Any good free music software?

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Hello. I have in interesting in composing music, and I'd like to find a free(or if that's impossible, then something $100 or less) computer program that would let me pursue that interest. Preferably, it should allow me to compose and make music right on the computer, and support the use of a variety of instrument samples(I don't want to be limited to a list of presets!).

I'd also like for there to be someway for me to create and use synthesized sounds. I'm particularly interested in FM synthesis. It doesn't have to be a built in capability of the program, it could be a plug-in, or a separate program that lets me create FM synth samples. Thanks for your time.

I've seen apps for Chrome that allow to create music in different ways. I can't remember their names, but they're quite easy to search.

http://zynaddsubfx.sourceforge.net/

That looks great, I'll try it out. Thanks.

I'm still accepting suggestions.

really bothering me that I cannot think of it...hope fully I will think of it tomorrow... I know the icon looks like blue headphones with red/yellowe frequency lines going through them. I used that program a fiarly good amount in my digital media class, it is free

Audacity, I liked using it a lot

reaper

It use to be free don't know if it still is. I'm not serious but I have garageband already. I use audacity for quick stuff.

I use http://musescore.org/ sometimes, it's pretty good once you get the hang of it.

I've heard good things about Reaper. If you're looking for something free, that seems to be the way to go. I'm a Logic user myself, so I don't really have much need for a lot of different DAWS, free or otherwise. Ableton Intro is also a GREAT DAW/looper for $100, but you won't get much functionality out of it without a lot of 3rd party plugs, of which I have a few anyway. I've actually used it playing live before and have really enjoyed it for ease-of-use. If all you need is a simple tracker, look into Sunvox. I'm considering getting that for the iPad, but there are free versions for different computer OS's.

For composition (notation), Finale has made Notepad available again for free. It's strictly a notator, so you'll want to get used to clicking notes into the score. To me, that is annoying, but I use the full version of Finale. If I have students who want me to look at their compositions, I'll open them up in Notepad to help make notes and stuff (since I haven't upgraded since '09 and there's never any backwards-compatibility...you can't open files made with the new software in old versions). If you're looking for something for iPad, there's Symphony and Notion, but mobile notation 'ware seems to be extremely buggy or poor quality right now.

I'm curious why you're so interested in FM. I used to be a few years ago, but back then I was still really clueless about sound design. I got back into it about 3 years ago and started taking it seriously, and that was mostly with using subtractive synths and samplers. The only FM synths I've been using in recent years have been Absynth (software) and Synclavier (the King of Kings of FM synthesis). You can still easily find Yamaha DX7s and TX7s (same thing sans keyboard and programming) on eBay. I like the TX7 because all of its parameters can be accessed through sysex editor/librarian software--I use jsynthlib for that, and I've also been using it for my Oberheim Matrix 1000. Another reason I like the TX7/DX7 is it was the first digital synth engine that had been made widely available that most synth players could afford. The original presets are famous, too. The reason for that is that the DX7 inventor was more of a computer/math geek than a musician, so the user-programming features were an epic fail in the hands of the consumers. So what most DX/TX owners did was just play the presets since they didn't know how to change them. The mod routing was also an epic fail, so there wasn't much on-the-fly tweaking you could do with it the same way you could with analog synths. It's possible using modern controllers to get SOME tweaking, but it's very inconsistent between parameters. Some changes you can make and hear in real-time, others you won't hear until you play the next note after making the change. But in a lot of ways it imitated real instruments a lot better than analog synths. You could scale operator behavior across the keyboard for each individual operator so your EP sounds were really close to an actual piano, or you could route the breath controller or mod wheel to the FM mod index to brighten up sounds at louder volume. You can also get a lot of non-linear effects. And since it was the first synth engine to do algorithmic FM the way it did, the output had a nice, warm, almost-analog quality uncommon to later digital synths. The DX7II did clean up their convertors, but it just lacked that darker, warmer character of the original.

The best thing about DX7 FM was it wasn't true FM. Linear FM on an analog synth meant as the mod index increased, the side band frequencies would also increase. The result was a fundamental that shifted upwards in frequency, so the resulting sound was out of tune relative to the key you press. It was possible to make minor adjustments and even use keyboard scaling to make it pitch-stable, but to be honest I've never been able to do it and keep pitch stability for more than 2 or 3 octaves. It's great for synth FX, but overall it sucks for general use.

What the DX7 did was shift the PHASE rather than the frequency, so the frequency was stable across the keyboard. So the ideas behind the DX7 were really brilliant for their day.

One bummer with the DX7 was it only used sine waves. However, if you were to experiment with softsynths such as Absynth where you can use different waveforms for mods and carriers, you'll quickly see why sine-wave-only for FM really does make a lot of sense. I believe the TX81z used different waveforms, BUT it had fewer available algorithms. With the availability of more waveforms, you didn't really NEED all the extra algorithms. The downer about all of this is no serious synthesist really wants to feel limited by their instruments. But on the other hand, the DX7 32 algorithms really did allow a pretty stunning level of sound-design possibility.

The reason I'm going on and on about the TX7 is they are frequently up for sale on eBay for around $50. If you're just getting into FM, it's a great start (with a good editor/librarian, of course).

Your good-quality software options are mediocre, but there are some things available. I really like Absynth, which gives you limited wavetable synthesis (BUT with the ability to design your own waveforms either by adjusting the harmonic spectrum or by drawing the waveform directly into the plugin). You can have two morphing waveforms modulating a carrier with two morphing waveforms, all of which can potentially be tweaked in real-time. I also have FM8. It's a true-to-concept FM synth that emulates DX7-style synthesis with a twist: do-it-yourself algorithms. You can still only use sine waves though, but at least it has built-in FX and room for external sound sources. I seldom use it anymore, and usually now only for analysis purposes. It is very good, though.

I'm not crazy about EFM1, which is Logic's native FM synth. It has sine-only carrier and wavetable modulator. It's very simple and easy to use, but it doesn't give much precise control over the timbre. It'll do in a pinch, I guess. The Synclavier works the opposite way--wavetable carrier with sine-only modulator. It's not so much that Synclavier FM is all that advanced, but it's just so darned easy to use. It's also 8-bit. That might SEEM like a disadvantage, but it's the most advanced 8-bit FM synth ever made. The Synclav guys spent so much time working around the limitations that they created a synth with some very unusual behaviors. For example, rather than decreasing the volume of a sine wave as you turned it down, it normalized it, which meant you could hear the quantization error of 8-bit sine waves at full-volume. The end result was pure analog pulse wave variants coming out of a digital synth. There were a lot of other peculiarities about it that made it a sound-designer's dream. It lacked the complexity of the DX algorithms, though, so it's impossible to recreate some of the more complex sounds of the DX. But the DX was impossible to program, so a lot of user programs on the DX7 generally sucked. Most of what you hear on the DX line are factory presets, which are mostly usable.

Absynth will run you $200 as will FM8. A TX7 opens for $50 typically on eBay, and a full DX7 will run you close to $200 if you have a good day. A Synclavier II will be a good $5,000, give or take, and you better check your studio space to see if you have room for one. My Synclavier PSMT is larger than the SyncII, and it occupies an entire wall in my bedroom. The tower is the size of a refrigerator, and the V/PK keyboard is almost as long as a console piano and just as wide--but it IS beautiful!

There is a certain mystique to FM synthesis, but it is also typically very cold, metallic, and "digital" sounding. That's why I have to wonder why someone would be so interested in it!

Try FL Studio. It even comes with an advanced FM synth.

However, I would rather listen to the above guys post. He sounds like he knows what he's talking about, unlike, me, someone who has only dabbled a little bit in DAWs.

If you use Linux or Mac, Ardour, is free for the download, though it's suggested that you send them some cash at some point, as it is a full fledged multitrack recorder/editor. I think you have to pay up front for the Mac version, but if you don't pay up front, you can still use it, but not save AU plugin settings. -- you might be able to get a version to run with Windows, provided that you are comfortable compilling the software yourself.

That being said, the major hardware audio console maufacturer Harrison Consoles offers a multitrack editor for a small amount of cash (relatively, compared to ProTools or Cubase/Nuendo) that is essentially Ardour with their LADSPA/LV2 plugins that offer multiband EQ, Tape Saturation, and Dynamics, and apparently a plugin that allegedly models the characteristics of an actual Harrison Console. Mixbus is available for Linux, OSX, and Windows. The Linux Version supports LV2 Plugins, The Mac Version AU Plugins, and the Windows version supports VST Plugins. Price $150 US

I use bagpipe player, but it is really instrument specific, as that instrument effectively has no dynamics or rests, so all expression is done with gracenotes, which are written smaller. Most other music engraving software doesn't support these easily.

Well, the download is 100% free, but they want you to purchase a license if you decide to use it. I would be using it for non-commercial purposes right now, so I don't know if I would have to purchase a license. Either way, the price is only $60, so it's something to consider.





Actually, I've recently downloaded the free trial of FL Studio. It's quite good, but it costs $200 to buy the full thing, and I can't save anything in the free trial. The synth options are great. It comes with a very flexible, node-based synthesizer called SynthMaker, and It looks to be capable of FM and all sorts of other synth effects. The Toxic Biohazard FM synth plugin(which has to be purchased separately, but is included in FL Studio as trial version) is great as well, I'm having a lot of fun playing around with it.

I just don't have the money to buy FL studio right now(I'm actually in high school).

I use Reaper, and in terms of "bang for your buck" it is probably unrivalled.
What I mean is that Reaper has A LOT of features you'd only expect from more expensive DAWs.
The non-commercial license is affordable (although not free).

The developer(s) listen to the users and add features all the time, so almost every time I use it there is a newer version of it ready to download.
Almost annoying, but over time your tool transforms and contain more and more useful stuff.
Reaper is incredibly powerful, in fact, and lets me do everything I can think of.
And I can think of a few things.
I have a multi-channel audio interface, and it is hooked up to quite a bit of external hardware.
Reaper has no problems sending audio and MIDI all over the place, so if I want a MIDI score or a VST arpeggiator or some MIDI source play an external synth, and then run the audio through an external effect (typically a reverb or a Space Echo or something) this is no problem. Audio and MIDI routing is GREAT in Reaper.

Some people claim that Reaper's MIDI capabilities leave something to be desired, but I don't use MIDI that advanced. I can set up MIDI to control all my devices, and that's all I need. If you have very exotic needs, Reaper comes with a programmable enironment that I haven't even touched, but which the heavy users seem to love. Makes it flexible beyond what the devs had in mind...

Reaper is butt ugly, and many of the features are hard to find, or at least it's far from the most intuitive GUI out there. Some people are put off by that. I tend to forget how to do the more ethereal stuff between sessions, but usually I'll figure it out.

I don't like the user forum. While there are many helpful people there, some of the regulars annoy me to my core. Some people praise it, some loathe it. Some people are put off by it. Reaper has an almost MAC/PC-like fanboy base of users. I think this is one of the reasons it's not used in more pro studios - they have catered a little bit too much to the teenage bedroom users, and less to the pros. However, there are several professional studios that have switched from the likes of Cubase and ProTools to Reaper, so that is entirely possible.

For a very good database of VST instruments and effects, and discussions on everything in the world, try kvraudio.com

Good luck to you getting into electronic music at a young age! When I was in high school, computers were prohibitively enough expensive and still considered luxury items, at least in the home I grew up in, and there wasn't really much free stuff available...and if there had been, the Internet was still in consumer infancy enough that it wouldn't have mattered. I got into electronic music using a Yamaha QY10 (which was groundbreaking technology back then) and the school's MIDI synth. When I finally did get my first PC in college, I used PowerTracks Pro. I became serious about hardware when I finished my master's after I realized I couldn't compose anymore without the benefit of a university studio. It took three years working "real jobs" before I could afford a proper laptop and good software, so my hard synths were retired to the closet for a while. I started bringing them out the year before I ordered my Synclavier, and while I waited for it to be built I took a berkleemusic.com course in sound design, which also helped me learn Reason. Like I mentioned before, the software helps break sounds apart and understand how they work. But I just happen to enjoy using the hardware more. I like the challenge!

Your synth is pretty comprehensive, so I think you'll be happy with it since it does a lot more than FM. It also sounds to me that what you really want, though, is something similar to but better quality than chiptunes. The more demos I see of Sunvox, the more I want to get it for myself. Trackers are perfectly suited for the kinds of things you described.

Reaper.

Is is something I wrote on the top of my head hope everyone likes it.......

chances are?
Chances are the world is under distruction.A kind of humanity that is into a temporary concusion.Like a swing or a knockout in the boxing ring. The feeling of rush or adrenalin that picks you up when knocked down with this typical thing. The adrenalin, the rush,the feeling of out-going rage. I'm a lab rat locked in this god forsaken cage.wheather the cold world also known as mad, is turning rotten and feeling there wits of being sad. Chances are everyone in society has turned into greed, weather it a dark dog eat dog world, all they care about is themselves and there own personal needs. To hidding the truth, blaming it on others, and the greed and power. But there is a feeling we can agree on, and it is the time of the hour. Weather to live, breath, and stand tall. We can agree , that chances are we can come to a responsible agreement and all, on how to live the world.Chances are .........society has gone mad!!

Sezzy :x