Freeware Windows synth?

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I was wondering if there is a freeware program for Windows which will allow you to play a computer keyboard like a synth... And possibly record what was played into an internal sequencer.

 

I'll be taking a trip in a couple weeks where I will need to be packing light. However, I would like to have a quick musical sketchpad on my laptop just in case inspiration strikes. Just looking for something simple, something cheap (preferably free). Sound quality is not a factor http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

 

I've never messed around with VST synths, but perhaps there is something I can use to have the computer keyboard trigger synth sounds in Cubase? If I can find a way to use the computer keyboard as a synth keyboard with a VST instrument, that might be all I need.

 

(BTW, my laptop is an old 100 mHz w/ 24 megs of RAM, so it can't handle anything too memory- or CPU-hungry.)

 

Thanks!

[Ethan Winer]

popmusic,

 

I was wondering if there is a freeware program for Windows which will allow you to play a computer keyboard like a synth... And possibly record what was played into an internal sequencer.

 

I use a virtual MIDI keyboard program called Bome's Mouse Keyboard. It has no sounds - it's just a way to generate MIDI data by clicking the keys on a picture of a keyboard. But it works very well, and has some neat features. You can get it at www.bome.com for free, though the author asks that you send him a picture postcard to register.

 

--Ethan

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Originally posted by Ethan Winer:

I use a virtual MIDI keyboard program called Bome's Mouse Keyboard. It has no sounds - it's just a way to generate MIDI data by clicking the keys on a picture of a keyboard.

 

Thanks! I tried it out and it looks like a neat program. Unfortunately, I found that Cubase runs very, very slow on my system, so maybe Bome's Mouse Keyboard is the first half of the solution.

 

It'd be nice to find a *very* simple, lightweight sequencer program which will allow me to record MIDI via the Bome program and trigger the laptop wavetable sounds. (Cubase would have worked, but it requires too much CPU/RAM power for this laptop, and don't travel enough to make it worth my while to upgrade.)