Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Monday, November 17, 2008 9:15 AM
So! For my son’s birthday last week, his father (and I) got him a very lovely/rocking/awesome acoustic guitar. With amp hook-up.
Yes, it’s totally sweet.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before (maybe I have) but one of my boys has a set of drums. They are in the garage and my boy plays these drums every afternoon. It seems to me this has become his way of decompressing. This boy comes home from school, gets his snack and heads out for some down time.
Now his guitar-wielding brother is joining him and the two of them are having a little jam session out there on a very regular basis.
So here is my question to you: How does one soundproof a garage? The neighbors would like to know! (Okay, if by neighbors you mean their mother.)
My husband has been doing some research on this topic, but it’s always nice to hear from someone who has taken on this project before. Any suggestions?
And please hurry—my middle child, the one who plays piano, is gunning for a keyboard for Christmas. I told him I’d consider it, but only if the three of them start a jazz band. This would be my dream come true.
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I know that when my sister was playing her drums in our basement, my parents deadened the sound a little by putting some carpeting on the floor and buying some foam egg-crate (the kind you’d use as a mattress pad) to hang on the walls. I wouldn’t call it “sound-proof,” but I think it made the china cabinet rattle a little less.
My husband is a musician who was in several bands during our early married years and currently has a recording studio in our basement.
It’s really hard to sound-proof a garage, especially if you want to keep using it as a garage. You’ve got that big door for vehicles to pass through and probably little or no insulation.
It’s easier to sound-proof a basement so the neighbors don’t hear your kids, especially because earth is one of the best sound-proofers there is. You’ll still hear something in the house, but muffled. And it’s still pretty expensive. You can use regular insulation and then add some of the egg-shell foam previously mentioned—keep checking FreeCycle and other places like that, although it’s fairly hard to come by, and often what you get is a mix of usable and non-usable pieces.
The thing of it is, you really need to be concerned about their HEARING if they are playing so loud every day. Are they wearing ear-plugs? It’s mandatory for your drummer son, even if he’s got the kit muffled. And your guitar-player son needs to wear them whenever he’s jamming with his brother or has his amp turned above a 6 or so.
This is often hard to monitor in young people, but it’s really, really important. They really need to learn to keep their sound levels down anyway—true musicianship isn’t about LOUD, it’s about technique. You might consider giving drummer son a djembe for Christmas and insisting that the boys play “unplugged” four days a week (S, T, Th, S) to protect their hearing, the family’s community standing and your nerves.
As a mom of 4 kids who LOVE rock and frequently get together to jam...How does one soundproof the garage? Quite simply...one doesn’t. One relishes every loud moment and realizes that all too soon they will no longer be home to make such noise.
I agree with you totally, Therese. It’s my elderly neighbors that I’m worried about…
There was a Trading Spaces episode that covered that topic last season. Not sure how you would track it down, but it was interesting to watch. However, it was a permanent conversion of the garage so no cars could enter. I would think that doing the soundproofing they suggested on the walls etc would help, but the door would be a wide open sound area unless you were able to come up with an alternative.
Sounds fun though! Maybe w/ the elderly neighbors, you could buy them ear plugs (or they could turn off hearing aides) or just simply arrange for a regular jam time that is acceptable to all. Perhaps your rockers could do some extra nice snow blowing or yard work in return for their generosity.
Or otoh, you might find the neighbors like that kind of music and would love a concert. Music therapy is all the rage at nursing homes now, yk ... maybe the boys could learn some faves of the neighbors and invite them over! 
Thus speaks the Eternal Percussionist (ahhhh the good ol’ days...)
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