Live sessions are uncut footage of the artist performing during their online concert. As the footage is raw and in real time, the audio and video quality may not be the best, as there might not be professional crew with the artist to help with sound and lighting.

 

However, live online concerts allow fans to peek into the personal lives of their favourite artists.

 

Although Irina admits that “there’s a different feeling when everyone’s in a stadium together and jamming to an artist”, she thinks that online concerts are “a good way for artists to connect with fans”, as fans can interact with the artist using the live chat function.

​

“Online concerts are a good way for artists to use their following to get people to donate and help those in need,” she says. The One World: Together at Home livestream concert organised by Lady Gaga raised a total of US$127 million (S$175.6 million) for COVID-19 relief efforts.

​

According to VMG Studios, a creative marketing and branding agency, pre-recorded sessions allow for fewer things to go wrong, as there is an option for retakes and edits.

 

However, a local string quartet decided to rise to the challenge by holding an online live concert on Zoom.

 

The Concordia Quartet is a local professional string quartet that was formed last year. They held their first concert this February, but had to cancel the rest of their performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In an interview with apART.sg, the quartet said that they had to find a way to rehearse together without meeting up in person. When they found a way to rehearse online, they took it a step further and decided to hold an online live concert.

 

The string quartet used a low-latency audio software called Jamulus, which reduces lag to allow musicians to jam together online. However, Jamulus is an audio-only software, so the quartet spent most of their rehearsals without seeing one another.

 

Ms Kim Kyu Ri, the second violinist of Concordia Quartet, says that they had to “solely rely on [their] hearing to carry out rehearsals as well as the performance”.

 

“We rehearsed for about three to four weeks. The first two weeks or so was mostly trial and error, getting used to the Jamulus software and troubleshooting major problems,” she says.

 

Ms Kim also added that playing alone in her room was a “completely new experience”, as there was “no audience seated in front of me, and no physical reactions or interactions such as applause or eye contact”.