The latest announcement from Eventide sees the company launch a modern recreation of Music Mouse, a music-creation program originally designed in the 1980s by composer and technologist Laurie Spiegel.

Designed to turn the mouse into a musical instrument, the software was available for the likes of the Atari, Amiga and early Mac models, and allowed users to generate chords, melodies and arpeggios with the flick or a wrist or sweep of the hand. Now, it’s been treated to a modern overhaul that brings its capabilities into the modern world, along with a variety of improvements and newly added features.

“When Laurie first described Music Mouse to me, I realised how it stood apart. The emerging tech of the mid 80s was focused on adding effects or creating new sounds. Laurie’s idea was neither; it was different. She imagined using the computer as an intelligent musical tool that could be ‘trained’ to accompany and enrich a musician’s performance. She was lightyears ahead of her time. a new generation of Music Mouse is long overdue and it’s my honour to have helped breathe new life into Laurie’s creation.“ - Tony Agnello, First Engineer, Eventide

Laurie Spiegel Music Mouse
Laurie Spiegel, the creator of the original Music Mouse software.
Photo: Marilyn McLaren

New & Improved
As well as recreating the experience of the original instrument, Music Mouse also introduces a whole host of new features, including:

Perform live or record music into a DAW or music notation software.
Sync to an external MIDI clock and lock to a DAW, notation program or external hardware.
Expanded sound presets drawn from Laurie Spiegel’s original DX7 and TX7 patches.
Clearer visual feedback around the Polyphonic Cursor.
Optional UI guides, hint bar and scalable interface.
Left- or right-handed layout options.
“Music Mouse orients you to think on a slightly larger scale of the phrase or the gesture. Of course, you can still wander around, making a mess for a really long time. We’ve all done that. But it’s an improvising instrument and it’s a brainstorming instrument.” - Laurie Spiegel, Creator of Music Mouse

Compatibility
Music Mouse is supported on PCs running Windows 11, and Macs running macOS 10.14 and above.

Pricing & Availability
Music Mouse is available now, priced at $29.

eventideaudio.com/musicmouse