This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Creating Music with Jokosher
- Package name: jokosher
- Windows/OS X equivalents: Garage Band
Musicians abound in the Ubuntu community and the wider world, but until Jokosher came along, there wasn't an easy-to-use and simple program for creating that music. Founded by Ubuntu's own Jono Bacon and named after a kosher joke about the food that is Jono's name, Jokosher makes creating music or other audio recordings a breeze.
To get started in Jokosher, you first need to create a project to hold the various audio tracks that make up the end file. For our basic project, we are going to take two of the free culture showcase projects that ship with Ubuntu and combine them together. Click on the Create a New Project button in the welcome screen (Figure 6-18) and then on the next window, enter in Ubuntu combination into the Project Name field.
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Figure 6-18 Jokosher's welcome window
Once that is open, you will see a largely blank screen and you need to fill that with sound files. Choose Add Audio File on the upper toolbar and type in /usr/share/example-content in the location bar. Select one of two files in the Ubuntu Free Culture Showcase folder. After that is loaded, select Add Audio File again and select the other audio files. You should see something like in Figure 6-19.
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Figure 6-19 The audio files are loaded.
Now that we have both files loaded, let's create some sweet solos so that you can only hear one of the two files. To create a cut in the audio file, simply double-click wherever you want your cut. So anywhere in the How Fast.ogg file, double-click and then drag the second piece to the left.
This will create a very abrupt break in the music, so to make it more pleasing, let's create a pair of fades on either side. While holding the shift key down, click near the end of the first part and drag to the end. Release the mouse and you should see a pair of 100% boxes. Click and drag the right-most one down to the bottom where it will read 0%. After you are done, you should have something like Figure 6-20.
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Figure 6-20 Adding some fades and cuts
Now let's export that file so you can share your awesome creation with your friends. Go to File > Mixdown Project and in the Mixdown Project, create a new profile by clicking the plus icon in the upper right. Name is exported and then click ok. Now you need to add an action, in this case export, so click on the lower right-most plus icon. Select Export File and then select Add Action. Now we need to configure the file name, type of audio file, and where you are going to save it to. Select Export File on the list and click the little configure icon in the lower right, it looks a like wrench and screwdriver. Name your file Ubuntu Combination and then Save it as a FLAC file. In the location bar, click the folder icon and choose your music folder. After you're done, it should look like Figure 6-21. Now click the Mixdown button and your file is created. Go to your Music folder and hit play for the fun to begin.
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Figure 6-21 Naming your file and exporting to the right place is easy.
We have just scratched the surface with Jokosher. We didn't get into adding live instruments and recording them directly, which is where Jokosher really shines. But we did get a taste of the power of Jokosher even with a few simple audio files that come with Ubuntu. Go out and have fun.
Further Resources
As always, Jokosher's own help is a great place to start. The Jokosher web site at www.jokosher.org has a help wiki, further documentation, and more.