Attachment 60473 Details for Bug 92622 – New alsa-guide.xml, take 4

New alsa-guide.xml, take 4

alsa-guide.xml (text/plain), 23.04 KB, created by Shyam Mani (RETIRED) on 2005-06-02 12:42:35 UTC

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><?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
>
><!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
>
><guide link="/doc/en/alsa-guide.xml">
><title>Gentoo Linux ALSA Guide</title>
>
><author title="Author">
>  <mail link="fox2mike@gmail.com">Shyam Mani</mail>
></author>
>
><abstract>
>This document helps a user setup ALSA on Gentoo Linux.
></abstract>
>
>
>
><license/>
>
><version>2.0</version>
><date>2005-06-03</date>
>
><chapter>
><title>Introduction</title>
><section>
><title>What is ALSA?</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>ALSA, which stands for <e>Advanced Linux Sound Architecture</e>, provides 
>audio and MIDI (<e>Musical Instrument Digital Interface</e>) functionality to 
>the Linux operating system. ALSA is the default sound subsystem in the 2.6 
>kernel thereby replacing OSS (<e>Open Sound System</e>), which was used in the 
>2.4 kernels.
></p>
>
><p>
>ALSA's main features include efficient support for all types of audio 
>interfaces ranging from consumer sound cards to professional sound 
>equipment, fully modularized drivers, SMP and thread safety, backward 
>compatibility with OSS and a user-space library <c>alsa-lib</c> to make 
>application development a breeze.
></p>
>
></body>
></section>
><section>
><title>ALSA on Gentoo</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>One of Gentoo's main strengths lie in giving the user maximum control over 
>how a system is installed/configured. ALSA on Gentoo follows the same 
>principle. There are two ways you can get ALSA support up and running on your 
>system. We shall look at them in detail in the next chapter.
></p>
>
></body>
></section>
></chapter>
>
><chapter>
><title>Installing ALSA</title>
><section>
><title>Options</title>
><body>
>
><warn>
>The methods shown below are mutually exclusive. You cannot have ALSA compiled 
>in your kernel and use <c>media-sound/alsa-driver</c>. It <e>will</e> fail.
></warn>
>
><impo>
><c>genkernel</c> users have their config built such a way that the ALSA 
>sub-system in the kernel is active. Therefore <c>genkernel</c> users can 
>proceed to the <uri link="#alsa-utilities">ALSA Utilities</uri> section 
>directly.
></impo>
>
><p>
>The two options are :
></p>
>
><ol>
>	<li>
>	Use ALSA provided by your kernel. This is the preferred/recommended
>	method.
>	</li>
>	<li>
>	Use Gentoo's <c>media-sound/alsa-driver</c> package.
>	</li>
></ol>
>
><p>	
>We shall take a peek into both before finally deciding on one.
></p>
>
><p>
>If you were to use ALSA provided by the kernel, the following are the pros and 
>cons :
></p>
>
><table>
><tr>
>  <th>Kernel ALSA</th>
>  <th>Pros and Cons</th>
></tr>
><tr>
>  <th>+</th>
>  <ti>Pretty stable as drivers are integrated into kernel.</ti>
></tr>
><tr>
>  <th>+</th>
>  <ti>One shot solution, no repeating emerges.</ti>
></tr>
><tr>
>  <th>-</th>
>  <ti>Might be a slightly older version than <c>alsa-driver</c>.</ti>
></tr>
></table>
>
><p>
>And, if you were to use alsa-driver,
></p>
>
><table>
><tr>
>  <th>alsa-driver</th>
>  <th>Pros and Cons</th>
></tr>
><tr>
>  <th>+</th>
>  <ti>Latest drivers from the ALSA Project.</ti>
></tr>
><tr>
>  <th>-</th>
>  <ti>Every kernel recompile requires a re-emerge of <c>alsa-driver</c>.</ti>
></tr>
><tr>
>  <th>-</th>
>  <ti>Needs certain kernel config options disabled to work correctly.</ti>
></tr>
></table>
>
></body>
></section>
><section>
><title>So...</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>The main difference between using <c>alsa-driver</c> and ALSA that comes with 
>the kernel is that <c>alsa-driver</c> is generally more up to date than the 
>version in the kernel. Since this does not make any huge difference as 
>such, you are encouraged to use the ALSA provided by the kernel.
></p>
>
></body>
></section>
><section id="lspci">
><title>Before you proceed</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>Whichever method of install you choose, you need to know what drivers your 
>sound card uses. <c>lspci</c> will help you in digging out the required 
>information. Please <c>emerge sys-apps/pciutils</c> to get <c>lspci</c>, if 
>you don't have it installed already. We now proceed to find out details about 
>the sound card.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Soundcard Details">
># <i>lspci -v | grep -i audio</i>
>0000:00:0a.0 Multimedia audio controller: Creative Labs SB Live! EMU10k1 (rev 06)
></pre>
>
><p>
>We now know that the sound card on the machine is a Sound Blaster Live! and 
>the card manufacturer is Creative Labs. Head over to the 
><uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org/alsa-doc/"> ALSA Soundcard Matrix</uri> 
>page and select Creative Labs from the drop down menu. You will be taken to 
>the Creative Labs matrix page where you can see that the SB Live! uses the 
><c>emu10k1</c> module. That is the information we need for now. If you are 
>interested in detailed information, you can click on the link next to the 
>"Details" and that will take you to the <c>emu10k1</c> specific page.
></p>
>
></body>
></section>
><section id="kernel">
><title>Using ALSA provided by your Kernel</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>If you're a person who likes to keep things simple like I do, then this is 
>the way to go.
></p>
>
><note>
>Since the 2005.0 release, Gentoo Linux uses 2.6 as the default kernel. Unless
>you are specifically using the 2.4 profile, <c>gentoo-sources</c> will be a
>2.6 kernel on <e>most</e> architectures. Please check that your kernel is a 
>2.6 series kernel. This method will <e>not</e> work on a 2.4 kernel.
></note>
>
><p>
>Let us now configure the kernel to enable ALSA.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Heading over to the source">
># <i>cd /usr/src/linux</i>
># <i>make menuconfig</i>
></pre>
>
><note>
>The above example assumes that <path>/usr/src/linux</path> symlink points to
>the kernel sources you want to use. Please ensure the same before proceeding.
></note>
>
><p>
>Now we will look at some of the options we will have to enable in the 2.6
>kernel to ensure proper ALSA support for our sound card.
></p>
>
><note>
>Please note that for the sake of ease, all examples show a modular kernel. It 
>is advisable to follow the same. Please do <e>not</e> skip the 
><uri link="#alsa-config">Configuration</uri> section of this document. If 
>you still like to have options built-in, ensure that you make changes to your 
>config accordingly.
></note>
>
><pre caption="Kernel Options for ALSA">
>Device Drivers  ---&gt;
>   Sound  ---&gt;
>   
><comment>(This needs to be enabled)</comment>
>&lt;M&gt; Sound card support
>
><comment>(Make sure OSS is disabled)</comment>
>Open Sound System   ---&gt;
>   &lt; &gt; Open Sound System (DEPRECATED)
>
><comment>(Move one step back and enter ALSA)</comment>
>Advanced Linux Sound Architecture  ---&gt;
>   &lt;M&gt; Advanced Linux Sound Architecture
>   <comment>(Select this if you want MIDI sequencing and routing)</comment>
>   &lt;M&gt; Sequencer support
>   <comment>(Old style /dev/mixer* and /dev/dsp* support. Recommended.)</comment>
>   &lt;M&gt; OSS Mixer API
>   &lt;M&gt; OSS PCM (digital audio) API 
>
><comment>(You now have a choice of devices to enable support for. Generally,
>you will have one type of device and not more. If you have more than one 
>sound card, please enable them all here.)</comment>
>
><comment>(Mostly for testing and development purposes, not needed for normal 
>users unless you know what you are doing.)</comment>
>Generic devices  ---&gt;
>   
><comment>(For ISA Sound cards)</comment>
>ISA devices   ---&gt;
><comment>(IF you had the Gravis, you would select this option)</comment>
>   &lt;M&gt; Gravis UltraSound Extreme
>
><comment>(Move one level back and into PCI devices. Most sound cards today are 
>PCI devices)</comment>
>PCI devices   ---&gt;
>   <comment>(We now select the emu10k1 driver for our card)</comment>
>   &lt;M&gt; Emu10k1 (SB Live!, Audigy, E-mu APS)
>   <comment>(Or an Intel card would be)</comment>
>   &lt;M&gt; Intel/SiS/nVidia/AMD/ALi AC97 Controller
>   <comment>(Or if you have a VIA Card)</comment>
>   &lt;M&gt; VIA 82C686A/B, 8233/8235 AC97 Controller
>
><comment>(Move one level back and select in case you have an USB sound card)</comment>
>USB Devices   ---&gt;
></pre>
>
><p>
>Now that your options are set, you can (re)compile the kernel and ALSA support
>for your card should be functional once you reboot into the new kernel. 
>You can now proceed to <uri link="#alsa-utilities">ALSA Utilities</uri> and 
>see if everything is working as it should.
></p>
>
></body>
></section>
><section id="alsa-driver">
><title>Using the ALSA Driver package</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>So you've decided to go the <c>alsa-driver</c> way. Let's get started then. 
>There are a few minor things to be done to ensure only the drivers for your 
>sound card are compiled. Although this is not really necessary, it cuts down 
>on the unnecessary drivers that will be compiled otherwise.
></p>
>
><p>
>If you don't have an idea of what drivers your sound card might need, please 
>take a look at the <uri link="#lspci">lspci</uri> section of this guide. Once 
>you have your driver name (<c>emu10k1</c> in our example), edit 
><path>/etc/make.conf</path> and add a variable, <c>ALSA_CARDS</c>.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Adding ALSA_CARDS to make.conf">
><comment>(For one sound card)</comment>
>ALSA_CARDS="emu10k1"
><comment>(For more than one, seperate names with spaces)</comment>
>ALSA_CARDS="emu10k1 via82xx"
></pre>
>
><p>
>If you have compiled your kernel and want to use <c>alsa-driver</c>, please 
>ensure the following before proceeding, else <c>alsa-driver</c> is likely to 
>fail. The next code listing gives you one way of performing the checks.
></p>
>
><ol>
>  <li>
>  <c>CONFIG_SOUND</c> is set. (Basic Sound support enabled)
>  </li>
>  <li>
>  <c>CONFIG_SOUND_PRIME</c> is not set. (In-built OSS support disabled)
>  </li>
>  <li>
>  <c>CONFIG_SND</c> is not set. (In-built ALSA support disabled)
>  </li>
>  <li>
>  <path>/usr/src/linux</path> points to the kernel you want ALSA working on.
>  </li>
></ol>
>
><pre caption=".config checks">
><comment>(Assuming the linux symlink points to the correct kernel)</comment>
># <i>cd /usr/src/linux</i>
># <i>grep SOUND .config</i>
><comment>(1. is true)</comment>
>CONFIG_SOUND=y
><comment>(2. is true)</comment>
>CONFIG_SOUND_PRIME is not set
># <i>grep SND .config</i>
><comment>(and 3. is true)</comment>
>CONFIG_SND is not set
></pre>
>
><p>
>Now all you have to do is type the magic words...and no, its not abracadabra.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Installing alsa-driver">
># <i>emerge alsa-driver</i>
></pre>
>
><impo>
>Please note that you will have to run <c>emerge alsa-driver</c> after every 
>kernel (re)compile, as the earlier drivers are deleted.
></impo>
>
></body>
></section>
></chapter>
>
><chapter>
><title>Configuring/Testing ALSA</title>
><section id="alsa-utilities">
><title>ALSA Utilities</title>
><body>
>
><p>
><c>alsa-utils</c> forms an integral part of ALSA as it has a truckload of 
>programs that are highly useful, including the ALSA Initscripts. Hence we 
>strongly recommend that you install <c>alsa-utils</c>
></p>
>
><pre caption="Install alsa-utils">
># <i>emerge alsa-utils</i>
></pre>
>
><note>
>If you activated ALSA in your <uri link="#kernel">kernel</uri> <e>and</e> did 
>not compile ALSA as modules, please proceed to the 
><uri link="#initscript">ALSA Initscript</uri> section. The rest of you need 
>to configure ALSA. This is made very easy by the existence of the 
><c>alsaconf</c> tool provided by <c>alsa-utils</c>.
></note>
>
></body>
></section>
><section id="alsa-config">
><title>Configuration</title>
><body>
>
><note>
>Please shut down any programs that <e>might</e> access the sound card while 
>running <c>alsaconf</c>.
></note>
>
><p>
>The easiest way to configure your sound card is to run <c>alsaconf</c>. Just 
>type <c>alsaconf</c> in a shell as root.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Invoking alsaconf">
># <i>alsaconf</i>
></pre>
>
><p>
>You will now see a neat menu guided interface that will automatically probe 
>your devices and try to find out your sound card. You will be asked to pick 
>your sound card from a list. Once that's done, it will ask you permission to 
>automatically make required changes to <path>/etc/modules.d/alsa</path>. 
>It will then adjust your volume settings to optimum levels and run 
><c>modules-update</c> and starts the <path>/etc/init.d/alsasound</path> 
>service. Once <c>alsaconf</c> exits, you can proceed with setting up the ALSA
>initscript. 
></p>
>
></body>
></section>
><section id="initscript">
><title>ALSA Initscript</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>We're now almost all setup. Whichever method you chose to install ALSA, you'll 
>need to have something load your modules or initialize ALSA and restore your 
>volume settings when your system comes up. The ALSA Initscript handles all of 
>this for you and is called <c>alsasound</c>. Add it to the default run-level.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Adding ALSA to default">
># <i>rc-update add alsasound default</i>
> * alsasound added to runlevel default
> * rc-update complete.
></pre>
>
><p>
>Next, just check the <path>/etc/conf.d/alsasound</path> file and ensure that  
>SAVE_ON_STOP variable is set to yes. This saves your sound settings when you 
>shutdown your system.
></p>
>
></body>
></section>
><section>
><title>Volume Check!</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>We've completed all the setups and pre-requisites, so let's fire up ALSA. If 
>you ran <c>alsaconf</c>, you can skip this step, since <c>alsaconf</c> already 
>does this for you.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Start the service">
><comment>(Modular Kernels)</comment>
># <i>/etc/init.d/alsasound start</i>
> * Loading ALSA modules ...
> * Loading: snd-card-0 ...        [ ok ]
> * Loading: snd-pcm-oss ...       [ ok ]
> * Loading: snd-seq ...           [ ok ]	
> * Loading: snd-emu10k1-synth ... [ ok ]	
> * Loading: snd-seq-midi ...      [ ok ]	
> * Restoring Mixer Levels ...     [ ok ]
><comment>(ALSA compiled in)</comment>
># <i>/etc/init.d/alsasound start</i>
> * Loading ALSA modules ...
> * Restoring Mixer Levels ...     [ ok ]
></pre>
>
><p>
>Now that the required things have been take care of, we need to check up on 
>the volume as in certain cases, it is muted. We use <c>alsamixer</c> for this purpose.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Starting alsamixer">
><comment>(Opens up a console program. Only required settings are shown)</comment>
># <i>alsamixer</i>
></pre>
>
><p>
>This is how the ALSA Mixer <e>might</e> look the first time you open it. Pay 
>attention to the Master and PCM channels which both have an MM below them. 
>That means they are muted. If you try to play anything with <c>alsamixer</c> 
>in this state, you will not hear anything on your speakers.
></p>
>
><figure link="alsamixer-muted.png" short="AlsaMixer Muted" caption="The Alsa Mixer Main Window, Muted"/>
>
><p>
>Now, we shall unmute the channels, and set volume levels as needed.
></p>
>
><warn>
>Both Master <e>and</e> PCM need to be unmuted and set to audible volume levels if 
>you want to hear some output on your speakers.
></warn>
>
><ul>
>  <li>
>  To move between channels, use your left and right arrow keys. (&lt;- 
>  &amp; -&gt;)
>  </li>
>  <li>
>  To toggle mute, move to the specific channel, for example Master and press 
>  the <e>m</e> key on the keyboard. 
>  </li>
>  <li>
>  To increase and decrease the volume levels, use the up and down arrow keys 
>  respectively.
>  </li>
></ul>
>
><note>
>Be careful when setting your Bass and Treble values. 50 is usually a good 
>number for both. Extremely high values of Bass may cause <e>jarring</e> 
>on speakers that are not designed to handle them.
></note>
>
><p>
>After you're all done, your ALSA Mixer should look similar to the one below. 
>Note the 00 instead of the MM and also the volume levels for some optimum 
>settings.
></p>
>
><figure link="alsamixer.png" short="AlsaMixer Unmuted" caption="Alsa Mixer ready to roll"/>
>
></body>
></section>
><section>
><title>Sound Check!</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>Finally. Some music. If everything above is perfect, you should be able to now 
>listen to some good music. A quick way to test is to use a command line tool 
>like <c>media-sound/madplay</c>. You could also use something more well known 
>like <c>mpg123</c> or <c>xmms</c>. If you are an ogg fan, you could use
><c>ogg123</c> provided by <c>media-sound/vorbis-tools</c>. Use any player you
>are comfortable with. As always, <c>emerge</c> what you need.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Getting the software">
><comment>(Install the applications you want)</comment>
># <i>emerge madplay mpg123 xmms</i>
><comment>(To play .ogg files)</comment>
># <i>emerge vorbis-tools</i>
></pre>
>
><p>
>And then play your favorite sound track...
></p>
>
><pre caption="Playing Music">
># <i>madplay -v /mnt/shyam/Music/Paul\ Oakenfold\ -\ Dread\ Rock.mp3</i>
>MPEG Audio Decoder 0.15.2 (beta) - Copyright (C) 2000-2004 Robert Leslie et al.
>          Title: Dread Rock
>         Artist: Paul Oakenfold
>          Album: Matrix Reloaded
>           Year: 2003
>          Genre: Soundtrack
>                 Soundtrack
> 00:04:19 Layer III, 160 kbps, 44100 Hz, joint stereo (MS), no CRC
>
># <i>ogg123 Paul\ Oakenfold\ -\ Dread\ Rock.ogg</i>
>Audio Device:   Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) output
>
>Playing: Paul Oakenfold - Dread Rock.ogg
>Ogg Vorbis stream: 2 channel, 44100 Hz
>Genre: Soundtrack
>Transcoded: mp3;160
>Title: Dread Rock
>Artist: Paul Oakenfold
>Date: 2003
>Album: Matrix Reloaded
>Time: 00:11.31 [04:28.75] of 04:40.06  (200.6 kbps)  Output Buffer  96.9%
></pre>
>
></body>
></section>
><section>
><title>Issues?</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>If for some reason you're unable to hear sound, the first thing to do would 
>be to check your <uri link="#doc_chap3_pre5">alsamixer</uri> settings. 80% of 
>the issues lie with muted channels or low volume. Also check your Window 
>Manager's sound applet and verify that volumes are set to audible levels.
></p>
>
><p>
><path>/proc</path> is your friend. And in this case, <path>/proc/asound</path> 
>is your best friend. We shall just take a short look at how much info is made 
>available to us there.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Fun with /proc/asound">
><comment>(First and foremost, if /proc/asound/cards shows your card, ALSA has 
>picked up your sound card fine.)</comment>
># <i>cat /proc/asound/cards</i>
>0 [Live           ]: EMU10K1 - Sound Blaster Live!
>                     Sound Blaster Live! (rev.6, serial:0x80271102) at 0xb800, irq 11
>
><comment>(If you run ALSA off the kernel like I do and wonder how far behind 
>you are from alsa-driver, this displays current running ALSA version)</comment>
># <i>cat /proc/asound/version</i>
>Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.8 (Thu Jan 13 09:39:32 2005 UTC).
>
><comment>(ALSA OSS emulation details)</comment>
># <i>cat /proc/asound/oss/sndstat</i>
>Sound Driver:3.8.1a-980706 (ALSA v1.0.8 emulation code)
>Kernel: Linux airwolf.zion 2.6.11ac1 #2 Wed May 4 00:35:08 IST 2005 i686
>Config options: 0
>
>Installed drivers:
>Type 10: ALSA emulation
>
>Card config:
>Sound Blaster Live! (rev.6, serial:0x80271102) at 0xb800, irq 11
>
>Audio devices:
>0: EMU10K1 (DUPLEX)
>
>Synth devices: NOT ENABLED IN CONFIG
>
>Midi devices:
>0: EMU10K1 MPU-401 (UART)
>
>Timers:
>7: system timer
>
>Mixers:
>0: SigmaTel STAC9721/23
></pre>
>
></body>
></section>
></chapter>
>
><chapter>
><title>Other things ALSA</title>
><section>
><title>Setting up MIDI support</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>If your sound card is one of those that come with on-board MIDI synthesizers 
>and you would like to listen to some .mid files, you have to install 
><c>awesfx</c> which is basically a set of utilities for controlling the AWE32 
>driver. We need to install it first. If you don't have a hardware synthesizer, 
>you can use a virtual one. Please see the section on 
><uri link="#vsynth">Virtual Synthesizers</uri> for more information.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Installing awesfx">
># <i>emerge awesfx</i>
></pre>
>
><note>
>You will need to copy over SoundFont (SF2) files from your sound card's driver 
>CD or a Windows installation into <path>/usr/share/sounds/sf2/</path>. For 
>example a sound font file for the Creative SBLive! card would be 8MBGMSFX.SF2.
></note>
>
><p>
>After copying over the Soundfont files, we can then play a midi file as shown.
>You can also add the <c>asfxload</c> command to 
><path>/etc/conf.d/local.start</path>, so that the sound font is loaded 
>every time the system starts up.
></p>
>
><note>
><path>/mnt</path> paths mentioned in the code listing(s) below will <e>not</e> 
>be the same in your machine. They are just an example. Please be careful to 
>change the path to suit your machine.
></note>
>
><pre caption="Loading Soundfonts">
><comment>(First, copy the Soundfont)</comment>
># <i>cp /mnt/win2k/Program\ Files/CreativeSBLive2k/SFBank/8MBGMSFX.SF2 /usr/share/sounds/sf2/</i>
><comment>(We load the specific Soundfont)</comment>
># <i>asfxload /usr/share/sounds/sf2/8MBGMSFX.SF2</i>
></pre>
>
><p>
>You can now play midi files using a program like <c>aplaymidi</c>. Run 
><c>aplaymidi -l</c> to get a list of available ports and then pick one 
>to play the file on.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Playing MIDI">
><comment>(Check open ports)</comment>
># <i>aplaymidi -l</i>
> Port    Client name                      Port name
> 64:0    EMU10K1 MPU-401 (UART)           EMU10K1 MPU-401 (UART)
> 65:0    Emu10k1 WaveTable                Emu10k1 Port 0
> 65:1    Emu10k1 WaveTable                Emu10k1 Port 1
> 65:2    Emu10k1 WaveTable                Emu10k1 Port 2
> 65:3    Emu10k1 WaveTable                Emu10k1 Port 3
><comment>(Pick a port, and play a mid file)</comment>
># <i> aplaymidi --port=65:0 /mnt/shyam/music/midi/mi2.mid</i>
></pre>
>
></body>
></section>
><section id="vsynth">
><title>Virtual Synthesizers</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>If your sound card lacks a hardware synthesizer, you could use a virtual one
>like <c>timidity++</c>. Installation is a breeze.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Installing timidity++">
># <i>emerge timidity++</i>
></pre>
>
><p>
>For timidity to play sounds, it needs a sound font. If you do not have any,
>install <c>timidity-eawpatches</c> or <c>timidity-shompatches</c> which will
>give you some sound fonts.  You can have multiple sound font configurations
>installed, and you can place your own in <path>/usr/share/timidity/</path>.
>To switch between different timidity configurations, you should use the
><e>timidity-update</e> tool provided in the timidity++ package.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Installing sound fonts">
># <i>emerge timidity-eawpatches</i>
># <i>timidity-update -g -s eawpatches</i>
>
><comment>(or)</comment>
>
># <i>emerge timidity-shompatches</i>
># <i>timidity-update -g -s shompatches</i>
></pre>
>
><p>
>Don't forget to add <c>timidity</c> to the default runlevel.
></p>
>
><pre caption="Adding timidity to the default runlevel">
># <i>rc-update add timidity default</i>
># <i>/etc/init.d/timidity start</i>
></pre>
>
><p>
>You can now try out <uri link="#doc_chap4_pre3">Playing MIDI</uri> files.
></p>
>
></body>
></section>
><section>
><title>Tools and Firmware</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>Some specific sound cards can benefit from certain tools provided by the
><c>alsa-tools</c> and <c>alsa-firmware</c> packages. If you need
><c>alsa-tools</c>, be sure to define the ALSA_TOOLS variable in
><path>/etc/make.conf</path> with the tools you require. For instance:
></p>
>
><pre caption="Selecting ALSA Tools in /etc/make.conf">
>ALSA_TOOLS="as10k1 ac3dec"
></pre>
>
><p>
>If the ALSA_TOOLS variable is not set, all available tools will be built. 
>Now, install the <c>alsa-tools</c> (and/or <c>alsa-firmware</c>) package(s):
></p>
>
><pre caption="Installing ALSA Tools">
># <i>emerge alsa-tools</i>
></pre>
>
></body>
></section>
><section>
><title>A Big thank you to...</title>
><body>
>
><p>
>Everyone who contributed to the earlier version of the Gentoo ALSA Guide:
>Vincent Verleye, Grant Goodyear, Arcady Genkin, Jeremy Huddleston, 
>John P. Davis, Sven Vermeulen, Benny Chuang, Tiemo Kieft and Erwin.
></p>
>
></body>
></section>
><section>
><title>References</title>
><body>
>
><ul>
>  <li><uri link="http://www.alsa-project.org/">The ALSA Project</uri></li>
>  <li><uri link="http://linux-sound.org">Linux Sound/MIDI Software</uri></li>
></ul>
>
></body>
></section>
></chapter>
></guide>

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