Recently I came across Jacob Collier and his reharmonizations. He uses a lot of polychords. Since I did not find anything about polychords in the help section of BB, I wonder if this could be included in a future issue of BB?
There are instances where Polychords could be utilized to take BiaB to another level entirely.
Great suggestion, and +1
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Polychords as in two chords played on top of each other at the same time? Isn't that more of a music transcription shorthand than something played in popular music?
Jim, you are right about what it is. As far as shorthand, that’s right too. I can say polychords are used in jazz, particularly modal jazz. I’m not sure where the sound would be needed in ‘popular’ music.
The shorthand concept is why I suggested in an earlier thread about entering the notes on a keyboard and seeing if a more conventional spelling is possible. Sometimes it will be, but sometimes it will not.
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+1 Polychords, as in triads over triads, are sometimes heard in pop music, but rarely notated, at least I haven’t seen it yet. Stevie Wonder plays lydian (CLydian) by stacking Bm on top of Ctriad.
Thing with polychords is... at this moment Biab isn’t able to play advanced chords right, not in the bass part, piano part and certainly not in the horns or strings parts.
And it doesn’t correctly interpret slash chords either.
Adding polychords with advanced polytonal structures would make for some very strange noise.
PGmusic should step up their game if they ever want to implement this.
Biab, Kontakt, Sampletank and lots of nice libraries, from Fluffy audio to Abbey Road drums. Check out these great contemporary Jazz Styles: www.jazzstylezz.com
I only had a quick look at these, but: How would you work it in ? All the realtracks so far are recorded normal chords. What format would these be entered in the chord sheet, with a D-CMaj7 D-Ab-G ? How would the other instruments without polychords read them ? How many polychords would you need to record along with the other chords in a realtrack ? Maybe use midi that can duplicate the notes of one chord being played in the recorded material and fit them into the other omitting existing, and have another chord sheet layer for these chords ????? Have you tried this with a MidiSuperTrack ?
+1 Polychords, as in triads over triads, are sometimes heard in pop music, but rarely notated, at least I haven’t seen it yet. Stevie Wonder plays lydian (CLydian) by stacking Bm on top of Ctriad.
Thing with polychords is... at this moment Biab isn’t able to play advanced chords right, not in the bass part, piano part and certainly not in the horns or strings parts.
And it doesn’t correctly interpret slash chords either.
Adding polychords with advanced polytonal structures would make for some very strange noise.
PGmusic should step up their game if they ever want to implement this.
Does Band-in-a-Box support poly chords using midi if you write in poly chords?
+1 Polychords, as in triads over triads, are sometimes heard in pop music, but rarely notated, at least I haven’t seen it yet. Stevie Wonder plays lydian (CLydian) by stacking Bm on top of Ctriad.
Thing with polychords is... at this moment Biab isn’t able to play advanced chords right, not in the bass part, piano part and certainly not in the horns or strings parts.
And it doesn’t correctly interpret slash chords either.
Adding polychords with advanced polytonal structures would make for some very strange noise.
PGmusic should step up their game if they ever want to implement this.
Does Band-in-a-Box support poly chords using midi if you write in poly chords?
Yes if you play a C triad in BiaB then in either notation or the piano roll view add the B-D-F# over the C-E-G. I would do that in a DAW because if you regenerate without freezing that track(s) you would loose everything you added. But that could be a long and tedious project.
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Impro-Visor in free 55. Slash Chords and Polychords Slash chords (which specify a bass note after the slash) are indicated with a forward slash, such as D/E.
Polychords (one chord stacked atop another) are indicated with a backward slash, such as D\Bb.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 21 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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