Using ORCA with FluidSynth on the Pocket CHIP

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This post is about using the ORCA (https://hundredrabbits.itch.io/orca)
livecoding playground on the Pocket CHIP
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHIP_(computer)#Pocket_CHIP_and_Pockulus)

From the ORCA wiki (https://wiki.xxiivv.com/site/orca.html):

Orca is a two-dimensional esoteric programming language in which every letter of
the alphabet is an operator, where lowercase letters operate on bang, uppercase
letters operate each frame. This livecoding language is designed to procedurally
generate MIDI, UDP or OSC messages.

So let’s get started…

Follow the official ORCA instructions for installing on Raspberry Pi
(https://git.sr.ht/~rabbits/orca):

sudo apt-get install git libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev libportmidi-dev
git clone https://github.com/hundredrabbits/Orca-c.git
cd Orca-c
make          # Compile ORCA
./build/orca    # Run ORCA

After you’ve installed ORCA, install the binary to make it usable from anywhere:

sudo cp build/orca /usr/local/bin

Next, you’ll want something for ORCA to output to (to make noise!) so you will
need either a real MIDI device (e.g. over USB), or you could use a synthesizer.
For this I’d recommend FluidSynth (http://www.fluidsynth.org). You can install
FluidSynth easily from the Debian apt repository:

# install the fluidsynth midi synthesizer
# this should also install the fluidsynth-soundfont-gm package too
sudo apt install fluidsynth

To launch FluidSynth:

# start fluidsynth, using the soundfont that installed with it:
fluidsynth --audio-driver=alsa /usr/share/sounds/sf2/FluidR3_GM.sf2

If you want to launch FluidSynth in the background you can use the -i flag.

Next you need to start ORCA and set it to output to the fluidsynth MIDI output
device:

1. Press Ctrl+D in ORCA to bring up the menu
2. Go to “Midi Output”
3. Select “Synth input port (xxxx:0)”

Channels 0-8 should be piano, and 9 is a drum kit.

If you want to launch ORCA from the Pocket CHIP home menu, you could use
pocket-home
(instructions here (https://github.com/o-marshmallow/PocketCHIP-pocket-home))
and add a shortcut to launch ORCA.

The icon command to use would be vala-terminal -fs 8 --fullscreen -e orca, but
you’ll also need to have FluidSynth or your MIDI synthesizer of choice running
before you launch ORCA.

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Published January 26, 2021

Generated from the original post:
https://blog.omgmog.net/post/using-orca-with-fluidsynth-on-pocket-chip/


Max Glenister is an interface designer and senior full-stack developer from
Oxfordshire. He writes mostly about front-end development and technology.

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