Piano Noise and Crazy Neighbours

[musiceh]

Hello!
I wasn't sure of where to put this but this seems to be the most appropriate place. Basically I have an issue with my neighbours. Or, more precisely, my neighbours have an issue with my piano playing. Here's a little story.
It all started off okay. They just moved in and were friendly to me and all was going fine. Then maybe a year passed since they moved in, perhaps a year and a half no more, and suddenly one evening (It was about 7:30pm no later) I hear loud banging on a wall coming out from the shared wall with my neighbours. Well, I thought they were a little crazy in the beginning, that is doing weird stuff (riding bikes at night in full speedo uniform, sometimes in the rain; burning those scented candle sticks that stink my whole backyard; writing some symbols on stones in their backyard..etc), but banging on the wall is far too old and uncivilized. So I continued playing. Then, you may have guessed a knock on the door comes. I open. The neighbour yells at me about how he's sick of me playing. Sigh... well I stopped for that evening, but obviously I can't stop playing at once forever. So I played sometimes (I'm not a heavy piano practice person, I play more than 4 hours every day at school accompanying many people and that does it for me; also partly because I don't have time to play at home), more like sometimes on weekends. Then it cooled down for a bit. Then a newsletter of our building (about 10 townhouse units) comes out titled "Noise Issues" ---- with complaints on not only me but a poor young girl of about 12 or 13 practicing the saxophone which I can't even hear (her unit is closer to me than to them), a dog barking, and, of course, the piano playing. So I moved my piano from the common wall, took a lot of strength by the way, and then played some more... about the same amount I usually did, maybe 2-4 hours per week at home, sometimes even less but no more than 4. Then another letter came, but that was from the management to me, saying that those neighbours keep sending complaints on my playing and if the management receives one more they will transfer it to the higher authorities of the whole Condo Corporation. I may be looking at ummm.... going to court with my case.
Oh yeah, by the way, as far as I know, I manage my time so I play no later than 9pm and no earlier than 11am on the weekends. And furthermore, as far as I know playing at these hours is not against the City By-Laws which most likely overrule any laws I signed under the Condo Corporation (Because if I did, it would be illegal to sign my rights away).

Now as I said I may be looking at a lawsuit against me by my neighbours for my piano playing (I cannot emphasize enough, I'm embarrased of how much I play at home --- I spend all my time at school doing that). What I'm looking for here is for some responses to this surprisingly rare issue. I'm not going to court yet, they are calling me to go to this thing called mediation where I'm supposed to resolve the matter peacefully. I have to pay money for that, and I don't think I should because, in my opinion (may it be different than yours - tell me please if I am mistaken), I'm very innocent here. So I'm deciding whether I should comply to that mediation or just ignore it and wait for them to call me to court, or what should I do. I'm 18 by the way but I am very lost of what to do here. All responses will be appreciated. Thank you.

[aewanko]

they don't appreciate the music of the piano. shout to them so they can please.

[rhapsody4]

These situations are very irritating. I remember reading about a similar one a few months ago:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7041584.stm

I can't say what the best course of action should be, but I would suggest writing to your housing authority explaining the situation - assuming that you are not making much noise. It is quite sad that there are neighbours everywhere that spend their whole time making other people's life difficult because they have nothing better to do - I could write a book on the subject. However, you really should try and avoid it becoming a legal case, even if you are in the right, because it only causes stress, hassle and potentially unnecessary expense.

Good luck,
Rhapsody

[wbaatjes]

This is crazy. And I really I only have one explanation for it the way I see it. It is simply being petty. You are a young man and from what I read you are probably studying the piano. I agree with one member who said that they do not have a clue of what a piano is and neither what really happens to a young man of 18 who studies music. Avoid the hearing. It's a stupid matter really. I play my piano every night at home and boy I love to really go for it. I want my roof to blow off when I play "The Warsaw Concerto". But I always make sure that I stop at 22h30 because my neighbours are pretty close and I know they can hear me. But I have never had a complain.
I think it's a matter of "IGNORANCE". Your neighbours have no idea of the piano and neither of you as the student of the piano. So just get to that piano and go for it. Herbert Spencer said: "There is a principle which is a bar against all information. Which is proof against all argument and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is contempt prior to investigation".
Go well
Tuscany

[a-sharp]

Sorry - no advise ... Just good luck. I am sure you have rights within certain hours - at minimum,  during regular business hours - as everyone does (construction workers etc). Probably what will end up happening (if there is a legal battle) is you'll be restricted to certain hours, and they will have to live with it. The sad thing is - living in a "private" community - with it's own association etc, they can often make their own rules. I would personally see if you can consult a lawyer. Don't let these people (who came after you, btw) bully you. Good luck!

(maybe you'll get lucky & they'll move! )

[slobone]

This is a difficult situation, and I don't think the answer is all that obvious.

First of all, I'm not a lawyer, but why would you think city ordinances overrule private agreements? It's hard to imagine that there's a city law which says "Condo corporations cannot regulate noise in their buildings." More likely it's either not mentioned in the city laws, or they're less restrictive. In either case, the agreement you signed takes precedence.

There is no constitutional "right" to make noise! The fact that you're being lumped together with a barking dog ought to be an indication of how your neighbors feel about your music-making.

I would also strongly advise against ignoring court-ordered mediation! That certainly won't help matters any. It's a shame you've let it get this far -- the time to negotiate with your neighbors about hours, etc., would have been before they got angry enough to go to court.

Walls in housing these days are often quite thin, and pianos are very loud (100 decibels or more). Frankly, if I was your neighbor, I might have complained too, especially if you're playing as late as 9 (I'm in bed by then). And piano practicing, as we all know, is very tiresome to listen to (when it's somebody else who's doing it!).

At this point your options are limited -- a digital piano with headphones, move, or try one more time to negotiate with your neighbors. I don't think the law is going to protect you at all.

Don't get me wrong -- I certainly sympathize with your dilemma, as it's one that we all face to some extent. I'm lucky in that I live in a detached house, I only have one neighbor, and they're not there during the day. When I lived in an apartment I tried various solutions, and none of them really worked. I guess things were different in the old days, when every house had an (acoustic) piano, and a child who was taking lessons...