Second only to playing the piano.

You tap the rhythm — on a MIDI keyboard or the computer keyboard —
Orchestrion plays the notes.

Free & open source (GPL-3.0) · all releases

How it works

Start with the bundled pieces — from Frère Jacques to a Chopin nocturne — or open any MuseScore or MusicXML file.

Plug in any MIDI keyboard, or use the computer keyboard as-is. There is nothing to configure.

Each tap plays the next notes of the piece. You own the timing; Orchestrion takes care of the pitches.

Orchestrion is a simple idea with many uses:

In the music lesson. Let pupils focus entirely on rhythm, phrasing and pulse with real repertoire — wrong-note anxiety is simply removed from the equation. Orchestrion opens MuseScore (.mscz) and MusicXML (.mxl, .musicxml) files, so it works with the material you already teach with.
For kids, at home. A playful way to get familiar with music notation and sharpen a sense of rhythm — following the score is the game.
For music lovers. Don't just listen to the repertoire you love — play it. Discover pieces from the inside, at your own pulse, and challenge your inner metronome along the way.
With your band. That song where the keyboard is too central to be left aside — "November Rain", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "You" — play the part yourself, without years of piano lessons first.
Around the piano. Karaoke-like sing-song evenings, with an accompaniment that follows the singers instead of dragging them along.

Some of these scenarios will grow their own dedicated features over time — the fundamentals are already here: any score, your rhythm.