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Quiet practice
Hey folks, hope I’ve put this in the correct section, if not feel free to move or delete.
Does anyone struggle with family members being able to hear your practice sessions – not that they complain – but more fear that you sound really bad and it distracts from the practice sessions when you think people are listening?
It’s got to a point with me where I’m considering getting a guitar which is as quiet as possible. Looking at Yamaha Silent Guitar or a Fender Acoustasonic or can I practice acoustic lessons using my electric? If I do go down this route to quiet practice I’d value your feedback on the above guitars.
Maybe I just need to get over myself and learn to have the confidence to practice with my lovely fully fledged acoustics.
Any thoughts gratefully received.
Paul
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10 Replies
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You probably just need to get over it. My wife told <font face=”inherit”>Tony at the Fretboard Summit a few years ago that she felt she knew him though she never met him from having to overhear me trying to follow and emulate him. But every once </font>in<font face=”inherit”> a while she will admit I sound decent. She’s an enneagram one and not given to complements. Nice of you to be thoughtful though.</font>
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Thanks Albert, yep I think you are right 😂 thanks for being honest. I did after all encourage my son through 7 years of violin playing, so he probably knows how I’m feeling right now 😊
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Absolutely feel the same way! In fact I just commented about that in a forum post yesterday. I don’t have experience with either of the guitars you mentioned, but I have an acoustic and an electric guitar, and I often practice with the electric unplugged just to try to be quieter. My wife says she’d love to hear me play some songs for her someday, but I cringe at the idea that she’s hearing the noise I’m making while I’m practicing to someday get good enough to do it. I envy those who have a secluded studio or soundproof practice area! I often drop my pick because I’m holding it so lightly while I’m strumming to try to not be too loud, and I think that’s probably a bad habit to get into. It’s easy to say “get over it”, but harder to do.
I guess my response isn’t really helpful, but you’re definitely not alone!
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Many thanks for your reply Scott, it is indeed good to know I’m not the only one out there. I’m forcing myself to practice with a full blown acoustic today to see if I can get over the cringe factor. Hope you manage you overcome things too.
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Me Too. In the end, I bought the Hush X Pro, which is relatively inexpensive and as quiet as you can get. I can listen to the videos using it’s bluetooth connection (which is primarily for playing backing tracks). Most of my guitars are exotic lapsteels but I doo have an inexpensive epiphone if I’m on my own.
So far, it is looking like the ‘practice’ guitar will become my main guitar since it has all the simulations and FX I’ll likely ever want without all the power and wire mess.
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Hi Mike,
Many thanks for your reply. I’ve gone a similar route to you, I’m now using my electric with the Spark Neo headphones with a clean, acoustic sounding, amp setting. I must add I think I’m slowly getting better at playing my acoustic while others are in the house – just not in the same room☺ so that’s maybe progress right? 😃
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Hi Mike. I too bought the Hush guitar but went with the I Pro instead. I’m able to use a wired headphone into the guitar and use the guitar bluetooth to connect to my iPad; that way I am able to hear myself play and also watch/listen to the videos at the same time, all without anyone around hearing me practicing nor the videos. I just joined a week ago and my question to you is, how does your practicing/skills on the Hush guitar translate to playing a “real” guitar? Do you feel like they’re comparable or is learning on one better than the other? I’m considering buying a “real” acoustic guitar thinking it would advance my learning? Thanks.
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This reply was modified 1 week, 6 days ago by Angelo_E.
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This reply was modified 1 week, 6 days ago by
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When I started I also had this phobia. So, I started strumming with my thumb instead of using a pick to keep the sound down. That along with keeping my door closed. That did help, but also created another problem. Phobia of using a pick. I’ve spent the past year and a half dedicated to using the pick most everyday. The fear of others hearing me created another problem. Once you really don’t care what others think, you’ll skyrocket.
That said, I play on my back patio whenever I can. When the neighbors are out, I tend to subdue my playing. So, as you can tell, I still have issues to work on. It’s getting better though. Keep pushing on, and realize many others also have these challenges.
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Hey Sky,
I pick in the back yard patio area also, sometimes. The problem for me is that the neighbors make song requests over the fence…
I like what I’m working on and just yell back at them something like… “In Your Dreams and as soon as the sun rises … from the west I’ll pick that tune for you, unless it is HIP Hop. Or “how are your bass lessons coming along”. That usually gets a laugh and shuts them up. They have heard me play poorly in the past and now that I can actually pick some tunes they do appreciate the change.
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Hey Angelo_E,
The playing action on an acoustic guitar is different in feel an in tone than the system you are using. i began on acoustic, then electric and now back to acoustic. If you buy a cheap acoustic the action will probably not be that good.
I recently purchased a $250 Orangewood Oliver model and it did come set up and is a remarkably good “beginner’ guitar that I would recommend to anyone just starting out.
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