arecordmidi
Record MIDI events to a Standard MIDI File
TLDR
Record MIDI to file
$ arecordmidi -p [hw:1,0] [recording.mid]
List available MIDI ports$ arecordmidi -l
Record with specific BPM$ arecordmidi -p [hw:1,0] -b [120] [recording.mid]
Record with metronome$ arecordmidi -p [hw:1,0] -m [hw:1,0] [recording.mid]
SYNOPSIS
arecordmidi [-p port] [-b bpm] [-t ticks] [options] output.mid
DESCRIPTION
arecordmidi records MIDI data from ALSA sequencer ports to a Standard MIDI File. It captures note events, control changes, and other MIDI messages from connected keyboards or controllers.
The tool is useful for capturing performances without running a full DAW application.
PARAMETERS
-p port, --port port
Source port(s) to record from-l, --list
List available ports-b bpm, --bpm bpm
Beats per minute-t ticks, --ticks ticks
Ticks per quarter note (default: 384)-s, --split-channels
Split channels to separate tracks-m port, --metronome port
Output metronome to port-i ticks, --timesig ticks
Time signature (n/d format)
CAVEATS
Recording starts immediately; no countdown by default. Only records from ALSA sequencer ports, not raw MIDI. Tempo must be set manually.
HISTORY
arecordmidi is part of the ALSA utilities, providing basic MIDI recording capability since ALSA's introduction in the early 2000s.