IT·Science Talk

Free tools for making music at home (no, you don't need to spend £500)

People ask me this every time I play a gig, so here's my honest list.

Free DAWs: GarageBand if you're on Apple, it's genuinely good. Ardour is open source and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. Audacity for simple recording and editing. There are loads of free synth plugins and virtual pianos, and a cheap USB MIDI keyboard opens everything up.

Biggest tip: a decent pair of headphones matters more than any software. Start small and actually finish songs.