Chopin’s Prelude in C Minor — Reimagined Live Across 3000 Miles A cool, brooding jazz groove grows out of Frédéric Chopin’s “Prelude in C Minor” as Ben Lewis on piano in Chicago, Doug Percell on drums in Orange County, CA, Jean-Luc Landry on bass in Montreal, QC, Robert Jackson on trumpet in Coos Bay, OR, Randy Felts on Synthophone in Boston, MA, and Curt Foster on MIDI breath controller in Portland, OR improvise together across 3000 miles. This performance was captured during one of Ben Lewis's Open Sessions on FarPlay Meet, free to all subscribers. Visit meet.farplay.io to join the community.   benpiano.com

"Mama Said" Across 3200 Miles #MothersDay #FarPlay Dixon & Densen’s R&B hit “Mama Said” bounces along as musicians play together across 3200 miles during this past Mother's Day session of Eden Casteel’s weekly Open Mic on FarPlay Meet. The musicians: Eden Casteel — piano & vocals (South Kingstown, RI) Todd Tosetti — guitar & vocals (Central Illinois) Jean-Luc Landry — bass guitar (Montreal, QC) Robert Jackson — backup vocals (Coos Bay, OR) David Liao — backup vocals (NJ) Leyland Brenner — backup vocals (NJ) To check out the growing list of Open Sessions (or add your own!) on FarPlay Meet, sign up to join the FarPlay Meet beta, free to all FarPlay subscribers: farplay.io/x/mama26

No sound from your instrument? Fix it with FarPlay’s Input Mixer. Plugged your instrument or mic into your audio interface but the sound isn’t coming into FarPlay? Change the Microphone in FarPlay to the Input Mixer, and create tracks to bring audio into FarPlay from as many mics, instruments, and other sources as you'd like. For details, visit our blog: farplay.io/x/nsi26

Wayne Shorter's Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum from California to Chicago #FarPlayMeet Ben Lewis (piano, Chicago), Tim Green (bass, Meridian, ID), and Doug Percell (drums, Orange County, CA) create a swinging groove as they perform Wayne Shorter's jazz standard "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum" across 2000 miles. This performance was recorded during one of Ben Lewis's Open Sessions on FarPlay Meet, our new platform that musicians are using to find others to play with. Meet is free to all subscribers. Ready to join an Open Session or start your own? Sign up for the FarPlay Meet beta: farplay.io/x/ffff26 benpiano.com

FarPlay 1.3.2 is here! This update offers customizable banners for your Persistent Rooms, friendly invitations, easier settings, and more. Upgrade for free: farplay.io/x/132

Kenny Dorham's Blue Bossa across 2900 miles The musicians are spread across 2900 miles, but the lilting bossa groove and harmonica's yearning melody just fit. Ben Lewis (piano, Chicago), Jean-Luc Landry (guitar, Montreal), Greg (harmonica, Playa Del Ray, CA), Tim Green (bass, Meridian, ID), Doug Percell (drums, Orange County, CA) perform Kenny Dorham's "Blue Bossa" in one of Ben Lewis's recent Open Sessions on FarPlay Meet, our new platform that lets you connect with the wider community of FarPlay users, free to all subscribers. Want to join in or create your own Open Sessions? Sign up to test FarPlay Meet: farplay.io/x/bb26 benpiano.com/

Spiking latency? Try this simple setting in FarPlay for Windows. Is latency spiking even after connecting by Ethernet with Wi-Fi off at both ends? If you're on a Windows PC using Windows Audio (not ASIO), go to FarPlay's Preferences and change the Audio Buffer Size to 480. For details, see our blog: farplay.io/x/sp26

Jacob Collier and Dan Tepfer improvise 3500 miles apart over FarPlay Dan shares the story behind this moment from day 59 of his #100daysofpractice: "I’ve known the crazy brilliant Jacob for a few years, and with him in NYC and me in Paris, we decided to try playing together for the first time, 3500 miles apart, using @FarPlayApp. We started with a version of If I Were A Bell where we change meters between 5/4 and 7/4 every 8 bars, keeping the bar length the same (amazingly, this actually worked despite 45ms of latency at this distance, equivalent to playing with someone 45ft / 15m away from you in a room). Then, spontaneously, we free-improvised the coda you hear here, which keeps returning to the idea of bells ringing. I love it when improvisation turns into genuine exploration, which it can if, like Jacob, you have patience and big ears. That’s when the magic happens, in the listening." @jacobcollier @tepferdan

FarPlay Open Session Across 2800 Miles Across 2800 miles, Ben Lewis (piano, Chicago), Vince (guitar, California), Jean-Luc Landry (bass, Montreal), and Doug Percell (drums, California) play Steve Kuhn’s “Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers” together with a cool, laid-back vibe on FarPlay. This is just one of many musical moments from Ben Lewis's Open Sessions on FarPlay Meet, our new platform that lets you connect with the wider community of FarPlay users, free to all subscribers. Want to join in or create your own Open Sessions? Sign up to test FarPlay Meet: farplay.io/x/cf26 benpiano.com

That first-time FarPlay experience — still mind-blowing! Warning: your eyes might pop out too. Voice teacher Kim Lamoureux in Massachusetts almost can't believe her ears when she tries FarPlay for the first time, singing with David Liao in New Jersey — a 270-mile drive away. Ready for your own "wait, WHAT?" moment? Try FarPlay yourself: farplay.io/x/km26 kimlamoureux.com/ @lowlatencyaudio

Mic distorting at high volume? Easy fix. Do other musicians hear distortion when you sing or play loudly? The fix is easy. Lower your mic's input level. Works for our ultra-low-latency jamming app FarPlay and regular video-chat apps like Zoom and Teams. In this video, we walk through the steps for a headset plugged into a Windows 11 PC. For steps for other computers and audio equipment, see our blog post: farplay.io/x/miclevel

Wrong! You can pick output channels in FarPlay, even if ChatGPT says you can't. ChatGPT told us that FarPlay doesn't let you pick output channels. This is FALSE. Simply go to Preferences > General Options, go to the Headphones row, and select the output channels you'd like to use (channels 1-2, channels 2-3, etc.). If you have a Standard or For Teachers subscription, you can even use our Broadcast Output feature farplay.io/x/br26 to send audio from each remote musician to their own output channels on your audio device. Great for advanced uses like routing audio to your favorite DAW for live remixing for a livestream or playing remote audio through a surround-sound system. Want tech support that's more reliable than what you get from ChatGPT? Head to our forum farplay.io/x/forum, where answers are written by real humans.

I'll Be Home for Christmas” — a remote holiday duet #madeWithFarPlay Vocalist Paul Marinaro couldn’t be home for Christmas with his mom this year, so he and pianist Ben Lewis recorded this tender performance of Kent, Gannon, and Ram’s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” for her. Though both musicians live in Chicago, they couldn’t find a time and place to meet in person, but with FarPlay, they were able to make their recording online in about ten minutes on Christmas morning. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! @PaulMarinaro benpiano.com

“Over the Rainbow” — Live Open Mic on FarPlay, Across 3,300 Miles A magical moment from one of Eden Casteel’s recent "FarPlay at 4" Open Sessions, bringing musicians together in real time across 3,300 miles. This live online performance of Arlen & Harburg’s “Over the Rainbow” features Randy Felts on Synthophone (MIDI sax) in Boston, MA, Jean-Luc Landry on bass in Montreal, QC, Robert Jackson on trumpet in Coos Bay, OR, Meri Ziev on vocals in Ocean Ridge, FL, and Eden Casteel on piano in South Kingstown, RI. Despite the distance, the musicians are able to make music together using FarPlay’s ultra-low-latency audio. Want to drop in on Open Sessions with Eden and other FarPlay users? Sign up for the FarPlay Meet beta, free to all FarPlay subscribers: farplay.io/x/rainbow25

The Extended Cut: My Funny Valentine, 6700 km apart Thanks for all the love for the short clip we shared last month of our own Dan Tepfer on vocals in Paris, France, and Ben Lewis on piano in Chicago, improvising on Rodgers and Hart's “My Funny Valentine” — 6700 km apart. By popular demand, here’s the extended version! This is just one of the serendipitous musical moments from Ben Lewis's Open Sessions on FarPlay Meet, our new platform that let's you connect with the wider community of FarPlay users, free to all subscribers. Want to start your own Open Sessions? Sign up to join the FarPlay Meet beta: farplay.io/x/mfvxmsu25 @tepferdan benpiano.com

FarPlay Tech Tip: Fix Balance in Mix Recordings Do some people sound loud and others soft in your mix recordings even though everyone sounds well-balanced in your headphones during sessions? Click Preferences, Recording, and then "Apply monitor volume gains when recording a mix", as attendees of our most recent monthly support session learned. Learn more at our blog: farplay.io/x/mixbalblog25 Sign up for monthly support sessions: farplay.io/x/mixsupp25 Monthly support sessions are available free to subscribers and students of teachers with FarPlay For Teachers subscriptions.

Playing complex rhythms together online? Not a problem with FarPlay’s rock-bottom latency! Mango Mindset (Holger Rauhut on piano, Cataldo Mocciaro on drums, and Johann Hagerer on bass) recorded this excerpt of Holger's "Why Not?" from 3 separate locations in Munich. The piece is in 15/8 time and changes from a 3 3 3 3 3 subdivision to a 5 5 5 subdivision. With FarPlay, Mango Mindset has no problem staying in sync during this rhythmic change. twitch.tv/mangomindsetlive/

My Funny Valentine, 6700 km apart Our own Dan Tepfer on vocals in Paris, France and Ben Lewis on piano in Chicago, improvise on Rodgers and Hart's "My Funny Valentine" 6700 km apart. This is just one of many serendipitous musical moments from Ben Lewis's Open Sessions on FarPlay Meet, our new platform that let's you connect with the wider community of FarPlay users, free to all subscribers. Want to start your own Open Sessions? Sign up to join the FarPlay Meet beta: farplay.io/x/meet2511 @tepferdan benpiano.com

Talk and sing with each other naturally in voice lessons with FarPlay Vocal coach Dr. Stephannie Moore writes, "This video was from one of Reagan’s voice lessons last year and I loved revisiting it! Wait until you hear how she sounds this year!" With FarPlay, Stephannie and Reagan can effortlessly talk and sing over each other without playing the game of "no, no, you go ahead." Reagan is studying musical theatre as a BFA undergraduate in Lynn University’s Department of Drama. Check out our tips for using FarPlay for teaching: farplay.io/x/ls25 stephanniemoorevoice.com

Join Ben Lewis's Open Sessions on FarPlay Meet! Ben Lewis (piano in Chicago) and Jean-Luc Landry (electric bass in Montreal) play Paul McCartney's "Blackbird" in this excerpt, about 860 miles (1400 km) apart. They met in one of Ben's Tuesday Open Sessions, which you can join using FarPlay Meet beta, our platform that lets you connect with the wider FarPlay community, free to all subscribers. Sign up to test FarPlay Meet: farplay.io/x/bmsu Check out Ben's post on our blog, where you can listen to more clips from his Open Sessions: farplay.io/x/bfj benpiano.com