Got my 2024 BIAB installed yesterday and couldn't wait to get started. I was greeted by all kinds of demons. Here is one of them:

When I open my songs, there is nothing showing but the bass clef, stave-like lines above that (empty), and the chords. No notes. When I do as one of the AI devices told me and click on the melody instrument in the mixer, all the notes reappear and the extraneous detritus disappears.

However, when I saved it and opened it again the problem was still there.

I made another query to AI and it said, "Save it using SAVE AS, but that didn't yield any results either."

When I sent all this info to PG's chat person, they said they would send a form for me to fill out for their techs to use to try and decipher the problem and that they would be in touch in 0 - 2 days. I am impatient.

Somebody, somebody, please help!

Natcheztoo
Jerry Krouse

Do you mean when you open the Notation Window? If so, could it be that you have the Bass Track selected?

Also, in addition to what Audio track said, have you generated the song? Nothing will show until then.

Audio Track and Lee N,

It turns out that the BASS TRACK was selected. You didn't tell me how to change it! When I clicked on it, I got a drop down menu with a lot of instruments. I clicked on electric piano (since the song used an electronic piano) and the notes appeared. However, after I saved it and reopened it, it was the same as before. How do I make it stick?

Audio, the screen capture you show above was exactly what I saw when I first used the new BIAB 2024. After some fiddling around, the notes and numbers went away just leaving empty staves and chord symbols. I don't even know what I did or how that happened.

And Lee N, it was a finished song. This program is too smart for me by a lot.

Awaiting your further help with great hope!

Thanks.

Natcheztoo
Jerry Krouse

Gents,

I just got this off chatpg and it worked:

To make the change from BASS to electric piano permanent in Band-in-a-Box 2024, you can follow these steps:

Open the song in Band-in-a-Box.
Click on the black bar above the music sheet where BASS is highlighted.
Change the track type from BASS to electric piano.
Once the notes appear, go to the File menu and select "Save As" to save the song with the updated track type.
Choose a filename and location to save the song.
Close Band-in-a-Box.
Open the saved song file to check if the change from BASS to electric piano is now permanent.
If the change does not remain permanent after following these steps, it is possible that there may be a technical issue with the software. In that case, it would be best to consult the Band-in-a-Box support team for further assistance.

Thanks. If this doesn't hold for good, then I'll be back.

You guys re great!

Natcheztoo

Sorry, I showed the mouse cursor over the box, meaning click here to select some other instrument. I should have perhaps made it a bit clearer.

Anyway, glad you got it sorted.

Please consider to open your original post and mark it as 'Resolved' (there's a button you can press for that). This can assist other in the future.

Hi Jerry,

This is normal. When you open your song, the tracks will be empty until they are generated, and each time you generate (by pressing Play) the tracks will by a little bit different. This is how Band-in-a-Box works. UNLESS you freeze your track(s). To freeze your track, you can click the "snowflake" icon in the Mixer.

Wait, hold on! I thought "WE" had cured this annoying problem. Here is what I am doing and what is happening:

1) I load a completed song.
2) When I click the NOTATION button it shows BASS in the small black window.
3) I click on BASS and change it to the melody instrument which, in this case is an ORGAN.
4) i Click on SAVE AS and save it by clicking SAVE AS - the first listed way to save it (there seem to be ten choices).
5) A window opens that asks, "Ok to replace existing file?" and I click YES.

Seems simple enough, but today, at least, every time I reopen the song it is stuck on BASS in the black window. It is not the end of the world to reset it and other songs every time I open BIAB, but for the money I spent to upgrade to 2024 MegaPak, I expect it to work properly.

Any further thoughts?

Natcheztoo
Jerry Krouse

The currently selected track is not something that is saved with songs. The selected track shouldn't change when you load in a new song, and it doesn't as far as I can see in my testing. At the start of a session, it defaults to selecting the first track, which is normally Bass. It could be argued that it should default to the Melody track...

Andrew,

That is all very interesting, but what does it mean or do for actually correcting my BIAB so that it resets to the Melody Track?

I know this complicated program wasn't designed to work this way.

Jerry

Andrew,

BTW, thank you for hanging with me on this problem.

I thought it might make a difference if I changed the BASS to the melody instrument in the mixer instead of the black box. It doesn't,

When we got into this earlier,I was certain the problem was fixed. I am now wondering if it works sometimes and other times it doesn't. I know that doesn't make much sense especially dealing with electronic commands and things.

Jerry

Andrew and anybody else out there,

This never, ever, happened in my previous three versions of BIAB. I just upgraded from 2020. Before that it was 2016, I think. I do not remember the year of the first one.

Something has to be wrong. And, by the way, the current problem came from the download off the HD that way.

If all else fails, why can't the brains of BIAB put in a fix so that it would always reset to the Melody Track when it closes.

Jerry

When you open the program, the first track is initially selected. In previous versions, the Melody track was initially selected, and that's probably the way it *should* continue to work. Simply opening a song file does not change the selected track in my testing. Let me know if this is not the behaviour you are seeing.

Andrew and anybody else that can help,

Some songs (very few) do not open with the BASS in the black box. So, I started checking. That is just an anomaly; most open with BASS.

I tried an experiment that failed. I changed from BASS to ELECTPIANO for one song, then hit SAVE AS. If I stayed in the program and opened other songs but eventually came back to the problem song, it would open with the correct melody instrument.

However, If I closed the program, reopened it, and loaded the "corrected" song, it always reverts to BASS in the black box.

I really, really hate this, and it is not what I expected (or paid for). My IT guy who loaded it from the HD I got onto my PC is the head of IT at a local college and he knows his stuff. After loading it, registering it, and opening it, it was doing the BASS thing from the very first try out of the box.

Something must be done to correct or ameliorate this horrifically annoying problem.

Have you any suggestions?

BTW, before I came to the forum with this problem, I got on the Chat Help and told the tech exactly what the problem was. They said they were sending me a form to fill out with all my computer info and for me to describe the problem. They said they were having the "technical department" look at it and somebody would contact me in 0 - 2 days. Nobody, to my knowledge, has contacted me.

I would like some relief, but how and what? Do I need another HD program shipped? I'd be glad to ship this one back.

I await your positive response.

Jerry Krouse

Here is a set of specific steps that I did to try to duplicate the problem.

1. Open / re-open Band-in-a-Box. File | New
.... Bass track is currently selected as expected (*see note)
2. Select Melody track, by clicking on Melody in the Mixer window.
3. Open StylePicker, select _PRIME.STY, click [+] button, click Load song demo for current style.
4. OK to exit StylePicker.
.... Melody track is still selected as expected.
5. File | Open, navigate to bb\Demos\MIDI Style Demos\Styles00, and select ZZJAZZ.MG1
.... Melody track is still selected as expected (If auto-generate track labels is enabled it will say "Trumpet" instead of Melody, but regardless it is the same track.

So far, this is working as expected. Can you please post detailed step-by-step instructions similar to the above that I can use to see the behaviour you are seeing, where the selected track changes by itself.

(*note: I know that you want the program to open - i.e. step 1 - with the Melody track selected initially)

Jerry, this is not as challenging as I believe you are suggesting.

If you want to see the Melody in the Notation window, just click Melody in the Mixer. One single mouse click is all that's required. I don't consider that single click to be "horrifically annoying"

Personally, I don't find that particularly stressful. Just one-single-mouse-click.

Here's an example of how quick it is to view the Notation of any track:



Calm down, take a few deep breaths, take a look at the simple answer, try it, stay happy.

Audio Track (and others),

First, I just opened BIAB. Not a song, just the program. At this moment there is a MELODY in the mixer. However, if I open a song (which I am doing now), there is only:

BASS
PIANO 1
DRUMS
GUITAR
ELECPIANO (the MELODY instrument in this song)

Just below that, but not highlighted and not used in the song are the usual: Soloist, Thru, Audio, Utility#1, etc.

I have checked this on a good many songs and it holds true.

Yesterday, in a long, tedious, trying session on PG chat (not ChatPG), in which I was finally able to take a screen shot and send it to the moderator, I was told this:

BIAB Chat Person: I see, thank you. This is a known issue that we have reported to our development team. They are currently working on a fix and it will be added in a future build update.

Jerry: So, I am stuck with it until then? Will I get a notification when and if the future build update is ready? And, how long might that be?

BIAB Chat person: Yes, we will reach out to you via email as soon as we have a build update available in the next week or two.

I am trying to learn how to send screen snips. I think I am gaining ground on that. Hopefully, a couple will follow soon.

Jerry

Jerry, could you please respond with the steps that Andrew asked:
I'm thinking that you always want it to open on the Melody track, and you are not prepared to click the Melody track first. Is that correct?

(If they changed the software to default to the melody track, what if a user wanted the default to not be the melody track?)

Re: It's interesting to learn that they'll have an update / fix out so soon. In the meantime, could you answer Andrew's question?

Audio Track,

I will try to respond, but this stuff is really difficult for me.

BTW, I just watched the Australian movie, "Boy Swallows Universe," set in 1985 Brisbane. Excellent movie.

Thanks.

Jerry

GENTLEMEN,

I TRIED. I REALLY DID. YOU CAN CHECK MY PROGRESS BELOW:

Here is a set of specific steps that I did to try to duplicate the problem.

1. Open / re-open Band-in-a-Box. File | New
.... Bass track is currently selected as expected (*see note)
2. Select Melody track, by clicking on Melody in the Mixer window.
3. Open StylePicker, select _PRIME.STY, click [+] button, click Load song demo for current style.

WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN HERE, IF ANYTHING?

4. OK to exit StylePicker.

IF THE STYLE _PRIME.STY was supposed to be loaded, it isn't. BUT I NAVIGATED UNTIL i FOUND _PRIME Demo - Prime Classic Swinging County, and MELODY is selected on that. BUT I AM SURE THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT.

.... Melody track is still selected as expected.

YES, BUT IT IS THE EXACT SAME PAGE THAT APPEARED WHEN I OPENED BIAB.

5. File | Open, navigate to bb\Demos\MIDI Style Demos\Styles00, and select ZZJAZZ.MG1

I JUST SEARCHED MY COMPUTER: Search Results in OS (C:) for bb\demos and it says: NO ITEMS MATCH YOUR SEARCH.

I CANNOT GO ANY FURTHER.

.... Melody track is still selected as expected (If auto-generate track labels is enabled it will say "Trumpet" instead of Melody, but regardless it is the same track.

So far, this is working as expected. Can you please post detailed step-by-step instructions similar to the above that I can use to see the behaviour you are seeing, where the selected track changes by itself.

(*note: I know that you want the program to open - i.e. step 1 - with the Melody track selected initially)

I AM SO SORRY ANDREW AND AUDIO TRACK. YOU HAVE BOTH BEEN SO GENEROUS WITH YOUR HELP. IT IS EITHER ME (I AM CERTAINLY SOMEWHAT OF A TECHNOLOGY DUMMY) OR MY SETUP IS JUST DIFFERENT. I CAN'T GET ANY FURTHER THAN I DID ABOVE, AND I CAN'T GET MY IT GURU TO COME OVER TONIGHT.

SO, IF YOU SEEN ANY MISSTEPS, I MADE ABOVE OR HAVE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT ME TO TRY, I WILL.

I PROMISE NO MORE WAILING, GNASHING OF TEETH, AND WRINGING OF HANDS. I'LL JUST ACCEPT MY LOT IN THE WORLD OF BIAB LIKE A MAN!

Jerry

Just document each step you take, what your expectations are, and what actually happens that differs from your expectations. Probably only a few steps are required.
1: open sample song 'aaa'...
2: select notation window...
3: expected to see xxx
4: was shown zzz

etc

One thing at a time..


1: All good so far except for "bass track is currently selected" - at this point that is irrelevant.
2: Select melody track? ... Still Irrelevant. A style is not track specific.
3: You've loaded a style and also its associated demo song.

What's supposed to happen? At this point the only thing that should happen is the instruments in the mixer tracks should change to the ones used in the current style and the song demo should be loaded so you should see the the name of the demo song and the chords should show in the chordsheet.

At this point, nothing else should happen. You should not see any notation in any track until you click play or generate.
The melody track is still irrelevant. There is no melody loaded with this song.

I think you are expecting something to happen that shouldn't. I'd get your head around this first before moving on.