Solutions:
As noted, and likely your best bet if you are practicing 6 hrs a day, get a practice room. You can share it with another musician to cut the costs. There are plenty of suitable rooms outside of the city, in industrial areas, etc. Put some ads up at Migros, at the conservatory, etc.
If you want to move again so that you can practice at home all the time, you need to be clear about exactly how much you will be playing. Simply listing that you play the piano on your rental application doesn't cut it for full disclosure. You also need to speak to your potential neighbors before you move in. If they are always away during the day you could very well be ok. Set ground rules, follow them, invite your neighbors regularly around for cake, be ready to knock it off at a moment's notice if they ask you to. In any case, clearly, moving into a dense apartment block is, well... kinda asking for it, no?
Move into a musician house. There are plenty of musician WGs or shared houses where everyone living there is making noise all of the time.
Don't play the rights card. Even if you have the right to practice, it is incourteous. Don't make this a fight with everyone. You will not win.
To all the haters on this thread:
Seriously. Not everyone works in a bank. Not everyone has the same lifestyle or professional needs as you. Please untwist your panties. The OP's wife NEEDS to practice 6 hrs a day, ideally without the silencer. The OP asked a legitimate question about how that could be arranged.
This following 11 users would like to thank Ittigen for this useful post: 10:30 , Gastro Gnome , Hsiang , Leni , mannie organ , nickatbasel , Nil , Peg A , portsmouth68 , StephanieWD , summerrain
There's a camera thread where Ittigen employs the same tone and OCD for groans.... I recommend a lie down with some soothing music
However, I do agree that personal attacks are an excellent way of discrediting someone
The Op is fairly new to the forum, and asked for info in a non-offensive manner; I really don't see why he should be accused of seeking legalese to annoy more people. Surely, there's also no need to get all personal.
1 Le propriétaire est tenu, dans l’exercice de son droit, spécialement dans ses travaux d’exploitation industrielle, de s’abstenir de tout excès au détriment de la propriété du voisin.
2 Sont interdits en particulier les émissions de fumée ou de suie, les émanations incommodantes, les bruits, les trépidations qui ont un effet dommageable et qui excédent les limites de la tolérance que se doivent les voisins eu égard à l’usage local, à la situation et à la nature des immeubles.
Art 684 of the Swiss Civil code states that one should avoid anything which impinges excessively on the neighbours property. This includes, amongst other things, noise. It states that the "nuisance" should not be beyond the tolerance level of the neighbours taking into account the habitual usage, the situation and the nature of the property.
Playing the piano for six hours a day in an apartment or even an office building could, objectively, be considered to be excessive. In this case I think the OP should either look for somewhere else to practice (where it would not be a nuisance) or come to an arrangement with the neighbours as to what may be considered acceptable.
The OP may be new to the forum, but not to CH, or maybe you failed to re-read that bit. So should be well aware of the rules regarding noise, certainly the number of complaints they got, and having to leave should have got the message accross, but as complaints have started in the new place.... Obviously not.
Thanks Mr S for the legaleese explinations & translation, I was speaking from a common courtesy view point in relation to having thought and consideration for ones neighbours.
I do have sympathy for the OP's wife's piano practice challenges, but none for ignoring the rights of other tenants.
If this were a barking dog, or someone playing the TV to loud, rather than an accomplished pianist causing noise nuisance for up to 6 hours a day, would reactions be the same?
To be honest, its vague. My hausverodnung is something along the same lines too:
"das Musizieren vor 08.00 uhr und nach 21.00 Uhr und während der Mittagszeit von 12.00 Uhr bis 13.30 Uhr. Tonwiedergabegeräte wie z.B Radio, Fernseh-, Musikgeräte und Musikinstrumente etc. müssen so eingestellt bzw. gespielt werden, dass sie Drittpersonen nicht stören oder belästigen (Zimmerlautstärke)"
Terribly vague and definitely subjective to your neighbours tolerance levels. Its really bad luck that the OP has run into one of those low-tolerance ones.
If everyone could calm down and re-read the OP's posts, I dont think he ever said that it was 6 hours without the silencer daily. Only leading up to concerts but I am sure that can be compromised. But it seems like the complainant is not even tolerant towards a single ounce of noise when she is working below.
Professionals put in 8-10 hours max daily but just like studying, you dont do that for 8 hours straight. I put in 5-6 hours of practice every day but I split the hours. half in the morning on the silencer and the other half in the evenings. I dont think its 6 hours straight for the OP's wife.
Do you think they like repeating the same bars over and over? You get equally as frustrated as the person listening in because you just cant get it right, and you NEED to get it right.
We have all the essentials, two pubs, a butcher, a baker, a Volg, and a train station, and fantastics views of the Saentis.
The only question would be whether the op's additional inconvenience in getting to and from work would outweigh the ability to practice the piano at will.
Edit - just thought of another advantage if into hiking and skiing - in the right location you'd already be there
Thanks, OP, for bringing the issue, we are about to move our piano in here, finally, it is a beat thing but I am glad I don't have to play the digital boombox instead. We lucked out for sharing our building with musically inclined peeps, in fact one is a former con director, practices his flute often and spinet, it's beautiful, sometimes with his daughter. I grew up playing music my whole life, and being surrounded by family members and neighbors playing music all the time, one does forget there are people who need peace and quiet. I am glad we moved in the house we did, we didn't even know how lucky we were.
From the sounds of it, you are using your apartment more like a music room than a place to live.
6 hours a day is well beyond the level of tolerance. You cannot expect your neighbours to accept this, particularly if this is an office complex and people are trying to get work done.
I suspect you are not going to win this battle and will be given notice to move.