1FluidSynth(1) General Commands Manual FluidSynth(1)
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6 FluidSynth - a SoundFont synthesizer
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9 fluidsynth [options] [ SoundFonts ] [ midifiles ]
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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.
16 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.
24 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'.
31 Run fluidsynth with the --help option to check for changes in the list
33 of options.
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36 fluidsynth accepts the following options:
37 -a, --audio-driver=[label]
40 The audio driver to use. "-a help" to list valid options
41 -c, --audio-bufcount=[count]
43 Number of audio buffers
44 -C, --chorus
46 Turn the chorus on or off [0|1|yes|no, default = on]
47 -d, --dump
49 Dump incoming and outgoing MIDI events to stdout
50 -E, --audio-file-endian
52 Audio file endian for fast rendering or aufile driver ("-E help"
53 for list)
54 -f, --load-config
56 Load command configuration file (shell commands)
57 -F, --fast-render=[file]
59 Render MIDI file to raw audio data and store in [file]
60 -g, --gain
62 Set the master gain [0 < gain < 10, default = 0.2]
63 -G, --audio-groups
65 Defines the number of LADSPA audio nodes
66 -h, --help
68 Print out this help summary
69 -i, --no-shell
71 Don't read commands from the shell [default = yes]
72 -j, --connect-jack-outputs
74 Attempt to connect the jack outputs to the physical ports
75 -K, --midi-channels=[num]
77 The number of midi channels [default = 16]
78 -l, --disable-lash
80 Don't connect to LASH server
81 -L, --audio-channels=[num]
83 The number of stereo audio channels [default = 1]
84 -m, --midi-driver=[label]
86 The name of the midi driver to use. "-m help" to list valid op‐
87 tions.
88 -n, --no-midi-in
90 Don't create a midi driver to read MIDI input events [default =
91 yes]
92 -o Define a setting, -o name=value ("-o help" to dump current val‐
94 ues)
95 -O, --audio-file-format
97 Audio file format for fast rendering or aufile driver ("-O help"
98 for list)
99 -p, --portname=[label]
101 Set MIDI port name (alsa_seq, coremidi drivers)
102 -q, --quiet
104 Do not print welcome message or other informational output
105 -r, --sample-rate
107 Set the sample rate
108 -R, --reverb
110 Turn the reverb on or off [0|1|yes|no, default = on]
111 -s, --server
113 Start FluidSynth as a server process
114 -T, --audio-file-type
116 Audio file type for fast rendering or aufile driver ("T help"
117 for list)
118 -v, --verbose
120 Print out verbose messages about midi events (synth.verbose=1)
121 as well as other debug messages
122 -V, --version
124 Show version of program
125 -z, --audio-bufsize=[size]
127 Size of each audio buffer
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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.
135
138 GENERAL
139 help Prints out list of help topics (type "help <topic>" to view de‐
141 tails on available commands)
142 quit Quit the synthesizer
144 SOUNDFONTS
146 load filename
148 Load a SoundFont
149 unload number
151 Unload a SoundFont. The number is the index of the SoundFont on
152 the stack.
153 fonts Lists the current SoundFonts on the stack
155 inst number
157 Print out the available instruments for the SoundFont.
158 MIDI MESSAGES
160 noteon channel key velocity
162 Send a note-on event
163 noteoff channel key
165 Send a note-off event
166 cc channel ctrl value
168 Send a control change event
169 prog chan num
171 Send program-change message
172 select chan sfont bank prog
174 Combination of bank-select and program-change
175 channels
177 Print out the presets of all channels.
178 AUDIO SYNTHESIS
180 gain value
182 Set the master gain (0 < gain < 5)
183 interp num
185 Choose interpolation method for all channels
186 interpc chan num
188 Choose interpolation method for one channel
189 REVERB
191 set synth.reverb.active [0|1]
193 Turn the reverb on or off
194 set synth.reverb.room-size num
196 Change reverb room size
197 set synth.reverb.damp num
199 Change reverb damping
200 set synth.reverb.width num
202 Change reverb width
203 set synth.reverb.level num
205 Change reverb level
206 CHORUS
208 set synth.chorus.active [0|1]
210 Turn the chorus on or off
211 set synth.chorus.nr n
213 Use n delay lines (default 3)
214 set synth.chorus.level num
216 Set output level of each chorus line to num
217 set synth.chorus.speed num
219 Set mod speed of chorus to num (Hz)
220 set synth.chorus.depth num
222 Set chorus modulation depth to num (ms)
223 MIDI ROUTER
225 router_default
227 Reloads the default MIDI routing rules (input channels are
228 mapped 1:1 to the synth)
229 router_clear
231 Deletes all MIDI routing rules.
232 router_begin [note|cc|prog|pbend|cpress|kpress]
234 Starts a new routing rule for events of the given type
235 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.
240 router_par1 min max mul add
242 Limits parameter 1 (for example note number in a note events).
243 Similar to router_chan.
244 router_par2 min max mul add
246 Limits parameter 2 (for example velocity in a note event). Simi‐
247 lar to router_chan
248 router_end
250 Finishes the current rule and adds it to the router.
251 Router examples
253 router_clear
255 router_begin note
257 router_chan 0 7 0 15
259 router_end
261 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)
265 router_begin cc
267 router_chan 0 7 0 15
269 router_par1 1 1 0 64
271 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)
276
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>
285 Please check the AUTHORS and THANKS files for all credits
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289 SoundFont(R) is a registered trademark of E-mu Systems, Inc.
290 Jan 1, 2022 FluidSynth(1)