[linux-audio-user] Connecting a MIDI keyboard

Antonio debian at fastwebnet.it
Tue Sep 5 05:27:25 EDT 2006


Hi,

Mon, 4 Sep 2006 21:39:11 -0400
lanas <lanas at securenet.net> ha scritto:
> Folks,
> 
>   What looked simple is not.  I have this Yamaha Psr-260 keyboard.  I
> want to use it to play the ZynAddSubFX synth (one of these days I'll
> know how to write that name I guess, if only by multiple repeated
> tries).  
> 
>   So I start a MIDI cable from the OUT of the keyboard and connect it
> to the IN MIDI jack of the M-Audio 1010LT card.  So far so good I
> guess.

This is only an hard guess. The first time I've connected the midi
cable to my keyboard I took some time to discover that the INPUT plug
had to be plugged in the MIDI-OUTPUT keybord port, and the OUTPUT plug
to the MIDI-INPUT port on the keyboard.

> 
>   Then I start jack using Qjackctl, and press the green button.  I
> also start the ZynSubAddFX synth (looks like a Polish name, guess
> that was the spiritual connection) and it shows up in the jack
> connect dialog box, which looks like this:
> 
>   Readable Clients / Output Ports
> 
>   + 14LMidi Through
>   - 16:M Audio Delta 1010LT MIDI
>     0:M Audio Delta 1010LT MIDI
> 
>   Writable Clients / Input Ports
> 
>   - 129:ZynSubAddFX
>     0: ZynAddSubFX
> 
>   So I connect the last two entries together.  The Zyn synth panel
> shows MIDI channel 1 selected.  Jack uses the ALSA driver.

From the panel window you should see a moving graph-bar if you were
sending midi notes on some channel, even if you can hear the sound only
if the corresponding channel is activated (via the check box).

>   I play a few notes on the keyboard and only the built-in Yamaha
> sounds are resounding, no Zyn.  If I use the Zyn virtual keyboard, I
> can hear the software synth all right.
> 
>   The mic input of the 1010LT works fine, as well as the rendering
> of sounds made by Zyn and Hydrogen.  So I presume the card is OK.
> Maybe the MIDI cable is not, so I changed it.  To no avail.
> 
>   Systems are Fedora 5 CCRMA and Studio64.
> 
>   Is there something else to be done in order to use a MIDI keyboard
> to trigger sounds created by the Linux box ?  Or should I start to
> think that the keyboard itself is somehow damaged ?

There is anything special to do. Check if your keyboard is actually
sending some midi note through the cable.

My 0.02 € cents.


Cheers,

  ~ Antonio



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