A High-Fidelity Orchestra Simulator for Individual Musicians’ Practice

Abstract

We developed the Open Orchestra system to provide individual musicians with a high-fidelity experience of ensemble rehearsal or performance, combined with the convenience and flexibility of solo study. This builds on the theme of an immersive orchestral simulator that also supports the pedagogical objective of instructor feedback on individual recordings, as needed to improve one's performance. Unlike previous systems intended for musical rehearsal, Open Orchestra attempts to offer both an auditory and a visual representation of the rest of the orchestra, spatially rendered from the perspective of the practicing musician. We review the objectives and architecture of our system, describe the functions of our digital music stand, discuss the challenges of generating the media content needed for this system, and describe provisions for offering feedback during rehearsal.

Trade-offs in Coordination Strategies for Networked Jazz Performances

“…Trade-offs in coordination strategies for networked jazz performances _________________________________________________________________________________ significantly lower than the inherent audio latency reported in previous studies (e.g. Olmos et al, 2009;Rottondi et al, 2015). This value is not included in the reported results as it is likely perceptually sub-threshold (Grant et al, 2004).…”

“…This variable delay poses significant challenges for successfully coordinating joint action in various forms of time-dependent communication such as spoken conversation (Aagaard, 2022;Boland et al, 2022) and interactive music-making (Chafe et al, 2010;Chew et al, 2005;Rottondi et al, 2015). Network latency impedes the alignment of temporal models and precludes the extreme rhythmic synchrony that is typical of ensemble playing; networked performances have correspondingly been associated with decreased ratings of performance quality and reduced connectedness with co-performers compared to face-to-face music-making (Bartlette et al, 2006;Monache et al, 2019;_________________________________________________________________________________ Olmos et al, 2009). Moreover, unlike speech interaction, in musical performance action and interaction are generally organized around a continuous temporally periodic pulse (London, 2012), which is highly susceptible to disruption by latency and jitter.…”

Active Scores: Representation and Synchronization in Human–Computer Performance of Popular Music

“…Computer accompaniment (Dannenberg and Raphael 2006;MakeMusic 2013) cannot synchronize to performances with significant amounts of improvisation. Fixed media approaches such as Open Orchestra (Olmos et al 2012) do not adjust tempo to synchronize to live musicians. Conducting systems (Katayose and Okudaira 2004) require the full attention of a human conductor to manage synchronization with live musicians.…”

The Internet of Sounds: Convergent Trends, Insights, and Future Directions

“…The ongoing Sars-CoV-2 pandemic has significantly fostered their development, due to the sudden need to support the daily activities of musicians and music schools while adhering to social distancing rules enforced during lockdowns. Literature from the past two decades also reports a wide range of demonstrations of networked musical performances (some recent examples include [56]- [58]).…”