As of May 26, 2021, LinuxBand project is no longer supported, please consider using JJazzLab-X instead. This linuxband.org site will be removed by Feb 8, 2024. LinuxBand project repository on GitHub will remain.

LinuxBand is a GUI front-end for MMA (Musical MIDI Accompaniment). Type in the chords, choose the groove and LinuxBand will play a musical accompaniment for you.
It’s an open source alternative to Band-in-a-Box featuring:

  • Easy to use graphical interface
  • Open and well-documented data format
  • Output to JACK Midi to facilitate co-operation with other audio applications

After creating some simple songs with LinuxBand I recommend you to have a look at the MMA’s excellent manual. LinuxBand has been designed in a way that allows you editing the song using Chord sheet view and MMA editor at the same time. It other words, LinuxBand will not break the formatting of your MMA files.

You can use LinuxBand to quickly sketch the chord changes you will improvise over. Connect the LinuxBand to Ardour digital audio workstation or other audio recorder to record your playing in sync. Download the archive containing jazz standards, country and Latin songs from MMA examples page.

Available for Linux. Current release LinuxBand 12.02 Beta (February 12, 2012).

LinuxBand is free software, distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 or later.

Latest News

LinuxBand joined Linuxaudio.org

Posted on 20 Feb 2012

LinuxBand project became a member of Linuxaudio.org consortium. The aim of the consortium is to promote and enable the use of Linux systems for professional audio use.

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LinuxBand 12.02.1 Beta released

Posted on 13 Feb 2012

Release Notes 12.02.1 Beta Bugs Fix the compilation on Ubuntu 11.10 Known Issues The linuxband-player is not yet stable. When playing 60sRock, 8Beat, JazzGuitar and a couple of other grooves the incorrect playback position can be displayed. The LinuxBand can even get disconnected from the JACK audio server. When this happens stop the playback and press the JACK reconnect button. Then select some other groove for your song.

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LinuxBand 12.02 Beta released

Posted on 12 Feb 2012

Hello world, LinuxBand is entering the Linux audio landscape. I hope you’ll enjoy it. Release Notes 12.02 Beta This is the first release. Known Issues The linuxband-player is not yet stable. When playing 60sRock, 8Beat, JazzGuitar and a couple of other grooves the incorrect playback position can be displayed. The LinuxBand can even get disconnected from the JACK audio server. When this happens stop the playback and press the JACK reconnect button. Then select some...

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