July 21st, 2007
Virtual choir singing on the Web
A computer scientist of the University of Manchester wants to combine his knowledge of networks and his love for choral singing to create Europe’s first Virtual Choir. Dr. Barry Cheetham ‘is looking for funding to drive forward a project that will bring together amateur and semi-professional singers across Europe for seamless and polished live performances.’ But in order to make such live performances possible, Cheetham has to address the limitations of existing communications networks. He needs ‘ultra broadband’ networks, able to deliver sound and images with far less delays than current Internet services.
On the photograph above, you can see Dr. Barry Cheetham singing for a Web audience (Credit: Dr. Barry Cheetham research group). Here are several links to a larger version of this photo, another one to a set of 4 photos on Flickr about this project and to a slide show of these pictures. [Caution: Please mute your speakers before clicking on the above links.]
This project is the brainchild of Dr. Barry Cheetham, a senior lecturer in the School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester. He works in the Advanced Processor Technologies Group and sings in the University of Manchester Chorus which was established in 1936, a long time before computers start to be part of our daily lives.
But what are the challenges facing this project? They are of two kinds. The first one has to deal with technology. “If there is too much delay, the ‘real time’ interactive experience of singing in a choir will not be achieved. The voices travelling down the wires will need to be processed and digitised quickly to achieve the required high sound quality. The voices will also need to be accurately merged to give the impression all the singers are together in one concert hall.
The second one has more psychological aspects. “Other challenges include discovering how a conductor can control and rehearse a choir made up of people in different locations and how singers can be made to feel as if they are interacting with fellow performers.”
So what are the current goals of the project? “The planned study will focus on classical and popular choral music, hymns and carols. It could include schools, church choirs and congregations of any denomination. At the moment there are no plans to include professional orchestras and Internet-based rock and pop bands in the study, as even lower levels of delay are likely to be required.”
If Cheetham is successful, what can we expect from this initiative? “This project has the potential to bring European people together and the possibility of doing this electronically to form a choir is exciting and worthwhile. Enabling older and disabled people to participate in the activity is also one of our goals.”
Anyway, we will all benefit from faster networks. And it’s interesting to note that Cheetham thinks that such a project can be successful in a small geographical area such as Europe. “The geographical distances and the speed of electrical transmission lead us to believe the low delay needed may be achievable within Europe but not further afield.”
I’m not sure he can succeed, but Cheetham hopes that his ‘Virtual Choir’ initiative will drive the future development of Internet communications.
Sources: University of Manchester, July 19, 2007; and various websites
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