Play the piano with a MIDI keyboard
So you bought a MIDI keyboard and just want to play the piano? An easy way to start is using a Linux distribution which is optimized for audio production.
Install Ubuntu Studio
- Download Ubuntu Studio and install it: https://ubuntustudio.org/
- Start Ubuntu Studio
Configure your sound card
- Start Studio Controls
- Check if JACK status is running
If JACK is not running properly (increasing X-runs)
- Choose JACK Master Device for PCI cards (onboard)
- Choose “Device that should be master” for USB audio devices
- Set JACK Sample Rate (The higher the better for latency)
- Set JACK Buffer Size (The lower the better for latency)
- Set JACK Periods to 2 for PCI and 3 for USB cards, (The lower the better for latency)
- Hit “Start or Restart JACK”
There must be no “X-runs” after starting JACK.
Connect hardware and software
- Start Carla
- Press the “Plus” Symbol and navigate to “/usr/share/sounds/sf2”
- Double click on default-GM.sf2 or another sound font of your choice until a plugin appears
- Click on “Patchbay”
- Connect your MIDI Keyboard with the red “events-in” connector from your sound font
- Connect “out-left” and “out-right” from you your sound font with “system playback_1” and “system playback_2”
- Play some notes on your keyboard