I live in an apt, and i'd mostly be practicing in the evening (8pm-11pm). i've never played instruments before, so i'm not sure how loud they get. can i play violin/viola/cello in an apt without disturbing other people? or is it loud enough that it would bother them?

if it's too loud, what instruments can you recommend for a beginner?

i've never played any of those but I'd suspect they might get too loud..i'd recommend something like an electric piano.

most if not all of the electric ones have a volume dial and you could just set it to a lower volume during the later hours.

you could also get an acoustic guitar. as long as you aren't purposely trying to be obnoxious with it, it shouldn't get too loud.

Can't play my accordion without the neighbors hearing. But I can finger pick guitar with an infant right by my sound hole. Uke is quite too.

Electric violin/viola/cello

If you want cheap this is pretty much where prices start http://www.violinsmart.com/sojingstandardelectricviolin.aspx for violins, dunno if thats the best for the price tho

This post was edited by Antichrist- on Aug 6 2014 04:41am

Using headphones with an electric instrument could work in an apartment.

Otherwise, just play at a reasonable volume with acoustic instruments.

sometimes i used to stuff my acoustic guitar with towels to lower the volume it works but im at the point where idk what other people think about my music i guess i was more worried about it as a new player

i also like muting the strings and playing stuff it helps me prefect my technique hearing mistakes i wouldnt normally hear

would an electric viola work? i'm looking at youtube vids but i can't tell how it works

I've played violin a little bit.
Yes it will be loud but not extremely loud unless you plug in.
Make sure you have something over your Windows or at least have thick curtains.
If you want to use 1 pound mass loaded viynl to cover your widows it's cheap just look it up.
Also something to the effect of a rug or a rug to help the ground. The walls anything from egg cartons to blankets or foam and dry wall is very cheap as long as you don't change the structure of the apt it's perfectly fine to do.
depends on if you want to play that bad but you can solve pretty much anything for free or hella cheap.

I play my acoustic guitar all the time during the day (i dont play after 10pm out of courtesy)
Never had any problems with it, just don't play obnoxiously loud or try to be an attention whore with it.