Just in: Spanish court acquits pianist of noise pollution

Phil says:

If ever there were two sides to a story, this is it. I don’t see how you can dismiss the neighbour’s viewpoint so easily, although the court apparently has – so they are the last word in wisdom on such a subjective topic I suppose? It’s no small thing being on the other side of a wall (or floor or ceiling) to a pianist practising! You can argue ‘decibel counts’ all day long, but there’s other ‘qualities’ to instrumental practise such as it’s stop-start nature, repetitiveness, dynamic changes – all of which could well drive a person round the bend if trying to get some sleep or relaxation. Music could well seem more intrusive than, say, a lawnmower or a nearby railway line (although the latter may be ‘louder’). It would be a case of “Has she finished, will it start up again in 5 mins? yes..no.. yes… no she hasn’t.. arghhh!” Also, if the neighbour had some existing nervous problem, then surely it’s all the more understandable that she was so disturbed by the noise? Self-obsessed musicians need a reality-check at times. They’re NOT more important than person X or Y, just because they’re undertaking some higher calling called ‘great art’, and Ms Martin will perhaps have learnt this lesson now, although she’s avoided being criminalized. Her side of the story obviously includes the fact that it’s her profession, a highly competitive one at that, and obsessive practise is almost a prerequisite. As you say, we wait to hear her side, and just how reasonable she tried to be with her neighbour, and whether she averaged 2,3,5 or 8 hours a day? I speak as somebody who has recently had to come to an agreement with my next door neighbours over my practise! They were justified – yet I was only doing 2 hours, but between 5pm-9pm after they’d been at work all day, and one of them suffers migraine. Problem easily solved, I now do it in the morning, although it’s not the time I day I like to function. If I have to practise late, then I put the muffler pedal on, which is not ideal as it destroys the feel, but it’s a fair arrangement, especially as I don’t perform for money (that doesn’t stop your audience expecting you to be polished and prepared, though). I’d love to know the finer points of Ms Martin and her neighbour’s perspectives, and understand why some arrangement was not possible without the madness of going to court, before I decide who was the most selfish or ‘irrational’. At the moment, whatever the court might say, I feel some sympathy is probably due to both parties.