What is ewis?

EWIS is a browser-based tool for musicians who play an EWI (electronic wind instrument) or similar breath controller. It lets you trigger chords with a quick thumb tap and then play a melody on top of those held chords using your breath-controlled instrument. Think of it as a one-person backing band: you hold a chord sequence with one gesture, then solo over it with your wind controller, all through a web page. At a high level, the app sits between your wind controller and your synthesizer. You plug your EWI into the computer, open the web app, and configure which MIDI devices to use for input and output. When you tap a mapped button on your EWI (like a thumb bend), the app generates and holds a chord on your synth. The number of notes in that chord is adjustable, and the volume of the chord pad responds to how hard you breathe into the controller, adding expression. You then play your lead instrument freely over those sustained chords. This is built for wind controller players who want a self-contained performance setup without needing a separate person or backing track to provide chord accompaniment. A concrete example from the creator's own use: playing an Akai EWI USB through MainStage on a Mac, using a violin synth sound for the lead melody and a pad synth for the chords, with breath control driving expression on both. It also works on iPad with compatible synth apps like Magellan. One thing to note: the project is clearly a personal tool built for the developer's own needs, and they caution that the live version may change at any time, so it shouldn't be relied on for live performances just yet. It's built with Hugo and Vue, and configuring it requires some familiarity with MIDI concepts like channels and continuous controller (CC) numbers, though the settings table in the documentation is straightforward enough to guide you through the basics.