Fluajho

"Fluajho" (with jh as in pleasure) means fluid in Esperanto. It is a simple sf2 soundfont host/player for Linux. Behind the scenes the Fluidsynth library is at work, hence the name.

This program is feature-complete with version 1.7.1 in 2022. Further releases will be limited to maintenance and fixing problems.

is still in moderate use today.

Why does Fluajho exist? There are already many soundfont players for Linux, most of them even based on Fluidsynth. Fluajho was written for a clearly defined use case: Load an .sf2 in the New Session Manager (Agordejo) and save the soundfont in the session directory. This makes it possible to archive the session, for example as a backup or to share it.

If you already have a DAW, host or plugin that reliably saves soundfont files together with the session you do not need Fluajho.

You can load one soundfont file per Fluajho instance. Each instance holds 16 of the soundfonts instruments that can be assigned to 16 MIDI channels. All access to MIDI parameters like Volume or Pan needs to be done via midi control changes.

Finally connect external sequencers, such as Laborejo or Patroneo, through JACK-Midi to play the instruments. There is only one JACK-Midi input but each of the 16 midi channels has it’s own stereo JACK audio output. Additionally there is a stereo mix output pair.

Use your browser’s search function to locate the individual letters like [B] and their explanation.

The [A] File menu contains "sf2 Soundfont load" (keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+O). Only one soundfont can be loaded at a time. If you want to use several different soundfonts at once, just start Fluajho several times. Saving and Closing is also here.

It is also possible to load an .sf2 through drag & drop from your file manager into the Fluajho window.

The option [B] Ignore MIDI Bank and Program Messages only allows instrument changes via the graphical user interface. It ignores all messages coming in via the JACK Midi connection.

This is sometimes necessary if you are dealing with midi hardware, like keyboards, which send bank and program changes at startup and break our settings. You can also activate this option as soon as you have set all instruments, because a program change unfortunately happens faster than one would think.

The option [C] Play test sound after selecting a program can be activated to hear some played notes right choosing a different instrument through the program change dropdown [G]. The test signal is not played when changing an instrument through an external midi signal.

Channels are numbered [D] Channel N . MIDI supports exactly 16 channels, there is no adjustment possible. More channels of the same soundfont can be obtained by simply starting another Fluajho instance. Next to the channel is a small rectangle that lights up if MIDI is coming in.

Play Test [E] plays some test notes after a click. This can be used even if option [C] is not currently activated.

The current [F] Bank is always displayed as a number. You can choose them from the drop down list. Only the banks, which actually exist in the current sf2 are listed.

The current [G] Program is the instrument. It is displayed with its MIDI number and actual name. Only the programs present in the sf2 are displayed.+ However, the soundfonts are often wrong in that they display more instruments than they actually have. In this case you will hear a more or less random (existing) instrument instead.

If you run Fluajho under Session Management, as intended, tere is no internal way to close it. If you use the function of your window manager like [X], Alt+F4 etc. the graphical user interface is only hidden.

To really close Fluajho you can use Agordejo (New Session Manager). Here you can also restore visibility by showing the GUI again.

The current visibility setting is saved. This is because you normally only spend a relatively short time loading a soundfont. Afterwards, the window would only get in the way.

Fluajho is exclusive for Linux. The best way to install is to use your package manager. If it is not there, or only in an outdated version, please ask your Linux distribution to provide a recent version.

If available in the package repository, please continue reading directly at "Start fluajho from Agordejo / New Session Manager". If not, you can build Fluajho yourself.

Please read README.md for other ways of starting fluajho, which are impractical for actual use but can be helpful for testing and development.

You can help Fluajho in several ways: Testing and reporting errors, translating, marketing, support, programming and more.