Free music production software

[Tony00237]

So I've been learning how to use lmms on my laptop to make music in a attempt to expand my skills and am wondering if anyone has any advice or has a suggestion of a better program for creating music?

 

P.S. Thx in advance ☺

[MikeRobinson]

LMMS looks like a very powerful tool – thanks for sharing.  Even though I own a copy of a commercial DAW (Logic Pro X), this tool looks very powerful and interesting.

 

Looking at it, quite honestly, I'd try to take that(!) tool into new and different areas ... try music that isn't "beats," and so on.  Getting better at making music usually isn't (IMHO) a matter of finding "a 'better' widget."  It's learning more about the tool that you have, and stretching yourself to apply it in new and different ways.  Find some piece of music that you've never played with before – classical, anyone? – and try to imitate it as closely as possible using the tool (LMMS) that you have right now.

 

And/Or ... "hmm, here's an LMMS feature that I don't know anything about.  I just stumbled-upon it.  Wonder what it does?"  (And then ...)  "Well, isn't that cool ... wonder what I can dream up to creatively do with it?"  It's quite obvious that you can do that sort of thing with LMMS for a very long time ...

 

[starise]

I haven't heard of LMMS. Is that an abbreviation?

[Dazzyt66]

5 hours ago, starise said:

I haven't heard of LMMS. Is that an abbreviation?

I think it stands for Linux Multi Media Studio - its open source freeware I believe - and it does look good although I haven't used it

[starise]

Thanks Dazzy66. In the linux world I wouldn't have a clue. I played with lunux and even loaded a linux OS on a few of my computers. I spent more time trying to figure it out than I did in actually making music . I haven't tried the program you mentioned though. I would say if you like what it does use it .

 

Most of the main players like Cubase, Cakewalk, Presonus all have either entry level programs or free starter programs. Most demos are free to download and try. Presonus has a free version of Studio One. Lots of programs make stringing loops together easy. Mixcraft bought Sony Acid which is a great program for loops as is Ableton. I never liked Fruity loops. 

 

Apple has garageband for free but you need a mac. It is limited in a lot of ways though. 

 

I would budget some money for a paid program, even if it's entry level. They always have more features and less problems. 99.00 will get you into the game for PC entry level.

[MikeRobinson]

LMMS runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac.  https://lmms.io

 

I dunno – I use an open source music-scoring program, MuseScore, which I selected in preference to(!) both Sibelius and Finale when I was fully expecting to buy the professional edition of one or the other.  It does absolutely everything that I need to do, and a great deal more that I haven't even discovered yet.  I'd still buy one of the commercial tools if I stumbled upon something that it couldn't ... but it's been a long, long time now, and I'm not dis-satisfied yet!

 

I snagged a copy of LMMS and will probably spend a lot of time in the future learning much more about it ... even though I own a copy of Logic Pro X.  (GarageBand has turned into "Logic Pro Not-So-Lite.")

 

The most-fun thing about computer technology today is that now it's possible for people to collaborate, all around the world, and there's now an abundance of CPU power and memory with which to drive everything ... including a program that has an emulation of Commodore 64 sound devices.   We've got really well-developed ways to do "cross-platform" deployments of software that runs efficiently on all platforms.  It's possible for a world-wide team of self-disciplined people to collaborate efficiently.

 

The commercial programs are, of course, great.  But, if you don't have the money or simply are not yet ready to spend it, the open-source tools are anything but "second rate."  It's immediately obvious that you can do professional-grade music with LMMS, and I am very glad to have just been introduced to it.

 

[TapperMike]

LMMS is terrible imho and sum up what is wrong with the freeware movement.   This is what happens when developers do something as a hobby for free.  They lack the commitment to follow through.  I'll save you the long stories about my personal experience working as a programmer in the freeware field

 

You are better off getting a freeware product from a company that operates on a for profit basis.  Some do put out freeware as an incentive for future purchases.  If you prefer not delving into the world of midi then I would suggest RiffWorks by Sonoma

https://www.kvraudio.com/product/riffworks-by-sonoma-wire-works

 

Or Magix Music Maker

http://www.magix.com/us/music-maker/new-features/#c551641