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The LIVELab is a state-of-the-art research centre and performance space. We conduct world-class research in music, auditory development, and human interaction. When we are not conducting scientific studies, we run events to introduce the public to the science of music! In our LIVELab Concert Series, we harness the unique technological capabilities of the lab (such as motion capture, virtual acoustics, and real-time physiological measurement) to stage interactive, immersive shows featuring top performers in the greater Toronto area and beyond.
The McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind (MIMM) is an interdisciplinary group of researchers, including psychologists, neuroscientists, music theorists, musicians, dancers, media artists, mathematicians, kinesiologists, health scientists and engineers. Together, they study questions about the physical structure, evolution, neural processing, performance and perception of music, dance and media arts.
The LIVELab is a Core Research Platform at McMaster University, under the umbrella of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind (MIMM). The LIVELab was created by the members of MIMM to provide a state of the art facility to offer researchers and musicians access to a unique site of tools, technology and immersive environments for scientific study. This CFI-funded 106 seat research-based performance theatre and testing centre opened in September, 2014.
Since 2014, both MIMM and LIVELab have continued to grow. It should be noted that not all MIMM researchers use the LIVELab facility to conduct their research, and not all LIVELab researchers are involved in music cognition research. For example, the LIVELab has been used by researchers in Business and Political Science to study what makes a successful leader. Within MIMM, some labs focus on individual person experiments, corpus analyses, or computational modeling, none of which require the LIVELab. Nonetheless, there are many points of synergy between LIVELab and MIMM, and multiple events throughout the year that aim to bring this diverse community of researchers together.
The LIVELab is located on the second floor of the Psychology Building (#34 on the McMaster Map) on the McMaster Campus. Please see the Contact Us page for directions to the building.
It is possible to rent the lab for external research studies and events. More information about our facility is available here. Please contact us for further information.
You can buy tickets with our online vendor Showpass. Tickets for each event are linked below the event description, or you can purchase tickets for multiple events at once at the Showpass site.
If the website does not load, first try using another browser. Showpass works best in Google Chrome or Firefox.
If you are having technical issues, please contact Showpass by clicking the speech bubble in the lower right-hand corner of their webpage.
If you have any other questions, please email us at livelab@mcmaster.ca
For directions, please visit our contact page. For parking prices and more information, please visit our parking website. The closest parking lot to LIVELab is the I lot.
After 6pm and weekends, street parking is available in the Ainslee Wood East neighbourhood.
Yes, you can reach McMaster University by taking the 1A, 5, 10, or 51 HSR buses if you are within Hamilton. The closest bus stop is UNIVERSITY opposite LIFE SCIENCE (1A,5,51), or MAIN opposite EMERSON (10). Please check the HSR website for the most up to date information.
Bike racks are also available just opposite our building entrance.
You may arrive any time after the ‘Doors Open’ time. This is usually 30 minutes before the concert is set to begin.
No problem – the staff member at the door will be happy to check you in! You can find your seat at the next break in the performance.
Some performances may be appropriate for young children, but others may not. If you have any questions about whether the concert is appropriate for young children, please contact us at livelab@mcmaster.ca
In the very rare event of university closure due to inclement weather, concerts may be postponed or rescheduled. If this occurs, an email will be sent out to the email address provided at the time of purchase and the cancellation will also be posted on our website and social media.
If the concert is cancelled, we will issue a full refund to all ticket-holders.
If the concert is postponed, your tickets for the original date will automatically apply to the rescheduled concert date. If you are not able to make the rescheduled date, please email livelab@mcmaster.ca up to three days before the rescheduled concert to secure a refund.
There is no need to bring a physical printed ticket. Please simply come to the door and state the name that was given at the time of purchase.
Yes. Please give your friend a printed or emailed version of the ticket. Or they can come to the door and pick up the ticket under the name that was given at the time of purchase.
Unfortunately, we are not able to refund tickets, but tickets can be used by friends or family. Guests simply need to give the name of the ticket-buyer at the door.
If you are here for a concert in our LIVELab Concert Series, there may be a cash bar in the lobby before the concert, during the intermission, and/or after the concert. If you are here for a study or experiment, there will likely not be a cash bar available.
Please note that drinks are not allowed in the auditorium due to the sensitivity of the technology in the auditorium. Please note there will be NO exceptions to this rule.
We would love to host you for a LIVELab visit! We host public tours every month. For upcoming tour dates please contact us at livelab@mcmaster.ca
We hope so! Visit this page to join our participant pool or sign up for our newsletter and we will let you know when there is a study you are eligible for.