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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2007
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Hi guys 'n gals,
Can anyone recommend me a good RealTrack style for St. Louis Blues in the Louis Armstrong style? I need some heavy downbeats in the 1920s style, really bluesy, but definitely in the jazz realm. Since I mostly play Bebop and later I'm not so good in finding these styles in the style picker.
Thanks so much!
Sandra
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Good question. I’ve never worked with that style in BIAB. What happens when you type the song name, or the artist’s name, in the filter for the style picker? Does BIAB have any entries?
If the answer is no, then my next step would be to search nortonmusic.com for a style Bob ‘Notes’ wrote.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2007
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OP
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I just listened to two recordings. One was bpm 120, and the other was 180! That makes the search harder. None of the BIAB suggestions for St. Louis sounded plausible to me.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2003
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If the answer is no, then my next step would be to search nortonmusic.com for a style Bob ‘Notes’ wrote. (A completely separate software.)
Honestly, BIAB *should* have recommended a style by now in 2025. I'll leave it at that. Biab has done some great things, but getting to the bottom of a song you want to create is NOT ONE OF THEM!
They can't even align song names in the style picker to the correct BPM, Style,Beat or NAME of a song to even REMOTELY attempt to create a song from their styles. Until they can do this, their software is regurgitated mumbo-jumbo created at 8 bit software. FFS !
Trax
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Well, I hope you consider making some posts in the Wishlist or add support to the ones that are there.
Yes, nortonmusic is a different company but I would call it complementary rather than completely separate. Bob makes great products and from the very beginning in the 1990s he received encouragement from PG Music. I continue to support someone who contributes so much to the BIAB community.
Did you try using the filter? BIAB did indeed make some recommendations. My statement was that none of the recommendations sounded right to me, but I also said that the versions of the song I listened to by Louis Armstrong were considerably different from each other. That makes the solution much harder.
There is a correct way to quote someone.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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The point is: BIAB in 2025 SHOULD already know which style goes with with which song JUST BY THE TITLE. That's my whole point.
With modern AI in Music, we shouldn't have to give BIAB more and more *hints* in order to actually realize WHAT style/BPM/Artists we're searching for?
If the "styles" have been mapped, instrument definition known, BPM, FEEL, EV or SW Feel, Song Names, Style and Band Known, then WHY are we so lost simply trying to find a correct song to use in this supposed *automated* software? It DOESN'T WORK. That's my whole gripe about the software.
Yes, BIAB has moved the recording process to more refined audio recordings, absolutely. Its the small things like lining up a style with a known song to produce expected results. THAT'S NOT HAPPENING.
It shouldn't matter in 2025 WHICH version you buy of BIAB Software?
I've supported PG & Team since internet inception. It's time to actually align styles TO songs, PERIOD.
Trax
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I love you Matt and KNOW you are a great help here. I truly appreciate everything you do to help others.
However, BIAB needs an AI Update that ACTUALLY aligns songs/styles people are trying to create within the software.
Biab needs a serious update to their style requests in the style picker in order to get ANYWHERE NEAR the song they are trying to find. Until then, keep coming out with 50+ new features, ALL except the ones we need to recreate a song with a BIAB Style.
Trax
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Matt, my "beef" is NOT with you at all. It's with PG's LACK of aligning styles with actual songs.
Please forgive me if I've singled you out, but thought it was time to say something.
We shouldn't HAVE to rely on Bob Norton to actually make styles better than PG Music, especially song specific and that is my WHOLE POINT.
I KNOW you help as many folks as you can here and gave been doing it for years, which I personnally appreciate.
It's time for BIAB Software users be able to type in chords, select a style and have the song sound familiar with the original song. Until then, PG & Team are simply grasping at straws, IMO.
I WANT BIAB to be the GO TO software for creating midi/karaoke files from here on out. Pick a style, enter chords and press play for an ACCURATE rendition. That's exactly where I'm at after 30 years of this software.
Trax
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I agree with you on the focus needed. I put effort into making suggestions for decades and dropped back when I realized little came of it. However, I still believe that specific suggestions help the company more than griping, even if you are correct.
In another recent Wishlist Forum post about searching for styles, I commented that there are a growing number of requests to improve the style search function sorting out thousands of choices, and I believe this is the number one area where improvement should be concentrated.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,163
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I agree with you on the focus needed. I put effort into making suggestions for decades and dropped back when I realized little came of it. However, I still believe that specific suggestions help the company more than griping, even if you are correct.
In another recent Wishlist Forum post about searching for styles, I commented that there are a growing number of requests to improve the style search function sorting out thousands of choices, and I believe this is the number one area where improvement should be concentrated. Mr Matt you are 100% right. I hope and pray that you didn't take any offense to my post. I simply want BIAB/PG Music to be the BEST software any musician/wannabe can use to make music with. I meant no offense to PG & Team as well. Back to my hole. Sorry everyone, Trax
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I believe almost no one here is anything but desirous to improve the product. You see occasional glimpses of my frustration too, after attempting to help extensively for three decades. I do have a few wins, though.
My main point, advice that I struggle to follow for myself sometimes, is to encourage everyone with good ideas to put those posts in the form of positive suggestions in the Wishlist. If there is one thing that I can offer as a voice of experience here, it is that if you are to have hope of success, that’s how it will happen.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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We’re good. I’ll just throw out one more thing here, since this thread was started by Sandra Sherman looking for a style to match a song. Good discussion ensued, particularly if it results in good ideas for the Wishlist.
I’ve seen videos of Sandra play. She’s a really fine pro musician. She probably has a need to find this one song and she asked here for help. In this case, using the filter, I struck out, but that doesn’t mean BIAB can’t do it. I have the same need sometimes, such as when a bride wants a certain song I don’t know, played at a wedding. The last time I bought styles from Bob Norton it was for exactly that need.
However, there is another not tiny percentage of users who don’t use BIAB this way at all. Going fully the other direction, probably 95% of my usage is for composing and arranging my own music, where I intentionally do not want BIAB to sound like an existing song at all! I’m admittedly nowhere near as good using the filters to find a specific song as I am at other uses of BIAB.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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