01. What is a Drum Circle?
02. What do I need to have to participate in the drum circle?
03. I have never played any musical instruments before. Does it require musical background to participate?
04. Why a "telematic" drum circle?
05. Why robots? Why robot-played instruments?
06. Why do you ask for my email address? Will I get spam?
07. How many people can participate in the Telematic Drum Cirpcle at the same time?
08. What happen if more than 16 people trying to participate at the same time?
09. If nobody plays the instruments, what happens?
10. Can I choose any of the percussion instruments prepared at the installation site?
11. How do I know if the robot I chose is playing the drum well?
12. How do a group of participants get started playing together, when we are all in different locations?
13. Can I keep the video and audio files of the drum circle I participated?
14. Will I be able to hear and be fully immersed in the end result?
15. Why did you have on-site participation? Why do you value both on-site and online participation?
01. What is a Drum Circle?
According to Mickey Hart: "The Drum Circle is a huge jam session. The ultimate goal is not precise rhythmic articulation or perfection of patterned structure, but the ability to entrain and reach the state of a group mind." In the words of Arthur Hull: "The Drum Circle is a fun entry-level learning experience that is accessible to anyone who wants to participate. Drum Circle participants express themselves collectively by using a chorus of tuned drums, percussion, and vocals to create a musical
song together while having a great time."
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02. What do I need to have to participate in the drum circle?
A computer with Internet access and a speaker are required.
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03. I have never played any musical instruments before. Does it require musical background to participate?
No musical experience necessary. We all have a heart beat and therefore, we all have rhythm. That's all you need.
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04. Why a "telematic" drum circle?
A general drum circle which is a very good tool for unity requires only on-site participation. Other people from different regions can not participate in this great event. Therefore, I thought what if I can create a virtual environment anyone from any locations can enjoy the drum circle with anybody at any time.
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05. Why robots? Why robot-played instruments?
Human players obviously can not play drums for the entire period of Telematic Drum Circle without a break time.
Technically, robots do not play the instruments. The online participants play them telematically. The robots receive the data from the online participants, and enact the data.
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06. Why do you ask for my email address? Will I get spam?
The email addresses are needed for security reasons. The email address is NEVER revealed to anyone. You can ensure that we will not reveal your address to any spammers.
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07. How many people can participate in the Telematic Drum Circle at the same time?
Currently, sixteen people can participate in this event at any given time. (The number of robot-played instruments may be increased in near future.)
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08. What happen if more than 16 people trying to participate at the same time?
The seventeenth person’s name will be appeared on the online users list which will be shown at the left side of the participation section of the web interface. If anybody leaves the participation section, the seventeenth person can grab a drum newly available. It is a first-come, first-serve basis.
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09. If nobody plays the instruments, what happens?
Currently, the system does nothing if no one plays. In the near future, however, we are planning to implement an artificial inteligence component in the main control system, so if nobody plays the instruments for 5 minutes, then the computer will start playing basic rhythms depending on the situations. If a participant starts to play one of them again, the computer will gradually stop playing the rhythms.
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10. Can I choose any of the percussion instruments prepared at the installation site?
Yes, you can choose any percussion instruments, as long as other participants are not currently using it. The graphical user interface will show you which drums are taken or not taken in real time.
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11. How do I know if the robot I chose is playing the drum well?
You can see the robot via the live streaming video and audio broadcasted in the participation page of the website. So you will be able to know if you're drum is executing your command well.
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12. How do a group of participants get started playing together, when we are all in different locations?
Instead of using verbal languages, the aim of this project is to explore the nonverbal global language of 'rhythm'. In the near future, however, an intelligent moderating component implemented in the main system will guide participants to create successful musical improvisations through using new iconographic messages superimposed on the live video screen.
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13. Can I keep the video and audio files of the drum circle I participated?
Curently, we are developing an automatic AV recording/editing algorithm which will be implemented in the main system. If the development is completed, when you leave from the participation section, you will receive an email including a URL to visit an archive webpage automatically created. If you visit the webpage through the email, you can download all your files generated to your computer and/or smartphone. You can also enjoy other peoples' music through the search engine.
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14. Will I be able to hear and be fully immersed in the end result?
Regarding this question, I would like to talk about the potential limit of online participation and some possibilities. I have been focusing on the potential limit of online experience, which means online participants cannot feel the exactly same experience with real playing instruments. However, we have a history of satisfaction with technologies that provide virtual contact, such as in computer games where online players can fly freely and kill devils in an imaginative 3D world, and also in listening to music
through MP3 players instead of attending a concert. Cutting-edge technologies and future sciences also have potential limits, yet we are still satisfied with webcam chats and cell phone conversations despite some of their technological issues, as a result of what the successes of technology. Therefore, I believe this is sort of a recreational game - Telematic Drum Circle, it has the same potential limits. But the Telematic Drum circle also has an intuitive musical interface and a video streaming system with
a well organized video algorithm and high quality sound that can give participants an immersive experience and a satisfactory level of participation.
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15. Why did you have on-site participation? Why do you value both on-site and online participation?
In the drum circle, there is no audience. Everyone, including on-site visitors, is part of the performance. I do not want to exclude on-site visitors in this improvisational sound performance. Some of the visitors may play the prepared instruments or play a plastic water bottle turned upside down with the neck cut off or hit two sticks together. Other people may participate through standing outside the circle and listening while tapping their feet and clapping along with the music. The important point in
this project is having a non-verbal dialogue among participants toward harmony without any exclusion.
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