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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 7
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 7 |
I'm struggling to learn to play Jazz guitar - the books are really expensive, so I'm wondering if there's any way to use BIAB (much cheaper than a buying half a dozen books) to help. Is there any way to combine the guitar chords and melody of any jazz standard into one playable solo jazz guitar part that I could learn from?
If not, is there any other PG music product that may help?
ps I cant read music so I need tab!!
Ravi
Ravi
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Sting, exactly what is an Arse Pirit?
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,826
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,826 |
Hi Ravi
Does not matter what instrument you are learning BIAB is a great assist as it covers all aspects of playing and reading music,the thing here is time how much time you can spend in learning when i started it was 14 hours every sat and sunday and as much as i could for the rest of the week,i had to listern to records but with BIAB you have every thing to hand, you can hear, you can see, you can slow down, its how much you want to learn,one basic guitar book and BIAB you can`t beat it
regards Dave Hoskins
I always play the right notes but not always in the right order
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900
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Veteran
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900 |
Hi, Ravi - welcome to the forum
Dave knows what he's talking about. I'm not a jazz guitarist but I can tell you there are more than a million things you can learn with BIAB for just about any musician.
I agree - one book (I would recommend something from the 'Progressive...' series of self-tutor books with CD) and BIAB and you are set for life
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 7
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 7 |
Thanks guys!
What I really wanted to know is if I could somehow combine the guitar & melody tracks - I know that I can do them separately but is there any way to get BIAB to do it - to be honest, I dont know how to play the two together on my guitar and I suspect that I'm not good enough (yet) to do it manually!
Can anyone give me any tips on how to get started to try and do this?
Where do I find these "Progressive" series of books? is that a PG Music product?
Ravi
Ravi
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Sting, exactly what is an Arse Pirit?
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900
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Veteran
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900 |
I am not at home (I'm on holiday) so I can't give you a direct link but they are available via any good music store or Amazon. Just Google 'Progressive Guitar' and follow the path to Amazon By 'guitar & melody' tracks, I presume you mean something like fingerpicking guitar rather than jazz. Yes, there are plenty of fingerpicking guitar tracks to study, with tab. Tab means you don't need to be able to read music (though it is a good exercise to learn to do so - BIAB even has a programme to help you to learn how to do that). Tab shiows you what frets on your guitar fingerboard to be able to play the same. You can slow down the playback to 25% in BIAB or even print out the charts for yourself. Go for it - you won't regret it. Besides the folks on the forum are here to help when you get stuck (or to provide support and friendship when needed) Also, be patient. No disrespect but learn to walk before you run  Good luck 
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 537
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 537 |
PG has Essential Jazz Guitar Vol 1 - 2 They are video guitar lessons.Go to the store.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
Quote:
Thanks guys!
What I really wanted to know is if I could somehow combine the guitar & melody tracks - I know that I can do them separately but is there any way to get BIAB to do it - to be honest, I dont know how to play the two together on my guitar and I suspect that I'm not good enough (yet) to do it manually!
Hi Ravi,
Band in a Box has the Guitar Chord Soloist feature.
All you need is the MIDI Melody line plus the chords to create a Guitar Jazz Chord Solo part with one button push. And it can be done in a small variety of different styles, too.
These can then be saved, viewed as TAB plus notation and also on the BIAB Guitar Fretboard view. You can also use Step function to go through this one beat at a time, highlighting the finger positions as you learn.
So the answer to your question is, YES!
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 13,069
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 13,069 |
I believe you are referring to Chord-Melody playing (think Joe Pass). Check out my friends over at : http://www.chordmelody.com/ BIAB used to have a great application call "The Jazz Guitarist". Is was excellent but has disappeared over the years. Rumor has it that there were ultimately copy right problems. I used to have a copy but it was lost over the conversions from computer to computer. The Essential Jazz Guitar may pick up where Jazz Guitarist left off, but I don't know, having not seen this newer application. This is truely a special art. Combining both the melody and harmony and rythyms all into a solo performance seems to be somthing only granted to the gifted performer. But it is certainly an excellent goal. Good luck.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
"Jazz Guitarist" was not a BIAB program, as it was not inside of BIAB.
It was a separate program offered by pgmusic.
There are still jazz guitar study programs offered by pgmusic, they are topnotch and I highly recommend them.
Matter of fact, I think an aspiring jazz guitar player should get both BIAB --AND-- at least the first Jazz Guitar multimedia lesson offering from PGMusic and use them side-by-side.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 7
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 7 |
Wow!
Thanks guys. So much good information to take in! I'll check out the Essential Jazz lessons right now and take a look. It's great to know that BIAB will do what I want - I have heard about the Chord Soloist feature but for some reason I thought it meant that BIAB would create solos over chords and just didn't look into it any more!
Many thanks
Ravi
Ravi
-------------------------------------
Sting, exactly what is an Arse Pirit?
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 4,900 |
BIAB can create solos over chords, if you want. It can also create the chords to solo over! A never ending fountain of creativity for you to explore...
Follow That Dream Sam Karaoke King -------------------- Turning that corner again - I have to keep following that dream, no matter what
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 241
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 241 |
No matter what type of guitar music you're intrested in, when you are trying to learn to play, it's best to use songs you are familiar with. BB lends itself to this type of learning. You find yourself a music book that has the songs you like. Enter the cords and tempo of the song into BB. Use a sequence music program like Music Time Deluxe(have to import midi into BB melody option) to manually enter the lead lines of your song or enter them directly from BB piano notation option, select any of BB's jazz styles that meet your preferences, open up the guitar tableture option in BB, press play, and watch and learn. Simple as that.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 72
Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 72 |
Welcome Ravi, I can´t go enough describing about what has BIAB made for me as guitarist, in fact helping to improve my playing and improvisational concepts. Just the fact of be able to select a style, a tempo and my own chord progression turn BIAB in a powerful learning/practicing tool. Now, with Soloist, multi jazz focused styles, Real Drums, Real Tracks, plus the inmense available library of songs among which are several Real Books and jazz standards, the possibilities become infinite! . The ways I use BIAB are diverse, sometimes I just load the demos bundled with BIAB and start to practice/improvising over. Other time I load a jazz standard and change its tempo and even key for improve my harmonic sense. Other I try to learn phrases or even complete chorus of BIAB generated solos. Also I load a song just with bass and drums for construct, learn and practice songs with chord melody or convert a jazz standard melody with the chord progression feature. BIAB can be a great reference by record my guitar playing audio over a song or jam chord sequence and after I listen myself with criticize sense. One of the most rewarding ways of use BIAB is as compositional resource, it help me to render to reality many of my ideas and even I record my guitar audio in real time, turning BIAB in an amazing song sketchbook. I have some video examples of my musical work where Band in a Box has been helpful in diverse ways: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLHoFoRudOM&fmt=18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7BaLgnwpFk&feature=related&fmt=18Cheers. Carlos --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://carlosarellano.com/music
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 13,069
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 13,069 |
Maestro, (aka Carlos, aka jazzpick)
What a pleasure to see your work again. It has been sometime since you popped in here. Thank you for sharing your gifts and talent. What an inspirational joy.
Dan
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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.
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Peter Gannon Talks Band-in-a-Box with zplane
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
Check out the full interview here: https://products.zplane.de/blog/peter-gannon-interview-pg-music
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PDT today!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Mac® to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
Holiday Weekend Hours
It's Victoria Day Long Weekend in Canada. Our Customer Service hours are:
Saturday, May 16: Closed
Sunday, May 17: Closed
Monday, May 18: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Regular hours resume Tuesday, May 19th!
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
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Check out all the new features in the redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
If you have any questions about which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We're here to help!
202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
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