Hi Robb,

If you are given the value of a dotted quarter note = 96, this most likely means the song is in a compound time signature (6/8, 9/8, 12/8); BIAB bases everything on a 4/4 template and massages that to create styles that sound 6/8, 3/4, etc.

Any metronome marking (MM) given for songs that have a quarter note as the base use, translate directly into BIAB: i.e. MM = BPM.

A dotted quarter note = 96 means that 96 dotted quarter notes are played in one minute; this is equal to 96 x 3 = 288 eighth notes in one minute; and this, in turn, equals 144 quarter notes in one minute. Therefore dotted quarter note = 96 is the same tempo as quarter note = 144. Seeing that BIAB bases styles on 4/4 (as mentioned above), putting the tempo to 144 is where I'd start. As I haven't tried this, I do not know how successful it will be. Using your ear to determine if the tempo will be the best solution as it's not always possible to easily equate compound time signatures (where the dotted quarter note is the base unit) to simple time signatures (where the quarter note is the base unit).

For the waltz, if the time signature is 3/4, this means that the quarter note is the fundamental unit (and not the dotted quarter note as above). Thus simply use the tempo given in BIAB.

Hope this gives you some food for thought,
Noel

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