An online audio alignment tool for live musical performance

Alignment of live audio material with a recorded interpretation of the same piece is a growing interest in computer music research. We present an implementation of a modified online dynamic time warping algorithm for live music performance in the form of a new Max/MSP¹ external object. The tool tracks key points in the musician´s playing in order to start and finish in time with the incoming audio and maintain temporal synchronization throughout, despite variations or mistakes in the live musician´s input. We examine the present algorithm´s alignment performance using a representative set of pairs of audio material, and compare the results to existing related algorithms. We demonstrate the applicability of the tool in a real musical situation and propose directions for future development.