Newbie software question

pdx.stan

New member
I have a friend who composes simple songs for the new-thought center she attends. She has a midi keyboard and a Windows 7 laptop...I am getting a USB-MIDI dongle converter for it.

She wants software that can do 2 things:
1 - take the tune as she plays it on her midi keyboard and convert it to a file that can be recorder onto a CD that can be played on any music CD player - - - the FEWER steps involved the BETTER. She is not techie nor tech adventerous.

2 - take the tune as she plays it on her midi keyboard and display/save/print as sheet music so that lyrics can be added.

Freeware is preferred, but if spending some money is necessary for well-designed functionality, so be it.

Bells & whistles are not needed and may actually distract or confuse.

Suggestions and/or URLs , please?

TIA,

Stan.
 
What's a new-thought centre?

Something frightening to contemplate, I imagine. Let's focus on the OP's technical questions.

OP, there's going to be at least a 3-step process here.

First, record the song as MIDI data and save it to a file. Any DAW, such as Reaper, can do that. There are most likely a number of standalone freeware apps that can do it too, if she wants to avoid digging into a large music production program.

To turn the MIDI file into an audio CD, she will need to play the MIDI file back into a virtual synthesizer to create actual sounds. There are some freeware MIDI players out there, but they usually use the onboard instrument sounds on your computer's sound card. That tends not to sound so great. Then there's the CD burning process itself, which requires another program.

The third step, transcribing to sheet music, requires yet another program that you play the MIDI file into.

There may be one big program that can accomplish all of the above, but there will most likely be a fairly steep learning curve involved in doing everything she wants to do regardless of which software she uses.
 
There may be one big program that can accomplish all of the above, but there will most likely be a fairly steep learning curve involved in doing everything she wants to do regardless of which software she uses.

I agree. What you're asking for doesn't exist. If it did exist it wouldn't be freeware.
 
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