I have windows 10 and just purchased Garritan Instant Orchestra. One quick question: how do I record? The buttons on the bottom are all grayed out!
Adrienne,
Until you figure out a little more about what size and type of DAW you'd prefer you can grab this old version of Reaper for free. Note this is pretty old but it's the only FREE DAW I know of that reliably hosts VST/VSTi Plugins (32bit only).
https://www.reaper.fm/download-old.php?ver=0x
Next, do you mainly want to make cool sounding tracks, or is creating and printing scores a priority?
Do a web search and read up on the key word "DAW" (Digital Audio Workstation).
Examples are:
CuBase
Sonar
Studio One
Reaper
MixCraft
Ableton
Digital Performer
BitWig
FL Studio
The systems above are tracking DAWs, which can also host and control 'virtual instruments' like Garritan's ARIA. Most of them come in various sized packages (you can start with an inexpensive base DAW and upgrade as needed) that can include things like scoring modules, expanded sound libraries, and VST effect plugins.
If you deem printed scores (or want maximum flexibility working with traditional notation) read up on:
Finale
Sibelius
Dorico
Everything above should have Demo versions avilable that you can use for a limited amount of time to see which system best fits your needs and tastes.
ARIA provides both 32bit and 64bit versions. You also get an option when installing for plugin types AU, ATX, RTAS, etc.
By default the 32bit versions usually install into:
"%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Program Files (x86)\VSTPlugins\"
While the 64bit version goes into:
"%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Program Files\VSTPlugins\"
You can also find extra copies of the same plugins in:
"%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Program Files\Garritan\ARIA Player\VST"
The free version of Reaper 0.999 is quite rudimentary (no metronome built in, and very elementary feature set on the key editor). You'll find the latest demo to be much more powerful and easy to use for sure.
P.S.
I'd also suggest you update ARIA to the latest version. From what I can tell from the photo above you are quite a bit behind. To be sure you can check in the "Info" tab of ARIA.

The latest ARIA Player version is: v1.872
The latest ARIA Engine is: v1.916
1. Log into your MakeMusic account if you are not already.
2. Go here and get the latest version: https://makemusic.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/217748538-Updating-the-ARIA-Player
3. Run the installer. You do NOT have to uninstall the older version first, it will update everything for you.
4. Start ARIA in stand alone mode, or load it into a Host.
5. Click the "Settings Tab" in ARIA and then click the check for update icons. This process will check for updates to the core Plogue ARIA engine.
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