I have a simple country ballad set up with a 4 bar intro, 16 bar chorus repeated 3 times, and a 4 bar tag. The form works great. Is there a way to vary the player "energy" during specific choruses, without unfolding the arrangement? For example, chorus 1 & 3 have vocal. I'm using the "_BLITH.STY" style, with Nylon Guitar Real Track 27 - Background SwingBrent. I like the lead lines for chorus 2 which is an instrumental, but would prefer a simpler part for 1 and 3. Or even muting that on 1 and 3 might work, but I don't know that I can use the ".bgd" notation to indicate what should be playing on a repeating chorus.
Thanks!
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
There are a few options. You can change the level of any instrument, or mute it completely, for any chorus. Select the bar where you want the change to occur, press function key <F5>, set the values accordingly, including which chorus the change should occur. You can even change the Style completely if required. This is a simple example:
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Also increasing the tempo in chorus #2 will add energy. Adjusting it by a few BPM really helps. Just be sure to set it back for chorus #3.
Personally I always do my songs in the unfolded mode. I set the measures as needed and change the chorus number to 1 so it may look something like this 1-90-1. I use the unfolded method of a number of reasons like changing a chord or two in different verses or choruses (pop version of chorus not PGMusic's jazz version), changing tempos, doing my own intros and endings, adding/deleting different tracks, changing instruments, etc. YMMV
Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair: 1- Be old 2- Sit in a chair
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Thanks! VideoTrack, looks like there's some real power in that bar dialog. I think I can do what I'm after with it. I'm using real tracks in this case, so I can switch between some simple comping and solo stylings perhaps. I'll dive into that when I get a chance. I've done unfolded charts before, but this tune is so simple that I wanted to see what I could do keeping it compact, and lo and behold, I've learned something new. I'm less than 2 weeks into using BiaB, and the results are simply amazing, especially with real tracks. Just wish some of the power functionality were a little more intuitive and followed better UI design guidelines. I've been a software engineer for 30+ years, and some of the dialogs just make me cringe. But again, the results are amazing - far beyond what I expected.
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
That's great. Glad to hear that you are making good progress.
There have often been comments about the user interface. There is a new look that was introduced a few years ago. Control-T will toggle between the two. I'm not sure which one you are using, but I prefer the new interface. Not saying everything's perfect though, but improved.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Looks like that gives a different look to the main screen, but doesn't change the popup window dialogs like bar settings, which just don't follow any windowing/UI consistency and are highly unintuitive.
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
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PowerTracks 2026 is here—bringing powerful new enhancements designed to make your production workflow faster, smoother, and more intuitive than ever.
The enhanced Mixer now shows Track Type and Instrument icons for instant track recognition, while a new grid option simplifies editing views. Non-floating windows adopt a modern title bar style, replacing the legacy blue bar.
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