Synchronization and acoustics in network performance.
Juan-Pablo Cáceres · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2008
The limitations that transmission delays impose on telecommunications are explored and used to the advantage of music making in network performances. This presentation discusses several strategies and practical applications that the SoundWIRE group at Stanford University has implemented in recent years. Performances with Belfast, New York, and Beijing are showcased. Strategies to synchronize remote musicians show how one performance can generate separate instances of a piece in different locations. The Internet’s acoustic path (i.e., the delay in the sound transmissions) is used as part of musical effects and physical models that are embedded in the network. These processes make the distance “audible” for performers and support (and sometimes extend) musical ideas that otherwise would be impractical. Finally, a project with an application to attest the quality of service (QoS) in an audio connection is presented. Remote clients can “sound-ping” to a server running the JACKTRIP application and get an idea of its quality. Different physical model instruments can be used. The longer the distance, the lower the pitch. With higher variability in the connection, vibrato is heard. This technique enables musicians to tune a link using the most appropriate and simplest tool, their ears.