Before Assignment One

Assignment One is due Tuesday January 31st by midnight

First you will need to get familiar with the basics of Common Lisp, start Jack and set up Qsynth with the default soundfont (you can use other soundfonts if you like), open Portmidi from the Common Lisp environment and send scores to the synth using functions that include the "process" Common Music macro.

• make sure you have the proper ".emacs" file in your home directory, this will allow you to get slime up and running and will make parenthesis matching, syntax highlighting and automatic indentation work just fine. You really need all this, it will help you keep track of your lisp code (this is the default ".emacs" file you need).
• start Jack (the sound server) using the Qjackctl graphical front end
• start Qsynth (a graphical front end to the fluidsynth soundfont player)
• configure Qsynth to use a soundfont, this is one you can find on all machines:

  
    /usr/share/soundfonts/FluidR3_GM.SF2
  

• start Vkeybd (a virtual MIDI keyboard)
• in Qjackctl press the button labeled "Connect" (this will bring up an Audio/Midi patchbay) and make sure that the Audio output of "qsynth" is connected to the soundcard, and that the MIDI output of Vkeybd is also connected to fluidsynth ((labelled "FLUID Synth" in the Midi patchbay). Press a key to make sure that Qsynth is working fine, is connected to the audio output and you can hear the piano sound.
• start emacs, start slime and open portmidi (input and output). Go to Qjackctl and connect the output Midi port you selected in the portmidi-open function call to the input of FLUID Synth. Send some notes from Common Music using "events" to make sure the connectio is working and that you can hear Fluidsynth.