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My song has 4/4 time. A couple measures have two beats of Eb Min and two beats of B7.

In EACH of those measures the B7 is greyed out.

What does that mean? And how do I keep it from happening?

Thanks.

Michael


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Can you take a screen capture and attach it using the File Manager link in your reply?

I tried and it worked fine here.

What exact Version and Build of BiaB are you running (Help > About)

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The difference between mine and yours is I tried to select 2/4 time. All the measures got a red line under them. The band in the box thing says it’s in four four time. The notation says it said 2/4 time. My B7 is grayed out and does not play.


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Everything is working as designed. The red line indicates you used F5 (bar settings) to make a change.

In BIAB, you will still have a cell for chord entry with two halves of that cell, and you can still enter a chord in the right-hand half. If you start a song in 4/4 but change to 2/4, anything in the second half of that cell (and those after) will not play. That's why it's greyed out. Perhaps you need to go to a measure after the 2/4 measure and do F5 and restore four beats per bar. Without knowing the song, I can't be sure.



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Originally Posted By: goofeyfoot
The difference between mine and yours is I tried to select 2/4 time. All the measures got a red line under them. The band in the box thing says it’s in four four time. The notation says it said 2/4 time. My B7 is grayed out and does not play.


I believe that you just answered your own question. You didn't mention 2/4 time signature previously. If the bar only allows two beats then I would expect the chord on beats 3&4 to be disabled.

Consider placing the B7 on the next bar?

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If you want the B7 to play, place it on the next bar.

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So what you’re saying is that the program can’t handle a chord change that lasts only one beat?

I’m not writing this song. Someone else did. So I can’t just change the music to suit the program. So how can I get their tempo? Or can I?


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Originally Posted By: goofeyfoot
So what you’re saying is that the program can’t handle a chord change that lasts only one beat?

I’m not writing this song. Someone else did. So I can’t just change the music to suit the program. So how can I get their tempo? Or can I?

Previously you mentioned 2 beats, and now mention 1 beat so I'm a little confused. The program can handle 1 beat bars. Select the bar and press <F5> and set the number of beats to 1 (or 2), then on a required following bar, press <F5> again and set the number of beats to 2 or 3 or 4, based on whatever is required.

But now you also mentioned tempo, which doesn't change with the number of beats in a bar. You can change the tempo using several different methods, i.e. for the entire song or only for certain bars.

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OK what I’m trying to say is this.

This song is in two four time. Which I guess means there’s two beats per measure. One of the measures has a chord on the first beat and a different chord on the second beat. It’s that second chord that is the B7 that won’t play and that is grayed out. I didn’t know about the F5 thing or whether that would solve my issue. I mistakenly referenced tempo. I was talking about time signature the whole time.


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Originally Posted By: goofeyfoot

OK what I’m trying to say is this.

This song is in two four time. Which I guess means there’s two beats per measure. One of the measures has a chord on the first beat and a different chord on the second beat. It’s that second chord that is the B7 that won’t play and that is grayed out. I didn’t know about the F5 thing or whether that would solve my issue. I mistakenly referenced tempo. I was talking about time signature the whole time.


If you want two chords across only two beats, (i.e. beats 1 & 2) enter the two chords separated with a comma, e.g. Ebm,B7

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OK. Two/four time signature. Two beat measure. Beat one is a E flat minor. Beat 2 is a B7. How do you write that?

Last edited by goofeyfoot; 02/28/21 11:33 AM.

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Quote:
enter the two chords separated with a comma, e.g. Ebm,B7


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This question has changed considerably but it appears to be answered.


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Originally Posted By: goofeyfoot
OK. Two/four time signature. Two beat measure. Beat one is a E flat minor. Beat 2 is a B7. How do you write that?

I thought I had answered it previously with this statement and a screen capture.
Quote:
If you want two chords across only two beats, (i.e. beats 1 & 2) enter the two chords separated with a comma, e.g. Ebm,B7

Has this answered your question(s)?


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I think so. Have not tried yet.

Thanks.

Michael


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You can also enter different chords on different beats of the measure using Chord Settings (right-click on the chord):

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Click on the bar. Enter Ebm comma B7 like this [Ebm,B7]. The comma allows you to place the chord on the 2nd beat. This works whether you have a chord on the 1st beat or not. As in [ __,B7] ( no underscore needed, just enter comma-B7 ). If you were in 4/4 the comma also allows you to place the chord on the 4th beat.


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Yes. I used the comma method and it worked.

Thanks again.

Michael


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Great.
Perhaps consider going back to your first post and marking it as Resolved. There's a button for that. This can assist others in the future.


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