Lemma Soft Forums

I don't know anything about creating music but my sister has played the piano for about 10 years. She promised she'd compose some simple bg music for my VN if I can help her find a suitable program for composing. She doesn't really have any prior experience on composing with a computer but she can do it with a piano and she has also studied music theory.

Preferably something user-friendly and cheap/free but all suggestions are welcome. I don't think we can afford to buy a keyboard or anything, so please keep that in mind. It must be something that will run on a laptop (PC).

I know I'm asking for a lot but I'm really lost because I really don't know anything about composing. My sister has a tiny bit of experience with garageband but I'm not sure if you can make melodies in that without a keyboard? I know it's possible to combine existing music clips but what about composing something new? Also, is there a legit (free/cheap&legal) version for PC?

So, any suggestions besides garage band? Also, what kind of programs do you usually use when composing?

Hi! I don't think I know much more than you do about this, but I *have* had experience with GarageBand (actually, all my arranging/composing in the past has been through GarageBand, though my version may be slightly outdated now). I doubt it's the best program to use and I haven't found a similar program for PC yet (although I do use Audacity, which is free and legal. If you have a good mic she could probably record herself playing, but she probably wants to use other instruments too ), but you can definitely make melodies for a variety of instruments via "musical keyboard" (piano, drums, synths, bass, guitar, etc.). I will warn you that it's a bit tedious; I often have to musically type something and then edit it to make sure the sounds follow the rhythm I want (i.e. going back to the clip and dragging the notes to the right bars). It's a lot of listening back, and if you don't have mixing experience like I don't, it's probably not even going to sound that good.
When I don't have access to a mac, I use (a newer version of) GarageBand on my iPhone, so that's a possibility if you have that. However, the only instruments you're allowed to use (without buying extras) are piano, a certain type of synth, limited drums, and some guitars and I think bass (though I like the guitars on the phone version better; they sound less computerized). Both versions have cool features that you can use if you're lazy (e.g. the "arpeggiator" on the phone version, and a bunch of pre-made melodies/jingles on both versions).
Here is the extent to which I've been able to work with Garageband:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIFNasj ... Te850LdydA (has "canned" drums from the program)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-BSaqb ... Te850LdydA (I actually recorded myself playing piano in this one, which is why it sounds so grainy)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0TvOxQ ... Te850LdydA
- https://soundcloud.com/macanut/well-make-it-through (phone version, has "canned" drums from the program)
- https://soundcloud.com/macanut/positive-synergy (phone version, canned drums; put the "arpegiattor" to work here )
So... I hope that helps with GarageBand. Hopefully others have better suggestions on which programs to use! I'd be interested to know about them too XD

hi!,

you mentioned Garageband, so I assume you're running on a Mac? If you're running Windows, you should try LMMS (Linux Multimedia Studios). it's free and has lots of great features, including piano roll, which is probably what you want if you don't have a keyboard. I can't play piano at all and can compose just fine with only piano roll. LMMS is also good because it allows for MIDI input, so you can play straight from your keyboard and it gets recorded into LMMS (i've never tried it before though).

also, don't worry about not knowing anything about composing! you can start out by laying down a bunch of notes on piano roll and see how they fit with each other. put them in blocks to form chords and make a progression! from there, you can try to start developing melodies.

here are some helpful links to get you started:
http://lmms.sourceforge.net/home.php
http://soundfonts.darkesword.com/ -> great soundfonts! use these and the piano roll.
http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1200140 -> i highly recommend the percussion part 1 file. has a really good piano soundfont.

here's an example of my work with LMMS and free soundfonts: https://soundcloud.com/green_bear_music/bgmfun5xfade

have fun!

Thanks for the tips, guys!

My sister will use a PC to do the composing so I think I'll advise her to check out LMMS. I also googled "Garageband for Windows" and found some promising results so I'll have to find out if I can get it to work. I think my sister would be the most comfortable using garageband because she has used it a couple of times before.

More opinions and tips would be very welcome, though!

I have no idea why no one hasn't mentioned FL Studio yet.

It is a commercial program. But you can work on the demo version (that's what I do, please don't laugh ), the difference between full and demo version is that you can't save your projects when you have the demo ver. BUT it doesn't mean you can't create any music - you can extract your works in a few different formats (MP3, OGG, WAV and something else I can't remember now), there are a lot of plug-ins (both for instruments and effects), a lot of samples, it's really user-friendly (I've made my first track in FL Studio in 6 hours, knowing nothing about the DAW before) and you don't have to plug anything to your laptop to make it work. Disclaimer: it actually runs on my laptop (which is pretty an accomplishment, this PC is 7 years old, I think..)

So yeah, FL Studio. REAPER is a really nice DAW too, but (as far as I know) there is no demo version; only a 60-day trial. Nevertheless, if your sister knows what she wants (meaning she only needs to sample all the stuff, having it composed before), it should be enough to do everything. REAPER is user-friendly too and it's a more powerful tool in one's hands once they learn how to work in it.

So choose your weapon, Player 1!

PS: those DAWs run on Windows (I don't know about the Mac though, I only use Windows)

PurpleMind wrote:I have no idea why no one hasn't mentioned FL Studio yet.

Agreed! I can definitely second that FL Studio recommendation. I tried out the demo recently, and it's amazing.

However, I would like to note that FL Studio, and any DAW, have a bit of a learning curve to understand how to use them. Plus, you're not going to see manuscript paper in a DAW; you're going to see a piano roll where, on occasion, the "C" you press on the screen is not actually "C", but another note. Both of those things depend on the instrument, and on the program, but, nevertheless, it can be very confusing, especially to those who have been playing an instrument for a very long time. It definitely confused me.

So, if your sister wants a program that looks like sheet music, something she'd likely be more familiar with than a piano roll, I recommend starting off with Musescore. It works on quite a few different operating systems, it's free to download, and it's quite easy to use: change the note value by clicking on the value you want at the top of the screen, put a note in the measure by clicking on where you want it. Alternatively, you can use your keyboard(which is what I do), but that's slightly more complicated.

Just so you know, though, the default soundfont(which determines the quality of the instruments) is not that great. Once your sister gets the hang of using Musescore, she should probably change the soundfont. I recommend synthgms, though I'm definitey going to check out those soundfonts in the post above as well.

Hi there! I hope to be helpful If your sister wants to work with a program similar to GarageBand but on a pc, she may try Mixcraft, she will have no problem moving from one to another as the workflow and UI are quite the same (of course, there are a few differences, but I may help you with that if you find any trouble).
I would also recommend you trying Reaper, as other people had already said, the problem is that it doesn't include any VST instrument, so you will have to look for them on your own (I may also give you some tips if you choose this option). In comparison, Reaper is a huge tool, a lot better than mixcraft or garage band, but it may be too "complicated" for a newbie. So I encourage you (or your sister) to try mixcraft and once you have understood the ideas, move to reaper.
If you have any question, feel free to ask

If you're really new to creating music, there's also Mario Paint Composer. It can be downloaded free here.
There's a lot of creative song covers being made using it.

MuseScore (technically MuseScore2 now) is both free and great iirc. It's super user friendly; it's very reminiscent of composing on paper. I've also heard it stands very well in comparison to much pricier software such as Sibelius and Finale. One caveat is that the dynamics options are laughable. They exist, and you can add crescendoes, pianissimos, dulces, etc. as you desire, but they don't do/change much.

My sister uses musescore and it seems kinda great but since it's done in actual notes it would require the user to actually, you know, understand sheet music :") I don't have any musical training so I couldn't really use it. thanks for bringing it up though, someone reading this thread might find it useful.

Hey Aviala!

I've played violin for roughly 11 years now, studied music theory, and have been interested in composing BG music, so your sister and I seem to be on the same boat!
Since you don't know much about composing, I'll run you through the basics of what I know (I don't know much T.T I've only been on this for around 3 months)

When composing, there are a few different approaches. You can try to write the music on paper, then play it. You can also just leave a mike on and play to your hearts content, then come back and edit. My favorite method is to use a midi keyboard and a DAW.

I'm going to assume that you're not very familiar with these terms and run you through them.
A Midi keyboard is a piano/keyboard that controls midi. Basically, you plug it into your computer, and it translates what you're playing into a format called "Midi", which is basically a notation format that computers can read. (MIDI format can be changed to sheet music, there are lots of programs that do this. Just google "Midi to sheet muic"
A DAW is short for Digital Audio Workstation, and it is a program (runs on laptops) that handles all your sounds and creates music. You use a DAW to record, edit the sounds you record, and export it into music formats like mp3. (Garageband is a DAW)

Basically, what you do in this method is you plug in a midi keyboard to your computer, and then run a DAW. Then, you start recording and play whatever you want on the keyboard. The computer records what you are playing, so you can export it directly as a music file, or you could export as a MIDI file and convert it to sheet music.

I personally like to use this method because I'm not actually writing the music, I'm playing the music on the keyboard, and the computer is notating everything for me. I hit record, play what's on my mind, and the computer picks it up and turns it into sheet music. I can always come back and edit, so there's no need to play something perfectly. If your sister is anything like me, chances are she has a bunch of songs in her head. This method allows her to instantly record the song and create the sheet music for it at the same time.

A drawback to this method is that it is not free. My setup is a Samson Carbon 49 Midi keyboard and Cubase Elements 8 (DAW), but that cost me around $200. You can always find cheaper alternatives, for example Audacity (Free) instead of Cubase and a $20 midi keyboard on amazon. If your sister isn't good with computers, I highly recommend you use a DAW and a midi keyboard instead of a music-notation program like Sibelius.

You can search around and find cheaper alternatives everywhere, but I recommend Cubase because it's very user friendly but advanced at the same time. I figured out how to use the basic functions without any previous DAW experience. Also, when you start to pick up the basics, you'll find that Cubase is really in depth. It is a program catered from beginners all the way to professionals. Also, because it is such a popular DAW, there are lots of tutorial videos on YouTube and on the web in general. You can also write melodies without a keyboard. There are probably lots of tutorials on that out there.
(IF you did buy a keyboard and Cubase, just plug in the keyboard and turn it on, then open Cubase. You can start recording midi tracks by right clicking on the black panel in the middle, clicking "Add instrument track", then selecting Halion Sonic and choosing whatever instrument. You press the * key to start.)

Sorry about the wall of text reply, but it should get you started. At the very least, you can search up "Free DAW" and "Midi to sheet music" on google to get started.

Cheers!
-Kei

PS: I don't know if I'm allowed to post links here, so if you want to know more about Cubase, search "Steinberg Cubase" on google Some other famous DAWS are "Audacity" and "Logic Pro". For Midi keyboards, you can search what I got "Samson Carbon 49" or you can search for other brands. Some brands known for their midi keyboards are "Samson", "Midiplus", and "M-Audio".

Aviala, your sister could use any sequencer available.
She also will need VST instruments - there is a lot of good and free around.
Every sequencer has it's own features and learning curve, so I wouldn't recommend jump to commercial versions until she knows exactly what features she needs what program is comfortable for her to work with.

I use Cubase and FL Studio in my studio (both commercial)
Reaper is free and very popular (can't say much as I never used it)

Best

J-Ray wrote: I use Cubase and FL Studio in my studio (both commercial)

Could you compare the two? I've been using FL Studio since pretty much ever, though it's limiting in some aspects. Looking to change my go-to DAW in 1-2 years.