Free Music Making Software

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So, whether you’re a learning producer wanting to draft your initial ideas or are a musician looking to create royalty-free backing tracks to play to, beat making software is an invaluable component of your music software arsenal. Music production is not just a profession but a hobby for millions worldwide. Magix Music Maker is a free music making software for beginners. It can also be used in professional music making as it is quite a featured software. In it, you get all the tools to create music of various genres. Still, it is simple and easy to work on. Song Maker, an experiment in Chrome Music Lab, is a simple way for anyone to make and share a song. Song Maker, an experiment in Chrome Music Lab, is a simple way for anyone to make and share a song. Song Maker, an experiment in Chrome Music Lab, is a simple way for anyone to make. Free music-making software are an excellent alternative over premium software. Here is the list of best free music making software for Windows 10. Music making is in our blood. Make some noise, explore a new sound, create a song or collaborate with others. Welcome to the collective of passionate creators, whether you already are one or aspire to become one.

by Christine Smith • 2021-04-20 16:04:53 • Proven solutions

Recently, there is a large number of professional and amateur artists who are looking for a perfect set of music video maker apps that they can use for preparing their music video. While a larger proportion of people are looking for a free music video maker. After all, who would not love to use freeware that can give better benefits than some of the paid ones!

As a solution to those professional and amateur artists who are looking for some useful free music video making software, we have analyzed and sorted out the top 10 most useful free music video makers out there. Read on and find out the set that would support your needs.

Rank 10. Zwein Stein

Looking for software that can handle a huge load serially? Allow us to introduce you to Zwein Stein. This non-linear video compositing and editing system is a brilliantly designed freeware that offers some of the most advanced features that are not seen elsewhere.

You can edit up to 256 videos, audios, still image clips, each up to a maximum of 64 effects chained serially. You will love the simple and easy to use interface. It will design things just the way you want it to be. Cropping, panning, and custom effects can be made easily with automatic keyframes.

Perhaps the only drawbacks of this program that keeps it down are: it works slowly when other programs are running, and it does not support external media playing devices.

Summing up the features, this software surely is an amazing creation.

If you need to convert music videos to audio formats, just move to Convert Videos to MP3 Easily >> to learn more.

Rank 9. Avid Free DV

It has an amazing non-linear video editing feature and the interface is completely a reflection of the professional Avid system. It can capture, edit, clip, process, and output both audio and video just the way you need it to be.

It was built so well that many of the professional competing software did not stand a chance in the competition when it was launched. In fact, Avid Free DV was so popular that Avid Technology decided to close down this program as they felt it was putting up the competition with their own Avid Pro product.

Although Avid Technology had discontinued this software officially, Avid Free DV is still known and used by many of its supporters around the world.

If you are an artist who is looking for easy-to-use software with all the basic features needed to make a music video, this is something you must check out.

Rank 8. Wax

Wax uses the graphics acceleration of the computer's video card for creating superb effects in real-time. Top-down compositing and multi compositing modes can be made on unlimited video and audio tracks. Create fabulous effects with 2D and 3D plugins and transitions. Compose using extraordinary 3D tools and create superb 3D objects, lighting, shadows, text generators, etc. Automate your creation and take it to a whole new level. One of the best features of Wax is that it supports a wide range of plugins for the users to utilize its capability to its maximum level. File input and output can be made through filters. Filter SDK is available for ease of use. The AVI and WAV formats support compressed audio by using Audio Codecs installed on your PC.

The drawbacks that pull Wax down from a higher rank are few but effective. Its inability to deal with the audio pitch and timbre level is the first major drawback. The next one is that it may also become slow in a PC with low configuration because of its wide range of plug-ins.

Rank 7. Virtual DJ

This free software is built for users who prefer home DJs and music mixing activities. With all the necessary common features for shaping up your music, an easy to understand interface for setting up video just the way you want it to be, and its stylish DJ like appearance – You will absolutely love this software.

You can analyze the beats per minute for you and also perform keys detection for harmonic effects. It has a clip bank for playing video clips; real-time record-and-save features of music into the computer; real-time webcasting of sessions; computer beat grid for virtual mixing; a very intuitive interface.

But there is some tiny incapability of this program: it cannot connect with your music appliances like electric guitar, and keyboard. Plus it keeps on taking disk space as your preferences. If you think that you are comfortable with that, then this is what you are looking for.

Rank 6. ACID Xpress

Sony has already announced that ACID Xpress software is the free version of its award-winning music creation tool. The ACID Xpress is built to solve all the possible needs of the music creation of its users. This freeware is a 10-track version of ACID software for music recording, editing, and mixing.

It allows inline MIDI editing. Multiple events can be arranged per track. A video scoring track is available. You can insert your voice directly with live audio recording. The punch-in recording feature is available. Encode Unlimited MP3 files. Enjoy the facility of alternate time signature support. You can easily learn how to use the application by using the interactive tutorial 'Show Me How'. A freehand envelope drawing feature is also available.

Overall, this software is built-in simplicity with all the required components packed up into it.

Use it and create your desired music video just like the way you want.

Rank 5. Blender

Although Blender is mainly a 3D creation pipeline, it is also built with very powerful audio and video creating capabilities.

Blender can be used to create maestro level music videos using its Sound Sequence Editor (SSE) which is a part of Video Sequence Editor (VSE). It contains a multi-track Audio sequencing toolbox. The users can add WAV files from the hard disk as a file, or as encoded within a movie, then mix them using an IPO Curve for controlling volume. Voice recording can be done directly to Blender and adjust the pitch and speed level of the file. Blender can adjust the video with it VSE and perfectly set it with the Audio to form a complete music video. If needed, users can even create characters using its 3D creation feature and then use them with the existing video file and audio file to form new characters. Even the mouth movement of the animated object can be synchronized with the audio file by using Blender.

Perhaps the two major drawbacks of using Blender is that it would need a blender expert to create a perfect music video as the program has a very complex interface and it does not support the use of any external devices.

Rank 4. Video FX Music Video Maker

Video FX Music Video Maker is rich in features needed for preparing your Music Video and sharing it out to the world right from your Android device.

The program has built-in audio importer and converter for .aac, .ogg, .wav, and .m4a audio tracks. It has more than 50 effects in total: Film, Ghost, Cartoon, Neon, Cinematic, Stroboscope, Thermal, Mirror, and many others. Simply select the mp3 file on your device or use your microphone. It has the Start Timer feature which will allow you to delay the recording of each clip and give you time to get prepared for recording. The auto pause feature helps you to pause the recording automatically without touching the pause button. The fast forward mode is available. It has a built-in-player for watching your favorite recorded movies. It supports both the front and back camera of your phone/tablet for ease of recording. Plus it has got an amazing intuitive feature that will make you love the way it operates for you. Last but definitely not the least, it allows sharing to YouTube, Facebook, and other social networks with a few clicks.

Summing up all these features, this is surely an app that will attract most of the modern music video makers.

Rank 3. Ubuntu Studio

This customized variant of Ubuntu is a tough challenge for many professional competitors out there. With a range of multimedia and content creation programs for audio, graphics, video, photography, and publishing – Ubuntu Studio focuses on the satisfaction of its freeware open-source loving users.

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The installer has a plugin that allows the user to choose which packages to install - audio, video, graphics, photography, and publishing. Ubuntu has enabled this feature so that the users do not need to install all the packages. Ubuntu Studio merges Linux low-latency code with Linux generic in order to improve streamlines and abide by all the Linux generic changes more accurately.

Its menu structure works on any desktop environment. It has a live DVD; GUI based installation; low latency kernel installed by default. This variant tailored for and aimed at the GNU/Linux audio, video and graphic enthusiast is absolutely a superb creation by the Ubuntu team.

Rank 2. iLife 2013

This amazing free Suite of Apple, built for iOS and Mac comes with the purchase of any Mac or iOS device. iLife is made for dealing with all the multimedia needs of the users. It is a collaboration of some powerful applications that can work out spectacular results.

iLife 2013 contains GarageBand, which allows users to create music or podcasts. Its streamlined digital audio workstation and music sequencer can record and playback multiple tracks of audio. The built-in audio filters use the Audio Unit standard for allowing the user to enhance the audio track with various effects. 16-bit and 24-bit Audio Resolution can be recorded. It tunes system aids with pitch adjustment, which can imitate the Auto-Tune effect after tuned to the maximum. It includes a wide range of virtual software instruments which can be used to create original compositions or play music live by using its 'musical typing feature' through the use of a USB MIDI keyboard connected to the computer, an on-screen virtual keyboard, or by the use of a QWERTY keyboard. It has excellent guitar features that can use a variety of simulated amplifiers, stompboxes, and effects processors. You can even connect guitars to Macs using a USB interface or the built-in input. Wide ranges of MIDI editing facilities are available. A huge collection of music lessons are found at the GarageBand's lesson Store. You will find a number of popular songs like Apologize by OneRepublic, Angel by Sarah McLachlan, and many others. Additional add-ons like Jam Packs and MainStage for adding effects through the use of Remix Tools, Rhythm Section, Symphony Orchestra, World Music and Voices, 40 built-in instruments including vintage keyboards, and drum machine are all included into this amazing Application.

After preparing your audio through the GarageBand app, use the iMovie app of iLife to set up a perfect video with your audio. Record your scene using the camera of your Apple device or import pictures from the Photo Book of iPhoto, another app of iLife 2013. After collection of all your raw items in the iMovie, use iMovie's power of video creation for preparing a mind-blowing video. The new iMovie has been refurbished for iOS 7 with a much smoother and cleaner appearance and does not require the users to create a project or edit anymore; they can simply select and tap share their creativity. iMovie allows the user to create fabulous HD movies and Hollywood-style trailers. Its wide range of effects and tools sets its own class in video editing skills. After preparing your music video, enjoy your masterpiece in the iMovie Theater.

iLife 2013 surely is an amazing idea of Apple. But there is one feature that backs it down from the leader of the music video making software. To find out what that feature is, read through the information of the next and the best software we have found from our analysis.

Rank 1. Lightworks

Whether it is about video editing or audio editing - Lightworks by Editshare LLC puts forward something which other companies have never been able to do. Its incomparable cross-platform support and unprecedented flexibility make it a leader in its market and one of the most used programs for some of the Oscar and Emmy award-winning movies like Mission Impossible, Pulp Fiction, Batman, The King's Speech and many others. It holds the widest format support available in any professional NLE, MXF, QuickTime and AVI containers, with almost every format currently available for importing natively without the need for transcoding, from ProRes, Apple ProRes, avchd (with AC3 audio), H.264, Avid DNxHD, AVC-Intra, DPX, DVCPRO HD, RED R3D, XDCAM EX / HD 422, MPEG-2 I-Frame (Both SD and HD), MPEG-2 Long GOP, Image Sequences like BMP, JPEG, PNG, TPA, DPX Compressed TGA, TIF all on the same timeline in real-time. It can also broadcast Wave format with both drop and non-drop frame timecode options.

The versions are built to run on Intel, AMD chipsets and motherboards. Lightworks supports Windows, Linux (Ubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, Mint, Fedora 19) and is currently developing for Mac OS X as well.

Lightworks is able to accelerate video processing by using the power of the computer's graphics card/chipset. Starting from advanced trimming, media management, stereo vision support, real-time effects including multiple secondary color correctors, fixing audio nodes, timbres, pitch editing, supporting external hardware devices, sharing and uploading to the web, YouTube and Vimeo – it includes every feature needed for making a complete multimedia editorial toolset. And with support for two thousand workflows with real-time effects, Lightworks stands as the most advanced editing application available for over 20 years.

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Tips

If you want to know more professional video makers, you can move to Top 10 Alternatives to Adobe Video Maker>>.

The best free DAWs to make music with, in 2020. In this list, you'll see the top 5 free digital audio workstations for Windows, Mac, and Linux, along with two honorable mentions at the end.

If you're a music producer, sound designer, or into the audio industry, you’re bound to find at least one that can keep up with you.

The best thing about free music production software is that it lets you try out something new and learn the basics without investing a ton of money into something you may not really enjoy.

Don’t take that the wrong way either, Pro’s use free DAWs too.

Each DAW mention in this post will include the following:

  1. The Sequencer, Piano Roll, and Mixer.
  2. Key features of the DAW.
  3. What kinds of virtual instruments, audio effects, and samples are included (if any).
  4. Minimum Computer requirements.

And don't worry, none of these are free trials or restricted. They are all 100% Free, no strings attached.

In case you don't know what a DAW is, it's short for Digital Audio Workstation.

Essentially, it's a host for plugins you download such as virtual instruments and audio effects, not to mention all the audio recording, editing, and arranging you will do.

1. LMMS

The first one in this top 5 is LMMS. This is a great choice, regardless of the operating system you use. With its availability on Windows, Mac, and Linux, it really makes music production accessible to anyone with a computer. it doesn't use much CPU either but, it is a very basic Digital Audio Workstation.

Oh, and it's even open-source, meaning it has been developed by a bunch of people - which could include you too if you wanted to contribute. There's even Computer Keyboard to MIDI, which means you can play virtual instruments with your computer keyboard as if it was a piano.

Key Features:

  • Light on CPU
  • 64 & 32-bit VST Support (Bridging)
  • Computer Keyboard to MIDI
  • No Audio Recording

Included Software:

  • Virtual Instruments? Yes
  • Audio Effects? Yes
  • Samples? Yes

Minimum Requirements:

  • OS: Windows 7, MacOS X Lion, Linux
  • CPU: 1.5 GHz
  • RAM: 1 GB
  • Space: 100 MB

The Sequencer (or song arrangement window), isn't too bad in LMMS but it is very basic and doesn't offer a lot of freedom, but it still gets the job done and makes it easy to manage your samples and patterns.

It also comes with a step-sequencer, known as the beat-and-bassline editor in LMMS. This is a cool way to compartmentalize your arrangement and remove clutter as this also lets you put MIDI patterns into it.

This is what the piano roll (or MIDI editor) looks like in LMMS. It's pretty clean and easy to use, and has a great feature that lets you write any chord.. based on any scale.. with one click.

As for the mixer, it does have the same simplicity but it does come with the basics. And even though it looks dead-simple, it does include the ability to make a send track (or mix bus) just like every other DAW on this list.

The one drawback I found to kind of suck for this DAW is that you can't record audio. But, you can always use Audacity to record that and then import the audio files into LMMS.

2. SoundBridge

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At number two we have SoundBridge. This DAW started as Lumit when it was crowdfunded but it has had quite the evolution since then. This one is available on Windows and Mac as both 32 and 64-bit.

Just make sure to download your plugins in the same bit version as the DAW for them to work. So for example, if you downloaded the 32-bit version of SoundBridge, you'll need to download 32-bit plugins.

Key Features:

Simple Free Music Making Software

  • Works with touch screen
  • No Plugin Bridging
  • Hotkey oriented workflow
Free

Included Software:

  • Virtual Instruments? No
  • Audio Effects? Yes

Minimum Requirements:

  • OS: Windows 7 or MacOS X El Capitan 10.11
  • CPU: 2 GHz
  • RAM: 4 GB (PC), 8 GB (Mac)
  • Space: 3 GB

The center of this DAW is its sequencer and is definitely better than the one in LMMS. You get much more control over the tracks and each individual pattern. It's also directly linked to a panel that displays whatever you have selected, making it very easy to adjust an audio file or pattern.

For audio patterns, this includes extremely easy pitch, time, and volume controls to name most of them, but there are a lot for MIDI patterns too.

To write notes in those patterns, the piano roll in SoundBridge is good and lets you change the length of a MIDI note while you draw it instead of after in LMMS. But, LMMS does have some features over this one, as I mentioned with the one-click-chords.

Last is the mixer, and it does have a bit more features than the one in LMMS but they both have their pros and cons. I prefer this one though. And it even comes with a mini-view of the mixer that can be viewed while the sequencer is open.

The only downside is that it bugs you for a donation every time you open the DAW.

3. Ohm Studio

Next up we have Ohm Studio. As far as I know, it has something NO OTHER DAW HAS - Real-time Collaboration.

This means you can work on the same project at the same time with more than one person.. from anywhere in the world. You can also see what anyone is doing in the projects you choose to collab on, real-time.

There's even a general and project-based chat room in the DAW so you can talk to anyone currently using Ohm Studio or only those you are collaborating with.

Key Features:

  • Real-time collaboration
  • Can only export to .ogg (.wav in paid versions)
  • Only 32-bit plugins
  • Can only save on the cloud

Included Software:

  • Virtual Instruments? No
  • Audio Effects? Yes

Minimum Requirements:

  • OS: Windows XP or MacOS 10.5.8
  • CPU: Pentium 4 or Athlon 64
  • RAM: 2 GB
  • Space: 1 GB

The Sequencer has a bunch of flexibility though, letting you quickly zoom in and out of a pattern or the entire playlist, adjust volume fade points, loop, and resize in both directions. I do think this has a better sequencer than the last two DAWs, but the next one.. it has an impressive set of features.

And with it comes an interesting piano roll to say the least. Being located in each MIDI pattern, inside the sequencer itself, makes it one of a kind. Quite unusual but it's actually not bad at all.

As for the mixer, it is pretty straight forward and the guides help you understand what you can and cannot do. It comes with your typical features but it can also be switched over to a more analog kind of view. It even changes focus depending on what track you select in the playlist.

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The two things I did notice that are a bit of a drawback are the fact that you can only export to OGG format with the free version and you need to be connected to the internet to use the DAW. OGG isn't that bad anyway but you can export to WAVE if you pay 39 Euros.

4. Waveform Free

If you've used Tracktion T7 before, this may look familiar. That's because Waveform Free is the latest version of it - just with a new name. What Tracktion as a company does is every time they publish a new version of their paid DAW, Waveform, they will typically release an older version of it for free.

Now this DAW does have the ability to use your computer keyboard as a MIDI controller but it's kind of a hassle and awkward to use. But hey, at least it's there if you need it.

Key Features:

  • Workflow similar to Pro Tools
  • *Computer keyboard to MIDI*
  • No Plugin Bridging
  • Integrated Mixer

Included Software:

  • Virtual Instruments? Yes
  • Audio Effects? Yes

Minimum Requirements:

  • OS: Windows 7, MacOS 10.9, Linux
  • CPU: 2 GHz
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Space: 500 MB

The sequencer in Waveform is kind of confusing at first. But once you get the hang of it, the workflow isn't all that different and it actually has a lot of unique features. You can anchor the MIDI and move the pattern around it, or vice-versa. And, it's super easy to bounce to audio, all you have to do is click this option and drag it.

Waveform's piano roll is really good. You can adjust the velocity of each note when you are drawing it by dragging up and down, and the width going right and left. You can even make chords with whatever notes you have selected.

As for mixing your audio, you can either use the integrated mixer to the right of the sequencer or a dedicated mixer window by going up to the top right and bringing it into view.

The mixer is quite standard but when it comes to making send tracks (aka a mix bus) they are called sub-mixes and have to be created in the sequencer but can then be routed in the mixer or the sequencer.

5. Cakewalk

I had to save the best for last and that's Cakewalk by Bandlab. This DAW was once called Sonar when it previously cost money but it was acquired and made free-to-use!

From my experience, this has got to be the best (free) Digital Audio Workstation out there. And yes, it does have Computer Keyboard to MIDI but it's through a window that needs to be selected.

The downside is that Cakewalk is only available for 64-bit Windows - with 32-bit plugin support - so some of the previous options I talked about may be your only choice. If you can use this DAW though, I would highly recommend it.

Key Features:

  • Works with touch screen
  • 64-bit & 32-bit VST support (bridging)
  • Computer keyboard to MIDI
  • High-quality stock plugins

Included Software:

  • Virtual Instruments? Yes
  • Audio Effects? Yes

Music Making Software For Windows

Minimum Requirements:

  • OS: Windows 7 (64-bit)
  • CPU: Multi-core Intel or AMD CPU
  • RAM: 4 GB
  • Space: 3 GB

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In my opinion, this DAW has the best piano roll. There are a lot of features packed into it and it's easy to use. You definitely won't feel limited using this MIDI editor. And if you are a more traditional composer, it has a great notation editor that you can use to write sheet music.

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Making

As for the sequencer, I don't know if I can say it's the best on the list but don't get me wrong, it is good. Everything is where you need it and there are a lot of features, including a video display to edit the audio with the visuals.

There's a lot you can do with the mixer in Cakewalk and it has the most features out of all the DAWs in this video.

There is an integrated EQ window for quick changes and it's linked to a main EQ that's built into the 'pro channel' on every track, including a compressor, the EQ I mentioned, Tube saturation, and a console emulator. Oh, and the EQ opens up into an even bigger EQ to make it easier.

Honorable Mentions

Now, I would have mentioned Garageband but if you have a Mac, you probably either heard about it or have it already. But, I do think it would have made the list otherwise. So be sure to check it out if you use a Mac - especially if you are interested in using Logic Pro in the future.

Ardour is also a close-to-free option you may like. It does require a donation of $1 or more to get the pre-build but you can also get the source code and compile it yourself for free.

I hope this free software helps you make some great music, sound effects, or other audio-related projects. And as always, thanks for reading.