Anvil Studio logo

Anvil Studio

By Willow Software Free Editors' Rating

Editors' Review

Download.com Staff Jun 9, 2013

By being able to craft just about every element of the song, including lyrics and multiple instrumental layers, Anvil Studio makes it almost too easy to compose songs. Its interface isn't very attractive, but with great user guidance and a wealth of features, it's an awesome app for any musician.

Despite being loaded with features, this program downloads really quickly and is light by most standards. Anvil Studio has a great tutorial that opens when you get inside. It's helpful for finding all of the program's cool features, but it doesn't make you click through endless pages before you can get started. Starting your composition is as easy as clicking a few notes on the keyboard. Once they're on the staff, you can move them, draw lyrics over them and even make them harmonize with other notes. There are more than 40 instruments to use and each one can be layered over other sounds so you can get a better idea of what the finished product will sound like. If you don't know a ton about music theory, you might feel a little overwhelmed at the amount of options. Though the program's interface is stuck in the XP era, it makes it easy to surf through the vast number of features and tweaks this program offers.

Having more features than you can use in a sitting is a really good problem to have. No matter what your level of expertise, Anvil Studio offers a wonderful tool to help you compose music. It's a great learning resource, as well.

Full Specifications

What's new in version 2017.03.02

  • Added options to the menu Edit / Change Volume or Pitch, Move or Delete notes that allow you to change Enharmonic and stem direction properties for all notes of a given pitch.
  • Changed Note Properties window so that you can directly edit the time of an event.
  • It now works properly when Anvil Studio exits while the screen is minimized or maximized.
  • In previous versions, changing the Time or Key signatures at time 0 caused all following Time or Key signatures to be deleted. Now, it prompts to ask if this is what you want done.
  • When you press CTRL while mouse is over a notehead to shift its start time, more info about the note is displayed.
  • Fixed problems: Setting View / Options / Font could cause "Invalid Property" error to occur.

General

Release March 28, 2017
Date Added March 28, 2017
Version 2017.03.02

Operating Systems

Operating Systems Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows, Windows 7, Windows XP
Additional Requirements Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Client

Popularity

Total Downloads 949,226
Downloads Last Week 6
Report Software

Related Software

Balabolka logo

Balabolka

Free
Balabolka
Audacity Portable logo

Audacity Portable

Free
Audacity Portable
Magix Music Maker Plus logo

Magix Music Maker Plus

Free to try
Magix Music Maker Plus
Audio Record Wizard logo

Audio Record Wizard

Free to try
Audio Record Wizard

User Reviews

3.8/5
60 User Votes
5 Star
4 Star
3 Star
2 Star
1 Star

Developer's Description

Editors Staff, Lyrics, Piano Roll, Percussion's, Loops, Audio, Events. File formats standard .MID and .WAV files. It has unlimited number of MIDI Tracks and includes extensive integrated help. Piano Roll or Rhythm editor with multi-level loops loops can refer to notes, other loops, samples, or Riffs. Enter notes from external MIDI device, on-screen guitar fret board, on-screen piano keyboard, or by dragging notes to the staff. Lyrics, track names, and comments can be in Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other languages. Percussion editor employs standard percussion notation. Align notes with beats and measures. Stretch or compress notes over time. It is Compensation for MIDI and Audio device latency and working with low-latency ASIO and Virtual Instruments.
Promo image for CNET Shopping

Get the best price on everything

Shop your favorite products and we’ll find the best deal with a single click. Designed to make shopping easier.