This very simple set of steps will help you get Orca set up and making sounds with a simple software synthesizer. This is intended for Mac users who have little knowledge of making music on computers. When you complete these steps you will have everythng you need to follow Allieway Audio's ORCA Sequencer Intro Youtube Video.
Here's what we'll cover"
- Download Orca
- Download a Software Synth
- Setup MIDI Bus
- Connect Orca and a Software Synth
There are many more complex music making enviroments you can hook Orca up to but this will help you get your feet wet very quickly.
Head to the Orca Itch.io page and download the app. Consider making a donation because the program is neat. Install the app like any other mac app. https://hundredrabbits.itch.io/orca
You can open Orca and it should look like this. Notice how the "No Midi" text at the bottom of the screen? If this is what you see you won't be able to make any sounds with Orca.
Orca does not make any sounds itself. It controls other programs or physical instrument through Midi. To make sounds and music we need an instrument for Orca to control.
To quickly get up and running lets use Dexed - a plugin synth that is closely modeled on the Yamaha DX7. Download and install. Dexed
Now we have Orca and we have an Software synthesizers, how do we connect them?
Open the "Audio MIDI Setup" Utilities. You can find this in Applications > Utilities or search for it using Spotlight
In the toolbar of Audio Midi Setup select "window" and then "Show MIDI Studio"
You will now see a window like this:
Double click on "IAC Driver" and you will see a window like this. You only need to do a single thing - check the "Device is Online" checkbox.
You can now close the window and Audio MIDI Setup.
Start by opening Dexed. In the top left hand corner there is an "options" button. Click it and choose "Audio/MIDI Settings...".
At the bottom of the window is "Active MIDI Inputs" and the MIDI Bus we put online should be seen. Make sure it is checked.
You can close the window and feel free to hit the virtual keyboard keys with your mouse to make sure sound is working before going into Orca.
Now open Orca. If you had it open already close and reopen it. In the toolbar you should see "Midi" as an option. By default the Midi bus we put online should be selected - you can tell because the name will be in the bottom right of the window where it once said "No Midi".
You are now ready to make a sounds! Check out Allieway Audio's ORCA Sequencer Intro Youtube Video or the Orca documentation.
Have fun!
