Hi,

Newbie post.

I've got an old version of BIAB (Version 12) and now may well have a requirement to get it all working. I've started playing Tenor 1 in a Swing Band and need to practice my solos.

When I open up BIAB i need to enter the chords of the solo and somehow indicate to BIAB that this is the solo part so that the melody/ piano parts are transcribed correctly.

Anyone know how I go about doing this.

If this is straightforward to do I may well update to 2012.

Malcolm

Hi Malcolm,
Please provide more information as to what you are wanting BiaB to do.

For example, do you have existing solos that are written out that you want to learn, and would expect BiaB to transcribe them?
Or are you just wanting to type in chords and have BiaB generate the rhythm section and generate a solo?
- or are you referring to BiaB transposing the song to the key of your Tenor sax?

Hi Peter and thanks for your response.

I am playing in a swing band on Tenor Sax. When I come to a solo invariably the staff is notated with chords. I can enter these into BIAB and these are what I will play and are correct fro the Tenor Sax but not the piano/rhythm section

I want BIAB to play the rhythm section so I can practice my solo, however I cant seem to be able to transpose the piano/base part etc to the correct key. When i do this it also transposes the Tenor part?

Hoping this gives you enough info

Malcolm

Hi Malcolm,

Yes, you need to set the transpose setting to +2 (actually +14) for tenor sax, so that the chords get displayed in the correct key for tenor.

Then when you want to go back to piano, set it back to zero (concert).

Actually I think you might need a bit of clarity to help you decipher Peter's answer.
Most of this info is probably better explained in the manuals but here's my interpretation to try to get you started.

To set the transpose so that when you type in the chords from your Bb chart, go to the Notation display by clicking the button just near the right hand end under the double keyboard, labelled Not'n. On the left of the bar just above the notation, there's a button labelled "opt" for score options. In these options, right near the centre the transpose settings. You can select tenor sax, soprano sax, clarinet or trumpet from there to enable the correct setting for your needs (which is +2 or +14 semitones. The 14 though should only be important for melodies being written).
Now exit the options by selecting "OK" then exit notation window by again clicking on the Not'n button.

You can now type the chords you've got straight in - luckily the rhythm section transpose to their concert chord automatically from their so as far as I can see you can ignore Peter's comment "when you want to go back to piano, set it back to zero (concert)."

Also note there are heaps of standards available in Band In A Box format with the melodies & chords already set. The most common thing though is that the melody might need to be set not play through the solo choruses so to fix this, in the melody menu use the selection "kill melody choruses" & select "middle choruses".

Thankyou for your comments

After a little experimentation I think I've solved the problem, hopefully you can conform this.

I found that altering the Transpose setting changed the chords on the lead sheet as well and completely messed up the entry of chord. I think this works when your starting with a piece in concert ptch and want to transpose fro the Sax. What I'm doing is the opposite. Im starting with the chords as written fro the sax and then from thi sI want BIAB to play the concert stuff.

Anyway, what I did was too set the key signature as for the sax, then when all this was done I changed the Key signature to the equivalent concert pitch. So that if the Tenor Sax Chart was in E the concert pitch would be D. I used the option to 'Not Change the Leadsheet Chords'. This seems to work. I can modify chords ok and I assume the piano and Base etc will play in concert.

Am I missing something.

regards

Malcolm

Can someone confirm that the above is the correct procedure fro what I want to achieve.

To reiterate. The chords are entered on the leadsheet as the solo that is to be played by Tenor Sax, the key is Eb. I then changed the key signature to Db and selected not to change the chords on the leadsheet so that I can follow those while playing the Tenor.

When I go to notation and look at the piano part the Key Sig is correctly Db but the chord indications are the same as the leadsheet and havn't been transposed. The notes on the piano stave have been naturalised to fit in with the key Eb.

When I change the key signature to anything and select 'dont change leadsheet chords' I dont here any difference in playback

I'm missing something here?

Malcolm

BiaB displays the concert key in the key signature box which is under the title of the song on the main screen. This never changes, so always displays the concert key.

For example, if a song has a concert key of F, and you want to play it on tenor sax.

Set notation options transpose to + 2. ( or +14 which is an octave higher ).

You will now see chords and notation in G and then concert song will play in F.

I dont have the concert pitch chords. I have the lead Tenor part which I want to use as my starting point.

I think I need to know what happens when you change the concert key and select "Dont Change Leadsheet chords'. Not a lot by the look of it.

I've had another thought. I could enter the Tenor Sax chords (in Eb) as before, change the Key Sig to concert (Dd) and select to "Change the Leadsheet Chords", then I'll set Notation Options transpose to +2 (or 14), that should change the leadsheet back to the Eb chords while keeping the concert in Db.

I'll do the above and report back.

Malcolm

Ok, so I did the above.

The leadsheet shows the chords as for Eb. The Key signature Box indicates Dd.

When I select notation and look at the piano part the stave indicates the key Eb (I would have thought this should be Db) and the chords are as per the leadsheet. I think what I was doing initially achieved the same thing only the notation display was different.

I selected a Tenor Soloist and it does seem to fit in with piano accompaniment but I really dont understand whats going on.

Malcolm

Just edited to correct

I've just spent an hour or so scanning the manual but I cant find anything specific as to how this works.

Does anyone have any ideas

Malcolm

One point, you are using version 12, which is from 2003. So I am doing this from memory, as I don't have version 12 handy.

If you visit the notation window, press the Options button.

There should be a setting there called transpose. Set it to +9 for alto sax, and +14 for Tenor Sax.

Once you do that, songs entered in concert key will be displayed correctly for your tenor sax. If you plan on entering new songs, I would recommend that you do it in concert key, and then set the transpose setting as above.

I'm so sorry Peter I should have mentioned that I have upgraded from V12 and am now up to date and on 2012.5. I have the Mega PAk version

After a little bit of searching last night I found a thread where Philsaxophone was having a similar problem (in the BIAB Windows Forum). He had a Bb Fakebook and was wanting to enter the chords from this into BIAB and play his Tenor while the Rhythm section played in concert.

The solution was given very succinctly by Matt Finley and I hope he doesn't mind me repeating it here:

start quote"
1. Select the correct key signature for the tune as written in the Bb fakebook.

2. Enter the tune as written in the Bb fakebook.

3. Change the key signature one full step (or two-half-steps) lower (examples: E goes to D; Eb goes to Db) and say Yes to the question, OK to transpose worksheet.

4. The piano, guitar, and any other non-transposing instrument will play the song this way if you print it.

5. Now, to see it as a Bb instrument wants it, go to Opt, Preferences, Notation. In the pulldown for Transposition Options, select Clarinet +2.

6. Now you will hear the song in the correct key for piano etc. but see it in the correct key for a Bb instrument.

7. The transposition preference in BIAB is not saved with the song, so remember to go back after saving the song and set it to Concert pitch. It's also a good idea to save the song in a separate folder, or give it a different name such as Mysong Bb, so that you know that it was intended to be played with a transposition in effect. Otherwise, someday you will load that song, print it for a pianist, and get a surprise when it's played in the 'wrong' key. When you load a song, there is a brief yellow box flashing in the upper left corner to warn you a transposition is in effect.

--------------------"end quote

This is the same solution that I finally arrived at and described a few posts ago. (of course I selected Tenor Sax as the transposed instrument but the principal is the same).

What was totally confusing me was that after doing all the above, if the Notation view is entered and the Piano part selected the Key Signature is not Concert as expected but the transposed key signature; the chords above the stave are also the transposed ones. I'm not sure if this is working as designed but I believe it would make more sense if the Piano part was always displayed in concert. The piano is definitely playing back in concert but not whats written in the notation view.

It would be so helpful if a PG Staff member could confirm this operation

So fortunately I don't think you do need to enter chords in Concert if your playing a transposing instrument, BIAB can do the transposition for you but you need to be wary of whats being presented in Notation view.

Sorry for the long post, at least I think I understand whats going on now and I hope its helped others as well.

Malcolm