What's the simplest Windows software similar to GarageBand for Middle School students

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MrMichael

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I teach engineering and technology, middle school. The kids are 11-13 and will rotate through various projects that last about two to three weeks. They will be introduced to robotics, digital design and imaging, auto CAD, and I thought it would be good for them to get a taste of audio engineering.

I only get my students for nine weeks before they move on to other electives, and since Auto CAD and robotics are a must, it only leaves a short amount of time for them to learn much. It's all pretty much a sampler class to get them interested in science, technology, engineering and math (and art).

I used to use some Cakewalk products years ago when I did a lot of home recording with a laptop, USB interface, and my electric bass, guitar, keyboard, mics, and drum loops, and for the last five or six years I've made music for fun on GarageBand using iOS devices and a Mac. I only do it for fun.

I need something easy like Garage Band. I wish I had a lot of Macs, but the school has none. However, we have about eighteen brand new Windows PCs with a 2.9 ghz processor and 8gb of RAM (Lenovo Thinkpads). They are great computers.

Keep in mind that each student will only get about three weeks to learn as much as possible and hopefully create a song of some type (or other multitrack recording). I need simple.

Thanks for any suggestions. Oh, and I have a budget, so the software doesn't have to be free: Just simple.

Thanks
 
Look at Mixcraft. It has loops for the kids to create their own songs, beats, etc. They can set levels. add effects, mixdown, and all. Not sure what the trade-offs are for the cheap version.
 
I second the recommendation for Mixcraft. There is a book called Making Music with GarageBand and Mixcraft that is written to be used as a course textbook, although it covers the previous version of Mixcraft (6). You can also download a free teacher's guide and other materials for the latest version of Mixcraft (7) at Acoustica's web site. Furthermore, Acoustica offers discounts for purchases by schools and students. You can download a free trial if you want to see what it's like, and they also have a lot of video tutorials online.
 
Thanks, guys. I'll dig into Mixcraft tomorrow and give it a try.

I'll probably order a couple Mac minis as well. They are 499 and come loaded with Garage Band (and iMovie, which is another app students can use).

Thanks again
 
The nice thing about the book I mentioned is that it's written for both Mixcraft and GarageBand-- each topic and exercise is discussed first for one program, then the other. But as I said, it's for Mixcraft 6-- which is similar enough to Mixcraft 7 to not be a problem, although none of Mixcraft 7's new features would be covered. However, the Teacher's Guide for Mixcraft 7 should help to fill any gaps on that account.
 
I'd give my vote to Studio One. I don't know if they have full versions of the app for educational institutions at a discounted rate, but the free version of Studio One is pretty good. They have provided lots of tutorials and learning material (for example - PreSonus Music Education | Studio One).
 
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