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Virtual Ensemble Course Model

The art of using virtual sessions and remote recording to create a live collaborative effect has been in practice industry-wide for many years making the necessary skills indispensable to all working musicians. While these concepts are not new to our present circumstances, the investment made now to acquire the knowledge and necessary gear will prove invaluable as we now enter new definitions of work and “gigs” The virtualized model for our ensemble courses will involve a balance of periodic virtual meetings and online collaborative recording projects.

Unfortunately, the technicalities of sustaining live, real-time performance collaborations are not yet fully reliable or feasible (see bottom of page). Directors will, therefore, rely instead on virtual class meetings to lecture, provide examples, offer feedback, hold class discussions, and to cover assignments. Ensemble classes can engage in virtual recording projects to learn and collaborate, together. Therefore, in addition to the standard jazz curriculum, the course objectives will also now emphasize the development of critical technical skills such as mic technique, multitrack audio creation, and associated recording technologies.

Online Multitracking

“BandLab for Education“, a uniform online multitrack audio platform, has been selected for its ease of use and compatibility, acting as a type of online “GarageBand”, of sorts. The system will allow recording projects to be assigned to students to collect and assemble tracks from the ensemble to form a mix. Student “Mix Assistants” will also be elected and assigned to each small ensemble to help directors with technical aspects, such as collecting and vetting student submissions. These recordings can be used for in-class learning as well as to create recorded concert material to share. Invitation links to join BandLab will be sent to students and faculty members at the start of the semester.

Large Ensembles

The JE1 and Mingus ensembles should plan mid-October and semester-end concert performances, as normally offered, consisting of at least 3 selections, each. The suggested model for such ensembles that meet twice a week is to include at least one weekly live call meeting combined with ongoing recording assignments. JE1, Mingus Ensemble, and Chamber Jazz 1 will use BandLab to facilitate student recordings. For fall 2020, it is suggested that a minimum of 2 weeks per selection be allocated to fully refine audio and video content, as follows:

Selection 1

Concert A

Rough Tracks – Week of 9/7
Refine Tracks – Week of 9/14

Concert B

Rough Tracks – Week of 10/19
Refine Tracks – Week of 10/26

Selection 2

Concert A

Rough Tracks – Week of 9/21
Refine Tracks – Week of 9/28

Concert B

Rough Tracks – Week of 11/2
Refine Tracks – Week of 11/9

Selection 3

Concert A

Rough Tracks – Week of 10/5
Refine Tracks – Week of 10/12
Final Mix & Concert – Week of 10/19

Concert B

Rough Tracks – Week of 11/16
Refine Tracks – Week of 11/30
Final Mix & Concert – Week of 12/7

Chamber and Alternate Large Ensembles

Smaller ensembles should endeavor to produce 4 to 5 project recordings up to the Midterm timeframe. Then, post-Midterm efforts should concentrate toward refining 2 final recorded selections for use in semester-end recital offerings. The suggested model for such ensembles that meet once a week is to include weekly live call meetings combined with ongoing recording assignments. It is recommended that chamber ensembles also utilize BandLab for their recording projects.

Creating a Live Ensemble Effect

As mentioned, reproducing a live ensemble effect using remote means has become an industry standard that every contemporary musician should gain experience in. The jazz program seeks to leverage this opportunity to cover essential techniques in this area.

With the help of student Mix Assistants, each ensemble first creates a “scratch” reference track for each selection. Scratch tracks can be generated using virtual instrument software, or by using pre-recorded backing tracks, typically with a click track added, as well.

The scratch track is distributed first to rhythm section members who fully replace them with their own rough tracks to create a foundation, followed by rough tracks from remaining ensemble members. Because the goal in this virtualized environment is to recreate the nuances experienced in performing live, it is best to allow lead players to create tracks first in which other players can follow. This allows the lead players to dictate phrasing and articulations as they normally would.

Replacing rough tracks eventually with refined tracks further allows the ensemble to respond to each other in a more natural way which could not be anticipated, otherwise. For instance, rhythm players can better respond to inflections and nuances of the ensemble when recording their refined tracks, which would not have been possible initially.

To maximize this process, the following 2-Week track-order model is suggested for a given large ensemble:

“ROUGH” Tracking (Week 1)
  1. (Mon) Tech creates reference tracks with click, shares with ensemble
  2. (Tue) Add ROUGH Rhythm tracks
  3. (Wed) Add ROUGH Lead Horns (1st Trumpet, 1st Trombone, 1st Alto, 1st Tenor)
  4. (Thu) Add ROUGH Bass Horns (Bari Sax, Bass Trombone)
  5. (Fri) Add ROUGH remaining Horns (omit solos)
“REFINED” Tracking with Video (Week 2)
  1. (Mon) Add REFINED Bass Horns (Bari Sax, Bass Trombone)
  2. (Tue) Add REFINED Lead Horns (1st Trumpet, 1st Trombone, 1st Alto, 1st Tenor)
  3. (Wed) Add REFINED remaining Horns and any Horn Solos
  4. (Thu) Add REFINED Guitar, Piano, and Bass (including any Solos)
  5. (Fri) Add REFINED Drums (including any Solos)

Weekend: Final Mix

A Word About Live, Real-Time Collaboration

We all want to get back together and create music together in the same room again. Till then, there’s been much talk and progress regarding the ability to collaborate over the internet to support real-time performances, as well. Various solutions do exist, but the ongoing nemesis of internet latency abounds and we’re still waiting for a standardized and refined solution to fully surface. The systems that are currently available hold some potential, but the internet viability of our day still does not do justice to the grandeur of most solutions. At the moment, a live collaboration platform that truly works and is universally usable and practical for all involved is yet to be availed, particularly one that a music curriculum could fully depend on.

Current solutions?

JamKazam

The free service is still running, but the company no longer exists (interesting …). Smaller combos have had success with JamKazam, but there is no support available and apparently no future.

NINJAM

NINJAM is a free open-source (GPL) software package, so it will have its installation and support challenges. Instead of minimizing latency, NINJAM uses a unique approach by delaying audio to the next measure in such way that each participant actually perceives the audio in real-time – thus, zero latency. However, to make this work, performances must be done in a controlled, synchronized manner (such as a strict click) which may not cater well to jazz environments.

ejamming

A paid service that appears to hold promise, if you want to shell out a few $$ for a subscription. Again, useful perhaps for a small number of connected users, only.

JackTrip

Another free open-source platform that holds great promise but currently depends on an internet-utopia that doesn’t quite exist yet. Its support for extremely low latency connections and the potential to host a larger number of members makes JackTrip stand out from the group. With all the interest being generated, we’ve created an entire analysis of JackTrip, here.