A musician’s life doesn’t mainly depend on platforms like FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom. However, COVID-19 has changed everything; now people are staying at home and practicing social distancing. In times like this, collaboration with fellow musicians has become difficult. You might want to jam with your band, but it seems to be impossible. So, what can be done?
With that said, playing with your band online can be a solution. To get this done, you just need to make sure you’ve got the right setup and best online jamming software. But before that, you need to check a few things.
You guessed it right! Remote band practices heavily rely upon your and your bandmates’ internet speed and connection. If you think you can pull it over with your cellular network, then let me tell you, it won’t work.
Sound is another important factor. You can use your laptop microphone, but it won’t be that great. To get a sound without the noise, you will need to have the best audio interface. This will enhance the sound and the overall experience.
Now that we know what we require to jam, let’s learn about the best online jamming software.
10 Best Online Jamming Software – 2021
1. JamKazam – Popular Jamming Software
JamKazam is one of the great and powerful tools for musicians. To use it, you don’t need to pay anything, simply sign up and rehearse with your bandmates live in real-time. Using it, you can even record and broadcast your performance.
Features:
- Live broadcast your band via YouTube
- Take online music lessons
- Plug and play no need for a computer
- Record audio in high quality
- Play along with 4000 + songs
Further, if you are looking for an accessory that would boost the audio interface, then JamBlaster should be your go-to. This accessory offered by JamKazam will let you broadcast on YouTube. But there’s a catch, each band member will need to have their JamBlaster. All this and much more makes JamKazam one of the best online jamming software.
Official Website: https://www.jamkazam.com/
2. Jammr –Best Jamming Software To Play Online Jam Sessions
Jammr is another best online jamming software using which you can jam with your friends and bandmates over the Internet. But if there comes a situation that none of your bandmates can connect then?
In such cases, Jammr online jamming software again comes to the rescue. It allows you to connect with people around the globe.
Features:
- Allows using VST plugins
- Use any instrument or vocals
- Jam with friends or musicians across the globe
- Learn new styles
- Jam anytime you want
- Play without lag
If no one is available, you can play on your own, and when others join, you can share the same software to jam with them. Since it is in Beta, Jammr is free to use. Using it is simple, download the Jammr plugin in your microphone or instrument, create a profile, join a community. That’s it. You can now use this online jamming tool.
Official Website: https://jammr.net/download.html
3. NINIJAM
Another open-source (GPL) software that allows musicians to make real-time music via the internet. Using NINJIAM cross-platform app, every participant can hear other participants and tweak their mix as per their likings.
Features:
- Uses OGG Vorbis to compress audio
- Uses NINJAM server for streaming
- Allows recording jam if the functionality is available
- Real-time synchronization
- Record and streams synchronized intervals of music
This jamming software uses compressed audio enabling you to work with any combination of instruments. You can play, sing in real-time. Not only this, you can even play a real guitar, saxophones, and other instruments. Further, NINJAM saves original uncompressed source material allowing you to remix your music after jam.
Official Website: https://www.cockos.com/ninjam/#Downloads
4. Jamulus – Perform Jam Session Is Real-Time
Perform real-time jam sessions over the internet using Jamulus software. To collect data from Jamulus clients, this jamming software runs Jamulus server software. Once the data is collected, the Jamulus client mixes the audio data and sends the mix back to all the clients.
Features:
- Easy to use
- Works flawlessly
- Multiple options to volume sliders
- Connects to the server to make jamming easy
- Allows labeling instruments
This open-source jamming software runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Based on the Qt framework, Jamulus uses OPUS audio codes. To use this online jamming software, you need a minimum of 200 kbps of upload and download speed.
Official Website: http://llcon.sourceforge.net/
5. Soundjack
This jamming solution is different from the others we discussed so far. Soundjack allows both peer-to-peer connection and server-client connection to use it on LAN. Using it, you can even chat while jamming.
Features:
- Real-time communication system
- Offers latency and quality parameter
- Free of charge
To set up the product, you might need to take a bit of effort. For this, you can take the help of the tutorial available at the Soundjack website.
Official Website: https://www.soundjack.eu/
6. JackTrip
This is one of the best jamming software available and wasn’t popular before the pandemic made people choose online sessions. You can use this to connect to other musicians and jam with them using this online jamming software. With an old-style music player interface, it is easy to workaround.
Features:
- Good audio quality.
- Jack audio connection kit.
- Low latency between channels.
JackTrip can be used over Windows and Mac to go live online with fellow musicians.
Official Website: https://ccrma.stanford.edu/software/jacktrip/
7. Jamtaba
This online jamming software is the new place for jam sessions for musicians. This can be said as another of the best jamming software for its availability for various platforms. Jamtaba can be accessed from Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Features:
- Free online jamming software.
- Allows MIDI to sync with other gears.
- Open source making it easy for users to access.
Jamtaba lets the users play and mix the audio while communicating with each other in the same place.
Official Website: https://jamtaba-music-web-site.appspot.com/
8. Cleanfeed
Cleanfeed can be used as the online jamming software for budding musicians. It is a live session recording service. Here you can specifically work on your audio and radio production. Only the user needs to have a Cleanfeed account and others can join using the weblink.
Features:
- Audio Quality is very clear.
- Allows anyone with a link to join live sessions.
- Built-in recording.
Join the multiple parties on Cleanfeed with the control to record the separate tracks. It can be accessed from Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android.
Official Website: https://cleanfeed.net/
9. JamZone
JamZone is the best jamming software online and you can enjoy the tracks with others. Whether to use it for learning covers or to share your tunes with others, this online jamming software is one of the best.
Features:
- Multi-track console.
- Real-time chords and lyrics.
- Control the tempo and pitch.
JamZone can be availed as an individual application on Mac, iOS, and Android. It can be your favorite to practice covers along with others.
10. Zencastr
Zencastr is a perfect place for online jamming sessions. This is a cloud-based application which is why it can be considered the best jamming software. It does not require any downloads and you can easily go live and showcase your music in the studio quality.
Features:
- Record your sessions in HD quality.
- Download with ease.
- Built-in footnotes and chat options.
Enjoy the live soundboard on Zencastr now as it gives you a free trial. Take control of the looping, playback and volume, etc. with easy soundboard live editing.
Official Website: https://zencastr.com/
This is all for now; these are the best online jamming software that you can use to jam with your bandmates and friends. It is not that you can use it only when you are locked down or social distancing. Even when life comes back to normal, you can use this best jamming software and create your soundtrack.
All the jamming software we discussed are real-time solutions and will help play live bands. You can also use the best DAW software to record your music.
We would like to hear from you. Do let us know which jamming software you preferred using and why.
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Brion Bell
Jamkazam is no longer supporting their system from what I can tell. Their ‘test’ server is constantly down. In my case, there is no one supporting my questions in any forum or otherwise, (nothing has been posted in most cases, since 2015!). I would love to get a well-investigated update to this article!Jaivel
The information is very valuable ……. specifically in the case of JamKazam. There is an accessory called Jamblaster, it is connected to the smartphone and that’s it, however, I cannot find any information or tutorial to better understand this device …………………. ….. greeting and we are in contact thanksLineyman
Jamulus works if you have a fast ethernet internet connection (no wifi), a fast laptop or desktop computer, and headphones (not speakers). There are lots of servers you can access from the program once you get hooked up, and its user friendly once you figure it out. I’m still a noob with it. I have joined some jams and had a few really satisfying songs already!EJ
Our group of tech geeks could never get Jamkazaam working properly for all participants after weeks of trying. We settled on Jamulus which we could all got up and running and has usable latency.bill
jamkazam crashed my computer because of incompatability with my focusrite saffire audio driver. No support or solution available. could not even start the program.Joe
I’ve spent at least 10 hours trying to get Jamulus going, to no avail. Downloading their software is the easy part. But to use it, you have to set up port forwarding on your router. To do that you must first assign a static IP and MAC address to your PC. That alone took hours because most tutorials don’t bother to mention you have to assign an IP address that is outside your router’s DHCP range!! Once armed with that little gem I had the static IP and MAC addresses assigned in no time. BUT I still can’t get port forwarding to work on my router. And all band members need to set up port forwarding with Jamulus (per tutorial I saw). Calling Jamulus “user friendly” only applies to those who know their router settings inside and out.Jamey
I’ve been using Jamulus for a few days now, and it works great! If you run your own server as PUBLIC, it is drop-dead simple since you don’t need to do ANYTHING to your router or firewall. But you don’t even have to run your own server, since there are dozens of people already running public servers, you can just connect to one of those and start jamming.Leslie Bell
It’s called NINJAM – but this website alternates between calling it NINIJAM and NINJIAM.T.W; Day
Jamkazam is mostly, now, a for-a-fee service. Your free options are limited time-wise, quality of service wise, and options-wise. There have been a lot of updates since this article and the last comment was written, but the service is still only moderately reliable. Unless the video option and multiple inputs are important to you, Jamkazam may not be the ideal system. JK does have tech support with the paid service, but that is limited, too.Mridula Nimawat
Thanks for the input.Graca
I’ve been using koord.live for our online band practice. It’s a super-easy way to create private sessions and you can use it with Jamulus also. Has someone else tried it?Joao
I’ve been using koord live for our online band practice. It’s a super-easy way to create private sessions and you can use it with Jamulus also. Has someone else tried it?Mridula Nimawat
Thank you for your suggestion.