Music Education over Distance

Key issues for audio system configuration
By Dan Nyberg and Jan Berg
Department of Music and Media, Luleå University of Technology

Abstract
As communication technology advances, the opportunity of applying it in different contexts arises. A challenging context is music education over large distances where music education could be available for a range of people that would not be able to attain it otherwise. In order to enable a successful communication, the technical quality criteria for professional musical education over distance have to be known. This paper will review these quality criteria; what they are when focusing on the perceived audio quality and the limitations of the systems used. Also results from a paper survey conducted in a master class will be presented. The review shows that the major criteria found to be necessary for musical educations include; Audio quality of minimum 16 bit word length and a sampling frequency of 44.1 kHz (CD standard) for the music’s dynamics; minimum of two-channel stereo for accurate position of sound sources; full frequency range (20 Hz–20 kHz) for tone quality; near total synchronization of audio to video (lip-sync) as well as low delay between sender and receiver for interactivity and for rhythm practices. The major limitations are: teleconferencing systems designed for speech; inadequate echo cancellation; slow internet connections and large delay induced by the system configuration between sender and receiver. Further research is also proposed to investigate if these criteria change depending on the type of musical education performed and if haptic responses can further enhance music education over distance.

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