Composing Spatial Music with Web Audio and WebVR Cem Çakmak Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 110 8th Street, Troy NY cakmao@rpi.edu Rob Hamilton Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 110 8th Street, Troy NY hamilr4@rpi.edu ABSTRACT Composers have been exploring complex spatialization tech- niques within multi-channel sound fields since the earliest days of electroacoustic and electronic music. However the reproduction of such works outside of highly specified con- cert halls and academic research facilities, or even their accu- rate reproduction within those spaces, is difficult and unpre- dictable at best. Tools such as Omnitone combine the reach and simplicity of web browsers with the flexibility and power of higher-order ambisonics (HOA) and binaural rendering, ensuring greater accessibility for existing spatial electronic musical works as well as acting as a platform upon which future works for virtual sound fields can be implemented. This paper describes the technical design and artistic con- ception of one such spatial composition for binaural listen- ing and immersive visuals on the web - od - produced in the CRAIVE-Lab, an immersive audio-visual facility. 1. INTRODUCTION Spatial, or multi-channel, approaches in electronic music composition are as old as the practice itself. As such works furthered experimentation in sound, light and multimedia, they surrounded, and sought to immerse the audience in unique spatiotemporal experiences. Distinct as these perfor- mances were, today they are often talked about while only a handful of people have truly experienced them on site. Spa- tial electronic music often depends on research institutions and patronage due to their experimental nature and funding required, while the audience ranges from highly trained ears to unassuming visitors. Furthermore, such works have al- ways remained a niche and their recreation unfeasible. This paper breaks down a recent multimedia work, od, to illus- trate a more accessible and inclusive way to experience spa- tial electronic music based on Web Audio and WebVR tech- nologies. In order to achieve this, the authors seek to bring together a number of online and offline tools together in an artistically meaningful way. Emmerson identifies two traditions of diffusion in elec- tronic music: the idealist and realist approaches [5]. In short, the idealist approach works toward conveying the Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Attribution: owner/author(s). Web Audio Conference WAC-2019, December 4–6, 2019, Trondheim, Norway. c  2019 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). composer’s vision as accurately as possible to the listener, whereas the realist approach emphasizes the diversity of the hearing experience among individuals within the listening space. This difference in experience is due to a variety of factors that include audience seating, architecture of the space, or external disruptions; since such works focus on timbre and space as opposed to traditional musics that rely predominantly on pitch and rhythm, they are much less tol- erant to disturbances, faulty equipment, or lower qualities of production [15]. Regardless of the compositional approach, spatial works remain poorly documented in terms of the audience expe- rience, and their reconstruction remains a challenge. Thus the main goals of the research are as follows: • Utilize contemporary web technologies to facilitate the composition and dissemination of a novel, spatial mu- sic piece. • Exercise the above-mentioned idealist approach in a way that includes all listeners in an idealized listening situation. • Enable access to a specific physical site that is typically difficult to visit. • Augment the immersiveness of a real-world location with VR production techniques. 2. BACKGROUND Beyond stereophony lies an infinite playground; one where loudspeakers work together not only to form a directional image, but to encompass the listeners and innovate new spa- tial complexities. While ambisonic systems aim to recreate a spherical soundscape as accurately as possible, composers also use unconventional speaker arrangements, where loud- speakers are treated as instruments that contribute to the music with their characteristics and form a relationship with their surroundings. The “acousmonium”, first designed in 1974 at GRM [7], is an asymmetrical approach in multi- channel loudspeaker distribution where the focus is on com- bining loudspeakers that vary in size, shape, response and function together, and showcase not only auditory but also visual novelty. Furthermore, Iannis Xenakis’ 1971 polytope Persepolis was set in the dark of night outdoors, among the ruins of the ancient Persian city of the same name. In addi- tion to the 8-channel composition diffused over 59 speakers, the performance utilized lasers, spotlights, as well children parading with torches over the hills [10]. Besides real-world locations, specific constructions were designed and built,