If you're new to writing music on the PC you can't do much better than Music Maker 2003 or Fruityloops.
Music Maker is much more visual than most packages (ie. dump a drum sound down, then loop it to get a beat) and is very easy to pickup and learn. It's very cheap but also very well packaged and includes most of the tools you will ever need to write music.
Fruityloops is a sequencing program which is slightly easier to use than cubase but almost just as powerful (not to mention much cheaper!). It's a bit like the old tracker programs on the Amiga / ST etc. but with a better GUI.
Cubase is for musicians who like to master tracks to studio production level. It's hard to learn but in the right hands can make some professional stuff.
There are others out there you might want to look at, like Rebirth, Reason, ACID, Buzz tracker.
I use fruityloops at the moment, as I'm still scared of learning Cubase.
Have fun
Music Maker is much more visual than most packages (ie. dump a drum sound down, then loop it to get a beat) and is very easy to pickup and learn. It's very cheap but also very well packaged and includes most of the tools you will ever need to write music.
Fruityloops is a sequencing program which is slightly easier to use than cubase but almost just as powerful (not to mention much cheaper!). It's a bit like the old tracker programs on the Amiga / ST etc. but with a better GUI.
Cubase is for musicians who like to master tracks to studio production level. It's hard to learn but in the right hands can make some professional stuff.
There are others out there you might want to look at, like Rebirth, Reason, ACID, Buzz tracker.
I use fruityloops at the moment, as I'm still scared of learning Cubase.
Have fun