doubleA player

doubleAplayer is a software program that handles the playback of samples in a soundtrack in a musical and flexible way. The program makes it possible to adjust the tempo of the soundtrack by following the conductor and compensating for tempo fluctuations.

One musician is needed to control the program and synchronize the soundtrack with the ensemble or orchestra. This ‘laptop player’ should be placed amongst the musicians on stage with an unimpeded view of the conductor.
With doubleAplayer the soundtrack will follow the phrasing and timing of the conductor resulting in a musical integration of the samples with the live music. In this way the conductor is no longer bound to a click-track or stopwatch, allowing them to conduct more freely.

The synchronization is maintained by pressing a key on the keyboard causing the program to jump to the first count of the measure. Automatically a new tempo is calculated based on the tempo fluctuation. Using the simplified score, the scrolling cursor and click-track as guides the laptop player is able to maintain synchronization of playback with conducted tempo.

A CD-ROM with the software is included with the hire material ordered through Boosey & Hawkes. doubleAplayer is a stand-alone program for Apple computers only, there’s no PC version at this time.

An amplification (PA) system is needed to playback the soundtrack. Place 2 loudspeakers on stands behind the orchestra. Also add two subwoofers. Position the mixing desk in the middle of the hall. Connect an audio interface to the laptop to output the sound to the mixing desk.

System requirements:

Macintosh laptop computer with 1GHz or faster PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo processor, or Intel Xeon processor (Powerbook, MacBook or MacBook Pro)
512MB of RAM; (1GB recommended). Display with 1024-by-768 (or higher) resolution
Mac OS X 10.5 or later, QuickTime 7.0 or later
1GB of free disk space, DVD drive for installation
External audio interface

dap
Screenshot doubleAplayer

doubleAplayer is exclusively written for performances of Michel van der Aa’s music and is not to be used for other purposes.