Join the live stream! This workshop will review a thorough representation of the currently active open source and freely available software projects that allow for networked music performance. Even prior to the pandemic, the development of tools that meet the requirements of performing music together online were growing in number; since the last year, we have seen new tools and existing ones have become more sophisticated and powerful, as a unprecedented level of attention is paid to their use and application by those musicians and music groups who traditionally work together offline.
Networked music performance has three particular demands of the technology it uses: first, the audio stream must be suitably high-quality; secondly, it must minimise interference, for example avoiding echo cancellation algorithms and unnecessary processing; thirdly it must be low-latency, where what defines low-latency exactly depends on the intention and resources of the musicians. Given these factors, the variety of applications and services available that can be used for network performance each have their own specific approach, usually born from the original intended purpose of the developer. Certain tools may, for example, focus on low-latency while others on group usability, and others on solutions where participants do not have access to broadband or 4G.
The outcome of this workshop will be that viewers who are interested in performing together over the internet will receive a comprehensive review of software tools, with the aim to select those that suit their specific needs. In addition, the tools discuss are free-to-use and, in some cases, modify. The availability of such tools leads to an expansive array of music possibilities that extends the core of music practice itself.
