Jurong West residents describe neighbour’s almost daily cello playing as ‘sawing wood’, she says it’s ‘part of her job’
Several Jurong West residents have complained about the sound of their neighbour’s cello playing, describing it as “sawing wood”, but the cellist insists that practising her instrument is necessary for her livelihood.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the residents in question were four tenants living in Block 683A Jurong West Central 1.
They said the sound seemed to come from all directions, as though they were surrounded by “stereo”, making it difficult for them to rest at home.
However, the woman responsible for the cello playing insists that she only practises in the afternoon and believes that the tenants were making too much of the situation.
Tenants claim cello playing last for hours almost every day
The four tenants — Wu (transliterated), a 31-year-old engineer who rents a unit on the 13th floor, and three Nanyang Technological University master’s students, Li, 24, Wang, 22, and Ruan, 23 — told Shin Min that their neighbour plays the cello almost every day
They said the practice sessions usually begin at around 1pm and continue until 5pm on certain days, with some taking place at night as well.
Wu said he had previously asked his landlord to speak to the upstairs neighbour about the situation. After the discussion, the cellist reportedly agreed to lower the volume where possible, and the situation improved for a period.
However, Wu said the practice sessions have recently become longer again.
Li, who moved in last July, recalled the incident on National Day, when the the cello playing reportedly continued into the night.
She explained that she has classes at night and therefore requires rest during the day. She also occasionally attends online classes from home.
“Even wearing headphones isn’t enough to block out the sound of the cello. Sometimes, I can’t even turn on my microphone to speak to people,” said Li.
The four tenants compared the cello playing to “someone sawing wood”, adding that the continuous, high-pitched sounds were difficult to tolerate.
Ruan shared that she would make it a point to avoid staying at home from the afternoon onwards, temporarily “escaping” to school or the library.
Neighbour says playing cello is ‘part of her job’
Li, the cellist in question, told Shin Min that she is a LASALLE College of the Arts student and music teacher, adding that the instrument is “part of her job”.
The 25-year-old said that she usually starts practising at around 1pm or 2pm each day, with each session lasting about two hours.
“Music is my rice bowl. I need to practise,” Lin stressed.
As for the tenants’ complaints, Lin felt they were making a mountain out of a molehill, saying that she did not understand why they would complain despite her scheduling her practice sessions in the afternoon.
She added that she makes it a point to keep the doors and windows shut when practising and had not received any complaints in the 10-odd years she had been living there.
Shin Min also spoke to Lin’s next-door neighbour, who said the volume of the cello playing was acceptable and did not consider it a noise problem.
Refuses CMC mediation
Wu said that after his landlord sought help on their behalf, the Community Mediation Centre (CMC) invited both parties to a meeting.
According to emails shown to Shin Min, Lin had declined to attend.
Now, the tenants are only left with the option of filing a case with the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals (CDRT).
Explaining her decision, Lin said she did not believe she had done anything wrong and therefore saw no need to attend the mediation session. She also described the tenants’ attitude as “aggressive”.
“The tenants downstairs keep changing. If a new group of tenants moves in, am I supposed to communicate with them all over again?” she questioned.
Tenants unable to move due to rental contracts
Despite the situation, the tenants said they are unable to move as they are bound by their rental contracts. As such, they hope their neighbour could be more considerate.
“We’re not saying she can’t play the cello. We just hope she won’t play for such long periods at a time, or perhaps put mats on the floor to improve the soundproofing,” Li said.
Meanwhile, Lin said people have frequently approached her to complain about her cello playing, and that the tenants even called the police on National Day, leaving her exhausted from dealing with the situation.
“Is it wrong to play the cello in my own home? If they want to study, they can go to the library,” she said.
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