Music composition software recommendations?

[Fallen Angel 93]

hi i was wondering im looking 4 a good music software i was thinking using Fl studio or Sony Acid Music studio 8 i need something that is easy to use and cheap

 

[ShikaTheSingingPony 20]

I've actually been searching for one myself. A friend recommended Audacity, as it is a free online download, but I haven't used it and so can't comment on its quality. Other suggestions would be welcome, since I need a good program too!

[Zygen 6,066]

I've actually wondered about this before. I'm quite curious about this myself. I'm not exactly a professional but I know how music works being a trumpet player. And I've always wanted to see how it would work. Still I have no idea I've never found any worthy ones.

Maybe I'm not looking hard enough tho.

[ceresbane 61]

I've actually been searching for one myself. A friend recommended Audacity, as it is a free online download, but I haven't used it and so can't comment on its quality. Other suggestions would be welcome, since I need a good program too!

 

many pros use audacity.

 

the more expensive software just makes it easier.

 

for example some people use paints. others use photoshop.

 

with paint it takes so much longer, however you have a bit more control in every aspect of the art as you do things "manually".

 

with photoshop you use tools to do most of the work for you to look like every other photoshop out there.

 

so it all depends on what you want out of the software.

[PlunderSteed 1,252]

For the past few years I've used Steinberg's Cubase. It can have kind of a steep learning curve, depending on the hardware you use it with. I've used it primarily for rock and metal. These projects were done entirely in Cubase:

 

My cover of Weezer's "Don't Let Go"

My cover of Fear Factory's "Final Exit"

 

I use the PC version, and my friend uses the Mac version. On a recent project we did the live drums at his place, then transferred the files to my place so I could do the keyboard tracks (we live an hour apart).

[Acoustic Cloud 2,202]

hi i was wondering im looking 4 a good music software i was thinking using Fl studio or Sony Acid Music studio 8 i need something that is easy to use and cheap

 

 

That all depends on your OS

I personally love FL studios, and acid music is... eh alright if you're not making anything to complicated. You could use LMMS as an alternative to FL studios but it fails in comparison

 

And if you're a Mac user... GARAGE BAND! (i don't own a mac but have tons of experience with them, if you have one... just use garage band.)

[miygaiya 138]

Cheap music programs? FL studio is a good one, and so is LMMS(it's free) and Garage Band for Mac. However, I've been looking to get a really nice program, so I've been teaching myself Reason with the demo they have. IMO Reason>Ableton>FL Studio>note blocks in Minecraft>LMMS.

[K3WRO 79]

I've been using LMMS for the first 6 months of composing music. I used both acid and FL, but for creating songs out of scratch, I recommend FL studio.

 

Fl studio is great for beginners because it's easy to use and there are many online tutorials for it. I would also recommend Logic if you own a mac.

 

Reason is also a good choice for people who like to experiment their own sounds and style, IMO, it's a-lot harder than FL and Logic to me.

 

Audacity is for recording btw

[AJHunter 265]

Composition software, eh? Cheap and easy? How about free?

 

I've recently been fiddling with SunVox. It's a modular tracker, very easy and fun to use, and you don't really need any sort of special hardware. coupled with Audacity for recording/editing samples and exporting as ogg vorbis, SunVox is an incredibly powerful tool for PC, Linux, Mac, and various mobile platforms.

 

I've mostly been using it for noise, but it's amazing for pretty much any genre.

 

EDIT:

If a tracker isn't your thing, though, I'd recommend energyXT. it's $50, if I remember correctly, and has a nearly unrestricted demo version (you can't save project files in the demo, but you can export completed tracks and save presets). It's a very lightweight DAW that runs on Mac, PC, or Linux, and it's very easy to use if you know producing terms.

Edited September 25, 2012 by AJHunter

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,529]

I'm a big fan of Finale, personally. It has a mind-blowing number of features, each of which is meticulously documented, and comes with a very generous library of video tutorials to get you settled in. At $350 for the educational version, it isn't exactly cheap, but Finale PrintMusic is only $120 and still includes many of its big brother's features.

 

Free trials of both programs are available, which would probably be well worth taking for a spin.

 

I've actually been searching for one myself. A friend recommended Audacity, as it is a free online download, but I haven't used it and so can't comment on its quality. Other suggestions would be welcome, since I need a good program too!

 

Audacity is an audio editing program. It works with sound waves rather than music notes, so it's very badly suited to music composition.

 

Cheap music programs? FL studio is a good one, and so is LMMS(it's free) and Garage Band for Mac. However, I've been looking to get a really nice program, so I've been teaching myself Reason with the demo they have. IMO Reason>Ableton>FL Studio>note blocks in Minecraft>LMMS.

 

Try Finale for a "really nice program".

[HunterTSN 1,444]

I love FL studio 10 personally, but it can be expensive. The program you use really depends on the style of music your trying to make but FL studio and Finale have the widest range and and are fairly easy to use. What kind of music are you looking for?

[Magicon 468]

As a user of Finale Printmusic myself, it covers every basic thing I need. It's fairly realistic and it's really easy to use if you were taught in the traditional way. The only major downside that I see is that Finale requires you have good knowledge of how to read sheet music and the like. It is a more traditional program, but I highly recommend it.

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,529]

As a user of Finale Printmusic myself, it covers every basic thing I need. It's fairly realistic and it's really easy to use if you were taught in the traditional way. The only major downside that I see is that Finale requires you have good knowledge of how to read sheet music and the like. It is a more traditional program, but I highly recommend it.

 

It could be argued that the ability to read sheet music is essential to become a skillful composer. It is the only universal standard that exists for notating music that is flexible enough to accommodate virtually any instrument played in virtually any fashion. There's a reason that this syntax has stood the test of time for centuries, and that you won't find published music written in any other form.

[AJHunter 265]

It could be argued that the ability to read sheet music is essential to become a skillful composer. It is the only universal standard that exists for notating music that is flexible enough to accommodate virtually any instrument played in virtually any fashion. There's a reason that this syntax has stood the test of time for centuries, and that you won't find published music written in any other form.

 

Sheet music is, in my opinion, one of the first things a person should learn when they're starting to get into music. That and some basic theory, especially stuff about chords, dissonance, and rhythm.

[Mirad 217]

I have 2 for you. I really like the first the most, but I just screw around with the second:

Fruity Loops Studio (Edition number is based on website data)

and Finale Print (Same rule for this, I think)

 

Hab Fun.