PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows horns, woodwinds, etc. - the process

I have a question for our musically-educated and gifted friends about using the "transposing" instruments (saxes, horns, clarinets, etc.) and how I should attempt to add them to my simple, chord-based Rock and Country BIAB tunes.

Please understand that I'm a barnyard picker whose last brush with traditional music theory was back before I was booted out of 5th grade band class around 54 years ago (it's long story and I still maintain I was innocent).

I managed to get through many years of playing live R&R and Country music while not seriously interfacing with any sax, horn or woodwind players. I made decent $$$$ over the years, but didn't get a very well-rounded musical education. We had the occasional sax player sit in with us over the years, but all I ever did was tell him/her "OK, this is a 1-4-5 rock tune in E" and he/she handled it from that point... and they often handled it very well too!

The only charts I ever used over the years were Nashville numbers notation charts - so the sharps and flats in the staff and all the other "real" musician stuff out there is unfortunately lost on me. The total extent of my knowledge over the years was that certain instruments were referred to as Bb or Eb instruments - and their operators generally appreciated some prior knowledge regarding the key a song was played in...

I am aware of the Opt>Pref>Display>Transpose aspect of BIAB, but I'm not 100% clear as to the exact process of adding these transposing instruments into my simple, chord-based 1-4-5 (with an occasional 2 or 6) R&R or Country-based tunes.

Typically I create the song's chording structure first and attempt add the sax, horn or clarinet part at the very end of the process. At that point, I go into the Opt>Pref>Display>Transpose interface and select the type instrument I'm generating for my tune. After selection, the chords all change accordingly in BIAB, and then I go to my Real Tracks gallery and start auditioning my chosen instrument(s). Is this the correct procedure? Is there a better way to do this?

I'm asking for clarification/direction here because a lot of time when I try to add a transposed instrument to my stuff, the result is not pleasant at all - as if the instrument I'm adding is playing in an entirely different key center than the song I'm trying to add it to...

As a fair-to-middlin' guitar/bass/keyboard player, I seldom create anything in a flat keys, sticking mainly to C-G-D-E-A major or minor keys. Are these bad keys for saxes, horns, etc.?

Typically I'm looking to have the sax, or horn, or clarinet play a secondary role in my tunes, stepping to the front for brief solos between verses, etc. (using the F5 key process to bring it in and out of the song).

I like the new horn sections in my 2014 BIAB Everything Pack (I upgraded from 2012 Everything Pack last month)... but they just don't fit in with everything...

Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated - and thank you in advance!

When adding any of the transposing horns to a BB tune, either via MIDI or RealTracks, you don't have to worry about the Transposing, just invoke the horn of choice and it will be generated to sound correctly according to the Key Signature you set in the main Keysig block and the Chords you entered on the Chord Sheet.

Easy, and no problem.


--Mac

Depends on who is playing, I guess. As a sideman for CDs by guitarists, I rather expect to be playing a lot in those keys.

If you mean for the RealTrack players, no problem. Even if the RealTracks were not recorded in a specific key, BIAB has the Elastique algorithm to shift the pitch without any problem.

Thank you Gentlemen for the prompt and concise responses... Guess I was thinking this one too hard!

The transposing function is for creating charts for non concert key instruments like most horns. If you had a tenor sax player and you want him to play an exact specific part that's in your Biab song you click on tenor sax in the transpose window. That changes the notation for a tenor sax. You print out the tenor chart and then change the transpose back to concert.

It's when you get interrupted in the middle of this, save the song and forget to change the transpose that will cause you all kinds of grief three months later.

Ask me how I know this...

And yes a good sax player can play in any key just like you should be able to as well. They certainly have their favorites though, usually the flat keys, F, Bb, Eb, Ab and Db. If you have a choice and don't care yourself you'll make them happier if you're in those keys. These are also the jazz keys because of all the legendary jazz horn players.

Bob

What Mac said.


I've done quite a few songs in the past using RB to render the tracks and with horns and sax, I've never had an issue with keys. The software did all the right stuff.