#399619 - 03/09/1701:20 PM[Band-in-a-Box for Windows]#TBT - Band-in-a-Box® 2004 for Windows!
Callie - PG Music
PG Music Staff
Registered: 09/27/06
Posts: 1054
Loc: Victoria, BC
Since it's Thursday, let's honor the #TBT trend and take a look way back to Band-in-a-Box® 2004!
Some of the new features released with this version included: -All New 32-bit Program Engine -DirectX Instrument Synthesizer (DXi plug-in) Support -Amazing Audio Vocal Harmony routines: You can apply a harmony to the audio part! -Load a MIDI file into Band-in-a-Box using a single keystroke -New "Hybrid Styles" feature that allows you to play and create a style that has instruments from up to five different styles! -Transpose Each Chorus ...and more!
This, I think, was the last version that had any significant change to the printed notation. It introduced the ability to have first / second endings as well as repeats. So 13 years without any further updates.
Sure, there have been some changes, including music XML, that may or may not work, but nothing that compares to changes that have happened in the rest of the application.
I know I have been loath to update since, unlike some users, I do need the printed output, more so than the multiple Real Tracks, or Real Band.
I think it's time to make changes to notation.
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BIAB for Windows Version 2013 (366) Windows 10
#399680 - 03/09/1706:37 PM[Band-in-a-Box for Windows]Re: #TBT - Band-in-a-Box® 2004 for Windows!
[Re: Callie - PG Music]
Matt Finley
Veteran
Registered: 07/12/00
Posts: 15372
Loc: Hudson Valley & Lake George NY
Dave, you could start another thread where we could focus on this. But let me just ask, are you familiar with the free but powerful notation program, Musescore? It reads BIAB files directly, not just via Music XML.
_________________________ BIAB 2017 Audiophile. Software includes SONAR Platinum, Adobe Audition, Ozone, & Encore on Windows 10 64-bit. Hardware includes custom i7, 16 Gb RAM; Roland Integra-7, Focusrite 18i20, TCE Finalizer, Behringer X-Touch.
Matt, I have tried Musescore, but found that it didn't really handle the multi line lyrics very well. Now, admitted it was a while ago, and things could have changed, but my main beef is that I really feel that BIAB should by now, be able to produce a much better printed output.
For instance, why is each bar on a staff line the same physical length, regardless of the number of notes or lyric syllable. But I have commented on this many times. Why, again, do we have to create a song in linear form, just so that we can get a decent printout.
I found this post, presumably showing how far the product has come in the last 13 years, didn't acknowledge that notation hasn't experience the same growth. But again, PGMusic is showing how much has changed, not what hasn't
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BIAB for Windows Version 2013 (366) Windows 10
#399690 - 03/09/1708:48 PM[Band-in-a-Box for Windows]Re: #TBT - Band-in-a-Box® 2004 for Windows!
[Re: Callie - PG Music]
PeterGannon
PG Music Staff
Registered: 05/29/00
Posts: 13205
There have been many improvements to the notation. For example, here are the improvements in the 2017 version. Each year has a similar list.
Notation has been enhanced: The Guitar Notation display has been enhanced. You can now enter and display bends, slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs with notation graphics indicating these elements. You can create all these in the note edit dialog, and import/export from/to XML files. A rapid notation entry mode has been added for piano and guitar music. To do this, open up the Piano or Guitar window, use the new features to have right/left cursor keys to set the current notation position, and then click on the piano or guitar to enter notes. This is much faster than previous methods in many cases. The notation timeline is much more visible while editing, as it is a yellow wide transparent vertical line on the notation. Entry of Forced Accidentals is quicker now, without a pull down list required. Band-in-a-Box® now remembers previous width & height when saving notation as image. Band-in-a-Box® notation now has a checkbox to keep ratio the same when changing Width or Height in Save image dialog. RealScore Chords font is now selectable on the Notation window fonts menu. Music XML (notation export/import) has been enhanced. We've worked with Finale, GuitarPro, and Sibelius to enhance features and compatibility with Music XML. For example, we now read/write more chord types as well as guitar tab, bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides from/to XML.
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Have Fun! Peter Gannon PG Music Inc.
But Peter, It really doesn't change the fact that the print notation (that is the paper representation of the song) hasn't had any significant updates since 2004.
I agree that ther have been data input updates, but we still have fixed bar lengths, although we can assign the number of bars on a line. It's still very difficult to get note lyrics to line up when dealin with multi note bars. The last bar on a line can cause all sorts of problems due to lyrics wrapping to the line below.
I love BIAB; note, lyric and chord entry is a breeze, and the sound of the 'band', even with basic midi is amazing.
Perhaps BIAB is not a piece of notation software, and I should consider investing in a dedicated notation software, but I am not prepared to create duplicate copies all of my songs. BIAB notation could be a lot better, or at least provide a simple but comprehensive interface to another program. Wouldn't it be nice to use the same dialogue we use today to get a professional looking fake sheet?
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BIAB for Windows Version 2013 (366) Windows 10
We often post an announcement when a new patch update is available for Band-in-a-Box, however there's another way of finding out if there's a new patch available for your installation of Band-in-a-Box without ever leaving the program!
In Band-in-a-Box 2017, simply choose the option to "Check for Updates" within the Band-in-a-Box menu - not only will the program list any new updates that are available, you also have the option to download and install the patch without even leaving the program!
Ottawa Life Magazine has highlighted Quinn Bachand in the recent article & interview The Evolution of Quinn Bachand - give it a read!
If you're a fan of our RealTracks Sets, you've probably heard some of Quinn Bachand's playing! Quinn has been a RealTracks Artist with us since the release of RealTracks Set 104: Celtic Jigs & Reels with Band-in-a-Box® Version 2011.
Quinn's other contribution to PG Music (so far...) is the recently released Celtic Guitar Video Master Class Series, which covers techniques, chord theory, voicings and also walks you through 17 "must-know" tunes. Learn more...
Don't forget... the Xtra Styles PAK 3 is on sale for just $29 during our Xtra Styles special, which ends July 31, 2017!
Plus... if you don't have any Xtra Styles yet, you'll be happy to hear that you can purchase all three sets (485 RealStyles) and the 2017 49-PAK for only $129 during our Xtra Styles special.
Fixed: Rendering to MP3 might fail with error "cannot get stream size". Fixed: Rendering to MP3 will cause Band-in-a-Box to crash if choosing "MPEG Layer-3" as the codec. Fixed: The style name and description would not be displayed immediately after bootup. Fixed: The total choruses button should show the current chorus during playback. Fixed: There were various errors (eg notes not transposed) in the Chord Builder popup menus. Fixed: When demoing RealDrums in the RealDrums Picker dialog, the demo would not start at the beginning. Fixed: When exporting a MIDI file, RealTracks would generate even if "Save RealCharts in MIDI files" was disabled. Fixed: When using the * wildcard for chord type in the Search-Replace Chords dialog, all of the resulting chords would have their type changed to 6.
(Note: This is a cumulative update patch, which works from any 2017 build.)
Our Forum is packed with helpful posts - especially the Tips & Tricks section, where other program users share their own tips for working with PG Music Inc. software.
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