Effect of latency on performer interaction and subjective quality assessment of a digital musical instrument

Abstract

When designing digital musical instruments the importance of low and consistent action-to-sound latency is widely accepted. This paper investigates the effects of latency (0-20ms) on instrument quality evaluation and performer interaction. We present findings from an experiment conducted with musicians who performed on an percussive digital musical instrument with variable amounts of latency. Three latency conditions were tested against a zero latency condition, 10ms, 20ms and 10ms ± 3ms jitter. The zero latency condition was significantly rated more positively than the 10ms with jitter and 20ms latency conditions in six quality measures, emphasising the importance of not only low, but stable latency in digital musical instruments. There was no significant difference in rating between the zero latency condition and 10ms condition. A quantitative analysis of timing accuracy in a metronome task under latency conditions showed no significant difference in mean synchronisation error. This suggests that the 20ms and 10ms with jitter latency conditions degrade subjective impressions of an instrument, but without significantly affecting the timing performance of our participants. These findings are discussed in terms of control intimacy and instrument transparency.

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