BIAB will interpret chords but they may or may not be accurate because a melody only has single notes; multiple note midi files are always better for more accurate chord interpretation.
Once the melody is on the Melody Track, though, set the key and then run the 'Chord Reharmonist' (see image below). This is designed for use with melody. It's worthwhile having a look in Help, searching for 'Reharmonist' and having a read about how to get the best from it.
Hello Noel96, I just like to thank you very much for this tip. I use it a lot now and of course, we have to do some adjustments. It's a great tool to start harmonizing a melody from midi. It even tells you the correct key of the melody!
Is the MIDI file just the melody track, or are there also accompaniment tracks? If there are accompaniment tracks in the MIDI file, you'll probably get better results.
Unless it's an original melody (such as your own), you might just want to try one of the guitar tab sites which have chords for many, many songs. Or try finding another MIDI file of the same song which has accompaniment, which, again, makes it easier to figure out the chords.
You can also google the song + "sheet music" and look at resulting images, which often give you at least the first page of the sheet music. That might be enough to get you going to figure out the rest.
Just some things to try.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 2x2TB, 1x4TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 2x1.5TB, 2x2TB, 1x4TB SATA
BIAB has the "feature" to try to figure a chord progression based on a melody, but in my experience the results leave a lot to be desired. And the computer will have no idea about what you are hearing in your head. For example, let's say your melody does something simple like D-E-F. Is that a Dm, a Bb, a Gm7, a Ddim, etc.? So you may want to use the chord reharmonist that Noel suggested to hear various chords that would work, and if you just want to keep it simple, look at Noel's avatar, which shows which chords work well progressing to the next chords. Try the different variations and see which ones your melody works over. You may find that it works and is actually kind of fun to do. You can iteratively plug in each chord you want and test it out (as long as you import your MIDI melody to the melody track first). It should get you a lot closer to what you are hearing in your head. Just a thought.
John
Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 2x2TB, 1x4TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 2x1.5TB, 2x2TB, 1x4TB SATA
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.
Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!
We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!
Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.
You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.
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