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I received an email from a blog reader who had recently bought a MIDI keyboard so they could start practicing a bit of piano at home.
My previous blog posts on MIDI keyboards had all said something along the lines of “plug in your MIDI device and open up you DAW software to play”. But what if you don’t want to purchase any expensive software for writing and producing whole musical tracks? What if you just want some free software for practicing piano or messing around?
So following that I set out to find the best FREE MIDI keyboard software out there on each of the most common platforms Windows, Mac/ Apple and Android so you can plug in your MIDI keyboard and start playing straight away. This article summarises what I found.
But first, some context:
How does MIDI Work?
First things first, I always find it useful to briefly explain how MIDI works. If you, like me, came from playing a traditional acoustic instrument such as a piano or guitar, the world of MIDI and digital music production may be a little confusing. If you already know how it works feel free to skip this section!
MIDI is a digital signal, basically a series of 1s and 0s that allows different electronic devices to communicate with one another (I know, it sounds very dystopian!). This code communicates all manner of things from the note pressed, to how hard it is pressed and when it is released.
This is different to traditional instruments that produce an audio signal you can hear either straight away for acoustic instruments or through an amplifier for electric ones.
With a MIDI keyboard or other MIDI device not producing an audio signal, it needs to be plugged into another device which can convert the code into something we can hear. In the modern era this is usually a laptop or computer.
Modern MIDI devices pretty much always plug in and communicate via a USB connection. But simply connecting the device isn’t enough. The computer will receive the code but to produce a sound it will need software of some sort.
That is where I hope this article will help. https://ameblo.jp/mensrefayamb/entry-12635291139.html.
Best Free Midi Keyboard Options – Windows
1) Piano Time for Windows 10
Piano time is a nice option if you simply want to plug in and play the piano.
It is an “app” but that doesn’t mean you need a tablet or phone to use it. Windows is changing to become more similar to Apple in the way they present software creating less of a disconnect between computers, tablets and phones. This means if you have Windows 10, you can now head to the Microsoft store and download apps to your computer.
There are paid apps in the windows store but as with the Apple and Android “stores” that you may be more familiar with on your phones and tablets, many of the apps are free to download and use.
Ease of Use
Piano time is really easy to plug in and get going. I plugged in my Novation Impulse MIDI keyboard and it instantly recognized it without me having to go into the settings.
Features
Piano time is meant to be simple and for mimicking the sound of a piano. For this reason, you can’t really adjust the sound. You won’t find different instrument sounds, reverb or delay for example. But this might be a good thing if all you want to do is play the piano.
You can record and save clips of what you are playing which is a nice feature, and this allows you to record one part, play it back and then play something else over the top. Handy if you are doing a bit of songwriting. However, be warned, on the free version these clips will only remain in place whilst the program is open, to save or export the tracks you record as MP3 files you will have to pay a small fee to upgrade.
It comes pre-loaded with a few very basic tracks for you to play along with, think Amazing Grace or Mary Had a Little Lamb. The keys will light up and show you how to play along and you can slow it down or speed it up to suit. Perhaps this is most suitable for the absolute beginner or for a child learning the piano. Also useful for anyone using this to learn the piano are a few basic scale exercises you can play along with.
Other features include a metronome that can be adjusted. I did find the clicking a bit annoying but it does the job.
As with most pieces of MIDI software, you can use your computer keyboard to play if you don’t own a MIDI keyboard. I would not recommend this as it is very hard to do, but Piano Time does have a feature called “key mapping” which will show the corresponding keyboard letters above the relevant keys to help you play.
Sound and Performance
I found the sound to be ok. A nice bit of sustain and reverb make it sound quite realistic. However, the lower notes can sound a bit quiet compared to the higher notes and chords don’t sound that great. This is annoying if you are trying to play notes with the left and right hand, as the right hand notes tend to drown out those of the left.
This can be frustrating as a quick ‘stacatto’ press of a key isn’t any different from when you hold it down. This makes notes merge together when you don’t want them to or not ring out for as long as you might have hoped.
For me, the app had virtually no latency (time between pressing a key and hearing the sound). This is partly due to the app, but will also be due to your computer. If you are trying to use it with a computer or laptop that doesn’t have much RAM or has a slow processor then this may not be the case. If you are experiencing MIDI delay check out this article.
Other people have noted that when adverts load it can cause the app to crash. This did happen to me once which was a pain. You can get rid of the ads by paying just a small fee so this might be worth doing if you are having this issue.
2) Piano 10 for Windows 10
Piano 10 is very similar in many ways to Piano Time. It is available for download from the Windows app store on any windows device.
Ease of Use
I plugged my keyboard in and it didn’t work straight away this time. The menus in the app are also not the easiest to find with a series of symbol buttons to press, so I had to do a bit of random clicking to find out how to do it.
A button saying “general MIDI” brings up a menu when clicked where you should be able to turn MIDI support on and then select your MIDI keyboard from the list.
So once you figure out what each button symbol means it isn’t too hard to use.
Features
Different to Piano Time, Piano 10 has a few different effects and amazingly 126 different sounds for you to chose from. Including reverb, sustain and echo but unfortunately only one of these can be turned on at once.
An auto-chords function is pretty cool and is a great way to help learn different chords and chord types as the keys of the chords light up whilst you play.
As with piano time you can record short clips of yourself playing. You can save these clips but only as .xscore files to re-open in Piano 10 another time.
A metronome is also included with adjustable bpm.
Sound and performance
When testing the default piano sound it was ok, but pressing the keys too lightly meant no sound was played. So if you are trying to practice playing softly you may find this frustrating.
However, when the sustain effect is turned on I thought it sounded much more realistic and it felt nice to play.
Although it is cool having 126 different sounds to choose from, be warned, most of them sound pretty terrible. Fun to mess around with but you would never want to use them in a performance.
Probably the most annoying thing about Piano 10 is the fact you can’t change the key size or get more keys to show on the screen. The whole keyboard will still play but you won’t see all the keys light up on screen.
Being a free app it also has a banner with ads at the top but these are fairly standard and don’t really interfere with the usability.
3) MidiEditor
If you want something a bit more advanced which will allow you to edit and export your MIDI tracks then MIDI Editor is free software that is a great introduction to some more advanced techniques.
Ease of Use
Music Keyboard On Pc
In terms of downloading and installing things are fairly simple. However, unlike the previous two options, this is a more traditional piece of software that you download from a website rather than the Windows App Store.
Once downloaded the settings are easy to find and here you can select your MIDI device and connect.
You should then hear a basic piano sound.
So in terms of getting a sound, it is fairly simple. However, if you are not familiar with MIDI you may find the software slightly confusing due to the more advanced features it has….
Features
The screen shows what is known as a ‘piano roll’. This is something to get familiar with if you plan on using MIDI in production.
As you play on your MIDI keyboard and press record you will see lines appear on the screen. This is a visualization of the digital code for each note. You can see it shows which note was played, how long for and other parameters such as velocity (how hard you played that note).
This is what separates digital MIDI data from a traditional audio recording. It is stored as a series of numbers (note, note length, etc) and then a sound is ‘overlayed’ on top of that. So you could play the original notes with a piano sound but then change that to strings or a flute for example.
Features such as quantize, which automatically moves mistimed notes onto the correct beat are cool to mess around with.
Sound and performance
As a basic free introduction to MIDI editing software, MidiEditor does a pretty good job.
There are a couple of things that frustrated me though.
For example, when you record a track you can’t see the notes appearing on the screen, you have to wait till you have finished recording and then they will appear. This just felt weird compared to the MIDI input I’m used to in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).
There are also no other built-in sounds to test apart from the piano and I couldn’t find a way to import my own sounds either. Perhaps I’m expecting too much from free software.
Best Free Midi Keyboard Software on Mac (and Apple devices)
Computer Music Keyboard Software
1) Garageband
Garageband has to be my favorite of all the free music making software available. I’ve written entire songs on the bus using this software on my iPad and have been happier with the sound than some tracks I spent weeks on in the studio!
It comes pre-installed on most Apple products but if not it can be downloaded from the app store for free.
Ease of Use
Garageband is quite a bit more advanced than some of the simple piano apps already mentioned in this article.
It is the closest you are going to get to proper a DAW without having to pay. A DAW is a Digital Audio Workstation. It is where all song artists create songs by piecing together tracks. There are many different ones with different people having different preferences. But if you are new to the music recording world then Garageband is a great place to start.
For this reason, it has massive potential but it does make it a bit confusing for the beginner. For example, when I connected my keyboard, it didn’t work straight away. I had to navigate to preferences and select my device and I also had to change the output so I could hear the sound.
It is a similar process when connecting to an iPad, however, you will have to buy a USB to lightning adapter (such as this one).
All that said it is still very easy to get started in comparison to most DAWs which can be very overwhelming. There are plenty of great videos on Youtube to help you if you get lost.
Features
This is where Garageband excels over the other simpler apps. The possibilities are almost limitless.
You can choose from hundreds of pre-loaded MIDI sounds. There are pre-made drum loops to add in and play along to. Then when you want to add even more sounds or effects you can download free ‘plug-ins.
Because it is a DAW you can layer up multiple tracks, MIDI or Audio to create full songs and there are great built-in features such as EQ and compression so you can even try your hand at mixing!
Sound and Performance
The pre-loaded sounds do sound quite robotic and it is hard to compose a full song that will sound professional using just the MIDI samples. That does, of course, depend on your genre, for some electronic music you can do a pretty good job.
This may not bother you if you just want to practice the piano.
The performance is pretty good, I rarely ever experience any latency when playing. This is dependent on your laptop age and spec.
2) Pianu.com
This option technically applies to Windows too but I couldn’t find another free app on the Apple app store that wasn’t either terrible or tried to give me a virus.
So Pianu.com is actually a web-based MIDI keyboard and is a great option if you don’t want to mess around downloading software and just want to get playing right away.
Ease of Use
This software is so simple to use (at least it was for me anyway!) Just head to pianu.com/keyboard-page and there you will see a big yellow button that says “Detect My Keyboard”. Press this and you will see the following screen.
You are then ready to start playing
Features
Pianu is not very complex and won’t give you all the features of Garageband. But many people have written to me to say they don’t want something as complicated as that and just want to play some piano. For this it is perfect.
What Pianu is really meant for though is learning the piano. For this it has lots of built-in lessons, starting with the absolute basics and building you up from there. What I like most is you can play along with a lot of contemporary songs (Coldplay, Taylor Swift etc.) rather than the usual Ode to Joy or Amazing Grace which you get on most apps.
Sound and Performance
You would never want to use this piano for recordings or live performances, but it sounds fine for learning. The one annoying thing is the notes don’t fully ring out and eventually just stop suddenly. But this is a minor issue when you are just practicing.
For a web-based application I expected performance to be dodgy, but it really wasn’t. In fact I would say I noticed less latency than many other apps and my laptop fan was whirring away.
Music Keyboard Download For Pc
Best Free Midi Keyboard Software on Android
Music Keyboard For Computer
Yes, that’s right, these days you don’t even need a computer to use a MIDI device. You can now plug your MIDI keyboard directly into your phone or tablet and use that to create music.
I bought this simple USB C to USB adapter for under $10 and it allows me to play my 49 key MIDI keyboard through my phone.
As with the other devices mentioned above, you will need to download some software (an app) to do this and there are plenty of great free options to choose from.
1) Perfect Piano
Ease of Use
You may already know how to connect your android device to a MIDI keyboard, but if you don’t it is very simple (you can find out in this step by step guide).
Once plugged in the Perfect Piano app should automatically detect that a MIDI keyboard is connected and it should work straight away without you having to mess around with any setup! https://coolxfile705.weebly.com/simplex-2001-fire-alarm-manual.html. A real bonus for those who just want to plug in and play.
Features
The app has a keyboard that is set as default to a piano sound. But additionally, you get the choice of many more from strings to synths and loads of additional free sounds to download.
There is a sustain button to create the effect of using a piano pedal and you can record your efforts either in MIDI format or in audio format.
The app has some nice additional features such as ‘learn to play’. Where you can play along as notes descend on the screen, very similar to guitar hero (if you remember that game) except you are actually learning a real instrument.
Sound and Performance
With my android phone (which is a few years old now) I had no noticeable lag which amazed me. I’ve experienced many issues with MIDI latency using computers and laptops over the years. I can’t guarantee you won’t have issues but if your phone is newer than mine I’m sure it will be fine!
The sounds are really quite impressive. The piano does have that programmed sound but no more so than most other MIDI pianos out there. The synths and strings are great fun to mess around too.
I like how you can adjust the number of keys on the screen. A feature often lacking from many mobile MIDI apps.
Concluding Remarks
Nowadays there are plenty of free MIDI apps and software programs to choose from. The key thing is to ask yourself, what do I need the software to do? If it is to simply practice piano or mess about then stick to something simple. But if you think you might want to create full tracks or use more advanced techniques there is probably something out there for you too.
Once you are ready to progress the best option is to move to a DAW of your choice. I personally use Ableton Live which is particularly good for MIDI. But there are loads of others to choose from. My suggestion would be to download a free trial, watch a few ‘how-to’ videos and see which one you find best.
The possibilities of music production using MIDI are pretty endless!
Cbcs certification exam guide test. If you are a music composer by profession, then music Notation Software is a vital tool for your daily needs. This software can be used to create, edit, print and share staff notations or sheet music for any song or original composition. While choosing a notation software, you should bear in mind that it should have a clear, clean and uniform layout. Though having free software for this purpose is like starting from the basics. But if you are a beginner in music composition, then you should start from the ground level. In this article, we are listing the best free music notation software for Windows 10, 8, 7 and other versions.
13 Best Music Notation Software for Windows 10 and Older Versions-
1. Quick Score Elite:
![Music Music](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/25mR0jdlLyE/maxresdefault.jpg)
Layout of the software works on the panorama view, which means all the bars can now fit on one window. You can choose the instrument name from the drop down in the track sheet. Once you have selected the instrument, this automatically sets clef, program, channel and critical transportation fields. There is a dedicated button to change playback Rate, by which tempo of playback can be controlled. Hold down CTRL key to set the output for all the tracks when you are setting output in the track sheet. Move Notes from one track to another by using the Move To Track Edit function. Many inbuilt tools such as Piano Roll Editor, Track Sheet, MIDI Mixer, Event List, Controller Editor etc are included which make it the best music notation software.
Pros:- Simple to use.
- Make professional quality music
- Create sheets for music.
- Replace in real-time audio recording
2. PreSonus Notation 6
PreSonus Notation 6 is an advanced level software for music composers, its compatibility with multiple platforms and handwriting recognition makes it the best in its class. Music composers highly appreciate the layout of the application because of its amazing features such as Drag of hairpins, angled hairpins and with the latest version Articulation can now be dragged to any direction. The tool can also help you to export audio directly to MP3. In this software, you will find most of the musical instruments. It is a must-have tool for professional music composers.
Pros:- Recognizes handwriting.
- Share work with computers on the same network.
- Great layout controls.
- Allows pasting lyrics on tab.
- Different software for each instrument.
Also read:Best beat making software 2020.
3. MagicScore
Magic score comes with a range of Notation creation software you can choose an instrument-specific software or software compatible with MS Word. All the music composition software from Magic score is easy to understand for beginners and well equipped to delight professionals’ pages and can be saved in different formats. MagicScore can convert your sounds files to WAV and MP3, making them compatible for use in other applications. Software is compatible from Windows 7 to Windows 10, so if you are still running on Windows 7, then Magic score is the best pic for you. So, what are you waiting to get a free trial for Magicscore notation software and choose the best one for yourself?
Pros:- User friendly.
- Clear looking scores.
- Export the best music notes.
- Best virtual piano.
4. Finale Notepad
Free Music Keyboard For Pc
It is one of the most famous music notation software because any music you create in the program is compatible with any of the more professional versions of the Finale software. If you start with Finale Notepad 2012, you can later open that document in Finale Songwriter or even the full commercial version of Finale and then continue editing without losing any data.
Pros:- Intuitive interface.
- Makes learning easy.
- Professional approach to music notes.
- Online tutorials.
Read more:Best Online Jamming Software – Enjoy Jamming With Your Band Online
5. MuseScore
MuseScore is loaded with most of the common-sense intuitive music entry methods that work as you expect them to. Unlike other music writing programs, you can use MIDI input or other methods to get your score started. Playback functions are good enough but don’t expect for the highest quality sound fonts to playback your creations with. The best part is it gets updated from time to time because of music-savvy developers who donate features from time to time.
Pros:- Basic Music notation software.
- Good for beginners.
- Great support available to help you out.
Also read:Guitar learning apps for Android and iOS.
6. LilyPond
Lilly pond is a software with a unique approach to rendering notation. You can type out music in a kind of programming language, which LilyPond converts into a PDF or MIDI. LilyPond language is built to be logical, comprehensive and beginner-friendly. The LilyPond website also provides excellent tutorials and documentation which enable you to start notating music with a brief knowledge of the language.
Pros:- Text-based music notation software.
- Entry with keyboard.
- Beautiful fonts with good editors.
7. Crescendo
Crescendo is a user-friendly and intuitive way to write musical notation. With crescendo, composers can save, write, and print their music compositions on their computer. The wide collection of sheet music symbols, free-form layout along with time and critical signatures allows a composer to have optimum control over creating sheet music. Thus this music writing program is very helpful in achieving the goal of creating notes for a musician.
Pros:- Key and time signatures can be changed.
- Zoom in/out options in editing.
- Music sheets in XML export available.
8. MC Musiceditor
Free Music Keyboard Software For Pc
MC Musiceditor is an open-source music notation software free for Windows, Linux under Wine. It is developed by Reinier Maliepaard, software engineer, psychologist, teacher and musician at the ArtEZ Conservatorium Netherlands, music theory and music history. MC Musiceditor has been developed to make it easy for musicians to make scores. It is a user-friendly editor which makes professional scores without requiring much input of specific knowledge.
Pros:- Portable software.
- PDF or MiDi export available.
- Allows mouse clicks and keyboard shortcuts.
Also Read: 15 Best Places To Get Royalty-Free Music For YouTube
9. Kangas Sound Editor
The software is based on kangaroo themes. Using this music writing program, users can synthesize music and sound effects effectively from scratch. Musical pitches are constructed using a system of frequency ratios. MIDI pitch numbers can be used to specify a base note from which other notes are relative. The user interface uses a system of cells or boxes, which makes it very simple and easy to understand.
Pros:- Use Midi Pitch notes.
- Ace the sound effects.
- Fun to use the Kangaroo theme.
10. Anvil Studio
Anvil Studio is designed for people who want to: record music with MIDI and Audio equipment. It is a handy application to compose music for MIDI and Audio equipment. The user interface of this application is straightforward to understand. Both professionals and beginners can use it.
Pros:- Additional accessories are available.
- Print the Music sheet directly from it.
- Get tutorials for all features.
Also read: Best Music Making Apps For iPhone
11. Everyone Piano
Everyone Piano is a computer keyboard simulating piano software. It uses the general computer keyboard to play piano music. With a robust timbre database, Everyone Piano’s tone sounds like a real piano thus doing a great job as a music writing software. Even on an onboard sound card, Everyone Piano can be compared to real-time musical performance; it also stimulates the piano footplate.
Cons:- Downloads restricted by anti-virus programs.
12. FORTE Free from FORTE Notation
With FORTE FREE, beginners can learn how to notate music quickly and easily. Feel free to learn, acquaint yourself and experiment with. You’ll discover it faster than you expect if musicians design the product for musicians, you need not waste time with tutorials when you could be creating music instead. Interfaces are designed to make you learn easily and quickly.
Pros:- Contains a volume mixer.
- Virtual keyboard to add notes.
13. MusInk
Last but not least, MusInk is another free great music notation software available for music lovers. With this music writing software, you can compose MIDI files, scores, snippets and more. MusInk is easy to use, does all the hard work for you, thereby allowing you to give attention to your writing.
Pros:- Allows export of MIDI loops.
- Convert music sheets in PDF and XPS files.
So, these were 10 best music notation software you can use to notate your music. Pick one of them as per your choice and start the journey to become a star with the help of a music writing software. Meanwhile try out these tips to organize your music library and to delete duplicate music files.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free music notation software?
There are several of the music composer software available for Windows, but one should choose which suits the best for you. Here in the list we found out the Quick Score Elite works best for all the professionals and beginners.
What is the easiest software to make music notes? Apple macbook pro security software.
If you are a beginner in music composing, one must select a relatively easier tool. However a number of tools provide the tutorials to help you out, MagicScore comes as easiest.
Difference between music notation and music composition software?
Music composition software consists of a structure of the music piece which can be vocal or a musical instruments. While music notation is the music scores notes on a music sheets, which can be composed using a software on computer. A typical music composition software may or may not include a notation tool.
How does music notation software work?
It is like a work processing program for the musicians. Music composition tool helps them to write the notes for the songs. They can create scores and provide you output as you feed the notes. One can also share or print music sheets from the software in transcripts.
Keepnote alternatives for mac. How do you make a music note on the computer?
![Software Software](https://cdn.freewarefiles.com/screenshot/midipiano21.jpg)
Using a softwar eto make notes on your computer, you can easily create music sheets. The notes can be randomly added and it will play you the music output in various musical instrument sounds.
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