For someone just starting out Mixcraft 8 is hard to beat ...
 
Acoustica has a lot of videos on learning the program . The forum is nice place in general & the members are very helpful .
The program itself comes with everything a person would need as far as instruments and plugs go .
Some of the 3 rd party loop content is decent and they cover a large territory of genre's of music .. 
The company offers a very generous upgrade pricing when a new version of Mixcraft comes out .
You can also create and edit videos w multiple media objects in the time line ... 
 
I certainly enjoyed Garage Band when I started using it a number of years back ...
IMHO , Mixcraft 8 is the closest a person can get to the simplicity and features of The Garage Band workflow on a Win 10 computer ...
 
Oh BTW , Mixcraft can do a lot more than what Garage Band can do lets leave that for another time
 
all the best ,
 
Kenny
 

there was a copy of sonar , home studio the other month on the front of computer music.
thats probably the cheapest / full one.. if you can find one
 
they all have a learning curve. studio 1 I would say is easier to learn than cubase.. but cubase has more to it , like better for midi sound units etc.
 
groove3 will help with that..
 
got $80 , get the xchange pack from musicans friend ? although s1 producers is discon. you can update it later.
 

Studio One Artist does not allow you to use vst's or vsti's so if you want to use more FX and instruments than what comes with it you have to buy another DAW.

How simple? Audacity is DAWable if all you need is audio.

If I (still noob, not going to be a "pro", I mean in music...) have to select the first DAW, I would start with Traktion 6. It is not "traditional" DAW, but it is easy to understand (it was designed with that in mind) and free.
The only problem is that it has no software instruments and there is no simple to use free "all rounder" VSTi.
So it make sense to select an audio interface / keyboard which comes with some synth (like SampleTank with IK).
Some lite version of a DAW is also normally in such packages (sometimes more then one), but they are packed for free not without a reason...
 
If he wants to dive into real DAW world, he can download Reaper. Not simple to understand and looks a big ugly at first, but demo version can be legally used for 2 month and it is full functional, "full power", "traditional" style DAW.
 
Yet third direction is Ableton Light, which comes with most interfaces. I can not say it is easy to understand and use, but it represent yet another "kind" of DAWs.

Dirt Simple is the key ask here folks......
I agree that all of the daws, ideas, and deals are great mentioned here, but the way I took the OP was it has to be VERY EASY. Imagine a daw that your parents or grandparents could learn......
To me there is really only one I am aware of, and that is Ignite by AIR.
No menus, no settings pages, no flow chart or stereotypical knowledge of such things required. It’s really hard to not makes sounds and have fun with that software......plus it’s cheap too!
Not kindergarten either, can put together demos and ideas very well with a little time invested in learning unique building block style to music making, like arranger Tracks , but way easier!
Kudos to AIR on making that kind of product!
I got my copy free with an on sale M-Audio mini keyboard and it’s been installed on my desktop for years since....alongside much more powerful daws. It’s serves a very useful purpose I think..... not to mention it’s just plain fun!

Info page
http://www.airmusictech.c...ct/ignite#.WinHoKaIahA

Good intro to Ignite
https://youtu.be/YrpOxt1KssA

Best feature demo of what makes this daw unique by a studio guy!
https://youtu.be/8pTdt06tpY4

Dirt simple huh ? the OP's brother / guy plays an acoustic guitar  Right ? 
That Air app may be OK for electronic and EDM type of stuff ....
Who knows maybe an acoustic guitar player can make the crossover & bring home The Grammy using that ..
Yes ? No ? I seriously doubt it 
 
Shheessh from the sounds of a few suggestions around here the guy may be better off using a Zoom handheld on a mic stand and editing his performances  using a proper Light weight DAW 
 
Just so you know I'm not full of $hit , my one take guitar performance of this song was recorded on my Zoom Q3 and edited in SONAR ...
https://soundcloud.com/guitarist-kenny-wilson/gentle-gypsy-lullaby
 
all the best,
 
Kenny
 

Ignite by AIR does audio instruments and recording very well and easy for people who don’t want to learn how a more traditional daw works.... As you can see in the feature video linked in my last post, Ignite very easily exports stems and wav files out to a traditional daw when and if that is ever desired.
Here it is in example:
https://youtu.be/KIbfTitj7NE

Yes, Mixcraft Pro 8 is great, I own it too, not debating that, but I’m assuming dirt easy means....... really really super easy. Lol
My sis is a singer, not a computer person at all. Doesn’t care to learn daw and studio techniques in software. If she wanted her own software to record ideas on.... I think Ignite would be the only thing that may not be too techy to learn, very visual based, and fun. All the rest of the daws are more for the rest of us imo.

GregRband
Ignite by AIR does audio instruments and recording very well and easy for people who don’t want to learn how a more traditional daw works.... As you can see in the feature video linked in my last post, Ignite very easily exports stems and wav files out to a traditional daw when and if that is ever desired.
Here it is in example:
https://youtu.be/KIbfTitj7NE

Yes, Mixcraft Pro 8 is great, I own it too, not debating that, but I’m assuming dirt easy means....... really really super easy. Lol
My sis is a singer, not a computer person at all. Doesn’t care to learn daw and studio techniques in software. If she wanted her own software to record ideas on.... I think Ignite would be the only thing that may not be too techy to learn, very visual based, and fun. All the rest of the daws are more for the rest of us imo.

 
Ohh man Kenny do yourself a favor take a deep breath ....now exhale ...breath in again count to 10 exhale ...OK ...
 
Please don't misread what I am about to say my friend , this may have no bearing on the OP's brothers needs or your sisters needs
 
I watched the video , I kept an open mind and I'm even willing to bite my tongue to keep some of the Peace around here
Yet, I'm sorry to have to say this , that video is everything that is wrong with the music bizz and making music today ...
Selling me on it has to be easy , fast , and work where ever you want like while driving your car in traffic and then if you don't get killed you bring it into your main DAW is a crock of $hit ...in my book ...
How are you gonna master any deep musical skills working that way ?
OH wait I forgot in today's musical world people do not have a strong desire to work at how they play and master an instrument first to be able to hone in the performance they are gonna play before they hit the red record button ...
How silly of me to have forgotten that one
 
With all due respect to Russ hey man I'm glad your out there making videos keep up the good work ..
 
It still don't change my opinion ..that app sounded like $hit while it was the app only ...once it went into Pro Tools it still sounded like $hit ..only this time it had sprinkles  
 
I am old school musician.  I have devoted my whole life at getting good at playing the musical instruments I do play.
As I have said before on the forum , my whole thing is all about playing my guitar with absolute freedom and mastery ..
not geeking out on the browser of a DAW ..

that's my opinion , that's my story and that's what I'm sticking too ...
 
all the best,
 
Kenny
 

kennywtelejazz



 
Ohh man Kenny do yourself a favor take a deep breath ....now exhale ...breath in again count to 10 exhale ...OK ...
 
Please don't misread what I am about to say my friend , this may have no bearing on the OP's brothers needs or your sisters needs
 
I watched the video , I kept an open mind and I'm even willing to bite my tongue to keep some of the Peace around here
 

With all respect Kenny, that video probably does not shine the best light on the capabilities of Ignite.  I realize that you have tried many DAW programs in your quest for the DAW Zen. 
 
I picked up Ignite on a deal last year in my quest for a dirt simple music scratchpad.  I think it has a lot of potential, but that is only limited by AIR Music Tech (and inMusic Brands) support for feature development of this product.  It's been a few years since they last updated.  But this has a lot of potential, if exploited properly!
 
But in its primitive state it was intended to provide something for a musician who did not aspire to be an engineer, to create recorded clips that could be arranged with limited technical know-how.  No tracks or lanes, or timeline. 
 
Maybe that's dumbed down from a DAW perspective, but how many musicians out there just want to record their takes and arrange them into a song?
 
I think that this software has something to offer to the less technical folks!
 
AIR Ignite Review - First Impressions
https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/home-page/2013/2/3/air-ignite-review-first-impressions.html
 
Introduction to Ignite Music Software
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtFS-wZ97ho