If you are a musician on Linux, you probably know the problem.
You want to play. You have a backing track. Maybe you want to record yourself, add some video, switch between instruments, change a level, cut a section, slow something down and analyse your playing.
With most software, that quickly turns into a project.
With QJams, it doesn't.
QJams is a Linux-native practice and jamming application built with guitarists in mind, but equally useful for other instruments. Its workflow is designed to keep you playing instead of making you operate a DAW.
QJams automatically discovers your audio input devices and camera hardware. No complicated hardware setup and no manual latency correction are needed.
Need to use a different input? Select it directly from the audio bar — even while recording.
QJams takes care of the technical side so you can concentrate on the music.
Practicing isn't only about listening to yourself. Seeing what you are doing can be just as important.
QJams lets you record synchronized audio and video together in a single application and a single window. Play it back at different speeds to study difficult passages, timing, technique, or simply hear and see what you actually played.
No separate video application. No separate audio application. No manually aligning the two afterwards.
If your (web)cam is not connected QJams will just work as it should. And if you do have your cam connected, choose S, M, XL and XXL for your preferred default and expanded video view size
Build a complete practice session in minutes
QJams gives you 12 tracks to build a session around.
Load backing tracks, loops or other material onto the tracks you need and leave a track ready for your own instrument. Choose audio only or audio with synchronized video, then save the result as a session or export the audio and/or video and come back to exactly the same setup later.
Individual armed tracks — or groups of tracks — can be enabled or disabled directly from the Session Manager, so one session can easily serve different practice situations.
Edit without getting lost in a DAW
QJams includes the DAW-style editing functions you need for practicing and jamming, without turning the application into a full-blown production environment.
All armed tracks are loaded onto the timeline together, each with its own transparent colour. From there you can fade, blend, cut, paste, delete, ripple delete, merge, undo, redo and save your material using destructive or non-destructive editing.
There are no hundreds of options to work through and no need to move endless pieces of audio around a huge canvas just to prepare a practice session.
Zoom in or out across one track or all tracks with Ctrl + scroll.
Adjust the output volume of a selected part of one or multiple tracks with Shift + scroll, even at the lowest ‘lollipop’ level. And you can make gain adjustments while you are playing.
That's the QJams approach: common musical tasks should be quick enough that they don't interrupt what you are doing.
Playlists that actually help
QJams provides 22 playlists, each of which can contain any combination of saved sessions, audio files and video files. Using playlists with drag and drop support greatly contributes to the fast workflow.
Use them to organize songs, practice material, projects or ideas. Content can be dragged between playlists, modified or deleted, making it quick to organize your material without complicated project structures.
Made for musicians, not for operating software
QJams deliberately does things differently from a conventional DAW.
You can prepare backing material, play, record, edit, review and continue your work later — all within one focused workflow, all in the same window. Add a few drones and drum loops to the session manager and start recording. Or make some edits, all within seconds.
Adjust levels while playing. Switch input devices during a recording. Record synchronized audio and video. Slow down playback to analyze your playing. Edit tracks without losing your session. Build a complete multi-track practice setup and save it for later. Save all your work in audio, video or session files.
The goal is simple. Spend your valuable time playing music!
QJams v1.0 — Built for guitarists. Ready for musicians. Made for Linux.