Beginner Questions about DAW

[DreamEyes]

Greetings everyone,

I've been playing and recording piano improvisations for a while (available here if you're curious) but it's always been amateurish. However, I would like to learn more about DAW and study how to compose structured piece using orchestral instruments (from libraries such as Garritan or EWQL). I first thought about starting with the software Finale 2011 but I play by ear only and I can't read sheet music (I never studied music theory).

Therefore, I'd like to know if anyone could please share advice about what MIDI software may be best to use for a beginner with no music theory knowledge (that's a bad start, I know...).
Also, I am currently using a Yamaha DGX-630 (with MIDI connection, but I still have to test it once I receive the appropriate USB cable), but I am also interested in looking for a better keyboard controller that would be compatible with DAW. If you have any recommendation, I'm all ears.

If I forgot to include any details or information in my description, please don't hesitate to ask and I'll reply as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Andrew_Malloy]

Really any of them would work well to get started. I would say to check out something simple like Cubase. Also, there is a valuable tool that you really need to have if you are writing piano music. EZ Keys by Toontrack is really powerful as an arranger / chord tool and it also comes with some great documentation to help understand music theory.

[DreamEyes]

Thank you for your reply.
After looking for information on the Internet, I decided to go for the Tascam US122 mk2, and Alesis QX49. As for the DAW, I started working with REAPER (but I might have a quick look into Cubase to see how it looks like).

Hopefully, this should be sufficient to start exploring music composition as a beginner.