Load set_rlimits, OSS, libffado(optional)

One of the keys to having a good audio experience with Linux is to make sure your hardware is supported. This is more about making good judgments rather than buying expensive interfaces.

• set_rlimits

• OSS
• Alsa
• libffado

Load Jack-OSS, non-session, non-mixer

You can also route audio without Jack. See below. It's important to remember to not load more than one jack extension. Different versions are incompatible and will explode.

A rudimentary mental map of some audio tasks. The boundaries between all these kinds of data/audio are arbitrary. All human music takes this journey, it's endpoints unchanged from the beginning of our making songs to the end.

1)HB ⇒ [X] ⇒ S

2)S ⇒ [X] ⇒ HB

where HB is the human brain, S is the sounds we hear and X is any number of steps as defined below.

which in English is:

1) something in a brain express itself as sound.

2) an audience listens, something in the brain is transmitted.

Sometimes there's a machine which either helps us do physically work or mental work in the middle.

HP = human performance HN = human notation HB = human brain S = sound I = Instrument (physical work aid [work ⇒ wave])

These days, thanks to transistor, CPU's are for all intents & purposes digital. Hence:

ADC = analog to digital converter CPU = Instrument (computational aid) MEM = Computer memory (usu. disk or RAM) DAC = digital audio converter MIC = Microphone (HA to analog signal) SPK = Speaker (analog signal to HA)

Classical Composition

HB ⇒ HN

Performing sheet music.

HN ⇒ HB ⇒ HP ⇒ I ⇒ S

Improvisation.

HB ⇒ HP ⇒ I ⇒ S

• non-daw

HP ⇒ I ⇒ S ⇒ MIC ⇒ ADC ⇒ CPU ⇒ MEM

MEM ⇒ CPU ⇒ MEM

• yoshimi

• sox

sox can perform batch conversions with the greatest efficiency.

• flabc
• abcm2ps
• abcmidi
• playabc

HN ⇒ [X] ⇒ CPU ⇒ [X] ⇒ HN

HN = musical notation

• non-sequencer

HN = [X] = MEM

HN = sequencing pattern.

• btektracker

HP ⇒ [X] ⇒ MEM ⇒ [X] ⇒ S

• yoshimi
• linux sampler

• a2jmidid(optional)
• cuse

HP ⇒ I ⇒ CPU ⇒ MEM ⇒ [X] ⇒ S

In which human parsable audio/data goes into the black box, becomes computer parsable data but remerges as human parsable audio out. As near to real time as humanly possible, oh I mean robotically possible.

• rakkarack

S ⇒ [X] ⇒ CPU ⇒ [X] ⇒ S

audio to audio

• yoshimi
• linux-sampler

• a2jmidid(optional)
• cuse

• giada

audio to audio

• super-collider

data(code) to audio

• OSS

OSS comes with a builtin mixer with a console interface. Currently no other console mixers fully support the OSSv4 api (they may, however, work with older drivers/soundcards that support the v3 api). ossmix will bring up a list of channels and their current settings. Documentation is here: http://manuals.opensound.com/usersguide/ossmix.html

• aumix
• ecasound-OSS
• sox

sox -d -d <effect> <parameter>

will pipe sound from the default input device to the default output device whilst applying the effect. For further control, you can substitute the names of the devices.

• jack-smf-tools
• timidity++-tui

midi player/synth

• bristol (needs X jack)
• jdkdrum

inputs ascii outputs .wav. takes tested with OSS only http://www.jdkoftinoff.com/main/Free_Projects/Drum_Synth_For_Linux/ This version was compiled with OSS as the sound driver.

• loopercenter (needs fltk, jack)
• mloop (needs ncurses, jack)
• superlooper (needs jack)
• chuck-0SS

Chuck is a strongly-timed on-the-fly audio programming language. To load and play saved chuck programs,

  chuck foo.ck
  where foo is the name of your program.
  

Livecoding: Start the virtual machine.

  chuck --loop

In a text editor of your choice begin coding your chuck program. Save your program.

  chuck + foo.ck 

in a separate terminal window will add your program to the running virtual machine.