OFF TOPIC - oh my aching head

Well...you did it to yourself !! Buy ear plugs and insert lol

Well, when DH and I discussed the various items on the list she gave us, a puppy wasn't do-able, we gave the "toy list" to other family members and the guitar was the only thing left.

She's big enough for a full sized electric - which shocked DH but reduced his anxiety of having a 3/4 size to sell in a year - and she'll get lessons come spring.

Cheryl

Can you banish them to the garage or somewhere a little further away from your sensitive ears? Either that or maybe you can go there and relax with a good book.

It's great that they want to learn, and a well played guitar is a wonderful sound, but two of them playing badly at the same time sounds like enough to drive anyone slightly nuts.

Hugs to you till the immediate love wears off and/or she actually learns how to play well.

Neither of them is terrible. DS is starting to veer into heavy metal. Can't tell if that is ever well played.

I was just so tired last night.

I may just insist that we finish part of the basement and move a comfy chair and a good light down there just for ME.

Cheryl

Now that sounds like a great plan. You might just want to install a sliding screen around the chair that would deem you invisible for a time. That would be lovely for the mother of a teen and an almost teen.

Just going down there to do laundy makes them feel like I'm gone

Cheryl

Just be thankful that one doesn't play the bagpipes and the other doesn't play the drums...

I suspect you are talking about a classical guitar as opposed to electric lol

Could be a loooonnng winter, never mind, it will seem quiet at the rink lol

Just finish a small space and line it with cardboard egg boxes, I know several parents in your position who did that, they say it takes the noise level down to bearable levels. I know David lined his fish tanks (they were set into the wall) on the reverse side with them, you couldn't hear the pumps after that.

I am told by members of my professional group that Bose makes a set of headphones that will block out ANY sound. I think she said she got hers at Target (and notes "not the earbuds, the over-the-ear headphones").

Add $20 for the personal CD player and another $20 for the round-the-waist holder for it, and you're set. "What's that, dear, you say the children have chain-sawed each other in the living room? Didn't hear a thing! (except my favorite CD)"

I have a better idea. Get DS his drivers license and give him a car on the condition that he chauffeurs DD. There's a comfy chair and good light 3000 miles away, and you can fulfill your maternal obligations by sending money when anyone's hockey fees are due. :)

Have them play with earphones. It won't kill them. And to think, my mother, well and the neighbors, complained when I was in my serious Russian phase, and would open the piano all the way up (instead of keeping the top closed or half-way).

Ellice

Besides the screen and chair, get some insulation for soundproofing. How about a couple of headsets that plug into the amps so the kids can hear themselves but that block the amplification to the rest of the house, until you basement sanctuary is completed?

-- Carey in MA (passing the Tylenol and earplugs....)

The earphones worry me - hearing loss and all that.

If they're practicing they should be able to turn the volume down to a suitable level. There's no reason to have amps screaming when you're learning.... But, I understand your concern.

Ellice

I've just recalled a joke that may be relevant. A man goes into a musical instrument shop and asks if he can trade his instruments for two from the shop - he particularly likes the white accordion and the red saxophone. The shop owner says "You're a drummer, aren't you?". The man says "Yes, I am a drummer. How on earth did you know that?" The shop owner says "Well, that's a radiator and the other thing is a fire extinguisher..."