13 Best Software for Making Music on Windows PC

August 17, 2018 By Madhuparna

Music making is a passion and it’s absolutely not a big deal these days with hundreds of apps available on the internet. Yes, there ample free apps available that can help you churn out a professional quality feet thumping piece without spending a dime.

From making full tracks on your smartphone or tablet, or simply using an exclusive hardware sequencer instead of a computer, internet is the best source that can help you make music digitally.

That being said, there is still no alternative to a PC where you can download and install a music making software or DAW (digital audio workstation) and record music, organize and mix complete tracks directly from the desktop, seamlessly. Bonus – when done in the right way, these tracks are of release quality.

Windows is the most used platform in the world and so, if you are hunting for the best Windows software for making music, we have the ultimate list for you in this post. While some are completely free to download and work with, some offer the free trial version before you invest in the Pro version. So, read on to find your pick..

Audacity

Audacity is an open source software that’s one of the most popular music editors with already millions of downloads. This cross-platform app works with not just Windows, but also with MacOS and Linux.

This program allows you to not only record music from several different sources, but also post-process nearly any type of audios. With the help of this software, you can also add different effects to your music, fine-tune the pitch, bass, and treble, and even assess tracks using its tool for frequency analysis.

Your tracks are presented as editable waveforms by the software that can be edited by the users. As a user you can also edit the music track using the cut, copy, and paste features or even use its wide range of added plug-ins to improve the series of effects and the audio assessment. The program comes with an in-built support for plug-ins like LV2, LADSPA, and Nyquist.

Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, and Linux

Ableton Live Lite 9

The Live Lite 9 version of Ableton is a restricted version of the program, however, it’s one of the best software for music making out there. The best part about it is that it’s free to download and is compatible with both Windows and Mac. With the paid version you get an additional 4GB of sounds.

What’s amazing is that, you get upto eight recording tracks for free if you choose not buy the upgraded version. It also comes equipped with a range of effects and tools that help you to make high-quality music tracks. You can also add MIDI tools like keyboards with it. It can be easy to use if you already know how the music making programs work. Ableton is an industry level software that’s used by many musicians and producers to create music and record.

Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac

Price: Free version available; upgrade starts from $99

FL Studio

If you are a first-timer, looking to start with a music making software, FL Studio is the best option for you. It’s been in the scene for quite some time now and is one of the most popular DAW software till date. From sound correction, cut-paste, or stretching to pitch shifting or the works, it’s got all the usual protocols you could think of. The biggest plus point of this program is its interface which is especially designed to suit the beginners.

While you can refer to the YouTube video tutorials for any explanation required on any feature, you also get 30 synth software along with it for out-of-the-box usage. So, for those who have just bought a controller and want to try out some sounds to start with, you do not need to spend those added bucks. Whether you want to record in it using microphone, do the usual editing and mixing, or use the MIDI keyboards, it fulfils all the essential requirements of a music software. Bonus – it comes with an extremely user-friendly interface.

Supported Platforms: Windows only

Price: Free trial available; Full version starts at $99

Magix Acid

While it may not be the leading software in the category with a dated looking interface, it still takes pride with its strongest features like automatic audio time-stretching and pitch shifting. Bonus- it also features the MIDI now.

Yes, it may not be the best performing software on the list, but Magix Acid is definitely fast, competent, and user-friendly. It’s been recently owned by Magix and the version 8 is about to be launched that indicates towards a much-needed change with an all-new user-interface. It’s also touted to come up with 64-bit and VST3 support.

Supported Platforms: Windows

Price: Free trial available; Upgrade starts at $90

Tracktion T6

Tracktion T6 is a two years old program that still boasts of loads of features. It’s a software with a simple design making it easy to understand and use. The interface is a workspace where you get all that is required in a single window. The workspace helps you avoid the inconvenience of jumping to various screens.

The best part is, that every section is flexible enough and so, it helps you to fine-tune it according to your workflow. Moreover, whichever specifications you have selected elsewhere, the bottom panel turns into screen. With its more established DAW system, it certainly has an exclusive appearance. As bonus, the program comes with unending range of audio and MIDI tracks, however, it’s based on the hardware potential. Yes, it also supports several plugin formats such as VST, Audio Units, and more.

Supported Platforms: macOS/Windows/Linux (VST, AU and Linux VST)

DarkWave Studio

When looking for a free DAW software, DarkWave Studio is definitely worth a try. It’s not only free of cost, it’s also perfect for the Window users as it supports all platforms from XP to 10. What’s interesting is, it does not require much space for storage and can be easily discovered and downloaded online.

Among its many features are the Sequence Editor, Virtual Studio, Multitrack Hard Disk Recorder, and Pattern Editor. While the Pattern Editor helps you select digital music patterns and even edit them, the sequence editor enables you to arrange patterns to mix up the track patterns and any arrangements together. You can explore the recording options under its HD recorder tab. It also allows you to choose from the multiple plug-ins (19) that can help you add virtual effects to the music tracks.

Supported Platforms: Windows only

Presonus Studio One Prime

Those looking for a free version of this efficient program can download their freeware edition which is Studio One Prime. For advanced features you can purchase the upgraded version that’s specifically for artists and professionals. Studio One is the basic version out of all which you can add to your software collection using any my.presonus.com account. The system requirements include a minimum of 4GB RAM and 30GB of storage within, and it works with the latest versions of Windows.

Despite lacking the advanced features in comparison to the upgraded version, the free version retains the same instinctive interface with drag and drop feature that helps you to create fresh tracks and even add effects. The USP of Studio One Prime is that it comes equipped with endless audio files, FX and virtual tools. Not just that, it also allows you to add nine local audio effects to your music pieces. Some of the mixing and control features that are retained in the free version are easy chain side routing, control link MIDI mapping, and latency compensation. Bonus – the freeware also offers multitrack MIDI and multitrack track change editing instruments. Overall, even being the curtailed version, the freeware still retains most of its essential tools.

Supported Platforms: Windows only

Price: Free; upgrade available for $450

Avid Pro tools

Those looking for tools especially designed for mixing music the professional way, Avid Pro Tools is just what you need. This advanced yet simple tool helps you to excel the industry standards. While it offers the usual facility to create, record, mix, edit, master, and more, it also comes with the advanced version (Avid Audio Engine) that’s loaded with a super speedy processor, 64-bit memory, latency input buffer of its own that helps during any delays, and an innate metering.

Time-stretch to alter the tempo, or Elastic Pitch which is somewhat similar to the autotune that helps rectify harmonies are among the other features to name a few. What’s more? It also comes packed with 70 effects and plug-ins, and other features like channel stripping, compressors, EQ’s reverb, and so on.

Supported Platforms: Windows or Mac

Price: Free Trial available; upgrade starts at $24.92

Ardour

It’s a fantastic piece of software that works perfectly well with Windows, Linux, and OS X. The version 5 comes with an all revamped graphic user interface that’s sorted with tabs. Ardour also sports loads of new features that efficiently assist you while making any alterations to the tempo, mixing, writing scripts, or using the plug-ins. The biggest plus point of this DAW software is that it’s free and open source, while the subscriptions start from as low as $1 month.

Supported Platforms: Windows, Linux, OS X

Price: Free (Open Source); Subscription starts from $1

AmpliTube Custom Shop

Although it’s a curtailed version of AmpliTube 4, it’s still a completely operational application for guitar rig modelling. There are 24 models in the free version and there’s a lot in the offering for the guitarists to record into their laptop directly. The tones offered by AmpliTube are genuine and there’s an amazing standard of customizations available which includes the microphone selection and replacement.

The biggest bonus however, is the custom shop feature. But, if you are looking for more features, you will have to purchase the paid version. for additional stompboxes, amp models or cab sims.

Supported Platforms: Windows and Mac OS (64-bit only)

Price: Free version available

LMMS (Linux Multimedia Studio)

One of the best multi-platform music making software around, Linux Multimedia Studio is also compatible with Windows and Mac. It’s a free and open source program that works just perfect for all levels of music creators. The program comes packed with five editors and a wide range of synthesizers that can further fine-tune your music tracks. The tracks can be further imported to both MIDI and Hydrogen Project files along with the Song Editor. Moreover, the application also supports plug-ins like VST and LADPSA that can be mixed with several additional effects into the tracks.

Supported Platforms: Windows, Linux, Mac

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is another open source music making software that’s more of a digital drum program that sounds like a drum. The Windows version is in the beta stage. It comes with a GMkit that’s pre-installed and includes tools like Pedal HH and Cowbell drum kits, Jazz, Snare Jazz, Ride Rock, Ride Jazz, Snare, Stick, and more.

You can also get access to its endless patterns through the pattern sequencer and can even link patterns together in a music track. The Mixer offered by the program is another useful tool that can help you to tune the drum volume and also add some added special effects. From importing and exporting song patterns into tracks to organizing different drum audio effects on a file to overlap them, there’s a lot that Hydrogen offer its users for free.

Supported Platforms: Windows and Mac

Propellerhead Reason

Although a not so widely known software, Propellerhead Resaon is indeed a stable offering in the category so far. It’s a compact system with drag and drop interface, is fast enough, and of course, offers an exceptional workflow for middle to semi-pro range music makers.

It comes with a strong mixing console and makes for a great DAW software for guitar recordings or bass as it comes with amps and speakers. Additionally, it’s efficient in cutting and splicing music files automatically. Bonus – it supports all MIDI hardware.

Supported Platforms: Windows and Mac

Price: Free version available; upgrade starts at $99

While there are umpteen such music making software around that one can use for creating a professional piece, the above listed programs are definitely for those who want to create a masterpiece. So, make your choice and rock the stage with a brilliant sounding track.

I find passion in writing Tech articles around Windows PC and softwares

Sound

This design guide was created for Windows 7 and has not been updated for newer versions of Windows. Much of the guidance still applies in principle, but the presentation and examples do not reflect our current design guidance.

Sound is the audio element of the user experience. When used appropriately, sound can be an effective form of communication that establishes a non-verbal and even emotional relationship with your users. Sounds can be used alone or as a supplement to visual UI. For example, adding a sound effect to a notification increases the likelihood that it will be noticed, especially if the user isn’t looking at the screen when an event occurs.

From the Sounds tab of the Sound control panel item, users can make changes to their system sounds.

This article covers the use of sounds within a program as a response to events and user actions, and integrating a program’s sound control with Windows. It doesn’t cover the use of music or speech.

Note: Guidelines related to notifications and branding are presented in separate articles.

Is this the right user interface?

To decide if you should use sound, consider these questions:

• Is there a clear user benefit to using sound? Because the drawbacks of using sound can easily outweigh the benefits, use sound only when there is a clear advantage.
• Is the use of sound appropriate? Does the use of sound draw attention to things that are worthy of attention? Would users miss the sound if it were absent? Focus on sounds that keep users informed, are likely to change their behavior, or provide useful feedback.
• Is the use of sound distracting? Are there frequent, loud, jarring sounds? Are users likely to reduce the system volume or your program’s volume as the result of your use of sound?
• Are you using sound as a primary form of communication? In many cases, such as for users who have some level of hearing loss, sound should not be used as the primary means of communication. Sound is more effective as a supplement to other means of communication (such as text or visuals).
• Are the primary target users IT professionals? Sound is usually ineffective for tasks targeted at IT professionals because many of their tasks run unattended. Furthermore, sound doesn’t scale for them imagine running hundreds of tasks at a time and getting sounds when they complete or fail.

Design concepts

Typically sound achieves any or all of the following purposes:

• Notification. Sound can be associated with specific events. For example, a «new mail» sound tells users when mail arrives without disrupting their current task.
• Feedback. Sound can provide feedback for specific user actions. For example, a subtle sound that plays when you release the slider on the volume control provides feedback about the level of the current setting.
• Branding. Sound can be associated with specific content to brand your product, application, or service. Windows uses sound in this way for the startup of the operating system.
• Entertainment. Sound is commonly used to enhance entertainment products and to make any product more engaging. For example, most games, training applications, and consumer products use sound to entertain users and enhance their experience.

Certain sounds can fulfill several of these purposes at once. The Windows Startup sound, for example, indicates that the startup process has completed and the desktop is ready for use. It also provides a powerful form of product branding and even momentarily engages users.

Sounds that fulfill none of these purposes should likely be eliminated.

Inappropriate use of sound

Despite the benefits of sound, appropriate use of sound requires significant restraint to do otherwise can make a program annoying and distracting. Users will turn off their sound completely if they become annoyed by frequent, repetitive, jarring, disrupting, poorly designed sounds; in part this is because by its very nature, sound demands attention and is hard to ignore. For tips on finding a reasonable balance, see the Sound design guidelines.

Because the drawbacks of using sound can easily outweigh the benefits, use sound only when there is a clear advantage. When in doubt, don’t use sound.

Make sound supplemental

Even if the sound is used appropriately, there are many situations where sound might not be effective for all users:

• Some users may work in a noisy environment where the sounds cannot be heard.
• Some users may work in a quiet environment that requires sound to be turned off or set at a low volume.
• Some users may have hearing impairments or loss.
• The computer may not have speakers.

For these reasons, sound used for notifications and feedback should never be the only method of communication, but rather should supplement visual or textual cues.

Desirable characteristics of sound

In general, sounds should be:

• mid to high frequency (600 Hertz [Hz] to 2 kilohertz [kHz]).
• short (less than one second).
• soft or moderate in volume.
• meaningful.
• pleasant, not alarming or jarring.
• non-verbal.
• non-repetitive.

With sound, less is more. The ideal sound effect is one that users barely notice, but they would miss if it were absent.

A common misconception is that sounds for critical events need to be loud and jarring to get the user’s attention. This isn’t true, because sound is really meant to be a supplemental means of communication. In the case of a critical error message, its presentation (perhaps in a modal dialog box), its icon (an error icon), and its text and tone all combine to communicate the nature of the error. An effective error sound can be slightly louder than the typical Windows sound, but need not be significantly louder.

Characteristics of Windows sounds

Beyond this general call for minimalism, the Windows sound aesthetic uses light, pure tones, and glassy and airy sounds, with a soft fade-in and fade-out (soft «edges») to prevent abrupt, jarring, percussive effects. They are designed to feel subtle, gentle, and consonant. Windows sounds use echo, reverb, and equalization to attain a natural, ambient feel.

The default sound scheme for Windows doesn’t generally use instrumental or recognizable everyday sounds that are overly specific or musical. Examples of sounds it avoids are musical instruments such as pianos or percussion instruments, animal sounds, environmental noises, speech, voices, movie-like sound effects, or other sounds of humans. Also, Windows sounds are not meant to be perceived as music (that is, as long, multi-note melodies). This makes Windows sounds functionally distinct from other types of sounds.

Because the Windows sounds were professionally designed to have the desirable characteristics and appeal to a broad audience, consider using these built-in Windows sounds whenever appropriate.

Designing your own sounds

If you must create your own sounds, design them to have the previously described characteristics. Strive to make them complement their associated tasks or events.

Understand that creating original sounds is difficult to do well especially for sounds intended for a broad audience. Sound can be a polarizing design element. For every user who loves a sound, there will be many who dislike it.

Design the sounds for your program as a group to feel like they are related variations on a theme. Your program’s auditory experience should be coordinated with its visual experience. Also, the «tone» of the sounds should be coordinated with the tone of the text. Consider how text with a pleasant, natural tone can be undermined when accompanied by harsh, alarming sounds.

If you do only four things.

1. Use sound with restraint make sure there is a clear overall user benefit. When in doubt, don’t use sound.
2. Use the built-in Windows sounds whenever appropriate.
3. If you design your own sounds, make sure they have the desirable sound characteristics and as a whole feel like variations on a theme.
4. Don’t assume that sounds need to be loud and jarring to get the user’s attention.

Usage patterns

Sounds have several usage patterns:

Action completion sonically notifies users when a long-running, user initiated action completes successfully.	In this example, the dialog box plays a sound to notify users that the download has completed.
Action failure sonically notifies users when a long-running, user initiated action fails.	In this example, Windows plays a sound to notify users that the backup operation has failed.
Important system event sonically alerts users of important system events or status that require immediate attention.	In this example, users are alerted that their low battery requires immediate attention.
FYI sonically notifies users of potentially useful, relevant information.	Because this information usually doesn’t require immediate attention, an fyi sound provides subtle feedback without breaking the user’s flow. In this example, a sound plays when a contact signs in to an instant messaging service.
Sound effect sonically provides feedback to user interactions.	Provides real-world or styled sound feedback that is appropriate for the interaction. sound effects often sound as though the user is manipulating a real-world, physical object. sometimes referred to as foley. In this example, the minimize window sound effect sounds like a real-world object is being reduced in size.
Branding sounds a sound provided to enhance the user experience though emotional impact and, as a side effect, promote the product brand.	Branding sounds are best when synchronized to visual events, especially ui transitions such as the display of a program window. true sound brands indicate the source of goods, similar to a trademarked word or logo, and are relatively uncommon. In this example, Windows startup is a branded transitional experience.

Guidelines

Usage

• Use sound with restraint make sure there is a clear overall user benefit. Focus on sounds that keep users informed, are likely to change their behavior, or provide useful feedback. When in doubt, don’t use sound.
• Select the sound and its characteristics based on how it is being used. For a description of each usage pattern, see the table in the previous section.
• For notifications and feedback, don’t use sound as the only method of communication. Rather, use sound as a supplemental method to reinforce visual or textual cues. Doing so ensures that users can see the information if they can’t hear the sound.
• Don’t play loud or harsh sounds frequently. Doing so is unnecessary and results in a poor user experience. The more often a sound is played, the less obtrusive it should be. Sounds don’t have to be loud or harsh to attract attention.
• Don’t beep. Beeping isn’t appropriate for modern programs. Beeps can’t have specific meanings assigned to them, and users can’t control them.
  • Exception: Critical system functions may beep to alert users of situations that they must attend to immediately, such as critically low battery power.

Playback

• Don’t repeat a sound more than two times consecutively.
• For a consecutive sequence of related sound events, play a sound only on the first event. Avoid using multiple sounds because they may collide with each other or otherwise result in an unpleasant user experience.

Sound selection

• Choose pleasant sounds. Don’t use unpleasant, alarming sounds, such as buzzing, crashing, and breaking.
• Use sounds that are short (less than one second).
• Use sounds that are roughly the same volume as the typical Windows sound. Users dislike having to turn the volume down when starting a computer or a program, especially in public environments such as meetings and presentations. The Microsoft Windows sound files are located in the Media folder within the Windows folder.
• Don’t choose sounds that require localization. You can achieve this by using sounds that don’t use speech or have culturally-dependent meanings or connotations.

Windows system sounds

• Use the built-in Windows system sounds whenever appropriate.
• Choose to use system sounds based on their associated meaning, not just on the sound itself. System sounds must be used consistently.

Sound design

When creating your own sounds:

• Create sounds with the desirable sound characteristics.
• Compose sounds with mostly mid-range to high frequencies (600 Hz to 2 kHz). Don’t use low frequencies because they travel farther, are harder to locate, and can be alarming.
• Set the relative amplitude of normal sounds to the level of the typical Windows sound. The Windows sounds have been appropriately leveled for home and work environments. Using different levels for your sounds will force users to make volume adjustments.
  • Set important sounds to be slightly louder. Such sounds include action completions, action failures, and important system events.
  • Set frequently occurring sounds to be slightly softer. These include FYIs, branding sounds, and sound effects.
• Choose sounds consistent with the meaning of the Windows sounds. To create a custom version of a Windows sound, preserve the same pitch and interval, but change the orchestration or timbre. Don’t assign different meanings to sounds with similar pitches and intervals as Windows sounds.
• Design the sounds for your program to feel like they are related variations on a theme. Your program’s auditory experience should be coordinated with its visual experience.
  • Design scene transitions and audio transitions together. For example, if a scene fades out gradually, any sound should fade gradually as well. Don’t ruin seamless visual transitions by having abrupt sound transitions.
• Sounds must be in .wav file format. The 16-bit, 44.1 kHz stereo uncompressed pulse code modulation (PCM) format is recommended. If file size is important, use compressed or monaural (mono) formats, but be aware that there is an easily discernable quality loss that could reflect badly on your application.

Mixing

Don’t have volume or mute controls in your program. Instead, let users control relative volume settings among applications with the Windows volume mixer. If your program has a volume control, there will be multiple places where users adjust their settings, which may lead to confusion.

The Windows volume mixer allows users to control the main volume setting as well as the volume for each program that is currently playing audio.

• Exception: If the primary purpose if your program is audio or video playback or creation, it may be useful to have a volume control in the program. Use a slider control for this purpose and provide immediate feedback when the user changes the volume.