-The right approach for using MIDI on Linux depends on which version of
-JACK you use. The world divides into:
+<p>
+ It is no longer nessessary to use jackd as a backend for Ardour in Linux.
+ In fact with the spread of LV2 plugins, almost all workflows in Ardour work
+ well with the ALSA backend. When using the ALSA backend for Ardour, Ardour
+ will see all MIDI ports that ALSA sees without any user setup. However, should jackd
+ need to be used, the rest of this page is valid.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+ The right approach for using MIDI on Linux depends on which version of JACK
+ is in use. The world divides into:
+</p>
+
+<table class="dl">
+ <tr><th>Systems using JACK 1, versions 0.124 or later</th>
+ <td>On these systems, JACK must be started with the <code>-X alsa_midi</code>
+ server argument. To support legacy control applications, the <code>-X
+ seq</code> argument to the ALSA backend of JACK can also be used to get the
+ exact same results.</td></tr>
+ <tr><th>All others</th>
+ <td>Using a2jmidid acts as a bridge between ALSA MIDI and JACK. The <code>-X seq</code>
+ or <code>-X raw</code> arguments should <em>not</em> be used—the timing and
+ performance of these options is unacceptable.</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<h2>Using a2jmidid</h2>
-<dl>
-<dt>Systems using JACK 1, versions 0.124 or later</dt>
-<dd>On these systems, just start JACK with
- the <code>-X alsa_midi</code> server argument. To support legacy control
- applications, you can also use the -X seq argument to the ALSA
- backend of JACK and get the exact same results.</dd>
-<dt>All others</dt>
-<dd>Use a2jmidid to act as a bridge between ALSA MIDI and JACK. Do
- not use the -X seq or -X raw arguments—the timing and performance
- of these options is not acceptable.
-</dd>
-</dl>
-
-<h2>a2jmidid</h2>
<p>
<dfn>a2jmidid</dfn> is an application that bridges between the system
<abbr title="Musical Instrument Digital Interface">MIDI</abbr> ports and
<abbr title="JACK Audio Connection Kit">JACK</abbr>.
</p>
+
<p>
- First you should make sure that there is no ALSA sequencer support enabled
- in JACK. To do that open QJackCtl's <kbd class="menu">Setup</kbd> window.
-</p>
-<p>
- Set <kbd class="menu">Settings > MIDI Driver</kbd> to <kbd
- class="input">none</kbd>.
- Then uncheck the <kbd class="optoff">Misc > Enable ALSA Sequencer
- support</kbd> option.<br>
- Now it's time to restart your jack server before going on.
+ First it must be ensured that there is no ALSA sequencer support enabled in
+ JACK. To check that, one must open QJackCtl's <kbd class="menu">Setup</kbd> window
+ and set <kbd class="menu">Settings > MIDI Driver</kbd> to <kbd
+ class="input">none</kbd>, then uncheck the <kbd class="optoff">Misc >
+ Enable ALSA Sequencer support</kbd> option. The jack server must then be restarted
+ before going on.
</p>
-<h3>Check for a2jmidid availability</h3>
+<h3>Checking for a2jmidid availability</h3>
+
<p>
- First, check whether a2jmidid is already installed in your system. After
- starting your JACK server, go to the command line and type
+ Next, it must be checked whether a2jmidid is already installed. This is done
+ by starting the JACK server, then going to the command line and typing:
</p>
+
<kbd class="cmd lin">a2jmidid -e</kbd>
+
<p>
- If a2jmidid does not exist, install it with the software manager of your
- Linux distribution and try again.
+ If a2jmidid does not exist, it must be installed with the software manager of the
+ Linux distribution in use until this command responds.
</p>
+<h2>Checking available MIDI ports</h2>
-<h2>Check available MIDI ports</h2>
<p>
- If you have correctly configured JACK for MIDI, then your MIDI ports should appear in
- qjackctl under <kbd class="menu">Connections > MIDI </kbd>.
+ If JACK is correctly configured for MIDI, then the MIDI ports should appear
+ in qjackctl under <kbd class="menu">Connections > MIDI</kbd>.
</p>
<h3>Making it automatic</h3>
-<p>
-Once you've verified that the ports appear in JACK as expected, you
-can make this happen whenever you start JACK.
-</p>
-
-<p>If you use a newer version of JACK 1, just make sure the -X
-alsa_midi or -X seq options are enabled for whatever technique you use
-to start JACK.
-</p>
<p>
-For other versions of JACK,
-add <kbd class="input">a2jmidid -e &</kbd> as an "after start-up" script
-in the <kbd class="menu">Setup > Options</kbd> tab of QJackCtl, so
-that it is started automatically whenever you start JACK.
+ Once it has been verified that the ports appear in JACK as expected, this can
+ be made to happen whenever JACK is started:
</p>
+<ul>
+ <li>If a newer version of JACK 1 is in use, by just making sure the <code>-X
+ alsa_midi</code> or <code>-X seq</code> options are enabled for whatever
+ technique is being used to start JACK.</li>
+ <li>For other versions of JACK, by adding <code>a2jmidid -e &</code> as an
+ "after start-up" script in the <kbd class="menu">Setup > Options</kbd> tab
+ of QJackCtl, so that it is started automatically whenever JACK is
+ started.</li>
+</ul>
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