PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows "I like MIDI, what's new in BB 2010"

“Hey I don’t use RealTracks. Other than RealTracks, what are the new “Un-Real” features in Band-in-a-Box (for MIDI users)?”

Note: The listing below is a subset of the new features in BB 2010 - just the MIDI features, and not the RealTracks (audio) features. If you are looking for the full list of features, click here instead
http://www.pgmusic.com/ubbthreads/showfl...ge=0#Post249430

Band-in-a-Box 2010 is here with over 50 cool new features! About half of the features are for RealTracks, and the others apply to MIDI (“Un-Real”).

OK, The New “Un-Real” Features in Band-in-a-Box 2010 for Windows are...

There are some exciting new MIDI features in Band-in-a-Box. We've added a new "Plug-in" mode, allowing you to simply Drag-n-Drop tracks between Band-in-a-Box and your favorite sequencer (RealBand, Sonar, Reaper, ProTools, FL-Studio, Nuendo and more). Individual MIDI Tracks can be frozen now, so the arrangements can be saved and fixed, and will replay quickly without need for regeneration. We added Multiple Undo support, up to 999 levels of Undo. All settings are now saved with each song. And many more!


There now is a "Plug-in" mode for your favorite sequencer (RealBand, Sonar, Reaper, ProTools, FL-Studio, Nuendo and more). With the new plug-in mode, BB is open as a small always-on-top window, and acts as a plug-in for your favorite DAW/sequencer, so that you can Drag-n-Drop MIDI and audio (WAV) tracks from BB to your favorite sequencer. Work in your favorite sequencer, type a progression in Band-in-a-Box, and then simply drag the track from Band-in-a-Box to your sequencer's track at the desired track and bar location.

Freezing (locking) MIDI tracks. Any track can now be frozen (MIDI or Real track). When frozen, it won't get changed or re-generated. This saves time when replaying previous songs, and allows you to freeze an arrangement that you like. If you freeze the whole song, you don't have to wait at all for the song to regenerate. Next time you play,it is ready to go.

Multiple Undo support. Up to 999 levels of undo (configurable).

Always Save all song settings. Now all settings are saved with songs, including patches, reverbs, volume etc., so that the song will play the same way each time, without having to set this in the Save With Patches dialog.

Band-in-a-Box window is now sizable, when size changes, chord sheet, notation, and other windows redraw in proportion to the new size. This allows you to have BB open as a small window on screen with other programs, and you still see a full chord sheet. The screen size is remembered between sessions.

New favorite songs/styles dialog, with separate lists of ‘recently played’ and favorite songs or styles. The previous ‘favorite’ songs/styles dialog was a list of recently used songs/styles. Now there are 2 tabs in this dialog, showing you both recently used songs/styles, and a new list of ‘favorites’ that you select as a favorite songs or styles. Favorite Song/Style lists can be edited, sorted, saved/loaded, and used with the jukebox. You can add an unlimited # of favorites. Also, a Sort button has been added to Favorite/Recent songs/styles dialog.

Rendering now has a Normalize option, to normalize individual tracks or the complete arrangement. Normalizing boosts the volume to a maximum level without distortion. Most professional music tracks are normalized.

Songs ‘Saved-As” a different name now have the new name added to the Recently used song dialog.

Support enhanced for non-concert instruments (Bb/Eb sax, trumpet etc.). Now when chord sheet is transposed, you can type in chords in the transposed key, and they will show up as you have entered them, instead of requiring you to enter the chords in the concert key.

Lyrics enhanced
Undo added for entry of individual lyrics
‘Enter’ and ‘Close’ button added to lyric entry
Lyrics toggle to editable notation view if lyric mode is entered in note roll mode, so that lyrics are visible.

More Soloists are now available, up to 2000.

Rendering Wav dialog enhanced. It has a simpler layout. The Render wav file doesn't need to be in same folder – it can be in any folder/drive.

StylePicker is enhanced. Favorites and Recent styles now appear in this dialog as separate lists. It now has the ability to add/remove styles as favorites. A Favorite Style indication (F) shows up for each style. You can filter any list by only showing favorite styles. Over time, you can build up a list of favorite styles, and only show them when needed.

Many messages changed to “yellow alerts” at top right of screen, so that you don’t have to respond to the message, interrupting work flow.

Great post Peter. I hope this will dispel the posts on the forums of rumors that PG music is moving away from midi enhancements. Just a wonderful product that keeps getting better!

Ed

Thanks Ed,
Another point, there are some features that are both audio and MIDI not included in that list, such as RealCharts.
These give you the notation (MIDI) of the RealTracks (audio) performances.

This is a good educational tool, since you can hear exactly what a professional is playing (and how they are playing it), and see the MIDI notation on-screen, and on the on-screen guitar/bass fretboard or piano keyboard.

For example, a student who wanted to learn an alto sax solo for a certain song, can type in the changes, generate a RealTracks solo, and a RealChart (MIDI notation) that they can print out and study. And now they can Freeze that performance so they can revisit that same solo.
They can hear how the musician is interpreting the notes, so that they can learn that too, not just copy the notes. To me, that's a good feature for teachers and students. Some people asking for more MIDI features are requesting this because they are teachers etc., hopefuly they aren't completely overlooking RealCharts in this regard.

Ingenious, Peter. Haven't gotten to that part yet! LOL!!

Happy Holidays to you and the PGMusic Staff!

Cheers,
Mike

PS: BIAB /RB 2010 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a MIDI person, and this makes me happy!!!

Notes

It has constantly been a source of amazement to me that, upon the introduction of RealTracks, so many have rushed to sound the death knoll for MIDI.

We see that on this forum, "I only use RealTracks..."

Others say, "I only use MIDI."

In my estimation, the use of RealDrums and RealTracks and MIDI together can accomplish so much more.

Would the accomplished carpenter throw away all his screws and screwdrivers because he bought a new nailgun?

Or would he decide that he now has more options and use them more appropriately?


--Mac

I'm an "I Only Use MIDI" guy Mac, but I don't expect everyone else to be.

I happen to really enjoy exporting MIDI files from BiaB and editing them. Adding song specific parts, adding my own arrangement ideas, moving drum rolls around, changing some of the drum instruments, changing notes in the harmony/comp parts to get the inversions I want, changing instruments, adding gradual tempo and/or volume changes, extending holds, adding or subtracting instruments from the shots, and countless other things that I can do with MIDI but not with the RTs. This allows me to put my own personal stamp on the BiaB output, and I like that.

Of course, if I had a recording studio, similar instruments to the RTs, and if I had the talent to play those instruments in the style of the people who recorded the RTs, I could edit the RTs the way I do the MIDI tracks. But it would be much more time consuming AND although I can play many instruments, I can't get the same tone as every other player out there nor can I cop their individual technique.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing the RTs or the combination of MIDI and RT, fortunately BiaB is flexible enough to accommodate all three kinds of users.

MIDI has been around for a long time, and it is still a very valid professional and amateur tool. This is a compliment to the people who devised the very flexible system back in the dark ages of synth manufacturing.

Many pop records are 100% synth based, drums and all, and in this day and age that means MIDI. Even if it is the MIDI connection between the synth drum and the sound module, or the keys on the keyboard and the internal synth module.

So MIDI is far from dead.

I just hope that PG Music never abandons MIDI for those of us who really enjoy tweaking the files and putting our own individual stamp on the music that we play.

I would wish for PG to support diminished triads, a build-it-yourself chord dialog box so that unusual chords could be built, support for multiple synths, higher resolution (240 ppq or higher), real crescendos/diminuendos, real ritardandos/accelerandos, and all continuous controllers. Perhaps Peter and his fine staff have some of those for me in the future.

Insights and incites by Notes

I'm a "use what works best for each instance" kind of guy.

That could be all-MIDI, it could also be all-Audio tracks, it could also be a combination of the two, it could also include tracks recorded from live players and any combination of these.

Nothing wrong with specializing in just one or the other, either, IMO -- if you've done it with good taste.

Or, as Duke Ellington put it, "If it sounds good, then it IS good!"


--Mac

Peter,

I want to take Christmas Day 2010 to send a very special thanks to you and your entire staff. I am 68. I have performed country music and standards since 1970 and I am still at it, although most of my life was spent in the military - 25 years active duty. There were many years where I worked on duty during the day and sang at night. I am now retired. I started using BIAB when I could only use floppy disks. I now have 2010/RB and am starting for the first time to learn audio and real tracks. Your products and support are unequaled.

I can't adequately tell you what a wonderful thing it has been for me to have BIAB, PT, and now RB to make music behind my singing. I love to sing. I have sung with only a few bands. In the miltary I moved often. And even when in one place a long time band members have the inherent problems of being band members! So BIAB has allowed me to be a strictly single entertainer for over 30 years. Aside from family experiences, playing and singing with BIAB/midi files has been the very best experience of my life. BIAB has allowed me to share my passion with others - usually feeling their enjoyment and warmth for hours at a time. The quality of the background music has always really impressed people as it has gotten better and better over the years.

Moreover, in all the years of calling your staff for help I have always, ALWAYS, wihtout a single exception, received friendly, fast, professional help, advice and ideas. There is no other company I have dealt with in my whole life that I can say that about! Every call, every person I have talked to, has been great! You are a lucky person to have such a staff, but I am sure you know that. It even seems to have rubbed off on your forum regulars. They are usually of great assistance too.

So, thank you all. Merry Christmas to you all! And I wish you all long, and happy lives! I only wish I could look forward to another 68 years of growing with PG Music and benefiting from your knowledge and professionalism!

Scott

There are only two kinds of music (1) good music (2) music played for somebody else

lol...i know what you mean but isnt all music played for somebody else when you think about it?

anyway as far as midi is concerned i wouldn't characterise it as 'Un-Real' even if thats just a casual half-joking short-hand to distinguish it from 'Real tracks' . Not all that is 'Real' is necessarily good. And not all that is midi is 'Un-Real'. In fact with a bit of effort it could be made almost as 'real' as the real loops are. Real tracks have a head start not because they are played live by a real drummer or instrumentalist , becasue midi live drums do that too. The real difference is in the standard of midi capture and the playback.. low resolution fails to record nuances and makes bends and expression less convincing. ...then there's patterns of only two bars length allowable in the stylemaker(why)? Also the lack of multiple dedicated pattern chains....
In contrast you have 8 or 16 bars of uninterrupted drum playing and more realistic fills in real tracks. Its bound to be better! The fact is that any major concerted attempt to get midi up to that standard will take alot of work but also one suspects some of the appeal away from the real tracks (provided you have a very good sample set of course).

As for the customised chords bob mentions well i'm afraid to say that your main competitor is still way ahead of the game in that department. In fact BIAB plus Jammer Pro make a very formidable team in that regard, if you import BIAB's pattern database into Jammer that is. Personally i'd rather i didnt have to do that. One day I look forward to BIAB having its own custom chord generator, but i won't hold my breath beacuse there have been too many disappointments down the years for that. And besides I've worked out how to do this in BIAB ..the long way..the hard way. but hey it works!

Regards

Alan

<<<<<<<<Another point, there are some features that are both audio and MIDI not included in that list, such as RealCharts.
These give you the notation (MIDI) of the RealTracks (audio) performances.>>>>>>>>



Does this now work with all the RealTracks? or just some of them?

thanks
superkristen

You can tell easily which realtracks support notation, Kristen.

First, when selecting them from the RealTracks picker window, there is a column that shows whether or not the Chart is supported.

Second, after any RealTrack is loaded, just glance up at the Green RealTrack trackname. If it is underlined, Chart is supported. If it is fully underlined, then Chart and Guitar TAB is supported.


--Mac

Where is this picker window? i can't find it. all i get are the styles and what disk they're on.

thanks
kristen

>>>Where is this picker window?

This is the RealTracks Assign dialog (also called RealTracks Picker), and it can be launched by pressing the RealTracks button on the toolbar, or right clicking on a track (e.g. Bass) and choosing assign RealTracks.

"Real Tracks Picker"

--I might be showin' my hillbilly roots...

Actually, down heah in Suthin' Vah-jin-ya, its pronounced,

"Reeyal Trayax Pickuh"


--Mac