The best free instruments and tools for songwriting

Becoming a better songwriter is a journey of almost-constant discovery, finding fresh ways to spark creativity and overcome common hurdles like writer’s block. Having the right free songwriting instruments and tools can dramatically streamline your creative process, transforming initial ideas into full compositions.

In this article, we’ll explore five exceptional free virtual instruments for songwriting and essential tools that are excellent choices to kickstart your musical creations. These powerful, no-cost resources, particularly those built for the versatile Kontakt Player or the full version of Kontakt, can help you infuse your compositions with unique sounds and textures, craft compelling chord progressions with ease, and generate inspiring melodies and phrases.

The best part? You can access many of these incredible free Kontakt libraries and tools through the Kontakt Player included in Native Instruments’ Komplete Start bundle, making professional-grade sounds accessible to everyone.

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Jump to these sections:

• Are Kontakt instruments free?
• The best free instruments and tools for songwriting
  1. Kontakt Factory Selection 2
  2. Phrases and Chords Tools
  3. Leap
  4. Foundations Piano
  5. Foundations Nylon Guitar
  6. Bonus: Tape Choir

Are Kontakt instruments free?

When jumping into the world of Kontakt, it’s important to distinguish between Kontakt itself and the Free Kontakt Player. Kontakt is a powerful sampler and virtual instrument engine, known for its flexibility and its ability to manipulate audio in sophisticated ways. It is the full version that grants access to the entire spectrum of features, including the ability to load third-party libraries not specifically licensed for the free version. This makes it a go-to choice for professional composers, producers, and sound designers.

On the flip side, the free Kontakt Player is, as the name suggests, a free version of Kontakt. It’s designed to play a selection of Kontakt instruments that are specifically licensed to be compatible. This means that not all libraries made for Kontakt can run on the free Kontakt Player – a distinction that’s crucial for beginners to understand. While it offers a gateway to high-quality sounds, including some free piano VST libraries, its capabilities are more limited compared to the full version of Kontakt.

We’ll explore the compatibility for each of the Kontakt libraries below, so you can make sure you have the right version of Kontakt before you download them.

It’s important to note that the Tools included in both versions of Kontakt are completely free and are great inspirational sources for songwriting. Leap is perfect for instant ideas, and its innovative generative engine is capable of creating melodic and rhythmic patterns. Using Phrases and Chord Tools can speed up the brainstorming process, allowing you to audition different progressions and motifs quickly. These tools will help you to break through creative blocks, and allow you to develop new songwriting ideas.

1. Kontakt Factory Selection 2

For any songwriter, the Kontakt Factory Selection 2 within the free Komplete Start bundle is a versatile tool. This kit provides sounds that can inspire new ideas and improve compositions.

From drums and bass in the band and beats collections to acoustic instruments and synth sounds, it offers a solid foundation for any genre.

Songwriters can experiment with textures and timbres, layer instruments to create arrangements, and find sonic backdrops for their lyrics and melodies, all within the Kontakt Player.

This selection empowers creativity without cost, making sounds accessible.

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2. Phrases and Chord Tools

Tools are an exciting new feature added to both versions of Kontakt to help songwriters and producers generate new ideas using a fun and inspiring workflow.

The Chords tool allows songwriters to experiment with different chord progressions in real time. You can generate harmonies, create progressions, and spark new musical ideas in seconds.

Phrases provide pre-recorded melodic motifs that can be triggered and customized, inspiring new directions and helping to generate interesting melodies for songs.

These tools are especially helpful for overcoming creative blocks, and developing a single idea in a short amount of time.

Together, these tools enable songwriters to create the foundations of a song, and craft song arrangements more efficiently.

Here’s an example of a song idea generated from the Phrases and Chords Tools in the free Kontakt Player.

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3. Leap

Leap is a new feature in Kontakt that makes it easy to develop song ideas by looping and jamming with samples in an intuitive way. It blends the functionality of a looper VST with powerful sample manipulation tools that allow you to create, tweak, and layer musical ideas in seconds.

Whether you’re building loops or sketching full tracks, Leap opens up a wide range of creative possibilities to inspire your songwriting process. Leap is particularly useful for discovering unexpected sonic directions, pushing past beyond conventional instrumentation and exploring more cinematic or ambient soundscapes.

The Leap Expansions series makes it easy to sketch out a song idea quickly by offering a selection of kits packed with ready-to-go sounds. To use Leap, open Kontakt and select the Leap heading in the Library. Open up one of the Leap Expansions, and play the white keys on your MIDI keyboard from C3 to D5 to explore Leap’s loop-based workflow.

Each Expansion includes a multitude of genre specific drums and bass parts, chord progressions, melodies, and vocals to help you start song ideas quickly.

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4. Foundations Piano

Heavyocity’s Foundations Piano is an inspiring free piano instrument that’s compatible with the free Kontakt Player and full version of Kontakt. Foundations Piano is a versatile tool that provides a blend of traditional piano sounds with creative sound design elements. It’s a great option for songwriters looking for a free, high-quality cinematic piano with unique textural elements that includes two sound sources, a soft grand piano and ambient piano texture, as well as 10 presets.

The Foundations Piano combines the soft dynamics of a grand piano with a creatively processed ambient texture that offers a cinematic sound palette. Its intuitive interface allows for real-time blending of these layers, along with sound-shaping capabilities like arpeggiation, gating, space, and ADSR envelopes. Foundations Piano provides a dynamic foundation for your songwriting, and is perfect for writing chords or melodies. It’s a great free Kontakt instrument that doesn’t compromise on quality.

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5. Foundations Nylon Guitar

Heavyocity’s Foundations Nylon Guitar is a free Kontakt instrument for both the full version of Kontakt and the free Kontakt Player that delivers the beautiful, warm tone of a classical nylon-string guitar that’s layered with creative sound design elements. It features a clean, high-quality sample set paired with Heavyocity’s signature cinematic layering tools, including dynamic rhythmic pedals, customizable FX, and macro controls for quick sound shaping.

This free instrument is particularly useful for songwriting, offering both natural guitar tones for melodic and harmonic writing, and textured, ambient layers to inspire moods and atmospheres in your compositions. The organic timbre of the Foundations Nylon Guitar will inspire you to write melodies for your songs and productions that will make them stand out with these versatile, hybrid guitar sounds.

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Bonus tool: Tape Choir

Tape Choir is a free Kontakt instrument for both versions of Kontakt that delivers a lush, vintage-inspired vocal pad sound, created by layering and processing choir recordings through cassette tape for added warmth and character.

With its dreamy, lo-fi texture and gentle modulation, Tape Choir is ideal for songwriters looking to add emotional depth and atmospheric layers to their compositions. It’s effective for creating ambient backdrops, enhancing chord progressions, or adding a nostalgic feel to ballads and cinematic pieces. Tape Choir’s interface makes it easy to sculpt tones, making it a go-to tool for quickly building inspiration and mood in the songwriting process.

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Start writing songs with these free tools and instruments

Developing a toolkit that includes inspiring and modern sounds and tools doesn’t have to break the bank! Download the free instruments for songwriting, Kontakt Player, learn their workflows, and start writing better songs today.

These free Kontakt libraries, alongside Leap and Chords and Phrases Tools will inspire you to create new songs, break through writer’s block and explore new sonic possibilities in your music.

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