Muse

Muse is a sequencer of everything audio-related. Muse makes it easy for you to compose music using audio tracks, soft synths, MIDI, effects, and more.

In order to compose music on a computer and have it play the music back as a complete musical work, you must use some kind of sequencer if only to get the different tracks to start at the same time. MusE is a sequencer, with the ability to sequence MIDI events, route MIDI channels, place audio files, perform rudimentary mixing, apply effects, and more, making it a full fledged Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).

MusE is quite stable and it's basically feature-complete, so development tends to be conservative. The build script on http://slackbuilds.org is currently for version 2.1.2, but if you want LV2 plugin support then you should build version 2.2.

To update the build script, open it in a text editor and change the version from 2.1.2 to 2.2 and save it. Then go and download the 2.2 source code from the the MusE website and run the build script.

In order to use MusE, you must run JACK, the audio subsystem that acts as a sort of patchbay for your system. Since not all applications send audio to JACK, JACK is used only on an as-needed basis. The order of launching your audio rig, therefore, is:

• Connect USB MIDI controller if you use one
• Launch jackd
• Launch a patchbay (either patchage or qjackctl
• Launch MusE

When MusE first loads, it will offer to run some “instrument initialization sequences”. It is safe to accept this, and to mark it as safe for future instances. This sets up internal MusE MIDI connections, and can be changed at any time if you find them insufficient.

To begin a new project, select File menu → New and choose from the list of template projects available. The templates provide a few convenience tracks already in the MusE workspace, but otherwise any template will do, as they can be adjusted at any time. The default template is the most basic: it creates a Master Out channel and leaves the rest up to you.

MusE auto-connects its Master Out to the System Playback output in JACK, so you're all set to make music.

MusE can handle imported audio files as well as MIDI data. To bring in an audio file, there must be a track ready to accept the audio. To create a new track, right-click in the left Track area, or click the Edit menu → Add Track, and select Add Wave Track.

With the newly create Wave Track selected, import your audio file via the File menu → Import Wave File.

Audio tracks can be edited as you would expect; splice the track with the Cutter tool from the top menu bar, erase clips with the Eraser tool, repair cuts with Glue, and move clips around with the standard Arrow tool.

MusE is a full-featured DAW, so it has a plugin structure that allows you to use MIDI instruments and effects without leaving the MusE, but you since MusE is a JACK-aware application, there is the added flexibility of being able to use stand-alone synths and effects as well.