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Some people who use Windows may be jealous of GarageBand on the Macs. What they do not know is that GarageBand was inspired by a Windows program called ACID by SonicFoundry. And you can try ACID free with their ACID Express, courtesy of Sony Creative Software, who had acquired SonicFoundry.

Download ACID Xpress here:

http://www.sonycreativeso ftware.com/download/step2.asp? DID=551

Remember to download the manual, the sample project, as well as loops.

So how does this help you compose music? It lets you easily play with instruments, notes, and more without knowing anything about notes, composition theory, and more. Adjust notes, tempo, and more, making music is as easy is clicking. This is the power of loop-based music-making.

Some bands who can't afford a dedicated drummer use ACID to do drum accompaniments. If you got enough time, add enough tracks with enough instruments and you'll end up with a whole orchestra worth of loops (if the Xpress version can support that many!)

Basically speaking, loops is basically a musical instrument doing a certain "effect". A grand piano is going to be different from a violin, which is different from a viola, or a flute, or others. Loops are small collections of instruments/sounds that can be inserted into your project.

Start by adding the melody. Pick an instrument/loop like guitar or piano, pick a tempo, and start adding a few notes, rest, then repeat. Cut and paste and you got your melody section. Add some drums as another track. Add some high notes with flute or trumpet on yet another track... the possibilities are endless.

So, go try it, and enjoy making music!

If you need more power, you can buy the commercial versions of ACID, such as ACID Music Studio or ACID Pro. Check out the entire Sony ACID family here:

http://www.sonycreativeso ftware.com/products/acidfamily .asp

Learn more about this author, K. Charles.
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