Part 4 of 5 in Music Production for Beginners

There is a lot of recording and music production software out there, and sometimes it’s hard to decide which one to go with. If you’re a beginner with music production, it’s best to choose software that’s easy to learn and provides a lot of features bundled into one package.

What I look for in a software package is one that supports digital audio looping, recording (MIDI and digital audio), effects processing, notation, and mixing. Seems like a lot to ask for right? You’ll only need to choose one software package, and I have two that I’ve used and recommend for a beginner (1 Windows based and 1 Macintosh based).

I only recommend the most basic complete versions. You can always upgrade later as your skills become more advanced, but for right now just choose one and get your feet wet. This is a pretty exciting way to get your creativity going.

Acid Music Studio by Sony Creative Software (Windows)

Acid has been around for awhile, and has an exceptionally easy user interface. The basic package comes with 3000 audio loops and 1000 MIDI loops (so essentially you can just copy and paste samples, without having to really play music).

Acid probably has one of the most extensive loop libraries out there (endorsed by some major artists) with plenty of collections to subsequently purchase. All the other necessary music production elements are there as well (digital audio, MIDI, editing, mixing, etc.) There are plenty tutorials to help you learn the ropes.  In my experience Acid is the best deal for the money in the Windows world.

GarageBand by Apple (Macintosh)

Ok, as usual, biased Mac fanatic here. As far as basic music producing programs go, GarageBand is the the Rolls Royce. It’s included in Apple’s iLife package (includes iMovie, iDVD, and iPhoto), so it comes with whatever the latest version of OS that you happen to have at the time you purchase your computer. There’s an upgrade every year (i’m still on iLife ‘08), and the interface looks better each time.

MIDI, digital audio, loops, mixing, and so on is all here in a very attractive and easy to use interface. One of the major advantages of Garageband is the synthetic instruments. The voices of different instruments are incredible. I’m also fond of the pre-set audio processing effects. It’s great for a beginner, or someone like me who doesn’t like to have to do a whole lot of manual tweaking.

The loop library is somewhat limited, in that there are less extended loop packages available, but they contain large quantities of high quality loops (at about $100 per library). Loops by other manufacturers can be used, but since Apple has their own format, conversion can be tedious. It’s my current music production tool of choice.

There are plenty of other music production software programs (and I’ve used a lot of them over time), but I’ve found that these two programs work wonders for someone who is just starting out in producing their own music. Get familiar with the basics (you’ll be impressed with your own skills once you get into it), and then you can upgrade to more advanced programs.

Peace,

Bret J. Piontek

p.s. Click here to check  out my advice on best computers for music. The software goes hand in hand with the computer you would choose.

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