There are some 5/4 styles, but essentially they are a bar of 3/4 followed by a bar of 2/4 (or vica-versa).
I understand that BiaB does not have any support for more than 4 beats to the bar.
Search for 5/4 in the StylePicker, but I think you will have to enter as two bars for every one 5/4 bar:
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
I understand that BiaB does not have any support for more than 4 beats to the bar.
Interesting ... I think something has changed as I thought precisely that, but I tried it. BiaB seems to be playing 5/4, shows 5/4 in the time signature box, but shows 4/4 on the bar and when I go to editable notation, is also shows 4/4. It looks rather like there's at least partial support for less common time signatures. The notes are times on the 16th or 12th divisions of the bar, so editing any notation would be a challenge.
I'm still not going to try a song my wife wants to sing: "Light Flight". The verses are 5/4,5/4,2/4 and the chorus is 6/8.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
Other time signatures have been a long requested item, but have never eventuated.
I suspect the underlying code still only supports up to 4/4. While the styles 'sound' as 5/4, it is difficult to for me (as a classically trained musician) to read what is clearly a 4/4 time-signature notation and play it in 5/4.
And yes, mixing multiple time signatures could be challenging in BiaB. (Don't go near Dave Brubeck's: Blue Rondo à la Turk).
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
If you notice all of the MIDI 5/4 time signatures are from 2003 and nothing since then. IIRC back then all non 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures show up as 4/4 in notation. They sound right but display wrong.
Not having other time signatures makes BiaB useless when using it with other programs. The only way to use them in a DAW is to actually play your instrument(s) yourself. It is what it is
It takes courage for a man to admit his wife was wrong.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
(Don't go near Dave Brubeck's: Blue Rondo à la Turk).
I've always liked Gryphon's "Touch and Go", which sounds fairly simple but slightly strange (and enchanting). I think it's a 4/4 + 5/4 polymeter.
Sometimes it's perhaps best to just go with the feel :-)
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
Yeah. BIAB really comes up short when it comes to different time signatures.
Byron Dickens
BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency.
For time signatures higher than 4/4, each bar will be spread out over 2 or more bars. An example would be 5/4 will be written as 3/4+2/4. For 12/8 or 6/8, use a 4/4 with a style using a triplet feel (eg. Irish). For 9/8 use a waltz with a triplet feel.
For time signatures higher than 4/4, each bar will be spread out over 2 or more bars. An example would be 5/4 will be written as 3/4+2/4. For 12/8 or 6/8, use a 4/4 with a style using a triplet feel (eg. Irish). For 9/8 use a waltz with a triplet feel.
We hope this helps!
That is what I tried. The Realtracks do not like to play like that very nicely.
Last edited by berntd; 07/26/2203:51 PM.
Band in a Box Latest: ULTRA 2020 (734) on Win 10 And: MEGA 2020 (720) on Windows 7
That is what I tried. The Realtracks do not like to play like that very nicely.
Unfortunately, unless the program has native support for odd time-signatures like 5/4, 7/4 etc, the results are likely to be less than ideal.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
"Take 5" is also swung and I suspect BiaB doesn't handle that so well with the two bars technique.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11 BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software. Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts .
I've been playing around with Realband using 5/4 because in RB, it's possible to work with unusual time signatures. Unfortunately, there is a generating issue with Realtracks at the moment. I have advised Technical Support about this. It's not a difficult problem to work around since the RTs are only being generated a little early and it's easy enough to drag things into place in RB.
Anyway... to cut a long story short, what I discovered is that Waltz Realtracks are the best for generating a 5/4 feel that has the 1-2-3-1-2 kind of feel. So, if you've set your bars in a 3/4 + 2/4 arrangement, try a waltz Realtrack and see how that generates for you.
I'll upload a little songfile in a couple of hours so you can try it out.
That is an interesting observation I will give that a try. In the past I was not overly impressed by the Waltz selection. At that time I tried entering the Rock 'n Roll Waltz (Kay Starr).
Best regards Bernt
Band in a Box Latest: ULTRA 2020 (734) on Win 10 And: MEGA 2020 (720) on Windows 7
If you use a DAW it is easy to make 5/4 in most styles. I've never made a whole 5/4 song in BIAB (like "Take Five" or "Mission Impossible" Theme) but I sometimes add a beat or two to a bar in a few places, making an occasional 5/4 or 6/4 bar and it was never any problem stealing a beat from BIAB tracks and adding them to the bar. You just have to decide where the secondary stress should be (2+3 or 3+2) and put a stress or downbeat on either the 3rd or 4th beat of the modified bar. A 3/4 style becomes 5/4 by deleting every second 3rd beat to get a 3+2 "Take Five" feel. Adding a beat to end of a 4/4 style bar (copy ether the 2nd or 4th) will make a convincing 5/4 with a 2+3 stress.
Of course, this means you have to use a DAW and cut and paste the tracks from BIAB to the DAW before rendering, as BIAB cannot directly play these (it is not a DAW!)
Sometimes cutting and adding a beat will make a particular instrument sound unnatural and you may have to choose a beat from another location. Even easier, if you can afford it, is to have the Melodyne plugin in your DAW and just smooth out or change the notes in that one spot to make it natural.
Cutting or adding beats from a single style will always sound better than using two different BIAB styles because the instrumentation and sounds may not exactly match.
If you plan to use a DAW to make a continuous 5/4 song, I suggest using a DAW that has ripple-delete (or "ripple-edit) which means you can delete or add a beat and it automatically moves the rest of the track to match the cut (instead of having to drag the rest of the track backwards or forwards. I understand Reaper and Studio One do this quite well, and Cubase can do it but not as easily.
Great advice. Ripple edit is a nice feature in most DAWs but Band-in-a-Box can do the same thing in the audio editor. Highlight a section and you can drag to shorten or lengthen as needed. The fix sour notes feature in the audio editor might help weird sounding notes sound better.
As I said in another thread, RB just does it better (or more intuitive). They are two different tools and sometimes RB really excels.
Bass, one rhythm guitar, EP and drums (and probably other tracks) generated in 7/4 in this experiment from many years ago I thought the name I came up with was fun as it can be taken a couple ways, but for a musician it means something different .. count it .. 7/4
The image shows how tracks just line up and work in RB in odd times .. the ancient 5/4 styles in BiaB still do not work, as they try to squeeze the odd time into a standard 3/4 or 4/4 measure, but RB does the actual odd time changes as expected with other styles .. at least in my experience
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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.
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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