< User:Crantila | FSC
Over the next few months, I will be taking part in the Fedora Summer Coding project. My particular proposal is the creation of a user guide for some of the music and audio software available in Fedora Linux. Not only will the use of these programs be addressed, but also the optimization of a Fedora Linux system for audio creation. The focus will be on robust solutions, warning of the possible pitfalls and dangers associated with a system optimized for audio creation.
An important part of the document-creation process is testing, and for this I will need help from volunteers. There are two aspects that must be tested: the first ensures that the procedures and instructions have the intended results; the second ensures that prospective users will understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how it applies to real-world usage.
The following software will be discussed:
- Audacity -- simple recording software
- Ardour -- advanced multi-track recording software
- SuperCollider -- text-based audio synthesis
- FluidSynth (with Qsynth) -- MIDI-based audio synthesis
- Qtractor -- audio and MIDI sequencing program
- Rosegarden -- audio and MIDI sequencing program
- LilyPond (with Frescobaldi) -- notation/engraving software
- GNU Solfege -- ear-training software
- Icecast and Darkice or Darksnow (schedule permitting) -- webcast creation
In addition, the following topics will be discussed:
- Adding the Planet CCRMA at Home repositories (for software such as SuperCollider) (Fedora-specific)
- Understanding sound cards
- Using ALSA, PulseAudio, JACK (with Qjackctl), and Phonon)
- Using a Planet CCRMA's realtime kernel (Fedora-specific)
- Compiling your own realtime kernel (schedule permitting) (Fedora-specific)
Please note that only a small portion of the final document will be exclusive to Fedora Linux. These include the portions marked "Fedora-specific" in the preceding list, and those sections covering software installation. What this means is that users of any distribution can help with testing (especially target-audience testing)! In particular, Ubuntu's standard repositories have all the software except SuperCollider, which is available from a PPA.
More information will be made available at a later time, and you will get your choice of which tasks to test. It will be your choice to volunteer for as much or as little as you like.
If you would like to volunteer, or if you have suggestions or comments, please contact me by leaving a note on this page's Talk: page, or by sending an email to GMail (my username is crantila). Any assistance is greatly appreciated.