diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL2_mixer/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL2_mixer/default.nix
index dab76bdab70..b412e22b8f0 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL2_mixer/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/SDL2_mixer/default.nix
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     "--disable-music-mp3-mpg123-shared"
     "--disable-music-opus-shared"
     "--disable-music-midi-fluidsynth-shared"
+
+    # override default path to allow MIDI files to be played
+    "--with-timidity-cfg=${timidity}/share/timidity/timidity.cfg"
   ] ++ lib.optionals stdenv.isDarwin [
     "--disable-sdltest"
     "--disable-smpegtest"