When first learning to play an instrument and establish yourself as a full-fledge musician, practice is absolutely mandatory. And while music lessons offer a great place for you to hone your craft, you need to practice on your own as well. That’s why an at-home practice space or rehearsal room is absolutely needed. Unfortunately, most homes in Scottsdale and Phoenix aren’t designed to fit a musician’s needs and aren’t set up in a way that’s conducive to learning music. The biggest problem? The noise! So what’s a passionate, eager musician to do? Obviously, ditching practicing isn’t an option! Realistically, there’s only one other option: soundproofing or sound treating your practice space.
Why Soundproof Your Practice Room?
If you’re serious about being a musician, you need a dedicated space for you and your music—a space where you can play as loudly as you want without fear of disturbing other members of your household, or worse yet, the neighbors. However, to completely soundproof a room, you have to invest lots of $ to essentially remodel it. Luckily, there are other quick, cheap ways to sound treat a space that are far less expensive or intensive. For easy, fast ways to partially soundproof your practice room on a budget, check out our suggestions below.
Soundproofing 101
Rule number one for soundproofing: prevent sound from escaping. There are 3 popular ways this can be achieved.
- Add Sound Absorbing Materials
Soundproofing your practice space doesn’t have to be a daunting task. There are a variety of quick, cheap ways to quiet your space, such as adding sound blocking materials. For starters, pad your space with lots of fabric and other sound-absorbing materials. Things like rugs, acoustic foam panels, and sound blocking blankets can all help to reduce the level of noise projected from the room.
- Seal the Gaps
It should be no surprise that sound travels and goes wherever air goes. That’s why sound can be emitted from even the tiniest crack in your door. To prevent sound from escaping, invest in a door seal kit to seal up any gaps in your door. Additionally, try spackling any holes or using solid dense material to plug them.
- Use Floating Floors
One way sound is projected is through vibrations. To effectively dim sound, vibrations must be prevented. This can be achieved by a technique known as floating floors. In essence, floating floors are secondary floors on top of the main floor, which is constructed by either overlaying the floor with additional material or creating a platform of sorts, most commonly built using plywood and PlatFoam, a high density foam. Essentially, floating floors help to break up the sound and diminish its impact, which means that less sound is transmitted from object to object. Translation? Less noise!
While soundproofing or sound treating your practice space isn’t essential, it is recommended. To truly advance your skills and training, you need to be able to practice in a distraction-free space where you can feel free to let the music overtake you no matter the volume. For more tips and tricks for musicians of any instrument—bass, drum, guitar, and keyboard—be sure to check out Scottsdale Music Academy, the music lesson experts serving Scottsdale, Phoenix, Paradise Valley and elsewhere.