PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows Callie or PG Music staff, can you describe the BIAB plugin?

Notation Composer (a music notation program for $99) has a BIAB Plugin option for $69. The plugin comes with 25 BIAB styles in the trial version and 150 styles in the paid version. See this thread started by John Ford: http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=497316#Post497316

What happens if you already own BIAB? I am reluctant to try the demo because it doesn’t say what I’m buying: a link between the programs, or a stripped-down version of BIAB that might affect my installed version. Any suggestions or advice please?

If this works, it offers a chance to dramatically increase the number of MIDI tracks in a BIAB song. If it works with the full BIAB program, with RealTracks, that would be amazing. Even if it takes a few extra steps, like exporting Music XML from Notation Composer and importing it into BIAB, that would be great, too. Has anyone tried this?

For info, go here: https://www.notation.com/BiabPluginNotationSoftware.php

Good question, I had the same thoughts when I saw this. Based on history I am afraid we both know the answer, however, never hurts to ask.

Just curious only if the styles are usable; the reviews on the software i saw are not too enthusiastic it seems.

I use several music notation programs and I don't actually care how good a notation program Notation Composer is. If it can access the full BIAB program via this new plugin, I can live with it. John Ford does use it, though, so it can't be terrible.

Once there was a Henry Ford; his enfant terrible came in all colors they say, and only at the price of 2x BIAB:

If you can believe it, I haven't used the program - so I reached out for some information...

What I know: It's not the full Band-in-a-Box program.

I believe it can generate MIDI arrangements which are notated in the Notation Composer program.

The list of styles included in within Notation Composer (that are also included in the Band-in-a-Box Pro version) is:
AFRICAN.STY
ALWAYS.STY
BAYOU.STY
BIG_BEAT.STY
BLINK_1.STY
BLUESET.STY
BLUESY1.STY
BLUGRAS1.STY
BLUHILL.STY
BLUSHF_2.STY
BOBALLAD.STY
BOOGYSHF.STY
BOSANEW.STY
BOUNCY_G.STY
C_90BAL.STY
C_BLUE.STY
C_CLANCY.STY
C_DAISY.STY
C_GARTH.STY
C_JAMEST.STY
C_JETHRO.STY
C_SWING.STY
C_TEX_SW.STY
C_TRAVIS.STY
CABARET.STY
CAREY128.STY
CARIBEAN.STY
Catalina.STY
CC_AVRIL.STY
CELEBRTE.STY
CELT_JIG.STY
CHAGUIRO.STY
CHOPIN_W.STY
ChukShuf.STY
CLASSY.STY
COUNSWG2.STY
COUNTRY1.STY
CT_WALZ.STY
CurtisM.STY
CUTXFUNK.STY
DEUCES.STY
DIXIFAST.STY
DREAMER.STY
DrJonShf.STY
DURLATIN.STY
EARLYDEW.STY
ELEGANT.STY
ENLITEN.STY
ETERNAL.STY
EVERYONE.STY
EXODUS.STY
FATSWALR.STY
FLOYD.STY
FUNK_SEV.STY
FUNKWALK.STY
FUSN_SHU.STY
FUSNSOFT.STY
GARNER.STY
GuagFok.STY
Guara23.STY
HAPPY.STY
HowlinW.STY
HRPORK44.STY
J!~BENNY.STY
J!~NIGHT.STY
J!LUSH.STY
J!MANCNI.STY
J_BASIE1.STY
J_BOPPIN.STY
J_CASH.STY
J_COMBO.STY
J_DIZZY.STY
J_DJANGO.STY
J_DOLFIN.STY
J_EVAN2H.STY
J_HERBIE.STY
J_JSMITH.STY
J_LIGHT.STY
J_MDFAST.STY
J_MILES1.STY
J_WESWLZ.STY
J~EASY.STY
J~GITWLZ.STY
J~LAURA.STY
J~TRIO.STY
JAZCOOL.STY
JAZQUINT.STY
JAZZFAST.STY
JAZZSLOW.STY
JOPLIN.STY
JTLATIN.STY
JWLTZ2.STY
KLEZMER1.STY
L_ARRIBA.STY
L_BOSMED.STY
L_SAMBA2.STY
LA_PBAL.STY
LA_POP_G.STY
LEVLFUNK.STY
LONDON.STY
LTNBRAZL.STY
MAMBO.STY
Marimba.STY
MERENGUE.STY
MILESFNK.STY
MODJAZZ1.STY
MOONRIVR.STY
MOTOWN_1.STY
NITELIFE.STY
OLDMOTWN.STY
OLDTYME1.STY
POPBALAD.STY
POPWALTZ.STY
R_CITYRK.STY
R_HHFUNK.STY
R_SHUFLE.STY
REFUGEE.STY
REMEMBER.STY
RENDEVUE.STY
RHYBLUE1.STY
RIKYFAST.STY
ROBBIE.STY
ROCKABIL.STY
SAMBA.STY
SanFran.STY
SELEKTAH.STY
SERENITY.STY
SHIMMER.STY
Shiny.STY
SHUFROK2.STY
SINATRA.STY
SLOWLATN.STY
SLOWLZ12.STY
SOUL_1.STY
StoneShf.STY
STRIDE.STY
SWEET.STY
TANGO.STY
TENDERLY.STY
TWIST.STY
UKBIGROK.STY
UKBLUE.STY
UKCRUNCH.STY
UKGROOVE.STY
UKMOOD.STY
UKRIDE.STY
UKROSE.STY
WANDERER.STY
Wheelin.STY
ZZJAZZ.STY

thnx for the info, indeed MIDI styles, no RTs ... F

That’s a versatile list. Thanks for the info.

Hi Calle

Thanks for the info as I was interested in the program but the key phrase in your post was -

"The list of styles included in within Notation Composer (that are also included in the Band-in-a-Box Pro version)".
In other words they are not addition styles but a useful pathway for Notation users


jazzman

For someone who writes music and wants to hear how it might sound in a particular genre, I think this is a great idea.

The documentation indicates that it can also use existing MIDI-based style files (I'm thinking from PGMusic and Norton and downloaded web-styles); I'll play with it this weekend and see what happens.

I'm following this thread also to see if it opens more midi channels. I'm not fully understanding the limitation you're addressing.

My understanding is the BIAB Styles the Notation program uses are taken from the Pro Version of BIAB which is not new additional BIAB Styles but duplicate the existing Styles that ship with the BIAB Pro version. But my thought is that any of the other BIAB packages that include more Styles, would also work with the Notation program as well as third party Styles like Norton or even Styles I may create.

Are you thinking that's not the case?

Hi Charlie

I agree with your analysis
I am considering getting Notation but unsure if the BB plug-in is limited to just the 100+ BB pro styles, as it was infered in this thread that these may be "extra styles" which we now know are not.

I look forward to seeing if fellow posters experiment to see if more present and future styles can be accessed with interest

jazzman

Thanks for your reply jazzman. I've never looked at or was even aware of Notation before this thread and I'm interested to see how it may open more midi channels in BIAB. So I'll be following along on the sidelines.