When I first stepped into Arms to “audition” for the orchestra and hopefully drop off Boris (my bassoon) in his locker, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from an echoing 2-story building with a floor structure vaguely resembling a spiral. Would the classrooms all have tuned pianos? Were there pianos in all the rooms in the first place? Would I be allowed to do nonmusical things (like Japanese homework) in them? How soundproofed (or not) were they?
I’ve been using practice rooms as second and third homes since I was in the fifth grade, when they finished building the performing arts center at my old K-12 school. As oddly specific as my questions were, they made sense to me because I’d only seen one set of practice rooms for as long as I was in school, and of course I had absolutely no idea what my musical future looked like, much less how much time I’d spend in practice rooms.
Enter the second floor practice rooms (whose pianos are, in fact, somewhat-tuned), where I’ve spent an unholy amount of time practicing Japanese sentences, the bassoon, the piano, and even my relaxation skills.
I’m #blessed to be in a college that has so many practice rooms that I can always find an empty one regardless of whether I’ve reserved one (which I’ve forgotten to do again)!
Anyone can use the practice rooms, although students who have reserved practice rooms get priority during their time slots. At the beginning of each semester, students can reserve practice rooms and times for private lessons or individual practice. Most people reserve one or two hours at a time, but as far as I know, there’s no limit to how long you can reserve a practice room (I once saw someone reserve a practice room for all of Wednesday). Y’all should try them out for yourselves!
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