Hey folks. I'm looking for some music-making software that works on Windows. I tried out FruityLoops tonight, but found that it was very... complex, to say the least, and not what I was looking for.

What I want is something akin to GarageBand, especially regarding its http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWHVdpgxSac feature. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Hey there,

I do know of Dubturbo 2.0... I hear it is recommended to steer clear away from it, but I wonder if that's just the bias of those who prefer more "complex" programs, as you have imagined.

I've looked into thoroughly, and it simply is not the program for me, but from what I understand, I think it is right up your alley.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

If you think Fruity Loops is too complex, you won't have much luck with the alternatives considering it's regarded as one of the easiest and most intuitive to use programs. I don't think there is really any serious tool out there that doesn't have a significant learning curve for complete beginners.

There are plenty to choose from today, and they pretty much all carry strengths/weaknesses based on their roots. Fruity Loops for example started out as just a virtual drum machine which has since had more and more features and functionality added to it. Generally suited for dance music but you can create anything you want with it. Cubase, Logic (Mac only if you want the latest versions), and Pro Tools are all fairly similar to eachother but the former two started out purely as MIDI editors while Pro Tools was solely audio recording from the start, and you can sort of tell (I've experienced all sorts of weird bugs when doing heavy MIDI stuff in Pro Tools).

Another popular one aimed more at electronic music is Reason, its niche being that its interface simulates the jungle of cables and wires you'd work with in a physical studio. Then you have stuff like Finale and Sibelius which is for more traditional sheet music/staff writing.

It is not letting me edit my post properly. Some words are clearly not the words I want to put, but I think you can figure out what I mean to say, imagined---> mentioned, etc.

Sorry, this is wrong. Firstly, FL Studio hasn't been called Fruity Loops for years. Secondly, there is no overall 'easiest' DAW. FL Studio is a fully featured professional DAW and a beginner will not find it any easier to work with than Ableton or Reaper or any other professional DAW I could mention. You just have to try a few and see which one has a workflow you prefer.

OP, just about every DAW I've used has the ability to play notes via your PC keyboard. As Sleepy Gecko said, you're not going to find decent music creation software that doesn't come with a significant learning curve. If you want something cheap and basic you could try http://www.z-sys.org/products/zmaestro/, but I've never used it so I can't offer any opinions on it. If you want something professional for an unbelievably cheap price download http://www.reaper.fm/.

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-music-software.htm (can't figure out how to conceal links with a brief message)

I found this for you. Someone on a website reviewed 4 free music creation software. I post it because it may be worth your time to just try out some free stuff (no purchase required).

Perhaps they are even easier to use, and if you practice with them, you can begin to understand the 'general' characteristics present in most software, and this will help you play around with other software and transition to paid software (if you decide you want to).

Give it a go, I say. Hope it helps

I used to use AcidPro and FruityLoops and another when i was growing up.

Many thanks folks. I'll look over all of this tomorrow and see which one suits me best.

Well, that's what I and a whole lot of other people think. I have been making music since the 90's and know my way around a bunch of different DAWs, but for my own personal projects I use FL since the way it works just feels more convenient and I can get things done in a couple of seconds that would usually take a couple of minutes in other DAWs.