[Methos1979]

We conducted a mini open mic test on Zoom last night and it was fantastic! 5 of us showed up and there was almost no lag and it was great to actually see peoples faces. It's a pretty slick program for sure. More good news - those that have dialed in external signal paths that connect through your computer (like me), those will also work on Zoom. Just like Facebook, you just need to select the audio settings and in the audio input will drop down to show your interface. At least the iRig Pro showed up and worked well.

To participate (perform) in an AGF Open Mic using the ZOOM app: For open mics on the ZOOM platform first install the ZOOM app. If you do not do this in advance then when you first get an invite from a host and click on the link it will allow you to download and install the ZOOM app at that time.

Audio setup: It is helpful to test your system using the ZOOM app to make sure you can get good audio. The easiest way to do this is from within the ZOOM app, in the lower left corner you'll see a little mic or headphone icon for audio - click on the little up arrow then select Audio Settings. From this pop-up box select Advanced in the lower right corner. Over to the right there are three statements. The middle one says Suppress intermittent Background Noise - click on the box to the right of that and select Disable. Now close this box. In the upper left hand corner of the Audio Settings box it will either say Turn On Original Sound or Turn Off Original Sound. You want to use you Original Sound so click on the box until it says Turn Off Original Sound at which point you'll be using Original Sound (a little confusing). This will give you the best sound from either the internal mic or any external mic you've selected to use. Most internal mobile phone or iPad mics work very well. Laptops tend to sound just okay at best.

After that you should be set to go. Since ZOOM uses a real-time connection it's much easier for the host to direct the open mic. Here are a few tips to help things run smoothly:

1.) Be ready! Know your place on the list (assuming there is one) and be ready to play. This is not as important as in Facebook Live due to the nature of direct communication but you should still be ready to play.

2.) Mute yourself when someone else is playing! This is very important. The ZOOM app will 'showcase' whomever is playing or even speaking. So if you do not mute your mic when someone else is playing and a loud noise happens where you are it could temporarily disrupt the performance of the current player. You can unmute after each song to give applause but then mute again for the next song. Muting and unmuting yourself is easy by clicking on the little mic button in the lower left corner.

3.) Have fun with Background Settings! If you computer supports it (depends on a few things - it will tell you if it doesn't) you can select to use different fun virtual backgrounds. In the lower left corner click on the up arrow next to the Video button and select Choose Virtual Background...

4.) Stream your Live performance to Facebook or YouTube. Some people like to stream their performance to their Facebook timeline for friends and family to see. This can be done but takes a few minutes to get going so you should have already set it up in advance and be ready to hit the Go Live button when it's your turn to play. To do this click on the More button in the lower right corner and select either the Live on Facebook or Live on YouTube button and follow the prompts. Please only stream your performance! Remember to turn off the stream when you are finished.

5.) Watch on Facebook Live if you are not performing. If you are not performing but just watching, consider watching the open mic performance over on Facebook Live if it is being streamed over there (is usually will be). This will keep the number of active ZOOM windows to a more manageable amount for the host. You will also not need to worry about setting up a new app and muting yourself.

That's about it. I wanted to post this since we'll be doing mostly ZOOM open mics from here on out.

For those that don't want to go on Zoom and would rather stay on Facebook, that is fine as well. There's no reason why we can't do both. But give Zoom a try and I think you'll agree it's WAY better. I know there is a way to stream a Zoom 'meeting' (open mic) to Facebook so we'll figure that out as well and for those that just watch anyway and don't want to participate on Zoom can still enjoy the show.