Effect of Network Latency on Interactive Musical Performance

We investigate the effects of different levels of delay (or latency) on the coordination, pace and timing regularity of musicians who are in remote locations—a situation encountered in an interactive network performance. Two pairs of musicians performed two Mozart duets while isolated visually and connected through microphones and headphones. Different levels of latency (0, 20, 40, 50, 80, 100, 120, 150, and 200 ms) were introduced into the performing environment (musicians heard themselves in real time and only the other part delayed); the musicians performed the duets under these conditions and rated their musicality and level of interactivity. Although the musicians chose different strategies to handle the latency, which resulted in different levels of success in maintaining coordination, pacing and regularity, both duets were strongly affected by latency at and above 100 ms. At these levels, the musicians rated the performances as neither musical nor interactive, and they reported that they played as individuals and listened less and less to one another.