Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
stratos Offline OP
Journeyman
OP Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
Hi here I am again ;-)
Please change the default setting for Natural arrangement to
NEVER

1)Options
2)Preferences
3)Arrange
4) Find roll down menu for Natural Arrangement

NEVER (as default)

So many jazz customers avoid buying BB as the rumor says that BB puts plain 9 chords on a dominant7 V chord or altered over a IV 7.
I also believe that beginners can get trouble with this



Last edited by stratos; 04/01/19 11:16 PM.
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,943
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,943
I have to admit I see some merit in this. We’ve had many questions here about why BIAB plays X chord unexpectedly.

Just be aware that this feature is not the only cause.


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,472
Veteran
Online Content
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,472


BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
stratos Offline OP
Journeyman
OP Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
Matt:
Yes, but the default setting has been an overlooked feature that imho has degraded BB.
I see bad comments about it on many forums, so I want to shine a light on it, so BB hopefully do something about it.

Last edited by stratos; 04/02/19 11:22 PM.
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,610
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,610
+1


Cheers,
Mike

My Music * Asus ROG Strix G15CF 32 GB DDR4 4TB HDD + 1 TB SSD NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB Win 11 AKAI EIE PRO Sound Interface. BIAB/RB 2024 UltraPak Build - Latest
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,943
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,943
Originally Posted By: stratos
Matt:
Yes, but the default setting has been an overlooked feature that imho has degraded BB.
I see bad comments about it on many forums, so I want to shine a light on it, so BB hopefully do something about it.
Stratos, I agree there is an issue here. The comical post linked by Videotrack shows one example of this. Natural Arrangement is a fascinating concept and it often works very well, though it also can give odd results. I know: I compose Brazilian jazz. Every chord is ‘complex’ according to their definition (and then some). Natural Arrangement never gives unmusical results, just sometimes not exactly what I specified. I think that’s the way AI is supposed to work: it offers to ‘refine’ my entries, and I can override it.

So my issue here is not the main idea but how it is implemented. I’m not sure about just turning Natural Arrangement off by default, thus hiding a powerful feature from new users. Perhaps if the green info screen were then shown every regeneration (not just once per session as it is now), it would be available to all to try. Then make that green screen optional as users become more experienced. Would this work?

Or, another approach: have the green info message offer to ‘analyze’ the song for possible ‘enhancement’ via AI. Ideally, display the original chord and the possible suggested replacement, and let the user choose. Now, that’s powerful.

Remember that BIAB has a tremendous wealth of chords to choose from, but it’s not infinite. Natural Arrangement has never been completely explained, and it probably won’t be because it’s proprietary. But I believe it is at least partially based on knowledge of what chord progressions are available that are known to work well. My song’s chords might specify something for which the program has to substitute from what’s available (and that can improve over time). Or, I’m completely wrong on all of this.


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
stratos Offline OP
Journeyman
OP Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
Hi Matt
I´ll try to make a comparison of normal arrangement and natural arrangement of the same tune to be sure if it makes a difference in a good or a bad way. I am aware that styles means something for the BB choice of chords.
Cheers

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,472
Veteran
Online Content
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,472
Good in depth discussion above.

As a mainly Jazz player, I need to know what it's going to do to my song before I can be comfortable with using it.

I would like to see a check-box or similar displayed on the chord sheet that I could use to toggle Natural Arrangement on/off. Then I could see exactly how it would change my structure and decide if I wish to use it.

(BTW: I normally write using just slightly more that a single C chord grin )


BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,943
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,943
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting.


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
stratos Offline OP
Journeyman
OP Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
Good in depth discussion above.

As a mainly Jazz player, I need to know what it's going to do to my song before I can be comfortable with using it.

I would like to see a check-box or similar displayed on the chord sheet that I could use to toggle Natural Arrangement on/off. Then I could see exactly how it would change my structure and decide if I wish to use it.

(BTW: I normally write using just slightly more that a single C chord grin )


+1
That was a very good suggestion. Sorry I didn´t see it out of your post Matt
Cheers

Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,149
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,149
I believe the issues with the "Natural Arrangement" feature are three fold, user expectation, feature implementation and undocumented chord changes.

The first issue is available by answering the question, "What does a user EXPECT to hear on playback once chords are entered on a Band-in-a-Box chord sheet and the play or regen and play button are pressed; chord improvisation (natural arrangement) or the entered chords?" My guess is users expect entered chords but the current default is chord improvisation (natural arrangement turned on).

The second issue is the focus of the green message is on song complexity, not changing the chord arrangement based on an analysis of the song. So the message is confusing at best and inaccurate or misleading at times.

The third issue is the chord sheet does not clearly indicate what chords are substituted, where the substituted chords were placed nor why those substitutions were made.

A on/off checkbox could help address the first issue but the second and third issues also needs addressing.

I like the idea of having a checkbox to easily turn the feature on and off. My proposal is to make the checkbox part of the regen and play button. Then during initial and subsequent song generations the check box will control operation of the natural arrangement feature as desired. Meanwhile the natural arrangement checkbox operation is ignored when the play button is pressed.

The second issue can be addressed by changing the green box message wording. A simple "natural arrangement is on" when the feature is used should be sufficient.

The third issue requires the most attention. Both the user manual and help file should be updated to provide a clear explanation of what the natural arrangement feature is and a non technical overview of how the features makes it's decisions. Finally, chord substitutions should be highlighted on both display and print chord sheets.


Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,472
Veteran
Online Content
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,472
Originally Posted By: Jim Fogle
...
Finally, chord substitutions should be highlighted on both display and print chord sheets.

All valid points Jim, and worthy of consideration.

I for one, want to see what it does to my arrangement and this could be best presented by highlighting on the chords that are displayed.

One item to challenge this option is that natural arrangements can be turned on/off per individual track from the mixer. So how would that be presented on the chord sheet.

Also, two different guitar tracks could have different chords if only one used natural arrangements.

It's been asked many times that we would like to know more about what this feature actually does to our songs.


BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,149
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,149
Videotrack, is
Quote:
One item to challenge this option is that natural arrangements can be turned on/off per individual track from the mixer.
this current or a wishlist request?

If correct I wasn't aware that natural arrangement feature control is available (in the mixer) on a per track basis. That's nifty! Learning everyday.


Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,472
Veteran
Online Content
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 18,472
It's current but it's kind of tucked away:

Attached Files (Click to download or enlarge) (Only available when you are logged in)
2019-04-06_12-30-49.jpg (138.87 KB, 59 downloads)

BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,943
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 25,943
I sure learned something here. I had no idea this can be track by track!

Every year I try to look at every new menu option, but I never looked at this. Thanks.


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,149
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,149
I didn't realize each track has settings so natural arrangement can be enabled or disabled. Amazing. This opens the door to a lot of arrangement possibilities.


Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1111) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
stratos Offline OP
Journeyman
OP Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 437
Originally Posted By: VideoTrack
It's current but it's kind of tucked away:


Thanks for that info , VideoTrack !
I just tried to disable NA on the piano part. IT WORKS!!!
No wrong 9 or 7b9

Now I hope BB could make it more visible, so its not a secret only for us here ;-)

Last edited by stratos; 04/09/19 12:30 AM.
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Italian for Windows is Here!

Ci siamo dati da fare e abbiamo aggiunto oltre 50 nuove funzionalità e una straordinaria raccolta di nuovi contenuti, tra cui 222 RealTracks, nuovi RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 3, Playable RealDrums Set 2, due nuovi set di "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 e altro ancora!

Tutti Pacchetti | Nuove Caratteristiche

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 French for Windows is Here!


Band-in-a-Box® 2024 apporte plus de 50 fonctions nouvelles ainsi qu'une importante de contenus nouveaux à savoir : 222 RealTracks, des RealStyles nouveaux, des SuperTracks MIDI, des Etudes d'Instruments, des Prestations d'Artistes, des "Morceaux avec Choeurs", un Set 3 de Tracks Jouables, un Set 2 de RealDrums Jouables, deux nouveaux Sets de "RealDrums Stems", des Styles XPro PAK 6, des Xtra Styles PAK 17 et bien plus encore!

Tous Packages | Nouvelles Fonctionnalités

Video: Making a Song with Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V

Take your Band-in-a-Box® project to a whole new level when you incorporate ChatGPT and Synth V to add lyrics and vocals to your song!

We wanted to demonstrate how this is done with our video, where we show you how to go from nothing to a finished "radio ready" modern pop song by combining the features of Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V!

Listen to the finished song, so you get a listen to the finished product: https://demos.pgmusic.com/misc/behindthefame.m4a

If you like it, watch the video. Either way, let's hear your comments!

Henry Clarke: Revolutionize Your Band-in-Box® Tracks with Regenerating Function

One of the new features added with Band-in-Box® 2024 is the Tracks Window, which will look familiar if you've worked with other DAWs.

Henry Clarke explains why he loves the Re-generation function within the Tracks Window in their video Revolutionize Your Band-in-Box® Tracks with Regenerating Function.

Watch video.

Learn even more about what the Tracks Window can do with our video Band-in-a-Box® 2024: The Tracks Window.

User Video: Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®

The Bob Doyle Media YouTube channel is known for demonstrating how you can creatively incorporate AI into your projects - from your song projects to avatar building to face swapping, and more!

His latest video, Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box, he explains in detail how you can use the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box with ACE Studio. Follow along as he goes from "nothing" to "something" with his Band-in-a-Box MIDI Melodist track, using ACE Studio to turn it into a vocal track (or tracks, you'll see) by adding lyrics for those notes that will trigger some amazing AI vocals!

Watch: Next-Level AI Music Editing with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box


Band-in-a-Box® 2024 German for Windows is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!

Wir waren fleißig und haben über 50 neue Funktionen und eine erstaunliche Sammlung neuer Inhalte hinzugefügt, darunter 222 RealTracks, neue RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, abspielbare RealTracks Set 3, abspielbare RealDrums Set 2, zwei neue Sets von "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 und mehr!

Paket | Was ist Neu

Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!

Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!

Learn more about this free update for PowerTracks Pro Audio & download it at www.pgmusic.com/support_windows_pt.htm#2024_5

Forum Statistics
Forums66
Topics81,905
Posts738,695
Members38,614
Most Online2,537
Jan 19th, 2020
Newest Members
that_bear_there, TwoHandsDown, reidmakesmusic, smokeybirdsept2679, Barry Thibault
38,613 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 153
musocity 117
rsdean 108
DC Ron 96
dcuny 88
Today's Birthdays
annick.vanlooy, Ray George, Timber
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5