Building a DIY music space in your home

Musicians of all calibres, ensembles, and genres deserve a music space at home to hone their craft – whether that be a dedicated music corner, a separate practice room, or a garage converted into a fully-fledged recording studio. The first step is choosing your home studio space – size won’t define the extent of your possibilities here, so don’t let it put you off creating a music area if you can’t dedicate an entire room; all you need is to commit an area in your home to music. Once a place has been chosen, take heed of these pointers below to help customise a killer spot.

Bring the noise

If you’re like most musicians, dialling down the volume won’t necessarily be in your nature. This is a struggle that many people deal with when locating their practice space as you may be dissuaded by the worry of waking loved ones, or the nuisance of neighbourly noise complaints.

Thick materials are an excellent start to trap travelling sound and reserve virtuosic talent for your own ears. Think about carpet, rugs, tapestries, and heavy-set curtains; these are all noise-abating aides. Eggcrate insulation is less effective, but is a good addition to the cause, and it helps achieve a desirable aesthetic.

Finally, a good pair of headphones will go a long way to help break up long playing sessions. This will help reduce noise during unsociable hours, plus provide a different perspective to your playing.

Everything in its right place

Musicians will know that playing spaces can quickly become untidy due to growing instrument and equipment collections. Whether you have a box full of mic stand attachments or six different reverb pedals, it is important that you have adequate storage options to maintain a clean and clear creative space. This is also key if you are sharing a multi-purpose room such as a guest bedroom.

Integration is a great start wherever possible to ensure the larger objects such as amplifiers or the instruments themselves have a home when not in use – keeping large portions of cupboard space free within your music area is key for this. Wall-mounted instrument stands can be a terrific space saver and make for a strong look.

The pictures on my wall

The final touches for a space built to breed creative output will help to echo your artistic nature. Your surroundings should inspire you to play and write – this is a personal choice to find what decoration works for you.

Consider introducing other pieces such as a record player and vinyl collection for listening sessions, perhaps with a few favourite album covers on the wall. A bookshelf could house sheet music, biographic music novels, and lyric books. Let loose your creative side and make a focal point in your home that inspires you to play.