Midi files not working on Rhythmbox nor VLC

• Rhythmbox 2.96 doesn't run any midi file on Ubuntu 12.04, even after installing GStreamer and Ubuntu Restricted Extras.

• Rhythmbox-Message: Missing plugin: gstreamer|0.10|rhythmbox-metadata|audio/midi decoder|decoder-audio/midi

• [0xb5504e40] main decoder error: no suitable decoder module for fourcc `MIDI'. VLC probably does not support this sound or video format.

Solution 1:

You can play midi with VLC. Just install vlc-plugin-fluidsynth

sudo apt install vlc-plugin-fluidsynth

Solution 2:

Usually audio-players do not support playing midi file, that strictly speaking are not audio files.

You can play midi file through a MIDI software synthesizer, like Timidity or Fluidsynth.

In the Rhythmbox FAQ you find the following question:

Can I use MIDI files with Rhythmbox?

Rhythmbox uses the GStreamer media framework for actual playback and a lot of other functionality, so in general Rhythmbox plays exactly those formats that are supported by GStreamer. GStreamer, on the other hand, uses a plugin system where each format is supported by a plugin. Thus, the formats supported by GStreamer (and Rhythmbox) depends on which plugins you have installed. Different distributions may ship with a different set of plugins by default.

To look for plug-ins, go to http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/documentation/ . The Wildmidi plugin works fine with rhythmbox.

so if you still want to use Rhythmbox for midi files, take a look at the mentioned Wildmidi project.