Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 22
Z
Zeke Offline OP
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
Z
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 22
I would like to add 3 or 4 notes of real steel guitar before everything else begins. I put the note I wanted to use on the notation page but the song just ignores them when I play it back. Can this even be done? Thanks so much.

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572
Hello Zeke, and welcome to the forum. The RealTracks do not play and cannot be made to play specific notes that you enter.

You may be able to do a workaround. One way is to find a good steel guitar sound and do it in MIDI, where you can very much control exactly what is played. Another, less likely to succeed, is to continue to regenerate the song until the steel guitar tracks plays something closer to what you like.

I often us a combination of MIDI and RealTracks on one instrument. For example, I might notate a bass part in MIDI and use a good bass sound in my MIDI synth, then after the notes I want play, mute that track using F5 (bar settings) and unmute another track that has a RealTrack bass.

Another thought: when you say 3 or 4 notes before everything else begins, I assume you mean a pickup measure. You might consider having the song start on measure two, so that measure one contains the pick up. Then use F5 on measure one and silence all the instruments except the steel guitar track. If you do this, then you also need to go to measure two, press F5, and turn all the rest of the instruments back on.

I realize this is over-simplified. If you need more detail, just ask.


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.
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 110
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 110
I will often start a song with a couple of measures of held chords. (usually in the root chord). I sometimes use these if I want a held note at the ending of a song. Once I get the song into my DAW, I can take those held notes and insert them where needed or possibly use them to create pick-ups. Or you can often find the notes you want elsewhere in the track and can use those to create pick-ups. Either way, it's a lot easier to do in a DAW than BIAB.

I hope this makes sense. It does in my mind, but that's another story.


Rich

Windows 10, 64 bit | BIAB 2019 PlusPak | Studio One 2 Artist
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,827
S
Expert
Offline
Expert
S
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,827



Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,868
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,868
When I work in Real Band every now and then, it will in fact, render pickup notes on some of the solo tracks. It's not always willing to do that though. A regeneration can lose the pickup or create it. I guess it depends on how RB is feeling about that track on the regen..... so if I have something I don't want to lose, I will insert a new track and work with it.

SO..... a work around I will use happens in the very next step in my process. When I move it to Sonar (DAW) all the tracks start on Measure 3 with 2 complete measures for the count in. With a bit of copy and paste magic I can insert the pickup notes easy enough.


You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,827
S
Expert
Offline
Expert
S
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,827
Just go to a new track use MultiRiffs to generate what you want and copy n paste it to the other track.


Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 22
Z
Zeke Offline OP
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
Z
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 22
Many thanks to all of you for your help. In my original post on this topic, I forgot to mention than I'm technologically impaired. One day, I hope to understand everything each of you wrote . . . but today just isn't that day. Band-In-A-Box has a much steeper learning curb that I expected. It's really challenging for someone like me.

I do understand, however, about putting an extra measure at the beginning and then muting the other instruments for that measure. It's on my present learning level.

Thanks again. I'm so glad that there are guys like you who are willing to help us pea brains.

Many blessings,
Zeke


Last edited by Zeke; 11/13/14 11:16 PM.
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,868
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,868
Originally Posted By: Zeke
Many thanks to all of you for your help. In my original post on this topic, I forgot to mention than I'm technologically impaired. One day, I hope to understand everything each of you wrote . . . but today just isn't that day. Band-In-A-Box has a much steeper learning curb that I expected. It's really challenging for someone like me.

I do understand, however, about putting an extra measure at the beginning and then muting the other instruments for that measure. It's on my present learning level.

Thanks again. I'm so glad that there are guys like you who are willing to help us pea brains.

Many blessings,
Zeke



Experiment....play around with things. If you screw up, no problem, just close the project...DO NOT SAVE IT.....and reopen it and start again. You learn by making mistakes and figuring things out. Another way is to open the project, immediately do a SAVE AS, close the original version and work with the "saved as" version. That way you don't touch the original at all.

As I recall, when I write a song in BiaB, save it, close it and then open it in Real Band, there are 2 timing measures at the very beginning of each track..... count in measures. That's where you can use one of the unused tracks...set it up as audio and copy a section from one of the other existing tracks and paste it to the new unused track as pickup notes.


You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!

All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!

It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.

What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?

XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!

Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!

The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.

The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.

The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.

Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.

The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!

Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos

With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.

Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.

Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!

Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.

Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!

Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.

2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.

Holiday Weekend Hours

As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:

April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours

Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!

— Team PG

Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!

If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!

If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.

Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® users: Build 1237 is now available!

Already a Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows user? Stay up to date and download the build 1237 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.

Forum Statistics
Forums57
Topics86,216
Posts802,016
Members40,070
Most Online64,515
Apr 8th, 2026
Newest Members
Orchestr8, dimtass, Quamido Pirendo, Allan63, isledge
40,070 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 126
zedd 110
DC Ron 94
rsdean 89
Noel96 77
Today's Birthdays
flashlarue, gary133, kirbonite
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5