Integrated Composition, Improvisation and Technology (ICIT)

In this study we combined empirical data about latency (delays) inherent in the transmission of information via the Internet with psychoacoustic information about the ability of musical performers to synchronize their playing and discern independent musical events. We used this information to determine the feasibility of conducting networked musical performances over local-area networks (LANs), wireless localareanetworks (WLANs), and even wide-areanetworks (WANs), including performance ofmusic that requires relatively tight synchrony of events. The experimental psychoacoustic and performance data we collected implies that successful rhythmically-synchronized networkedperformances can occur if the network latency is less than the time needed to perceive musical events as simultaneous, and less than the ability of the players to synchronize. These stipulations were usually met in performances involving MIDI transmission between two locations thatare less than 400 miles apart (where network latency is below about 20 ms). In a future article we will detail the latency characteristics of networked performances involving transmission of audio streams, In this article we restrict our discussion to MIDI streams, which is far less demanding of network bandwidth. By conducting our tests on commonly available hardware and software, we have shown that networked performances are accessible to both household users and university performers alike.