Free Electronic Music Software – Choices To Start With Right Now

By Joonas Kreen

If you are looking for a free electronic music software, then this article lists some digital audio workstations (aka DAW) that enable you to start music right now, without spending a dime. Although the free versions usually have slightly less features than the paid software, the following programs are surprisingly close to the professional ones in their capabilities. They can be an excellent solution for someone who is on a low budget, or just wants to give it try without having to invest a lot of money. So, without further intro, let us jump right into the topic.

Depending on the operation system that your computer is running on, there is free electronic music software available both for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

GarageBand and Ardour

The good news for Mac users is that it comes with a pre-installed music making software called GarageBand, which is a great tool to begin with. While being an audio editing and mixing tool, it also enables you to work with MIDI files – an important feature that is essential for making electronic music. Mac users can also try Ardour, which is an even more comprehensive open-source DAW, being compatible also for Linux.

Wavosaur

Wavosaur is a Windows-oriented tool, containing a support for VST plugins and instruments. The uniqueness of this program lies in the fact that it requires no installing. This way it can be placed onto a USB memory stick, and be easily transported between multiple computers.

LMMS

LMMS is a versatile music production environment, that can be run not only on Windows, but also on other operation systems. With its decent capabilities, this DAW can be compared to some commercial programs, since it offers such functions as putting together melodies and rhythms, creating and mixing various sounds, and manipulating with samples.

Traverso DAW

Traverso DAW is another completely free electronic music software. It is a cross-platform multi-track audio recording and editing program, which lets you create electronic songs from start to finish. While known for its intuitive and simple user-interface, it harbours the utilities and operations that are usually contained in paid music production tools. Routing multiple tracks into one channel is only one example of a valuable built-in function, that can save a lot of CPU power as you start working with larger projects.

MU.LAB

Another program that I decided to put into this list of free electronic music software, is MU.LAB. Although you can pay for the full version, which has slightly more features, there is this essential non-paid version called MU.LAB free, which delivers pristine audio quality. Containing all the tools to start making electronic music, this software works both in Windows and Mac.

Joonas Kreen is a musician, who produces electronic music mixed with acoustic instruments. Click here to get a free download of his latest single and hear what his music sounds like.