A list of free Music making Software and Soundfonts (sf2)

Started by Zefk, May 14, 2016, 07:46:33 PM

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Update:

-Fixed some typos. I have Linux on my brain too much.

-Sfxr even has an android version. This tells you how popular the software is. You can make sound effects when you are bored somewhere with your Smartphone.

-1.5 - MidSequer This is the best free piano roll software like LMMS I could find for Android. It works quite well and has quite a few instrument choices, but you can not use midi, sf3, and VST.


Added:

2.5 - cgMusic - This software is amazing. It literally randomly generates music using algorithms.

At comment 105 at the site he mentions that it is okay to use them in "games" if credits clearly state that cgMusic was used during music production and it would be great if he could get a copy of the game. (but it is said in a way that one does not have to) It would be nice to credit Maciej Biedrzycki in my opinion.

QuoteMaciek says:
September 8th, 2014 at 3:05 pm
@alfwein Actually, I've been getting a lot of questions about the possibility of using cgMusic commercially and generally I was allowing it. The only thing I ask is that it is clearly stated in the credits that cgMusic was used during music production. Also it would be great if I could get a copy of the game, to see how the music was used :)

Anyway, this credit is important as copyright law is very unclear when it comes to algorithmic compositions. I would like everyone to avoid potential problems – after all the program can give two people identical results if the same random seed is used.

I attached a piece I generated with CgMusic.

Quote from: Zefk on June 30, 2017, 02:19:21 AM
Added:

2.5 - cgMusic - This software is amazing. It literally randomly generates music using algorithms.

At comment 105 at the site he mentions that it is okay to use them in "games" if credits clearly state that cgMusic was used during music production and it would be great if he could get a copy of the game. (but it is said in a way that one does not have to) It would be nice to credit Maciej Biedrzycki in my opinion.

QuoteMaciek says:
September 8th, 2014 at 3:05 pm
@alfwein Actually, I've been getting a lot of questions about the possibility of using cgMusic commercially and generally I was allowing it. The only thing I ask is that it is clearly stated in the credits that cgMusic was used during music production. Also it would be great if I could get a copy of the game, to see how the music was used :)

Anyway, this credit is important as copyright law is very unclear when it comes to algorithmic compositions. I would like everyone to avoid potential problems – after all the program can give two people identical results if the same random seed is used.

I attached a piece I generated with CgMusic.

This is incredibly awesome!!! :o
Probably the best software for this.

I wonder how we can distinguish nowadays a true composer from a fake one who uses software like this to compose music...
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you. But if you really make them think, they'll hate you."

QuoteThis is incredibly awesome!!! :o
Probably the best software for this.

This is the best software for generating music that I encountered. Also, ".mid" instruments and music can be changed with a midi software like Anvil Studio. (I should add that to the list) The ".mid" audio format is one of my favorites because the music files can be super small. The 55 second music sample I attached above was less than 7 kb. That is perfect for forum posts.

QuoteI wonder how we can distinguish nowadays a true composer from a fake one who uses software like this to compose music...

Let us just hope the person is honest and it is clearly stated that it was generated. A lot of companies keep their custom software a secret, so I do not think we will ever truly know. Some composers might generate a good tune and edit it to fit their needs.

Update:

I was looking around the web for free soundbanks (GM). I found the following and updated the main post. Also, I found a sf2 version of Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra.

Sonatina Symphonic Orchestra (sfz) || sf2 Musescore Version

Virtual Playing Orchestra, created by Paul Battersby (sfz)

VSCO2 Community Edition, created by Versilian Studios (sfz)

Merlin Soundfont Banks, created by Merlin

NTONYX SoundFont 32Mb GM Stereo Set, created by NTONYX

PersonalCopy

Musyng Kite, created by Cose Vidal

FluidR3Mono a fork of FluidR3_GM.sf2, created by Many

GeneralUser SoundFont, created by S. Christian Collins

REALFONT 2.1 SoundFont, by Milo and friends

Timbres of Heaven Soundfont, by Don Allen

Update:



SoundFont Editors:

Swami Project (Linux)

Polyphone (Windows or WINE)

The only real difference is that Polyphone can open sfz and export them as sf2. The project must be exported to the same directory where the sfz and samples are or it will not work unless you want to edit the directory in the sfz file with a text editor. You can move the sf2 after that because it no longer needs to be in the directory.

The only issue is that the music notes will not exist if there are missing notes in the sfz file sample directory folder.



Added:

Chusocol SoundFont, by Pakitochus

OPL-3 FM 128M SoundFont, by Zandro Reveille

Gnusmas GM Soundfont, by Heinrich Zhao

FreePats, by many