PG Music Home Forums PG Music Wishlists Band-in-a-Box Wishlist Suggestions for Style Picker and Filter

In previous years, the StylePicker was the subject of much discussion in this forum. The StylePicker in 2011 and the new StylePicker Filter satisfies many of requests. Thanks for listening PGM. So, filled with gratitude, I have a few suggestions for the SP and SPF which I think would further improve its usability.

SP Filter

1. For selections with a minimal number of choices, I suggest offering radio buttons. This may add some clutter, but then I can see just what my choices are without clicking. For example -

Feel/Tempo/Feel and Tempo

All/All MIDI/All RS/Some RT & RD/MIDI + REAL

Swing/Even

8ths/16ths

2. Genre

a. First,I suggest expanding this area. Make list longer - add Folk, Classical, and the rest.

b. and most important, - Use check boxes (or whatever) that permit multiple (AND) selections, like CTRL Click. So I could select Jazz AND Country (AND more). Not just Jazz OR Country as it is now.

3. Patch - Often I want a style WITHOUT some instrument (for me, usually piano). Suggest re-naming current "Patch" item to "Patch Include" and add a new, similar item called "Patch Exclude", from where I could specify patches that do no have certain instruments. So here I could select "piano" and only patches with no piano would be displayed.

BTW, the "Include Similar Patches" is a great idea!

4. Add a new item - Time signatures. At least 4/4 and 3/4, and maybe add the rest (6/4, 6/8, etc.) This would be a great boon.

SP and SP Filter

5. The tempo and feel of the current (=prototype?) style is not visible in the SP or Filter - and maybe not even in the Chord Sheet. After a number of style auditions I may forget what I started with. Suggest adding info (maybe window header after the style name) stating what the prototype tempo and feel is - like (120/sw).

SP

6. If I am in the SP and audition a number of styles and decide to not change the style and hit "Cancel" in the SP, I would expect that I would return to the Chord Sheet window with the "original" style in play. But, it seems, the last style auditioned (or just selected, actually) in the SP sticks even if I hit Cancel. And If I don't remember what the original styles was, ...well you get the picture. Suggest making the "Cancel" of the SP ignore all actions of the SP session.

+1
In order to be very useful, the stylepicker filter needs to be exhaustive.
So for the Genre item of the Stylepicker filter, all genres already present in Stylipcker should be selectable :
Blues/Classical/Country/Folk/Funk/HipHop/Jazz/Latin/New-Age & ST/Praise & WS/R&B/Reggae/Pop-Rock/techno/World-Ethnic/Waltzes/Other.
Also, the genre should be editable for the user-made styles. See my thread#309127 dated 23 Feb 2011.

Kelso:

I would copy and paste your request/suggestion to one or more
of the WISH LIST forums.

Good Luck!
LLOYD

Didn't realize I was already in the "WISHLIST" forum.
Sorry!

Maybe another suggestion could be useful as well....

Sometimes while choosing a style for my composition and going through the massive list (even filtered) of styles I want to listen how a particular instrument sounds in that style... So closing the stylepicker, using radio buttons on top, then going back to style picker is pretty much time consuming...

Since the style picker window is not resizable and there is available space in the right bottom part of the window, why not make some checkboxes for muting/soloing instruments there?

As mentioned in a previous post of mine on the wishlist forum, I`d simply like to click on the tab-like headers of the style picker. IE clicking on "feel" would sort the stylepicker list for the selected genre into even and swing feels. Clicking on the tempo tab would sort it tempowise. Clicking these tabs again reverse the sorting. Just like in any Windows programm.

Sandra