Sound isolating room provides brilliant teaching environment at Eton College

Pipe Major Jim Motherwell BEM is impressed with the MusicPracticeRooms.com sound isolating room recently installed at Eton College by Black Cat Music. 

In a video interview Pipe Major Jim Motherwell, formerly of the 1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders explains that bagpipes are not woodwind instruments, but are classed as instruments of war. Bagpipes originated among the Scottish battalions as they could be clearly heard on the battlefield. So quite a challenge for a teaching environment, where one aim was to prevent the sound of the pipes causing interference for 16 nearby classrooms teaching other instruments. 

One concern, quickly put to rest, thanks to a visit to the demonstration room set up on Black Cat Music’s stand at Music Education Expo exhibition, was how the pipes would sound inside the sound isolating room. Jim brought his pipes along and was not only impressed by the acoustic environment, but also the build quality of the room itself. Another issue when teaching 6 hours every day was the absence of daylight, a concern that was resolved by integrating three windows providing exterior views of the playing fields. The result, “an absolutely brilliant teaching environment and the boys love it” was Jim Motherwells’ verdict. 

The Sound Isolating Rooms are designed to create an ideal rehearsal space with a climate controlled interior environment for the comfort of the band in which they can practise without their pipe and drum music causing disturbance to other classes in the college. The balanced acoustics within the room create a quality space also suitable for recording purposes. The modular design allows for a wide range of sizes to be constructed, from accommodating a solo singer to a choir or a band. And as needs and space allocations change, the sound isolating rooms can simply be re-located when required.