I remember living in a downstairs apartment and having a neighbor upstairs how liked to play the piano sometimes. I actually looked forward to when they played the piano because they were pretty good at it, and the music was relaxing.

Not all piano music is relaxing, and not everyone who plays the piano is good at it.

In this story, one man who lives in an HOA has a neighbor who teaches piano lessons from her home. Picture little kids learning to play the piano, and you can probably imagine the annoying sounds coming from this woman’s house.

Would it be wrong to report her to the HOA? That’s the dilemma here. Keep reading for all the details.

WIBTA for reporting my neighbor’s piano lessons to our HOA?

My townhome is one of 36 in my HOA community. I’ve lived here for less than a year & my neighbors moved in a few months ago.

The woman, Linda, teaches piano.

When me met in passing she mentioned she has a piano & apologized if we hear it.

I politely said no problem, I love music.

She wasn’t playing the piano for awhile.

Linda had been pregnant & I didn’t hear the piano often & when I did hear it I could mostly tune out the music.

I work from home & sometimes use noise canceling headphones paired with white noise to help focus.

Since the baby arrived, Linda has resumed her job of teaching piano lessons.

I saw a few of her posts online advertising in-home lessons & now hear the piano daily.

The noise has gotten pretty bad. And, yes, it’s noise, not music.

It’s no longer piano music in the background, it’s children learning scales.

I don’t know if some of the notes don’t make it through the sound barrier of the windows or if these are Satan’s musicians, but the sound is exceptionally irritating. Even my headphones can’t compete with the seemingly random noise intervals.

Technically, our HOA rules specifically prohibit both commercial activity and noise nuisances on the property.

He isn’t sure if he should report her to the HOA.

I think Linda is kind of a jerk for moving into a townhome community as an in-home piano teacher.

I think reporting pretty much anything to an HOA would make me kind of a jerk.

I am very sound sensitive which is my own issue & I’m aware that I also live in a townhome & can’t expect to enjoy total silence.

That’s a tricky situation. Let’s see what Reddit suggests.

Here’s a vote for talking to the neighbor.

Here’s another vote for not reporting her to the HOA.

Another person explains why it would be wrong to report her.

This person offers some suggestions about how to help the neighbor with soundproofing.

To be fair, the neighbor mentioned that she had a piano, but she didn’t mention that she’s a piano teacher. OP was fine with the idea of her playing the piano. What he wasn’t anticipating was a bunch of kids who don’t know how to play the piano visiting her house for lessons. Those are two completely different things.

Still, I agree that he shouldn’t report her to the HOA. It would be better to talk to her.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a homeowner who responded to an HOA violation letter by investigating the bylaws and having the whole board removed.