Honors College Theses

Publication Date

4-4-2022

Major

Interior Design (B.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Beth McGee

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to help determine practice room design guidelines to increase music students’ practice duration and quality in higher education. The Foy Building music practice rooms on the Statesboro campus of Georgia Southern University are being used as the basis for this research, as these spaces are used daily by music students to practice their instruments. The study population for this research was music majors and minors, as these individuals are the main users of the practice room spaces. The research design consisted of two phases- one qualitative and the other quantitative. An initial online questionnaire was conducted to gather user feedback about the practice room spaces. This was followed by a quantitative phase where acoustical and lighting measurements were taken of the practice room spaces based on participant feedback from the initial survey. Twelve participants took the online survey. Survey results showed that students preferred a larger room that included a window. Also, comfort levels and room size affected the quality of students’ practice experience. Suggestions for improving the Foy Building practice rooms included adding more accompaniment pianos to the rooms, improving lighting in rooms without windows, and allowing students to personalize the rooms with items of their own. More research should be done on music practice room design for higher education settings based on user feedback in order to identify a broader range of design considerations that can help improve students’ overall practice experience.

Thesis Summary

This research discussed music practice room design guidelines for higher education settings. The Foy Building practice room spaces were analyzed, and music majors and minors on the Statesboro campus comprised the study population. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for data collection.

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