The main page for this idea is Summer Coding 2010 ideas - Fedora Musicians' Guide.
Status: Idea
Summary of idea: The goal is to produce a document like the User Guide, but focussed on applications that might be used by musicians. A broad range of applications and application types will be covered, including the installation and use of software from Planet CCRMA (http://ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/software/).
Contacts: Christopher Antila
Mentor(s): Rlandmann and AnthonyGreen
More Information
Linux offers a wide selection of applications to help all kinds of musicians. Fedora offers a particularly robust environment in which to do professional-quality work, whether the task is recording and processing, production of notated scores, or simply training one's aural skills.
As with many Linux applications, the wide array of choices can be intimidating, and make it difficult for somebody to both choose the best tool for the job, and to master its use. Furthermore, there does not exist a unified source of information for musicians; what help is offered by software writers can be out-dated and scattered.
This guide will get users started in four principal areas:
- using Linux as a software synthesizer
- recording audio (and combining it with synthesized music)
- producing notated scores
- aural skills training (like GNU Solfege)
In addition, the following topics will be addressed as required:
- installation and use of packages from Planet CCRMA
- configuration and compilation of an audio-optimized kernel (depth of this explanation yet to be determined)
- finding help for specific kinds of common audio/musical problems
As much as possible, the guide should resemble (both visually and functionally) the Fedora User Guide. In particular, the final document should include multiple ways to complete each task: both Csound and SuperCollider will be mentioned, for example.
For further information, or to volunteer yourself as a mentor, please contact Christopher Antila, or visit the upcoming application and proposal pages.