Online Jamming

The OHS Jazz Band uses experimental software pioneered by Stanford professor Dr. Chris Chafe and the Stanford Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics that allows for high quality musical collaboration over the internet.

Software

We use two pieces of free, open-source software: Jacktrip and JACK. Jacktrip is a command-line program that sends and receives the audio signals over the internet. JACK is a program for routing audio signals inside a computer. We use the software to route audio from one band member’s instrument across the internet and into another band member’s speakers and vice versa.

Hardware

The hardware components of the online jamming setup are those needed for capture, playback, and quick transmission of audio locally. These include microphones, speakers, appropriate cables, and, particularly, a wired Ethernet connection and external soundcard. An Ethernet connection is required for speed and clarity of signal between the computer and the web, and an external soundcard is needed to process audio as quickly as possible (the soundcards built into computers are not effective enough for this specialized task).

The Setup

Setting up the online jamming technology can be difficult since the software is experimental. If you are interested in the technology or having trouble, Let’s Talk.

The Stanford OHS Jazz Band

at Stanford University Online High School

The band uses open-source experimental software to transmit uncompressed audio over the internet fast enough that latency is reduced below human perception,

allowing musicians in geographically distant locations to play music

synchronously over the internet

as if they were in the same room.

It all started when . . .

I wanted to find a way to play music with my classmates. Attending an online high school has many benefits (friends from literally all over the world) but it is kind of hard to jam together. Traditional software like Skype or Zoom has a lag between when I play a note and when the person on the other end hears it. The lag makes it impossible to play music together. So I found a way to use experimental software to reduce the lag below human perception. In 2017 I founded The OHS Jazz Band and now my classmates and I can jam together!

In 2018 the Director of Student Life selected me as a Club Leader with Distinction for my leadership of the band.

Summer @ Stanford

mini-course

Each summer, Stanford OHS students journey to the Stanford campus for two weeks to live and learn together. In August 2018 and 2019, along with Dr. Gary Oas, I co-taught the mini-course The OHS Jazz Band / Online Jamming Technology at the annual Summer @ Stanford camp. Dr. Oas and I wrote the course proposal, created the curriculum, and instructed students in jazz performance and the experimental software used by the band for synchronous over-the-internet rehearsal. Since I was most familiar with the experimental software, I solo taught that portion of the course. The OHS Jazz Band concluded the camps with final performances at the annual Talent Show.