Help & Documentation
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about playing JamGroovin — from your first gesture to running a live jam session.
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Getting Started
What do I need to play?+
Just a device with a webcam and a modern browser (Chrome or Edge recommended). No downloads, no plugins, no special hardware. Your body is the instrument.
How do I start playing?+
Sign up for a free account, hit "Launch Studio", and allow camera access when prompted. Our tracking system will detect your body in real time — you can start playing immediately.
Does it work on mobile?+
Yes — JamGroovin is fully responsive. The studio works on modern iOS and Android browsers. For best performance use Chrome on Android or Safari 17+ on iOS.
Do I need to know music theory?+
No. Explorer Mode maps your gestures to notes that always sound good together. Advanced players can choose any scale, key, and octave from the FX Panel.
What browsers are supported?+
Chrome 110+, Edge 110+, and Firefox 120+ work best. Safari 17+ is supported. Older browsers may lack Web Audio or on-device tracking support.
Is my camera footage stored or shared?+
Never. All body tracking runs 100% locally in your browser using on-device tracking. No video frames are sent to any server.
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Gestures & Body Zones
How does gesture detection work?+
Our body tracking system follows 33 body landmarks, 21 hand landmarks per hand, and 468 face mesh points — all in real time at 30fps. JamGroovin maps these landmark positions to musical parameters like pitch, velocity, and filter cutoff.
What does each body zone control?+
Default mapping — you can reassign any zone in the Zone Panel:
- Left hand — sustained melody (wrist X = pitch, Y = filter brightness)
- Right hand — triggered notes per fingertip (5 independent voices)
- Left arm — Ethereal sweep
- Right arm — Laser trigger on fast sweep
- Torso / body — Pad sustained chord, lean forward to activate
- Left foot — Kick drum
- Right foot — Hi-hat
- Head nod — Choir accent note
How do I trigger a note with my hand?+
Move your fingertip into a new key zone. Notes fire on entry only — resting your hand in place will not retrigger the note. Each of your 5 fingertips is tracked independently so you can play chords.
Why does my foot trigger feel laggy?+
Ensure good lighting and step clearly into the camera frame. The foot zone detection uses ankle/heel landmarks so the lower half of your body must be visible. On slower machines, reduce the camera resolution in Settings.
Can I change which instrument each zone plays?+
Yes — open the Zone Panel (left sidebar) and use the dropdown next to each zone to assign any instrument, including drums. Changes apply instantly with no restart needed.
What is Mirror Mode?+
Mirror Mode flips the camera feed so it looks like a mirror. Hand landmark coordinates are also flipped internally so left/right zones remain correct. Toggle it from the TopBar or hamburger menu.
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Instruments & Sounds
What instruments are available?+
Sustained (hold while gesture active): Angel, Ethereal, Synth, Pad, Choir, Bass.
Triggered (fire on gesture entry): Crystal, Piano, Bell, Pluck, Marimba, Laser, Waves.
Percussion: Kick, Hi-hat, Snare — assignable to any zone.
Triggered (fire on gesture entry): Crystal, Piano, Bell, Pluck, Marimba, Laser, Waves.
Percussion: Kick, Hi-hat, Snare — assignable to any zone.
What are sustained vs triggered instruments?+
Sustained instruments play as long as you hold a gesture — raise your hand, hold the pose, note sustains. Lower your hand and it fades out over 0.55s. Triggered instruments fire a single note on entry and decay naturally.
Are the sounds synthesised or sampled?+
Both. Angel, Synth, Pad, Bass, Crystal, Bell, and Pluck are Web Audio synthesis. Choir, Ethereal, Laser, and Waves use real multi-samples sourced from the FluidR3 GM soundfont, stored locally in /public/audio/ for zero-latency offline playback.
How do I change the key or scale?+
Use the Key and Scale dropdowns in the TopBar (desktop) or hamburger menu (mobile). Supported scales include Major, Minor, Pentatonic, Blues, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Locrian, and Chromatic.
What does the Octave slider do?+
Sets the base octave (2–7) for all note calculations. Octave 4 is middle C. Higher octaves produce brighter tones; lower octaves give deeper, bass-register sounds.
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Virtual Instruments (Camera Mode)
What are Virtual Instruments?+
Virtual Instruments project a silhouette overlay onto your camera feed — drums, guitar, keyboard, or DJ controller. You physically interact with the overlay using your hands and body.
How do Virtual Drums work?+
Coloured drum pad zones are overlaid on your camera. Move your wrist into a zone to trigger that drum (kick, snare, hi-hat, tom, cymbal). Wrist-only detection means one physical hit = one sound, no multi-hit rebound.
How does the Virtual Guitar work?+
The screen is split: left strip (0–22% width) = chord selection. Move your left index finger up or down to pick one of 5 diatonic chords. Right area = strum zone — move your right hand up or down (like a real strum) to sound the chord. Supports Electric, Acoustic, and Classical tones.
How does the Virtual Keyboard work?+
A piano keyboard spans the bottom of the overlay. Each fingertip maps independently to a key — touch the key zone to play the note. All 5 fingers on both hands are tracked simultaneously (10 independent note voices). Entry-only detection means holding a key doesn't retrigger it.
How do I use the DJ Deck?+
Select DJ Deck from the Virtual dropdown. On the launch screen press Launch DJ Deck. Two full decks appear:
- Choose a genre pattern (House, Techno, DnB, Hip-Hop, Breaks, Afrobeat) per deck
- Hit PLAY on each deck — they loop independently
- Drag the crossfader to blend between decks
- Adjust 3-band EQ knobs (drag up/down, double-click to reset)
- Use pitch and volume faders per deck
- Your wrist position (left+right average) controls the crossfader via gesture
What genres does the DJ Deck support?+
House (128 BPM), Techno (138), Drum & Bass (174), Hip-Hop (90), Breaks (115), Afrobeat (105). Each pattern is rendered offline via WebAudio OfflineAudioContext and loops seamlessly.
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FX, Audio & BPM
What FX are available?+
Reverb (convolver, 2.5s impulse), Delay (BPM-synced, 0.26 feedback), Lowpass Filter (200Hz–15kHz), Distortion (waveshaper soft-clip). All apply globally to all instruments in the chain.
How do the quick presets work?+
Warm, Bright, Deep, and Gritty are one-tap macro presets that set reverb, delay, filter, and distortion to tuned combinations. You can further adjust any slider after applying a preset.
Where is the BPM control?+
In the FX Panel (right sidebar), below the Quick Presets section. Use the slider (40–220) or tap one of the speed buttons (80 / 100 / 120 / 140) to jump directly.
What is 8D Spatial Audio?+
JamGroovin uses the Web Audio HRTF PannerNode to place sound in a full 3D sphere around your head — not just left/right stereo. Enable the toggle in the FX Panel and choose a movement path.
What are the 8D movement paths?+
- Orbit — golden-ratio Y modulation; never repeats exactly
- Horizontal — classic left/right XZ sweep
- Vertical — sound sweeps over and under your head (YZ plane)
- Diagonal ↗ — rises while sweeping left to right
- Figure-8 — horizontal figure-eight + vertical wave
- Behind — sound drifts mostly behind your head with slow elevation
- Chaos — three incommensurable sine frequencies — fully unpredictable motion
Use headphones for full effect. Radius (1–8 m) controls how extreme the displacement feels. Speed (1–20) controls animation rate.
Why does 8D audio require headphones?+
HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Function) works by applying tiny frequency-dependent delays to each ear channel. Speakers mix both channels before they reach your ears, destroying the spatial cue. Headphones are required for the 3D effect.
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Beat Sequencer
What is the Beat Sequencer?+
A 16-step drum sequencer in the bottom bar with three tracks: Kick (amber), Hi-hat (teal), and Snare (purple). Steps are grouped into 4 bars. Toggle individual steps by clicking them, then hit Play.
How do I change BPM for the sequencer?+
The sequencer uses the global BPM set in the FX Panel. Step interval = (60 000 ms / BPM) / 4 (16th-note resolution).
What beat presets are available?+
Choose from the dropdown in the bottom bar:
- 4 on Floor — classic dance: kick every beat, snare on 2+4
- Jungle — syncopated kick, fast rolling hihat
- Modern Techno — four-on-floor kick, 16th hihat, off-beat snare
- Rock — classic backbeat, 8th-note hihat
- Slow Burn — sparse kick on 1+9, snare on 5+13
- Clear — all steps off
Can I combine the beat sequencer with virtual instruments?+
Yes — the beat sequencer runs independently alongside all virtual instruments and gesture zones. Start the sequencer then switch to Virtual Drums or Guitar and play over the top.
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Jam Sessions & Band Mode
How do I start a jam session?+
In the studio, click the JAM button in the TopBar. Choose "Create Room". Toggle public or private, add an optional room name, and share the 4-character room code with friends.
What is the difference between public and private sessions?+
Public sessions are listed on the JamGroovin homepage in real time — anyone can see them and join. Private sessions are invite-only; you share the room code directly with people you want to play with.
Do I need to be logged in to join a jam?+
Yes — login is required to join any jam session, public or private. Browsing public rooms on the homepage is open to everyone.
How does in-session chat work?+
Open the JAM modal while in a room. The Chat tab shows a scrollable message history (last 50 messages). Type your message and hit Enter or press Send. Messages appear instantly for all players in the room.
How many players can join a room?+
Band plan: up to 8 players. Studio plan: up to 20 players. All players hear each other via the shared socket sync — each person plays their own instrument locally and the session is synchronised in real time.
What plan do I need to create a public jam?+
Starter plan or higher required to create a jam room. Public or private is your choice at creation time. Free users can join existing public sessions.
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Microphone & Voice
How do I use the microphone?+
Select "Mic" from the Virtual dropdown in the TopBar. Allow microphone access when prompted. Click again to cycle through modes.
What mic modes are available?+
- Clean — your raw voice passed through to output
- Robot — vocoder-style pitch-lock effect for a robotic vocal
Selecting Mic from the dropdown cycles: Off → Clean → Robot → Off.
Can I use the mic alongside virtual instruments?+
Yes — the mic mode runs independently. You can have the Virtual Keyboard or Guitar active while your mic is on Clean or Robot.
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AI Conductor
What does the AI Conductor do?+
The AI Conductor polls every 4 seconds, analyses what all players are doing (notes, tempo, density), and sends a musical snapshot to a Python API backed by our AI partner. The AI makes real-time musical decisions and applies them automatically.
What kinds of decisions can the conductor make?+
- SCALE_SHIFT — switches everyone to a more harmonically fitting scale
- KEY_CHANGE — modulates the global key
- TEMPO_NUDGE — gently adjusts BPM
- INSTRUMENT_SWAP — suggests a better instrument for a zone
- DYNAMIC_SHIFT — adjusts overall volume/density
- HARMONIC_RESCUE — corrects clashing harmony in real time
- ARRANGEMENT_HINT — gives a text cue to the players
Can I lock the conductor out?+
Yes — use the Lock toggle next to the AI Conductor button. When locked, the conductor continues to analyse but will not apply any changes.
Which plan includes the AI Conductor?+
Pro plan: scale + dynamic decisions. Band and Studio plans: full authority (all 7 decision types).
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Recording
How do I record my performance?+
Click the Record button in the TopBar. The recording captures everything in the master audio chain — all instruments, FX, 8D audio, and the DJ mix. Click again to stop and download the file.
What format are recordings saved in?+
WebM audio (Opus codec) — plays in all modern browsers and media players. Convert to MP3 or WAV with any free tool like Audacity or CloudConvert.
How many recordings can I save?+
Free: no recording access. Pro: 10 recordings per month. Band and Studio: unlimited recordings.
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AR Face Filters
What AR filters are available?+
Three filters accessible from the 🪄 button in the top toolbar (camera must be active):
- Elton Glasses (🕶️) — huge rainbow-cycling circular frames sized to your real face, with tinted lenses, sparkle stars on the rims, a nose bridge, and side arms.
- Notes from Fingers (🎵) — colourful ♩♪♫♬ symbols float upward from your fingertips at ~8 per second while hands are detected.
- Notes from Mouth (🎤) — a stream of musical notes fans out from your mouth with a warm amber glow pulsing at the source.
How does the face tracking work for the AR effects?+
JamGroovin uses MediaPipe's 468-point face mesh. Eye positions, jaw width, and mouth position are derived from specific face mesh landmarks for accurate placement. The glasses and glow effects are sized from your real measured jaw width, not a fixed size — so they scale correctly whether you're close to or far from the camera.
Do AR filters affect recording or sharing?+
Yes — the overlay canvas that draws AR effects is composited into the recording. If you record while an AR filter is active, the effect appears in the downloaded clip.
Can I use AR filters alongside virtual backgrounds?+
Yes. AR filters draw on the overlay layer, while virtual backgrounds (galaxy, stage, etc.) replace your real background independently. Both can be active simultaneously.
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Account & Plans
What does the free plan include?+
Solo play with all instruments, beat sequencer, all virtual instruments (drums, guitar, keyboard, DJ), gesture detection, FX panel, and 8D audio. Band mode and recording require a paid plan.
Can I try paid features before subscribing?+
You can use the demo accounts to explore all plan levels — see the homepage footer or ask support for the credentials.
How do I change my plan?+
Go to Settings → Subscription. Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades apply at the end of your current billing period.
Is there a student or educator discount?+
Yes — email us with your institution email for 50% off Pro or Band plans. Studio plan classroom features are available to accredited music educators.
Ready to play?
No hardware needed. Just a webcam and a browser.