GettingStarted – FluidSynth Manual
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GettingStarted – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/GettingStarted
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Getting started with fluidsynth
Introduction
fluidsynth is a software music synthesizer that reads midi input events either from a midi piano
keyboard or from a software application (e.g. midi sequencer) and then generates in realtime a musical
audio output that corresponds to all the midi notes being played.
To work fluidsynth requires a Sound Font 2 file (.sf2 file) which contains all the audio waveforms for all
of the different musical instruments sounds that can be produced by fluidsynth. The Sound Font files
'FluidR3_GM.sf2' and 'FluidR3_GS.sf2' work with fluidsynth and also have the advantage of having the
Creative Commons License. These files are available in many Linux distributions in the packages 'fluidsoundfont-gm' and 'fluid-soundfont-gs' and they can also be downloaded from the net (try searching for
'FluidR3_GM.sf2'). The GM stands for General Midi which defines a standard mapping of MIDI patch
numbers to musical instrument sounds.
Running fluidsynth
The easiest way test that fluidsynth is working correctly and to hear some midi music playing is to use
the command line and to pass a Sound Font file and the midi file as the parameter. For example the
following command line tests that fluidsynth is working on Ubuntu Linux.
fluidsynth /usr/share/sounds/sf2/FluidR3_GM.sf2 mymusicfile.mid
Normally you would not pass a midi file to fluidsynth but instead use another application to pass midi
events to fluidsynth. In this case you would start fluidsynth the following parameters.
fluidsynth /usr/share/sounds/sf2/FluidR3_GM.sf2
For further examples on how to start fluid synth see ExampleCommandLines.
fluidsynth can also started using QSYNTH which provided a graphical user interface to the synth
Getting Help
For help with starting fluidsynth see the UserManual or type "man fluidsynth" on the command line.
Typing "fluidsynth --help" lists all the command line options.
Once fluidsynth has started up type "help" to access the built in help. Type "settings" to show all the
current settings. Type "info audio.driver" to list the available hardware devices.
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UserManual – FluidSynth
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User Manual
This document has the same layout as the manpage, but it contains links to other pages for more
information: FluidFeatures and FluidSettings.
NAME
FluidSynth - a SoundFont synthesizer
SYNOPSIS
fluidsynth [options] [ SoundFonts ] [ midifiles ]
DESCRIPTION
FluidSynth is a real-time MIDI synthesizer based on the SoundFont(R) 2 specifications. It can be used
to render MIDI input or MIDI files to audio. The MIDI events are read from a MIDI device. The sound is
rendered in real-time to the sound output device. See FluidFeatures for a comprehensive list of features
implemented and working.
The easiest way to start the synthesizer is to give it a SoundFont on the command line: ’fluidsynth
soundfont.sf2’. fluidsynth will load the SoundFont and read MIDI events from the default MIDI device
using the default MIDI driver. Once FluidSynth is running, it reads commands from the stdin. There are
commands to send MIDI events manually, to load or unload SoundFonts, and so forth. All the available
commands are discussed below.
FluidSynth can also be used to play a list of MIDI files. Simply run FluidSynth with the SoundFont and
the list of MIDI files to play. In this case you might not want to open the MIDI device to read external
events. Use the -n option to deactivate MIDI input. If you also want to deactivate the use of the shell,
start FluidSynth with the -i option: ’fluidsynth -ni soundfont.sf2 midifile1.mid midifile2.mid’.
Run fluidsynth with the --help option to check for changes in the list of options.
OPTIONS
fluidsynth accepts the following options:
-a, --audio-driver=[label]
The audio driver [alsa,jack,oss,dsound,...]
-C, --chorus
Turn the chorus on or off [0|1|yes|no, default = on]
-c, --audio-bufcount=[count]
Number of audio buffers
-d, --dump
Dump incoming and outgoing MIDI events to stdout
-f, --load-config
Load command configuration file (shell commands)
-G, --audio-groups
Defines the number of LADSPA audio nodes
-g, --gain
Set the master gain [0 < gain < 10, default = 0.2]
-h, --help
Print out this help summary
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UserManual – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/UserManual
-i, --no-shell
Don’t read commands from the shell [default = yes]
-j, --connect-jack-outputs
Attempt to connect the jack outputs to the physical ports
-K, --midi-channels=[num]
The number of midi channels [default = 16]
-L, --audio-channels=[num]
The number of stereo audio channels [default = 1]
-l, --disable-lash
Don’t connect to LASH server
-m, --midi-driver=[label]
The name of the midi driver to use [oss,alsa,alsa_seq,...]
-n, --no-midi-in
Don’t create a midi driver to read MIDI input events [default = yes]
-o
Define a setting, -o name=value ("-o help" to dump current values). See FluidSettings for
details
-p, --portname=[label]
Set alsa sequencer and coremidi port name
-R, --reverb
Turn the reverb on or off [0|1|yes|no, default = on]
-r, --sample-rate
Set the sample rate
-s, --server
Start FluidSynth as a server process
-V, --version
Show version of program
-v, --verbose
Print out verbose messages about midi events
-z, --audio-bufsize=[size]
Size of each audio buffer
SHELL COMMANDS
GENERAL
help
Prints out a summary of the main commands
help help
Prints out list of other help topics (type "help ")
quit
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UserManual – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/UserManual
Quit the synthesizer
SOUNDFONTS
load filename
Load a SoundFont
unload number
Unload a SoundFont. The number is the index of the SoundFont on the stack.
fonts
Lists the current SoundFonts on the stack
inst number
Print out the available instruments for the SoundFont.
MIDI MESSAGES
noteon channel key velocity
Send a note-on event
noteoff channel key
Send a note-off event
cc channel ctrl value
Send a control change event
prog chan num
Send program-change message
select chan sfont bank prog
Combination of bank-select and program-change
channels
Print out the presets of all channels.
AUDIO SYNTHESIS
gain value
Set the master gain (0 < gain < 5)
interp num
Choose interpolation method for all channels
interpc chan num
Choose interpolation method for one channel
REVERB
reverb [0|1|on|off]
Turn the reverb on or off
rev_preset num
Load preset num into the reverb unit
rev_setroomsize num
Change reverb room size
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UserManual – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/UserManual
rev_setdamp num
Change reverb damping
rev_setwidth num
Change reverb width
rev_setlevel num
Change reverb level
CHORUS
chorus [0|1|on|off]
Turn the chorus on or off
cho_set_nr n
Use n delay lines (default 3)
cho_set_level num
Set output level of each chorus line to num
cho_set_speed num
Set mod speed of chorus to num (Hz)
cho_set_depth num
Set chorus modulation depth to num (ms)
MIDI ROUTER
router_default
Reloads the default MIDI routing rules (input channels are mapped 1:1 to the synth)
router_clear
Deletes all MIDI routing rules.
router_begin [note|cc|prog|pbend|cpress|kpress]
Starts a new routing rule for events of the given type.
router_chan min max mul add
Limits the rule for events on min <= chan <= max. If the channel falls into the window, it
is multiplied by ’mul’, then 'add' is added.
router_par1 min max mul add
Limits parameter 1 (for example note number in a note events). Similar to router_chan.
router_par2 min max mul add
Limits parameter 2 (for example velocity in a note event). Similar to router_chan.
router_end
Finishes the current rule and adds it to the router.
Router examples
router_clear
router_begin note
router_chan 0 7 0 15
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UserManual – FluidSynth
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router_end
Will accept only note events from the lower 8 MIDI channels. Regardless of the channel, the synthesizer
plays the note on ch 15 (synthchannel=midichannel*0+15).
router_begin cc
router_chan 0 7 0 15
router_par1 1 1 0 64
router_end
Configures the modulation wheel to act as sustain pedal (transforms CC 1 to CC 64 on the lower 8 MIDI
channels, routes to ch 15).
LADSPA
LADSPA processing is currently disabled because its implementation has stability issues.
ladspa_clear
Resets LADSPA effect unit to bypass state
ladspa_add lib plugin n1 <- p1 n2 -> p2 …
Loads and connects LADSPA plugin
ladspa_start
Starts LADSPA effect unit
ladspa_declnode node value
Declares control node `node' with value 'value'
ladspa_setnode node value
Assigns 'value' to 'node'
AUTHORS
Peter Hanappe
Markus Nentwig
Antoine Schmitt
Josh Green
Stephane Letz
Please check the AUTHORS and THANKS files for all credits
DISCLAIMER
SoundFont(R) is a registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc.
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FluidSettings – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/FluidSettings
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FluidSynth Settings
The actual list of available settings, their options and min, max and default values will depend on build
settings.
AUDIO DRIVER SETTINGS
audio.driver
String. ['pulseaudio', 'alsa', 'oss', 'coreaudio', 'dsound', 'portaudio', 'sndman', 'jack', 'file'].
Name of the audio driver to use. Defaults to first available (built-in) driver from the list.
audio.periods
Integer. [min=2, max=64]. Number of periods tried by the alsa, oss, dsound and jack
audio drivers. A warning will be shown when the actual value is different than the
requested one. Default value is 8 for Windows and MacOS9, 16 for all other builds.
audio.period-size
Integer. [min=64, max=8192]. Period size tried by the pulseaudio, alsa, oss, dsound and
jack audio drivers. A warning will be shown when the actual value is different than the
requested one. Default value is 512 for Windows, 64 for all other builds.
audio.sample-format
String. ['16bits', 'float']. Sample format tried by the alsa, oss, dsound and jack audio
drivers. Default value: '16bits'.
audio.input-channels
Integer. [min=0, max=2, def=0]. Obsolete.
audio.output-channels
Integer. [min=2, max=32, def=2]. Obsolete.
ALSA
audio.alsa.device
String. ALSA audio device name. Default value: 'default'.
JACK
audio.jack.autoconnect
Integer. [0, 1]. If equal to 1 then auto-connect audio output ports to the first physical input
ports found. Default value: 0.
audio.jack.id
String. JACK identifier to use. Default value: 'fluidsynth'.
audio.jack.multi
String. ['no', 'yes']. If 'yes' then create separate output ports for reverb and chorus effects.
There will be as many left/right port pairs as defined by "synth.audio-channels" + one
left/right pair for reverb + one left/right pair for chorus effect. Default value: 'no'.
DSOUND
audio.dsound.device
String. DSound device name. Default value: 'default'.
OSS
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FluidSettings – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/FluidSettings
audio.oss.device
String. OSS device name. Default value: '/dev/dsp'.
PULSEAUDIO
audio.pulseaudio.server
String. PulseAudio server. Default value: 'default'.
audio.pulseaudio.device
String. PulseAudio device name. Default value: 'default'.
PORTAUDIO
audio.portaudio.device
String. PortAudio device name. Default value: 'PortAudio Default'.
FILE
audio.file.name
String. File name where data will be written to. Default value: 'fluidsynth.raw'.
MIDI SETTINGS
midi.driver
String. ['alsa_seq', 'alsa_raw', 'oss', 'winmidi', 'midishare', 'coremidi']. Name of the MIDI
driver to use. Defaults to first available (built-in) driver from the list excluding alsa_raw.
ALSA_SEQ
midi.alsa_seq.id
String. Client identifier, used to generate client and port names automatically. Default
value: pid.
midi.alsa_seq.device
String. ALSA sequencer device name. Default value: 'default'.
midi.portname
String. MIDI client and port name. Default value: (automatically generated).
ALSA_RAW
midi.alsa.device
String. MIDI device name. Default value: 'default'.
OSS
midi.oss.device
String. OSS MIDI device name. Default value: '/dev/midi'.
WINMIDI
midi.winmidi.device
String. WinMIDI device name. Default value: 'default'.
COREMIDI
midi.coremidi.id
String. Client identifier, used to generate a distinguished client name automatically. Default
value: pid.
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FluidSettings – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/FluidSettings
midi.portname
String. MIDI port name. Default value: (automatically generated).
SYNTH SETTINGS
synth.reverb.active
String. ['yes', 'no']. When set to "yes" the reverb effects module is activated. Otherwise, no
reverb will be added to the output signal. Note that when the reverb module is active, the
amount of signal send to the reverb module depends on the "reverb send" generator
defined in the SoundFont. Default value: 'yes'.
synth.chorus.active
String. ['yes', 'no']. When set to "yes" the chorus effects module is activated. Otherwise, no
chorus will be added to the output signal. Note that when the reverb module is active, the
amount of signal send to the chorus module depends on the "chorus send" generator
defined in the SoundFont. Default value: 'yes'.
synth.ladspa.active
String. ['no', 'yes']. When set to "yes" the LADSPA subsystem will be called. This
subsystem allows to load and interconnect LADSPA plugins. The output of the synthesizer is
processed by the LADSPA subsystem. Note that the synthesizer has to be compiled with
LADSPA support. Currently disabled because of some stability issues. Default value: 'no'.
synth.midi-channels
Integer. [min=16, max=256]. This setting defines the number of MIDI channels of the
synthesizer. The MIDI standard defines 16 channels, so most hardware keyboards are
limited to 16. If you plan to use the synthesizer as a plugin in an application, it might be
interesting to set the number of channels to a larger value. In this case you can program a
greater number of presets. One MIDI port is created for every 16 channels. Default value:
16.
synth.midi-bank-select
String. ['gm', 'gs', 'xg', 'mma']. This setting defines the MIDI bank select style (GM, GS, XG
or MMA. Default=GS). This setting is used only for synth initialization. The behavior of each
option is the following:
GM ignores CC0 and CC32 msgs
GS CC0 becomes the channel bank, CC32 is ignored
XG CC32 becomes the channel bank, CC0 is ignored
MMA bank = CC0*128+CC32
synth.polyphony
Integer. [min=16, max=4096]. The polyphony defines how many voices can be played in
parallel. The number of voices is not necessarily equivalent to the number of notes played
simultaniously. Indeed, when a note is struck on a specific MIDI channel, the preset on that
channel may created several voices, for example, one for the left audio channel and one for
the right audio channels. The number of voices activated depends on the number of
instrument zones that fall in the correspond to the velocity and key of the played note.
Default value: 256.
synth.sample-rate
Float. [min=22050.000, max=96000.000]. The sample rate of the audio generated by the
synthesizer. The audio driver will try to use the same sample rate, but when not possible it
will just show a warning and continue with not matching sample rates. Default value:
44100.000.
synth.verbose
String. ['no', 'yes']. When set to "yes" the synthesizer will print out information about the
received MIDI events to the stdout. This can be helpful for debugging. This setting can not
be changed after the synthesizer has started. Default value: 'no'.
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FluidSettings – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/FluidSettings
synth.gain
Float. [min=0.000, max=10.000]. The gain is applied to the final or master output of the
synthesizer. It is set to a low value by default to avoid the saturation of the output when
random MIDI files are played. Default value: 0.200.
synth.audio-channels
Integer. [min=1, max=256]. By default, the synthesizer outputs a single stereo signal.
Using this option, the synthesizer can output multichannel audio. Number of left/right
output pairs when "audio.jack.multi" is enabled. There's a practical limit of 128 channels in
the source code (FIXME). Default value: 1.
synth.audio-groups
Integer. [min=1, max=256]. By default, the synthesizer outputs a single stereo signal.
Using this option, the synthesizer can output multichannel audio. This value should be the
same as "synth.audio-channels" unless LADSPA is enabled, then it will be the number of
inputs to the LADSPA subsystem. There's a practical limit of 128 groups in the source code
(FIXME). Default value: 1.
synth.effects-channels
Integer. [min=2, max=2]. Obsolete.
synth.dump
String. ['no', 'yes']. Obsolete.
SHELL SETTINGS
shell.port
Integer. [min=1, max=65535]. Port used in server mode (not working for Windows, see
#20). Default value: 9800.
shell.prompt
String. Prompt to use by the shell. Default value: .
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ExampleCommandLines – FluidSynth
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Example Command Lines to start fluid synth
Introduction
This page gives examples of how to start fluidsynth from the command line with different
configurations. Please feel free to add the configuration that works best for you.
fluidsynth with JACK
To be completed.
fluidsynth on NetBooks and low performance computers
First you need to reduce the CPU usage which helps reduce the chances of data under-run which causes
the audio cut out. This can be done by turning off the Reverb and Chorus with the flags '-C0 -R0' and
also by halving the sample rate with the flag '-r22050'. Changing the sample rate does not work with
the alsa hw layer so use the plug layer instead. For example this command line works quite well on a
eeePC 901 NetBook .
fluidsynth -C0 -R0 -r22050 -l -a alsa -o audio.alsa.device=plughw:0
If you get problems with unsteady playback or the audio cutting out then try closing all other programs,
turning off your wireless network and unpluging any network cable.
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SoundFont – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/SoundFont
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SoundFont is a file format for sample based instrument sounds. You will need a SoundFont to use
FluidSynth.
If you just need to play General Midi files, these SoundFonts are known to work well with FluidSynth:
S. Christian Collins GeneralUser GS - 30 MB
Fluid (R3) General MIDI SoundFont (GM) - 140 MB
More download sites for SoundFonts:
Hammersound - A nice resource for downloading free SoundFont instrument files.
ResonanceDB (Currently down, until a new hosting location is found)
Developer Resources
The SoundFont format was originally created by Creative Labs and EMU Systems and used in the
SoundBlaster AWE 32 and later cards. There are now many other hardware platforms and software
synthesizers supporting this format. SoundFont 2.0 and later are open formats and the specification is
freely available.
Wikipedia SoundFont page - Good overview of SoundFont format and other resources.
SoundFont 2.4 specification - PDF document describing SoundFont format technical details.
Creative Labs Developer Documentation - Specifications, docs, SF2 test files, etc.
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LowLatency – FluidSynth
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Low latency tips
There are several FluidSynth options which affect audio latency. Many of these depend on what audio
driver is being used. Additionally the operating system being used, how it is setup and what audio card
you have will limit the lowest artifact free latency that can be achieved.
Specifying the audio driver
To specify the audio driver which FluidSynth will use, supply the -a DRIVER option, for example:
fluidsynth -a alsa
Audio buffer size and count
These options are used for the majority of audio drivers that FluidSynth supports. An exception is that
the Jack driver does not use the audio buffer size or count options.
Command line switches and equivalent FluidSynth settings (in parenthesis):
-r=RATE (synth.sample-rate): Sample rate
-c=NUM (audio.periods): Set the number of audio buffers
-z=SIZE (audio.period-size): Set audio buffer size
The sample rate sets the native sample rate that FluidSynth synthesizes to. Typical values include
44100 and 48000.
Note: Currently the actual sample rate being used by the audio driver may differ, in which case the
synth will be out of tune. Will be fixed in a future version of FluidSynth. Ensure that the internal
FluidSynth sample rate matches that of your driver for proper operation.
The audio buffer count and size sets the values of these parameters used by the audio driver. Total
latency in samples is NUM * SIZE. To calculate latency in seconds use NUM * SIZE / RATE. For
example: 2 * 256 / 48000 = ~10ms latency. Suggested values for NUM is 2 or 3. Suggested values for
SIZE include: 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024. Non power of 2 values can also be used and sound cards have
different limits on this value.
ALSA specific tips
ALSA is a pretty flexible audio system and is the de-facto standard on Linux systems.
Specifying what ALSA device to use to playback to, can have a huge affect on achievable low latency.
The hardware device layer is the best, followed by the plug hardware layer. Using dmix is not
recommended for live playback, since it typically has rather high latency response. (Unfortunately
specifying the hardware layer may bypass all of the desktop volume controls.)
To use the hardware layer, specify the ALSA audio device in the form "hw:N" where N is the card
number. For example:
fluidsynth -a alsa -o audio.alsa.device=hw:0
If FluidSynth fails to initialize your sound card, you may need to specify a different sample rate (some
sound cards only operate at fixed rates). Use the -o synth.sample-rate=RATE or -r=RATE command line
options. Playing with the audio buffer size and count may also be required. If your sound card does not
support 16 bit audio (for example it is fixed to 24 bit), then you will need to use the plughw layer as
FluidSynth currently does not support 24 bit directly.
To use the plug hardware layer, specify the ALSA audio device in the form "plughw:N" where N is the
card number. For example:
fluidsynth -a alsa -o audio.alsa.device=plughw:0
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LowLatency – FluidSynth
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http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/fluidsynth/wiki/LowLatency
The advantage to the plug hardware layer is that it will do sample conversion as necessary, though this
will require additional CPU, so the hw layer is preferred if possible.
Linux kernel
The version of the Linux kernel being used and its configured build time configuration options can have
a pretty dramatic effect on achievable artifact free low latency. This can be an art in and of itself. Some
people use RT kernels which may or may not have a lowlatency patch applied and usually have full
preemption enabled.
FIXME: Add more info and/or links to Linux kernel tuning.
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