I can’t seem to figure it out. When it plays a MIDI file, it references Timidity++ in the output:
Metadata:
name : Piano
instrument : Timidity GM patches
sample : Piano
: 0:
: 1:
: 2:
: 3:
: 4:
: 5:
: 6:
: 7:
: 8:
: 9:
: 10:
extra info : 51 patterns, 26 channels, 1/11 instrument, 12/12 samples
Duration: 00:03:06.00, bitrate: 1 kb/s
Stream #0:0: Audio: pcm_s16le, 44100 Hz, 2 channels, s16, 1411 kb/s
Playing the file with Timidity++ results in nothing, as Timidity++ apparently isn’t a soundfont, and searching “Timidity GM patches” brings up nothing.


Maybe ffplay doesn’t use timidity application. The name says “GM patches” under “instrument”. Sounds to me like some Timidity based soundfont, not an application.
The sounds are coming from patch files loaded via PAT_Load_Instruments in libmodplug, which is what’s used to generate the sounds.
You are right though that the patch/instrument consists of several pre-generated samples and does not use Timidity “live”.