best free music making software with midi keyboard

#BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH MIDI KEYBOARD FULL#
#BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH MIDI KEYBOARD ANDROID#
#BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH MIDI KEYBOARD PRO#

First, there’s the mapping mentioned in the walkthrough, where a range of notes is assigned to play an audio clip at different pitches. Do bear in mind that, thanks to MIDI mapping, the keys can also be used as buttons in themselves, which can lead to a couple of interesting functions. At different times in a set, it can be used to play instrument parts at others, it can be a controller, if it has knobs and buttons and faders. A cheap MIDI keyboard is also a generic platform for live use, and is both effective and disposable. There’s no point in using a new musical interface unless you’re actually going to create new music. Also, if you’re performing established music rather than creating new material, a piano layout is a much better bet – that’s what they were made for.

Keyboards are great for anything that requires a dynamic musical performance, but I’m well aware that they meet resistance in certain quarters as a teacher, I’ve seen kids flat-out refuse to touch a ‘piano’, but give them some drum pads and some colourful lights and you can’t hold them back. With USB, power shouldn’t be a consideration, either, as they mostly run on the power provided by the connection, while with MIDI you might need a mains power supply. If you have the luxury of choosing whether to connect through either USB or MIDI, use whichever is most convenient in terms of cable management. If you don’t have that, use your favourite third-party instrument plug-ins, if they have suitable controls. Our walkthrough uses Live 10, but any recent version of the Live Suite, with the additional instruments will see you through. There is no official ‘Push Keyboard’ as such at the moment, although the Novation probably comes closest, but I’d love to see one, with the physical controls and the display from Push, but with a 49- or 61-note keyboard added. All of these will make you feel at home as far as note layout goes, while adding various levels of software integration.

At the moment, if you want to kind of keep a keyboard layout while getting groovy hands-on control, you could look at offerings such as the Novation SL MkIII, ROLI’s Seaboard or LUMI, Native Instruments’ Komplete Kontrol, or the Akai Advance range.

#BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH MIDI KEYBOARD FULL#

To understand the full benefits of using a MIDI keyboard with Live, you could also explore some of the more exotic creations that are on offer.

#BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH MIDI KEYBOARD PRO#

In the future, you might be in a band or studio situation where you need to hook up to Cubase, Logic or Pro Tools and a keyboard will keep you more versatile than a grid of pretty lights. It’s never a good idea to get too dogmatic or too invested in one particular piece of music software. Maybe the most important reason to keep a keyboard handy is that using it can impart transferable skills. If you have a keyboard at home already, make sure to give it some love from time to time and find it a space next to your fancy LED boxes.įor the actual playing of musical parts, nothing has ever overshadowed the basic keyboard, even if it gives you nightmarish flashbacks to childhood piano lessons.

#BEST FREE MUSIC MAKING SOFTWARE WITH MIDI KEYBOARD ANDROID#

Unlike Push, for example, a keyboard simply works with any music software on your computer – and maybe with iOS and Android devices, too. The good old MIDI keyboard might seem a tad redundant when we have so many high-tech ways to control Live, but it can still be one of our best friends.

Best free music making software with midi keyboard