Easy Music Software

[Justintime9]

I've been wanting to create my own music for my ages for awhile, and I was wondering, is there a freeware program, that you don't need a keyboard hooked up or anything, that you can create ambient, mystlike songs?

[Lontahv]

Take a look at TamTam.

If you can get it to work on windows/regular linux, it's REALLY fun. It looks like a play-thing but it's very powerful at generating songs.

I have a OLPC so, it's pre-installed(on the system it was meant for).
Don't worry, I'm not in a third-world country. Unless you consider the US to be third-world.



~Lontahv

[Justintime9]

kewl where can I find this program?

[Lontahv]

Here's the wiki:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/TamTam

Note: it may be a little hard to get it to work on windows, or even linux.

I mean, REALLY hard.
It's written in python, but needs some add-ons. Good luck trying to get it to stop erroring.

...I never did.

Maybe you could grab the sugar live CD. O.o That's only if you really want to get it to work.

At some point I'll try again to get it working under windows, but it's not high on my list right now.

~Lontahv

[D'Lanor]

Seeing that the subject has the word "easy" in it I guess TamTam doesn't really qualify then.

[Justintime9]

ya... anyone have a program that's easy to use, and doesn't have errors all the time?

[Dot]

Garageband? But that's Mac only.

[Justintime9]

ya, I was sort of reluctant to use garageband, cuz it's sorta limited...

[bpgisme]

I started making music with nothing but freeware in 2000.

The easiest way to get fun and cool synth sounds is to use a program called Savihost and download some of the hundreds of free VST synths available. I have a midi keyboard, but it's not required. You can use your computer keyboard or simply use the mouse on the graphical keys. Savihost has a built in wav recorder, so all you have to do is use the record button while you're playing and stop when you're done and save.

Link to Savihost

(Here's a good source for free VST plugins, but there are many more.)

To put the wavs together I usually use Acid 3 by Sony, but they used to have a freeware version... Yep, still there. It's called Acid Express. It's limited by the number of sounds you can use at once, either four or eight, I can't remember which. You can put the wavs you saved in the Savihost program in here and mix them together. Here's the link to Acid Express 5. (At the top of the page.) There might be a limit on the length of the tune you can make, and if there is, let me know and I'll find a different freeware program you can use. (I've used bunches of them over the years.)

If you want to compose a track with actual midi notes composed like sheet music, try Finale Notepad. I used Finale Printmusic to create "Mitsumushi". I'm not sure if you can save as a wav in Notepad, but you can always get Audacity and record what you created.

I can show you dozens more programs. When I started I had no money for music software and it was too much of a gamble to buy much so I found every free thing I could to make music with. These are my favorites.

[Justintime9]

I'm a bit confuzed... I downloaded Savihost, but apparently it's just for pluggins or something, cuz i have to rename it every time I add a plugin... and the actual program is VSTHost... how do I get pluggins? are there any instruments built into the program by default? /me is confuzed do I have to download every instrument I use in the program?

any other music programs? so far, this one seems a bit too confuzing for me...