Co-ordinating Non-mutual Realities: The Asymmetric Impact of Delay on Video-Mediated Music Lessons

During a music lesson, participants need to co-ordinate both their turns at talk and their turns at playing. Verbal and musical contributions are shaped by their organisation within the turntaking system. When lessons are conducted remotely by video conference, these mechanisms are disrupted by the asymmetric effects of delay on the interaction; in effect a “non-mutual reality” comprised of two different conversations at each end of the link. Here we compare detailed case studies of a copresent and a remote music lesson, in order to show how this effect arises, and how it impacts conduct during the lesson.