Introduction / My goals

Purpose
The purpose of this blog is to document this entire process of learning and of creating music with Linux. I will write reviews of applications that I use and post solutions to problems I've managed to solve. I hope that this blog can become a motivation for me, and perhaps for others, to keep on trying and experimenting with Linux and music.

My goals
My first goal is to set up a working environment with my newly purchased laptop, a firewire audio interface and a Linux distribution with a real time kernel. Hopefully, this won't be too hard.

In time, my goal is to use my computer in a live setting - for beats, processing of instruments and so on, and also in collaboration with other "laptop musicians". For this, I want to learn more about the variety of applications that exist for Linux, both for audio and for MIDI.

Looping and loop-based sequencing is something I want to investigate especially. There is, sadly, nothing akin of Sony Acid or Ableton Live for Linux - yet! There are, however, a number of applications for live looping, as well as for sample based sequencing.

Background
I've been making music using GNU/Linux for a couple of years now. During this time, a lot has changed for the better. 'Mainstream' Linux distributions have gotten more and more user friendly and hardware support has improved dramatically. A number of Linux distributions for the home studio have seen daylight, notably Ubuntu Studio. Among the vast number of audio and MIDI applications available, Ardour, Rosegarden and Hydrogen have all gotten better and better, in my experience.

My goals
My first goal is to set up a working environment with my newly purchased laptop, a firewire audio interface and a Linux distribution with a real time kernel. Hopefully, this won't be too hard.

In time, my goal is to use my computer in a live setting - for beats, processing of instruments and so on, and also in collaboration with other "laptop musicians". For this, I want to learn more about the variety of applications that exist for Linux, both for audio and for MIDI.

Looping and loop-based sequencing is something I want to investigate especially. There is, sadly, nothing akin of Sony Acid or Ableton Live for Linux - yet! There are, however, a number of applications for live looping, as well as for sample based sequencing.

It can, however, still be somewhat of an ordeal to set up a working environment for making music in Linux, at least if you're going to record, edit and sequence audio. It often takes patience, some basic "hacking" skills (in this case, meaning: using the shell, installing and customizing additional packages etc.) and a willingness to experiment and read through forum and mailing list postings in order to solve one's problems. Setting up Linux for music making is still not something I'd recommend to a fellow musician who is also an average PC user with no desire to learn the inner workings of an operating system.

Personally, I find this entire process rewarding, even though I occasionally despair and wish that it would all just WORK already. The advantages of a Linux based system are, in my eyes, overwhelming, and I would rather not compromise for the sake of simplicity.

My experience
I've used Debian, DeMuDi and Ubuntu Studio for music making. The applications I've used the most are Ardour, Hydrogen, Qsynth, ZynAddSubFX, Specimen and Seq24. Earlier, still in Windows, Sony Acid and SoundForge were my primary applications.

My hardware
My computer is a Sony Vaio VGN-SR29VN. Specs in short:
Intel Core 2 Duo P8600, 2.4GHz
4GB RAM
320GB SATA
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470

I have borrowed an Edirol FA-66 firewire audio interface from a friend. If it works well with my setup, I will probably buy it.