Here are 15 free music production software programs ( Digital Audio Workstations ) that are open source and free to download. We have included free music software for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Ubuntu.

Free Music Production Software

1. Audacity

Audacity is a free open source software for recording and editing sounds. Audacity is a free open source software for recording and editing sounds. Features：
  • Record live audio.
  • Record computer playback on any Windows Vista or later machine.
  • Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
  • Edit WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3 or Ogg Vorbis sound files.
  • Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
  • Change the speed or pitch of a recording
  • Platform: Windows, Mac, GNU/Linux

2. Ardour – Free DAW

Ardour is a fully-featured digital audio workstation, similar to other software like ProTools, Nuendo, Sonar and Logic, and capable of replacing analog or digital tape systems. Features:
  • Audio and MIDI Multi-Track Recording and Editing – Free DAW
  • Plugins with Full Sample Accurate Automation
  • Transport Sync and External Control Surfaces
  • Powerful Anywhere-to-Anywhere Signal Routing
  • Video Timeline
  • Platform: Linux and OS X

3. LMMS – Digital Audio Workstation

LMMS is a free cross-platform digital audio workstation software which allows you to produce music with your computer. This covers creating melodies and beats, synthesizing and mixing sounds and arranging samples. You can have fun with your MIDI keyboard and much more. Features:
  • Song-Editor for composing songs
  • A Beat+Bassline-Editor for creating beats and baselines
  • An easy-to-use Piano-Roll for editing patterns and melodies
  • An FX mixer with 64 FX channels and arbitrary number of effects allow unlimited mixing possibilities
  • Many powerful instrument and effect plugins out of the box
  • Full user-defined track-based automation and computer-controlled automation sources
  • Compatible with many standards such as SoundFont2, VST(i), LADSPA, GUS Patches, and MIDI
  • Import of MIDI files, Hydrogen project files and FL Studio ® project files

4. DarkWave Studio

DarkWave Studio is a real-time sound editor with a tabbed interface that lets you compose your own music with the assistance of your computer. Features:
  • VST Plug-in Support – Limitlessly Expandable With Instrument and Effects Plugins.
  • Multi Core / Multi CPU Support.
  • Full 64-bit Double Precision Floating Point Audio Processing.
  • Low Latency ASIO And DirectSound Audio Output Support.
  • Platform Support: Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

5. orDrumbox

The orDrumbox is a free drum machine software. Features:
  • Pattern-oriented – You can create songs by assembling various patterns. It’s up to you to determine the number of beats in each pattern (16 or 32 or whatever).
  • Automatic composer and arpeggiator
  • Automatic sound assignations
  • Drum Kits – You can import, create, modify and save drum kits. It’s a “sound library” in one single file.
  • Soft Synth – A soft synth with available and can generate sounds using an analog synth emulation: two VCO generator, FM modulation, envelope ADSR controller, low pass / hi pass filters.
  • Platform: Windows, Mac, Linux

6. Temper

Temper is a MIDI+Audio sequencer with an emphasis on MIDI. Easily integrate Temper with your other software via basic drag-and-drop behavior, more advanced sync functionality, or seamlessly as a VST. Features:
  • Sophisticated event routing and manipulation
  • Powerful MIDI editing environment
  • Interactive algorithmic composition tools
  • Perform time
  • Multiple takes per track
  • Simultaneous multi-track editing
  • Tool chaining
  • Unified MIDI controllers+VST automation
  • Multicore audio engine

7. Mixxx

Mixxx has everything you need to start making DJ mixes in a tight, integrated package. Whether you’re DJing your next house party, spinning at a club, or broadcasting as a radio DJ, Mixxx has what you need to do it right. Features:
  • iTunes Integration
  • DJ MIDI Controller Support
  • Powerful Mixing Engine
  • BPM Detection and Sync
  • Platform: Mac, Windows

8. Hydrogen

Hydrogen is an advanced drum machine for GNU/Linux. It’s main goal is to bring professional yet simple and intuitive pattern-based drum programming. Features:
  • Sample-based stereo audio engine, with import of sound samples in .Wav, .au and .aiff formats.
  • Pattern-based sequencer, with an unlimited number of patterns and ability to chain patterns into a song.
  • Up to 192 ticks per pattern with individual level per event and variable pattern length.
  • Unlimited instrument tracks with volume, mute, solo, pan capabilities.
  • Multi layer support for instruments (up to 16 samples for each instrument).
  • Sample Editor, with basic cut and loop functions.
  • Platform: Linux

9. Rosegarden

Rosegarden is a music composition and editing environment based around a MIDI sequencer that features a rich understanding of music notation and includes basic support for digital audio. Features:
  • Editing – Intuitive ways to record and edit notes.
  • MIDI – Managing your MIDI ports, banks, programs and controllers without having to remember any numbers.
  • Notation – Entering, editing and printing score.
  • Audio – Recording, mixing, and using samples and effects.
  • Synths – Playing your MIDI tracks through hosted synths, for more accurate control.

10. Qtractor

Qtractor is an Audio/MIDI multi-track sequencer application. Features:
  • Multi-track audio and MIDI sequencing and recording.
  • Traditional multi-track tape recorder control paradigm.
  • Audio file formats support: OGG (via libvorbis), MP3 (via libmad, playback only), WAV, FLAC, AIFF and many, many more (via libsndfile).
  • Standard MIDI files support (format 0 and 1).
  • Non-destructive, non-linear editing.
  • Unlimited number of tracks per session/project.
  • Unlimited number of overlapping clips per track.
  • Platform: Linux

11. MusE

MusE is a MIDI/Audio sequencer with recording and editing. MusE aims to be a complete multi-track virtual studio for Linux. Features:
  • Realtime Record/Playback several mono/stereo inputs/outputs.
  • Graphical editing of automation
  • Several types of audio tracks: Audio inputs, Audio outputs, Wave tracks, Group tracks, Aux outputs
  • Standardized plugin formats: LADSPA, DSSI, VST
  • Drag and drop import and arranging of: Plugins and plugin presets, Parts, Midi files, Audio files, Aux outputs
  • Platform: Linux

12. Linux Sampler

The LinuxSampler is a open source audio sampler with high stability, efficiency and very low latency, providing professional grade features, comparable to both hardware and commercial Windows/Mac software samplers. Platform: Windows / Mac

13. Spek – Acoustic Spectrum Analyser

Spek helps to analyse your audio files by showing their spectrogram. Features:
  • Supports all popular lossy and lossless audio file formats thanks to the FFmpeg libraries.
  • Ultra-fast signal processing, uses multiple threads to further speed up the analysis.
  • Shows the codec name and the audio signal parameters.
  • Allows to save the spectrogram as an image file.
  • Drag-and-drop support; associates with common audio file formats.
  • Auto-fitting time, frequency and spectral density rulers.
  • Adjustable spectral density range.
  • Translated into 19 languages.
  • Platform: Unix, Windows and Mac OS X.

14. MuLab ( Free Limited Version )

MuLab 6.0 features an enhanced look and feel and a rich collection of new and improved features throughout the app that all together seriously increase the creativity, comfort and productivity of MuLab. Features:
  • Create, record, edit and play multi-track audio & music.
  • Flexible tracks and sub-tracks support audio, MIDI and automation parts.
  • Easy modular architecture.
  • Top-quality uncompromised sound engine.
  • Super-fat oscillators with 300 selected waveforms + support for user waveforms.
  • Multi-core CPU support.
  • Automatic mono/stereo handling.
  • Advanced integration between composer and sound engine.
  • Automation parts let you easily automate any parameter in the modular tree structure, even the deepest nested ones.
  • Platform: Mac, Windows

15. Garageband

GarageBand is the easiest way to create a great-sounding song on your Mac. Add realistic, impeccably produced and performed drum grooves to your song with Drummer. Features:
  • Add a virtual session drummer to your song that takes direction and plays realistic beats
  • Create a song with up to 255 tracks
  • Quickly change the timing of an audio recording using Flex Time
  • Use your iPad and Multi-Touch gestures to wirelessly play any GarageBand instrument on your Mac
  • Choose your best performance with multi-take recording
  • Platform: Free with Mac OS