Looking for advice on music-creating software

[Mike That Likes Music]

Hi everyone,
I'm about to get into the world of PC-created music and I'm hoping for a bit of guidance. Here's what I'm looking for:
I have a bit of an odd set of skills concerning music. That is - I'm a musician, but I know next to nothing about creating it digitally. Basically I know a fair amount about music and not much at all about computer programs. To confound things even further, I'm a drummer - rythm comes naturally to me, but melody is a bit forced. So I'd like something relatively "for dummies" when it comes to the computer application, but I don't need it to tell me things like "This is called a quarter note, here's what it does". I have no idea of the range of music creation programs out there, so I don't even know if this rather unusual combo exists. Any help is much appreciated.
Mike

[FLZapped]

Hi everyone,
I'm about to get into the world of PC-created music and I'm hoping for a bit of guidance. Here's what I'm looking for:
I have a bit of an odd set of skills concerning music. That is - I'm a musician, but I know next to nothing about creating it digitally. Basically I know a fair amount about music and not much at all about computer programs. To confound things even further, I'm a drummer - rythm comes naturally to me, but melody is a bit forced. So I'd like something relatively "for dummies" when it comes to the computer application, but I don't need it to tell me things like "This is called a quarter note, here's what it does". I have no idea of the range of music creation programs out there, so I don't even know if this rather unusual combo exists. Any help is much appreciated.
Mike

So when you say create music, are you just looking to score music, create music to play through a synthesizer, or some combination thereof?

There are a HUGE number of choices in this field, so a little more input would be helpful here.

For creating music primarily to be played through a synth, you have programs like Cakewalk. You can get plug-ins from third party vendors like Band-in-a-Box or JMT Orchestrator to help with the fill.

If you need printed music above all else, then you're talking Sibelius, or Finale, which are score based.

Even though this isn't in you're question, if you're looking to record, then you have to look at programs like Cakewalk's higher-end stuff (SONAR) and Pro-Tools. (and more hardware)

There's a mind numbing array of choices, which I haven't even knocked the dust off of. However, one thing is clear, no PC has a decent synthesizer built into it's soundcard. You'll either need software synths or external hardware synths to get respectable results.

If you get yourself a couple copies of Electronic Musician, you'll see what I mean.

-Bruce

[Dusty Chalk]

Pandora's Box comment -- Yeah, really!

There's a gazillion such software -- everything from specialized modules to mix-n-match yourself type stuff.

I don't have a Mac, but you might seriously want to look at GarageBand if you do.

I need to know more -- do you want to do this entirely on your computer, or are you going to (at least) attach a keyboard to enter notes? Or are you even going to eventually record external sounds as part of the music (voice, etc.)? Do you want to do it all, or do you want a lot of help? Do you want to write loop-oriented music, or more linear type music?

How deep do you want to go? There's something called "FruityLoops" that is very rhythm-oriented, but you actually may not want that, since the rhythm part is your strength (FruityLoops helps in the rhythm area). There's also something that's more "mix" oriented (I forget what it's called, though -- a lot of pop groups provided samples and this software that let listeners provide their own remixes of songs -- Mix Master Pro? Or something like that. Is that the direction you want to go in?

I suggest (especially if you haven't got a computer yet) just getting a Mac and going to town with GarageBand -- I have a friend (on this very board!) who is...well, was...a complete novice and is already releasing his own CD's.

If you're already bent on Windows, then you may want to start thinking about those types of questions, and then head over to Harmony Central, where there's a lot more information about this sort of thing. I don't think they have forums, though.