Recording Music For A Non-Musician

Hi all, I'm new here, this is my first post. I know nothing about making music, at all. I tried picking up a couple different instruments in my youth, but never stuck to it and lost interest. The thing is, I have tons of songs in my head that I really want to get out onto paper, computer, recording, something? I come up with them all the time, not even meaning to, but they get stuck in my head, and I want to get them out. The songs are complete in terms of music, just no lyrics there. Any advice on what to do here? I don't know how to compose or play any instruments so I could record, and even if I could play one instrument, for example the piano, I would have to learn many instruments in order to record an entire song. Is there some kind of software that will help me here? Thanks in advance.

The software I use is free to download, and has an extensive online handbook and forums that can help you figure out how to use it. It's called "Musescore."  The playback sounds pretty awful compared to Finale or Sibelius software, but it does everything you need to write your music down and it's free.  Since you've tried some instruments in the past, but never stuck with it, I wouldn't go out and buy a bunch of expensive software just yet.  But learning to write down your tunes can help you learn to read music better, and maybe you'll decide to pick up some music lessons again too.  First step is always to just get started.  (:

Wow, thank you! I'll check that out. Yes, I don't think I need anything fancy, just something that allows me to get my thoughts down in a permanent way before I forget them. Hopefully, this will evolve into a good hobby for me at least, and be a good source of learning.

If you don't know how to notate and you'd rather avoid the whole ordeal (like yours truly), try FL Studio. It's the best of its kind, in my opinion. It has an awesome piano roll function in which you can put exactly the notes you want while hearing them in real time, with time based on an intuitive visual representation rather than a plethora of notation methods. The default plugins are awesome, too, but you can get third party stuff as well.

Go to school.