1FluidSynth(1)               General Commands Manual              FluidSynth(1)
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NAME

6       FluidSynth - a SoundFont synthesizer
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SYNOPSIS

9       fluidsynth [options] [ SoundFonts ] [ midifiles ]
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DESCRIPTION

12       FluidSynth  is a real-time MIDI synthesizer based on the SoundFont(R) 2
13       specifications. It can be used to render MIDI input or  MIDI  files  to
14       audio.   The MIDI events are read from a MIDI device. The sound is ren‐
15       dered in real-time to the sound output device.
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17       The easiest way to start the synthesizer is to give it a  SoundFont  on
18       the  command line: 'fluidsynth soundfont.sf2'. fluidsynth will load the
19       SoundFont and read MIDI events from the default MIDI device  using  the
20       default  MIDI  driver.   Once  FluidSynth is running, it reads commands
21       from the stdin. There are commands to send  MIDI  events  manually,  to
22       load or unload SoundFonts, and so forth. All the available commands are
23       discussed below.
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25       FluidSynth can also be used to play a list of MIDI  files.  Simply  run
26       FluidSynth  with  the  SoundFont and the list of MIDI files to play. In
27       this case you might not want to open the MIDI device to  read  external
28       events. Use the -n option to deactivate MIDI input. If you also want to
29       deactivate the use of the shell, start FluidSynth with the  -i  option:
30       'fluidsynth -ni soundfont.sf2 midifile1.mid midifile2.mid'.
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32       Run  fluidsynth with the --help option to check for changes in the list
33       of options.
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OPTIONS

36       fluidsynth accepts the following options:
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39       -a, --audio-driver=[label]
40              The audio driver to use. "-a help" to list valid options
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42       -c, --audio-bufcount=[count]
43              Number of audio buffers
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45       -C, --chorus
46              Turn the chorus on or off [0|1|yes|no, default = on]
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48       -d, --dump
49              Dump incoming and outgoing MIDI events to stdout
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51       -E, --audio-file-endian
52              Audio file endian for fast rendering or aufile driver ("-E help"
53              for list)
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55       -f, --load-config
56              Load command configuration file (shell commands)
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58       -F, --fast-render=[file]
59              Render MIDI file to raw audio data and store in [file]
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61       -g, --gain
62              Set the master gain [0 < gain < 10, default = 0.2]
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64       -G, --audio-groups
65              Defines the number of LADSPA audio nodes
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67       -h, --help
68              Print out this help summary
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70       -i, --no-shell
71              Don't read commands from the shell [default = yes]
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73       -j, --connect-jack-outputs
74              Attempt to connect the jack outputs to the physical ports
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76       -K, --midi-channels=[num]
77              The number of midi channels [default = 16]
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79       -l, --disable-lash
80              Don't connect to LASH server
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82       -L, --audio-channels=[num]
83              The number of stereo audio channels [default = 1]
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85       -m, --midi-driver=[label]
86              The  name of the midi driver to use. "-m help" to list valid op‐
87              tions.
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89       -n, --no-midi-in
90              Don't create a midi driver to read MIDI input events [default  =
91              yes]
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93       -o     Define  a setting, -o name=value ("-o help" to dump current val‐
94              ues)
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96       -O, --audio-file-format
97              Audio file format for fast rendering or aufile driver ("-O help"
98              for list)
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100       -p, --portname=[label]
101              Set MIDI port name (alsa_seq, coremidi drivers)
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103       -q, --quiet
104              Do not print welcome message or other informational output
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106       -r, --sample-rate
107              Set the sample rate
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109       -R, --reverb
110              Turn the reverb on or off [0|1|yes|no, default = on]
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112       -s, --server
113              Start FluidSynth as a server process
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115       -T, --audio-file-type
116              Audio  file  type  for fast rendering or aufile driver ("T help"
117              for list)
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119       -v, --verbose
120              Print out verbose messages about midi  events  (synth.verbose=1)
121              as well as other debug messages
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123       -V, --version
124              Show version of program
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126       -z, --audio-bufsize=[size]
127              Size of each audio buffer
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SETTINGS

131       The  settings  to  be specified with -o are documented in the fluidset‐
132       tings.xml  hopefully  shipped  with  this  distribution  or  online  at
133       https://www.fluidsynth.org/api/fluidsettings.xml . We recommend viewing
134       this file in a webbrowser, favourably Firefox.
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136

SHELL COMMANDS

138       GENERAL
139
140       help   Prints out list of help topics (type "help <topic>" to view  de‐
141              tails on available commands)
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143       quit   Quit the synthesizer
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145       SOUNDFONTS
146
147       load filename
148              Load a SoundFont
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150       unload number
151              Unload  a SoundFont. The number is the index of the SoundFont on
152              the stack.
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154       fonts  Lists the current SoundFonts on the stack
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156       inst number
157              Print out the available instruments for the SoundFont.
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159       MIDI MESSAGES
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161       noteon channel key velocity
162              Send a note-on event
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164       noteoff channel key
165              Send a note-off event
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167       cc channel ctrl value
168              Send a control change event
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170       prog chan num
171              Send program-change message
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173       select chan sfont bank prog
174              Combination of bank-select and program-change
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176       channels
177              Print out the presets of all channels.
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179       AUDIO SYNTHESIS
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181       gain value
182              Set the master gain (0 < gain < 5)
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184       interp num
185              Choose interpolation method for all channels
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187       interpc chan num
188              Choose interpolation method for one channel
189
190       REVERB
191
192       set synth.reverb.active [0|1]
193              Turn the reverb on or off
194
195       set synth.reverb.room-size num
196              Change reverb room size
197
198       set synth.reverb.damp num
199              Change reverb damping
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201       set synth.reverb.width num
202              Change reverb width
203
204       set synth.reverb.level num
205              Change reverb level
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207       CHORUS
208
209       set synth.chorus.active [0|1]
210              Turn the chorus on or off
211
212       set synth.chorus.nr n
213              Use n delay lines (default 3)
214
215       set synth.chorus.level num
216              Set output level of each chorus line to num
217
218       set synth.chorus.speed num
219              Set mod speed of chorus to num (Hz)
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221       set synth.chorus.depth num
222              Set chorus modulation depth to num (ms)
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224       MIDI ROUTER
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226       router_default
227              Reloads the default  MIDI  routing  rules  (input  channels  are
228              mapped 1:1 to the synth)
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230       router_clear
231              Deletes all MIDI routing rules.
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233       router_begin [note|cc|prog|pbend|cpress|kpress]
234              Starts a new routing rule for events of the given type
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236       router_chan min max mul add
237              Limits  the rule for events on min <= chan <= max.  If the chan‐
238              nel falls into the window, it is multiplied by 'mul', then 'add'
239              is added.
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241       router_par1 min max mul add
242              Limits  parameter  1 (for example note number in a note events).
243              Similar to router_chan.
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245       router_par2 min max mul add
246              Limits parameter 2 (for example velocity in a note event). Simi‐
247              lar to router_chan
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249       router_end
250              Finishes the current rule and adds it to the router.
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252       Router examples
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254       router_clear
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256       router_begin note
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258       router_chan 0 7 0 15
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260       router_end
261
262       Will accept only note events from the lower 8 MIDI
263              channels.  Regardless  of the channel, the synthesizer plays the
264              note on ch 15 (synthchannel=midichannel*0+15)
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266       router_begin cc
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268       router_chan 0 7 0 15
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270       router_par1 1 1 0 64
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272       router_add
273              Configures the modulation wheel to act as sustain pedal  (trans‐
274              forms  CC  1 to CC 64 on the lower 8 MIDI channels, routes to ch
275              15)
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AUTHORS

279       Peter Hanappe <hanappe@fluid-synth.org>
280       Markus Nentwig <nentwig@users.sourceforge.net>
281       Antoine Schmitt <as@gratin.org>
282       Josh Green <jgreen@users.sourceforge.net>
283       Stephane Letz <letz@grame.fr>
284       Tom Moebert <tom[d0t]mbrt[ÄT]gmail[d0t]com>
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286       Please check the AUTHORS and THANKS files for all credits
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DISCLAIMER

289       SoundFont(R) is a registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc.
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293                                  Jan 1, 2022                    FluidSynth(1)
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