There are a number of Windows compatible platforms available for online performance. These include Jamkazam, Jammr, Ninjam, and Zoom.
Two popular free(ish) Windows platforms that are relatively easy to set-up are Zoom and Jamkazam. Zoom is a popular virtual meeting platform used by a growing number of musicians recently to rehearse and perform to audiences online. Jamkazam is another platform specifically designed to facilitate the real time rehearsal and performance of musicians who may be performing considerable distances away from each other.
Zoom is often very familiar to users through its use as an online meeting platform, and therefore the initial set-up might not be challenging to some. In fact in order to get Zoom working so that musicians can interact a number of audio settings may need to be changed in order to get the most out of the platform for musical purposes. Remember Zoom was designed for conference calling, and is therefore not a dedicated musical platform, but following these points below can help get the best out of it:
- Ensuring your instrument is adequately connected to Zoom. For best quality this is usually achieved via an Audio Interface (see other IR Guides)
- Optimising call sound settings within Zoom to ensure that all the musicians can be heard as clearly as possible
Sound on Sound have written an excellent guide on using Zoom for musical activities.
Jamkazam offers much more in terms of features that will appeal to musicians, including an effective centralised online metronome click which can be turned on and off. Jamkazam offers the facility to load ‘audio’ for looping such as drum grooves, which musicians may want to ‘jam’ to in real time. It is possible to stream backing tracks to performers and to record video and multi-track audio. Jamkazam offers a very effective musician-focused experience but with all these features comes a more in-depth set-up process. Things to consider are:
- To work effectively a basic audio interface is required
- The audio set-up process takes a little time, but thankfully there is some good guidance built into the platform
- The Audio set-up process is quite challenging for users of software synthesisers
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