a maj7(#11) (R-3-5-7-#11). If you are going for a specific sound you can also spell it maj7(b5). In this case there would be no natural five, it would be a 4 note chord rather than an extension: (R-3-b5-7).
Try that and see if it plays and sounds ok.
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
It is not necessary to type upper or lower case. For example type c6 to get the C6 chord. You should never have to use the Shift key, as Band-in-a-Box® and PowerTracks will sort this out for you.
Any chord may be entered with an alternate root ("Slash Chord") e.g.: C7/E = C7 with E bass.
Separate chords with commas to enter 2 chords in a 2 beat cell, e.g., Dm,G7.
Use the letter "b" for a flat; e.g., Bb7
Use # or 3 for a sharp; e.g., F#7. The pound sign (#) is the uppercase symbol of 3, so you can actually type f37 to get F#7. Band-in-a-Box® and PowerTracks will sort out the case, saving you the effort of using Shift+3 to type the # symbol.
Tricky Chords:
C5b This is "C flat 5." It is spelled this way to avoid confusion.
C2, C5, C4, C69, C7alt, Cm7#5
Shortcut Chords:
If you enter a lot of songs, you'll appreciate these shortcut keys.
J = Maj7 H = m7b5 (H stands for Half diminished) D = dim S = Sus
Example: To type CMaj7 , just type cj (it will be entered as CMaj7).
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
Most chords don’t play correctly. Let’s be clear on this.
If PGmusic says BB “recognizes” chords, it’s incorrect and dishonest. Basically, Band in a box plays all the seventh chords and diminished. Beyond that (11ths, 9ths, even soms basis b9 stuff we play on a daily basis) it either doesn’t play it, or it depends on the instrument or real style. But mostly: BB knows no more than 8 chord types.
I did these videos 2 years ago. Peter Gannon PM’ed to discuss it. BB’s bass part follows the key of the song, not the chord type, is what I learned.
The conclusion must be: Band in a box can display a lot of chords, but can’t play them
Every serious investigation into MIDI and Real Tracks reveals that the harmony is poor inside band in a box.
Midi isn’t any better:
Last edited by Dzjang; 10/29/2204:25 AM.
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
Dzjang, I remember these videos well and applaud the effort you must have taken to make them. Your discovery about the bass note choices were alarming.
I think I asked questions two years ago, but I cannot remember the answers, so I'll ask again.
1) what is the key signature of the song for all those chords in the bass demonstration? I ask because you say Peter said it matters. Key of C major? 2) I understand the bass lines, but how did you make a piano part play what appears to be the bass line in a higher register, when no style would do that?
Just trying to understand fully. Thanks.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
Ya, I think most of us are now aware of this. Try this simple progression. What would you expect the bass player to do with this? Would he stay on A as the notation is attempting to indicate? Or would he dance around the Am scale? Would it depend on the style selected? Would it depend on the RT or Midi Bass selected? Give it a try.
Fact is, you have less control over this in BIAB than you may think. The conclusion will be, that when your ear becomes trained and your writing becomes specific, you are no longer "playing around" and its time to graduate. In the meantime, have fun. Just don't tell swingbaby.
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
Couldn't Biab create the notes "intelligently" by using the Playable RealTrack samples ??? and allow custom user chords ??
I tried adding the notes manually and it's sounded perfect using the RT sample set. Short of exporting to Reaper and using Melodyne or doing a deal with Celemony to include Melodyne within Biab internally, this works. Obviously RealTracks can't be recorded with all the chords listed above that Biab “recognizes”. How else would this forever recurring issue ever be solved ?
If Playable RealTracks were shown how they could work years n years ago but were only just implemented recently with users amazed that "PG" worked out how to do it as they didn't think it was possible. Will this be another example suggested here that too will be implemented years down the track ??
RapidCompser is adding the chord note to the phrase below and allows users chords to be added to the library.
See how other companies did that after it was suggested here, with their RealTrack instruments that have all the pre-recorded chord playing phrases but also lets you add notes, so you can drag export a phrases as midi, add notes to it to get the chords or solo you want.
"Virtual Guitarist SPARKLE 2 is your session specialist for chords, octaves and single note electric guitar riffs. A true team player that doesn’t hog the limelight, supporting your songs with just the right amount of swagger and style."
I tried exporting some midi bass from Biab and converting them into a phrase in RapidComposer to fit scale and chord notes, so there's no passing notes. With midi or RC in Biab it should be able to refit it to the notes you need and use in a good bass plugin. I'm not musical but if I were I would get more into it and try and work out a better way.
@Matt: key was C major. It’s the reason why people say their song sounds lydian all of a sudden. They have a song in Bb, but have accidentally left the key signature in F for easier reading or they forgot to change it.
But, you know why I don’t like the idea of key. I had a stand in bass player who didn’t know the changes to All the things you are. He asked what key it was in. A good time was had by all. (Not knowing the changes to ATTYA is no biggie, but we did have a great time laughing. It made for “great” variations on the theme: what key is Giant Steps in? And What key is the bridge to Have You Met Miss Jones in)
What is the key for a Kenny Wheeler tune, Wayne Shorter, Joshua Redman, Beatrice (Sam Rivers’ wonderful tune)? That is the reason I dislike the reasoning behind BiaB’s harmony.
In realtracks it is possible, but you would have to record every possible chord. And the results show that the bassline is often not in line with the piano or guitar. The harmony is all over the place in most styles.
Jjazzlab and Yamaha midi styles stick to the harmony better, but the way midi styles are organized in BiaB is better (random choice of 2 bar, 1 bar, half a bar… patterns). It offers a lot more variation. Three choruses of BiaB with all its’ harmonic shortcomings, still beats one chorus of repetitive Yamaha styles. (The same patterns repeat every four or eight bars in Yamaha styles)
Works for most pop and most standards, though.
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
Thanks for the reply reminding me of your reasoning. Yes, a lot of adventurous jazz tunes are written in C because it’s just too difficult to assign a key signature, or impractical and confusing to change it rapidly each new key center. So, you are correct that BIAB is at a disadvantage in such tunes because setting the key signature in BIAB does have effects. The irony is that BIAB was originally developed to enter tunes from jazz fakebooks.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
@Musocity What RC does is neat. Instead of using a zillion chords, they refer to the underlying chord scale. That limits the possibilities and you‘re left with diminished, wholetone, 7 church modes, 3 modes of harmonic minor and all the melodic minor modes. Less than 20 different possibilities. I strongly believe all music is limited to these 20 chords. Even Stevie Wonders’ most intricate substitutions are relatable to melodic minor, wholetone and diminished.
Jjazzlab uses the same idea and it makes for great harmony.
That would cover all music, save for Debussy and some obscure modern jazz.
Btw: in your examples you took chords from harmonic major. That’s really advanced. Most of us mostly use the major scale (melodic major, sometimes called), Harmonic Major is “out there”, like Neapolitan Major/minor. Weird stuff is about to happen if you use these scales.
I dig your suggestions, your posts make lots of sense, even the Melodyne idea. Like you say, I also think it will be possible in a few years time to take a rhythm section you love (say, the Miles Davis quintet in the 60’s) put in your own lead sheet and “they will play it”.
Another route is the one taken by Toontracks and others and go back to midi with all these great sounds you have nowadays. Have great players program patterns and there you go. The possibilities are endless, I think.
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 posted this for someone that didn't want approach notes. But this can be done intelligently by muting the RealBass note that's out on a chord and replacing with a PlayableRT sample note (Change Select Note to Playable) on the correct note with the green mute section marker notes that can be copied and pasted.
Also you have this but it converts the track into a wav file.
Fix "Sour" Notes
Out-of-tune notes in RealTracks will be auto corrected to match chord tones. This fixes notes that are outside of a desired chord or scale by pitch shifting them. For example, a G# will be pitch corrected down to a G if the current chord is CMaj7. This feature can be used for editing specific regions of an audio track, or it can be applied as a track setting that will automatically pitch correct RealTracks when they are generated.
For the Audio track, highlight the region you want to fix in the Audio Edit window, click on the [Edit] button, and select Fix “Sour” Notes from the menu. Then, when the dialog opens, select the rule to apply for the pitch correction.
For the RealTracks, right-click on the track radio button on the main screen, go to Track Settings - Auto Fix “Sour” Notes, and select the rule to apply for the automatic pitch correction. For example, if Song Chords is selected, a G# note played on a CMaj7 chord (C, E, G, B) will be pitch shifted to a G note. Choose Specific Parameters opens the dialog that describes each rule and allows you customize the rules.
Rules: The defines the rules for the pitch correction. You can see the description for each rule in the above area.
Process MIDI: If this option is enabled, any MIDI on the track will be processes as well. Notes within the selected region will be changed according to the chosen rule.
Sensitivity Level: Increasing the sensitivity level will cause weaker notes to be detected. Decreasing it will cause weaker notes to be ignored and unaffected by the pitch correction.
Transient Level: Increasing the transient level will make transients (e.g. beats like plucking sounds or drum hits) louder. Decreasing it will make transients quieter.
Smoothing ms: This is the length of time that notes will take to change in milliseconds. Increase this for instruments that sound better with slower bending between notes like vocals or pedal steel. Decrease for rigid sounding instruments like piano.
Pitch Correction: This will correct the tuning of notes. For example, a guitar might have one string out of tune, and notes played on that string will be pitch corrected.
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 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 and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 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 20 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.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 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.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 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 20 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.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 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.
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
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