SuperConductor

Welcome to SuperConductor!

SuperConductor is a web application that provides performance rooms to play digital instruments together, in realtime, over the Internet.

Performing music online with other people is challenging due to latency over the Internet. SuperConductor minimizes that latency to provide a way to play with friends and jam with your band - as though you were all in the same room together. Using any MIDI-capable instrument - such as a digital piano, synth keyboard, or drum set, for example - you can perform with up to 6 other people over the internet in realtime.

There are two main features to try.

• Live: Play and improvise together with your friends live. Jam the way you would as if you were in a studio space together.
• Play: Select different instrumental parts in a MIDI song and play them in realtime together, as SuperConductor performs the remaining instruments for you. When you finish playing your part in the song, view your performance stats and compare them with your bandmates.

Jump into a room and start playing now! Or keep reading for more instructions.

Quick Start

There are two main ways to play and jam on SuperConductor: Live and Play.

• Live: In Live mode, you can improvise or play anything you want; either solo or with other people online. Press the Live tab (right-side menu) to begin.
• Play: In Play mode, you can select a song, select an instrument part, and then play along to that song. Other people online can play other instrument parts with you, and SuperCondcutor will play all of the remaining other parts. Press the Play tab (right-side menu) to begin.

Setup

Connect any MIDI controller (such as a MIDI keyboard, drumkit, guitar or wind controller), or use your computer keyboard, to play in SuperConductor. Ensure your MIDI device's input is listed in the MIDI In dropdown in the header bar above. If your MIDI device is also capable of outputting audio (e.g. digital pianos, keyboards, or MIDI sound modules) you can set it to receive MIDI data by selecting it in the MIDI Out dropdown.

Step 1: Join a room.

If you'd like to play solo, or play with other people online, you can do so by either:

• joining a public room
• joining a private room with an invitation from someone via a shared website URL
• creating and inviting others to join your private room

Step 2: Select the Mode you'd like to play in.

Select Live Mode or Play Mode in the right-side menu.

Step 3: Select your playback instrument.

The left side of the window contains a list of panels of all the users in the room, including you. Click the dropdown menu in the middle of your panel to select the instrument you'd like to hear when you perform.

(Ensure your panel does not have Mute button ("M") enabled so that you can hear your instrument. Also ensure the transmit and receive buttons are enabled (the two buttons with up/down arrows) so that you send and receive MIDI notes to other people in the room.)

If you're in Live Mode, you can stop reading this guide here and start playing!

Step 4: (Play Mode only): Select the song you want to play along with.

(From here on down applies only to Play Mode.)

Select Song Setup submenu under Play.

Select the song you'd like to play. This will load the MIDI file for that song into the main window.

All the tracks in this song will be listed on the right side of the screen. To change the instrument that a track will play, click the dropdown menu and select a new instrument.

(To go back to the list of songs, press the back button to the left of the song's title bar.)

Step 5: Select the part you want to play.

Select Part Select submenu under Play.

There will be a horizontal list of parts, presented as information panels, available to play for the song. There is a thumbnail summary of the MIDI notes for the part in the main window of each panel, as well as some stats for that part below. Click the Select button to choose that part to play.

After selecting a part to play, ensure that the playback instrument you want to hear is still a good choice for this part. If not, review Step 3 above.

Step 6: Play along to the song.

Select Play Along submenu under Play.

You will see the piano roll at the bottom of the screen.

Press the Play button (or press space bar) to begin your performance.

When playback begins, vertical lines (symbolizing notes to play and their durations) will descend toward the piano roll. When a vertical line descends far enough to touch the top of the piano roll, play that note.

As you play, you will see real-time feedback on your accuracy and timing, as well as the number of consecutive notes you have played correctly in a sequence without any errors.

Step 7: Review performance statistics.

When the song is done (or you've stopped playback), select Review submenu under Play. Observe the statistics of your and everyone else's performances.