Networked Music Performance and Interactive Systems
Summary
Networked music performance encompasses the real-time collaboration of musicians, audiences and interactive devices across distributed networks. By leveraging advances in broadband, wireless and edge computing technologies, practitioners have developed systems that enable low-latency audio exchange, synchronised ensemble playing and immersive virtual environments. This multidisciplinary field draws on psychoacoustics, network engineering, human–computer interaction and interface design to address the twin challenges of temporal precision and expressive control. Innovative applications range from remote rehearsals and virtual orchestras to participatory concerts in which audiences contribute via smartphones and wearables. Underpinned by the Internet of Musical Things, these interactive systems are reshaping how music is created, taught and experienced, with profound implications for global collaboration, accessibility and the future of live performance.
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Networked Music Performance and Interactive Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in networked music performance and interactive systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Networked Music Performance (NMP): A system enabling geographically dispersed musicians to perform together in real time over a network.
Internet of Musical Things (IoMusT): A networked ecosystem of devices embedded in physical objects for producing and receiving musical content.
Latency: The time delay between audio signal transmission and reception affecting synchronisation.
Jitter: Variability in packet arrival times that undermines steady audio playback.
Interaction Topologies: Abstract patterns describing how participants and devices connect and exchange information in networked music systems.
References
- An Overview on Networked Music Performance Technologies. IEEE Access (2017).
- Internet of Musical Things: Vision and Challenges. IEEE Access (2018).
- The Internet of Sounds: Convergent Trends, Insights, and Future Directions. IEEE Internet of Things Journal (2023).
- Latency and Reliability Analysis of a 5G-Enabled Internet of Musical Things System. IEEE Internet of Things Journal (2023).
- Interaction Topologies in Mobile‐Based Situated Networked Music Systems. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing (2019).
- Large-scale audience participation in live music using smartphones. Journal of New Music Research (2020).
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