FOSSPicks
MIDI monitor
Drumstick MIDI Monitor
The MIDI protocol, commonly used to connect synthesizers, drum machines, and audio hardware to each other and a computer, is now 40 years old and still used in almost every artifact of music technology. This is remarkable when you consider how much technology has changed over that time: 1200 baud modems to broadband Internet, FM radio to 5G mobile data, and analog synthesizers to digital synthesizers and back to analog. Also, computers became smartphones and tablets, and MIDI became encased within USB. But MIDI still carries the same note, controller, volume, and pitch information that it did in 1985, and even the recently ratified MIDI 2.0 specification maintains this long term compatibility. This is great for compatibility, because it means your Roland Jupiter-6 from 1982 still works with your USB MIDI interface, but it's not so great for legibility. MIDI has no namespaces, no useful YAML or JSON formatting to let you focus only on the parts that interest you, and no easy way to debug connections and see exactly what is going where. This is where the Drumstick MIDI Monitor can help.
Drumstick MIDI Monitor feels modern, thanks to its Qt UI, and connects to whatever virtual or physical MIDI interfaces you have connected via ALSA. On most distributions, this means you won't need to do any configuration. Anything connected will simply show up. When you start generating data, such as pressing a key or moving a slider, the application will list each and every message, complete with its contents. Note data will show in the on and off velocity, for example, while control values will show both the least and most significant bit of any data. The best feature, though, enables you to record the stream of MIDI data and either save it to a text file for analysis, or a MIDI file for playback – whether from the application directly or your favorite piece of music software. If you do anything with MIDI, this and the virtual MIDI keyboard by the same developer are essential tools.
Project Website
https://kmidimon.sourceforge.io
Archiver
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs