Best DAW to start teaching kids music production?

Audio Plugin Hosts and other audio software applications discussion
Post Reply New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

Liero wrote:
RunBeerRun wrote:If they're performers, Reaper is easy like Audacity.

1.load track

2.toggle input monitor on track

3.choose audio or midi input

4.choose record audio output
For kids, that's three steps too many. I have a hard time teaching Reaper to adults. Great software but the exact opposite of intuitive.
Of course, there are track and project templates. Set a default project template, give it to the kid, and he can just hit record. Set up the auto-tape style thing while you're at it, so that clicking on a track arms it.

Anyone want to see who can set up the easiest to use template in any given daw? Pick some freebie plugins and let's go at it.

But all of this is off topic. The op wanted something teaching kids music production, not necessarily the most no-brain setup. But still, I would put up a customized Reaper setup against anything out there.

Post

joeinternet327 wrote:
LawrenceF wrote:Take the kid to Best Buy, grab something on the shelf, Samplitude Music Studio, whatever, see what takes.
http://pro.magix.com/en/samplitude/midi ... h.730.html
Now that is an excellent freebee and a perfect starting point for beginners!

Also makes a nice audio editor.
Amazon: why not use an alternative

Post

Tracktion 4.

Post

Why wouldn't your normal favorite DAW be the best for a kid? In my experience, all beginner things are usually much more difficult and uninspiring than a pro one. With your normal DAW, you know how all the tricks like assigning the right shortcuts, mouse modifiers etc which can make intricate things simple.

Post

sellyoursoul wrote:
Liero wrote:
RunBeerRun wrote:If they're performers, Reaper is easy like Audacity.

1.load track

2.toggle input monitor on track

3.choose audio or midi input

4.choose record audio output
For kids, that's three steps too many. I have a hard time teaching Reaper to adults. Great software but the exact opposite of intuitive.
Of course, there are track and project templates. Set a default project template, give it to the kid, and he can just hit record. Set up the auto-tape style thing while you're at it, so that clicking on a track arms it.

Anyone want to see who can set up the easiest to use template in any given daw? Pick some freebie plugins and let's go at it.

But all of this is off topic. The op wanted something teaching kids music production, not necessarily the most no-brain setup. But still, I would put up a customized Reaper setup against anything out there.
I would definitely not recommend reaper for a kid. It's not an easy program to learn and is not the most intuitive once you do learn it. There's just so many keyboard shortcuts that you have to memorize, to do even basic things. It's a great software with many powerful features. It's just that those features are kind of thrown together in a confusing way, especially for a kid.

For a beginner, the first thing I would recommend is garageband. Super easy to get going with that. The second thing I would recommend is acid, especially an older version if possible. The third thing I would recommend is fl-studio, because it's so easy and fun to start making noises with the step-sequencer right away.

Post

I am learning Ableton Live right now and would say it is NOT for beginners.. not unless you are an expert yourself and are able to constantly hold their hands and guide every step/lesson.

There are so many ways to do things.. and many more to mess it up.. it is too feature rich I'd argue for beginner kids.

You are going to be troubleshooting some weird issues if you let them have at it. :hihi:


However, I'd say try Synapse Audio Orion. It is by far the easiest of the pattern based hosts out there... Part of that is the workflow and the other part is it is not bloated with features. Orion is no-nonsense.

Only thing I wish it had was track (the playlist) based automation.. which has been discussed for years and nothing has come of it. But.. maybe that is a blessing if you're teaching kids. It does contain per pattern based automation, however.

In Orion one adds an instrument, it automatically has a bank of 64 possible patterns assigned to each. Just click in one of those patterns and start adding or removing notes. Left click to add a note, right click to delete a note. simple.

Then go to the playlist (from the button in the transport bar) and paint the patterns to form a song with the mouse. It is suuuuuper easy and they won't get overwhelmed.

Post

Mulab would be best IMO. It has a fairly simple user interface and it can go very deep when you need it to. It comes with two pre-built synths and MANY pre-built effects. It also has a modular area where you can build your own synths/effects. It has anti aliased oscillators for great quality and has VST support. Easy automations on both native and VST parameters. Multi core now in V5. You can change the looks of it to fit your style. Mixes down to 16/32 bit high quality wave format. Has Midi support. Great support from the developer. There are constant updates that bring fixes and new items.

The biggest point of all that is that it's only 69 euro which (through pay pal) can also be sold for 95 USD (Ableton is 900 USD).
My Setup.
Now goes by Eurydice(Izzy) - she/her :hug:

Post

Presonus Studio One - you could try the free version first...

https://soundcloud.com/lilac-moon-recor ... zing-world

Post

honestly, kids are more tech savvy than adults so any DAW should be fine.

Post

In my opinion the best for learning would be Reason. That's because you get to see the devices and connect them, etc. Looks cool.
The other one would be Ableton just because it's one of the most common DAWs out there...

Post

Traktion 4 for easy music making
Logic pro for headache.

Post

Maschine. It's the most intuitive to learn while still being incredibly powerful. Plus, its workflow is very hands-on and tactile due to the fact that you can use it almost entirely without a mouse or staring at the computer screen.

Post

I am trying to figure put what would be the best for my 10 yr old nephew. He has some sort of condition (not sure exactly what) which basically gives him a very short attention span, except when he's genuinely interested in something, where the potential for genius sometimes shows. Music is one of those things, and he's already pretty good with tabla and now learning piano as well. He's really an incredible kid, and incredibly far sighted. He and his classmates were asked at school what they wanted to become, and his response was .... farmer :D

His parents asked me for some suggestions today. I actually also thought of maschine, cause it's got all the power of software but it's got the hardware feel too. And with the tabla experience, he should feel right at home with the finger drumming. Problem being that he apparently has used GarageBand and does not enjoy it. Though I don't think that necessarily means he isn't ready for a computer, as he may take to the workflow of another daw more easily. Also maybe something non linear like Ableton Live.

Another possibility is an ipad with several different apps like korg gadget, nanostudio etc. Or some synth/sound module, maybe like the roland jd-xi or teenage engineering op-1 or one of the electribes. I actually think this last option of hardware may be the best and the easiest for him to get to grips with, and also the most fun. But I haven't yet thought of anything other than the above mentioned devices, so is there anything else I should look at?
Last edited by maschinelf on Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Post

maschinelf wrote:I am trying to figure put what would be the best for my nephew. He has some sort of condition (not sure exactly what) which basically gives him a very short attention span, except when he's genuinely interested in something, where the potential for genius sometimes shows. Music is one of those things, and he's already pretty good with tabla and now learning piano as well. He's really an incredible kid, and incredibly far sighted. He and his classmates were asked at school what they wanted to become, and everyone answered the usual stuff, like doctor, pilot etc but guess what he said ... farmer :D

His parents asked me for some suggestions today. I actually also thought of maschine, cause it's got all the power of software but it's got the hardware feel too. And with the tabla experience, he should feel right at home with the finger drumming. Problem being that he apparently has used GarageBand and does not enjoy it. Though I don't think that necessarily means he isn't ready for a computer, as he may take to the workflow of another daw more easily. Also maybe something non linear like Ableton Live.

Another possibility is an ipad with several different apps like korg gadget, nanostudio etc. Or some synth/sound module, maybe like the Roland JD-Xi or one of the electribes. I actually think this last option may be the best and the easiest for him to get to grips with, and also the most fun. But I haven't yet thought of anything other than the roland and korg devices, so is there anything else I should look at?
an ipad could be a great place to start. there are tons of fantastic, and relatively cheap, apps that allow music to be approached in unique ways. as well as being able to function like a traditional daw, it is also a powerful, expressive musical instrument

Post

Thanks el-bo. Yea the ipad does seem like a great option. Only problem with it in my experience is that it is not the most stable platform around, though I am using an older ipad 2 with ios 7. If stability and performance is better on newer devices, then I'd have no problem recommending it. Also, it may be better for him to learn and experiment within defined limits, rather than the essentially blank canvas that the ipad is. On the other hand, maybe the exact opposite is true and he doesn't need to be quite so defined.

Post Reply

Return to “Hosts & Applications (Sequencers, DAWs, Audio Editors, etc.)”