If you want to capture musical inspiration on the go without having to connect a hardware MIDI keyboard, Tanager Audioworks say that their new Chirp makes it both possible and easy.
Chirp turns a computer or laptop keyboard into a virtual MIDI keyboard controller with 18 piano keys, 10 drum triggers and all the control you'd expect from a piece of hardware. The program produces MIDI notes and messages to driveany music software application, MIDI instrument or plug-in soft synthesizer capable of generating sound from MIDI input.
Tanager say that many music software applications and soft synths include some virtual keyboard capability, but very few allow the MIDI notes to be generated using your computer keyboard. Many limit input to a mouse click, which makes chord entry and real-time playing virtually impossible. Chirp accommodates up to 7 notes on the keyboard to be played simultaneously and in real-time, allowing for even complex 9/11/13 chord entry over 2 octaves.
Chirp was designed to be a low latency controller capable of both supply MIDI notes and displaying played notes from any music application with MIDI I/O capabilities. Tanager tell us that they envisioned the primary computer platform as a Windows or Mac laptop, and most likely in a remote environment where the use of a physical keyboard is impractical, such as an airplane seat, bus seat or your desk at work. Chirp allows the user to choose which computer keys are mapped to the piano keyboard keys, as well as assign the trigger pads to any MIDI event.
Quick Specs

• Runs on Mac OS X or Windows XP/Vista—available as instant download or packaged CD
• High quality re-sizable keyboard display shows piano keys being pressed with photo-realistic shadowing
• Includes 10 programmable trigger pads map-able to any MIDI event—even SYSEX commands
• 2 controller wheels allow mouse or trackpad entry of any MIDI continuous controller
• Installs as a virtual MIDI port—appears in the MIDI Devices menu of any music software application

Pricing and Availability:
$39.99 More information:

• www.tanageraudioworks.com
  
  
  

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