Here are the Best Free Music Production Software Programs online for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Ubuntu.
These free Digital Audio Workstations will allow you to make professional music without spending any money.
DAW Download Instructions:
- Click the name or image below.
- Look around each website for the download link or button.
- Do NOT install any suspicious software.
- Don’t forget to share this article and follow us.
Free Music Production Software
1.Audacity – Record & Edit Audio
Audacity is a free open source software for recording and editing sounds.
- Record live audio.
- Record computer playback on any Windows Vista or later machine.
- Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
- Edit WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3 or Ogg Vorbis sound files.
- Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
- Change the speed or pitch of a recording
- Platform: Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux
2.Ardour – Free Digital Audio Workstation
Ardour is a fully-featured digital audio workstation, similar to other software like ProTools, Nuendo, Sonar and Logic, and capable of replacing analog or digital tape systems.
Ardour DAW Features
- Audio and MIDI Multi-Track Recording and Editing – Free DAW
- Plugins with Full Sample Accurate Automation
- Transport Sync and External Control Surfaces
- Powerful Anywhere-to-Anywhere Signal Routing
- Video Timeline
- Platform: Linux and OS X
Music Editing in Ardour
3.LMMS – Free Music Production Software
LMMS is a free cross-platform digital audio workstation software which allows you to produce music with your computer. This covers creating melodies and beats, synthesizing and mixing sounds and arranging samples. You can have fun with your MIDI keyboard and much more.
LMMS Free DAW Features
- Song-Editor for composing songs
- A Beat+Bassline-Editor for creating beats and baselines
- An easy-to-use Piano-Roll for editing patterns and melodies
- An FX mixer with 64 FX channels and an arbitrary number of effects allow unlimited mixing possibilities
- Many powerful instrument and effect plugins out of the box
- Full user-defined track-based automation and computer-controlled automation sources
- Compatible with many standards such as SoundFont2, VST(i), LADSPA, GUS Patches, and MIDI
- Import of MIDI files, Hydrogen project files, and FL Studio ® project files
- Works on Windows, Mac, Linux
LMMS Demo – Sound like Deadmau5 w/ LMMS in Under 10 Minutes
Also, check out Learn How To Produce Your Own Music In LMMS
4.DarkWave Studio – Free Music Creation Software For Windows
DarkWave Studio is a real-time sound editor with a tabbed interface that lets you compose your own music with the assistance of your computer.
DarkWave Studio Features
- VST Plug-in Support – Limitlessly Expandable With Instrument and Effects Plugins.
- Multi-Core / Multi CPU Support.
- Full 64-bit Double Precision Floating Point Audio Processing.
- Low Latency ASIO And DirectSound Audio Output Support.
- Platform Support: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP
Walk-through Demo
5.orDrumbox
The orDrumbox is a free drum machine software.
orDrumbox Features
- Pattern-oriented – You can create songs by assembling various patterns. It’s up to you to determine the number of beats in each pattern (16 or 32 or whatever).
- Automatic composer and arpeggiator
- Automatic sound assignations
- Drum Kits – You can import, create, modify and save drum kits. It’s a “sound library” in one single file.
- Soft Synth – A soft synth with available and can generate sounds using an analog synth emulation: two VCO generator, FM modulation, envelope ADSR controller, low pass / hi pass filters.
- Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux
orDrumbox Preview
6.Temper – MIDI & Audio Sequencer
Temper is a MIDI and Audio sequencer with an emphasis on MIDI. Easily integrate Temper with your other software via basic drag-and-drop behavior, more advanced sync functionality, or seamlessly as a VST.
Temper Features
- Sophisticated event routing and manipulation
- Powerful MIDI editing environment
- Interactive algorithmic composition tools
- Perform time
- Multiple takes per track
- Simultaneous multitrack editing
- Tool chaining
- Unified MIDI controllers+VST automation
- Multicore audio engine
7.Mixxx
Mixxx has everything you need to start making DJ mixes in a tight, integrated package. Whether you’re DJing your next house party, spinning at a club, or broadcasting as a radio DJ, Mixxx has what you need to do it right.
Mixxx Features
- iTunes Integration
- DJ MIDI Controller Support
- Powerful Mixing Engine
- BPM Detection and Sync
- Platform: Mac, Windows
Mixxx Overview
8.Hydrogen
Hydrogen is an advanced drum machine for GNU/Linux. Its main goal is to bring professional yet simple and intuitive pattern-based drum programming.
Hydrogen Features
- Sample-based stereo audio engine, with the import of sound samples in Wav, .au and .aiff formats.
- Pattern-based sequencer, with an unlimited number of patterns and ability to chain patterns into a song.
- Up to 192 ticks per pattern with individual level per event and variable pattern length.
- Unlimited instrument tracks with volume, mute, solo, pan capabilities.
- Multi-layer support for instruments (up to 16 samples for each instrument).
- Sample Editor, with basic cut and loop functions.
- Platform: Linux
Hydrogen Drum Sequencer Demo
9.Rosegarden
Rosegarden is a music composition and editing environment based on a MIDI sequencer that features a rich understanding of music notation and includes basic support for digital audio.
Rosegarden Features
- Editing – Intuitive ways to record and edit notes.
- MIDI – Managing your MIDI ports, banks, programs, and controllers without having to remember any numbers.
- Notation – Entering, editing, and printing score.
- Audio – Recording, mixing and using samples and effects.
- Synths – Playing your MIDI tracks through hosted synths, for more accurate control.
10.Qtractor – Free Music Production Software
Qtractor is an Audio/MIDI multi-track free music production software.
Qtractor DAW Features
- Multi-track audio and MIDI sequencing and recording.
- Traditional multi-track tape recorder control paradigm.
- Audio file formats support OGG (via libvorbis), MP3 (via libmad, playback only), WAV, FLAC, AIFF and many, many more (via libsndfile).
- Standard MIDI files support (format 0 and 1).
- Non-destructive, non-linear editing.
- An unlimited number of tracks per session/project.
- An unlimited number of overlapping clips per track.
- Platform: Linux
Qtractor Demo
11.MusE
MusE is a MIDI/Audio sequencer with recording and editing. MusE aims to be a complete multitrack virtual studio for Linux.
MusE Features
- Realtime Record/Playback several mono/stereo inputs/outputs.
- Graphical editing of automation
- Several types of audio tracks: Audio inputs, Audio outputs, Wave tracks, Group tracks, Aux outputs
- Standardized plugin formats: LADSPA, DSSI, VST
- Drag and drop import and arranging of: Plugins and plugin presets, Parts, Midi files, Audio files, Aux outputs
- Platform: Linux
12.Linux Sampler
The LinuxSampler is an open source audio sampler with high stability, efficiency, and very low latency, providing professional grade features, comparable to both hardware and commercial Windows/Mac software samplers.
Platform: Windows / Mac
13.Spek – Acoustic Spectrum Analyser
Spek helps to analyze your audio files by showing their spectrogram.
Spek Features
- Supports all popular lossy and lossless audio file formats thanks to the FFmpeg libraries.
- Ultra-fast signal processing uses multiple threads to further speed up the analysis.
- Shows the codec name and the audio signal parameters.
- Allows saving the spectrogram as an image file.
- Drag-and-drop support; associates with common audio file formats.
- Auto-fitting time, frequency and spectral density rulers.
- Adjustable spectral density range.
- Translated into 19 languages.
- Platform: Unix, Windows and Mac OS X.
14.MuLab – Free Limited Version
MuLab 6.0 features an enhanced look and feel and a rich collection of new and improved features throughout the app that all together seriously increase the creativity, comfort, and productivity of MuLab.
MuLab DAW Features
- Create, record, edit and play multi-track audio & music.
- Flexible tracks and sub-tracks support audio, MIDI and automation parts.
- Easy modular architecture.
- Top-quality uncompromised sound engine.
- Super-fat oscillators with 300 selected waveforms + support for user waveforms.
- Multi-core CPU support.
- Automatic mono/stereo handling.
- Advanced integration between composer and sound engine.
- Automation parts let you easily automate any parameter in the modular tree structure, even the deepest nested ones.
- Platform: Mac, Windows
MuLab 6 Intro
15.Garageband
GarageBand is the easiest way to create a great-sounding song on your Mac. Add realistic, impeccably produced and performed drum grooves to your song with Drummer.
Garageband Features
- Add a virtual session drummer to your song that takes direction and plays realistic beats
- Create a song with up to 255 tracks
- Quickly change the timing of an audio recording using Flex Time
- Use your iPad and Multi-Touch gestures to wirelessly play any GarageBand instrument on your Mac
- Choose your best performance with multi-take recording
- Platform: Free with Mac OS
Software Example – New Trap Beat on Garageband
Suggested Music Equipment
Here are the most popular and top rated music production products online.
MIDI Drum Controllers
MIDI Keyboard
USB Audio Interfaces
Studio Monitors
I hope you guys find this software to be helpful.
If you are looking for more software options make sure you check out 8 Popular Music Software Programs.
Did I miss any other free music production software programs?
P.S. If you want access to more free VST plugins, free samples, drums, and our best free content sign up for our newsletter.
Here is a helpful beginner’s guide on How to Make Beats and make music. This guide is for new music producers, but even if you are a pro, you may find helpful links on how to make better music.
Table of Contents
- 1 Music Equipment
- 2 Music Production Software
- 3 How to Make Beats
- 4 Free Drum Kits & VST Plugins
- 5 Song Arrangements
- 6 Mixing Music
- 7 Exporting Beats
- 8 Music Glossary Terms
- 9 Advanced Videos & Articles
- 10 Common Beginner Questions
Introduction to How to Make Beats
There are many aspects to making music. From learning software to making the beat, to mixing the audio, to exporting audio for music artists.
Learning to make your own beats can be an overwhelming process, but this guide covers a lot of the basics to make it easier for you to learn.
Let’s get started!
1. Music Equipment Basics
Your music equipment will be the foundation of your music-making process.
In the beginning, we all want to be like the big music producers we see online with the room full of music equipment, but you don’t need all that when you are getting started, and here is why:
- Music Equipment is Expensive
Limit your spending to the basic equipment at first, and then buy more advanced gear when you are earning money. - Time & Learning
The more equipment you buy, the more equipment you have to learn, and less time is spent on learning to make better music.
Remember this…
It’s not about the music equipment or software you are using, but about the person using the equipment.
Your ear for music, skill, and talent matters more than the equipment you are using.
Dr. Dre’s music equipment didn’t make him the big music producer he is today. His ear for music and talent did, so don’t think you need a big studio to make good music.
The 6 Music Equipment Essentials
Here are the very basics of what you need to make music.
1. Music Computer
A computer is a must have to use any music software.
Microsoft Windows computers are more popular for creating music because there is more software available for free.
Music Poll: Mac vs. PC
2. Music Software
Music software is essential for recording and making music.
3. Midi Keyboard
Making beats is much easier and creative when you have a keyboard to play.
4. Studio Headphones
Headphones will let you hear all the different elements when making music.
Make Music Free
5. Studio Monitors
Studio monitors are great for listening to your beats. (Optional)
6. External Hard Drives
Backing up your work is important and they provide additional storage space. (Optional)
That is the basic equipment you need to make beats.
If you have a limited budget, you can consider buying used music equipment from sites like Craigslist.
2. Music Production Software
There are tons of music software programs available, but which one is best? Watch the video below.
Music Software Overview
The Top 3 Beat Making Software Programs
#1. Image Line FL Studio
FL Studio (formerly known as Fruity Loops ) is a digital audio workstation developed by Image-Line. FL Studio features a graphical user interface based on a pattern-based music sequencer.
Why FL Studio is Popular:
- It’s easy to learn.
- Cheaper than many other programs.
- Supports VST plugins, samples, and other software programs.
- Making patterns and arrangements is easy.
- Offers tons of built-in instruments.
Learn More | Video | Free Trial | Buy It
FL Studio Links:
#2. Propellerhead Reason
Propellerhead Reason is a digital audio workstation for creating and editing music and audio developed by Propellerhead Software. It emulates a rack of hardware synthesizers, samplers, signal processors, sequencers, and mixers.
Why it’s popular:
- Includes tons of instruments: Synthesizers, Samplers, Drum Machines, Effects.
- Cool interface, racks, and mixer.
- ReWire allows you to use Reason in other popular music software programs.
- Add additional sounds called Refills.
Learn More | Video | Free Trial | Buy It
Reason Links
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#3. Apple Logic
Logic Pro is a digital audio workstation and Musical Instrument Digital Interface MIDI sequencer software application for the Mac OS X platform.
Why it’s popular:
- Nice-looking interface.
- The virtual instruments and session drummer work well and sound incredible.
- Mixing, effects, and automation
- Enhanced Piano Roll Editor.
You should research the programs above and see what works best for your needs.
What is the most popular music software?
FL Studio was voted the most popular music software in the poll we ran. So you may want to look into that program if you are a beginner.
Music Software Related Links:
- How to connect a midi keyboard to FL Studio, Reason, Logic
3. How to Make Beats
Making beats may actually be easier than you think if you have an ear for music. Beats are essentially loops that are rearranged and repeated.
Beats can be simple, or beats can be complex.
It’s all about giving the music artist a good foundation to get their creative juices going to make a great song.
Basic Beat Elements
1. Drums– Songs usually consist of kick drums, a snare or clap, hi-hats or shakers, cymbals, and other drum sounds.
2. Melodies – The melodies are the instruments that are played over the drums. The instrument can be a piano, synth, bass, strings, live instruments, and more.
3. Samples – A lot of Hip Hop beats feature samples that have been chopped and reorganized to fit a drum pattern.
How to Make a Beat
Here is an example of how to make a beat. Even though the beat below is made in FL Studio the same process can be applied to other music software programs and hardware. Lay out your drums, add instruments, and arrange your beat into a full song.
Beat Making Tutorials
The examples below are made with different music equipment and software, but the process is very much the same for all the different music genres.
Beat Making Inspiration
Beat Making Tips
Here is a collection of beat-making tips to use when making your own beats.
- Focus on mastering the one program you choose to use. Don’t try to learn everything at once.
- Study your favorite music producers. Try to recreate your favorite beats to understand how beats are made.
- Collaborate with others.
- Beats should usually stay under 3 1/2 minutes.
- Import MIDI. If you don’t know how to play the keyboard well, try importing MIDI files and edit the notes in your music software.
- When you need inspiration look at beat-making videos.
Music Tempo Guide
Here are a few of the suggested tempos for different music genres.
- Hip Hop: 76 to 95 BPM
- R&B: 72 to 110 BPM
- Dance: 112 to 145 BPM
- Dubstep: 138 to 145 BPM
- Rock: 72 to 95 BPM
- Trap: 130 to 140 BPM
- Techno: 220 to 125 BPM
Beat Making Helpful Links
Other Music Topics
- Baseline Tips for Sampled Beats Part 1 & Part 2
4. Free Drum Kits & VST Plugins
Below we have put together some of our best free resources for you to download and add to your music making collection.
Free Drum Samples & Drum Kits
Free VST Plugins
Popular Free Sample Packs
5. Song Arrangements
Once you have a good understanding of putting together a beat, next you need to understand song structures. Different music genres are laid out differently. Song tempo and length may vary.
Common Song Sections
Intro
Usually has fewer elements and builds up to the verse or hook.
Verse
Usually a simpler version of the beat, allowing room for vocals. Usually 16 bars.
Hook
Usually has the most elements in a song and repeats a chorus. Usually 8 bars.
Bridge
Usually appears before the last verse. Usually appears in R&B and Pop songs. Usually 8 bars.
Outro
Usually fades the song out.
Solo
This is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer.
Common Song Structures
Intro – Verse – Hook – Verse – Hook– Verse – Hook– Outro
or
Intro – Hook– Verse – Hook–Verse – Hook–Verse – Hook–Outro
R&B Songs
Intro – Verse – Hook – Verse – Hook– Bridge –Hook–Hook–Outro
Rock Songs
Intro – Verse – Hook– Verse – Hook– Solo–Hook–Hook–Outro
The examples above are just examples. You should study your favorite songs to see how they are structured. You can also search Genius.com for song lyrics, and see the order of song lyrics.
Helpful Links on Song Structure
- How to Rap: Song Structure ( Understanding Bars )
- Beats, Bars, & Phrases ( How to Count Music )
6. Mixing Music
Once you have a good beat, you want to make sure the audio is mixed well to sound good on different devices.
Audio mixing is the process of taking all the individual tracks and instruments, adjusting the audio levels, panning, adding effects, and more.
Mixing the audio will help to make sure your beat sounds good on your computer, car, home stereo, and more.
Basic Mixing Theory
How To Mix Hip Hop Beats
This video is done in FL Studio, but the same rules apply to other music production software.
10 Audio Mixing Tips
10 Audio Mixing Tips
- Start with high-quality sounds.
- Use studio monitors.
- Use Multiple Sound References – Test out your audio mix on your computer, in your car, with headphones, with monitors, etc.
- Gain Staging – Get your levels right, avoid audio clipping.
- Get good with EQ.
- Give your ears a break. Take breaks from mixing and come back with a fresh pair of ears.
- Rely on your ears. Don’t focus on what you see on the screen.
- Use panning.
- Mix at low levels at first, then turn the volume up.
- Listen to top quality mixes as a reference of what you should strive for.
Tutorials on Audio Mixing
- How to mix beats in FL Studio or Reason
Basic Audio Mixing Terms
- Clipping – Clipping is a form of audio distortion that happens when audio is too loud.
- Equalization ( a.k.a EQ ) is the process of adjusting the frequency of the audio or instrument.
- Panning is the process of adjusting the audio to the left speaker, right speaker, or center.
- Effects – Effects is the process of adding reverbs, delays, echoes, and more to audio tracks.
7. Exporting & Tracking Out Beats
Exporting is the process of saving your beat to your computer. All music programs will have an export option.
The most popular file formats are WAV and Mp3.
- WAV – This file format is high quality and usually uncompressed. The file size is much larger compared to mp3.
- MP3 – This file format is compressed, so the file size is much smaller and the quality is lower. This format is used more for streaming online.
Tracking Out Beats
Tracking out beats, also known as “Bouncing Audio,” is the process of exporting all the individual instruments and sounds into separate audio files so they can be mixed in another audio program.
Sometimes music artists request beats to be tracked out so they can make adjustments to the beat to fit with their vocals. The artist may add or remove elements from the beat.
How to Track Out Beats In FL Studio
The tutorial below is done in FL Studio, but the same process can pretty much be done in other music programs. Once all the individual instruments are exported, they would be imported into an audio program.
Helpful Links
8. Music Glossary Terms
Here is a collection of common music production glossary terms and definitions for music newbies.
Music Terms
- Digital Audio Workstation ( DAW ) – This is a computer software program for recording, editing, and producing audio files such as songs, beats, and sound effects.
- Musical Instrument Digital Interface ( MIDI ) – MIDI allows electronic music instruments, computers, and other devices to connect and communicate with one another.
- Virtual Studio Technology ( VST )
This is a software interface that can add instruments ( Examples: Synth, Piano, Bass, etc. ) and effect plugins to music programs. - WAVeform ( WAV ) – WAV is an audio file format.
- Synthesizer ( Synth ) – A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates electric signals that are converted to sound through instrument amplifiers.
- Metronome – A metronome is a device that produces regular ticks – settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular pulse.
- 16 Bars -16 Bars is a reference to how long a usual rap verse is. Rap Song Structure
- Tempo is the speed or pace of the music. The same info for Beats Per Minute ( BPM ).
- Chords – A chord is a harmonic set of three or more notes played at once. Video
- Music Theory – The study of music elements, including sound and pitch, rhythm, melody, harmony, and notation.
- Drum Machine – A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums, cymbals, other percussion instruments, and often bass lines.
Audio Mixing Terms
- Clipping -Clipping is a form of audio distortion that happens when audio is too loud.
- Equalization ( EQ ) – EQ is the process of adjusting the frequency of the audio or instrument.
- Panning – Panning is the process of adjusting the audio to the left speaker, right speaker, or center.
- Effects – Effects is the process of adding reverbs, delays, echoes, and more to audio tracks.
General Terms
- Mastering Audio is the process merging all mixed audio and preparing it for distribution.
- Bounce or Bouncing – Bouncing audio is the process of exporting individual audio tracks in your audio mix.
9. Advanced Video Tutorials
Here are a couple of videos with more details on how to make music.
How to Start Producing Music
How to Make Music without Knowing Music Theory
Make Music Beats On Computer Download
How to Get Started Making Music
Beat Making Articles
10. Common Beginner Questions
1. Do I need to master my beats?
No, songs are usually mastered when a song is completed with vocals. But you should mix your beat so it sounds good on the listener’s speakers.
2. I don’t have money to buy music equipment, what do I do?
If you have a computer you can start making music with free music software. You can even download free trials for paid software to start learning the programs.
I suggest you start saving up for a MIDI keyboard. You can get a USB MIDI keyboard for as low as $50.
FL Studio ( Fruity Edition ) may be the cheapest paid music software option out. With a computer, MIDI keyboard, headphones, and music software, you are pretty much set with being able to make music.
3. Which is better, Hardware or Software?
They are both equally good. It’s all about personal preference. You can make good music with software only. You can make good music with hardware also.
Start Making Music!
There are a lot of different aspects involved with making music.
Here are my top 3 suggestions:
1. Make Lots of Music!
Skills are built through repetition. When you do something multiple times you get better, grow, and it becomes easier.
2. Work with Music Artists
There is nothing like getting hands-on experience. You can make beats forever by yourself, but there is an end goal, which is to see songs made with your beats.
By working with music artists you will get requests for instruments, song rearrangements, and creating different types of moods and feelings with your beats.
These experiences will help you grow to see what music artists are thinking of, and how to meet their needs to make good music.
3. Be a Self-Learner
Because of the internet, you can learn almost anything online. If there are things you want to know or learn, do a Google search or look on YouTube.
If you want to learn faster by skilled music creators, take an online music course.
Either way, there is so much information online at your disposal that there is no excuse to not learn and become more skilled on your own.
If you have input on this article or feel the article is missing something, please share in the comments section.
Next check out our beginners guide on How to Sell Beats to make money from your beats.
Select a DAW.Create Music Beats On Computer
DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation. Different DAWs have different system requirements, so knowing which DAW you’ll use can help you determine the kind of computer you’ll need to build or buy. There are many DAWs available, so you should research the one best for you, but a few popular options include:[1]- Image-Line FL Studio, which is one of the more robust options in the Fruity Loops brand. As a bonus, this DAW generally includes free updates.
- Ableton Live is a popular choice among composers and performers. It integrates well with supplemental hardware, like synthesizers and the Push 2 controller.
- Think of controllers as a physical interface for your DAW. By pressing a button on a controller, you can create sound in your DAW.
- Steinberg Cubase Pro is a well-balanced DAW with specialized digital tools, like the chromatic adjustment function in the Sampler Track interface.
- Avid Pro Tools is perhaps the best known DAW among lay-producers. Pro Tools is a dependable DAW that you'll find in many studios.
- Apple Logic Pro is relatively easy to use, with clear labels and intuitive graphical user interface. However, this DAW is only available for Apple products.[2]
- Reaper is a DAW you can download and use for a trial period of 60 days. Following that, you'll be asked to pay $60 or make a donation, but you'll still have the option to decline payment and continue using the program.