Making Music on the computer

Rhino

All the midi maker/creator software we've tried has either been buggy or crash horribly on our computers. Also from the appearance of the apps, the midi scene apparently died with windows 3.1? :P

What software is good for creating midis or other music?

We basically have some music (that we have the rights too) and want to pump it into software (notes/tempo) and have it generate something sensible for a video game. Ideally, applying effects or different instruments to the notes would be great.

We'd rather have something computer generated then recorded because the tempo/timing is important.

Topia

Fruity Loops is amazing, but the learning curve is quite high!

Chanus

Big fan of Fruity Loops also... though it does take a bit of learning to get past only being able to do very strict and rigid beats/rhythms.

I've used it many times as a drum machine for live recordings (since I don't a) play the drums well, or b) have any way to record them with any sort of quality).

Edit: And if I had actually read your OP all the way through, it looks like Fruity Loops is great solution. It's also fairly inexpensive for a registered version, if I remember right.

TheScruple

When I was in college a few years ago, I used Melody Assistant for midi authoring. It's not pretty, but it's really easy to use and gets the job done. Also, it's shareware, so no pressure to buy it unless you like what you see. Personally, I'm shocked it's still around, I'd been using it forever.

Seeks

A lot of decent sound software costs money, is the real problem.

FruityLoops is good, but costs money I'm pretty sure. Reason is also very nice.

The only free stuff I can think of are all linux applications, and even then, they mostly suck.*



*I assume

Typhoid Manny

the piano roll in fruity loops is second only to ableton live's, and FL is way more stable if you're running windows. there's a lot of things you can't do with it, like change time signature mid-track, but it is pretty stellar, and easy as damn to learn the basics of.

Chanus

The Fruity Loops Demo is free. Registered versions range from $49-$299, but if I remember right, the $49 version does everything you'll need unless you're doing some really involved stuff.

flatlinegraphics

another recommendation for fruityloops. $49 gets you a heck of a lot. from there, there are a bunch of upgrades to FL, then Reason. Reason is.. well. Reason.

Also, ReBirth is now freeware:
http://www.rebirthmuseum.com/
not sure about the midiness of rebirth, but it is a dance machine in a box.

Hey Ashtray

Skip Fruityloops, get Reason. I've used Reason for 7 years, the version that is out now is truly remarkable, and the company that makes it also has some unbelievably quality sample packs for piano, drums, and bass. There is really nothing this program cannot do (except record real audio, which is being solved by their new program called Record which comes out soon. The Beta is fantastic).

So yeah, Propellerhead's Reason is the way to go. The sequencer has been greatly improved from previous versions, so time signature/tempo changes are no problem to automate, and the Sound Bank that Reason comes with is huge and very good. Plus, tons of free Refills for it.

If you have more questions about it, head one over to www.propellerheads.se

useless4

Reason.

But here is the question... do you want to make music files from them or use the actual midis in the game itself?

If you want to use midi in the game itself, you are limited by the soft synth XG set or sound card the end users may or may not have, not leading to a uniform or pleasant experience.

Aneurhythmia

Typhoid Manny wrote: »

like change time signature mid-track

The stupid part is you could do this prior to 4 or 5, even if it was a bit inelegant.

EggyToast

I'm confused by the "got music" part. Do you have audio tracks that you need to create midi files from? Or do you have the rights to a song, and you're going to re-create it using MIDI? Or someone has created a .mid file for you and you need to check it out and create audio for an application?

What's the actual file format you're starting with, and what is the file format you want to end with?

Vater5B

Sibelius and Finale will both allow you to scan in the sheet music and with some simple editing make a decent MIDI. You can even use the decent beginning sample libraries they come with now to make MP3 audio.

[EDIT] Yeah, I just read that you want it computer generated for tempo and I would re-emphasize my suggestions. Sibelius's virtual playback with the built-in Sibelius Sound Essentials Library sounds stupid good right out of the box, and from what I've heard, Finale has got a very similar package now. You'll be able to darn good computer generated music out of them.

Rhino

EggyToast wrote: »

I'm confused by the "got music" part. Do you have audio tracks that you need to create midi files from? Or do you have the rights to a song, and you're going to re-create it using MIDI? Or someone has created a .mid file for you and you need to check it out and create audio for an application?

What's the actual file format you're starting with, and what is the file format you want to end with?

We have the music, as in the actual sheet music printed on paper.

The output format needs to be [optimal] in ogg; but we can work with wav, mp3s, etc.

The input format doesn't matter. We were thinking midi because that was the way the create music back in the day. It doesn't matter though as long as it's digital.

So we need something were we can input this sheet music and have it digitally output something reasonable sounding with correct tempo/timings.

We'll check out FL and see if that works. It looks promising.

Raern

Reaper is pretty good, it has an uncrippled, unlimited trial, and only costs $60 for a home license. http://www.reaper.fm
Given the free trial, it's gotta be worth a look to see if it's for you. I've only played around with it a little, but had no problem recording midi and audio.

TK-42-1

if youre just making music at home: reason

if youre playing a live show: abelton live

EggyToast

Yes, then you definitely want MIDI. Then it simply matters what you want the songs to sound like. A .mid file by itself is simply data -- you need to point it at an instrument in order to make any noise. And, of course, not all synthesizers are created equally. If you're looking to sound like cheap electronic music (and not awful electronic music), then something like reaper or Fruity Loops or something should at least get you started. And if you want to sound like awful electronic music, use a freebie MIDI app that simply ties into basic General Midi sounds (which are horrible).

Visti

Ableton Live is superawesome once you come to terms with it. If I have to do midi-anything, it's what I go to all the time.

And I use Reaper to record at home, even though I have Pro Tools, even though I do have a Pro Tools license. I really, really like it.

TK-42-1

pro tools is sometimes too much to handle for what youre doing. if youre trying to produce a studio quality album it's good for that. but a lot of the time its just not worth the fuss.

garroad_ran

Rhino wrote: »

All the midi maker/creator software we've tried has either been buggy or crash horribly on our computers. Also from the appearance of the apps, the midi scene apparently died with windows 3.1? :P

What software is good for creating midis or other music?

We basically have some music (that we have the rights too) and want to pump it into software (notes/tempo) and have it generate something sensible for a video game. Ideally, applying effects or different instruments to the notes would be great.

We'd rather have something computer generated then recorded because the tempo/timing is important.

I do this using a combination of Sibelius and Cubase.

Sibelius is used for note entry. If you've got the sheet music it might be easier to just copy it onto sibelius and have it export a midi.

Then I load up the midi in Cubase (or Sonar, Reason, whatever you're using) and assign all my softsynths, then go back and edit the tracks as necessary. I can, as easily, input new parts using my computer keyboard or my MicroKorg.

Cubase then exports a wav file, or any number of other formats.

And I don't know what you're talking about with the midi scene dying after windows 3.1. Midi is putting more musicians out of work today than ever before.