I have only been really messing around with garage band on my mac for 2 months and would like to not be so limited and want to really get into making beats. I am really into house music.
Hello, check out some articles in Sound On Sound, Electronic Musician etc, they review software and and have a lot of information you could use. Some popular programs are Pro Tools, Logic, Reaper, and Digital Performer. Since you will be programming mostly for house, Logic could give you the best band for your buck. It comes with plenty of virtual instruments and has some good plug-ins and all the normal recording and mixing capabilities. Reaper is extremely affordable and also very powerful. If you are a student, check for a student discount for Logic, it can be a really good price. Besides the software, get yourself some decent studio monitors. Then just keep on researching and experimenting, learn the software and what each effect does etc. Good luck!
Digital Beat Making Software
There is a free software I use call Ableton Live. You can use it for free, but there is a catch... You can use it limitlessly... but you can't save anything... In order to save your work, you have to buy the code from the company, but there are ways getting around that; like finishing your work and then using another program like Audacity or Wiretap Pro to record your finished product. To get started, I would use ableton. Get comfortable and there are many youtube tutorials to help you get started with ableton. Check out this site to see what is possible with Ableton: www.timofey.be/tutorials.html (You are also free to download all of those ableton-made tracks and begin learning on your own how it's made.) And here are the dance artists who use Ableton: Deadmau5, Sasha, Armin Van Burin, Pete Tong, Daft Punk, Dirty Vegas, and Kaskade. They use Ableton mainly because it's great for arranging your music, and with it's sound tools, your only limitations is your imagination.
