Computer technology has opened up the world of music creation to everyone. Those armed with nothing more than a laptop and a creative vision can easily pop out musical hits and share them on social media or music streaming services. like SoundCloud.
You can install any free music production software to get started, but you don’t need to download music arrangement software if you don’t want to. Choose one of the online tools from the list below.
Audiotool is a free audio production suite. It provides a simulated sound production environment with virtual replicas of many popular studio gadgets and instruments.
Audiotool uses a modular design that allows you to connect a synthesizer and its pedals to create the sound you want. It’s a great way for people who are used to working with traditional studio equipment to get up and running quickly.
Audiotool includes lots of tutorials to help you learn. Alternatively, download one of the demos to see what an expert can get out of this software.
Officially, Chrome Music Lab is a Chrome Experiment aimed at helping kids learn how to make music. However, adults who want to learn the basics of digital music can also use it.
Instead of a single unified sequencer and instrument, the lab is divided into a variety of simple, colorful, and user-friendly music creation tools. The Song Builder is a tool that best demonstrates the principles of melody generation and the sequence of musical notes. Music Labs isn’t the best place to create sound for serious projects, but it’s certainly the most accessible site for creating music online.
Sampulator is a simple tool for creating music samples so you can use them in an arrangement to build songs. The tool comes with several free template packs, and you can purchase more as part of various themed packs. It has a simple, easy-to-understand multi-track timeline, so you can create complete songs with it. Each sample keyboard is associated with a key on your keyboard. So, after practicing some exercises, hit the record button and make your tune.
The only problem is that we can’t figure out how to export our songs. Online research shows that Sampulator supports exporting WAV files, but we couldn’t find a button to do it, which is a puzzling omission.
4. Sound Studio (Free with $1.99 and $6.99 options)
Soundation Studio is one of the most fully featured online music production tools you can use today. A great feature of Soundation is its collaborative projects, where you and other team members can work on a single music project together in the cloud.
The free version has serious limitations that make it unsuitable for professional productions, such as limited audio output quality. However, you can simply sketch some ideas and learn the software without paying.
Rather than being a full musical arranger, PatternSketch is “just” an electronic drum machine written as a web application.
It’s incredibly intuitive to put together beats for your project and export the sounds for use in your master sequencer. There are preset patterns if you just want a classic beat to get on with quickly, and there are also a variety of drum kits to choose from.
6. Acid machine (Free with $7 Windows and Mac app)
As the name suggests, this browser-based tool, still in Beta, is designed for the Acid House music genre. Acid house:
- Support for virtual synths and drum machines
- There is a pattern editor and sequencer that you can use by activating song mode
- Purchased as a standalone desktop app for Windows and Mac
BeepBox is a simple tune sequencer that resembles the classic 8-bit video game chiptunes. It has a simple interface, so you’ll be making cool blep-boop tunes in no time.
One neat feature is that you can store notes and settings in the actual URL. You can “save” your songs by saving the URL to a text file. BeepBox is also available as a downloadable app. Perhaps it would be more convenient to use the save and export feature built into the app.
The online sequencer has the most appropriate name of any of the sites listed here. It’s a musical arranger in the purest sense. Just select the instrument you want and use the pattern editor to arrange the notes in the proper order and timing.
You also don’t have to start from scratch. Others have created nearly two million strings that you can upload and modify.
You now have eight great musical instruments that will run in the web browser. There’s no reason to delay those jam-packed sessions. If you end up cutting or remixing tunes with these tools, post the link below.
