benchmarking networked music performance tools with the nmp-bench model and architecture

Networked Music Performance (NMP) aims at establishing a live interaction between musicians remotely connected that performs as if they were in the same room. While several NMP tools have been proposed through the last 20 years, a benchmark that aims at measuring and comparing their quality is currently not present. In this paper we propose the Networked Music Performance Benchmark (NMP-Bench), the first approach to systematically analyze and compare the performance of NMP tools. Focused on server-based NMP and its auditory component, NMP-Bench provides a comprehensive approach to measure and quantitatively compare NMP tools, encompassing network, music, and effectiveness metrics, with the goal of understanding the technical gaps that may reduce the experience of the performers. The paper presents the NMP-Bench model and architecture, which is then applied to benchmark two NMP tools (in simulated settings with no actual musicians) over three music pieces of different music styles. Results show differences between the two tools; this supports our statement that NMP-Bench can be used to select the most suitable tool and highlight strengths and weaknesses of NMP tools.