Live Music in Second Life How to perform musically in Second Life

Rich Palmer performing in Second Life as Rich Desoto

Music is a social art form, created and enjoyed by people alone and in groups. People want to share music and virtual environments are 3D spaces on the Internet where they can share the experience of music together.

What's it like? The technology replicates the experience of going to see and hear a live musical performance in the company of others. People at a musical event in Second Life can talk with each other about the music, express their feelings about it, and react to it together.

Second Life residents not only can find shared social experiences, but they can search for a musical subculture that matches their tastes. For instance, a Second Life resident in North Carolina can experience a live performance by an artist in Tokyo at the same moment as other persons scattered around the world experience it.

Streaming. Second Life live music performances are social events with music played live and streamed in experienced simultaneously all by those gathered at a venue. As a musician is performing, the audience is experiencing and sharing the performance together.

While a person's avatar is dancing in the virtual world, the person behind that avatar could be speaking to others attending the same performance from all over the world. Conversations can occur even more readily than they might at a real life music venue.

Feedback. The artist also can chat easily with the audience. During a performance, the audience often will react verbally to a striking part of a song. Whether at a virtual nightclub, public house, discotheque, concert hall or festival, a live performance becomes interactive and participatory.

Distance to a music venue is not a barrier. A Second Life resident can move from one club to another simply by using the search index, finding a place offering a desired music genre, and clicking the teleport button. At the destination, the resident will share the musical experience there with others who are engaged at the new location.

Second Life artists have been recognized in:

YouTube MySpace Facebook Flickr SL Music Wikipedia

Wired magazine New World Notes CNN iReports The Gardian U.K. The Los Angeles Times The New York Times

How to perform as a musician in Second Life:

Second Life Wiki – Overview of Music in Second Life Second Life Wiki – Outfitting Your Virtual Live Musician Second Life Wiki – Streaming Your Music Into Second Life Second Life Wiki – Live Performances Second Life Wiki – Promoting Your Music Second Life Wiki – Music Streams Genres Second Life Wiki – Destination Guide Best Music in Second Life

Resources for Courses index » © 2011 Dr. Anthony Curtis, Mass Communication Department, University of North Carolina at Pembroke    910.521.6616    e-mail    home page
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