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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 30
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 30 |
Hi
I've been looking through all the styles and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of them are a total waste of space. There's supposed to be an A Part and a B Part. Some are very good coming in with heavier drums or rhyme change which alters them totally but most of them don't have any distinctive change at all so why bother putting them in. There's not even a drum fill. So to my mind with most of the styles you might as well just use the one part and thats it.
Frosty
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
Sounds like you may not be trying to use the thing in the right fashion. B substyles are certainly different from A substyles in most cases. This may not be the case with certain RealTracks, however.
Look up Part Markers and how they force not only the stylechange, but a Drum fill in the previous bar. Inserting a Part Marker of the same color as the one previous will force a Drum Fill without changing to the other substyle, often useful.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,275
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Veteran
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,275 |
Frosty:
If you give us an example or two we may be able to make some useful comments.
I've found that some of the A/B part changes are fairly dramatic and some are
fairly subtle. Sometimes that's all you want, just a small change.
If you're referring to MIDI instument styles, I found I can get almost any amount of
"distinction" between A and B styles by using the Hybrid Style Maker. Just find
(say) a drum substyle that you like better for B and substitute it for the one that's there.
LLOYD S
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055
Productor Musical
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Productor Musical
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055 |
Hi Frosty, As Mac and Lloyd stats, there are resources , procedures and combination of them you can get aid from for enhance your song production in BIAB. Besides of Mac and Lloyd advices, I use MultiStyle useful feature, with "define susbstyle" you can define up to 24 extra styles set (c/d e/f g/h /i/j and so). Also Part Markers to Change Substyles or Insert Drum Fills work great in this dept. of more liveness and dynamic music in BIAB. You can find detailed informatión in the online help under "Using Part Markers to Change Substyles or Insert Drum Fills" . I love to create my custom hybrid styles, there is an infinite broad of possibilities, I even created hybrid styles where each instrument come from a different style!. Now with Real Tracks, and the possibility of use both MIDI and Real Drums in Real Band the horizons get wider. Finally, the use of more or less of this ideas and resources is up to you and your particular requeriments in song production. In my classes I usually create little backing tracks "on the fly" with BIAB for my students exercises and practices, such little music pieces don´t need even but a A substyle and not fills. In other moment if you need a more detailed song production then roll out the red carpet with Band in a Box and its multiple features, it will worthwhile. cheers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spanish Victoria (a enhanced song production example with Band in a Box) Look Of Lovelisten both with the site flash Audio Player
Gabriel Arellano,
Nucleox Music
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,511
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
As an aftermarket style writer I might be able to add some insight. Some of the styles I write have only subtle differences between the A and B part, while others have extreme differences, and most of the styles fall somewhere in the middle. Why? Because some songs need subtle differences, some need extreme differences and most fall somewhere in the middle. You can listen to mp3 demos of my files at http://www.nortonmusic.com/styledemo.html - most short mp3s have approximately 8 bars of the A substyle, a roll, about 8 measures of the B style and an ending. If you listen to a lot, you will hear a variety of differences between the A and B substyles. Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055
Productor Musical
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Productor Musical
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,055 |
Quote:
As an aftermarket style writer I might be able to add some insight.
Hi Mr. Norton, my respect to you. I remember when I began to use Band in a Box more steadily in my work, Norton already was a serious name in the field of musical styles, and nowadays your catalog and experience still represent a invaluable resource for BIAB users. Thanks.
Gabriel Arellano,
Nucleox Music
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,848
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,848 |
Quote:
I've been looking through all the styles and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of them are a total waste of space.
Sorry, but when I read a statement like that, all I hear is "you should only create styles that work for me. If I don't need them, no one does". Sort of like saying, "why are there so many jazz styles in BIAB when all I do is electronic music. All those jazz styles are just a waste of space".
Well, I like all kinds of music, so give me styles, styles, and more styles...
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,163
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,163 |
Frosty, I would say I use the Hybrid Style Maker in Biab on 90% of my songs. It is one powerful piece of the puzzle. Try it, you will like it. It only takes a few mouse clicks to generate a completely new style with. Use the style filter to narrow down your "other" styles first though  Trax
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 507
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 507 |
For even greater hybridization flexibility, the Alt-F3 function inside the stylemaker will import patterns from one instrument in the source style to any instrument in the current style. To put a second set of guitar patterns in the strings instrument, for example. Can't do that with "make a hybrid style" (although it oughta be simple to add the capability, since the code is already in the stylemaker). You gotta know the source file you want in advance, though, because you don't get to choose it from the stylepicker, only from the file-open dialog.
FWIW -Ron
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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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