Bridging Cultural and Digital Divides: A Low-Latency JackTrip Framework for Equitable Music Education in the Global South

TL;DR

This paper presents a low-latency, open-source JackTrip framework tailored for real-time music education in the Global South, addressing infrastructural and cultural challenges with superior audio fidelity and low latency.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, low-latency audio streaming framework based on JackTrip that overcomes connectivity issues and preserves musical nuances for underserved regions.

Findings

Achieves sub-30 ms latency in low-resource conditions

Preserves microtonal scales and complex rhythms

Outperforms conventional platforms like Zoom

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has transformed educational landscapes worldwide, yet significant infrastructural and cultural challenges persist in the Global South. This paper introduces a low-latency JackTrip framework designed to bridge both the cultural and digital divides in music education. By leveraging an open-source, UDP-based audio streaming protocol originally developed at Stanford's CCRMA, the framework is tailored to address technical constraints such as intermittent connectivity, limited bandwidth, and high latency that characterize many rural and underserved regions. The study systematically compares the performance of JackTrip with conventional platforms like Zoom, demonstrating that JackTrip achieves sub-30~ms latency under simulated low-resource conditions while preserving the intricate audio details essential for non-Western musical traditions. Spectral analysis confirms that JackTrip's superior handling of microtonal scales, complex rhythms, and harmonic textures provides a culturally authentic medium for real-time ensemble performance and music education. These findings underscore the transformative potential of decentralized, edge-computing solutions in empowering educators and musicians across the Global South, promoting both technological equity and cultural preservation.