Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 50
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 50
I have manually entered the 20 chords of a song in a linear way as follows : 8 bars (A) + 8 bars (B) + 4 bars (C).
How can i ask BIAB to play (exemple) : A A B C B A whithout retyping the chords in a linear way ?
I do not find anywhere any satisfying explanation to that very basic request.
Thanks again for this wonderful product that is BIAB.

Daniel

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,807
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,807
Hi Daniel,

If this were my song, I'd set it out in a linear format. That is, rather than use repeats and first/second endings, I'd simply lay it out so that the song played all the way through.

To do this ...
  • Set the number of bars for the song.
  • Type in the first 8 bars (A-section).
  • In chord view, hold the left button of your mouse and drag across the chords in the first 8-bars, use CTRL+C to copy
  • Put the cursor on the first bar of the second section and use CTRL+V to paste the chords.
  • repeat this process with other repeated sections.

Hope this helps,
Noel


MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2025
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 479
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 479
Hi Daniel - I agree with Noel, but he didn't really answer your question, It is possible to do the sorts of things you want to do in BIAB, but it may be limiting for you in this case. I can't teach it to you, but to get started, look into "Repeats, codas, and 2nd and 3rd endings (right click on any measure to get there). Also Tags (right click, Song Settings). I think these are the main tools that do what you want. In Help you will find tutorials, and I know there are some videos on all this.

Now, Noel's comment is good because, in my opinion (and others, I think), it is easier in the end to copy and paste to create one long linear song than to employ and manage the repeats and endings, etc. And you will have more control over the song overall. Only downside may be printing - If you insist on conventional repeats and endings appearance in the printed score.


kelso

Dell Desktop XPS 8100 W10 HomePrem/64 / Core i5 760 (quad, 2.8GHz) / 8GB DDR3 / 1 TB SATA / ViewSonic VG2428wm / EMU1616 PCI / Event ASP6 Active Monitors / BIAB 2019 64 bit (609) / Cakewalk
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,541
C
Expert
Online Content
Expert
C
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,541
Yes, I always arrange the songs in a linear way, not only because it's much easier (at least to me), but because I've found that using the "Repeats, codas...." feature don't work well with realtracks (I don't remember the details in this moment, sorry)

The downsides to this are the 255 bar limit and, as Kelso says, printing; let's hope that PG Music will implement XML support in future versions, allowing BIAB to comunicate with other third part notation programs.

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,693
Quote:

I have manually entered the 20 chords of a song in a linear way as follows : 8 bars (A) + 8 bars (B) + 4 bars (C).
How can i ask BIAB to play (exemple) : A A B C B A whithout retyping the chords in a linear way ?




AA is a simple repeat, just read the help for repeats. B is there. C is there. The final B and A are copy and paste as described.

That answers your basic question but to go a bit further, I think you're implying you want Biab to be able to move around chunks of a song in any order you want once you've entered the chords for each section once. It won't do that directly but Real Band will. I've suggested to new people many times they should work with RB at the same time they're learning Biab. RB is a great program.

When I said Biab won't do it directly, you can manage it but it's very awkward compared to RB. In Biab you can insert blank bars anywhere you want and then use the copy and paste but many times you completely mess up the melody track and you can't see it while you're doing this. RB is a linear sequencer with a very cool "copy bars" window. You are not looking at the chord grid you're looking at a window with each track laid out and named horizontally with each bar laid out vertically so your whole song is a grid. You can copy the whole thing or just a couple tracks, whatever you need. When you highlight and hit copy just place the cursor on a vertical row of bars and hit paste and that whole section is inserted so by doing that you can rearrange your song anyway you want. Much easier than Biab.

Now, what I think would be really cool and I've talked about this for years during testing is to be able to label sections of a song like you say, A, B, C etc and then simply tell Biab to put the A section here, the C section there like you first asked about. Alas, that hasn't happened yet but it's been asked about for a long time.

Bob


Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,715
P
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
P
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,715
FYI

The Conductor window allows live, real time QWERTY keyboard or MIDI control of the song as it is playing.

Search the PDF BIAB manual for details on the conductor


Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit 16GB RAM\2018 13” MacBook Air casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface
casio wk-7500
biab & realband 2023 everything pk both with Current builds
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

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.

PG Music News
Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!

Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac with savings of up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special—available until July 31, 2025! Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.

2025 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK
with some incredible Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Mac 2025 packages, but for even more Add-ons (including 20 Unreleased RealTracks!) upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49. You can see the full lists of items in each package, and listen to demos here.

If you have any questions, feel free to connect with us directly—we’re here to help!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 Italian Version is Here!

Cari amici
È stata aggerate la versione in Italiano del programma più amato dagli appassionati di musica, il nostro Band-in-a-Box.
Questo è il link alla nuova versione 2025.

Di seguito i link per scaricare il pacchetti di lingua italiana aggiornati per Band-in-a-Box e RealBand, anche per chi avesse già comprato la nuova versione in inglese.

Band-in-a-Box 2025 - Italiano
RealBand 2025 - Italiano

Band-in-a-Box 2025 French Version is Here!

Bonjour à tous,

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music

Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:

BIAB 2025 - francisation
RealBand 2025 - francisation

Voilà, enjoy!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 German Version is Here!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!

Die deutsche Version Band-in-a-Box® 2025 für Windows ist ab sofort verfügbar!

Alle die bereits die englische Version von Band-in-a-Box und RealBand 2024 installiert haben, finden hier die Installationsdateien für das Sprachenupdate:

https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025.exe
https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025RB.exe

Update Your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 to Build 1128 for Windows Today!

Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.

Stay up to date—get the latest update now!

Update to RealBand® 2025 Build 5 Windows Today!

Already using RealBand® 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 5 now from our Support Page to ensure you have the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.

Get the latest update today!

PowerTracks Pro Audio 2025 for Windows is Here!

PowerTracks Pro Audio 2025 is here! This new version introduces many features, including VST3 support, the ability to load or import a .FLAC file, a reset option for track height in the Tracks window, a taller Timeline on the Notation window toolbar, new freeze buttons in the Tracks window, three toolbar modes (two rows, single row, and none), the improved Select Patch dialog with text-based search and numeric patch display, a new button in the DirectX/VST window to copy an effects group, and more!

First-time packages start at only $49. Already a PowerTracks Pro Audio user? Upgrade for as little as $29!

www.pgmusic.com/powertracks.htm

Forum Statistics
Forums58
Topics84,147
Posts775,738
Members39,585
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
Newest Members
Asian Big Winner, jazziz_great, jnlortns01, CsLy@13, kmvertns01
39,585 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 133
zedd 109
WaoBand 88
DC Ron 86
rsdean 80
Today's Birthdays
DaveStygall
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5