/* * Purpose: A simple software MIDI synthesizer program. * Copyright (C) 4Front Technologies, 2002-2004. Released in public domain. * * Description: * This is a pretty simple program that demonstrates how to do MIDI input at * the same time with audio playback (using select). It also demonstrates how * to use the MIDI loopback devices of OSS 4.0 (and later). * Please note that this program is nothing but a programming example. It's * "output quality" equals to $10 (or cheaper) toy organs. However it's very * amazing how great some songs (MIDI files) sound even 90% of the MIDI * information is simply ignored. * * What this program actually does is that it listen's to the MIDI input port * and interprets the incoming MIDI stream (using the midiparser routines * included in the OSSlib library). * * For simplicity reasons this program does nothing else but plays simple * sine waves at the right note frequencies. Percussive sounds (MIDI * channel 10) are simply ignored because playing them as sine waves doesn't * make any sense. All MIDI controllers, pitch bend as well as all the other * MIDI features are ignored too. However the all notes off control change * message is handled because otherwise hanging notes will be left if the * client (player) application gets killed abnormally. * * There is simple fixed envelope handling (actually just attack and decay) * and primitive handling of note on velocity. These features appeared to be * necessary because otherwise nobody can listen the output. * * This program is not too usefull as a synthesizer. It's not intended to be * any super "modular synthesizer". However it demonstrates how simple it is * to implement any kind of software MIDI synthesizer using the OSS API. * You don't need to know how to use some 450 audio related calls or 300 * MIDI/sequencer related calls. As you will see practically everything will * be handled automagically by OSS. So you can spend all your time on * writing the application itself. This program was written, and debugged * in less than 5 hours from scratch (including MIDI input, audio output * and the actual synthesis). In fact it took longer time to write these * comments than the application itself. * * The major benefit of this super simple design is that it cannot fail. * Provided that you don't try to set the buffer size to a too small value * the application logic is fully nuke proof. It will work unmodified with * every sound card in the world (past, current and future). * * The MIDI parser code was taken from some earlier work but we have included * if in the OSSlib library for you (under LGPL). Please feel free to use it * in your own OSS MIDI applications. * * To use this program you will need to install the "4Front MIDI loopback" * driver using the "Add new card/device" function of soundconf. * Then start this program in background (the audio and MIDI device names * can be given as command line arguments. For example * * softsynth /dev/dsp /dev/midi01 * * You can find out the loopback MIDI device number by looking for the * "MIDI loopback server side" devices using the {!xlink ossinfo} -m * command. Btw, nothing prevents using any "real" physical MIDI port as the * input. * * When the synthesizer server is running you can play any MIDI file using * some OSS based MIDI sequencer/player such as {!xlink ossmplay}. */ #include #include #include #include #include #include #include #include #include midiparser_common_t *parser = NULL; int audio_fd; int midi_fd; int sample_rate = 48000; /* * The open_audio_device routine opens the audio device and initializes it * for the required mode. This code was borrowed directly from the * {!nlink singen.c} sample program. However since the buffer size * is inportant with this kind of application we have added a call that * sets the fragment and buffer sizes. */ static int open_audio_device (char *name, int mode) { int tmp, fd; if ((fd = open (name, mode, 0)) == -1) { perror (name); exit (-1); } /* * Setup the audio buffering policy so that reasonably small latencies * can be obtained. * * 4 fragments of 256 samples (512 bytes) might be good. 256 samples * will give timing granularity of 256/sample_rate seconds (5.33 msec) * which is fairly adequate. The effect of the granularity (fragment size) in * this type of applications is timing jitter (or choking). Every event that * occurs withing the 5.33 msec period (fragment time) will get executed * in the beginning of the next period. If the fragment size is decreased * then the granularity will decrease too. However this will cause slight * increase in the CPU consumption of the application. * * The total buffer size (number_of_fragments*fragment_time) will define the * maximum latency between the event (note on/off) and the actual change in the * audio output. The average latency will be something like * (number_of_fragments-0.5)*fragment_time). The theoretical average latency * caused by this application is (4-0.5)*5.33 msec = ~19 msec). * * In musical terms 5.33 msec granularity equals to 1/750 note at 60 bpm * and 19 msecs equals to 1/214. This should be pretty adequate. * * The latency can be decreased by limiting the number of fragments and/or the * fragment size. However the after the buffer size drops close to the * capabilities of the system (delays caused by the other applications) the * audio output will start breaking. This can cured only by tuning the * hardware and the software environments (tuning some kernel parameters and * by killing all the other applications). However this is in no way an OSS * issue. * * With these parameters it was possible to compile Linux kernel in another * terminal window without any hiccup (fairly entry level 2.4 GHz P4 system * running Linux 2.6.x). */ tmp = 0x00040009; if (ioctl (fd, SNDCTL_DSP_SETFRAGMENT, &tmp) == -1) { perror ("SNDCTL_DSP_SETFRAGMENT"); } /* * Setup the device. Note that it's important to set the * sample format, number of channels and sample rate exactly in this order. * Some devices depend on the order. */ /* * Set the sample format */ tmp = AFMT_S16_NE; /* Native 16 bits */ if (ioctl (fd, SNDCTL_DSP_SETFMT, &tmp) == -1) { perror ("SNDCTL_DSP_SETFMT"); exit (-1); } if (tmp != AFMT_S16_NE) { fprintf (stderr, "The device doesn't support the 16 bit sample format.\n"); exit (-1); } /* * Set the number of channels (mono) */ tmp = 1; if (ioctl (fd, SNDCTL_DSP_CHANNELS, &tmp) == -1) { perror ("SNDCTL_DSP_CHANNELS"); exit (-1); } if (tmp != 1) { fprintf (stderr, "The device doesn't support mono mode.\n"); exit (-1); } /* * Set the sample rate */ sample_rate = 48000; if (ioctl (fd, SNDCTL_DSP_SPEED, &sample_rate) == -1) { perror ("SNDCTL_DSP_SPEED"); exit (-1); } /* * No need for rate checking because we will automatically adjust the * signal based on the actual sample rate. However most application must * check the value of sample_rate and compare it to the requested rate. * * Small differences between the rates (10% or less) are normal and the * applications should usually tolerate them. However larger differences may * cause annoying pitch problems (Mickey Mouse). */ return fd; } static int open_midi_device (char *name, int mode) { int tmp, fd; /* * This is pretty much all we nbeed. */ if ((fd = open (name, mode, 0)) == -1) { perror (name); exit (-1); } return fd; } #define MAX_VOICES 256 typedef struct { int active; /* ON/OFF */ int chn, note, velocity; /* MIDI note parameters */ float phase, step; /* Sine frequency generator */ float volume; /* Note volume */ float envelope, envelopestep; /* Envelope generator */ int envelopedir; /* 0=fixed level, 1=attack, -1=decay */ } voice_t; static voice_t voices[MAX_VOICES] = { 0 }; static int note_to_freq (int note_num) { /* * This routine converts a midi note to a frequency (multiplied by 1000) * Notice! This routine was copied from the OSS sequencer code. */ int note, octave, note_freq; static int notes[] = { 261632, 277189, 293671, 311132, 329632, 349232, 369998, 391998, 415306, 440000, 466162, 493880 }; #define BASE_OCTAVE 5 octave = note_num / 12; note = note_num % 12; note_freq = notes[note]; if (octave < BASE_OCTAVE) note_freq >>= (BASE_OCTAVE - octave); else if (octave > BASE_OCTAVE) note_freq <<= (octave - BASE_OCTAVE); return note_freq; } /* * The note_on() routine initializes a voice with the right * frequency, volume and envelope parameters. */ static void note_on (int ch, int note, int velocity) { int i; for (i = 0; i < MAX_VOICES; i++) if (!voices[i].active) { voice_t *v = &voices[i]; int freq; float step; /* * Record the MIDI note on message parameters (just in case) */ v->chn = ch; v->note = note; v->velocity = velocity; /* * Convert the note number to the actual frequency (multiplied by 1000). * Then compute the step to be added to the phase angle to get the right * frequency. */ freq = note_to_freq (note); step = 1000.0 * (float) sample_rate / (float) freq; /* Samples/cycle */ v->step = 2.0 * M_PI / step; if (v->step > M_PI) /* Nyqvist was here */ return; v->phase = 0.0; /* * Compute the note volume based on the velocity. Use linear scale which * maps velocity=0 to the 25% volume level. Proper synthesizers will use more * advanced methods (such as logarithmic scales) but this is good for our * purposes. */ v->volume = 0.25 + ((float) velocity / 127.0) * 0.75; /* * Initialize the envelope engine to start from zero level and to add * some fixed amount to the envelope level after each sample. */ v->envelope = 0.0; v->envelopedir = 1; v->envelopestep = 0.01; /* * Fire the voice. However nothing will happen before the next audio * period (fragment) gets computed. This means that all the voices started * during the ending period will be rounded to start at the same moment. */ v->active = 1; break; } } /* * The note_off() routine finds all the voices that have matching channel and * note numbers. Then it starts the envelope decay phase (10 times slower * than the attack phase. */ static void note_off (int ch, int note, int velocity) { int i; for (i = 0; i < MAX_VOICES; i++) if (voices[i].active && voices[i].chn == ch) if (voices[i].note = note) { voice_t *v = &voices[i]; v->envelopedir = -1; v->envelopestep = -0.001; } } /* * all_notes_off() is a version of note_off() that checks only the channel * number. Used for the All Notes Off MIDI controller (123). */ static void all_notes_off (int ch) { int i; for (i = 0; i < MAX_VOICES; i++) if (voices[i].active && voices[i].chn == ch) { voice_t *v = &voices[i]; v->envelopedir = -1; v->envelopestep = -0.01; } } /* * Compute voice computes few samples (nloops) and sums them to the * buffer (that contains the sum of all previously computed voices). * * In real world applications it may be necessary to convert this routine to * use floating point buffers (-1.0 to 1.0 range) and do the conversion * to fixed point only in the final output stage. Another change you may * want to do is using multiple output buffers (for stereo or multiple * channels) instead of the current mono scheme. * * For clarity reasons we have not done that. */ static void compute_voice (voice_t * v, short *buf, int nloops) { int i; for (i = 0; i < nloops; i++) { float val; /* * First compute the sine wave (-1.0 to 1.0) and scale it to the right * level. Finally sum the sample with the earlier voices in the buffer. */ val = sin (v->phase) * 1024.0 * v->envelope * v->volume; buf[i] += (short) val; /* * Increase the phase angle for the next sample. */ v->phase += v->step; /* * Handle envelope attack or decay */ switch (v->envelopedir) { case 1: v->envelope += v->envelopestep; if (v->envelope >= 1.0) /* Full level ? */ { v->envelope = 1.0; v->envelopestep = 0.0; v->envelopedir = 0; } break; case -1: v->envelope += v->envelopestep; if (v->envelope <= 0.0) /* Decay done */ { v->envelope = 0.0; v->envelopestep = 0.0; v->envelopedir = 0; v->active = 0; /* Shut up */ } break; } } } /* * The midi_callback() function is called by the midi parser library when * a complete MIDI message is seen in the input. The MIDI message number * (lowest 4 bits usually set to zero), the channel (0-15), as well as the * remaining bytes will be passed in the parameters. * * The MIDI parser library will handle oddities (like running status * or use of note on with velocity of 0 as note off) so the application * doesn't need to care about such nasty things. * * Note that the MIDI percussion channel 10 (9 as passed in the ch parameter) * will be ignored. All other MIDI messages other than note on, note off * and the "all notes off" controller are simply ignored. * * Macros like MIDI_NOTEON and MIDI_NOTEOFF are defined in soundcard.h. */ static void midi_callback (void *context, int category, unsigned char msg, unsigned char ch, unsigned char *parms, int len) { switch (msg) { case MIDI_NOTEON: if (ch != 9) /* Avoid percussions */ note_on (ch, parms[0], parms[1]); break; case MIDI_NOTEOFF: if (ch != 9) /* Avoid percussions */ note_off (ch, parms[0], parms[1]); break; case MIDI_CTL_CHANGE: if (parms[0] == 123) all_notes_off (ch); break; } } /* * The handle_midi_input() routine reads all the MIDI input bytes * that have been received by OSS since the last read. Note that * this read will not block. * * Finally the received buffer is sent to the midi parser library which in turn * calls midi_callback (see above) to handle the actual events. */ static void handle_midi_input (void) { unsigned char buffer[256]; int l, i; if ((l = read (midi_fd, buffer, sizeof (buffer))) == -1) { perror ("MIDI read"); exit (-1); } if (l > 0) midiparser_input_buf (parser, buffer, l); } /* * handle_audio_output() computes a new block of audio and writes it to the * audio device. As you see there is no checking for blocking or available * buffer space because it's simply not necessary with OSS 4.0 any more. * If there is any blocking then the time below our "tolerances". */ static void handle_audio_output (void) { /* * Ideally the buffer size equals to the fragment size (in samples). * Using different sizes is not a big mistake but the granularity is * defined by the buffer size or the fragment size (depending on which * one is larger), */ short buf[256]; int i; memset (buf, 0, sizeof (buf)); /* Loop all the active voices */ for (i = 0; i < MAX_VOICES; i++) if (voices[i].active) compute_voice (&voices[i], buf, sizeof (buf) / sizeof (*buf)); if (write (audio_fd, buf, sizeof (buf)) == -1) { perror ("Audio write"); exit (-1); } } int main (int argc, char *argv[]) { fd_set readfds, writefds; /* * Use /dev/dsp as the default device because the system administrator * may select the device using the {!xlink ossctl} program or some other * methods */ char *audiodev_name; char *mididev_name; /* * It's recommended to provide some method for selecting some other * device than the default. We use command line argument but in some cases * an environment variable or some configuration file setting may be better. */ if (argc != 3) { fprintf (stderr, "Usage: %s audio_device midi_device\n", argv[0]); exit (-1); } audiodev_name = argv[1]; mididev_name = argv[2]; /* * It's mandatory to use O_WRONLY in programs that do only playback. Other * modes may cause increased resource (memory) usage in the driver. It may * also prevent other applications from using the same device for * recording at the same time. */ audio_fd = open_audio_device (audiodev_name, O_WRONLY); /* * Open the MIDI device for read access (only). */ midi_fd = open_midi_device (mididev_name, O_RDONLY); /* * Init the MIDI input parser (from OSSlib) */ if ((parser = midiparser_create (midi_callback, NULL)) == NULL) { fprintf (stderr, "Creating a MIDI parser failed\n"); exit (-1); } /* * Then the select loop. This program uses select instead of poll. However * you can use select if you like (it should not matter). * * The logic is very simple. Wait for MIDI input and audio output events. * If there is any MIDI input then handle it (by modifying the voices[] * array. * * When there is space to write more audio data then we simply compute one * block of output and write it to the device. */ while (1) /* Infinite loop */ { int i, n; FD_ZERO (&readfds); FD_ZERO (&writefds); FD_SET (audio_fd, &writefds); FD_SET (midi_fd, &readfds); if ((n = select (midi_fd + 1, &readfds, &writefds, NULL, NULL)) == -1) { perror ("select"); exit (-1); } if (n > 0) { if (FD_ISSET (midi_fd, &readfds)) handle_midi_input (); if (FD_ISSET (audio_fd, &writefds)) handle_audio_output (); } } /* * You may wonder what do we do between the songs. The answer is nothing. * The note off messages (or the all notes off controller) takes care of * shutting up the voices. When there are no voices playing the application * will just output silent audio (until it's killed). So there is no need to * know if a song has ended. * * However the MIDI loopback devices will retgurn a MIDI stop (0xfc) message * when the client side is closed and a MIDI start (0xfa) message when some * application starts playing. The server side application (synth) can * use these events for it's purposes. */ /* * That's all folks! * * This is pretty much all of it. This program can be easily improced by * using some more advanced synthesis algorithm (wave table, sample playback, * physical modelling or whatever else) and by interpreting all the MIDI * messages. You can also add a nice GUI. You have complete freedom to * modify this program and distribute it as your own work (under GPL, BSD * proprietary or whatever license you can imagine) but only AS LONG AS YOU * DON*T DO ANY STUPID CHANGES THAT BREAK THE RELIABILITY AND ROBUSTNESS. * * The point is that regardless of what you do there is no need to touch the * audio/MIDI device related parts. They are already "state of the art". * So you can spend all your time to work on the "payload" code. What you * can do is changing the compute_voice() and midi_callback() routines and * everything called by them. */ exit (0); }