C, DOWN to low E, UP an octave to D, then DOWN to F !!!
On a fretted instrument these are your basic/simple choices due to the instrument itself. Once you hit low E on a bass the only way to get to a D is to go up (almost) an octave .. I would 'expect' these intervals on a real bass. If the bass is played on a keyboard it may be different, but played on an actual bass, it makes sense to me for RT's.
To over-ride the bass selection you can sometimes try something like using Cmaj7/E for chord entry (instead of Em) for the second chord, which may force the bass to go more where you were hoping, but in your example chord structure it sounds to me like a pretty expected result. RT's only have so many options to choose from. Unless you 'revoice' the chords .. and try to force something else
Make your sound your own! .. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
It just seems to me that after all these years (decades really) BIAB does not look ahead and analyze a chord progression, but rather simply looks ahead chord by chord.
Why jump up and down octaves for three consecutive notes when it is not necessary?
C, DOWN to low E, UP an octave to D, then DOWN to F !!!
If BIAB looked ahead and saw the D and F, surely it would have realized that going UP to the E instead of DOWN would have made a much smoother bass line?
A BIAB user for more than 30 years (if you can believe it) !
Try using a different, but similar Bass RealTrack. A different Bass RealTrack might have a different run for the same chord progression built into it.
Look in the RealTracks picker to see what the suggested tempo range is for the Bass RealTrack you're using. If the Bass RealTracks that you're using is close to the edge of the tempo range, freeze the rest of the tracks then change the tempo. BiaB may select something different at the different tempo.
I was just explaining how I (with bass in hand) might have 'seen' it and played it with the described chords. I would think in my head the sequence would be C (second string) then E (open low E) then closest D is up a string .. etc.
It may also depend on the style chosen as they all are different, like mentioned above by Jim .. My next go-to attempt would be to redefine the chords to see if an alternate voicing can get my 'desired' result as opposed to the 'expected' result using the added options in RB.
The cool thing in RB is the ability to make these kind of changes, generate a given track and then revert back to a different RT/chord progression later for other tracks. In BiaB you are asking all tracks to abide by the new chords, which may affect some tracks inadvertently. In RB the new chords can apply to only a given track when generating a new option ..
Make your sound your own! .. I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
A little too complicated for me though (I also don't use RealBand.)
I transposed the tune from C to G and that has helped quite a bit.
However there are still a couple of undesirable bass lines. Here are the slash chords:
//C/E, Bm/D, Am/C, G/B // D7sus...
Naturally you would want a descending bass starting on E. But BIAB has a mind all its own and starts with the low E, then jumps up to start the descending line after that!
Is there some way to indicate to BIAB (here and in another instance) which octave you want for that note?
Well lucky me! I discovered that the bass line IS MIDI!
So now I am in the piano roll and don't know how to move notes? Any tips? The intuitive way of grabbing the note and moving it up or down is not working...
Last edited by BIABman; 05/21/1804:19 PM.
A BIAB user for more than 30 years (if you can believe it) !
You've just frozen the track. Now you want to make more changes to it. Do you unfreeze, change and then re-freeze?
And how about changing an F note to an F# in Notation mode? I don't see how? When I drag the note it never wants to put a sharp. If I just click a note it asks if I want to add another note over the existing note!
One more question. You are in Notation mode. How do you start playing the song from a particular note?
Last edited by BIABman; 05/21/1804:53 PM. Reason: One more question..
A BIAB user for more than 30 years (if you can believe it) !
You said: "You've just frozen the track. Now you want to make more changes to it. Do you unfreeze, change and then re-freeze?"
The answer is YES.
For changing your F note to an F#, it may be easier to go back to Piano Roll mode, then (as you've discovered), just grab the middle of the note bar and move it up.
OK well I opened the Help file and learned that you move the note by clicking the Middle of the note bar...
Now the problem I have is when I re-generate the song, the notes go right back to what they were originally.
How do I FREEZE just the notes I changed?
BIABman,
While you're doing all this experimenting, I suspect that it would help if you turned off the automatic track naming feature. This feature names tracks according to the instrument that is placed on them. While this naming has advantages, it also has disadvantages (I'll explain a bit more below).
To disable auto-naming, the options shown on the image below are found on the opening screen of "Options | Preferences" (in BIAB 2018).
When disabled, the tracks are always called Bass, Piano, Drums, Guitar, Strings, Melody, Soloist. These legacy names do not change when instruments change.
Once legacy names are on display, it becomes easier to identify which tracks will regenerate and which will not. If you make changes to notes on the Melody or the Soloist tracks, these changes are unaffected by regeneration. Any changes on the other five tracks though will get over-written by regeneration unless the track is frozen.
Also... to answer you question about freezing a few notes... it's not possible. The freeze process applies to the whole track.
Lastly, at the URL below, you'll find some video clips. While most of these use older versions of BIAB, the principles outlined still apply today. These clips might be useful for you.
For changing your F note to an F#, it may be easier to go back to Piano Roll mode, then (as you've discovered), just grab the middle of the note bar and move it up.
Good luck! LLOYD S
Thanks Lloyd. That's what I ended up doing, falling back to something I know will work.
A BIAB user for more than 30 years (if you can believe it) !
Also... to answer you question about freezing a few notes... it's not possible. The freeze process applies to the whole track.
OK.
Quote:
Lastly, at the URL below, you'll find some video clips. While most of these use older versions of BIAB, the principles outlined still apply today. These clips might be useful for you.
Personally I think you are better writing your own bass lines using a DAW. Bass is such an important part of the song and the bass line should be logical and rhythmic. The bass RealTracks will often jump about in an unmusical fashion which is a shame. As a result I normally play my parts in using a midi keyboard and a vst like Trilian. After that I edit the timing so it sits well with the drums. I actually enjoy producing the bass line and think it is essential to the success of a track.
"Well lucky me! I discovered that the bass line IS MIDI!"
Originally Posted By: BIABman
OK well I opened the Help file and learned that you move the note by clicking the Middle of the note bar...
Now the problem I have is when I re-generate the song, the notes go right back to what they were originally.
How do I FREEZE just the notes I changed?
Funkycornwall has given you the best suggestion in my opinion.
I think what you've run into is a RealTrack with a Real Chart. If that is indeed the case, anytime you re-generate the track, the RealTrack will regenerate and so will will the Real Chart. It will change to conform to the RealTrack.
To have your bass play the Real Chart, you will have to change to a midi bass instrument. That's not a bad thing because you can then notate the bass to play whatever notes you choose and desire.
There are a few ways to copy things in BIAB. You haven't told us which one you used.
From the sounds of things, you've employed a process that also copied and pasted part markers. That would cause BIAB to re-generate the next time the song started.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Melody track and the Soloist track don't regenerate (unless you have a Realtrack or MIDI Supertrack loaded on them).
With this in mind, and if you have a recent version of BIAB...
I encourage you to follow the sequence of numbers on the image below and...
1. copy your MIDI bass track to the Melody
2. work on the notation on the Melody track
3. When you get it how you want, move the track back to the Bass track.
BEFORE DOING THE ABOVE, though.... make sure that you save a backup copy of your song. Then, if something goes wrong, you can get back to where you were. Also save a backup with another name before you send the bass back to the Bass track.
If you use a Supermidi Bass, you can edit and save the notation changes you make. I recommend using Supermidi because it will generate a part the same as a RealTrack but because it is midi, you can edit it the same as you would a regular midi track. You can then use Sforzando VST to get the right bass sound you want.
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