Best Free Midi Software for Mac and Windows

Best Free Midi Software for Mac and Windows

If you're looking for free versatile software for editing, creating, or producing music, you're in the right place.

Since the inception of the MIDI software development idea, many have flooded the internet in all directions. This article will show you the best free MIDI software for Windows and Mac.

Below is a list of the best free MIDI software for windows and Mac, outlining their features and performance.

MidiEditor

MidiEditor's logo

Just as its name suggests, MidiEditor's primary function is to edit in a manner just as virtual instruments. This way, it can organize or generate entirely new tracks.

The user interfaces window is apparent and clean. This is due to the presence of the velocity editor and the event window with an appealing light blue color theme.

Whether you're looking into creating or loading a new MIDI file, you can conveniently access editing functions in the menu panel.

This software has a unique feature for speed playback alteration, which includes a metronome sound per beat.

With the utility of a unique feature, you can hide or mute channels and tracks. Since you can change speed and enabling or disabling the metronome, you can also determine when a music playback starts.

The midi protocol of MidiEditor helps changes commands. The basic model of the controls is; the note to play with a specific velocity on a particular virtual instrument.

The key signature's presence defines a key for a specific song, i.e., G minor and C major. Pitch bend events are used in modifications of particular channels.

Tempo change events are set up based on the current tempo. This means that the tempo setting speed is in beats per second, i.e., higher speed values show a faster tempo.

Download MidiEditor for Mac and Windows.

Piano time

Piano Time's logo

It is software with selectable octaves and 36 visible keys. The software comes with the unique advantage of configuring the metronome.

Apart from that, you can practice your skills or learn how to play piano as your playback and record unlimited songs.

This software supports midi controller output keyboard, mouse, and multitouch screen. You can use the multiple keyboard mapping options to select your MP3 recordings, save or share them.

Download Piano Time Here: For Mac

Download Piano Time Here: For Windows

Piano 10

Piano 10's logo

Piano 10 allows you to play with authentic piano sounds by selecting your preferred octaves with arrows.

With the new version of Piano 10, you can produce real music using the new stereo HQ sounds. It also bears a great feel of a free grand piano with 31 simultaneous notes.

The software has a decent-looking keyboard with authentic animated keys. Its user interface is beginner-friendly with the Utmost simplicity.

The user interface design has a piano keyboard spanning the window interface splitting into 3 octaves. This enables you to split the octaves using the navigation bases on the keyboard or clicking the arrow button.

Download Piano 10 Here: For Mac

Download Piano 10 Here: For Windows

Waveform Free

Waveform's logo

As the name suggests, it is one of the best free MIDI software for windows and mac, including Ubuntu.

Waveform free comes packaged with DAW features that enable you to create and mix music at a producer level. This means that professionals can also use it.

With uniquely high functional plugins, most features this software has what most music producers would need.

As much as it has many free DAW features, it also has a pro version with a few additional features. You can pretty much do a lot with the free version unless you want to up your game.

The software has a plugin manager, full audio tracking, control surface, keyboard shortcuts, and preset chords. You can find these features in the settings panel within the main settings sections.

A simple UI is offered by a powerful subtractive synthesizer identified as 4OSC that has little processing power.

For building kits quickly and easily, a Micro drum sampler is the go-to feature. The interface facilitates the technique through drag and drop.

As a free DAW, it has automation capabilities included in which you can use exporting options such as sub mixers, modifiers, myriad, and render.

The menu navigation section is located on the bottom left corner, while the master outputs, record modes, and transport panel are on the bottom right.

It's worth noting that the main menu is collapsible but cannot be dragged within the window interface.

Download Waveform free Here: For Mac & Windows

Denemo

Aside from being compatible with Mac and Windows, it works well in Linux. Denemo uses Lilypond music engraver to typeset rapidly entered notations.

Denemo Lilypond enables generating of high-quality musical sheets easily through the input. This is because it has a simple user interface to display things more simply.

The software has typesetting functionalities that you can tweak to your preference. The good thing is that you can do typesetting simultaneously as you go about doing other things.

Tweaking the typesetting is advantageous as it allows you to reposition notes which constantly collide as you key in music.

Rather than mechanical techniques, Denemo allows you to enter music in different methods unique to it. This means that you can easily transcribe the scores with this feature.

Denemo enables you to insert links in the score to the source of the document you've made transcription from.

The links will enable you to open an ongoing project and continue where you left from. You can also use this feature to check other bar highlights.

The numeric keypad in Denemo lets you use its interface as a rhythmic instrument. To indicate the duration of the notes, you can play a single phrase or two of your music.

Denemo can be used both for small projects and larger ones, including opera. Its support system can efficiently handle notations such as chord charts, drums, and fret diagrams.

Download Denemo Here: For Mac & Windows

MPC Beats

MPC Beats's logo

This software has accessible built-in features that enable easy navigation. If you're an avid fan of tweaking music based on genres, it comes with a template consisting of multiple musical styles.

The template also enables you to practice your music production prowess by remixing the music it comes along with.

The user interface's simplicity with controllers is designed with full MIDI features that make it highly sophisticated.

MPC Beats lets you enjoy its functionalities off the bat after installation. This is because it comes with samples and built-in plugin content, and virtual instruments.

This software is suitable for you if you're looking forward to making music beats. With over 80 FX warp plugins, you can manipulate music in whatever form you like.

It has a VST/AU compatibility, in which you can use third-party virtual instruments with audio plugins. This enables you to expand your sonic pallet.

Also, you're able to add live essentials to music by recording vocal instruments through dual stereo audio tracks.The plugin and play feature lets you assume total control with compatibility in multiple USB- compliant controllers.

An added advantage is connecting through many pre-mapped controllers ranging from M-audio oxygen to MPK mini.

Download MPC Beats Here: For Mac & Windows

Muse Score

Muse Score's logo

The look of the music in the new version of this software bears a professional feel and experience.

One notable unique feature this software comes with is metronome usually featured in paid software. With this, you can make additional notes on time with any tempo.

The user interface is intuitively easy to use. You can access all the basic file menu options and tools for notations in the toolbar above the score.

As much as Muse score is free and open-source, you can leverage its advantageous features through plugins. You can find these plugins and download them for free from their massive plugin repository in musescore.org.

Muse score's import-export feature enables you to export audio and visual representations only. On the other hand, you can make imports only on file formats affiliated with music notation programs.

Native file formats of muse score are;
• .mscx compressed into .mscz file
• .mscz a files extension containing compressed score and media files

With Muse score, you can write music easily for guitar, piano, jazz, choir, orchestra, bands, and much more.

Muse score lets you add multiple starves for every instrument which you want to compose. The software automatically organizes the instruments in the UI window in appropriate sections.

Keep in mind that with the multiple starves, you can set up each instrument as a soloist.

Download here: For Mac & Windows

Surge

Surge's logo

Surge is one of the most versatile, powerful open-source software with a hybrid synth compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux. It runs as a VST3/AU plugin.

Its versatility means that you can solely rely on it when building a project. This means you won't need other software, hardware, or plugins since it's a full-fledged plugin itself.

The new version of Surge comes bundled with many additional features which the predecessor lacks. This is why it can handle a project singlehandedly.

The surge has a live, granular input processor called nimbus. The processor has a reverb that’s built based on a mutable instrument cloud module.

Surge version 1.9 is embedded with two application modes for tuning. The tuning takes place after modulation on the MIDI input.

It has a combulator consisting of three feedback filter combs, additional noise exciter with isolated output volume for every comb.

With the additional features, Surge is now able to support wavetables of a single cycle. The four additional waveshapes within the sine oscillator, FM2, Sine, and FM3, have extended feedback parametric range by default.

Download Surge Here: For Mac

Download Surge Here: For Windows

GarageBand

GarageBand's logo

This MIDI software comes with a massive database of sound libraries accompanied by some of the best instruments. The software has a virtual session for drummers alongside voice and guitar presets.

GarageBand can help you learn guitar through its free lessons. Additionally, it provides parts for music-making and recording alongside the recording part alone.

With GarageBand, you can upload ready-made music to your social media accounts or share them with family and friends. Its simplified user interface enables you to record easily and efficiently using any instrument type.

The inbuilt teachable feature comprises 40 unique genres unique to each of the available lessons that you can follow along. Users, especially learners, are given instantaneous feedback for skill sharpening.

GarageBand has a rhythm spellchecker. Its function is to synchronize timing for a grove track you choose for formal adjustment.

Download GarageBand Here: For Mac

Download GarageBand Here: For Windows 

Bandlab Cakewalk

Bandlab's logo

Bandlab Cakewalk is considered one of the best software for creating songs for instruments. The software can help you significantly record with a progressive mixing level, mastery tools, and MIDI audio tracks.

The mastering tools repository contains other tools for editing apart from recording. You can share your musical work on platforms such as YouTube, Soundcloud, Facebook, and others through the free music platform.

The design interface of the software is straightforward without any clutter. You can stretch and shift audio with ease. The simplicity of the user interface interactivity is intuitive and usable by beginners.

The mastering program is algorithmically based on simulations of pre-existing mastering processors. The algorithmic part based on the Aphex Aural Exciter unit adds depth and vibrancy to the recorded tracks.

The software uses mastering limiter and multiband compressions to give your tracks an extra elegance.

Download Bandlab Cakewalk Here: For Mac & Windows

About the Author

Portrait of Stephen Miles. The man author behind musicstudioinsights.com
Stephen Miles

Stephen fell in love with music production as a young adult and has since been producing and experimenting with sound production. Over the last several years, he has created a music studio where he produces and mixes music with Logic Pro and Ableton.