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[invadm]

I live in North London 3 bed terrace house on a busy road and ; 
I play almost every evening after 18.30 at home. Full volume. My neighbours don't mine I don't think they do as no complain made so far.. then again they all seem to be changing in every few months. I often do evening live Facebook videos to my followers until I get tired no complain ever made... my next door neighbour did ask a few time 'you don't play anymore why ?'  after a long break I took..
he also wonders what’s up with me if/when he doesn't  see the light from my shed  ..one good side of living in London I guess'' no one cares what others do '
      melodeon rules   

[Stiamh]

In the forest. Merry Swedish players in the forest at Hårderupfestival.

A clear case of, how would you say... durspelansikten ?

[Steve_freereeder]

I live in North London 3 bed terrace house on a bust road ...

You should complain to the council.

[invadm]

I live in North London 3 bed terrace house on a bust road ...

You should complain to the council.

busy I should have said.. council ? do they do any other work but collecting tax'es & issuing parking ticket via their CCTV ?       

[Gareth Sprack]

I play mine whilst on duty

[Tone Dumb Greg]

I play mine whilst on duty

Damn nerve, playing a Jerry box. Don't you know there's a war on?

[Gareth Sprack]

I play mine whilst on duty

Damn nerve, playing a Jerry box. Don't you know there's a war on?

Captured and liberated equipment, old boy!

[Tone Dumb Greg]

I play mine whilst on duty

Damn nerve, playing a Jerry box. Don't you know there's a war on?

Captured and liberated equipment, old boy!

I would quite happily liberate it. I would love a 114.

[Jozz]

with the birth of my son I hesitate to practice full volume at home,
though my main instrument has excellent reeds so playing softly is no problem at all

besides that I share a permanent lease of a stocked rehearsal room outside of town with 24/7 access, which is a bit of a luxury
it used to be a pig pen and now it's called the GREEN ROOM (we decorated it with bright green cloth),

[Guy]

I just wanted to come back also to say that I also found the "maximum volume" part of the original question strange. I don't deliberately play loud when I'm practising, only when I'm outside playing for a dance team, where loudness hopefully (at melodeon levels) isn't a problem.

I agree about not having to deliberately play loud when practicing, but what if the intended performance is going to be at full volume? I've always assumed (perhaps wrongly) that the practice should reflect what you're going to perform-once I've learned a tune, I'll (hopefully) play it differently if I'm outside and belting it out rather than playing tastefully (as far as ability allows) in a small venue. So, when I know what the venue and audience is, and if it's very specific, I'd try and run through the tunes in whatever style  and volume seems appropriate.

Mind you, it still sounds rough to me whatever I do. Oh well.

Cheers,
Guy

[Peadar]

I live in North London 3 bed terrace house on a bust road ...

You should complain to the council.

busy I should have said.. council ? do they do any other work but collecting tax'es & issuing parking ticket via their CCTV ?       

Employ music teachers?

[richard.fleming]

I never play at full volume ever, or top speed. Even with boxes subtlety is the name of the game.

[Julian S]

Yep - learning to play quietly is important - but even playing quietly repeating phrases over and over can be annoying. As a retired local government officer (I will resist the temptation to respond to previous comment with a list of what local government actually does  )I have the luxury of playing during the day when neighbours are out. Living in a semi, fortunately we also have rooms which don't share walls with neighbours (who fortunately like folk music anyway).
Another point, if you do play outdoors for Morris as I do,I think it is useful to be able to practice at full volume occasionally,  particularly when learning, and I often arrive early to dance practice which is held in a shed in an open air museum, closed to the public in the evening. On holiday, I've played on sea walls and beaches, friendly bars in ski resorts - and gone busking.
But for the next three months we have builders at work here at home - and the sound of box and fiddle practice is as nothing !

Julian

[malcolmbebb]

I see that the OP has modified his original post to qualify the “full volume” element. To reiterate, for Morris and other outdoor playing, full volume or something close is very often needed. From discussion with other box players, I’m not alone in finding that the dynamics of the box change when I’m giving it a lot of welly and I  make mistakes that I don’t make when playing quietly at home. Subtlety is of no interest when you’re competing with crowds, generators and just distance.

[Thrupenny Bit]

Yes, there are times when playing for morris needs nothing more than full on grunt to enable the dancers to hear the tune.
Having been sandwiched between two North West sides with drums whilst processing at Warwick Folk Festival, and next to a massed band with drum section at Sidmouth seafront yesterday, there are times when a Pokerwork at full bore gets drowned. To play with that much oomph but precisely as Cotswold dictates needs practicing, so it is a necessary thing to do.
Q

[Tone Dumb Greg]

... Does anyone else have an unlikely practice venue?

When I first started I practiced in my car in a little used layby on the way home from work.

I am lucky enough, now, to be able to play as loud as I need, as long as my wife is out of the house.
I agree that if you need to play out and have the side be able to hear you (e.g. Sidmouth seafront) you need to be prepared and playing full volume is the best way to get used to this. Amplification is an alternative, but it's often inappropriate (e.g. Sidmouth seafront).

[Thrupenny Bit]

As you said, we both managed our longest conversation yesterday on the seafront at Sidders!
Amplification is a tricky one. A few years ago we organised the Joint Morris Day of Dance in Exeter and one of the rules imposed on us was not to have amplified music from any of the morris bands as it contravenes some bylaws. I think it was at the time the bylaw situation was in flux and it might have been resolved by now.
Apart from the discussions of whether amplification is appropriate, there might be other things to consider such as bylaws regarding amplified music.
Q