Awesome Music Production

A curated list of software and resources to create music.

Audio Workstations

• Ableton
• Ardour
• Cubase
• Garage Band
• Logic Pro X
• Pro Tools
• Reaper - Complete digital audio production application for Windows and OS X.

Hardware

Synthesizers

• dadamachines - Toolkit to create automated analog sounds.
• Organelle - Intuitive controls with a powerful and flexible sound engine.
• OP-1 - A powerful portable music workstation. with sampler, multi-track support, and onboard synth generation.
• Pocket Operators - Tiny, low-cost digital instruments.
• LittleBits Synth Kit - Snap-together modular synthesizer built in partnership with KORG.
• Zynthian - Open hardware swiss army knife of synthesis, equipped with multiple engines, filters and effects.

MIDI Controllers

• LinnStrument - Grid based expressive MPE controller.
• ROLI Blocks - Portable snap-together MIDI controller with both desktop and mobile interfaces.
• MPK Mini mkII - Cheap, functional, excellent starter controller.

Software Libraries

• Alda - A music programming language for musicians.
• Aubio - Segmentation, pitch detection, tapping the beat and producing midi streams.
• Band.js - Music composer interface for the Web Audio API.
• Blip - Looping and sampling with the Web Audio API.
• Faust - Functional programming language for sound synthesis and audio processing.
• Klasma - Chiptune music composition kit.
• LickCreator - Online web based music notation.
• Leipzig - Composition library for Clojure and Clojurescript.
• Magenta - Music and Art Generation with Machine Intelligence.
• Magiclock - Feel MIDI clock beat via the magic trackpad.
• Microm - Javascript library to convert browser microphone to mp3.
• Music Suite - Haskell based language for describing music.
• Node Speaker - Output PCM audio data to the speakers.
• Octavian - Utility to reason about notes, frequencies, and intervals.
• Overtone - Open Source toolkit for designing synthesizers and collaborating with music.
• Pedalboard.js - JavaScript framework to develop audio effects for guitars.
• Sharp11 - Music theorization and improvisation engine.
• Step Sequencer - Elm step sequencer for programming drum beats.
• Teoria - JavaScript library for music theory.
• TidalCycles - Programming language to describe polyphonic, polyrhythmic, and generative music sequences.
• Tonal - Functional music theory library.
• Tone.js - A Web Audio framework for making interactive music in the browser.
• Tuna - An audio effects library for the Web Audio API.
• VCV Rack - Open source virtual modular synthesizer.
• Vexwarp - JavaSCript library for audio time stretching and pitch shifting.

Apps

• Auxy - Modern instruments for mobile creators.
• Composer's Sketchpad - Sequencer that combines musical staff paper with an artist's sketchbook (iOS only).

Webapps

• AI Duet - A smart piano that responds to you.
• Arpeggiator - Web Audio Arpeggiator.
• Baroque Dances - Procedurally generated classical music.
• Beat Push - Online music production with built-in parallel drum and synth machine.
• Djenerator - A metal breakdown generator.
• Jamwithchrome - Play music live with your friends online.
• Keithwhor.com/music - Musical Keyboard - JS Dynamic Audio Synth.
• Klangmeister - Live coding environment for the browser.
• Landr - Automatic audio mastering.
• Lissajous - A tool for programmatic audio performance in the browser.
• Loopjs - Live Electronic Music Performance Software.
• Looplabs - Cloud based music studio.
• Matrix Piano - Virtual 2D piano to use the PC keyboard as an instrument.
• Musical Chord Progression Arpeggiator - Sketch out musical chord progressions.
• Repeater Orchestra - An orchestra of repeaters which repeat the conductor.
• Sononym - Visual sample browser.
• SuperCollider - Platform for audio synthesis and algorithmic composition.
• Synth Time - Simple synthesizer.
• Synthi-JS - A JavaScript emulator of the legendary EMS Synthi A synthesizer.
• Websynths - Free browser-based microtonal midi instrument.
• QuasiMusic - Quasiperiodic tilings of the plane as sound triggers.
• Qwerkey - Keyboard tonnetz.

Guitar

• Chordata - A dummy chordbook for mandolin, ukulele and guitar.
• Fretboard
• UkeGeeks - Creates fingering diagrams by reading plain text or ChordPro ukulele songs.
• UkuleleSongbook
• Ukutabs - source for ukulele tabs, chords, tips, tools, guides

Knowledge

• Digital Filters Introduction - Jupyter notebooks and a geometric interpretation of digital audio filters.
• Music Theory - The exciting universe of music theory.
• youtube.com/i_0DXxNeaQ0 - The science and mathematics of music.

Articles

• DeepAudioClassification - Finding the genre of a song with deep learning.
• Modeling Music with algebraic data types
• Sound, Motion, Notation - Information and Art.
• Terry Riley's "In C" - A Journey Through a Musical Possibility Space.
• Visual Music & Machine Learning Workshop for Kids

Research

• Musical User Interfaces - Rethink how audio software is designed.
• Universal Music Translation Network