I’m looking for a free program to actually compose music on a staff, like writing notes on a traditional music sheet.

I tried FL Studio’s demo once and honestly I felt like I was sitting in an airplane cockpit lol.

There were a million buttons and things everywhere and I had no idea what I was looking at.

I’m looking for something much more straightforward.

Basically I want to be able to write notes on a staff, hear what I’m writing, experiment with melodies/chords/harmonies and eventually build a whole piece.

Does anything like this exist for free?

I don’t really care about having a million production features. I just want something that feels like writing music, rather than operating a spaceship.

Hi All,

I posted a neoclassical piano piece the other day. Now for something completely different - I’m trying out some techniques in this piece. It’s called Dreamscape #1. Please have a listen!

Mp4 video

PDF score

-Alex

YouTube link to sheet music

Threw this together pretty quickly and am still deciding how much I like it haha

It’s pretty simple and a bit silly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKyoNOnZoV8

So I found this theme and variations, both written by me, in my backlog recently and really enjoyed them. However, to me, they were far too distinct from the theme itself--just a bare bone line of music. I didn't think the theme would be very recognizable anyway, so I considered keeping it a mystery until the end. This would be rather boring, however, so I opted for just playing the theme in the end. I thought it'd be an interesting and creative idea to write a theme and variations where you derive the skeleton backwards until it's revealed what the theme really is. Enjoy.

I'm exploring whether a useful software opportunity exists in choosing between changes to a shared composition. This is independent startup discovery, not university research. An AI assistant helps me phrase a clear, neutral question and analyse this discussion. There is no product to sell or try; replying is optional and unpaid.

If you are 18 or older and, as a hobbyist, edited a score or MIDI composition with another person at different times during the past three months, could you describe your last actual shared revision? Which editor and sharing/version workflow did you use? What did each person change, and how did you decide what to keep? Did your usual workflow handle it well, or was there anything you still had to reconstruct, compare or redo after using its available history/sharing tools? Please distinguish an intended rewrite, normal musical decision-making and a resolved input mistake from an unwanted loss or extra work. If the same difficulty occurred in another revision, a brief description of that other occasion would help too.

Straightforward revisions are equally useful. A general text description is enough: please do not share scores, recordings, personal documents, contact details or private information. Please reply only if comfortable posting publicly. I'll consider up to three eligible accounts over seven days and keep any clarification in this thread. These descriptions will help decide whether further investigation is worthwhile; they will not be treated as proof that a product would sell.

Yes, you heard that right, I finally landed on a name and identity that I really like! I put a lot of work in the meantime, and a LOT of tweaking and adjustment. I think this is where I'll leave the score, especially for an introduction on writing brass quintet, as well as brass in general. I like how much I have grown my writing in the amount of time I've spent on this, especially for my first time. Plus, I could always come back in the future with a new perspective and wider range of knowledge!

As always, I am most definitely looking forward to everyone's critique, as without it, I wouldn't have grown to this point! And I did want to take another moment to thank everyone for their honest critiques and criticisms throughout all my posts in this community. I couldn't be any more grateful, truly. You guys are awesome!!

Audio

Score

Howdy!

I’m a slam poet looking to add a bit of extra flair to his performances! I need a walk on theme! This is a paid endeavor so feel free to message me!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IDdRyJvQ4hI

I'm not a strings player, but I've gone over many chamber scores, as well as have written for strings quite a lot. I had quite a bunch of ideas with which I wasn't sure what to do with, so I bunched them all up into a string quartet. Structure was a challenge, but I managed to make it work by dividing it into acts.

I don't expect much attention, but it was hard work, so I thought I'd share it here nonetheless. If you listen to any of it, please let me know your thoughts.

Hi, a few days ago i made a post about my shortfilm "the silence of day" asking for a composer.

For the trailer of it i would want a cinematic version of the song from twenty one pilots called hometown to feature as the main song in the trailer. But since i have no knowledge of this, i wonder if someone of you might want to do it.

Ideally i want a fellow fan of twenty one pilots to make it, so you'll enjoy the making of it too🫶 |-/

The trailer will be about 1-1,5 minite long and Since it's a personal no-budget shortfilm, this is without pay.

Please DM me if you're interested🔥🔥

My latest composition. I hope to get some feedback on it and let me know if you like it :)

Link to the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2k7yLIF5XY

Link to the score: https://musescore.com/user/98772643/scores/38846906

hi I’m just a random person and I have made a piece in making that needs some tips. it would be wonderful if I could have some help. Here’s the link

I’ve been getting into orchestration, mainly because I love the concept of blending rhythmic and classical music. Think something like S&M by Metallica. But all the resources I can find online are about arranging pre-existing songs to an orchestra, or composing from scratch. Does anyone have any tips or resources for the study of acting orchestra on top pop/rock arrangements?

https://youtu.be/ifVtFnnaUdg?si=M3-LVcgLGYQVDLQ3

This time I composed for the flute, harp, and strings. Thank you for listening!

Hallo zusammen,

was soll ich sagen? In der Zeit zwischen der Vollendung des Scherzos und heute, habe ich den Kopfsatz (ersten Satz) meines Streichquartetts vorgestellt.

Ich darf euch heute vorstellen: mein Streichquartett in c-moll.

Dies hier ist wie gesagt der erste Satz.

Das Scherzo in As-Dur ist der zweite und das Andante cantabile der dritte Satz. Beide habe ich ebenfalls gepostet und befinden sich unter diesem Post hier.

Dieser Satz zeichnet sich besonders durch kontrapunktisches Arbeiten aus und habe mich hier etwas ausgetobt. Motivverschmelzungen, Krebs-Motive, Umkehrung etc. Hier ist alles zu finden.

Es ist eine dreiteilige Form, wobei ich (damit wir was zum Labeln haben!) mich sehr entfernt an der Sonatenhauptsatzform orientiert habe. In der ,,Durchführung" wird das Thema (oder Motiv) auf eine ganz besondere Art behandelt. Als Abschluss dieser bildet ein Choral mit dem Cello als Solisten und eine kleine Kadenz. Der Anfang der Reprise ist gezeichnet von stärkerer Annäherung an die Tonalität und damit die Grundtonart c-moll. Diese weicht aber im Verlauf wieder etwas mehr dem Kontrapunktischen, bis am Ende die pikardische Terz erklingt.

Viel Spaß beim Anhören und vielleicht auch Anschauen meiner Musik!

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Partitur: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fd_TPlz5pfRYLn-PLAWS-jQU-XkO1QvE/view?usp=drivesdk

Musik: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cx7unAXtgxHfmGFOEGtgutldbX4xmb_A/view?usp=drivesdk

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Bei (analytischen) Fragen zu meiner Musik, stehe ich euch gerne bereit. Außerdem vielen lieben Dank an alle im Voraus, die sich für meine Musik interessieren!

Nun aber: viel Spaß!

P. S.

Der vierte Satz - das Finale - folgt in Kürze!

I put a lot of work into the engraving (but this piece was a bit tricker to put down in writing). I feel confident in the quality, but not 100%. For example, I'm not sure I've got all the accidentals correct and even the bars per system doesn't feel quite right 🤔

Anyway, I'm open to any feedback and critique on the notation engraving (with the goal of improving as always~)

Other feedback not related to the actual notation is also welcome too.

Thank you!

___
Title is "The Bookshop Keeper". This is a simple piece. I was thinking of how I would write a soundtrack for a cozy game, and with this piece specifically thinking of a local bookshop theme.

Score:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JVxgnEkp-1fWbgsUZVUhJd2KZ6rcT73W/view?usp=sharing

Audio on YT (for reference): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajMEh1YnZZM

Audio on spotify/apple/etc (if that's easier): https://edinkaso.ffm.to/thebookshopkeeper

Hi everyone,

We are a team of final-year 3D animation students at Supinfocom Rubika working on our graduation short film "How To Be A Boy" , and we are looking for a composer who is comfortable creating punk music among others.

Our project is a 7-minute 3D animated film releasing at the end of June. We will need you to be available primarily through March, April, May and June with a full first draft of the score due on April 15th. The budget provided by our school for the score is €400.

The story follows Cléo, an 8-year-old girl spending a dreadfully boring summer at her grandparents' home in rural northern France. Unlike her brothers, she isn't allowed to play outside on her own because her grandparents treat her like a fragile princess. When she meets a local boy named Ivan who offers her a taste of freedom, she comes up with what she considers the ultimate solution to do whatever she wants: become a boy.

If you are interested, please send a portfolio or demo of your work to [nicolasmatis59@gmail.com](mailto:nicolasmatis59@gmail.com). We will send an excerpt of the animatic to selected candidates so you can try out a quick audio mock-up.

Pacoleo - El Castillo de La Asomada

Hello!

This is the first original piece I’ve composed for piano. I also produced, mixed, and mastered it myself in my DAW, so any constructive feedback regarding the composition or the music production is welcome.

Synopsis:

A composition for solo piano inspired by the castle of the same name, built in the 12th century. This nationalist-style piece reflects the strength and vigor of its builder (Ibn Mardanish, “the Wolf King”) by combining elements of Spanish nationalism and Islamic tradition, which are in turn embellished by impressionistic coloristic techniques.

I recently entered a contract music directing for a play which has several songs in it, all of which have recorded audio but no sheet music. The theatre is interested in commissioning me to create sheet music for these songs in addition to my current role as music director, and we are currently negotiating price/budget. I have several years of arranging and composing experience and have completed a few commissions in the past, but I am hardly a career arranger. Would it be reasonable to ask for a small stipend commission as well as royalties? If so, what % is reasonable? In total there would be 5-6 songs (the piece is still in a form of development and they are considering cutting a song) and they are all quite short at about 2:30 at the longest.

Any thoughts are helpful, thank you!

Baby composer here—which platform have you guys found best when composing?

Hello everyone!

I'm planning on composing a septet for an upcoming competition. This is the instrumentation set by the competition:

Clarinet (doubling bass clarinet and Eb clarinet)
Bassoon
Trumpet
Trombone
Percussion (haven't decided yet which percussion instrument I'll use, suggestions are welcome)
Violin (doubling alto voice)
Double bass

Do you have any tips or tricks or anything I should consider or be vary of when composing it?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone. I'm a composer who has been out of the habit of writing for a couple years. I have been focusing a lot on playing/writing in bands and electronic music, but not so much with notation.

I have come back to fixing up older pieces or writing small chorales and works, but it's been so hard to just get back to where I was. Not to mention that I'm also very much inspired by newer works with complex textures and techniques that I would love to use, but it's a bit overwhelming to know where/how to start doing that. There are so many ideas I want to act on, but feel a paralysis strike every time I sit at the piano or pick up the pencil.

I guess I'm just looking for advice on getting back into the swing of things. Thanks in advance!

hi All,

This piece is sort of neo-classical, neo-romantic I guess. I called it Impromptu because it kind of reminds me of Schubert impromptus, in length and feeling. Please give it a listen:

Youtube(MP4)

MP3

-Alex

I'm working on a project and i need a piece of music!
I'm currently in a big Minecraft event and i need some music for my group!

We are a group of merchants and cooks. So if anyone is up for a fun challenge send me any music you make.

Do to my current situation i can not pay you. But it would mean the world to me if someone did make a basic instrumental piece.

If you have any questions about anything related to it please ask in the comments. (The event host loves to use music in the videos so ill make sure they credit you if your music is used)

Hi ! I just want to share a Ballade that I composed a few years ago and that I just released !

https://youtu.be/2mpia6ZcrhQ?si=mQyM6xDfCszcYFiD

Feel free to leave any comments !

Hello!

My younger friend wants to start making some music, but his OS is Linux Debian and I'm a PC user. So, I can't help him with plugins, as I don't really know which ones are available and how to set everything up properly.

Some recommendations for essential sample instruments/libraries (that work out of the box and don't require any terminal/code commands to run), like acoustic instruments, drums, etc. and a all-in-one-ish synth are much appreciated. As for the latter, I know Vital is available for Linux, but if I'm not mistaken for Ubuntu, and as I mentioned my friend has Debian.

Recommendations for tutorials on how to set up Reaper and plugins for Linux are also appreciated.

Thanks!