openDAW - free & open DAW for education & kids

Tutorial | Feb 07, 2025

I'm introducing openDAW, a new digital audio workstation that's completely free, open source, and runs in your web browser, making it accessible for everyone without requiring any login or subscription. Created by Andre Michel, who has a rich history in web-based audio tools, openDAW is a prototype designed to provide music-making capabilities from beginners to experts without any cost or restrictions. If you're interested in getting involved or giving feedback, you can join the openDAW Discord channel, where a prototype party is currently underway.

You can watch the Video on Youtube

Summary

Maybe you don't watch the video, here are some important takeaways:

Hey folks, welcome back to another video. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to a new digital audio workstation called openDAW. I’m a supporter of this project because I believe that everyone should have access to free tools for making music. openDAW doesn’t require any login, subscription, or payment, and it’s open source, working across all platforms. While there are some free DAWs available, many come with limitations. For instance, Arduino is free only if you compile the source code yourself; otherwise, you have to pay to download the binaries. Others require you to log in or charge for full features. openDAW is different as it is completely open and free for everyone, which is why I became a donor and supporter.

One of the great things about openDAW is that it runs in your web browser, meaning you can use it anywhere—even on a school computer or any basic device—making it perfect for educational purposes. The creator of openDAW is Andre Michel, who isn’t an unknown name in this field. He has worked on numerous projects over the years, including AudioTool, which he developed for over 16 years before leaving in 2023 due to differences in mission and vision. He left to start openDAW because he wanted to maintain the philosophy of openness and freedom in music tools.

Andre Michel also has extensive experience in web development and creating virtual instruments and sound design experiments within the browser, along with modular environments. His wealth of knowledge and experience is evident in openDAW, and this alignment in values is why I got involved in supporting the project. I believe music should be open and not just about making money. openDAW today is just the first version, a prototype that hints at what is to come—and it’s an invitation for others to support the project.

openDAW is designed for everyone, from beginners to experts, allowing users to make music without high costs or constraints. If you’re interested in joining this journey and supporting the project, now is an excellent time to get involved. There's currently a prototype party happening in the Discord community where you can interact, ask questions, and explore future plans.

To get started, you need to join the Discord community of openDAW. There's an openDAW prototype party where you can participate, ask questions, and get a tour. The link to join is in the description. Feedback, ideas, and testing are immensely important, so your participation would be valuable. You can access openDAW through the URL, openDAW.studio, preferably using the latest version of Chrome, and here you will find the DAW right in your browser.

The interface includes a dashboard where you can manage projects, a timeline for arranging clips, an editor for note editing, and basic browser functionality for adding samples and instruments. Although features are basic, and it’s still a prototype, it shows promise. You can add simple synthesizers like “Vaporizer,” a tape module for playing samples, and even experiment with basic audio effects like delay, reverb, and EQ.

A modular system is in development, akin to the grid in Bitwig Studio, allowing modular audio effects and connections directly in the browser. The implementation is still basic but shows the potential of what's to come. You can automate parameters even though advanced features like LFOs are not available yet.

You can save projects to your hard drive, akin to saving JSON files, and there’s no need for logins or accounts. You can download the JavaScript and execute this application locally on your PC. This flexibility and simplicity are key highlights of the project.

Despite being a prototype, the DAW’s features are growing swiftly. It’s important to keep in mind that it’s early days, meant for exploration and feedback. I’m excited about its development and urge you to join the Discord community, participate, and consider supporting the project if you find it interesting. If you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments. Thanks for watching, and I hope to see you next time. Bye!

Transcription

This is what im talking about in this video. The text is transcribed by AI, so it might not be perfect. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.
You can also click on the timestamps to jump to the right part of the video, which should be helpful.

[00:00:00] Hey folks, welcome back to another video.
[00:00:03] Today I'm excited to share a new digital audio workstation called openDAW video.
[00:00:08] I support this project because I believe everyone should have a free tool to make music.
[00:00:14] openDAW does not need any login, subscription or payment.
[00:00:19] It will be open source and works on every platform.
[00:00:24] Some free doors do exist, but many commit limits.
[00:00:27] For example, Arduino is free only if you compile the source code for yourself.
[00:00:32] And you must pay to download the binaries, for example.
[00:00:37] Others need you to log in or charge for full features.
[00:00:41] So openDAW is different.
[00:00:43] It is completely open and free for everyone.
[00:00:46] And this is why I became a donor and supporter.
[00:00:50] Another great thing is that openDAW runs in your web browser.
[00:00:54] This means you can use it anywhere, even on a school computer or any basic device.
[00:00:59] So it's perfect for education, right?
[00:01:02] So let's talk a bit about the creator first here.
[00:01:05] The name is Andre Michel.
[00:01:06] So he's the developer of openDAW and he's not an unknown name, right?
[00:01:12] He created a lot of different projects over the years, for instance, also audio tool.
[00:01:17] So he created this thing and worked on audio tool for over 16 years.
[00:01:23] And he left in 2023 for differences in the mission or the vision of the project.
[00:01:36] So he wanted to keep things open and free.
[00:01:39] So that's why he left the company, his own company, more or less, and started openDAW.
[00:01:45] So he created audio tool, probably a lot of people already know audio tool.
[00:01:52] Then he also has a lot of experiences in web development, also here with wave editing in
[00:01:59] the browser and creating virtual instruments in the browser.
[00:02:04] Also sound design or sound experiments and also here are some modular environments also
[00:02:11] in the browser.
[00:02:12] So he has a lot of knowledge collected over the years with creating such projects.
[00:02:20] So that's probably important to know for you.
[00:02:24] And that's also why I became a supporter and kind of involved in the project because I
[00:02:29] saw when we talked about everything that we have or share the same vision, the same ideas
[00:02:36] and we have the same values, right?
[00:02:39] So I believe music should be open and not just about making money.
[00:02:44] I knew from the start that I wanted to be involved and what you see with openDAW today
[00:02:49] is only a first version.
[00:02:52] It's a prototype that shows what is coming next.
[00:02:56] Think of it as a small taste of what will be and an invitation to support the project.
[00:03:02] openDAW is made for everyone from beginners to experts to enjoy making music without high
[00:03:08] costs or limits.
[00:03:10] If you want to join this journey and support the project, now is a great time to get involved.
[00:03:15] There is currently a prototype party running in the Discord.
[00:03:19] You can also go to the project.
[00:03:22] You can try out the prototype for yourself.
[00:03:25] I show you here in a minute how it works.
[00:03:29] So the first thing you want to do is to join the Discord of openDAW because there's currently
[00:03:33] an openDAW prototype party running, rently as of now, and you can join.
[00:03:41] You can ask questions, there's a prototype tour and there's a future outlook and a hangout
[00:03:46] later on.
[00:03:47] I'm probably also joining.
[00:03:49] So Discord, the link is in the description below.
[00:03:51] Just make sure you join it, right?
[00:03:53] Because we need feedback, we need ideas, we need testing and so on.
[00:03:57] It's pretty important.
[00:03:59] Now I want to show you here the URL.
[00:04:03] It's openDAW.studio and you can just open up the DAW inside of your browser and you probably
[00:04:09] want to use Chrome.
[00:04:11] Make sure you have the latest version, code to help, and then make sure here everything
[00:04:17] is up to date.
[00:04:19] That's pretty important.
[00:04:21] Then this is how it looks like.
[00:04:22] That's the dashboard.
[00:04:23] You can also increase the scaling.
[00:04:25] You can use CTRL + to scale it up or - to make it smaller, right?
[00:04:33] Then you can open up here certain projects.
[00:04:36] So Sunset is one of my projects.
[00:04:39] Here, Breeze is one of my projects.
[00:04:41] Chef, that is one of my projects.
[00:04:43] Also, SeekDeeper is one of my projects.
[00:04:46] So you can open up this thing here if you don't want to create something from scratch.
[00:04:52] So let's open up this one here.
[00:04:54] Then you go into the project and there are at the top here certain things.
[00:05:00] So we have a transport here, right?
[00:05:01] We can change the BPM, stop, play, and so on.
[00:05:06] There's also MIDI access and you press it.
[00:05:09] You are greeted with some kind of modal or pop-up that you have to allow the browser
[00:05:16] to access your MIDI keyboard.
[00:05:20] At the moment, you can't record, as I said, it's just very basic functionalities.
[00:05:26] It's not much in there.
[00:05:28] Then on the left side, you have a browser.
[00:05:30] You can open up the browser by double-clicking here this menu button or just use B on the
[00:05:36] keyboard.
[00:05:38] The browser allows you to insert here a tape and a vaporizer turr, which is a very, very
[00:05:46] basic synthesizer.
[00:05:48] Tape is basically to play samples.
[00:05:51] Then we have here a sample browser with a search bar on top.
[00:05:54] So you can search for my samples if you want to and can just, you know, track this in if
[00:05:59] you want to.
[00:06:01] So this is the browser, very basic.
[00:06:04] Then we have here the timeline.
[00:06:06] Then we have an editor.
[00:06:07] So you can double-click here, for instance, on this note clip and you can see the notes
[00:06:12] in there.
[00:06:13] You can scale it or zoom in or zoom out.
[00:06:15] You can make this clip longer, right?
[00:06:20] So when you have this at this position, you can see, then it's looping.
[00:06:23] Then you can clone the pattern in here.
[00:06:29] You can also move down with the cursor.
[00:06:31] You can see here, the cursor is changing slightly, which means you make the clip size bigger.
[00:06:39] It makes sense when you play around with it.
[00:06:44] We also increase the scaling a bit.
[00:06:46] The editor, you can also close down by double-clicking here this small little icon or use E on the
[00:06:53] keyboard.
[00:06:55] Also devices here, you can choose D, make the smaller.
[00:07:02] And then you have full kind of view of the timeline here.
[00:07:05] You can also zoom in and scroll around.
[00:07:11] Then we have here something like a mixer section, when I play.
[00:07:18] So this is the master fader here.
[00:07:22] You can also rename already here these kind of tracks or channels.
[00:07:35] You can go back here to the timeline.
[00:07:39] This contrast is possible.
[00:07:41] We have here metronome.
[00:07:42] We can change the BPM.
[00:07:52] That's also stretching in here.
[00:07:53] If you drag in some samples, you have stretching.
[00:07:57] By the way, you can't use your own samples at the moment.
[00:08:00] There's no upload.
[00:08:01] You have to use these predefined samples here, but it's coming, right?
[00:08:06] Like I said, it's a prototype.
[00:08:08] Keep it in mind, right?
[00:08:09] So yeah, the mixing section here is already in place.
[00:08:13] We have a modular section because if you have open up here the devices panel, and you
[00:08:19] go for instance here to this synthesizer here, we can insert here a new MIDI effect or audio
[00:08:28] effect.
[00:08:29] It's a bit different than in Bitwig.
[00:08:30] You have to choose basically here this device, and then you can add an audio effect after
[00:08:35] this device or a MIDI effect in front.
[00:08:37] So you can add here an arpeggiator and delete this or you can use an audio effect at the
[00:08:44] moment.
[00:08:45] There are only three audio effects or actually two delay and reverb.
[00:08:49] So it's not much three and sorry, it's an EQ.
[00:08:53] We can also add here an EQ.
[00:08:56] So yeah, delay, reverb and EQ.
[00:09:00] Then there's here a new modular audio effect.
[00:09:03] It's also in the box, currently, you can edit and it looks like this.
[00:09:07] We can also create your already in delay, connect these inputs and outputs.
[00:09:14] So it's already there, but it's not, you know, it needs a lot of work.
[00:09:18] It's just one developer.
[00:09:19] It's in prototype state, like I said, you can also remove this.
[00:09:25] So yeah, there's also modular system coming like the grid in Bitwig Studio, everything
[00:09:30] in the browser.
[00:09:31] It's pretty dope, actually.
[00:09:33] You can also see, this works pretty flawlessly and pretty clean.
[00:09:42] Let me open up here, this again, so let's say we have here the base, right?
[00:09:49] We can, I'm already modulating this here.
[00:09:54] You can right click, for instance, here on something and you can say create automation
[00:09:58] and then it creates here a new track.
[00:10:02] It's actually here.
[00:10:03] And then you double click here to create a new kind of modulation clip.
[00:10:09] You go into it and then you see here, we have at this position 500 thirds, double click
[00:10:16] here and then you create kind of a curve and then you automate this.
[00:10:23] There's no modulation at the moment.
[00:10:25] There are no LFOs or anything like this.
[00:10:27] It's just pure automation.
[00:10:31] So all of this kind of works.
[00:10:35] Yeah, maybe I do something here fresh.
[00:10:39] Maybe you can also save and opens from your hard drive.
[00:10:42] I did this a lot when I tested this open door the last weeks.
[00:10:48] So save saves basically some kind of XML or JSON file to your hard drive.
[00:10:55] And by the way, this is, yeah, like I said in the beginning of the intro, it's not like
[00:10:59] you have a login or an account or anything like this.
[00:11:04] It's just you download JavaScript and then you execute this application locally on your
[00:11:10] PC.
[00:11:11] You can even probably download the whole JavaScript thing and make it completely local without
[00:11:17] using the internet at all.
[00:11:19] And then exporting and loading in JSON or data files.
[00:11:25] So let's go back to the dashboard here.
[00:11:28] Make new.
[00:11:30] Then we can open up the browser and maybe you can insert the tape here, the lead tape
[00:11:36] or go to samples.
[00:11:37] She was one of my samples here, I have a drone.
[00:11:43] So we drag this in and have a drone at 85 BPM.
[00:11:55] It's probably a half time here.
[00:11:58] So we can go down here and drag it here.
[00:12:02] So it's pitched up.
[00:12:03] So it's a stretching already in place.
[00:12:29] So when you can see at the tape, so the audio track is basically also an instrument.
[00:12:33] It's unlike in Bitwig where you have audio tracks and instrument tracks here.
[00:12:39] Everything is kind of an instrument track.
[00:12:41] And if you drag audio in, you play it back here with the tape machine.
[00:12:46] I saw already some mockups or some experimental things here where you can change certain things
[00:12:52] on the tape, how it plays back and how it sounds, but it's coming at some point.
[00:12:58] So let's insert here an EQ.
[00:13:13] Let's right click and say create automation clip.
[00:13:16] So we have an automation here.
[00:13:20] And we make something creative.
[00:13:25] So we want to pull down here the low cut.
[00:13:31] And then we make it super short, something like this.
[00:13:37] So it repeats here.
[00:13:40] Let's make it this one bar and a half.
[00:13:59] It can be kind of creative with this.
[00:14:20] Actually that we have an audio engine is pretty new.
[00:14:23] In December or January, there wasn't any audio engine.
[00:14:26] It was just graphically.
[00:14:28] We added this in one month.
[00:14:30] So we have something to show off for this prototype party.
[00:14:34] So this is pretty fresh, pretty early.
[00:14:37] It's not like something you want to use to make music at the moment, but it's coming.
[00:14:42] It's just so for you, you can play around it, get a taste of how it feels like and how
[00:14:47] it looks like.
[00:14:51] Please make sure you join the Discord, the prototype party and ask some questions.
[00:14:57] Maybe you are interested, so maybe support the project.
[00:15:05] That's basically it.
[00:15:06] I want to show you this.
[00:15:08] It's a nice project.
[00:15:09] I really like and I support and if you like the video, ask me questions in the comments.
[00:15:15] I don't know.
[00:15:16] See you next time.
[00:15:17] Thanks for watching and bye.

openDAW - free & open DAW for education & kids

Summary #

Transcription #

Summary

Transcription