A good MIDI sequencer program called "Jazz++ 4.0" can be downloaded
from www.jazzware.com.  This is an open source program and is available
free to download and use (according to the web site).  To quote the
site: "JAZZ++ is a full featured, audio capable midi sequencer for
Linux and Windows.  JAZZ++ offers a lot of functions normally only
found in expensive sequencer software, and is used by professionals
and hobby musicians all over the world."

The editor has a "piano window" with a piano keyboard, on end, on the
left side of the screen (treble on top).  The notes being played show
up, to the right of their corresponding keys, as colored bars on a grid
which represents the time signature.  The grid scrolls from right to
left as the music plays, so if you tilt your head sideways to the
right, the effect is like a piano roll viewed from the backside
(tracker-bar's-eye view?)

I'm not familiar with Cakewalk, but it sounds similar to what Ben Roth
described.

This program offers a lot of editing features, and is a lot of fun,
especially for the price.

Regards,

Bill Luecht