Magix Music Maker 15

Making music with a computer doesn’t require the ability to play instruments; there are plenty of programs that let users ‘build’ tracks using pre-recorded snippets.

Magix Music Maker is one of these and is cheap enough to be ideal for those who want to have a go at making music without training.

The focus of Music Maker 15 is definitely on electronic styles – there are several tools for creating drum and bass lines in these genres. There are rock-oriented samples too, though, and the synthesiser can play a variety of orchestral instruments and pianos.

The interface has been significantly improved from previous versions, notably the right-click context menu in the main window. This was something of a problem in previous versions as it was often unclear which option was for editing the music and which was for changing instrument settings.

The sound clip and synthesiser browser, called the Soundpool, has also been improved. Instruments are now colour-coded and the layout has been improved when it comes to the same clips at different pitches. This makes it much easier to create tracks that have a sense of development, rather than just playing the same chord repeatedly. There is a pitch-shift effect available for the same purpose, but that’s an inferior method. The Soundpool can also be used to browse photos and videos that can be added to tracks.

There are six collections of samples included: ambient, chillout, disco house, hip-hop, techno trance and rock alternative. The synthesisers can also be used to create tunes, either by drawing notes on the screen or playing with a Midi keyboard. It’s a shame there’s no way of using the computer keyboard to play notes, though. Our Midi keyboard wasn’t recognised automatically: we had to use the program’s settings to enable it.

Finished tracks can be exported in several audio or video formats, with the option to export directly to Youtube – you can add your own photos to use as visuals. Handily, Music Maker can automatically save backups every 10 minutes – it’s easy to get lost in the creative process and forget to save.

Click here to see a sample video of the rock style.

Music Maker 15 is very good value if you want to try out making music on your computer.