Hi Michael,  Realistically speaking, I think the best that can be
hoped for at this time is simply exchanging musical ideas in one voice
(piano) on a 'back-and-forth' basis.  The info isn't that much more
complex than type as long as it's just one instrument.  Multiple
instruments would be much more difficult but I don't know anybody
(well, maybe one or two) who can play more than one instrument at a
time.  'Play-along' is out of the question due to electronic time lags
that are unavoidable.  Even electrons can only go so fast.

Have you ever used ICQ?  It's very fast and doesn't send packets like
typical chat does.  You can see the characters being typed at the other
end at exactly the speed they are being typed.  Even the 'back-up'-
'correct'-'retype'.  You never press the enter key unless you want to
move the cursor down one line.  And then it moves it down one line on
the other end too.

Gabe, Andy and I regularly 'chat' in ICQ.  All three of us can be
typing at the same time and all the info shows up on all our screens
at almost exactly the same moment.  That's what got me thinking about
the ICQ technology.

The problem for the moment is finding a way to convert the MIDI
keyboard signals into a form that can be transmitted in the same
fashion as regular typed words.  Some people can type very fast and
ICQ seems to be able to keep up so there's no reason, at this time,
to think that it couldn't keep up with playing a relatively simple
musical passage.

Certainly, as technology develops, this dilemma will become a thing of
the past.  But since there doesn't seem to be a large calling for it
right now, there isn't much development.  Hopefully this will change,
maybe we're the ones who can push it along.  Nudge... nudge... nudge.

Musically,

John A. Tuttle