[PD] ALSA routing

[Brian Neltner]

Hi mailing list,

This probably has been asked before, but I don't seem to be able to find
the right keywords to locate any answers on Google.

I am running pd on linux. I have a patch that analyzes sound from an
on-computer program in realtime, and controls LED lighting based on
aubio detected beats and so on.

The problem I am having is that jackd disconnects my audio source from
the PD inputs whenever the audio source is paused or stopped. I am using
amarok 1.4, but I really like it and would prefer not to have to switch
to another media player just for that.

The behavior I *want* is that whenever amarok is playing music, the
music is piped into the ADC on puredata to my analysis patch, but that
otherwise no user intervention with the background patch is necessary.

The best way I can think to deal with this is to try to find a way to
connect the final audio output on the sound driver to the ADC.
Basically, if I were doing it physically to take a cable and connect my
speaker output to my line input.

Is there a good way to do this with either ALSA or jackd on linux in
software? Ideally in a way where individual programs can release and
attach to the output without it disrupting the connection?

Best,
Brian Neltner