Free stuff! For making music with computers..
The internet is a treasure trove of amazing free stuff if you know where to look. Here are some of my favorite freebies I've come across, all of which get used daily at Noise Solution
Samples
Lets start with samples. We do a lot of work getting people using sample packs of loops as a sort of short hand musical jigsaw puzzle. A jumping off point in the use of computers to make music. Students are able to put together tracks in a huge variety of styles really quickly getting great sounding results which they can chop and edit to stamp their own identity on. Sample Rader is a site that collates all the royalty free samples that appear on the monthly music tech magazines like Future Music and Computer Music and puts them all in one place. What's great about it is that the samles are up to date with what's going on in clubland - whether it's tech house, drumstep or Italian hard House it's all here - for free. In handy bite sized packs. - get downloading
For the more essoteric sample hunter amongst you the Prelinger Archive is an amazing collection of sixty thousand American "ephemeral" (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) films all brilliantly ripe for plundering - both for audio but also visual sampling. Again all copyright free and legal for abusing
Instruments - for those using computers
There are some fantastically talented soft synth and effects designers out there giving away their labours of love for free - inventing all sorts of quirky instruments that are excellent. Also some amazingly professional ones as well. The 'Dont crack' site is another fantastic repository where you can find all these goodies sorted for you into operarting system and type of instrument/effect - brilliant fun. Special mention for the Togu Audio LIne plug in's which are amazing - use these plugs all the time. You can find them on the Don't crack site but I'll give you a direct link here as well.
That is just a few to get you started - share your sites here as well - what have you found that's helped you be creative with the people your working with?
go on spill..