I use this Ruby script to quicky play a short repeating pattern when I am trying out soloing ideas:
#!/usr/bin/env ruby
groove = ARGV.slice!(0)
tempo = ARGV.slice!(0)
count = ARGV.slice!(0)
puts "Generating MMA file"
File.open("/tmp/mmaout.mma","w") { |f|
f.puts "Tempo #{tempo}"
f.puts "Groove #{groove}"
count.to_i.times {
ARGV.each { |chord| f.puts chord }
}
}
puts "Running MMA"
`mma /tmp/mmaout.mma`
puts "Running Timidity"
`timidity /tmp/mmaout.mid`
puts "Done"
You can run the script in the shell something like this:
mmacmd.rb Rhumba 130 20 G F C C
I hope someone finds this useful.