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Windows music program lets you play up to 128 different instruments

Windows music program lets you play up to 128 different instruments

Vote: (543 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Pianoeletronico

Version: 2.6

Works under: Windows

Vote:

Program license

(543 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Pianoeletronico

2.6

Works under:

Windows

If you've ever wanted to play the piano, but don't have the room, Electronic Piano can turn your standard PC keyboard into a piano (and other musical instruments.) While your keyboard doesn't match the 88 ivory keys on the real thing, Electronic Piano uses your keyboard as stand-in so you can play your favorite songs or just jam around with melodies.

Since your keyboard doesn't have the same amount of keys as a real piano, the program lets you change the octave up and down while showing you the notes and keys you're playing on an on-screen keyboard.

Aside from piano sounds, Electronic Piano can also turn your PC into a violin, cello, bass, trumpet and any other number of general MIDI instruments. And you don't need to know any chords?-the interface allows you to set up part of your keyboard as a chord section with different instruments for instant accompaniment. The chords can be played all at once or strummed like a guitar. You can even change the order in which the "strings" are plucked for different styles of music.

If percussion is more your thing, Electronic Piano can also be used as a drum kit. There are 46 different drum sounds to choose from, and you can modify the keys the program uses to trigger each sound. And for fun, Electronic Piano includes a number of sound effects like a helicopter, applause and a typewrite.

The program isn't perfect. There can be a delay between pressing your keyboard and the program producing sound, and all the notes aren't correctly tuned. But if you want a simple program to make music on your PC or a fun program for your kids to play with, Electronic Piano fits the bill.

Pros:

Electronic Piano provides a huge selection of instruments, both solo and chorded, to make music with.

You can play chords and a solo instrument at the same time, and the chorded instruments can play simultaneously or plucked in any order.

A virtual keyboard shows you which keys on your keyboard correspond to which notes, and you can change them in the drum section.

Cons:

You can't record what you're playing unless you know how to set up your computer to record audio from the program. There's nothing built-in that facilitates recording.

The response from your keyboard is delayed, which could frustrate you if you're trying to play something quickly.

Some notes are out of tune, you might not notice this unless you're already a musician.