My Project
FluidSynth
Build Status glib < 2.30 glib >= 2.30
Linux/MacOSXn.a.
FreeBSD n.a.
Windows (VisualStudio)
Windows (MinGW) n.a.

FluidSynth is a software real-time synthesizer based on the Soundfont 2 specifications.

FluidSynth reads and handles MIDI events from the MIDI input device. It is the software analogue of a MIDI synthesizer. FluidSynth can also play midifiles using a Soundfont.

Information on the web

The place to look if you are looking for the latest information on FluidSynth is the web site at http://www.fluidsynth.org/.

For documentation, please see the links below.

For information on how to build FluidSynth from source, please see our wiki page.

Why did we do it

The synthesizer grew out of a project, started by Samuel Bianchini and Peter Hanappe, and later joined by Johnathan Lee, that aimed at developing a networked multi-user game.

Sound (and music) was considered a very important part of the game. In addition, users had to be able to extend the game with their own sounds and images. Johnathan Lee proposed to use the Soundfont standard combined with an intelligent use of midifiles. The arguments were:

It seemed like a good combination to use for an (online) game.

In order to make Soundfonts available on all platforms (Linux, Mac, and Windows) and for all sound cards, we needed a software Soundfont synthesizer. That is why we developed FluidSynth.

Design decisions

The synthesizer was designed to be as self-contained as possible for several reasons:

Links

Home Page

Documentation

Software SoundFont Synthesizers:

Soundfont Editors

Conversion Tools

Soundfont Databases