Composing Software

Sibelius, Max/MSP/Jitter, cSound, ProTools. That is what I use. There is various other software too I have been known to have a tinker with, including Soundhack, Cecilia and fScape.

I just use Guitar Pro and sometimes Audacity if I need to convert to mp3.

nWn you are a god damn legend!! Thanks so much for that.

I use FlexiMusic Composer for music composing. Been very pleased with it.

I use Sibelius for composing and for making very rough recordings (usually just to share a work-in-progress with people I know). For more refined recordings, I export a MIDI from Sibelius and tweak it in SONAR.

(Now, if only I could figure out how to move MIDI CC data from one controller to another so that I can work with it through GPO...)

I use for composing Sibelius, PWGL.
For my pieces with electronics i use Digital Performer, Logic, Max/Msp, Super Collider, Reaktor, Absynth.

Hardware
Dell Dimension 4600
HP L1940T 19-inch monitor
2.66Ghz Pentuim 4
2GB RAM
2x hard drive 80Gb & 250Gb
Event ALP5 monitors
Audiophile 2496
M-Audio Keystation 61es
Roland DP-6 sustain pedal

Software
Sonar 5 Studio Edition
Sibelius 5
Kontakt 2
EWQLSO Gold Edition
VSL Horizon Solo Strings
Audacity 1.2.6
WAV to MP3 encoder

Originally Posted by kinsky

I use for composing Sibelius, PWGL.
For my pieces with electronics i use Digital Performer, Logic, Max/Msp, Super Collider, Reaktor, Absynth.

Ohh, a Super Collider user! I really need to learn how to use it. It looks really great from what I've seen about it, and should be just the kind of software that suits me. I've used Csound and some Max/MSP, but the Csound language isn't optimal for algorithmic composition (nor for live usage), and the Max/MSP approach of dragging lots of tiny symbols and cables across the screen just doesn't suit me. I guess I'm simply more a text person. Also, Max/MSP sometimes "cheats" a bit to speed the calculations up in order to enable live performance, which sometimes changes the sound in an unfavourable manner. So I'm really interested in checking out Super Collider.

As for composing software: I do most with pen and paper, so I don't use much software. Just Finale to write the final version down, but even that often only when it's for ensemble or orchestra where I need to do parts. Otherwise it's much simpler to do it by hand. I couldn't care less about how it sounds.

I have Logic Pro, but I don't use it. I just have it because I could get it for free (Perfectly legal, of course!)

Did you know there is another kind of audio format called .mod? It's small, and the trackers(software to make the music) are mostly free. Great if you're just starting out, and pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it. And also, the file size is very very tiny, only a little bigger than midi, so it'll be convenient.

Madtracker homepage: http://www.madtracker.org

Aren't .mod files a legacy from the days of Amiga computers?