TeleJamming

So, I came up with this idea, it's called TeleJamming, which is when you play music with other people when you're not physically with them, from possibly distant locations, using a computer and the internet. I'm not quite sure of the usability and quality we could achieve using today's technology and average internet connection speed, but it could work, at least in theory.

Here I'll outline the initial technology design for enabling TeleJamming. Everything is based in an application that must run on your computer, be connected to the internet, and be able to listen to your instrument. The interface will closely resemble a digital mixer. It will take audio input, both directly from your instrument input and from other players. It will allow you to adjust levels, record, and playback. And it will allow you to listen, in real time, to other players.

There will be one person playing the role of producer, and zero or more persons playing role of player. The producer has control over the mixer, including levels, recording, and playback. The role of producer may be passed to a player, but only one person at a time can be a producer. A player simply plays their instrument.

There will be 3 basic modes of operation; jam mode, record mode, and playback mode. In jam mode, all players will be able to hear each other. This is primarily to synchronize playing, and is not used for recording purposes because it is in a low quality audio format because of bandwidth limitations. In recording mode, each player's computer will record their own audio stream in a high quality audio format and transfer it to the producer after recording is completed. Playback mode is similar to jam mode, but a recording is played back from the producer which is heard by the players.

In jam and playback mode, the SIP prodocol with a high quality audio codec will be used in a way similar to a teleconference bridge. Video could also be used over SIP, but might not be possible because of bandwidth limitations and the importance of the high quality and low latency requirements of the audio channel.

There are also features that could be added to allow multiple players on the same computer or to allow players to record their portion ahead of time and can be used by the producer during live recording.

One major barrier of entry could be that each player must be able to capture their instrument's audio on their computer. This is not always an easy task and usually requires more equipment than people usually have, such as a microphone or a quality recording device.

This is not meant to replace studio recording. The primary use, as I see it, is in jam mode. What I think is great about it is it will let you connect up with old friends who moved away or allow you to collaborate with people you would never be able to play with in person. I think the technology is all there, the only real new part is the use of VoIP to interact in real time with other players.