Another great resource for student learning is the free web-based program Soundtrap. This resource can be used in many of the same ways as music notation software like Musescore. But it is different in that there are a whole selection of presets – melodic, harmonic, bass, and rhythmic phrases – to choose from which can be loaded into the digital workspace in modular fashion. The user can pick which of these elements that appeal to and inspire him and flesh out the rest of his song. This takes much of the edge of what can be an otherwise very daunting process of composing a piece of music entirely from scratch. By having a variety of musical building blocks to begin with, the student feels more confident in then experimenting with adding some of his own material on top of this foundation. Soundtrap thus can serve as an entry point into more serious classical composition work. It is also more than sufficient to serve as a powerful tool in its own right, especially in the context of popular music outside the strictly classical setting. Another really fun feature of Soundtrap is the sampling feature, where users can experiment with extracting, modifying, and otherwise playing around with recordings of random sounds to make them into music.

A fun little piece in the style of Slavic folk music I put together with Soundtrap