I have a problem with practicing and a husband who insists I'm too loud. I wonder it this device works.

I have an elec. keyboard in another room, but it is only useful for working out fingering and familiarizing with the piece.

Help -- I'm ready to hang a folded blanket behind the piano to keep peace in the house. Right now, I have to wait til he leaves the house, which is never for more than ten minutes at a time. I don't have a neighbor with a piano I can run to either.

How much can you two spend so that the piano's not "too loud"?

$7000? Get an AvantGrand N1 (Real Grand Action). My wife and I both play the piano, so we needed two digital pianos so we can practice at the same time. We live in an apartment, so didn't want to bug the neighbors too much (especially since we sometimes practice early morning or late at night). She plays more advanced classical pieces, so the AvantGrand was a perfect fit for her.

$100. QuietKeys. I never tried it out, but it looks like a system to insert felt between the hammer and the strings. I imagine it would work, but looks like it would make it a challenge to work on dynamics and intonation without much audible feedback.

$0.50? Earplugs for your husband. A pair of cheap foam earplugs will reduce the sound he hears by 30dB.

I also checked into the price of soundproofing a room, and it was cheaper and less hassle to get the avantgrand.

I hope you're able to find a "middle-of-the-road" compromise with your husband that equally respects both your needs.

If my wife was as rude to me, I'd get a divorce. Seriously.

That makes an Avante Grand sound like a positive bargain

"$100. QuietKeys. I never tried it out, but it looks like a system to insert felt between the key and the strings. I imagine it would work, but looks like it would make it a challenge to work on dynamics and intonation without much audible feedback."

Can I buy this online? Do you know which website?

Thanks, a lot of my students will benefit from this if they buy and install at their piano at home.
Unfortunately, this is only for upright, not for grand piano.
Thanks again

You might be interested to learn that most European made uprights come with "quiet keys" already installed. The middle pedal engages a felt strip which drops between the hammer and strings. It works very well. My Souter has it.

Check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrqEK-iJtiY

What am I doing which you construe as rude? I am only trying to appease him and still get more practice in.

Also, here's an old thread.
http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthrea...grand%20pi.html

I understood them to mean that your husband was being rude to you (by complaining about your practising).

You misunderstood me. I was talking about your husband being rude. But maybe you live in a very small place and have a very loud piano!

Sorry - I should've have said I don't have a grand.

I jumped to my usual defensive conclusion. Sorry.

It's not that he hates a piano, but hearing the same over and over sends him over his edge. He has a hearing loss too and is sensitive to loud noises. He just doesn't understand my repeated playing of certain passages to get some fingerings into my mind and hand.

I wonder if that blanket WOULD work....hmmm.

He just doesn't get it. I am a paid accompanist and don't want to lose the job, so I try to give it my all.

I misread the comment - I am by nature very defensive.

Enroll your husband in some type of course that has him out of the house more. Call his buddies and ask them to invite him out.

For an upright, if the blanket and curtains and such are not satisfactory, I'd go with QuietKeys.

Seriously, would your husband consider wearing foam earplugs? They're cheap and are great at cutting out noise.

Why not get a good quality digital piano? You can either turn the volume down, or play using headphones.

Timely thread...our RPT just installed the Quiet Keys system into our upright piano last week.

The system works very well. The tone is "muted" across the entire keyboard...that is, notes sound much "softer" with less "attack" (less brilliance) and a major decrease in overall volume. However, the muting effect is significantly less pronounced on the lower-bass notes (approx. the lowest two octaves) - the attack on these notes is just a bit less than normal, and their volume is only slightly quieter.

Also, when using the system the FEEL of the entire keyboard is very slightly altered, which may impact your overall performance and expression when practicing certain pieces. For some pianos this may not be very apparent, but for a piano with a very sensitive touch (our piano has the Fandrich Vertical Action) it is there. But for rudimentary practice sessions (scales, fingering exercises, etc.) this is really a non-issue.

FWIW, the Quiet Keys system sounds much better to my ears than the built-in practice pedal system on a Schulze Pollmann upright I tried recently (a very fine piano, BTW), which had some odd sonic artifacts due to the felt curtain touching the strings. In contrast, with the Quiet Keys system in our piano every note rings true without any strange felt-to-string effects.

Hope this helps!

No digital piano I have ever played suits my need for organic sound vibrations.

No way. He can't stand anything in his ears.

If your husband doesn't want anything in his ears, then get him some noise-cancelling headphones for Christmas. Bose makes great ones, but they are pricey, and you can get a good set at almost any price range.
Simple ear protectors would do a lot too; they dont press against the ear, they just surround it, so its very comfortable (the same design as pilot headsets basically, and pilots will wear those for half a day).

Also, how well tuned is your piano? Mine has fallen well out of tune since being moved, and I give myself a headache if I play for more than 45 minutes without a break. I'm certain that it's due to the tune, because I have never had this problem with the keyboard.

Finally, if the piano is in a separate room, you can buy some soundproofing material for that room without spending a fortune. It wont be perfect, but it may help a bit.