MousMuso: Alternate MIDI controller by Lumatrix

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MousMuso

Alternate MIDI Controller by Lumatrix

MousMuso

Alternate MIDI Controller
By LUMATRIX
Released as FREEWARE, SEPT. 2001

I saw a post on the CN-Fractal egrp from the author of MousMuso where he commented on one of my mids I created with his program for PC. He mentioned there was an ST version. I mailed him and he released to me the ST version which he says is "better" then the PC version! Just not as colorful.

This is an alternate mouse controller with some real twists. Left and right clicks into the playing field produce completly different effects. Left clicking allows you to play into the field whatever scales are set up on the Function Keys.The SHIFT keys allow you to change the "speed" at which the notes are played. Right clicking produces an arpeggio effect while clicking BOTH mouse buttons produces a chord.Using a combination of right, left and both mouse buttons can be syncronized to create some very interesting and inspiring music.

Practically every key on the computer keyboard has a function that changes the parameters of the program. One excellent function is when you hit the [o] key, a random set of patch changes (or instruments in MousMuso language) is produced. You can also save these 'instruments' as a seperate file extension to form a library of instruments. A good selection of instruments are already provided in the ZIP.

In testing the program, I have found it works well on 030 machines such as a Falcon and TT030.

In the Zip is a a small manual in txt format which has all the key commands. below is a portion of it to get you started.

MOUSMUSO

Short Intro and Basic playing hints (for those who hate manuals)

MousMuso is a virtual instrument for all Atari 680x0 computers. It should run without any trouble on any system from a 520 STFM to a fully loaded Falcon 030. It does run in Medium res but is better in Hi res - use a mono-emulator. MousMuso also benefits from mouse accelerator/controllers like FastMouse etc.

MousMuso plays notes over MIDI according to where the mouse pointer is on the screen. Top left is the lowest note, and bottom right goes higher than MIDI allows. So you can jump 10 octaves+ (greater than a Steinway grand) with one flick of the mouse. Mousmuso shows you the note name and MIDI value on screen as you play individual notes. The mouse buttons have several different functions, but the most important is the RIGHT mouse button - this turns all notes off. The left button plays chords built on the mode that you are in, and with both buttons held it plays arpeggios (split chords) in the same way. When MousMuso plays chords or arpeggios, it has to suspend individual note display, but it will show you chord notes that are playing.

The number keys (keypad or others) set the current 'band' that is playing. This is dependant on your hardware, if you have one MIDI channel then that is your lot, but using the +/- keys you can set the number of channels to the number of instruments that you have. The function keys trigger different musical scales (more correctly named modes by musicians). Mousmuso generates ten random modes when you first run it. These may or may not be musically interesting, but it is more useful to start by loading in a preset mode (.MMD file) from disk. See later.

Mousmuso is easier to use than it is to explain, by hitting the key whilst the program is running, then following it with the key that you wish help on. MousMuso explains or reminds you of most (but not all) of the available options. (NB You have to move the mouse at all times to ensure receipt of your commands.)

Note The Atari's intelligent keyboard buffer and repeat feature can cause problems and slow MousMuso's responses to commands. Try to avoid holding down a key, (unless you are attempting to use this as a performance control) as this may slow MousMuso down so much that it becomes unusable. That is all you need to know to get started.