The Importance of a Harmonious Office Space

Jonathan Curtis

Jonathan Curtis

Silver Member
Currently, my "office" is very cluttered. Equipment and bits of hardware are lying about, the desk with recording equipment and educational material is very messy, and I have to, almost literally, climb into my drum kit.

This makes productive practice much more difficult, and I've come to realise over the years how important having a harmonious work space is to productive work. I'm talking specifically about my drum room, but this applies generally as well. I seem to work much better when everything is neat and tidy, it's just me, the drums, and whichever book is on my music stand. The more cluttered my surroundings, the more cluttered my practice session.

A spartan environment - clean, minimalist, ordered - appeals to my sensibilities while practising, and really helps my concentration and focus. I was wondering what you all do to your practice spaces to get the best out of yourself. Do some people really thrive in clutter?
 
I like things neet. I practice in my 2 room apartment.
My apartment is located on a family estate complex.
My sister also has a home on the property so noise isn't an issue.
When band mates come over I set up mic stands and they plug into the small PA which doubles as my home stereo.
I move the couch from in front of the drums to open the room up.
I even store their practice amps here in a closet so there is no lugging of gear.
 

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But Bob, where do you keep your tractor?

I like a clean studio too, it makes me feel better.
 
larryace said:
But Bob, where do you keep your tractor?
Click to expand...
No more tractors Larry.

Just like you, I feel and play better when things are neet and organized.
I practice with the Jazz band at a messy studio that is at the sax players house.
He always seems to start to organize but then it just becomes a mess again.
I always want to clean or just plain get a dumpster and start throwing things out when I am there. I can't focus on playing because the clutter bothers me.
 
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After years of neglect and weekly debauchery, we finally cleaned up our rehearsal space. We have been very fortunate that our rehearsal space is large and sounds great. We rehearse at our guitarist's home in a 30' x 36' room above his large garage that has a 15 ft vaulted ceiling and wood floors.

This space also serves as our party room and semi bi-annual location for a couple of weekend long parties that host over 150 people.

We were a disgusting bunch. Two months ago, I got a wild hair to build a stage and clean up the whole space.

I built a 24'x8' stage, moved out all the amps and cabs not being used. I got rid of the pool table sitting right in the middle of the room. Moved in the dry bar from another room, set up tables and chairs (seating for 24) and cleaned the floor ( a dozen years of crud), set up a little stage lighting and consolidated our recording gear with the FOH board, PA and monitors.

Wow! What a difference it made to our attitude as well as the overall vibe in the space.

It immediately inspired me to clean up and rearrange my practice room at home. My drumming world is very neat and orderly now and I feel better about my practices and rehearsals not only because of the clean up but because of the change.

This weekend, my wife and I are going to rearrange the furniture in the house.

I suggest you all do the same. It feels good. ;-)
 
TTNW said:
After years of neglect and weekly debauchery, we finally cleaned up our rehearsal space. We have been very fortunate that our rehearsal space is large and sounds great. We rehearse at our guitarist's home in a 30' x 36' room above his large garage that has a 15 ft vaulted ceiling and wood floors.

This space also serves as our party room and semi bi-annual location for a couple of weekend long parties that host over 150 people.

We were a disgusting bunch. Two months ago, I got a wild hair to build a stage and clean up the whole space.

I built a 24'x8' stage, moved out all the amps and cabs not being used. I got rid of the pool table sitting right in the middle of the room. Moved in the dry bar from another room, set up tables and chairs (seating for 24) and cleaned the floor ( a dozen years of crud), set up a little stage lighting and consolidated our recording gear with the FOH board, PA and monitors.

Wow! What a difference it made to our attitude as well as the overall vibe in the space.

It immediately inspired me to clean up and rearrange my practice room at home. My drumming world is very neat and orderly now and I feel better about my practices and rehearsals not only because of the clean up but because of the change.

This weekend, my wife and I are going to rearrange the furniture in the house.

I suggest you all do the same. It feels good. ;-)
Click to expand...

Would love to see some pics of your rehashed jam space for inspiration ;)
 
Yes, TTNW, pics please!
 
Hiya,

Yeah, you guys/gals would laugh at my garage/practice space for my originals band.

About 1/3 of the space is available for grown-up music. The rest is crammed with crap related to my two young daughters -- pink bicycles, scooters, and other sporting equipment, along with other toys and their art table.

It's good comedy for me, watching my bandmates figure out where to set up their amps/mics among a sea of Hello Kitty and Barbie-themed stuff ...

I figure I'll get to have a bitchin', uncluttered home studio in about 13 years ... ;)

CV
 
I'm lucky enough to have a decent space for my gear but it does spread over two rooms. One room houses my laptop, turntable, associated stereo gear and my guitar rig. The other has my drums, a few odds and ends and my full recording setup all controlled from an old iMac with a secondary screen.

Every now and then I go in and simply throw things out. It feels so good to get rid of excess clutter and now there's not too much superfluous in there. One of these days I'm going to have a room with no desk and just a stereo set up on a low table. That would be my 'perfect' space to sit, think and compose in. Unfortunately I can't and don't want to get rid of the drums, I still play them! They do take away from my minimalist tendencies though.

Having somewhere tidy and tranquil is definitely a good step. One of these days I'm going to enact a 'six month rule' - throwing everything that I haven't used for six months away or putting it in permanent storage. Hoarding is a habit that I do not wish to keep and I'm learning day-by-day what is materially valuable and what is not. It turns out that there isn't much worth keeping in the end!
 
Yes, it needs to be orderly and neat for me. My space is 15' x 15' in a section of my unfinished basement but I built a riser for the set I leave up and a shelf to hold all my other gear. It's not a pretty space but highly functional and highly organized.
 
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