turkey3 wrote:

astro-mechanic wrote:

Lilry1 wrote:

Garage Band works for me

Not free.

It is now actually, Apple made it free.

It costs $1000+.

Source: I need to buy a Mac to run it.

FL Studio 11
The Demo Version lets you make songs, but they have to be done before you close. SAVE AND RENDER.
If you want to make Chart Topping songs on that, there is a PRODUCER EDITION but that'll cost $350, but you'll get FL Studio 12 if you do (and 13 in the future).

turkey3 wrote:

astro-mechanic wrote:

Lilry1 wrote:

Garage Band works for me

Not free.

It is now actually, Apple made it free.

Where can I download it for Windows or Linux then?

whizzer wrote:

turkey3 wrote:

astro-mechanic wrote:

Lilry1 wrote:

Garage Band works for me

Not free.

It is now actually, Apple made it free.

Where can I download it for Windows or Linux then?

You can't. It's apple only, naturally.

Hi, as an experienced musician and user of this stuff, i should be able to make a good list (should as in ‘if i can’t i've not only failed people here i've failed miserably myself)

Stuff you'll need:
Sound recording software (Audacity)

Music theory knowledge. You WILL need this. If you haven't already, go research it and get some.
A piece of DAW software (Digital Audio Workstation)
A collection of VST Synthesizers (VST stands for Virtual Studio Technology- you get lots of good free ones, look on the LMMS website for some good links to start you off)
A collection of VST effects

Also would be good:
Previous knowledge of a real instrument
Soundfonts (usually free)
Kontakt player (free)
some nice headphones
A midi keyboard (google them- you can often find good ones relatively cheap)
some notator software (musescore)

DAW Software (free):
LMMS- free equivalent to FL Studio
FL Studio Demo- Brilliant Daw, my favourite, is brilliant for most genres including soundtrack, minimalism, orchestral rock, electronic, dubstep, and basically anything else possibly apart from pop, rock, metal jazz and blues). Demo limitations- you can save, but not open again afterwards.
Garageband- useful as sketch software, or as a full on DAW. Never tried it, only for mac.
Ardour- not for windows
Acid express- no idea. don't ask. something acid-related is free though, but i've heard it isn't great.
OpenMPT- uses a tracker system, as opposed to a nice accessible piano roll. Meant to be quite good
famitracker- first ever open source tracker to emulate the first soundchips. Very good, i have it but i can't use it to save my life. not accessible. not for beginners.

Note on DAWs- expect to spend at least a year getting good with your chosen DAW and finding a good set of VST plugins that make the sounds that you want and need.

VST Plugins (free):
Best must have's:
Synth1
Tone2 firebird
DSK techsynth pro
Piano one
Orchestral strings one

also:
mda effects collection
visit the odo synth OneDrive page and get everything. It is worth starting with a lot of VSTs and cutting them down once you find ones you don't like much.

VST Plugins (paid- extremely expensive):
Visit the Native Instruments website. ‘nuff said.

more: visit kvr audio leaderboards for more vsts.
use soundfonts for acoustic instruments you don’t have.

Note: musescore is not strictly a DAW. it is a notator- for producing classical notation as midi data.

Useful idea: buying midi keyboards often comes with good software free- i have an Alesis Vortex Wireless ketar controller, it came with Air Music Tech Ignite and Ableton Live 9- both of which are brilliant.
Ignite especially would be good for beginners, although it only comes with keyboards, and i don't think it can be used without one.

Good Paid DAWs: (extremely expensive)
Cubase
Reaper
Logic
FL Studio
Ableton Live

This is disorganised, but it should help (a bit).

pinnipediator wrote:

Hi, as an experienced musician and user of this stuff, i should be able to make a good list (should as in ‘if i can’t i've not only failed people here i've failed miserably myself)…

If I could plus 1 a post I would.

Dabby wrote:

thanks

thanks for him!

Aria Maetosa is a nice simple midi editor

PullJosh wrote:

whizzer wrote:

turkey3 wrote:

astro-mechanic wrote:

Lilry1 wrote:

Garage Band works for me

Not free.

It is now actually, Apple made it free.

Where can I download it for Windows or Linux then?

You can't. It's apple only, naturally.

Virtual Box. Or, some kind of Windows thing that lets you use Mac stuff. Linux has a windows version, MAC has one I believe, so obviously windows has to have one… Right?

DeadlySquid wrote:

PullJosh wrote:

whizzer wrote:

turkey3 wrote:

astro-mechanic wrote:

Lilry1 wrote:

Garage Band works for me

Not free.

It is now actually, Apple made it free.

Where can I download it for Windows or Linux then?

You can't. It's apple only, naturally.

Virtual Box. Or, some kind of Windows thing that lets you use Mac stuff. Linux has a windows version, MAC has one I believe, so obviously windows has to have one… Right?

You need a Mac or iDevice to run Garageband, but it's free if you have one.

It's not a bad deal considering that a program like Pro Tools costs something like $700 while a Mac Mini costs around $600. Once you learn Garageband you can easily move to Logic Pro X which is a professional tool that costs around $99.

The vvvvvv dude made Bosca Ceoli which is designed for beginners. Give it a whirl sometime, it's fun to use

terminator68 wrote:

peterkap wrote:

FL studio is awesome, and it's what I use. You don't have to use fl studio for making beats in particular, you can make techno beats, raps, country songs, dubstep, and other song genres too.
Try out the fl studio demo, maybe you'll like. I love FL Studio

I see. I'll definitely have to check it out not. I hope the demo isn't too limited.

The only limitations to the demo is you can't save your projects. You can export as a wav and literally go on about your normal business, but you can't reopen the project. You can actually save projects but you can't open them again until you've purchased it.

This actually depends on what you're looking for. If you want to do electronic music, I can't help you because I have no experience in that area. However, if you're composing music intended to be played with actual instruments, here is my advice. (I'm looking for software in this area too because I haven't found anything without its drawbacks yet.)

If you are able, I would first and foremost suggest doing it by hand. You have the most freedom this way. While it likely won't be as tidy as if you used software, you are free from the many limitations that most composition software imposes upon you. However, writing by hand does have problems. If your handwriting is anything like mine, it will be near illegible. You also may make mistakes in your writing that you don't catch until it's being performed.

The software I currently use (Finale Printmusic) is not free, unfortunately, and it's got issues. (That's mostly why I'm looking for a free alternative.) However, for its price ($119.95) it's well worth it. The only major problems I've found with it are: 1.) It will occasionally crash. Depending on how frequently you save, you can lose a lot of work and 2.) They changed their policy so it can only be run one one computer at a time. (Curse you, MakeMusic.) As a result of #2, I am currently forced to use an early version of Finale Songwriter, which (*gasp*) doesn't have dynamics or multimeasure rests.

Noteflight is online and has a free version. However, you can only create up to 10 scores for free, and there are only 15 instruments. (Irritating for me as I compose very frequently.)

I've heard good things about MuseScore from my composer friends who have used it. They've also said it takes awhile to master the basics. I haven't personally used it myself yet, but as it seems completely free and like it has a lot of functionality, I'm going to look into it.

There's also LilyPond, which I have yet to try. I haven't heard much about it and I've only heard of it through my older brother, so I have no idea how well it will work.

Like pinnipediator mentioned, you will absolutely need music theory knowledge. I've been taking piano lessons for nine years, and they have included lessons in music theory and composition. Even if you don't know much music theory, if you know how to play any instrument, you're at an advantage. If you don't, I would highly encourage you to teach yourself or get lessons.

I hope you find something that suits your purposes. Happy composing!

I want a music making site that's free, no download, and no signup. Any suggestions?

vinylscratchforever wrote:

I want a music making site that's free, no download, and no signup. Any suggestions?

Use magic.
That type of thing doesn't really exist

FL Studio
Mixcraft 6
Ableton Live

These are the three I use. They still work past their trial periods for free, and to record the song, I just record Stereo Mix from Audacity.

NOTESSIMO.NET
JUST TRY.

@Dabby, are you still watching this topic?

pinnipediator wrote:

Good Paid DAWs: (extremely expensive)
Cubase
Reaper
Logic
FL Studio
Ableton Live

Logic is awesome, but it's super expensive and Mac-only. It's like Garageband, but with way better loops. I don't own it, but I tried it out in an Apple Store.