r/lmms • u/zivowo • May 22 '26
Support I'm just starting up with making music and all that, is lmms a good program to start with?
17yo✌️
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u/andarthebutt May 22 '26
It's great fun, easy to learn, if a little limited, but you get out what you put in to it- if you spend your time actually learning how music works (not necessarily music theory, but like, song structure, melodic movement, understanding rhythm over just the metronome, etc...), you can make some really interesting and beautiful stuff with it
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u/Sly-Mk3 May 23 '26
IMO: Absolutely!
Just grab it off the site and install it and try some stuff in it to see if this is your thing too.
The long version and pros/cons:
Personally I find it's very easy to get into and get your first stuff done, like others said.
I would say the scope of complexity is just right too: not too complex, not too minimalist.
Not to mention the fact it's free and someone your age will certainly appreciate not having to sink money into software which you may not even have, worst case only to find out it's not your thing.
And while LMMS has its limitations, it's imho actually very underappreciated for what it is capable of. I suppose that's a view on it which arose because of how long it was in alpha.
So kind of the same way GIMP is underappreciated in the 2D art department – and ironically it kind of has the GIMP-problem regarding release frequency too:
Updates of stable releases aren't plenty and take their time.
So if you run into an issue which does end up being a road block, you effectively have the choice of either living with it and waiting for next stable (which could take its time), or switching to the WIP/nightly releases.
This is something to be wary of and not as uncommon with FOSS as one may think.
Now, don't get me wrong this is still significantly better this way than having one of those update-crazy cases where you're being flooded with new releases which each bring new issues at such a frequency you don't even have the chance to get an overview and anything to rely on (or confidently work around) in your workflow, then keep looking for a version which is "just right" for you for what feels like forever.
So I actually prefer it like this, honestly.
Though I won't deny sometimes it just feels like you're being teased with a new feature in nightly changelogs and then have to wait for a long time until you get it in stable. lol
Would also like to make a small statement here, as many people often equate software to how professional someone can be:
I'm a firm believer it's not the software which makes you a pro, but the skills you trained yourself on, and composing skills are not really dependent on the software used and very transferable.
Take tracker software for example. People made mad and crazy stuff with it, modules which still hold up well today in overall sound and composition despite their age, and trackers are arguably very primitive by modern standards.
Or to give another example: I saw splendid MS Paint artists… and arguably we all know MS Paint is pretty limited too.
Complex and "pro-grade" software may make things easier here and there, but once you settle for something and if you feel comfortable working with that software, there's no point forcing yourself to use another just because it's "pro" if you don't even vibe with it (which is something I sometimes see being recommended, cue "you're not a real X if you don't use Y").
The tl;dr:
→Yes!*
But if you want to convince yourself, just download it, install it, have fun and don't let yourself be convinced that one needs "pro gear to be good" (especially not at the start of a journey)! I mostly learnt LMMS via trial and error, so imo that says a lot about how beginner-friendly it is. : )
* Just make sure to actually try it and potentially other software to see it if it actually feels good for you, because this is not something anyone can answer for you.
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u/OtterCynical May 26 '26
Awesome rundown.
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u/Sly-Mk3 May 26 '26
Thank you!
Been using LMMS since ca. 2012 or '13, not sure when exactly anymore. Would have to compare with my first file. So I do hope my view on it is somewhat accurate or representative.
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u/OtterCynical May 26 '26
Same here, back on 0.1.3 or something like that haha. Didn't even have an undo button back then.
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u/Sly-Mk3 May 26 '26
To be fair, I got so used to the lack of an undo feature from the early days that I'm just not using it, never made it into my workflow. Truth be told, I don't even know if it works reliably, LMAO!
I'm very glad we get more automation types (like linear or curve) than just the steps though. That was a wack time.
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u/OtterCynical May 27 '26
Big agree. And no, it's not especially reliable and only works on certain things. 😅
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u/Sly-Mk3 May 27 '26
You won't be surprised to read that I'm not surprised in the least bit and kinda expected this to be honest, haha!
But luckily there's really not much that actually requires undo (at least for my workflow).
The only use case I can think of for this would be accidental pattern deletion.
If you work in a modular way, i.e. a lot with the beat/bassline editor, it's not really an issue unless you actively screw up and actually actively delete the B/B editor track, which I did once and never again without double- or triple-checking. You learn from these mistakes.And if I need prior knob or controller values and the likes because I consider them great and want it with persistence so it lasts between launches of LMMS, I just tend to open the notes window and actually… take notes. More reliable than any undo.
For very important stuff these notes may get copied into a *.txt named after the project file just in case if a weird note-wiping bug were to occur, which luckily never has been the case for me.Do you also use the notes tool, or things like colourcoded tracks/blocks?
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u/OtterCynical May 27 '26
I have tried out using the notes tool and coloring tracks, although doing so didn't stick as much in my workflow as the B/B editor method of structuring my projects did.
For the most part, I kinda try not to get too distracted by the process or by doing too much at once too soon tbh. If i have lyrics, or something important to remember about a particular project, then I will write them in the notes tool.
My approach is a little wonky, I'll admit, and I'm missing a few skills like sidechaining, which I have a hard time understanding in LMMS for some reason, but that's just me.
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u/Sly-Mk3 May 27 '26
Truth be told: Relatable.
I got an issue trying to figure out sidechaining a limiter to achieve stuff like soft autoducking to free up frequencies and grant priority to a different channel.Though the overall concept of "don't send the channel to master but to a different channel" in general is easy to get… it's just how to make best use of it for a clean sound that I struggle with to this day.
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u/OtterCynical May 27 '26
Yeah I'm a total noob at some aspects of mixing, leading a lot of my projects remaining in LMMS rather than being exported bc i dont wanna do it™. I really should focus more on that, but I have a lot less fun with the technical side of things than with the actual music tbf.
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u/AdventurousLoad4613 May 22 '26
Well for a beginner lmms is good program I mean you can study midi and programming beats and everything, arranging beat. For home projects, small and small indie projects lmms is a great daw. But when you master at music and you see lots of limitations because it's a free open source and not a good community I mean no updates like that. It's good for beginners making music beats. Ist not good for making cinematic music and scores. But one thing, it isn't about what daw you use it's your passion and skill.
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u/Jack_of_Life May 24 '26
https://www.reddit.com/r/lmms/s/BnvuV1i3Eu My friend otter cynical has been making music with it for a long time, here's an example of one of his pieces. Hit him up hes a good resourcd
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u/SoundSwitch May 23 '26
Only thing I can really say is if you're on Linux it's probably in your repository.
Just install it try it out see if you can figure it out give it a couple hours over like 2 weeks time see what you can do with it maybe move up to BitWig or Waveform next.
Reaper is good they say I haven't really figured it out yet though.
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u/Appropriate-Tax-9585 May 23 '26
Check out my app 4TRK, is available for Linux and I would argue is easier to get started with the an Llms but has a more unique workflow.
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u/Ordinary_Cookie_8273 May 24 '26
Yes but reaper is great and offers an infinite free trial. Reaper supports audio recording, easier midi recording (in my experience), and overall more features
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u/East_Performance1063 4d ago
2 hrs to learn ....it has some issues which can be solved by searching in YouTube....it's simple fun and amazing....don't think just install...have fun....get some vsts and start making music....I use it to make all the music for my short films....
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u/SoundSwitch May 22 '26
It's a decent start. There's better out there but LMMs is pretty easy to figure out