A Web-Based Remote Ensemble System

Music ensemble is a must in either music learning or music performance. The experience trying to play with others well helps learner a lot. However, players do not often have other players to play with together when they practice on their own. Time and distance restrict musicians to have much practice. With the advent of Web 2.0, Internet has been the best way of sharing and interchanging multimedia content. If music ensemble and network can be integrated in a platform which supports information sharing and collaborating through easy manipulation and technology of synchronization, it will be a wonderful system. Our research focuses on the issue of video synchronization on music ensemble. There are two kinds of music scores which beginning is tutti or not. If the score is tutti at the beginning, sound detection provided by Firefox Audio API is used to find the onset time automatically and a music ensemble is created. If the score is non-tutti at the beginning, automatic sound detection is not enough and users' manipulation is required. Then the system will calculate the correct initial time of every video and music can be synchronized well. We hope the system can enhance the fun of music ensemble for music players. The novel application can solve the restriction of time and remote distance and make music ensemble more flexible and practical.