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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 5,254
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OP
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 5,254 |
I wanted to put up a post about how I got started using Band In A Box in order to help someone who is just getting started using the program to be be able to see the potential uses of BIAB for a musician and explain my procedure when composing a song. I began using BIAB about 10 years ago after seeing some things online about the program and thought it might work for me. I had just accepted a staff position as a worship leader at a medium size church (250-300 people) and had been put in charge of all music. The problem I immediately encountered was that there were no available musicians to help me. This is where BIAB saved the day. I was able to quickly construct many professional sounding songs that I would be able to use in the services and play my guitar or keyboards along with and provide an excellent set of music for our church to sing along with. Unfortunately I still haven’t been able to team up with other capable musicians yet but BIAB has helped me keep great music going at church for the last 10 years. I have been able to put together songs for many of our talented singers to use for special music in our services also. My procedure when using BIAB as I compose is as follows: 1. Get a song in mind and start auditioning styles that sound close to the sound you are looking for. 2. Substitute certain instruments within that style for others that may “fit” the song a little better . For example, you may find a RealDrums set that sounds closer to what the song needs instead of the original one in the style. 3. Make your settings for the song key, how many bars, tempo etc. and type in your chords for the song and setting the appropriate A/B part markers for verse and choruses. 4. Start playing the the song listening for changes that need to be made. It’s a good idea to start saving your work at this point often in case of a problem of some sort that would cause you to lose your work. You may try soloing drums and bass first getting your sound right and then “freezing” these tracks and then moving on to work on other instruments and follow the same procedure. This part of working with BIAB is the most time consuming but in my opinion, is what can set your song apart from from others who don’t focus on these details. The time spent here is well worth the effort. 4. Exporting - at this point you can save the song and export as is to SoundCloud or whatever site you prefer to send music to or you can do as I like to do by exporting each individual track to your preferred recording program to apply effects that you like to use on the tracks or record additional instrumentation or vocals to. 5. Video - at this point I like to export from my daw the final stereo file of my song to my favorite video editing program to get the song ready for using with our church media presentation program. I will arrange the videos in the proper order and run the audio out of the computer to our house system and the video out to the house projection system. This works like clockwork week after week. All of this is a very basic explanation of how I use the program and I know that there are many users who use BIAB in far more sophisticated ways than I do. But I would estimate that I have arranged 500-600 songs using BIAB, the vast majority of which I have used in a public setting. Thanks PG Music for being my go to source for musical help and inspiration! My hope is that this post might help someone open their eyes to potential uses of the program that they might not have thought of. I could see the same type setup used for clubs, weddings etc. I invite any of the veteran users of BIAB to contribute any additional thoughts to this thread to help a beginner. We all can remember certain struggles we had in the beginning with BIAB and any helpful information could really brighten someone’s day. Happy composing!!! Thanks, Torrey
Last edited by Torrey Bliss; 01/21/18 01:59 PM.
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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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