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#293928 05/03/15 06:31 AM
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Ozzyrys Offline OP
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Hey,

I'm new here, also my english is not very good.

I'm an absolute novice in BIAB and I've been trying to make a drumless backing track of jazz standard. Unfortunately, after many hours of struggle in the program, google and youtube courses I'm still not sure how to do this.

I would like the song to have five choruses. The first and the last ones would be the head (melody of the song), the middle choruses would be improvised (solos generated by BIAB). I would like to do this using authentic tracks (real tracks Jazz PAK).

When I wrote the melody of the head in the program and then loaded real track to play it, the program started to improvise over the written melody instead of just playing the orginal melody.

Is it possible to do this using real tracks at all ?

I am using the 2014 version of the program...

Thanks !!!


Oskar

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Oskar,
First, be aware that every (well almost every) jazz standard has already been prepared as a BIAB format, including the melody. If you have trouble finding them IM me.
Starting with these premade BIAB songs is a great way to learn the program.



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Hi Oskar,

Unfortunately, RealTracks will not play a melody/solo that is defined by the user. RealTracks are recorded phrases by real musicians and will just do that: improvise.

To make your melodies/solos work, you will have to use MIDI.

Hope, this helps.


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Mike

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Hi Oskar and welcome to the forum!

Band-in-a-Box has five instrument tracks, one melody track, one solo track and one audio track. RealBand has 48 tracks so it may be easier to do what you want in RealBand.

BiaB instrument tracks can use midi note commands telling soft synth instruments what to do or RealTracks audio. The instrument tracks are automatically populated by whatever style you select. Melody and Solo tracks can also be midi or audio but do not get populated by BiaB unless you instruct BiaB to create a melody or solo. So you do not want to put your audo on any instrument track or on the melody or solo tracks. The Audio track is for the audio you create. In 2014 and 2015 BiaB the audio track is hidden in the mixer until you click on the audio button in the bottm right corner of the mixer.


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Ozzyrys Offline OP
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Hey,


Ohh, Is it possible to mix the midi sound together with real tracks so the head is being played by midi instrument and the improvised part of the song by real tracks ? Is there any particular midi sound that you would prefer for the head ?(sounds the most natural)

I've another question. Let's say I wanna "trade fours" in the fourth chorus of the song. What I need to do in the BIAB is mute all the instruments in the 4th chorus in the bars as follows: 5-8; 13-16; 20-24; 29-32. I tried to do this in section Edit --> Settings (for This song)---> Bar Settings, but then it mutes all the instruments in the whole chorus which is not exacly what I want.


Thank you for your help!!


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Yes

Piano

Unfold Song followed by F5

Your welcome




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I think you need to mute the RealTracks Solo on the first and last chorus.

RealTracks Solos are usually on the Strings Track. I would use the "Edit Settings for Current Bar" function. On Chorus #1 'Mute' the Strings (Pull down menu when you click the box alongside). On Chorus #2, Strings 'Back to Normal' and on Chorus #5, 'Mute' the Strings again.

You do have to select a midi instrument to play the Melody you entered, presumably this is on the Melody track.

If it is to be without drums then 'Mute' the Drums track for 'All Choruses' in the same way as I described for Strings.

It is not necessary to unfold using this technique.


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