So the repulsive neighbours put a vile and acrimonious note in our letterbox complaining of our thunderous piano and its proximity to their bedrooms (in fact there is an entire double brick house between my piano and their bedrooms and the piano couldn't be any further from them unless it was in another house!).
Now I have become very conscious of the sound of the piano, not least because the neighbour is a professional thug and I keep imagining him yelling obscenities on my door step whenever I play. (So far he's only bellowed obscenities over the fence, but that is unsettling enough).
But I have to admit that the sound of the piano does echo down the corridor in our house more loudly than I would have expected (what stupid listeners to stupid 80s pop don't realise is its not possible to play your piano and walk around listening to it. Its not a CD player, so how should I know how loud it is if no one tells me). And even more to the point it travels very clearly and quite shrilly out the front door which seems to have been somehow specially designed to transmit the sound of a piano.
NOw I am loathe to aquiesce to these revolting people but I wonder if the piano would infact sound better with some sort of sound absorber behind it like a doona(duvet)? The room is very hard. Brick walls, wooden floors and no soft furnishings except the curtains (usually open) and two sofas.
To add to the complexity of the issue, 2/3rds of the household are allergic to dustmites. So soft furnishings have to be washed frequently and kept to a minimum. We can't cover the walls in tapestries like a medieval castle. So I'm thinking a doona down the back of the piano and wash it once a month.
What do people think? Worth a go? Cheapy doona from ikea bit of dowell attached to the wall and something to attach the doona to the dowel.
What do people think?
Doona (duvet) behind piano?