|
Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 11 |
Hi all,
I am pretty new to Band in a Box, but am slowly starting to understand it. I have been writing lyrics for years, and decided to buy Band in a Box 2010 so I could actually turn my lyrics into completed songs.
I am currently part way through my first song, I have sorted the guitar chords and have added the drums I wanted from the RealDrums.
However, I am having a slight problem with the actual pattern of the drums I have used.
Basically, the drums do suit the song, but the drum pattern seems to end too soon during my song. The drums seem to end and the loop seems to restart again too early, before I reach the bridge of my song.
What I am really asking is this - is there any way that I can manually change the length of the drum patches I use? As it stands, the drums come to an end as I am still part way through my first verse. I need to extend the drums by a few more bars.
Alternatively, is there a way that I can just have a continuous drum beat that simply repeats itself over and over again, a beat that doesnt have an "ending" at 8 or 16 bars?
Does anybody know what I mean when I say "ending"? Im really not sure how to describe it. Its the bit at the end of a drum loop, usually heard when a song comes to the end of a verse, where there is usually a change in tempo and a distinct different ending to the last bar of that drum loop.
Does this make sense to anybody? And can anybody help me?
Many thanks
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
Check the Chord Grid view at that point for a Blue or Green 'Part Marker indicator.
Part Markers also force Drum "Fills" in the previous bar.
You can click on a Part Marker to change it from Blue for the A variation Fill to Green (B variation Fill) or none.
You can also add part markers by clicking in the same spot.
--Mac
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,268
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,268 |
Hi Enforcer,
Welcome to the forums.
It sounds like you have some setting is askew. By default, BIAB will add drums to the entire song. How I am interpreting your words is that for part of the song, the drums are muted. I'd need to know more about your settings before I can help out with this.
It also sounds to me that you are using multiple choruses (BIAB defaults to 3 choruses - a chorus, from BIAB's perspective is "once through the song"). If this is the case, a simple solution that might let you get around you problem, is to unfold your song into a single chorus. This option is available under the "Edit" menu. Before you start playing with this, though, I suggest that you save your song with a new file name so that you can always get back to the original song if you need to.
Regards,
Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 11 |
Quote:
Hi Enforcer,
Welcome to the forums.
It sounds like you have some setting is askew. By default, BIAB will add drums to the entire song. How I am interpreting your words is that for part of the song, the drums are muted. I'd need to know more about your settings before I can help out with this.
It also sounds to me that you are using multiple choruses (BIAB defaults to 3 choruses - a chorus, from BIAB's perspective is "once through the song"). If this is the case, a simple solution that might let you get around you problem, is to unfold your song into a single chorus. This option is available under the "Edit" menu. Before you start playing with this, though, I suggest that you save your song with a new file name so that you can always get back to the original song if you need to.
Regards,
Noel
Many thanks for your reply.
In response to your first point, yes, I have muted the drums to begin with. For the first 8 bars, I have used accoustic guitar only, then, in the 9th bar, I change the drums to "back to normal" and add a part marker on thye 9th bar.
The next part marker after this is the 30th bar, which is where the bridge for my song will begin. However, there is a drum fill in bar 16 for some reason, and I dont want it there, I just want the drum loop to keep repeating until the next part marker.
There are no other instruments playing, other than the drums and accoustic guitar, the rest are all muted from the start. Is there any reason you can think of as to why the drum fill is used there? And how can I just get rid of the drum fill altogether?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 11 |
One other thing, my song is just one chorus, it isnt divided up into 3.
As it stands, all my bars are set to the normal settings apart from 1 (which is now 1a), 9 (which is now 9a), and 30 (which is not 30a). 1,9 and 30 are now in blue coloured boxes, the rest are just normal.
All I really want is to get rid of the drum fill. Is there any way I can actually get rid of it altogether? Or is there always going to be some?
Many thanks to both the above posters for reply.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,157
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,157 |
You can also use Real Band to create songs with. Real Band (RB) comes with the Biab styles version of whatever build of Biab you are using.
It is much easier to use Real Band for creating drum tracks with. It works like a sequencer where you can cut/paste each part of whatever track you are working on. Hi-lite the drum pattern then paste over the bar of the unwanted fill etc. RB also uses Real Tracks as well. Most create their layout in Biab and then open their song up in RB to execute the "details."
RB comes with Biab, no need for a separate purchase. Buy as much of Biab as you can afford, mores styles etc . . .
Welcome to the forum. You can create some great songs with both BIab & RB.
Trax
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,268
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,268 |
Hi again, Enforcer.
The way your song is structured with the part markers would produce fills in bars 8 and 29. Having a fill in bar 16 is strange. It might be, though, that one of the variations of the rhythm patterns has a fill-like quality for the particular Realdrum rhythm being used. To ascertain this, I would temporarily switch to another drum style and regenerate and compare the results.
Music Trax's idea about using Realband is excellent because you could simply cut the offending bar and copy-and-paste from another "correct" sounding bar into the cut region. RB is extremely powerful in this regard.
I find myself wondering if you have frozen the drum track. If so, I'd unfreeze it and regenerate it a few times to see what happens. Again, one of RB's strengths is that it's possible to regenerate whole tracks or parts of tracks.
A last option that I would try would be to save the song under a new name then remove ALL bar settings (right-click >> bar settings >> reset all bars). I'd then regenerate the song (after having unfrozen all tracks). I'd then reset the bar settings and again regenerate the song. This might have the desired outcome.
Hope these thoughts help,
Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Off-Topic
|
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 5,086
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 5,086 |
Are you sure you wouldn't want a fill or change up there? I don't mean to second guess your production but that is a long time for the drums to sound exactly the same. I have noticed that on long stretches of same pattern with no markers the real drums will put in a change up or slight fill in sometimes. I've always thought it's because that is what a real drummer would do. Personally I like that it does that. Otherwise to me it sounds too much like a drum machine instead of a real human drummer playing.
But if you don't like it, trax gave you good advice. You can finish your song in biab just overlook the fill for now and when you have everything else the way you want open it in realband OR take your song from biab to real band and finish tweaking it there. Once your song is in real band you can hand edit the drum track any way you want it. You can also audition other real drum tracks and see if there's one you like better than the one biab used with that particular style.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Video: New User Interface (GUI)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums57
Topics85,514
Posts792,801
Members39,906
| |
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean