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Post your own Tips and Tricks here
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992
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OP
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992 |
tips....008..songwriting. before i get into oodles of tek tips on powertracks (ptw). i would like to discuss in general songwriting. just from things ive picked up over the years. gleaning triks from Audio Engineering shows, in big studios, writing my own songs..lost count..etc etc..lol. and on some occasions ive had the privelige of meeting some big names. who were kind enough to give me insights. let me preface by saying . ITS WORK...tons of work. and i dont have all the answers. but ive come to form certain opinions. as follows... 1. what makes a great song ?? well its doubly difficult these days to come up with something original cos so many great songs have been done in the past by so many gifted people. and there are only so many notes in the scale. but if u have the passion burning inside you. what ive learnt is some basic key things. some basic words. MEMORABLE HOOKS AND SOUND PICTURE. a senior producer for example..said to me once u MUST try n capture the listener in the first ten seconds with a memorable music hook, and again in the song middle and at the end of the song again. the idea at the end being to make the listener want to play the song again. sound picture relates to how the song is "painted" n presented. many many times i fail frankly. and so do many people. one hears how it sounds in ones mind...but often one has difficulty achieving it in reality. i dont have to list all the great artists cos i think u know what i'm getting at. but if u want to be successfull think sound picture and hooks. a hook basically is a set of notes the listener has trouble getting out of his or her mind. ie...memorable. 2. gear alone wont rescue you. ive recorded on everything from junk cassette decks to small home set ups and large home set ups right thru useing major studios. and on really really expensive gear. and ive concluded gear alone wont rescue you. as an example, once, as an experiment i took some songs i had recorded on not the best gear, and my wife had a booth selling crafts. (for extra pin money.) so i sold cassettes of my little songs in her booth. not to make money, but to get feedback from real people objectively on my crazy songs..lol. what they hated n liked etc. i was amazed to find that i sold many thousand cassettes of the songs. any top audio engineer would have called me/criticised me on some of the production flaws in the songs..which i knew very well. but the general public were more interested in whether the songs did anything for them. let me say i dont consider myself an ace audio engineer. ive just picked up lots of things to do with the black art of audio engineering over the years. my first love is writing new songs. then the problem begins.. how to engineer them properly. all i can say is u try n try n fail n fail. but sometimes the recording gods reward your hard work. what is interesting is sometimes i compare songs ive done on the most expensive gear to songs i did on junk gear, and sometimes the ruff songs have a certain charm. ive also found in my travels that ..and ive done this more than once... ive taken a demo ive done on ruff gear and had trouble reproducing the sound /improveing the song on expensive gear. (and also vice versa.) so..whats the solution ?? well my personal take is 10k buys you a pretty decent studio set up today. my personal opinion is that all one needs is powertracks, some decent mics and mic pre's etc etc and of coursea decent sound card convertors. and if u cant do a decent song with that then somethings wrong. ive had all sorts of arguments with people over the years who have very fancy set ups. then i show them what powertracks will do for the ridiculous low price, and they are amazed. some people ive come across have spent thousands on recording software, because they believe by buying such software it will automatically mean a hit for them. sorry , but life isnt like that. in reality all they needed to buy was ptw and from money saved buy decent ADA convertors n mics n preamps. to get a hit song or a great song is just tons of work. particularly experimenting with different sound pictures n hooks.
in summary to all the above, instead, what i do when i get gear lust is i stop myself and focus my energies instead on writing another song. i firmly believe gear alone wont guarantee anything. if your starting out recording songs, ptw alone has way more facilities than were available years ago. its all u need. just my opinion.
retired puter engr....powertracks on amd......NICE ! "what is the black art of audio engineering ?" my silly songs...motagator.com/bmanning see my tips in the tips section.
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!
The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!
The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!
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.
This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245
The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option
Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!
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!
Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
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!
Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.
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.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed!
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