Midi Mouse Music By Gareth Jones

This is an excellent Alternate Mouse controller. It is actually 5 programs in one.

Matrix
Strum
Staves
keyboard
joystick

The program opens with a dialog to choose your instrument. Click on MATRIX.

1.Matrix: allows you to play two scales (which can be selected by the user) in X and Y dimensions.You can choose what midi channel you want so each axis can have a different sound. You can also choose its key (or transpose) as well as Octave. It also has global settings for velocity and a sustain switch. Clicking on MATRIX will bring you to the grid. Using matrix is easy. By sliding the mouse up and down or around you can generate melodies as well as harmonies. The speed is not dependant on a tempo control as in Midi Square and Music Mouse but is dependant on mouse movement. So it is easy to go slow and fast at the same time and thus create some interesting articulations. One trick is to click once into a square on the grid. It will generate a two note cord. If you can remember the best combinations of squares to generate chords you can actually compose a piece that you can "play" in a predictable manner.

Now RIGHT click to get back to the dialog, click on exit. It brings you back to the main menu.

Here follows some discriptions of the rest of the instruments. Follow the above procedure to get back to the main menu.

2.STRUM: A guitar strumming type controller.Only one voice (midi channel) is possable but interesting combinations can be achieved.Clicking on EDIT STRUM will reveal a dialog to edit the entire grid you will be strumming with transpose,octave and scale settings. Using various combinations of these variables will produce amazing results as you "strum" across the grid.Going vertically will allow an interesting combination of ALL the scales selected, while going horozontally will produce one scale in the row. Going in circles will produce a combination of both techniques.

3.STAVES: One channel can be selected along with transpose, velocity and what scale you want as well as a sustain switch.It appears that only the major scale can be selected for this instrument.The grid shows the GRAND STAFF in which you can move the mouse around to generate notes.

4.KEYBOARD is the same as STAFF however with Semitone being the only preset available under scales. You can use the mouse to generate notes on a piano type keyboard (much the same as in many Patch Editors)

5.JOYSTICK. Here is an interesting twist. Each X and Y axis can be assigned different continous controller messages. Also each x and Y axis can be assigned a different midi channel to control. This is much the same as a feature in the barefoot version of Edit Track, which has a joystick dialog for the same thing. You can control velocities, panning, modulation and a host of other features.

At present, the only way you can record MMMusc's output is with an external sequencer either as another Computer or hardware/synth workstation setup. 

Have Fun with Midi Mouse Music!!!


Tim