Starting out making music

I use the program reaper that I like a lot, and you can download thousands of free vst's for it that you can do literally anything with, from delay to auto pitch.

That's a great gift! Lots of hardware comes with a free Ableton Live Lite license that's good enough for starters. I actually still have one, if you need one. I use the whole Ableton Live Suite, which is way too expensive for starters.

I agree with the other comment about free VSTs, but I would recommend getting to know everything the DAW (such as Ableton) has to offer as well, before downloading dozens of plugins. Most DAWs are able to do most things plugins are used for, but just more basic or less easy/noob proof.

Just experiment and find information on problems you're experiencing while experimenting. Or watch videos in YouTube with workflows of producers that create the type of music you like to create. Even better if they use the same DAW.

Don't limit yourself to the beatpad. Just because you have a tool doesn't mean that it's the best tool for the job!

There are many tools you can use for sequencing music. Some of the most popular ones are built around a piano roll interface, but it's worth also trying out other options like trackers and recording loops (though the latter is more common in discrete hardware; I don't think I've ever seen a computer version before). A lot of the "professional" DAW packages have trial or demo modes so it's easy to experiment

Don't delve into sequencers until you're comfortable with the sequencing tools; It's better if you don't let the pursuit of sounds get in the way of the pursuit of music.

I think that the best advice that I can give is to avoid, if possible, the hole of pursuing equipment or software above the act of creation itself. It's easy to view one's current setup of hardware and software as "inadequate" and so constantly being on the lookout for new things to round out what you have. In reality in almost all cases the most basic of setups is no more and no less adequate than the most complex! We all know that limitation provokes creativity, and that very much holds true here. I started making music by downloading Audacity, the free software that (well, at the time) was very much not intended to be used for musical purposes, and viewed using it and it alone to construct an electronic piece of music as a challenge, and if it wasn't for that little challenge that I set for myself one day then I wouldn't have the style of music that I do and I wouldn't have my dearest hobby of creating and touring and performing.

Find the bare minimum for now and start actually making things! Only look to expand your setup if you truly believe that a particular (and I mean particular) addition can truly open up a new type of musical creation that's currently blocked for you.

If he's going electronic, commit to a selected suite of software. Find what works/he can get the sounds he wants out of and focus on a limited set of tools.

Too often I fell into a trap of getting new free plugins and stopped making music. Partly because I bought what I wanted, and partly because of the awesome stuff out there (Vital, Surge for most things today, tbh).

For a DAW, reaper is free (nagware after 30 days, but it's a 5 second startup delay), Ableton comes with stuff, as does Bitwig (my new favorite) and these two cost like $150/yr to renew. Renoise is my old standby that I still use, and can be had for 50 euro ($80 USD), and is extremely capabable, if a bit different than what many people consider "Standard". I cut my teeth on BuzzTracker and OpenMPT, the latter still being very much in development, and quite powerful.

Which one did you get? I was attracted towards the stylophone beatbox—loved the circular piano-inspired design—but it's rather old and couldn't find anywhere to buy it.