20 Best Music Making Softwares, Great tools to Compose Great Music

20 Best Music Making Software – Great Tools To Help You Compose Great Music

Many professional musicians have used different types of software to produce the best piece of music for their audience.

They might release the music for free or for commercial purposes, but the most important thing for them is to ensure that their creation can reach the intended audience.

Whether you are a hobbyist or a professional musician, composing great music cannot be done without using a good music making software.

And depending on the software that you use, you will have different results in the style of music that you are composing.

This is why it is important for you to choose the best music software that you can use in order to ensure the best results for your musical projects.

With a good deal of best music composing software out there, it might be quite difficult for you to pick the best tool that you can use for long-term.

But, by knowing more about them, you can at least make an informed decision before deciding to use them.

Our list of Best Music Making Softwares

Here are the 20 best music making software to help you compose great music:

MAGIX Music Maker

MAGIX Music Maker provides the tool necessary for you to turn your creative ideas into great musical pieces for the enjoyment of everyone.

It is jam-packed with features that will help you make the best audio experience for everyone to listen to.

There are three versions available: Free, Plus, and Premium version.

The free version offers full basic features for you to use, while the paid versions are offered in affordable prices.

Features:

The free version provides full basic features, including 425 free sounds/loops, 4 free soundpools, 8 tracks, 8 effects, and 3 software instruments.
Software instruments are available to mimic the real instruments.
Professional audio sound engine to produce superb audio quality.
Great performance for your PC with multicore support.
Premium audio effects are great for producing professional-quality music.
Big selection of sounds and loops that can seamlessly be combined with each other.

FL Studio – Music Making Software

FL Studio provides a complete Digital Audio Workstation and music production environment that can give you all the tools necessary to produce your music from start to finish.

It is available both as a downloadable software or a box.

Updates are free for a lifetime.

It has four major editions available, namely Fruity, Producer, Signature, and All Plugins Bundle.

Features:

FL Studio can do anything related to music production, including composing, arranging, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering.
You can use the download version or hardware box version.
It is available for both desktop and mobile devices.
It has a plug-and-play integration which includes Step Mode, Note Mode, and Drum Mode.
The Mixer allows you to mix and master different sounds and audios with professional standards.
The Piano Roll used by FL Studio has been known to be the best in the business.
Other features include browser and playlist, more than 80 plugins, vectorial interface, live DJ control, automation recording and editing, visualizer effects, and more.

Ableton Live

Ableton Live allows you to be creative in your musical projects, with curated library, user wavetables, workflow improvements, and new devices compatibility.

It also includes the Push feature that allows you to create your music away from your PC.

Ableton Live has three main editions: Intro, Standard, and Suite.

Features:

Robust MIDI sequencing, whether you are using software or hardware instruments.
Time stretching in real time with advanced warping.
Unlimited undo in your editing process to make it seamless.
Multitrack recording with unlimited instruments that you can use per project.
Intuitive composition and flexible performance monitoring with Unique Session View.
It provides a big selection of software instruments, packs, and audio effects.

Avid Pro Tools

Avid Pro Tools is the music maker software that gives you the ability to create the music that you want and collaborate with others so that you can make your creation be heard by everyone.

The combination of tools that are available in this software allows you to work faster and more efficiently.

There are three version of Avid Pro Tools available, namely Pro Tools First, Pro Tools, and Pro Tools Ultimate.

Features:

Create your music and collaborate with others to make the creation process easier.
Professional quality standards for your mixes with great sound quality.
Edit every element of your mix and use many variations to make the mixing process quick and creative.
Produce the best sound from your instruments or vocal.
Pro plugins allow you to improve and polish your work to make it better.
Connect with your audience and share your creation instantly.

Apple Logic Pro X

Logic Pro X provides the best digital audio workstation made by Apple, giving you all the tools necessary to produce the best quality musical pieces for your audience.

You can use your Mac to download this tool and connect it with various instruments that you have.

It is only available for Apple devices.

Features:

Smart Tempo allows you to synchronize your track timing easily.
Use your iOS devices to be used as a multi-touch mixer and touch instrument for your music production.
A great library of instruments and effects that you can use in your musical creation, giving you endless possibilities.
Tweaking and editing your tracks will be easy to do with Patches.
Thousands of Apple loops to choose to jump-start your creation.
Perfect the sound pitch automatically with Flex Pitch.

GarageBand

GarageBand is a simple yet complete music composing software that you can use for your Mac and iOS devices.

It has a complete sound library with lots of presets and instruments for you to use.

With the intuitive design, making music becomes less complex to do, and moreover, you can get the best professional-quality production.

It is available only for Apple devices.

Features:

You can download the software both for macOS and iOS devices and integrate the use of those devices in your project.
You can either use your real instruments to create your music or just use the software instruments to do that.
The drummers are available in various styles for every musical genre.
The synths provided in GarageBand can be tweaked to your liking easily.
Lots of editing features are included, allowing you to record, mix, and master your music.
Share your creation with the world via social media networks.

Propellerhead Reason

Reason by Propellerhead is a music software that allows you to create amazing music in any way you want.

The creation tools provided by this software are very detailed, giving you the necessary components for each aspect of your music production.

As a result, it will help to complete your musical piece from being just an idea into becoming a real product.

A free 30-day trial is available.

Features:

Easy layout to work with, consisting of browser, mixer, rack, and sequencer in one display.
Tweak and mix different types of instruments for your track in any way you want.
A wide selection of Effects will help you to enhance your track, from subtle to hardcore enhancements.
Creation flow is designed for you to make your music without having to deal with various distractions along the way.
It gives you a total control of your entire musical creation project, from recording to mixing, in as little clicks as possible.
Third-party instruments and effects can be integrated into Propellerhead Reason.

REAPER – Music Making Software

REAPER is a digital audio workstation that allows you to make any music without limit, giving you full control in the production process.

It has a complete set of tools that will allow you to work on your music production without the need to use any other software.

You can create your musical pieces from start to finish with REAPER.

Moreover, it is quite affordable when compared to other similar software or apps.

A 60-day free trial is available for new users.

Features:

REAPER’s functionality can be extended by adding hardware instruments and plugins into it.
It helps you from recording to mastering your tracks, with MIDI recording and multitrack audio.
Portable installation is available, with lightweight and fast performance.
Multichannel support for MIDI and audio routing.
A wide range of digital formats are supported, with 64-bit internal audio processing.
Create your own effects with the built-in effect creation tool.
It supports a wide range of virtual instruments and plugins.

Steinberg Cubase

Cubase by Steinberg allows you to use a complete package of music making tools and create the amazing musical piece based on your inspiration.

The flexible tools included in this software allows you to create your own music quickly and creatively.

It is perfect to be used both by beginners and professionals.

There are 3 versions available: Cubase Elements, Artist, and Pro.

Features:

Intuitive workflow allows you to create tracks from start to finish with professional quality standards.
Suitable both for beginners and professionals, covering all genres of music.
Various things that you can do with Cubase, including composing, sequencing, beat making, recording, audio editing, and mixing.
Synchronize your vocal and other recordings quickly with Audio Alignment.
Radio-friendly production with classic and professional mixing console using Channel Strip.

ACID Pro

ACID Pro is a music software that allows you to turn your inspiration into amazing musical piece that everyone can enjoy.

It allows you to produce professional results with lots of tools available, such as loops, effects, and instruments that you can mix together to create the best combinations.

Features:

Sleek interface with fully-featured music production tools as used by professional artists and musicians.
It can be used for music production, MIDI, audio editing, mastering, and exporting.
Multitrack recording with high-fidelity audio and superior mixing.
Flexible routing with control surface support and arrange tools.
Great mixing and remixing features like Beatmapper and Chopper.
Great virtual instruments such as Analog Synths 2, Lead Synth, Concert Guitar, and more.
MIDI editing features that include inline editing, drum grid mode, MIDI track freeze, filtering and processing, and more.

PreSonus Studio One

Studio One by PreSonus is a musical production software that allows you to work on your project quickly and produce your music without limit.

It is designed to be easy to use, offering you many tools that can ease and better your music production.

It allows you to produce your music in three steps using Start Page, Song Page, and Project Page.

There are three versions available: Prime, Artist, and Professional.

Features:

Easy workflow from start to finish with Start Page, Song Page, and Project Page.
Easy-to-use and simple user interface for quick and better music production process.
You can arrange your track in just a few clicks.
Harmonic Editing allows you to edit your track in a quick and simple way by replacing each part of your track and tweak them.
It converts MIDI into 32-bit internal format with comprehensive MIDI editing tools.
You can print out your notations and present it in a great-looking lead sheets.

Tracktion T7 DAW

T7 DAW by Tracktion is a fully-featured digital audio workstation that you can use for free without any limitations.

In other words, you can use all the included basic features in the T7 DAW without paying any license fee.

However, if you find the basic features to be good, you can invest on the expanded features to enhance your results.

It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Features:

Great for beginners to get familiar with Digital Audio Workstation.
Blue steel interface with various features presented in one display, such as mixer, waveform, input, and many other additional features that you can drag and drop.
Take control for your sound design at the most detailed level with Clip Layer Effects.
Automation Patterns help you to edit your track automatically to save lots of time in the process.
LFO Modifiers help you to tweak and automate your plugins to focus more on other aspects of your track.
It has an unlimited number of MIDI tracks and audio.

BandLab Cakewalk

Cakewalk by BandLab offers a complete music production package with intuitive interface, easy workflow, and advanced technology.

You can navigate your project easily with the award-winning interface that helps you to arrange and compose your track better.

It can help turn your inspiration into an amazing musical piece.

This software is available for Windows.

Features:

With Cakewalk, you can compose, record, edit, mix, master, and share your tracks.
The user interface is designed to be sleek, simple, easy-to-use, and intuitive to help work on your project more quickly.
For each project, you get unlimited MIDI, instruments, loops, audio, and auxiliary tracks.
It uses the industry’s best audio engine with leading technologies.
It has studio quality effects that make your track sounds the best.
Various technical features included, such as 64-bit mix engine, resampling, VST3 support, touch-enabled, and ARA support.

Audacity

Audacity is an audio software that is available for free for various platforms.

It is an audio editor and recorder that you can use to help you complete your musical project.

It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

The basic features of audio editing and recording are available for you to use.

Features:

Record your audio through microphone or mixer, as well as from other media.
Export and combine different sound files to make your own mix.
High quality resampling with various choices of sound quality.
Various plugins to use to enhance the functionality of the software.
Unlimited undo and redo, as well as easy editing process.
Various effects with real-time preview.
Visualize and analyze frequencies of your tracks.

LMMS

LMMS is a digital audio workstation that is free and open source, and it is available for multiple platforms.

It has the core functionality that is enough to be used to create the best audio track for everyone to enjoy.

There are also musical instruments and effects that you can use to get the best combination for your project.

It is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Features:

It is completely free, and it is available for multiple desktop operating systems.
It can be used to make music on your computer, with function like arranging, synthetizing, mixing, beat sample creation, and so on.
User-friendly and sleek interface makes it easier for you to work on your project, playback instruments, and use plugins.
Various effects, plugins, and samples are ready to use and integrated to your software.
Fine tune various aspects of your track by Piano Roll Editor.
Automate various aspects of the music production as defined by the user.

AmpliTube Custom Shop

AmpliTube Custom Shop is a software platform that allows you to build your virtual musical gear in one piece at a time.

But, not only that, each virtual gear can mimic the real instrument accurately, and you can work with it for your music production.

It is available for simulating guitar and bass rigs, with lots of collections to choose from.

Features:

Access the custom shop anytime you want, and buy any gear that you want to have for a fraction of the real cost.
Various gears are available to choose from many manufacturers.
The software is free for starter, with 24 gears for you to use immediately.
It can be used as a standalone software, or you can use it as a plugin for your favorite DAW tool.
Ultra accurate sound emulation from each gear with two movable mics.
Built-in 2-track recorder that you can use along with the preset database.

Ardour

Ardour is the digital audio workstation that allows you to record, edit, and mix your audio track to produce the best musical piece for your project.

It is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac completey free of charge.

The software is designed to be used by audio engineers, musicians, soundtrack editors, and composers.

Features:

Record your vocal or import digital audio or MIDI easily.
Unlimited undo and redo with various editing commands to ensure that you get the audio track that you want.
Mixing commands that include solo, mute, fader, dynamics, EQ, automate, and more.
Multi-track recording and editing for audio and MIDI.
Various plugins available with full sample accurate automation.
Industry standard transport sync and external control surfaces.
Signal routing anywhere to anywhere.
Video timeline is available to extract soundtrack out of a video file.

Darkwave Studio

Darkwave Studio is a free music software that is used and available for the Windows platform.

It functions like the other similar digital audio workstation software, with various features like modular virtual studio, pattern editor, multi-track recorder, and sequence editor.

Features:

Lots of available bundled plugins such as audio input, arpeggiator, control change mapper, MIDI input and output, and more.
It is completely free to use for Windows.
A modular design in the virtual studio, which allows you to connect various machines and instruments as you need them.
Native support for VST plugin.
Advanced audio processing with full 64-bit double precision floating point.

Temper

Temper is a music composing software that is focused on MIDI.

It is a MIDI and audio sequencer that has many commands to help you create the best MIDI audio track.

This software can be integrated with other software as a VST.

Features:

One of the best audio + MIDI sequencer available, which you can use as a standalone software or integrated with your digital audio workstation as a plugin.
MIDI-focused editing environment that has powerful functionality.
Multi-track editing that you can do simultaneously.
Advanced event routing and manipulation.
VST automations with unified MIDI controllers.
Multicore audio engine with tool chaining.

Mixxx

Mixxx is a DJ mixing software that is available for free for Windows, Linux, and Mac.

You can use this software to mix audio tracks like professional DJs.

It is recommended to be used for both beginners and professionals.

Features:

BPM and key detection to help you find the best tracks to mix together.
Sync the tracks to match their tempo.
Support for the DJ controller hardware.
Vinyl record control for playback control and the ability to scratch your digital music file as it were pressed against the turntable.
Lots of effects for you to use in your DJ mixing activity.
Completely free of charge and available for various platforms.

Conclusion

Creating great music needs to be done by using great music making software.

These are the software that you can use in your next music production.

Some of them are available for free, and some others have a free trial period that allows you to try the software before buying it.

You can choose Best Music Making Software to get yourself familiar with digital audio workstation as well as the processes involved in music production, such as composing, arranging, mixing, and more.