Laurie Spiegel’s Music Mouse demonstrated new possibilities for human-computer interaction and paved the way for personal computing as a medium to compose music.
In 1986, most music software was for editing. But Laurie Spiegel wanted to transform the computer into an instrument you could play. Unlike traditional musical instruments, Music Mouse didn’t require years of practice, or knowledge of music theory or notation.
After spending time at Bell Laboratories with their one-of-a-kind GROOVE system and other synthesisers, Spiegel was inspired to create a small, specialised and infinitely extendable instrument for herself.
Music Mouse – An Intelligent Instrument was released on a Macintosh which was later ported to Amiga and Atari. In 2026, Eventide released it for modern computers.
Spiegel’s influence on live performance continues today. You can see it in live coding environments, TidalCycles and Strudel, which are being played on the other side of the exhibition.