Day or night, there is almost always music of some sort drifting from the windows of the music building. From cello to trombone to vocal ensembles, someone is usually practicing for a recital or a class.

There are 27 practice rooms located on the third floor of the building, each equipped with a piano.

Not just anyone can use them, though.

“They are reserved for music majors and students who play in our large ensembles,” said School of Music administrator Doug Mathews. The practice rooms can be reserved, and the reservation is forfeited if left empty for more than 15 minutes.

He added that there are too many students in the music department and not enough practice rooms to be able to extend their use.

In addition to small, single-person rooms, there are a couple of larger rooms that can be used for ensemble practice. On Monday night, one such room housed a loose group of grad students.

The ensemble consisted of flute, piano and steel drum. Flute player Amanda Soto, the de facto spokesperson for the group, said that they were practicing some songs to perform at Toppenish Middle School in Toppenish, Wash., as part of the Music Alive! in the Yakima Valley program. The school, located on the eastern edge of the Yakama Indian Reservation, will be hosting Soto and Robert Pitzer, doctoral students in the music education program, as well as Michael Di Roberts, a master’s student in the same program. The trio will be performing for students at the school and putting on a workshop for music teachers in the surrounding school district.

“In addition to this performance, we’ll be talking about college and what it takes to get there,” said Soto. Though they have a serious goal in mind, their mood was almost festive. Soto’s boyfriend, Tom Welch, had come along to the rehearsal, and he was handed some hand percussion instruments so he could play along. Di Roberts, on the steel drums, was the nominal director of the group, calling out measure numbers and giving feedback. Pitzer, the pianist, provided the baseline and the comic relief. The group was clearly comfortable with each other and with the music: They joked, teased one another and just played their parts. Part of the fun of doing music, Pitzer said, is that your work is still fun.

The group was playing a combination of traditional Calypso music and more modern Soca (soul calypso) music, both of which come from Trinidad, said Di Roberts.

The group wrapped up their practice around 9:30 p.m., confident and happy with their time together.

Mathews said that the building gets locked at 10 p.m., and that students are technically not supposed to be in the building after that. That doesn’t always mean there’s nothing going on inside, though.

“If there are students in practice rooms when the building gets locked, they’ll stay and practice until all hours of the night,” said Mathews.

Constance Shepherd, a music education major, said that she is in the practice rooms for 10 to 15 hours during an average week and 20 to 25 if she’s getting ready for a performance.

“There’s free time in the day, but it’s always so packed that I think it’s a better idea to wait to come in until after sunset,” she said.

Students of every level, from freshmen to doctoral students, use the facilities to practice their craft. Gabriel Manalac, a first-year master’s student in piano performance, said that he spends at least eight to 10 hours per day in the practice rooms.

“People will be here pretty late, especially during finals time,” Manalac said.

He recalls many times, particularly during the middle and end of the quarter, when it has been almost impossible to find practice space.

Majoring in music, Manalac said, is also fairly unique. In almost any other class, you can cram for a test or stay up all night preparing for a presentation.

“The thing with music is that you can’t really put it off,” he said. “You have to practice consistently in order to be prepared for a performance.”

Senior trumpet performance and political science major Carey Rayburn agreed.

“There’s a junior and a senior recital, and, come recital time, there are never enough practice rooms,” he said. “You practice all quarter, but when it comes down to it, you definitely have to put in even more time.”

Rayburn, who also gives trumpet lessons at a Bainbridge Island school, said he spends a total of about 22 hours each week practicing, 12 of which he spends in the practice rooms.

Shepherd, Manalac and Rayburn all spoke to the benefit of having the space available, but there were a couple of complaints they had as well.

“There is no air conditioning and no fans. It gets really hot,” said Manalac. Some of the rooms apparently also smell bad.

The biggest problem, though, is space. All three noted that there just isn’t enough space for all of the people who need to use it.

“But,” said Rayburn, “you find a way, if you’re really into it.”

Reach features editor Randy Ferreiro at features@dailyuw.com.