Music Creation/composition software

[WingedSerpent]

Has anyone here used a particular music creation software that they thought was pretty good.  I'm trying to make some scores to the animations and videos I'm making but I really don't have anything good to use. 

I work on a PC so no GarageBand to work with.  I have Magix Music creator 15 but I find it very limited.  I have no real instruments to erecord (and no real musical talent either).  I need something that is easy enoughfor a novice with no real muscial experience to play around with to create my own stuff.  I don't want to use remixes of actuall songs, mostly due to copywright issues, and since these are really more personal little projects, I really can't afford to hire a real muscian.  Besides the more I can do myself the more I control.

I downloaded a free version of Sony Acid Express-but once again, its limited in what I can do unless I spring for the full commercial version.  So I've been looking into that as well as Music Creator 5 because both seem to have the amount of content I am looking for. 

Any information is appreciated.

[Derf]

I've used a few different music creation programs. One that gets little press (and is cheap--$50, I think) is PG Software's Power Tracks Pro Audio. It lets you input music note by note or record it off of a MIDI keyboard or live instruments. It's not terribly sophisticated, but it's fun to play around with to learn a bit about recording. They also sell Band in a Box, which kinda does a lot of the composition work for you. I haven't played with that program, so I can't really tell you how well it works, but Power Tracks is an excellent beginner sequencing program.

[dean]

Fl-studio is pretty cheap, and Reason is pretty good too.  Both were used by me quite a lot until I cracked, got a mac for my video editing and bought Logic [which is much much better]

Depends ultimately on the music you're recording though...

I found Flstudio easy enough to pick up and learn, and the interface is easy enough to deal with, unlike other programs.

I've heard good things about Abelton as well, though personally haven't used it.

[hedgie]

Reaper is a great option.  It is very comparable to Pro Tools, Logic or Cubase, but it is free for 1 month, and only costs $60 after that.  Compare that to the three aforementioned options and it is really a great option.  I have noticed over the past year that it is getting to be very popular around the world.  I have been recording music on computers since about 1998, and I am more happy with reaper than with anything else I've used in the past, most of which was very expensive.  It is really powerful software, and it is constantly being updated/upgraded, and each version is downloadable for free.  the website is reaper.fm

hope this helps

[Flick James]

Fl-studio is pretty cheap, and Reason is pretty good too.  Both were used by me quite a lot until I cracked, got a mac for my video editing and bought Logic [which is much much better]

Depends ultimately on the music you're recording though...

I found Flstudio easy enough to pick up and learn, and the interface is easy enough to deal with, unlike other programs.

I've heard good things about Abelton as well, though personally haven't used it.

I'll second dean's comments. Reason is very good if you have a limited budget, and it's all VST MIDI stuff and works well. But, yeah, if you have the means, Mac and Logic are the way to go.