I am finding that this feature, whilst much appreciated in concept, very rarely leads me to any styles that seem appropriate.
I think this is because the box is simply used to set the filters, rather than through any kind of song-matching exercise carried out by a human. This is perhaps fair enough, given there are over 21,000 songs in the list, but it means that I pretty much never use it. I also find that it sometimes sets the parameters too narrowly, so it will actually filter out some styles that might have been appropriate.
I've seen people asking on these forums for particular RealStyles to match [x] song, and the replies to these requests tend to be helpful with good approximations. I wondered if there is any kind of database keeping track of these?
Your Ear is the best tool, I think you just end up picking individual instruments and drums to to create it yourself. With most instruments and drums now having RealCharts midi notation they should be able to create beat finders like EZDrummer and EZBass have where you can key in the pattern or drop a midi file in. This could be done with Biab as I have suggested in the wishlist before. If you download the midi file of the song style you need and drop the midi drums into the RealDrum picker window it will show you comparable RealDrums. Also a GUI where you can enter particular beats for each drum/cymbal on a grid then Biab will search it's RealDrumChart database for a comparable RD. You could do the same in the RealTrack instrument picker window.
I agree fully that your ears are the best tool, and the method you describe would ultimately be the best way to get as close as possible to matching an existing song's style! But it can be very time consuming and it'd be great if there was a place where we could pool together our efforts on this front. I keep track of what styles/realtracks I think sound like particular songs and I'm sure many other users do too.
It'd be a real time-saver if I could see what someone else has done to match, say, "Isn't She Lovely?" (just the first example I could think of) rather than going through dozens of trial and errors.
I don't have EZ Drummer or EZ bass, though I do have EZ Keys.
It would be great if you could drop a MIDI file of a pop song into BIAB and then have it find styles that are genuinely close to it and therefore useful.
Like others who have posted on this point in various places, the principle of using song titles to find suitable styles is great in theory but, in my experience so far, it has never worked.
The more thousands of styles I have, the harder it is to find a needle in a haystack, the more time I waste... the less I end up using BIAB and end up turning to other programs instead that are more focused on my genre and make it quicker and easier to find a style to work with.
Lazarus. youve peaked my curiosity. what "other programs" are you referring to ? reason i ask is, ive found no software for song creation that can lure me away from the biab/realband/reaper software combo i use.
my opinion is, haveing done slews of my original songs in big studios/small studios/my own project studio rigs over the years; "songs are a ton of work" is my mantra. hours and days upon days of work, and i'm still learning. no matter ones "music tools" each song is a load of work imho. (and i'm not saying i'm any good at it, i struggle like everyone else. its at the core of myself to create songs, good or bad.)
it helps of course if a songwriter has a big team behind him/her. like a team of pro audio engineers/session musicians etc etc like some big recording studios used to have in the old days. no software can replicate such a support team imho.
as an example of what can accomplished with a big support team, listen to the famous big hit ; "cant get used to losing you" with the magnificent andy williams on vocals with a full blown orchestra recorded live years ago. no software can replicate that imho.
regarding going through all the styles. thats exactly what i do. once ive laid out my song arrangement in biab, i go through EVERY of the thousands of styles, because what ive found is "happy sound picture" accidents occur. that i can use in the song. i do mainly rock plus a few crooners/ballads, occasionally a country song. but lets say i'm doing a down n dirty rock song i still try styles from other genres with my song chord set in the hope that added "magic" might occur from another style. and sometimes biab "does" deliver the little "nugget" via its session musicians that make it all worthwhile. as i said a songs loads of work.
i look upon biab/rb/reaper as my support team. but i still ditch more song ideas than i keep. so what "other software" are you referring to ?
thanks. oldmuso
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 03/23/2103:06 AM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs (90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
There is no need to spend time searching styles. The stylemaker allows you to do exactly what was suggested. The stylemaker can create a style from any midi file using the stylemaker "Wizard".
Styles have just been made up by PG by combining certain RTs & RDs. RTs & RDs all have the midi notation now so with all that in a database it could just search for similar RD,T from a midi file song you drop in, same way EZ bass, drums, keys does, Biab could create a Real style that is near the same to your midi target song. This way you are not limited to a style PG made with particular instruments. With so many styles, RealTrack and RealDrums to look through this way would be quicker. Also to have Tap2Find, like I said if I saved a small sample all the RealChart midi from all the RT Basses and put it in EZbass I could find the RT bass I need very quick, same with the RealDrumCharts I would find the RealDrums I need with Tap2Find:
Sorry for opening an old thread, but I agree 100% with Mike. I started with BIAB in the early '90s and for a while 'twas a fascinating toy to play with. But it proved unsatisfactory for performances.
Now these days I'm interested in basically replacing my aging drum machine for gigs, with a little enhancement of some sequenced material that makes songs recognizable. I thought about using BIAB to do the drumming and, while it's at it, help with filling in some missing parts for the band.
So I bought 2022 Mega and really like the new stuff, but the Song Title Style Picker really caught my eye! That is, until I used it. Almost every song I entered came up with hundreds of "matching" styles, most of them insanely unlike the title I entered. So while BIAB has taken many enjoyable hours of my time, I find it really is not an expeditious way to build a backing library for my band.
Back in the '90s there were websites (and pre-internet "bulletin boards") that held libraries of SGU songs to download. Some of these actually still exist, but with catalogs of songs using obsolete capabilities. When I bought 2022, I thought surely there'd be sources where musicians could easily share their SGU files. Or at least a better way to not have to reinvent the wheel of picking styles for a song. Is there a better way?
One of the issues with using style demo songs is a demo song can not reflect a specific song, particularly whatever song you currently have in mind.
What may work better is to enable the 4 bar preview using your chord chart. If you take four bars from your song that highlight the song you have in mind and copy them to the front of the chord chart then you can get a better feel if s style will work with your song.
Jim. thats a good work round for auditioning different parts of a song, so simple but this old brain of mine never thought to do this. i have been wanting an option to audition various bars of a song whilst in the style picker for a long time. thanks for the info 10/10.
rebuilt styles,songs and real tracks. win 10...amd a10 radeon r6 4c+6g 1.8ghz 64 bit hp envy biab 2023 with 1004 build. styles 1 to 429 plus extras 1,2,3,4 and 6. running as admin,cleaned up returned to factory settings.
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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.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Special Offers
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Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
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