Incoming links: vmpk
ALSA can be thought as analogous to physical wires linking up machines.
Except that instead of machines, you have separate programs. One such typical link is:
- from a MIDI source, e.g. vmpk or a MIDI editor with playback like Ardour
- to a synthesizer like FluidSynth or ZynAddSubFX
The advantage of this setup is that separate programs can collaborate to make complex sounds.
The disadvantage of this setup is that it makes it very hard to reproduce results, you basically need a Docker image with the exact same version of everything. And some script to launch and connect all programs correctly.
Some composition systems like LMMS reduce that problem by having synthesizers as plugins, so that you don't have to setup any connections yourself.
Weight: heavy.
MIDI support is kind of secondary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnkJ0uYXMG8, e.g. how to export MIDI? discourse.ardour.org/t/export-an-entire-project-into-a-midi-file/88116
Ardour 6 Quickstart (recording, editing, mixing and exporting) by unfa (2020)
Source. unfa is a helpful Ardour master and open source software junkie at your YouTube service.Synthesizes MIDI input. vmpk +
aconnect + Advanced Linux Sound Architecture hello world: askubuntu.com/questions/34391/virtual-midi-piano-keyboard-setup/1298026#1298026Supports only very basic effects it seems: chorus effect and reverberation. The main way to add instruments to it is via SoundFont files.
Very easy to use and pretty powerful MIDI creator!!!
One of the rare audio applications actually works with PulseAudio on Ubuntu 20.04 out-of-the-box, so you don't have to turn off every other audio application!!!
Has lot's of plugins built-in just working out of the box, e.g. ZynAddSubFX out-of-the-box without doing a gazillion complex setup connections.
Most plugins are just simple toys however, ZynAddSubFX is the only super powerful one. The others are more LMMS integrate however, and seem to use a more dedicated LMMS GUI style.
TODO can you do liver performance with a virtual instrument?
If you open vmpk, you can then right click on a piano track, and go MIDI, Input and it just shows up there, and it does produce sound as shown at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpeP2th08ak
TODO: what about recording the input MIDI? Yes, there is a record button on the piano roll!
Contains instructions on how to synthesize MIDI.
Extension: sf2.
Can be imported for example by:
- vmpk
- Csound with
sfload: www.csounds.com/manual/html/sfload.html