Recommended Music Making Program For Beginners?

[Sunlit-Dreamer]

I'm not sure where to make this thread, so I'm just placing it here since it's a question.

Basically, my little brother's birthday is coming up in March and I've noticed that he's been very interested in making music. On the computer or on the XBox 360, I usually see him using a program trying to put something together. I even had a chat with him and was told that he's interested in making music as a career.

With my explanation done, would someone please let me know several programs I can buy for him as a gift? I'll be picking one depending on what all of you, those who compose and have experience, provide some input.

I hope to get some replies before the 18th.

(I'm also all right with free programs to ease him into how things work before I purchase anything...does that make any sense?)

[tuna_sushi]

noteflight is probably just right for beginners...
there are pros and normal members, so you can try it out, and when you're ready, you might change to a pro member.

[ffs_jay]

Most good music software has a bit of a learning curve to it, though nothing that'll stop someone determined enough. Not sure how old your brother is, but these are some good, solid programs for a musician in their late teens or so looking to get into digital recording. They're fairly serious tools, but they're what I started with without any past experience in using stuff like that. Depending on his age and experience, you may want to start with something simpler though.

What kind of music is he interested in making? For something more based around live instrument recording, I've found Sonar to be pretty decent and not too hard to pick up. Note that for live recording, you'll at least want a hardware interface to go with it. Line 6 do a decent line in those (check the Pod Studio (formerly Guitarport/Toneport) series and things like that). I use the cheapest one, basically an older model of this and it's worked great for me.

For synth/electro stuff, I have a lot of time for FL Studio. It's got a bit of an esoteric interface, but it's actually quite easy to use once you pick up the basics. Takes a while to get your head around, though. The focus on loops and a piano roll interface makes it good for someone without any experience in playing instruments or music theory, too.

I haven't used it myself, but if you've got access to a Mac, I've heard great things about GarageBand's ease of use. I'd be curious to try that out myself actually.

[Sunlit-Dreamer]

Thanks for the replies. And I'll answer a few things considering my little brother and the computers we have.

He's turning 13 this year (I know, very young. Pretty much why I asked for things in the beginner area) and the type he's interested in is in the electronic area, although he's open to making other types as well. I'll also say for about a year he was in band playing the trumpet so he has some knowledge regarding reading music and such.

As for the computers, they're all Windows 7. I'll most likely get the program on the family desktop.

For now, since he's still young, I won't be purchasing any hardware. However, if he's still interested in the making music after graduating high school, than I'd be happy to help him. (As presents of course.)