Music Software

[Ariel 0]

Anyone knows a good software to compose music with keyboard, like cakewalk?? i listen names....thanks....

[brett 0]

Logic Platinum 5.10!forget all the new mac only versions, 5.1 is the best there ever was maybe try cubase 2.0 if you don't like logic, because I must admit the learning curve is a bit overwhelming at first. I started with acid pro, which is pretty poor for keyboard/midi stuff, but it's great as a starter. actually, Cubase VST32 would be right up your alley I reckon, it's kind of a mix of Cubase and Acid Pro, specifically targetted at virtual instrument production.

[akz 0]

Music programs as in what do you use to listen to music? For cds and other music files I like to use winamp .. if not windows media player is a nice choice as well.

[NTNguyen 0]

If you have a mac, what about GarageBand? It's free with every new mac and costs only $50 in the iLife '04 package.

[s2city 0]

I've used cakewalk, its okay, I like garageband better though, you should check it out.

[aloKNsh 0]

i use kmplayer as well bsplayerthey bth r cool

[kittycatlover763 0]

hmm i never heard of bs player, but myself i use cubase.i save all my music sheets as .pdf files. i compose for the violin ^^

[nnsoccer 0]

SoundForge one of the best! I think so

[TheDisturbedOne 1]

GarageBand is one of the best out there, but as far as I know, it is Mac only (unless you emulate OS X). For mixing and such, Audacity is great. It is free/open source, and very easy to use. I would sugest having over 1GB RAM for both programs, as they are both memory hogs (as are most audio/video programs).

[Spudd 0]

If you're looking for music composition software for the PC, (Garageband is Mac only software, and Audacity is more for editing Music files, not making them) here are a few free options:

Anvil Studio
Format: MIDIs (.mid)
Totally free, and people who read sheet music will feel quite at home with it. It has some nice features, and it's very user friendly. It's easy to use, but there's one major issue with it: Flexibility. The instruments it gives you are all you can use, and they aren't such great quality. That's because midi files are essentially sheet music for your computer, and so you can only use the instruments that come on the sound card. Consequentially, your music may sound different on other people's computers. The only really good thing about the MIDI format is that the file size is so small, even dial up users can download your music in seconds.
Site: http://anvilstudio.com/

Modplug
Format: Module (.mod, .xm, .it, .s3m)
Again, completely free. Modplug is good for if you want a little more flexibility in your music. You can import .WAV and .MP3 sounds to use as instruments, and change the pitch to make music. This means that you can make your own instruments. Based on the size of those WAVs, the music you make may be larger than that of a MIDI. One problem with this format is that you need special software to listen to it, software that the majority of listeners don't have. You can, however, export your music to MP3 and even MIDI as well with Modplug, which is handy. One other downside is that the interface may be a little confusing to newcomers. Either way, it is a decent tool, and you can't beat the price.
Link: http://www.modplug.com/

Fruity Loops Studio
Format: MP3 (.mp3)
This is NOT free. You may ask why I'm listing it, then. The reason being is that they have a demo version. The main things the demo doesn't have are the ability to save projects, and a few missing features. You can still, however, export MP3s, so you can save your music, you just can't edit it once you do. This is an annoyance, but it can be worked around as long as you do your music in once sitting. It's worth putting up with, as FLStudio is a highly powerful piece of software, and can create high quality, professional music. The interface can be confusing, but it's easier to jump into than Modplug's. FL can also import midi files, so if you want the flexibility of FL and the composition interface of Anvil, you can simply make MIDIs in Anvil, import them to FL, and change the instruments to MP3 ones. FLStudio Demo is what I use, and it works great, I highly recommend it.
Site: http://www.image-line.com/flstudio/

Hope this helps.

Edited September 8, 2009 by Spudd (see edit history)

[mahesh2k 0]

Fruityloops is the best in the market if you're new to music composing. The basic package of fruityloops starts at 49$ and goes upto 300$. With some of the plugins and additional add-ons will cost extra. Plenty of Flash presentation demo creators are using fruityloops for drumloops and effects, sounds. It is easy to use, and you can get started easily.

 

 

Buzz machines, it is free of cost software. It is hard to use but once you understood the connections you'll find out how to work with it. Wiring and feedback between machines is bit of complicated at first. But after sometime you'll get used to it. There are some good songs composed with buzz machines. If you've some free time and lot of patience to try out new software then buzz machines is good way to tinker.

 

Reason, it is pretty expensive package. But there are many industry reviews of this software. It is professional quality software and it comes up with plenty of plugins and effects. It is easy to use, but requires bigger footprint on hard disk. I tried it for sometime as i used songs i created from that software for the effects in flash demos. Another software from propellerheads which is purely based on machine usage is Rebirth. Try demos of both software you'll be amazed.

 

Other softwares you can look for are from Cakewalk, Steinberg, Sony.

 

Pick one which you think is easy for you to work with.

[flipittoo 0]

GarageBand is one of the best out there, but as far as I know, it is Mac only (unless you emulate OS X). For mixing and such, Audacity is great. It is free/open source, and very easy to use. I would sugest having over 1GB RAM for both programs, as they are both memory hogs (as are most audio/video programs).

Yeah i've heard of GarageBand, and my friends are raving about it too. I've tried Audacity, but i never really got to explore it much.