CollaborationTech

Ninjam

 * http://ninjam.com/ - Main Ninjam web site
 * http://www.gehrignet.de/cms/programming/ninjam.shtml - A tutorial and Gui add on for Ninjam on Linux.
 * Interesting to note: Ninjam was developed by the same folks that brought you Winamp and Reaper.

A laymans description from a layman.

Ninjam allows for people in various locations to meet in a virtual jam room. This virtual jams room does not strive for real-time collaboration. Instead it deals with network related latency not by trying to minimize it because real-time network performance is currently not attainable, instead what it does is increases it. They jokingly refer to this phenomenon as fake time on the Ninjam web site.

The idea is this - in the Ninjam client you have a Measure bar - this measure bar moves from 1 end to the other. When the measure bar has reached the end, it is sending your 'measure' to the other users in the room. What does this mean? well, it means everyone is playing 1 measure ahead of each other at all times. Huh - how does that work... Well, since everyone is playing to the same metronome beat, as long as you are in time with the metronome, you will be in time with the rest of the people in the room.

Ok Ok, your saying - so I sort of get it, but doesn't that make vocals difficult. You bet dude - it makes vocals nearly impossible in fact, unless the vocals are kind of an instrument on there own, playing an actual song in general will be difficult... This is as the name states - a Jam. But hey - you may figure it out.

Ok so you want to install the client - either follow this link for Ubuntu/Debian: :http://www.gehrignet.de/cms/programming/ninjam.shtml

Non Ubuntu/Debian can still follow that link and get the ncurses client going based on it.

IF you are using the curses client, you will want to cd into the ninjam directory, then cd into the cursesclient directory. If you haven`t already made it, type `make` (press Enter key) ... now when its done you can type:

cninjam ipaddress:port

The cool factor goes WAY up if you already have Qjackctl running (jack) because you can patch any jack aware app/instrument into the cninjam client- this includes drum machines etc.

There is a list of jam servers at: http://ninjam.com/jamfarm/index.php

Netpd: Puredata over the interwebs
http://netpd.org

an IRC conversation transcript
At the moment this is a brainstorming area until enough ideas make it formatable into a proper doc.

07:14 < _guitarman_> i was talking with sysdoc last night on collaboration - i think although we can send eachother wav files to work on, its good but there has got to be some easier methods to plan etc.

07:14  _guitarman_: interesting

07:14 < _guitarman_> ninjam is 1 thing

07:15  _guitarman_: yeah ninjam...

07:15 < _guitarman_> although the voice aspect is crap through ninjam

07:15 < _guitarman_> too long a delay - in fact, maybe its not good period

07:16 < _guitarman_> a sip or skype call would make more sense

07:16 < _guitarman_> or a broadcasted ardour session with the listeners and an irc session open.... i dont think any of these are truly hitting the mark though.. netjack is really what needs to work i think for collaboration to be really transparent

07:16  _guitarman_: just a quick thought: we shouldn't try to adapt the web to a workflow but maybe invent a way to work that suits the web

07:17 < _guitarman_> if it works in the way i imagine or hope it would

07:17 < _guitarman_> seegwen: hmmm interesting

07:17 < _guitarman_> yeoman: i dont know it - what is it?

07:18  _guitarman_: this would inevitably change the way you think of composition/creation...

07:18  _guitarman_: didn't particularly think about this but I just had this thought

07:20 < _guitarman_> seegwen: i think when i consider the current state of collaborating with a remote musician, i think the barrier is that you can't meet.. this makes it difficult to either work through a part through jamming it or discussing it

07:20 < _guitarman_> on 1 hand its easy if the 2 of you know or anticipate where things should go next in the song.. this could potentially be good and not good in some casees i imagine

07:21  _guitarman_: yes this barrier is really a big wall.

07:22 < _guitarman_> well- it should be analzyed more carefully (remote collaboration) because there are many factors... being in the same room is not possible, syncronization and sharing of files is an issue, the software you use, working on the peice at the same time for instance - mixing

07:22 < _guitarman_> its like there would needto be some kind of shared software

07:22 < _guitarman_> that you could broadcast via icecast the recording session

07:23  _guitarman_: yeah, that would be ideal

07:23 < _guitarman_> and the other person could with ease get the wav file of that, play along with it, then through soccet connections or whatever it would import back into the session at the same timestamp etc

07:23 < _guitarman_> it would be like a bridge interface to an api that is open standard

07:24 < _guitarman_> so that the recording software could write to that spec and then they would support that mode of operation

07:24 < _guitarman_> like you hit a website and it facilitates this

07:24 < _guitarman_> between the 2 of you

07:24 < _guitarman_> or more if its like that

07:25 < _guitarman_> perhaps thats what indaba is trying to do? i'bve never used it so i don't know - maybe i sholud check it out - its ust closed source so i haven't been too motivated

07:25  I think there already are some online-DAWs

07:25  Ah yes that's it, Indaba

07:25  Me neither.

07:26  Actually, I consider pertinent realtime-music-collaboration almost unachievable. I hope I'm not

07:26  right

07:27  _guitarman_: do you know the concept of "cadavre exquis"?

07:27 < _guitarman_> no whats that seegwen ?(cadavre exquis)

07:27 < _guitarman_> seegwen: btw - I think there has got to be at the very least a way to make collaborating more easy currently with the tech thats around already.

07:28 < _guitarman_> even if true realtime isn't possible.

07:28  _guitarman_: I agree

07:28 < _guitarman_> i'm going to make this its own wiki topic and see what people drop in for ideas

07:29  _guitarman_: the technology is evolving faster than I can put the pieces together in my mind

07:29  _guitarman_: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exquisite_corpse

07:29  for "cadavre exquis")

07:30 < _guitarman_> good point

07:31  Didn't read the article, but from what I know of the technique, we could find a way to adapt this to the music creation process.