UTS Sydney Assoc Prof Bert Bongers

Eva Saether & Per Skold Malmo Sweden Matt Thibeault from University of Illinois Urbana Champaign USA and Doctoral student Melanie Matchett Tim Kitchen Strathcona Melbourne Australia Alex Ruthmann & Tony Beatrice University of Massachusetts Lowell USA

Thorin Kerr development programmer for ACID's Network Jamming project has developed a unique approach for using the One Laptop Per Child OLPC XO ccomputer as a musical instrument. Jam2jam presents a band or ensemble metaphor for collaborative music making with computers. Thorin and the Network Jamming team have developed a suite of software applications that allow novice users to plays the computer or a controller as an instrument in a live real time ensemble. For the XO Thorin has made good use of the Sugar environment to create a network jamming experience. Players can use bass, guitar, drums and keyboards by simply moving the arrow keys horizontally and vertically. These gestures affect a pitch and density algorithm and a musical style and sound samples for each instrument.

Jammers can then play together by joining the jam host and their instruments syncronise over the Mesh network.

What is exciting about this is that each computer acts as a single instrument and the Jammers can play collaboratively as aband or ensemble in real time. The idea of the computers as a distributed intelligence rises up in the design whilst it provides an experience design that activates the collaborative energy of music ensemble collaboration and creative improvisation.

We are looking forward to developing some visual features suing the inbuilt camera and engaging interested musicians in developing some Jam scenes as musical styles with new midi files and instrument samples alongside some recipes for jamming.