forgot about the guy who plays shit talk radio all day long, with his windows open, loud enough for the whole street to hear.

We often have dinner in the garden when it's warm, with a bit of music on. Would be a bit weird if we both cracked out the airpods. Music at a reasonable volume isn't unreasonable in my opinion.

Our next door neighbours on both sides play their music while having dinner in the garden and often for hours after. We can hear both lots of music and it's unbearable for us. So we don't get to have dinner in our garden. What's reasonable to you is depriving someone else of the same thing you want, a nice outdoor dinner. It's selfish.

Tidyfreak · 12/09/2023 08:58

Neighbours inflicting their music on everyone else is just so inconsiderate. We have elderly neighbours several doors away who are country and western fans. They play the music at a ridiculous volume as I think they are a bit hard of hearing.😫Add to that the constant yappy barking from a neighbour's dog on the other side. The rare weekends that we have nice enough weather to be able to sit and enjoy our garden are regularly ruined. I wouldn't dream of doing it!

MsFrost · 12/09/2023 09:02

Floofydawg · 10/09/2023 12:49

I had music on in the garden for a couple of hours last night. Not particularly loud (played from portable speaker). I wouldn't do it all day. Others might be able to hear but I think it just balances out their noisy car engines which they leave idling for ages/out of hours building work/constantly shrieking kids (delete depending on which neighbour) so I don't feel particularly guilty about it.

This would really annoy me. Building work and kids noise aren't really avoidable. Your music absolutely is and would drive me nuts. It's inconsiderate. Just use headphones if you have to listen to music in the garden at night.

Tidyfreak · 12/09/2023 09:10

@MsFrost

Building work and kids noise aren't really avoidable. Your music absolutely is and would drive me nuts. It's inconsiderate. Just use headphones if you have to listen to music in the garden at night.

Absolutely this!
Although slightly off topic, I wish the same inconsiderate people who insist on playing music through speakers on the beach or around the pool on holiday would also invest in some headphones.

user1471538283 · 12/09/2023 09:24

It is so selfish. When you live near people everyone has to be considerate.

My horrible ex neighbors played loud music (so loud I could hear it in my house with my doors and windows closed and the people in the next street could hear it) every day for 10 hours a day whilst they were furloughed. I was working and had to adjust my hours to fit in with it

And they had the cheek to moan if anyone mowed their grass or played their own music.

I lost thousands selling up and I really hope their new neighbors do the same to them.