There is no need to spend a fortune to create music. Discover a selection of essential music composition software in this article, and especially free!
The problem with computer music and set up your home studio is the cost. In addition to the investment in terms of material, you have to count the software dedicated or helping to the musical composition which, them also, are out of price. To mention only the most famous ones, count 300€ for Ableton, 350€ for Reason and 500€ for Cubase. (And I’m not even talking about the instrument or effect plugins, which also cost around a hundred euros).
Even if this software is incredibly powerful and allows you to accomplish miracles, it is not within reach of everyone to be able to afford them (especially if you are a student and broke like me ^^ ).
So I have gathered in this article 6 very powerful software which, even if they are free, will allow you to find almost the same functions as their paid counterparts.
MIDI Sequencer
The sequencer is the software that allows you to create your music. It is the nerve center of your home studio. To learn more about the subject, I invite you to read my complete file on the choice of the latter: “Which sequencer to choose to create your music?
Linux MultiMedia Studio
In the category of midi sequencers, LMSS is the top of open source: the creation of melodies and rhythms, synthesis and mixing of sounds, a library of integrated sounds, presence of a piano roll, and VSTi included in the package: in short, the software has nothing to envy to the greatest! No professional musician would refuse it. It’s the same as an essay writer would give up Word. According to your convenience, the software even supports Midi and the addition of VST and VSTi (as a reminder, the VSTi are virtual instruments, and the VST are sound effects). Graphically, the software is very neat, although the resemblance with Fruity Loops is quite striking.
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is another midi sequencer. If I present it here, it’s because it is specialized in editing drum tracks. It is, therefore, a very valuable addition to your sequencer if you want to build more elaborate drum tracks. With Hydrogen, you can edit drum tracks, add variations and breaks, and insert filter effects on each tom while modifying their sounds at will! Finally, your tracks can be exported in Wav or Midi format, so you are free to rework them as you wish within your sequencer.
Audio sequencer
A small technical point to make sure you understand the difference between audio and midi (and therefore between audio sequencer and midi sequencer):
An audio track corresponds to a sound that has already been recorded and then converted into digital. When you are in the presence of an audio track, the sound is already frozen. Of course, with some software, you can always edit it by adding effects (echo, equalization, distortion…) or by cutting some of its parts, but it will be impossible to modify the sound itself (for example, it is not possible to change the notes of the main melody of an audio file).
On the other hand, MIDI is not a sound in the strict sense of the word but a computer language that transfers data to the sequencer (which then translates this data into a sound). Since they are not yet in the state of “sound” but simply in the state of “information,” the MIDI tracks are not fixed, and it will be possible for you to modify them as you wish. Whether it is the notes, the pitches, or the rhythms, everything is modifiable.
In short, I would say that a MIDI track is extremely flexible because you can modify it as you wish (notes, melodies, sounds), unlike the audio track, which is already fixed and can therefore only undergo minor modifications.
An audio sequencer, as its name indicates, will therefore only support audio formats and not midi.
Jokosher
Well, now that you have understood this notion and the difference between audio and midi sequencer, I can now introduce Jokosher. Under its false airs of Garage Band, Jokosher is a small software that will allow you to record the audio tracks of your different instruments and then allow you to assemble them, then rework them. The big advantage of the software is undoubtedly its graphic purity and its great ease of use: a rec button, a pause button, an integrated multi-effect bank, instrument tracks, and that’s it! All you have to do is a record!
Audio editor
Audacity
Audacity is without a doubt the best known and most widely used music editing software. With this software, you will be able to :
Cut, copy, paste and assemble sound clips
Apply all kinds of effects (possibility of including external VSTs!)
Change the speed or pitch of a recording
Record
And much more
Simple to use, powerful and precise when editing, Audacity will become an essential tool for mastering your tracks or for making an audio mix. A must download!
Sheet music/tablature editor
Tuxguitare
You probably know Guitar Pro: THE reference software for editing tablatures and scores. Well, good news! Its free counterpart exists, and it’s called Tuxguitare. Quite similar to Guitar Pro in terms of features and graphical interface, Tuxguitare even allows you to import and export files created with Guitar Pro. A very nice function allows you to import files in MIDI format to transcribe them into tablatures.
MuseScore
MuseScore is a score editor. In addition to integrating all the classic functions of this kind of software (integrating notes for each instrument track, editing and defining all the elements of a score: barlines, ciphers, note sizes, accidentals, dynamics…), MuseScore supports and recognizes MIDI devices. You will be able to easily record all your parts with your MIDI instrument.
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