Virtual London Improvisation Workshop

Basic instructions

The Virtual Workshop takes place on Mondays from 8:30 PM to 10 PM (or a bit later) UK time, and will continue until further notice. It's hosted by the London Improvisation Workshop.

Please use Google Chrome browser (Firefox appears to work, but if one person uses it, connection quality is reduced for everyone).

Please connect to this link (same as below) by 8:25 so you can soundcheck.

If there is a large number of participants, we will split the Workshop into multiple sessions.

Make sure you have read everything on this page, including the checklist.

How to participate

• Go to The Virtual Workshop
• Mouse to the bottom of the screen to bring up the menu
• On the bottom right, select the three dots, and choose "Manage video quality". Set the quality to "Low definition". This improves sound quality.
• On the bottom left, select the third icon from the left to open the chat window. Enter your name. This is so you can ask questions if you need to.
• You can choose your microphone or sound input by selecting the three dots on the lower right, then "Settings".
• Make sure your camera is working, as we rely on visual cues to organise the Workshop.

Getting the best results

Familiarise yourself with jitsi, by clicking here well before the workshop, or on another day.

Wear headphones. If you cannot hear yourself in them, remove them from one ear.

Get as close to your microphone as possible. An external microphone (even a cheap one) will usually be much better than the computer's built in mic. Many digital recorders can be used as a usb mic.

If your room has an echo (eg, no carpet), this will make it difficult for others to respond to your playing, especially if you are far from the microphone.

If you are using an electronic instrument that can be directly plugged into your computer, select this using step five above, and switch back to microphone for talking.

Playing instructions

In the virtual Workshop, we all hear each other by an electronic mixing process, and getting your instrument level right is important. When it's your turn to play, please read these instructions before you start:

• Switch to the mosaic view of participants, so you can easily see those you are playing with. This is done by clicking the "four squares" icon on the bottom right of the interface.
• Each participant's sound level is indicated by a vertical row of blue dots on the left of their image.
• Be visually aware of these dots while playing. If your level is indicated as being very high, and the others are much lower, or not appearing, play quieter.
• The loudest participant always has their video frame highlighted by an outline. This should ideally switch between participants from time to time.
• If your frame is constantly highlighted for more than fifteen seconds, it means you're much too loud.

CHECK LIST

• Use Google Chrome web browser, even if another browser appears to work
• Wear headphones, remove them from one ear when you are playing

Thanks to Mirei Ya, Emmanuelle Waeckerle and Tony Hardie-Bick for establishing the Virtual Workshop!

Download a pdf version of this page here