Real-time music making over the internet is possible, but requires a very specific configuration of hardware and software. Most communication platforms (Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, etc…) are not optimized for real-time communication (which you know if you've ever tried playing "together" over zoom).
The theory behind real-time low latency audio is that sound propagation in the real world takes time. When two musicians are playing together in the same room, it takes some time for the sound waves from one person's instrument to reach the ears of the other. That traversal rate is 343 meters per second, or approximately 1 foot per millisecond. Through experimentation, it has been shown that we feel like we are playing together, simultaneously, if the sound's time travel is 25 milliseconds or less.
We are deploying a low-latency audio system at MIT called SoundJack to allow MIT musicians to play together in real-time while being physically in different locations. This technology is still very new and operates at the edge of what's possible. As a result, it requires users to understand how it works in order to achieve the best results. This page provides resources to learn how SoundJack works and how you can use it to make music with your friends without being in the same room (or city!).
Check out our Canvas page for more information on LLAMIT, including instructions for setup and use.
For LLAMIT troubleshooting, join the LLAMIT slack channel https://mit-llamit.slack.com/ or email llamit@mit.edu.
Eran Egozy, Professor of the Practice in Music Technology, discusses SoundJack Low Latency Audio Technology