Thought I would continue here in this forum more for the songwriting aspect.
I'm a very analytical, black/white, 1s and 0s kind of thinker. I've been this way all my life and I do not have a creative bone in my body. But I'm a good IT geek. I've yet to submit my own song to the User Showcase (Hoping to change that in 2018). I've been in bands in the past and spent a lot of time recording them as well. I just haven't really written ANYTHING of my own material. I've been a forum member and BIAB/RB owner for 4 years this week and I've finally now learned the Melodist.
So what I've found with the Melodist is that it can generate chords, melody, or both. In my case, I just need to create a melody as I write my own chords with the Chord Map (see attached at the bottom of post). Those creative, talented folks that hang around here simply step up to a piano or whip out the guitar and run some scales up and down a few times and have a melody riff. I can't do that!
So once I have a BIAB song setup with my style and all the verses & choruses bars set up with chords, I'll highlight 4 or 8 bars of the verse and open the melodist. I leave pretty much all the settings stock and make sure that the box is set to keep the melody in the current style. Once I click OK on the box, I go to the melody in the Piano Roll view and then I can drag notes around in pitch and time until I'm happy with the result. If the melody is too blah to edit, I'll just wipe it and melodist again. Once I have it finalized, I'll copy that verse melody to the rest of the verse parts of the song then I highlight 4 or 8 bars of the chorus and rinse and repeat the melodist.
Would love to hear anyone else's experiences in this situation.
Now on to lyrics..... argggghh. Hey, wait! I can use the post above to write a song about not being able to write songs! Eureka! Maybe kind of like this:
I've got the cure for that one - 1) only WRITE instrumentals, and 2)when playing, ONLY PLAY MELODY (chordal, jazzed up, straight..) - NEVER SING (can't sing and have a voice for deep space)
Larry
Win10Pro,i9,64GB,2TBSSD+20TBHDDs,1080TI,BIAB'24,Scarlett18i8,Montage7,Fusion 8HD,QS8,Integra7,XV5080,QSR,SC-8850,SPLAT,FL21&others,Komp.14,IK suite&others, just a guitar player-AXE FX III &FM9T, FishmanTP, MIDIGuitar2, GK2/3'sw/GI20
Great post and I agree. The Melodist is an amazing tool.
I usually use my own melodies but when I find myself getting stuck in a rut, and the song I'm working on sounds like something else I've heard or written, I open the Melodist and always manage to find melodic inspiration. Like so many things in BIAB, it is such a great song-creating tool.
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!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
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