Engineering Brief
Open Access
EspGrid: A Protocol for Participatory Electronic Ensemble Performance
AES Convention 133 · Paper 70 · October 2012
Abstract
EspGrid is a protocol developed to streamline the sharing of timing, code, audio, and video in participatory electronic ensembles, such as laptop orchestras. An application implementing the protocol runs on every machine in the ensemble, and a series of “thin” helper objects connect the shared data to the diverse languages that live electronic musicians use during performance (Max, ChucK, SuperCollider, PD, etc.). The protocol/application has been developed and tested in the busy rehearsal and performance environment of McMaster University’s Cybernetic Orchestra, during the project “Scalable, Collective Traditions of Electronic Sound Performance” supported by Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Arts Research Board of McMaster University.
