Audio editing and music production are widely accessible in the digital age. It applies to both professional sound engineers and music enthusiasts. An array of open-source audio and music editors are available for Linux, Windows, and macOS.
This post presents 25 of these tools. From complex digital audio workstations to basic audio file manipulators, you'll find something useful.
Let's check these tools that can aid in creating, editing, and producing your audio content.
1. Sneedacity (Formerly Audacity)
Sneedacity, formerly known as Audacity, is a user-friendly, multi-track audio editor and recorder compatible with various operating systems. It aims to provide a telemetry-free experience and is up-to-date with Audacity's original codebase.
It includes features like macros for chaining commands, scripting in various languages, a powerful built-in scripting language, multi-track editing, and analysis tools. Sneedacity is free software licensed under GPL, version 2.
Features
- Telemetry-free experience
- Up-to-date with Audacity's original codebase
- Macros for chaining commands and batch processing
- Scripting in Python, Perl, or any language that supports named pipes
- Powerful built-in scripting language (Nyquist)
- Multi-track editing with sample accuracy and arbitrary sample rates
- Accessibility for visually impaired users
- Analysis and visualization tools for audio or other signal data
- Recording from any real or virtual audio device available to the host system
- Export/Import of a wide range of audio formats, extendible with FFmpeg
- High-quality 32-bit float audio processing
- Support for multiple audio plug-in formats, including VST, LV2, AU
- Recording from any real, or virtual audio device that is available to the host system.
- Export / Import a wide range of audio formats, extendible with FFmpeg.
- High quality using 32-bit float audio processing.
- Plug-ins Support for multiple audio plug-in formats, including VST, LV2, AU.
- Macros for chaining commands and batch processing.
- Scripting in Python, Perl, or any language that supports named pipes.
- Nyquist Very powerful built-in scripting language that may also be used to create plug-ins.
- Editing multi-track editing with sample accuracy and arbitrary sample rates.
- Accessibility for VI users.
- Analysis and visualization tools to analyze audio, or other signal data.
2. Ardor (Digital Audio Workstation)
Ardour is a multi-channel digital audio workstation designed for recording, editing, mixing, and mastering audio and MIDI projects. It is aimed at audio engineers, musicians, soundtrack editors, and composers.
It works for many Linux distros such as Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch Linux, Linux Mint and Manjarhttps://medevel.com/tag/manjaro/o.
It is also available for Windows and macOS systems.
- Download for Linux from Flathub.
Ardour Developers
3. LMMS: Music Production Solution
LMMS is a free cross-platform alternative to commercial programs like FL Studio®, which allow you to produce music with your computer. This includes the creation of melodies and beats, the synthesis and mixing of sounds, and arranging of samples.
You can have fun with your MIDI-keyboard and much more; all in a user-friendly and modern interface.
Features
- Song-Editor for composing songs
- Pattern-Editor for creating beats and patterns
- An easy-to-use Piano-Roll for editing patterns and melodies
- A Mixer with unlimited mixer channels and arbitrary number of effects
- Many powerful instrument and effect-plugins out of the box
- Full user-defined track-based automation and computer-controlled automation sources
- Compatible with many standards such as SoundFont2, VST(i), LADSPA, GUS Patches, and full MIDI support
- MIDI file importing and exporting
4. Tenacity
Tenacity is a free, easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS, Linux and other operating systems. The interface is translated into many languages.
Features
- Easy-to-use and cross-platform
- Multi-track audio editor/recorder
- Supports Windows, Linux, and other operating systems
- Open-source software
- Capability to record from real or virtual audio devices
- Able to export and import a wide range of audio formats (extendible with FFmpeg)
- High quality audio support, including up to 32-bit float
- Support for VST, LV2, and AU plugins
- Offers scripting in the built-in scripting language Nyquist, or in Python, Perl and other languages with named pipes
- Arbitrary sampling and multi-track timeline editing
- Accessibility features such as editing via keyboard, screen reader support and narration support
- Tools useful in the analysis of signals, including audio
Download for Linux from Flathub.
Tenacity Community
5. Mixxx
Mixxx is a free and open-source DJ software available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It offers features such as BPM and key detection, DJ controller support, sound effects, and vinyl record control. It caters to both new and experienced DJs, providing tools for creative live mixes with digital music files.
6. Qtractor
Qtractor is a C++ Audio/MIDI multi-track sequencer application for Linux, utilizing the Jack Audio Connection Kit (JACK) for audio and the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) for MIDI.
It's designed as a comprehensive Linux desktop audio workstation GUI, particularly for personal home-studios. Qtractor is free, open-source software, distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 or later.
Features
- Multi-track audio and MIDI sequencing and recording
- Developed on the Qt C++ application and UI framework
- Uses JACK for audio and ALSA sequencer for MIDI as multimedia infrastructures
- Traditional multi-track tape recorder control paradigm
- Audio file formats support: OGG, MP3 (playback only), WAV, FLAC, AIFF, and more
- Standard MIDI files support (format 0 and 1)
- Non-destructive, non-linear editing
- Unlimited number of tracks per session/project
- Unlimited number of overlapping clips per track
- XML encoded session/project description files (SDI)
- Point-and-click, multi-select, drag-and-drop interaction
- Unlimited undo/redo
- Built-in mixer and monitor controls
- Built-in connection patchbay control and persistence
- LADSPA, DSSI, native VST(2), VST3, LV2, and CLAP plug-ins support
- Unlimited number of plug-ins per track or bus
- Plug-in presets, programs, and chunk/configurations support
- Unlimited audio/MIDI effect send/return inserts per track or bus
- Loop-recording/takes
- Audio/MIDI clip fade-in/out, cross-fade
- Audio/MIDI clip gain/volume, normalize, export
- Audio/MIDI track and plugin parameter automation
- Audio clip time-stretching, pitch-shifting and seamless sample-rate conversion
- Audio/MIDI track export
- Audio/MIDI metronome bar/beat clicks
- Unlimited tempo/time-signature map
- Unlimited location/bar markers
- MIDI clip editor (matrix/piano roll)
- MIDI instrument definitions support
- MIDI controller mapping/learn/assignment
- MIDI system exclusive (SysEx) setups
- JACK transport sync master/slave
- JACK session support
- NSM (Non/New Session Management) support
- MMC control surface enabled
- MIDI Clock, Song Position Pointer (SPP) support
- Configurable PC-keyboard and MIDI controller shortcuts
7. Hydrogen
Hydrogen is an advanced drum machine software. It's an open-source virtual percussion tool that can be used for creating beats, sample tracks, and drum sequences. It is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems.
Hydrogen allows users to create and edit drum patterns, and it offers a variety of features for sequencing and mixing, including a pattern-based sequencer, a multi-layer support for instruments, and the ability to import/export songs in various formats.
Features
- Very user-friendly, modular, fast and intuitive graphical interface based on QT 4.
- Sample-based stereo audio engine, with import of sound samples in .wav, .au and .aiff formats.
- Support of samples in compressed FLAC file.
- Pattern-based sequencer, with unlimited number of patterns and ability to chain patterns into a song.
- Up to 192 ticks per pattern with individual level per event and variable pattern length.
- Unlimited instrument tracks with volume, mute, solo, pan capabilities.
- Multi layer support for instruments (up to 16 samples for each instrument).
- Sample Editor, with basic cut and loop functions.
- Time-stretch and pitch functions via rubberband cli. Require the rubberband-cli package.
- Play-lists with scripting function.
- Advanced tab-tempo.
- Director Window with a visual metronome and song position tags.
- Time-line with variable tempo.
- Single and stacked pattern mode.
- Export/Import single patterns into song projects.
- Midi learning via Shift+MouseClick on many gui-cotrollers combined with a midi settings editor.
- Ability to import/export song files.
- Unique human velocity, human time, pitch and swing functions.
- Multiple patterns playing at once.
- JACK, ALSA, PortAudio and OSS audio drivers.
- JACK MIDI, ALSA MIDI and PortMidi input with assignable midi-in channel (1..16, ALL).
- Import/export of drumkits.
- Export song to wav, aiff, flac or ogg file.
- Export song to midi file.
- Export song to lilypond file.
hydrogen-music
8. REAPER's
REAPER is a comprehensive digital audio production application for computers, offering a full suite of recording, editing, processing, mixing, and mastering tools. It supports a wide range of hardware, digital formats, and plugins and can be extended, scripted, and modified. REAPER is used in various fields, from commercial and home studios to education, science, and game development.
It offers a single, fully-featured version with no limitations, available for a 60-day evaluation.
However, it is a free app but it is required to purchase the license for production.
Features
- Full suite of recording, editing, processing, mixing, and mastering tools
- Supports a wide range of hardware, digital formats, and plugins
- Can be extended, scripted, and modified
- No limitations, fully-featured version available for a 60-day evaluation
- License includes free updates, bug fixes, and new features
- Efficient and fast loading, powerful audio and MIDI routing
- 64-bit internal audio processing
- Thorough MIDI hardware and software support
- Support for thousands of third-party plugins
- Simultaneous recording inputs limited only by hardware
- Record directly to any supported audio formats
- Any track can record audio or MIDI input, or record that track's processed output
- Record multiple takes or layers, overdub, punch in and out, or record in a loop
- Record directly to stereo, surround, or multichannel audio files, before or after effects processing
- Monitor inputs with or without software FX
- Freely mix audio, MIDI, video, still image media on any track
- Intuitive zoom, scroll, scrub, jog, tab to audio transient, MIDI navigation
- Thorough and flexible multichannel support
- Insert almost any third-party audio or MIDI plug-in or virtual instrument
- Apply FX in real time, or non-destructively render FX output
- Automatic plug-in delay compensation (PDC)
- Real-time pitch shifting, correction, and time stretch
- Render tracks, regions, and media items in any combination
- Render one file at a time, or thousands of files at once, with any channel count, sample rate, bit depth, bit rate, and encoding quality
- Thoroughly customizable appearance - change colors, icons, toolbars, layouts, almost anything
- Almost anything that REAPER can do, literally thousands of actions, alone or in sequence, can be triggered by a keystroke, toolbar button, or external controller
- Easily extensible. Develop simple macros or complex extensions in Lua, EEL, or Python
- REAPER starts and loads fast - be ready to record in just a few seconds
- Portable - put REAPER in your pocket and run it from a USB key or other removable media
- Tightly coded - installers are around 20 MB (a hundred times smaller than some other DAW software), updates usually install in less than a minute
- Rapid, efficient development - new features and optimizations are added quickly and often
- Very active, enthusiastic, and helpful user forum, get help quickly
- An honest business model that aims to provide the best possible user experience
9. MuseScore
MuseScore is a cross-platform, multi-lingual, open source music notation software with an easy-to-use editor and audio score playback. It supports unlimited staves, dynamics, articulations, lyrics, chords, lead sheet notation, and can import/export MIDI and MusicXML, export to PDF and WAV.
Features
- Unlimited score length
- Unlimited number of staves per system
- Up to four independent voices per staff
- Score creation wizard and templates
- Professional music notation software
- Completely free with no limitations
- User-friendly and powerful
- Open source
- MIDI keyboard input
- Transfer compatibility with other programs via MusicXML, MIDI and more
- Automatic part extraction and transposition
- Repeats, including segnos, codas, and measure repeats
- Dynamics, articulations, and other expression markings, with playback support for most
- Custom text markings
- Lyrics support
- Chord symbols
- Jazz notation, including lead sheets, slash notation and a “handwritten” font for text
- Swing and shuffle playback
- Mixer for instrument levels and effects
- Percussion notation
- Early music notation
- Cross-staff beaming
- Import of graphics
- Custom key signatures
- Additive time signatures
- User-defined score styles
MuseScore BVBA
10. Rosegarden
Rosegarden is a MIDI sequencer-based music composition and editing environment with a deep understanding of music notation and basic digital audio support.
It's user-friendly, visually appealing, and ideal for composers, musicians, music students, and small studio or home recording environments, operating on Linux.
11. Cecilia4Csound
Cecilia4Csound is an audio signal processing environment that allows users to create their own GUI for sound effects and synthesis.
It was originally written with Tcl/Tk but has been completely rewritten using Python/wxPython and now uses the Csound API for interface and audio engine communication.
belangeo12. Renoise
Renoise is a complete, multi-platform and expandable Digital Audio Workstation. It lets you record, compose, edit, process and render production-quality audio using a music-tracker based approach.
It works for Windows, Linux, macOS and comes with a rich plugin support.
13. AudioHaze
AudioHaze is an open-source simple GUI application that manipulates audio files by modifying and displaying the audio waveform using Python.
Features
- Show Audio File Information Such As:
- File Type (Supports Mainly
.WavFiles) - Number Of Channels
- Audio Frame Rate
- Maximum Audio Amplitude
- Audio File Duration
- File Type (Supports Mainly
- Modify The Audio File By:
- Increasing/Decreasing The Amplitude
- Increasing/Decreasing Audio Speed
- Increasing/Decreasing Audio Delay (Shift)
- Reversing The Audio
- Add An Echo Effect
- Represent The Audio Wave Form For Both Original And Modified Files
- Show A History Of Previous Modified Audio Files
- The Ability To Play Both Audio Files
- Text To Speach Functionality
- Export Both The New Modified Audio File And The Transcript TTS File In A New Directory
Audio output - Convolution Operations For Some Elementary Signals
- LTI System Functionality:
- Convert Between Zeros And Poles Formula To H (s) Represented In Numerator/Denominator Formula
- Support For Stereo Audio Files
- Support Dark Mode Theme
- Support User Customized Themes Using
user.jsonFile Located InThemeFolder
.Mp3Initial Support Was Added InV 0.6
shalabycr714. Traverso DAW
Traverso DAW is a free sound recording and editing software offering multi-track recording, real-time audio editing, and support for various file formats. It provides a clear, non-linear audio editing interface, high-quality outputs, plugin integration, zero wait time, and support for multiple sample rates, making it suitable for creating a home audio studio.
Traverso-daw
15. LosslessCut (Video & Audio)
LosslessCut is a cross-platform FFmpeg GUI designed for quick, lossless operations on video, audio, subtitle, and other media files. It allows for lossless trimming and cutting of files, ideal for rough-cutting large video files without losing quality or re-encoding. It can also add music or subtitle tracks to videos. The software also supports lossless merging and stream editing.
Features
- Lossless cutting of most video and audio formats
- Losslessly cut out parts of video/audio (for cutting away commercials etc.)
- Losslessly rearrange the order of video/audio segments
- Remux into any compatible output format
- Take full-resolution snapshots from videos in JPEG/PNG format
- Apply a per-file timecode offset (and auto load timecode from file)
greatalex42016. Audacity Legacy
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS, linux distros and other operating systems.
Audacity is free software, developed by a group of volunteers and distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Programs like Audacity are also called open source software, because their source code is available for anyone to study or use. There are thousands of other free and open source programs, including the Firefox web browser, the LibreOffice or Apache OpenOffice office suites and entire Linux-based operating systems such as Ubuntu.
Features
- Record live audio
- Record computer playback on any Windows Vista or later machine
- Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs
- Edit WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3 or Ogg Vorbis sound files
- AC3, M4A/M4R (AAC), WMA and other formats supported using optional libraries
- Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together
- Numerous effects including change the speed or pitch of a recording
- And more!
kaedeseto17. TuxGuitar
TuxGuitar is a multitrack guitar tablature editor and player written in Java-SWT, It can open GuitarPro, PowerTab and TablEdit files.
lesmirons18. Frescobaldi
Frescobaldi is a free and open source LilyPond sheet music text editor. Designed to be powerful yet lightweight and easy-to-use, Frescobaldi offers great functionality and a host of useful features such as music view with advanced two-way Point & Click, Midi capturing to enter music, a Snippet Manager and many more.
Frescobaldi is named after Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643), an Italian composer of keyboard music in the late Renaissance and early Baroque period.
Features
- Powerful text editor with syntax highlighting and automatic completion
- Music view with advanced two-way Point & Click
- Midi player to proof-listen LilyPond-generated MIDI files
- Midi capturing to enter music
- Powerful Score Wizard to quickly setup a music score
- Snippet Manager to store and apply text snippets, templates or scripts
- Use multiple versions of LilyPond, automatically selects the correct version
- Built-in LilyPond documentation browser and built-in help
- Configurable document outline view to navigate large LilyPond scores easily
- Smart layout-control functions like coloring specific objects in the PDF
- Import ABC, Midi and MusicXML using the LilyPond-provided tools
- Experimental export to MusicXML
- Modern user interface with configurable colors, fonts and keyboard shortcuts
- Translated into: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Czech, Russian, Spanish, Galician, Turkish, Polish, Brazilian and Ukrainian.
ferminximenez19. Aria Maestosa
Aria Maestosa is a midi sequencer/editor. It lets you compose, edit and play midi files with a few clicks in a user-friendly interface offering score, keyboard, guitar, drum and controller views.
Features
- Import and play MIDI files
- Easily compose and edit music
- See and use musical score notation, as well as piano roll, tablature and/or drum views
- Print musical notation (only in version 1.2+)
- Record from a MIDI instrument (only in version 1.3+)
smatalon20. EasyABC
EasyABC allows the user to create, edit, view, play, convert music written in the ABC music notation language. The program was written in Python 2.7 and WxPython by Nils Liberg and runs on Windows, OSX, and Linux.
Nils Liberg is no longer supporting this open source package, however I have volunteered to continue its support and development.
Features
- import MusicXML, MIDI, and Noteworthy composer files
- export MIDI, SVG and PDF files
oldschoolmusic21. LASTAR
LASTAR is a fast batch audio processor for automatic loudness adjustment and audio files splitting. It can normalize a batch of files to a given RMS volume and split tracks by detecting low level ("noise") chunks.
Its features include a multi-band limiter, an Automatic Gain Control, an automated 10 bands equalizer, a classic 3 bands semi-parametric equalizer, a noise gate, a trimming function, and user preset management.
kerkenez22. PlayerPro music editor and SoundTracker
PlayerPro is a music composer and sound editor ( SoundTracker ) for MOD S3M XM IT UMX . Uses XI, Quicktime or SoundFonts. Currently runs on MacOS and OSX; playback engines also available for Windows and BeOS. Upcoming version 6 will support ALSA (Linux).
Features
- plays music tracker modules
- opens native MADK and older MADfg , MADH, MADI
- imports MOD, S3M, XM, IT, MED, OktaMED ,669, Midi , MTM , ULT, UMX, AMF, DMF
- exports AIFF , MPEG4/AAC , as well as MOD , S3M , XM modules
- midi I/o enabled on supported platforms for recording + playback
- OpCode OMS on Mac OS Classic, CoreMidi on Mac OS X
- multi-track midi recording
- supports native and VST effects for samples , channels and global
- VST effect plugins are computed at 32bits
- SoundFonts / DLS2 supported for samples
- handles 256 instruments and 256 simultaneous audio channels
- supports stereo (binaural) samples and multiple channels per track
- can render at 24 bit / 48KHz; with surround, reverb and up to 30x oversampling
- audio output can be routed via Steinberg ASIO device API support.
- APIs offer program extensibility through plugins (effects,formats etc)
- supports up to 64 samples per instrument ; with smart regions
- can perform actual musical chords in addition to fancy arpeggios
- Realtime pitch and speed adjustment during authoring and playback
- 16bit volume and panning envelopes
- lots of visual inspectors for amp and PSNR monitoring
salamanderjones23. Speedy MIDI
Speedy MIDI is an editor designed for choirs and singers, offering features such as note entry, standard MIDI file generation and playback, and part extraction for quick rehearsal MIDI file creation.
s-r-grass24. WaveShop
WaveShop is a free, open-source audio editor for Windows that is fast, lightweight, and bit-perfect. It allows for selective editing without affecting the rest of the audio file. It offers features like peak, RMS and spectral analysis, normalizing, fading, sample rate conversion, audio generation, plug-ins, and more, all with unlimited undo and comprehensive help.
victimofleisure25. Audio Cat (Beautiful Audio Editor)
The Audio Cat audio editor is not an official Google product, operates in a web browser using the Web Audio API.
It attempts to convert it into an Android app were halted due to memory issues. The project utilizes Google Closure, which includes a JavaScript compiler, library, Google Stylesheets, and soy templates, standardizing JavaScript by introducing features like private/protected variables, non-prototypical inheritance, and compile-time error checking.
google