[linux-audio-user] Generating drones, take 2

[Pedro Lopez-Cabanillas]

> According to the responses to my previous post. There does not seem to be
> a way in linux to send MIDI command from my shell to a MIDI output
> interface.

You can generate a note-on event from bash, with something like this:
echo -n $'\x90\x45\x70' > /dev/midi01

The above command plays the A note on "/dev/midi01" 
x90 is the MIDI note-on status byte
x45 = decimal 69 = A (440 Hz).
x70 is the note velocity

If you want to stop the sound, use:
echo -n $'\x80\x45\x70' > /dev/midi01
where x80 is the note-off status byte.

> For reference I want to be able to generate drone tones on my MIDI. I am
> looking for a simple application (MIDI shell??) that would let me turn a
> particular note on. I already have a sound card with the wavetable, this
> sound card understands midi. Alsa is supposed to have a good midi api, so
> how so I insert a midi event into my souncards midi output interface!!
> FT

You need to discover which /dev/midiXX is your soundcard wavetable synth. 
If you prefer to use ALSA rawmidi devices, replace /dev/midiXX with 
/dev/snd/midiCxDy, where "x" is the card number and "y" is a device number 
belonging to this card. 

Regards,
Pedro

-- 
ALSA Library Bindings for Pascal
http://alsapas.alturl.com