New sound lab for Loeb Music Library

About two dozen students, faculty and staff recently gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Sound Studios Lab (S-Lab) in the Woodworth Listening Room of the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library. The new S-Lab features cutting-edge tools for research, composition, ethnographic field research and more. The state-of-the-art equipment and software was provided through the Harvard Initiative for Teaching and Learning and a grant from the Hauser Fund.

“For the longest time sound only last for the moment. Then, we were able to record sound, and now with digitization, we can really see sound and dissect, which I find very interesting,” said Alex Rehding, Fanny Peabody Professor of Music and Chair of the Harvard Department of Music. “This new equipment is very impressive and quite wide-ranging.”

The new equipment includes software that can transcribe music.

“I was skeptical at first, but after seeing it for myself, I can say this new software is magical,” Rehding said.

The new equipment will allow faculty to assign larger projects, while students will have access to the latest studio and field sound equipment.