Looking for a Music Creator Software

[ZooNamedGames]

I'm looking for some software for my (Windows) PC that can create preferably orchestral type music.

I am new to this particular market and a few google searches did not find me much wiser so I came to the only place I can reliably trust to give decent results to my desire.

So, does anyone know of any software to create orchestral music pieces?

[LordFerret]

There's a lot out there. My suggestion is a Google search on 'open source midi keyboard software'. You can assign just about any voice, multiple tracks, etc. And, as always, I'll point you to AVLinux.

[Andem]

Sony Vegas (While expensive) has some excellent music software built in.

[ZooNamedGames]

40 minutes ago, LordFerret said:

There's a lot out there. My suggestion is a Google search on 'open source midi keyboard software'. You can assign just about any voice, multiple tracks, etc. And, as always, I'll point you to AVLinux.

1.  I'm on Windows, not Linux and I don't want to dualboot for one program.

2. I don't have any external hardware. Whatever I do has to be on a keyboard.

35 minutes ago, Andem said:

Sony Vegas (While expensive) has some excellent music software built in.

Sadly I don't have several hundred dollars to drop :/

[Branjoman]

You could always get the software they use in schools, like Cubase or Sequel (IMO, Cubase is easier to use, since the way it shows you the track is more linear, and just easier to comprehend)

[Slam_Jones]

I assume you know a bit of Music Theory?  Chord structure, major and minor progressions, time signatures?  Or at the very least the ability to read sheet music?  If so, I have a few suggestions.

The two I've used in the past (though they are undoubtedly very dated now, possibly no longer available) are Encore and Finale.  Finale was a little more modern than Encore, but I found the interface harder to use.  Both are MIDI, and do their playback as such, as well as accepting appropriate MIDI input, assuming you have that type of electronic keyboard.  If not, usual mouse point-and-click seems to have been the default.

Naturally, both allow for multiple instruments and voices, varying time and key signatures, tempo changes, and basically everything else one could need to write music.  I've done a few orchestral-type pieces on Encore, though I would have a hard time finding any remaining copies of the music.

But, of course, these are both old OLD programs now, and the MIDI sounds are rather... archaic, now.

Edited September 3, 2016 by Slam_Jones

[ZooNamedGames]

7 minutes ago, Slam_Jones said:

I assume you know a bit of Music Theory?  Chord structure, major and minor progressions, time signatures?  Or at the very least the ability to read sheet music?  If so, I have a few suggestions.

The two I've used in the past (though they are undoubtedly very dated now, possibly no longer available) are Encore and Finale.  Finale was a little more modern than Encore, but I found the interface harder to use.  Both are MIDI, and do their playback as such, as well as accepting appropriate MIDI input, assuming you have that type of electronic keyboard.  If not, usual mouse point-and-click seems to have been the default.

But, of course, these are both old OLD programs now.

I do know. I have 4.75 years of musical experience (half a year of violin, half a year of trombone (useless as I'm tone deaf), 2 and a half of percussion (snare, standing bass drum, timpani, drum kit, xylophone), 1 year of musical composition and 4 months of piano lessons).

I've heard of both, and age does not concern me, as long as they work with Windows 10 with a standard typing keyboard. The bigger concern is price. A few bucks is ok, but cheaper the better.

[pxi]

My own preference has been for Fruityloops, although I used Cakewalk prior to that.  However, amongst people I know, Cubase is very popular, and I'd recommend it on that basis alone.  Whatever you decide to go with, I'd say making sure the program is VST compatible is a major requirement - you'll be locking yourself out of a huge range of options otherwise.

Price-wise, unfortunately you really do tend get what you pay for.  You can find free stuff, and some of it is decent, especially in terms of vst plugins, but I'd advise you to use something fairly mainstream as your main program if you're interested in perusing this as a serious venture - you'll find it much easier to find tutorials and get advice.  You could look into whether there are student licences available too, which would drop the price.

[cantab]

I'd say first figure out exactly what kind of software you want.

Digital Audio Workstation? A general purpose program, many will be capable of handling both recorded sounds and programmed-in tracks. You might find the interface more complicated because they have a lot of features.

Music sequencer or music tracker? There are more focussed, just based on programming in the sequences of notes. Many will handle input from a midi instrument, but they aren't designed for working with recorded audio. There are usually some differences between a "sequencer" and a "tracker" in the interface mainly.

Scorewriter? These are for writing music in the traditional sheet music format. Some are capable of playing back a rendition of your piece, but that's not their main purpose.

[adsii1970]

As someone that composes music in my spare time *cough, cough!*, I use MuseScore. It is open-source software, fully functional, allows for playback, recording, and printing, and best of all, it is free.

[ZooNamedGames]

31 minutes ago, cantab said:

I'd say first figure out exactly what kind of software you want.

Digital Audio Workstation? A general purpose program, many will be capable of handling both recorded sounds and programmed-in tracks. You might find the interface more complicated because they have a lot of features.

Music sequencer or music tracker? There are more focussed, just based on programming in the sequences of notes. Many will handle input from a midi instrument, but they aren't designed for working with recorded audio. There are usually some differences between a "sequencer" and a "tracker" in the interface mainly.

Scorewriter? These are for writing music in the traditional sheet music format. Some are capable of playing back a rendition of your piece, but that's not their main purpose.

Scorewriter might be what I'm after, big catch being I simply want to have a virtual orchestra replay things I've written; whether it be from a score or an editable track.

19 minutes ago, adsii1970 said:

As someone that composes music in my spare time *cough, cough!*, I use MuseScore. It is open-source software, fully functional, allows for playback, recording, and printing, and best of all, it is free.

What DON'T you do?

[adsii1970]

I've been accused of being a modern day sage.