Jun 01, 2009 by kimlye
Just because you don’t have the talent of Paul Van Dyk doesn’t mean you can’t make your own music to bring the house down. Many music hobbyist sites and amateur composers’ communities take this past time very seriously, and offer brilliant information and suggestions to bring you from zero to hero.

One of the best sites that have been around for years, catering to both novices and experts, is AcidPlanet.com. This amazing online community used to be sponsored by Sonic Foundry to promote its Acid suite of software. Having been bought over by Sony, it has since grown by leaps and bounds.

Members of the site range from complete novices to high-profile DJs. Just click on the original compositions listed on the various charts to get an idea of how far you can actually go.

Don’t worry if you are not musically trained. If you have an ear for music, but have absolutely no idea how to write a squeak – download the free AcidXpress. This most basic of all music arrangement tools has enough bandwidth for you to compose your first piece in mere hours.

Back to Basics

The premise is extremely simple. Free small clips of music are made available to help you get started. These clips are known as loops, and you can liken them to tubes of water colours. AcidXpress then, is the canvas for you to paint on – quite literally.

You choose the loops you want and paint them, loop by loop onto the different tracks. Each time you do this, you can listen back to the sounds you have created. If you don’t like what u have painted, simply delete the loops and paint on another one.



Don’t worry if you are not musically trained. If you have an ear for music, but have absolutely no idea how to write a squeak – download the free AcidXpress.


If you are satisfied with the sound, you can then cut, paste and overlap a particular loop in any way your creative little heart desires. Once you think your composition sounds presentable, just render the project to combine the different tracks into a single piece of music. And voila! One new piece of music is in the can.

Of course, being a free sample, AcidXpress has many limitations, and only gives you a taste of what the full software, called AcidPro, is really capable of.

Addicted to Bass

We highly encourage you to try out AcidXpress first, to determine your interest level in basic music making, before you invest in the real deal. Because we assure you, once you get addicted to this level of creative freedom, you will soon be buying the full suite, collecting loops and upgrading your computer system, sound system, and room acoustic, if not more!