Computer Music Facilities
The Peabody Computer Music Department's facilities are located on the third floor of the Conservatory Building, on the northwest corner of campus. The space consists of a suite of rooms, with each room serving a unique purpose.
The combined computer music studios serve as a working laboratory for music composition, research and provide support for music performances that use technology. In addition, the studios serve as a center for courses, demonstrations, and public programs.
Studio 314 - Teaching Studio
The Teaching Studio is intended primarily for introductory-level and non-major students, and is also used as an additional production facility by departmental graduate students and faculty. The room doubles as the department's primary classroom. A Macintosh G5 computer is the heart of this facility and is used to run a wide variety of commercial and non-commercial software for MIDI applications, software synthesis, sample editing, music notation, and more. A collection of MIDI-based synthesizers and processing units, as well as vintage Moog analog synthesizers (maintained for historical and pedagogical purposes), is available for student use. Eight-track digital recording and 24x8-track facilities are available.
Studio 312 - Production Studio
The Production Studio is intended for use by Computer Music graduate students and faculty. It is a fully professional environment designed for high level production and research, especially psychoacoustic research. This studio is centered around a Macintosh G5 computer and an 02R96 Yamaha Digital Mixing board. The G5 is used to run commercial and noncommercial software for MIDI, software synthesis, real-time control of equipment and more. High-quality professional digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters for sound recording, analysis and playback are available.
The Production Studio features a variety of MIDI-based synthesizers and signal processing devices, as well as older analog machines such as the Oberheim Expander and the Putney. Eight-track digital recording and 24x16-track mixing facilities are available. It also features a high-quality stereo monitoring system including Meyer 833 Studio Monitor Speakers and a Bryston 4B power amplifier. In addition, a video cassette recorder and monitor are available for basic video work, while the G5 has more intensive video editing software for the more adventurous.
Studio 309 - Performance Studio
The Performers' Studio is a room which serves as a classroom, rehearsal space, and composers' resource. The room is equipped with a 15-inch Macintosh G4 notebook computer, a MIDI-Grand Piano, several synths, and a Soundcraft Spirit digital mixer. The room has a hardwood floor to help simulate a stage, for performance rehearsals. The walls are equipped with a sound-dampening material to help reduce outside sound within the room. Much of the equipment in the room is mobile, and is often used in performances.
Studio 307 - Digital Arts Studio
The Digital Arts Studio is unique among rooms of the conservatory. It functions mainly as a space for computer music graduate students to interact, swap ideas, and get work done. The space is reconfigurable to provide more than half a dozen computer work stations equipped with software for word processing, internet, email, and music. Apple G3s and G4s attached to generously large monitors line the room, while many students prefer to bring in their own notebook and desktop computers. While there is a larger (cleaner) computer lab for all students on campus, only students of computer music are granted access to the Digital Arts Studio giving them a place where they can experiment, administer their own computer, and install software, activities the Peabody computer lab does not permit. Through the door to conservatory 307, you might occasionally catch the sound of computer music students unwinding with a multi-player LAN game.
