Linux MIDI query & discovery
Edited 2022-06-24-0800edt (all g73 references removed, laptop just died)

This is intended to be my own WORKING document DRAFT where I try to first of all get some answers to questions, then maybe devise a HELP file for those who shouldn't have to suffer through the entire torture of discovery. The sequence of exercises is revised to be the sequence of the installed partitions on my amd-desktop) and the 5 distros I boot on each regularly. Some of the issues raised will be distro and installation related and system state is generally 'with all updates to the date shown'. The exercises will follow the installation and testing of the various music apps in a sequence that leaves the problematic ones last. Exercise edit dates will be shown as well as the last edit for the entire page. The answers to questions will be added as they are found and the content edited as the issues get solved/not-solved. While all this goes on, the help document will also take form but it will not be published until complete, possibly before the end of 2022. Click images for full size resolutio.

Exercise 1 Artix 2022-06-22

Artix Linux , Kernel=5.18.2-artix1-1 on x86_64,
DM=Unknown, DE=KDE, ST=x11,grub2, GPT, BIOS-boot

qsynth immediately locks up, if started from cLi for TS, nothing really shows
qsynth-0.9.7-2 re-installed: no change

Observations

qsynth immediately locks up, if started from cLi for TS, nothing really shows
qsynth-0.9.7-2 re-installed: no change

Questions

Answers

Exercise 2 Starting qjackctl & zynaddsubfx under Devuan 2022-06-14

on AMD desktop
Devuan GNU/Linux 4 (chimaera), Kernel=5.10.0-15-amd64 on x86_64,
DM=Unknown, DE=XFCE, ST=x11,grub2, GPT, BIOS-boot

First start qjackctl and then zynaddsubfx:

desktop with qjackctl and zynaddsubfx started by mouse
clicks

NB. The zyn icon in the right panel issues the command zynaddsubfx with NO switches.

zyn does NOT auto-connect in the qjackctl connections annunciator
playing the keyboard does NOT produce any audible sound

Start zynaddsubfx with zynaddsubfx -I jack -O jack:

desktop with zyn opened with jack in/out
switches

NB. playing the keyboard produces what looks like output inside zyn, it did this in the previous step as well but then the mouse had to be on the zymn icon showing the launch.

no changes from above results

MANUALLY connect zyn to system:

zyn working if connected to qjackctl on devuan

playing the zyn keyboard now does make a sound, all of this exercise working essentially the same way on the AMD desktop as well (image on right)

Start ONLY ZYN WITH zynaddsubfx -I jack -O jack to see if it starts jack:

star zyn manually with jack switches, no start of jack

jack is started (confirmed w. 'top' command on right) but ZYN is NOT connecting due to some issues

Observations

this software synth has to be connected in qjackctl to system to produce audible sound
if it should autoconnect to an already running jack, it does not

Questions

why does zyn not offer positive visible feedback of having started a previously inactive jack after it has started it?
why does zyn not auto connect to jack when it finds jack already running or when it has started jack having itself been started from cLi with the jack in/out switches?
what does starting zyn with the jack switches produce if jack is already running?

Answers

on AMD-desktop
Devuan GNU/Linux 4 (chimaera), Kernel=5.10.0-15-amd64 on x86_64,
DM=Unknown, DE=XFCE, ST=x11,grub2, GPT, BIOS-boot

In the left image we start qjackctl, qsynth, hydrogen and zynaddsubfx. Qwsynth and Hydrogen connect themselves in qjackctl and we can test hydrogen output by clicking some drum sounds (note where the mouse is). Zyn (as seen elsewhere) makes sounds only after manually connected in qjackctl as shown in middle image. In the right image we start yoshimi-1.7.4 and now things go south...

Observations

yoshimi does NOT even show in qjackctl to be connected even manually
in fact it locks up and can be closed ONLY by closing qjackctl

Questions

why is yoshimi NOT in the qjackctl connect window on start?

Answers

This needs to be tested on the laptop as well as on other distros. The answer may lie there or in the yoshimi version number.

Exercise 3 Slackware-15.0 2022-06-18

on AMD desktop
Slackware 15.0, Kernel=5.15.38 on x86_64,
DM=Unknown, DE=, ST=tty,grub2, GPT, BIOS-boot

Start qjackctl: no issues

Start qsynth

Observations:

failed with: "failed to create the audio driver jack"

Questions:

fluidsynth for which qsynth is a front was not compiled for jack support?

Answers:

https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/showthread.php?s=e2d9dd694942bda7aaaf8caf5124d945&p=6360984#post6360984

I will try this within 48 hours
"You're correct that fluidsynth is compiled without jack support. To do that, first install jack - it will then be detected automatically when rebuilding fluidsynth. Now rebuild fluidsynth - download the source directory from e.g. http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/sl.../l/fluidsynth/ and in that directory run these commands (as root) in a terminal:

Code:

./fluidsynth.SlackBuild
/sbin/upgradepkg --reinstall /tmp/fluidsynth-2.2.5-x86_64-1.txz

chris

...done, result:

qsynth starts BUT has no soundfonts

This Slackware system has a /usr/share/soundfonts folder in which lurks a link named default.sf2 pointing to

/usr/share/minuet/soundfonts/GeneralUser-v1.47.sf2

which seems not to cater to the idea of share too much (it's in the minuet folder that the link should be pointing to the 'shared' soundfonts folder). The Suse way is no better because there a search for 'soundfonts' will find nothing!

From my Suse system I copied /usr/share/sounds/sf2 to Slackware /usr/share/soundfonts/sf2 and now there are a litany of soundfonts in there including FluidR3_GM.sf2 which I prioritised in qsynth.

Observations:

In the above we have Slackware good to go with qjackctl-qsynth-rosegarden
testing actual sound output in the RG notation editor proves the setup thus far

Start Hydrogen2

Observations:

In the above we have Slackware good to go with qjackctl-qsynth-hydrogen-rosegarden
testing actual sound output in the RG notation editor proves the setup thus far
the image on the right shows Zyn-DSSI set up and also tested

Start zynasddsubfx & Yoshimi

Observations:

zynaddsubfx appears in connect window but does not auto-connect, connect manually
hydrogen and yoshimi both appear and auto-connect in qjackctl, keyboard & drum patterns are audible
zynaddsubfx appears in rosegarden Midi-Devices window
yoshimi fails to appear in rosegarden Midi-Devices window

on AMD desktop 2022-06-18-1700 edt
Slackware 15.0, Kernel=5.15.38 on x86_64,
DM=Unknown, DE=, ST=tty,grub2, GPT, BIOS-boot

Start zynasddsubfx & Yoshimi

Observations:

zynaddsubfx FAILS TO start with error (starts ok if qjackctl OFF))
hydrogen and yoshimi both appear and auto-connect in qjackctl, keyboard & drum patterns are audible
zynaddsubfx AND yoshimi NOT appear in rosegarden Midi-Devices window

Questions:

AMD desktop: Why Zyn fails to start after qjacjctl + why yoshimi NOT connect or show in RG

Answers:

Exercise 4 Suse Leap-15.4 2022-06-17

on AMD-desktop
openSUSE Leap 15.3, Kernel=5.3.18-150300.59.49-preempt on x86_64,
DM=sddm, DE=sle-Classic:GNOME, ST=x11,grub2, GPT, BIOS-boot

Yoshimi fails to start

# yoshimi
yoshimi: error while loading shared libraries: libreadline.so.8:
cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Exercise 5 Suse-Tumbleweed 2022-06-15
FIRST TO SHOOT STRAIGHT!

on AMD desktop 2022-06-21-2300edt
openSUSE Tumbleweed, Kernel=5.18.2-1-default on
x86_64,DM=sddm,DE=KDE,ST=x11,grub2,GPT,BIOS-boot

Observations:

everything comes together real nice, using zynaddsubfx -a autoconnects in qjackctl
Zyn & Yoshimi keyboards sound off great
rosegarden makes all of them sound