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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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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,992 |
tips...026. okay...the songs starting to get there. (but before i cover song final "iceings" and lead vocs..just a little aside on some thoughts of mine on songwriting and other points.. before i get back to explaining tracking the CEFE band. ) if your reading this , as one can see, and as i said before .... doing a song is hard hard grinding work. theres no two ways about it. hours and hours of work. getting the right source sounds recorded, and achieving a pleasing sound picture with great musical hooks that grab people. this is NOT trivial work. and gives one a major appreciation for the gifted audio engineers who did great records in years gone by. many times i fail and so do lots of people. it is VERY VERY DIFFICULT to get the song recorded as you hear it in your mind.
In your mind you hear this wonderfull finished product. but achieving the recorded reality is often difficult. no matter how much gear u have.
which brings me to a point. some people feel they need to spend a small fortune on recording software, hi end mixing consoles and all sorts of fancy stuff. ive owned such fancy stuff..and believe me....what i found out was, the recording gods often laughed at me.....lol. why??.. COS I STILL HAD TO GET THE SOURCE TRACK SOUNDS CORRECT FOR THE SONG. this is why i try n tell people that ptw suffices for recording software. if u think u need more...your just fooling yourself imho. you could blow 2.5k on recording software. but still it means nothing if u cant get those source tracks recorded right !!
in summary , concentrate on getting the source sounds recorded correctly. cos u could buy a ten million buk recording studio, and it wouldnt matter if u cant get those source sounds recorded properly with it.
i'm trying to make the foregoing points at this stage, cos mebe on one of your first tunes youve reached tr 28. and your FRUSTRATED. this is your first ever recording. youve spent lots of time learning the basics and setting up your pc , and drivers and sound device etc etc. youve done a few fx "sprinkles"....and dam...the song isnt coming together like u hear it in your mind. thus...being human , the temptation is to look for short cuts and a quik fix solution. i call them instant coffee solutions. mebe u think , your friend uses a multitrack software that cost him nearly a thousand buks. mebe if i get what my friend has this will solve my problem. nope...been there done that. the source track sounds still have to be recorded properly. all the software does is create a record of your work. nothing more, nothing less. the software just provides a blank canvas on which u paint your creative sound textures. in fact your great aunt emma could give you 10 million to buy a commercial recording studio. but STILL u might end up in the same position at tr 28 somewhat frustrated. and still not hearing the sound picture u had in your mind for the song. ive recorded in large facilities and faced still some similar frustrations. cos i didnt get the source traks right.
so what is the solution ?? the solution is u must be willing to put in the time to get the source traks correct. in this busy age with families and other jobs..not an easy task.
all i can do is give u one pointer. sometimes what i do is rough out a song on a few traks . when i get the initial song idea in my mind. then try to build from there. remember that ptw songs folder i mentioned earlier ?? that has a folder in it with its own seq for each song ?? i also have a rough song ideas folder called "demos". with a folder in it for each demo song. each demo song folder has its own song seq in it. i write many new song ideas each month. honing arrangements and lyric ideas and store them away in "demos". then i listen to the demos with fresh ears by loading the demo seq up into ptw, and i try and assess the demo. main objective being....is it a strong song ?? there are many ptw facilities to help me. some ive touched on already. what i will do on a demo is normally about 10 traks in ptw. use a custom beat ive created or say modify the drum trak created by ptw fill trak with drum pattern. then lay down a couple of guitar rhythm traks, and a couple of vocal traks. try some ptw fx, etc etc. then i step back from the song. and desperately try and assess it. ie.is it a strong song ?? heres how i do lyrics. i normally write them out on paper firstly and try to hone them. then in ptw i record vocal traks and see how well the lyrics fit. i'm always striving for different song and lyric concepts. many fail. i dont want to take a song further if it just isnt working. after 10 traks i'm tough on myself. cos in 10 traks normally i'll find out if the song has some legs, and worth pursuing . one thing i would urge u to try is actually recording rough vocal trak demos. this will help you see how the lyrics fit with the song arrangement. and also give you lots of vocal practice. and let you hone the lyrics by actually hearing back how the lyrics integrate with the music. youll find things suddenly change often once u take lyrics and record first test vocal traks. mebe some lyric changes are needed for example.
some more things to think about viz songwriting. if your short of song ideas, soak up everything thats going on in the world around you. the press and media. think of how you can make a song different. a new song concept for example. something not done before. try and strive for 20 new song ideas a month. this is what i try and do for fun. also.and i dont wish to anger anyone ... to expand your abilities..try lots of different song styles. for example i might write a heavy rok song one minute, a tender love song the next, a comedy song, then a MOR song, then a pop song. me personally on some songs i like a bit of comedy in them. in a song i'm doing now, for fun i'm useing a different comedy vocal accent from my home countrys accent in parts of the vocals. this has really changed the song. if u notice ptw comes with lots of different drum styles. modify them, come up with your own. anything to generate a new song idea. if your a biab owner you have a huge palette of song styles to get ideas from also. thus mebe start your song off in biab with a guide vocal and then bring the midi traks into ptw and start adding lots more audiotraks and see what u come up with. for example..notice in ptw all sorts of facilities for changeing midi files. for example...try filtering out certain midi notes or changeing them around. adding new notes on top and deleting others in the piano roll. then bring up the file in ptw's event editor , and change some notes around. ie..anything to get a new song idea going. (next i'm going to cover the final icings on the song and final lead vocals.)
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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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