How to Start Composing Music

This is a getting-started map for composing music with software instruments, written for someone with no prior production experience. It’s built around free, widely used tools and a setup that’s easy to collaborate on — when two people use the same software, they can open each other’s projects and learn the same workflow.

The core idea below is the foundation; the rest makes more sense once it clicks.

The core idea (read this first)

A DAW (the program everything happens in) hosts virtual instruments, and they’re driven by MIDI.

• Virtual instrument = the sound source. A sampled piano, a string section, a synth.
• MIDI = the performance data — which notes, how hard, how long. It’s played on a keyboard or drawn in with the mouse, and the instrument turns that data into sound.
• One controller plays everything. A harmonica patch, a drum kit, a violin section — they’re all just MIDI notes arriving at different instruments.

There are two kinds of sound material to work with, and the difference is worth knowing early:

Most soundtracks blend both. Playing instruments via MIDI is the actual composing skill; loops give fast results and teach arrangement. Doing a little of both at the start works well.

The software

The DAW: REAPER

REAPER is the recommended choice. It’s inexpensive, runs on both Windows and Mac, and is fully professional.

• Why REAPER: it has a free, fully functional trial and a cheap license, and it’s a common enough choice that collaborators can match it and swap project files.
• Optional sandbox: GarageBand (Mac only, free) is a friendly place to experiment, but it’s not ideal as a main workflow when collaboration matters.

When creating a new project, set 48 kHz sample rate and 24-bit. Collaborators should agree on the same settings so files line up.

Instrument “player” apps to install

These manage downloading and running the free instruments below:

• Spitfire app — for LABS and BBCSO Discover.
• Native Access — for Kontakt Player and Komplete Start.

Each person installs these on their own machine, under their own free account.

Where the sounds come from

Free virtual instruments to start with

All free, all good for cinematic/film-style writing:

• Spitfire LABS — strings, felt pianos, pads, choirs, textures. The single best free starting point.
  • Note: Spitfire is moving LABS into a subscription product called Splice INSTRUMENT, but the existing free LABS plugin keeps working into 2026. Fine to start on — just don’t treat it as something you’ll own forever.
• Spitfire BBC Symphony Orchestra Discover — a full free orchestra. Great for learning how parts fit together.
• Native Instruments Komplete Start — a free bundle that includes Kontakt Player, the industry-standard sampler that most paid libraries later run inside. Good groundwork.
• Vital — a free synth for electronic or textural sounds.

Raw audio assets

Loops, one-shots, sound effects, and stems are just audio files — they can be collected, stored, and dragged straight into a project. Splice (subscription) is a common source, and there are many free packs too. Personal recordings live in this category as well.

Sharing projects with friends

• Virtual instruments are licensed software, not files that can be copied between machines. To open a shared project, both machines need the same instruments installed.
• So collaborators should agree on a shared instrument set — the free ones above are ideal, since each person can install identical copies for free.
• For parts that are “done,” bounce/render them to audio and send the audio file. Audio opens anywhere, regardless of which plugins are installed.
• Free libraries: each person installs under their own free account. Paid libraries usually can’t be shared on a single license — assume each person needs their own.

The hardware

Virtual instruments are played with a MIDI keyboard, and one controller triggers everything. A controller isn’t strictly required to start — REAPER can take notes drawn with the mouse or played on a computer keyboard — but one makes everything faster and more expressive, and is worth getting early.

25 mini keys are great for dipping in. A 49-key is the natural upgrade later for comfortable two-handed playing.

Putting it together — first steps

1. Install REAPER, the Spitfire app, and Native Access. Download LABS, BBCSO Discover, and Komplete Start.
2. Create a new project at 48 kHz / 24-bit.
3. Add a track and load a virtual instrument — a LABS sound is a good first pick.
4. Play or draw a few notes in the piano roll, then add another track with another instrument and layer them.
5. Two things that come up quickly:
   • Mod wheel / expression — for sampled instruments, dynamics and swells often ride on the mod wheel (or an expression pedal). That’s how a line “breathes” instead of sounding flat.
   • Keyswitches — bigger orchestral libraries use the low keys to switch playing techniques (legato, staccato, pizzicato). LABS is simpler, so this isn’t a first-day concern.
6. Drums: program them in the piano roll with the mouse, or finger-drum on the pads. Both are completely normal — there’s no “wrong” way.

Quick reference

What not to worry about yet

Mixing, mastering, loudness levels, weighted 88-key pianos, expensive paid libraries. Getting comfortable playing a few free instruments and layering ideas comes first — the rest follows naturally once the sounds are enjoyable to make.