MIDI Synthesis

Beast

"Beast is a really snazzy music composition and modular synthesis software program. It runs under unix and can run files saved in MIDI, WAV, AIFF, MP3, and OggVorbis. Beast has unlimited undo/redo support, real-time synthesis, multitrack editing, 32bit audio rendering, full duplex support, multiprocessor support and on and on. Interestingly Beast is an abbreviation for Bedeviled Audio System."

Beast Screenshots:

More Beast Screenshots

Download
Download Beast
Download Beast Source Code

General Resources
Beast General Information
Beast FAQs
Beast Quick Start

Features
Beast Feature List
Creating Beast Plugins

Documentation
Beast Developer Docs
Beast Online Manual

Help and Support
Beast Discussion
Beast Help Desk
Beast Wiki
Beast Forum(s)

Contact Information
Contact Beast

More Project Information
Beast on Freshmeat

In the News
Beast Reviews

Extras and Other Links
Beast Sound Archive
Beast Mailing Lists
Beast Links Page
Beast Translation Info
Beast Credits are displayed on the program during runtime.

Other Languages
Beast Deutsch

Ardour

From Ardour Developer Website Homepage:

"Ardour is a digital audio workstation. You can use it to record, edit and mix multi-track audio. Produce your own CD's. Mix video soundtracks. Experiment with new ideas about music and sound. Generate sound installations for 12 speaker gallery shows. Have Fun.

Ardour capabilities include: multichannel recording, non-linear, non-destructive region based editing with unlimited undo/redo, full automation support, a mixer whose capabilities rival high end hardware consoles, lots of plugins to warp, shift and shape your music, and controllable from hardware control surfaces at the same time as it syncs to timecode. If you've been looking for a tool similar to ProTools, Nuendo, Cubase SX, Digital Performer, Samplitude or Sequoia, you might have found it.

But wait. Ardour is not just a digital audio workstation. Let's compare it with ... an automobile.

Imagine that you bought a car and were told that the manufacturer was the only place you could get it fixed. None of your friends are allowed to use the car, and there's a good chance that it won't work on certain kinds of roads. As for customizing it: neither you nor your car-wise friends could do anything, because the hood is welded shut ...

If this sounds a little odd, that's because it is. But if you already own a digital audio workstation, you know all about products that work this way. Only the company that created it can fix it. Only that company can improve it. The company doesn't trust you as a customer, requiring product activation keys and hardware dongles. The list of inconviences goes on and on.

No Copy Protection
We'd like you to pay for Ardour - we've put a lot of work into it, and we'd like to keep doing that (you can use that PayPal button over there on the right). But whether you pay for Ardour or not, you are welcome to make copies for your friends. Hopefully, they'll want to pay for it too. No dongles, no activation keys, only trust.

Open Development Process
Anyone can participate in the development of Ardour. Because everyone can get the source code, Ardour will continue to be developed and supported with or without the involvement of its original authors. Contrast this to the collapse of a company, or a discontinued product. Moreover, anyone with programming skills can add features to Ardour, or fix problems.

Platform-Neutral Technology
Ardour will can be ported to just about any system that complies with the POSIX operating system standard. It has already been ported to Mac OS X with very few changes.

Rather than being a product of a particular company, it's a center around which a community can focus its interest and effort. A program for which new releases can happen as often as necessary to bring new functionality and improvements. A program to build the future with."

More Ardour Intro Info...

Ardour Screenshots:

More Ardour Screenshots

Download:
Download Ardour

Features:
Ardour Features List

Docs:
Ardour Online Manual and Wiki
Ardour Documentation Project

System Requirements:
Ardour System Requirements for Linux
Ardour System Requirements for Mac OS X

Frequently Asked Questions:
Ardour FAQs
Ardour OSX-Specific FAQs

Source Code:
Download Ardour Source Code

Helpful Ardour Links:
Ardour Plugins
Ardour Help/Support
What's different about Ardour?
Ardour Basic Concepts
Ardour MIDI Configuration
The Ardour Editor
The Ardour Mixer
Ardour Recording Setup
Ardour Basic Recording
Ardour Video Synchronization
Ardour and Native Processing

Mailing Lists and Tracking Info:
Ardour Developers Mailing List
Ardour Users Mailing List
Ardour Issue Tracker

Other Info Regarding Ardour:
How to Build Ardour from Source
Ardour News
Ardour Status
The Ardour Community Page, Contact Info, Credits and Contributors
Donate to Ardour
Ardour on Wikipedia
Ardour on Sourceforge
Ardour Freshmeat Listing

Even More Ardour Stuff:
Installing Ardour on Gentoo OS X
Ardour Debian Unstable Package
Some Music Recorded with Ardour
A Weird Video of Ardour in Action

Ardour Press:
Introducing Ardour on Linux Journal
Ardour Review on LinuxSoft.cz
Ardour as Part of AGNULA

Rosegarden

From Rosegarden Developer Website:

"Rosegarden is a professional audio and MIDI sequencer, score editor, and general-purpose music composition and editing environment.

Rosegarden is an easy-to-learn, attractive application that runs on Linux, ideal for composers, musicians, music students, and small studio or home recording environments."

Rosegarden Screenshot: