List of music software
This is a list of software for creating, performing, learning, analyzing, researching, broadcasting and editing music. This article only includes software, not services. For streaming services such as iHeartRadio, Pandora, Prime Music, and Spotify, see Comparison of on-demand streaming music services. For storage, uploading, downloading and streaming of music via the cloud, see Comparison of online music lockers. This list does not include discontinued historic or legacy software, with the exception of trackers that are still supported.[1][2] For example, the company Ars Nova produces music education software, and its software program Practica Musica has remnants of the historic Palestrina software. Practica will be listed here, but not Palestrina.[3] If a program fits several categories, such as a comprehensive digital audio workstation or a foundation programming language (e.g. Pure Data), listing is limited to its top three categories.
Types of music software
CD ripping software
Choir and learn-to-sing software
- This section includes both choir software and learn-to-sing software. For music learning software, see music education software.
DJ software
Digital audio workstation (DAW) software
Computer music software
Electronic music |
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Experimental forms |
Popular styles |
Other topics |
Internet, RSS, broadcast music software
This section only includes software, not services. For services programs like Spotify, Pandora, Prime Music, etc. see Comparison of on-demand streaming music services. Likewise, list includes music RSS apps, widgets and software, but for a list of actual feeds, see Comparison of feed aggregators. For music broadcast software lists in the cloud, see Content delivery network and Comparison of online music lockers.
- Airtime
- Audicom (First radio automation software—see Radio software)
- Campcaster
- Clickradio
- Juice (aggregator)
- Moodagent (AI based emotion keyed playlist generator and app)
- OpenBroadcaster
- Panopto
- SAM Broadcaster
- RapidFeeds
Lyrics and vocals
- Cantor (music software)
- Rhyme Genie (Algorithms and software for rhyming lyrics)
- SingingCoach
MIDI plug-ins
- Bitcrusher
- Chorus effect
- Delay (audio effect)
- Dither
- Jamstix
- Liquid Rhythm
- MachFive (MOTU Mark of the Unicorn)
- MCDSP (Metropolis Group)
- Midijet pro
- Native Instruments's B4, Electrik Piano, Guitar Rig 2
- OrangeVocoder (Prosoniq)
- Producer Factory Pro Bundle (DigiDesign via Avid Audio)
- SoundFont (Integrates synthesized/sampled MIDI files with recorded music)
- Symphonic Instrument (MOTU Mark of the Unicorn)
- TL Space Native Edition (Trillium Labs dist. by DigiDesign via Avid Audio)
Music analysis software
- BeatRoot
- BRP-PACU
- ChucK
- Kyma (sound design language)
- Pure Data (This software also is used in embedded form for real time algorithmic music generation in Spore (2008 video game))
- Platinum Blue Music Intelligence (from Music Xray company)
- Praat
- Sonic Visualiser
- WaveSurfer
Music circuit software
- Arduinome (software circuit platform)
- CPU Sim
- Electric VLSI Design System
- gLogic
- GNU Circuit Analysis Package
- KTechLab
- Linear Technology (a/d, circuit software, and others.)
- List of free electronics circuit simulators
- LTspice
- Micro-Cap
- MIDIbox (software circuit platform)
- Monome (software circuit platform)
- Ngspice
- Oregano (software)
- Quite Universal Circuit Simulator
- SapWin
- SPICE
- Tenori-on (software circuit platform)
Music composing software
- Antescofo
- Director Musices
- Hyperscore
- JFugue
- Keykit
- Kyma (sound design language)
- Max
- Music Maker
- Music Mouse (Algorithmic synth and composer)
- Nodal
- Ocarina
- OpenMusic
- PetSynth
- Progression
- Reaktor (Software creation of nearly every instrument; reverse engineering encouraged)
- Rubato Composer (First composition software based on Category theory)
Music education software
- EarMaster
- InstrumentChamp (video game for also acoustic guitar, and piano, drum, sax and trumpet; multiplayer)
- Reaktor (software creation of nearly every instrument; reverse engineering encouraged)
- Rocksmith (video game with emphasis on instructional aspects; unique in that controller can be any electric guitar w/ 1/4" jack)
- Synthesia (video game with piano instruction aspects)
- WaveSurfer (studies of acoustic phonetics)
- Yousician (educational game to learn to play guitar and piano)
Music gaming software
- GarageBand
- Beat Saber
- InstrumentChamp
- Crypt of the Necrodancer
- Music Tech
- Rocksmith (Video game with some instructional aspects; unique in that controller can be almost any electric guitar)
Music mathematics software
- JFugue, an API for music programming that is designed to support generative and algorithmic music
- Julia (programming language) (MIT freeware, new, high-level dynamic programming language competing with R (programming language), MATLAB and GNU Octave.)
- Scala, a program for creating and analysing musical scales
- Wolfram Language provides built-in functionality for audio generation, as well signal processing, audio signal processing and MIDI.[4]
Music notation software
- Canorus
- Capella
- Denemo
- Dorico
- Encore
- Finale
- Forte
- Frescobaldi
- Gregorio (for Neumes)
- Guitar Pro
- Igor Engraver
- Impro-Visor
- jEdit plugin
- LilyPond
- MagicScore
- Mozart
- Mus2
- MusEdit
- MuseScore
- Music Write
- MusiCAD
- MusicEase
- Musink
- MusiXTeX
- NoteEdit
- Notation Composer
- NoteWorthy Composer
- NOTION
- Overture (Includes VST hosting as well as being a scorewriter)
- Philip's Music Writer (PMW)
- Power Tab Editor
- Progression
- Rosegarden
- SCORE
- ScoreCloud
- Sibelius (Division of Avid Technology since 8/2006. Avid also sells the Pro Tools DAW)
- SmartScore (Focus on Music OCR)
- TuxGuitar
Music player software
Music research software
- ScoreCloud (Notation research)
Music technology, synthesis and o/s software
- Category:Music software plugin architectures
- Comparison of audio synthesis environments
- DirectMusic
- Moodagent (AI based emotion keyed playlist generator and app)
- Music information retrieval
- Software effect processor
- Sound Recorder (Windows)
- Impromptu (programming environment)
- Keykit
- Max (software)[5]
- SynthFont (a MIDI to WAV converter-- Virtual Studio Technology instruments can be used instead of source files)
Music visualization software
- Advanced Visualization Studio (Justin Frankel) (platform: Windows)
- Cthugha (1993, Kevin "Zaph" Burfitt) (platform: DOS)
- Magic Music Visuals (2012-2020, Color & Music, LLC) (platforms: Windows, OS X)
- MilkDrop (2001-2012, Ryan Geiss) reimplemented as projectM (platforms: Windows, Linux, Android)
- Neon (2004, Jeff Minter and Ivan Zorzin) (platform: Xbox 360)
- Psychedelia, (1984, Jeff Minter), an early "light synthesizer", did not use audio input but was designed to create visualizations in accompaniment to music.
- Pure Data (e.g. visualization of incoming music signals)
- Virtual Light Machine (1990, Jeff Minter) (platform: Atari Jaguar)
- Visual Music Tone Painter (1992–2004)[6]
- Vsxu (2003-2019, Vovoid) (platforms: Windows, Linux)
Orchestration software
Drums and percussion
Guitar
Piano
Pipe organ
Automatic composition software
- Experiments in Musical Intelligence
Samplers and sequencers
- Electribe
- Music sequencer (Article includes extensive list)
- Propellerhead
- SoundFont (Integrates synthesized/sampled MIDI files with recorded music)
Soundtrack creation software
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Soundtrack creation software. |
Trackers
Name | Latest update |
License | OS versions | File format support | VST support |
ASIO output | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows | OS X | Linux | MID | MOD | XM | IT | S3M | |||||
Renoise | 2020-07-20 | Commercial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Load | Load | Load | Load | No | Yes | Yes |
OpenMPT | 2020-05-24 | BSD | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
SoundTracker (beta) | 2006-02 | GPL | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
MilkyTracker | 2018-02 | GPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Load | Load | No | Yes |
Buzztrax | 2015-09-03 | LGPL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Load | Load | Load | Load | No | Yes | Yes |
Psycle | 2017-03 | GPL | Yes | No | No | No | Load | Yes | Load | Load | Yes | Yes |
Virtual Studio Technology hosting software
- Ableton Live
- ACID Pro
- Adobe Audition
- Adobe Premiere Elements
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Acoustica Mixcraft
- Ardour (open source)
- Audacity (open source, Windows, Linux and Mac platforms only[8])
- AudioMulch
- Band-in-a-Box
- Bidule
- Cakewalk Sonar
- Deckadance
- Digital Performer (version 8 or higher)
- FL Studio
- GoldWave
- Jeskola Buzz
- LMMS (open source)
- Logic Pro
- Max MSP
- ModPlug Tracker
- MultitrackStudio
- n-Track Studio
- NOTION
- Psycle (open source)
- REAPER
- Reason
- Renoise
- Samplitude
- Sony Acid Pro
- Sony Sound Forge
- Sony Vegas
- Steinberg Cubase
- Steinberg Nuendo
- Studio One
- Steinberg Wavelab
- Traktor
- Vocaloid
- Podium
Virtual synthesizer and studio software
- Amsynth
- Minimoog
- Reaktor (Software creation of nearly every instrument; reverse engineering encouraged)
- Reason (Both a DAW and virtual Recording studio)(This software is now integrated with Record)
- ZynAddSubFX
See also
- Audio editing software
- Comparison of audio synthesis environments
- Comparison of digital audio editors
- Comparison of free software for audio
- Comparison of scorewriters
- List of audio conversion software
- List of audio programming languages
- List of guitar tablature software
- List of Linux audio software
- List of MIDI editors and sequencers
- List of scorewriters
- Music technology
References
- "Short History of Computer Music". UCSC.edu. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- "The 14 pieces of software that shaped modern music". FactMag.com. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- Walter B. Hewlett, Computing in Musicology, 1990, p. 112, Stanford Music Lab, Menlo Park, CA. Ars Nova (educational music software company, not music style) is at Ars Nova Software
- "Sound and Sonification—Wolfram Language Documentation". Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- "Music & Math". Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- Intelligence, new visions of artificial intelligence in practice. 11. Association for Computing Machinery. 2000.
- Thomas Wichmann, The Hauptwerk Computer Program, Review in The American Organist, July 2004
- VST plug-ins