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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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I mainly use BIAB to play standard midi files. The PC version simply loads the files from any folder location. I cannot load midi files into BIAB for Mac. The files are greyed out and I cannot click on them. I can see them but cannot open them into BIAB for Mac.
Could someone pleae tell me how to play standare midi files in BIAB for mac?
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
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BB Mac doesn't have the feature to play a full MIDI file.
BB Mac will figure out the chords from a MIDI file (File-Import chords from MIDI file).
You can import channels from the MIDI file to go on to the Melody or Soloist track in that same dialog.
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Ouch, that was one of the features I've most been hoping would be available for Mac, for years....
I don't understand what exactly would happen when you import chords from the midi file, would they simply become the general chords for the song? And then importing channels to "melody or soloist" would do what, exactly?
If the goal was to take the song structure of the midi file, edit, & put a different style to it, etc., would we have to basically reconstruct the entire midi file, track by track?
If the imported chords are placed in a new "song", wouldn't you be able to simply choose a style, and then play it?
Obviously this is not clear to me, and I'd be quite grateful if it were explained to me, so that I can understand what you can do with a midi file, but that it won't play in it's full form...
Thanks....
"Music is my religion" - Jimi Hendrix
"MUSIC IS A PAINTING YOU CAN HEAR" - Miles Davis
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Saxnflutman,
I feel your pain. Any elementary midi instrament will play standard midi files. I spend hundreds of $$$ on Logic Studio and It wont play a standard midi file. Dont get me wrong. It does a lot of cool stuff but playing a SMF is basic to me and much needed. I am actually going to return my Mac version of BIAB because it too will not play a SMF. Too bad, so sad.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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PG Music Staff
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>>> If the imported chords are placed in a new "song", wouldn't you be able to simply choose a style, and then play it?
Yes. The purpose of being able to import tracks, is to allow you to import the melody (or counter-melody) of the MIDI file, which wouldn't be part of the style.
But you can, for example, read in a MIDI file, have it interpret the chords, then choose a RealStyle (in a similar style), and have Real instruments playing in a style similar to your MIDI file.
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Quote:
Saxnflutman,
I feel your pain. Any elementary midi instrament will play standard midi files. I spend hundreds of $$$ on Logic Studio and It wont play a standard midi file. Dont get me wrong. It does a lot of cool stuff but playing a SMF is basic to me and much needed. I am actually going to return my Mac version of BIAB because it too will not play a SMF. Too bad, so sad.
OK, if you read what Peter said, wouldn't that be almost the same thing? For me, being able to import a midi file to BIAB, would be simply for putting a whole different groove/style to the song. Did what he said you could do, accomplish that, since you have the software, to see? And that's wack, that Logic Pro won't play a midi file? I have a midi editing program I paid $15 for years ago, and there are even free midi players & basic editors out there, why BIAB, much less Logic Pro, can't, is really pretty mind-blowing.....
"Music is my religion" - Jimi Hendrix
"MUSIC IS A PAINTING YOU CAN HEAR" - Miles Davis
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Joined: Sep 2003
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Quote:
I feel your pain. Any elementary midi instrament will play standard midi files. I spend hundreds of $$$ on Logic Studio and It wont play a standard midi file. Dont get me wrong. It does a lot of cool stuff but playing a SMF is basic to me and much needed. I am actually going to return my Mac version of BIAB because it too will not play a SMF. Too bad, so sad.
Saxy831-
This is veering off-topic, but I don't understand your comment about Logic Studio not playing standard midi files. You can Import midi files readily into the program, and Logic Studio even automatically assigns and loads instruments to the various midi tracks during the importing process. Hit the spacebar and the file plays. If you have your instruments already set up, you can just drag a midi file onto the arrange window and then move them around to line them up with the appropriate instrument track.
Heck, even Garageband will import midi. There is no Import selection on the File menu, but if you drop a midi file into Garageband's arrange window, it splits out the parts in the arrange window and assigns instruments. Hit the spacebar...
So to connect up with the thread; the lack of full midi import/playback in BIAB isn't a show-stopper for me. Chord extraction from midi is a big plus. I mainly use BIAB to generate backing/rhythm tracks (that I import into Logic or Garageband as midi). In many cases I will have a midi file of a song (created by scanning sheet music), so having BIAB recognize the chords in the midi file will save a lot of manual labor.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Steve,
I appreciate your response. My frustration is that "S" in SMF stands for Standard. There are a set of voices set up so that I can play a SMF on various devices and the files sound the same. I am aware that you can load SMF into Logic and Garage Band but they do not sound standard and most times the drum track does not play at all. The program should play a SMF using the Standard voices.
If you can help me to do this I will be very greatful. I called Logis support and they were offended that I wanted to play Standard Midi Files on their program.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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You very likely need to load a "GM" - General MIDI - bank into the chosen MIDI synthesizer.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Quote:
..I am aware that you can load SMF into Logic and Garage Band but they do not sound standard and most times the drum track does not play at all. The program should play a SMF using the Standard voices.
This is actually possible in Logic with Apple's AU plugin "DLSMusicDevice". It's a software GM sound module providing the Quicktime sounds. However, Logic doesn't assign it automatically when loading a SMF. So you have to create as many instrument tracks as you need assigned to the DLSMusicDevice, and after loading the SMF move the individual regions onto them. Hint: Holding the option key when opening/importing a SMF in Logic prevents that any other software instruments are loaded.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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HI Peter,
I've only tried this a few times, so don't remember what the results were. How does BB interpret the chords-from the backing tracks, and how does it relate to the melody track?
In simple tunes I can see it would be accurate, but how about those complicated tunes? Does it just round it down to the simple chords?
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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saxy831 it really depends on who actually created that SMF. Most will probably have an inserted patch assignment, but most fall short on the drum track. Its usually assigned to channel 1 ??? why is beyond me, since drums are usually set to channel 10 or 11. I have seen so called pro SMF files with patch assignments to a external synth modual, when it should be GM.
So there will be some (most) track assignments that need to be updated after you import.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Fred B.
You are absolutly correct in the fact that Quicktime plays SMF with ease. All I am asking is why cant Logic or BIAB for MAC do the same? Why do I have to spend an hour tweaking a file to play it?
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Quote:
Fred B.
You are absolutly correct in the fact that Quicktime plays SMF with ease. All I am asking is why cant Logic or BIAB for MAC do the same? Why do I have to spend an hour tweaking a file to play it?
From the Logic manual:
Opening and Importing Standard MIDI Files
An import only loads MIDI region data (notes, controller, SysEx, pitchbend, specific meta
events) into an opened project, with global data (such as tempo events, signatures,
chords, track names, SMPTE start, and so on) being ignored.
Important: If you want to load all information contained in a MIDI file, you must open
it.
To import a MIDI file at the playhead position, do one of the following:
m Choose File > Import from the main menu bar (or use the Import key command), then
select the desired MIDI file in the ensuing file selector box.
To open a MIDI file:
1 Choose File > Open from the main menu bar (or use the Open key command), then
select the desired MIDI file in the ensuing file selector box.
From Finder, I can select a midi file and Open with Logic and I get all the tracks assigned correctly.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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PG Music Staff
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Hello Saxy831,
It is possible to do with Band-in-a-Box, it's just that it's not a one-step process. You need to import the MIDI file to the Melody or Soloist track, then change that track to a multi-channel type track, and mute the other tracks. Here are the basic steps.
1. Choose MEL |Import Melody from MIDI file. If you wanted to import to the Soloist track, you would use SOL | Edit Soloist Track | Import Soloist Part from MIDI File
2. Select the MIDI file from the open dialog. Select all MIDI channels. Click [OK]
3. A dialog will appear informing you that the file has been imported. Click MEL | Track Type and set it to Multi-Channel
4. MUTE all Band-in-a-Box tracks except for the Melody. There are a few ways of doing this. You could mute them by soloing the Melody track using the control-click option in the instrument panel, or you could rest all instruments for the entire song (e.g. type C. in the first bar, that's C followed by a period), or you could choose a blank style from the utility category.
5. Now your MIDI file should play by itself as it would if you imported it into a sequencer.
Andrew
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Saxy831: OK, I see what your issue is. Hope the suggestions by Fred B & shunyun are useful; I certainly learned a bit more about Logic. Just in case you are not aware of it, a very good source of support for Logic is the Logic Users Group forum at Logic Users Group SteveC
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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I really appreciate all the replies from this forum.
Can anyone tell me where I can get that DLSMusicDevice or do I already have it in Logic or Garage Band and do no know it? It seems like this plug in will help a lot. Thank you all.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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Quote:
Can anyone tell me where I can get that DLSMusicDevice or do I already have it in Logic..
In Logic it's in the instrument plug-in menu under AU instruments/Apple.
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Fred B
I cannot find the plug-in menu.
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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
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On an instrument channel strip, click and hold the instrument slot (just below the I/O label).
By the way, I'd suggest to read the Logic manual for understanding the basics..
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Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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