|
Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,600
Veteran
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,600 |
Progression helper I would like to see BIAB add a function to be able to audition potential chord progressions and then pick and choose chords to taste. There are several tools that allow this but it would be great to see it built into BIAB. Suggested capabilities: 1. Circle of 5th 2. Chords maps 3. Potential next chords for (intro ,verse, chorus, bridge etc) 4. Potential chords for a given melodic input (MIDI) by measure I know that BIAB has a lot of similar things like the ability to figure out chords from audio files, and generating random chord progressions via melody maker, but I just am not aware of a tool that pulls songwriter chord /harmony options together in a pallet to pick and choose from of to suggest chords for a given melody. Here are a few examples: 
Studio One (latest version), Win 11 23H2 , i9 -10940X 3.3 GHz, 32GB Mem, a 4K 40" monitor, PreSonus Studio Live III Console as interface/controller. secondarily test on Reaper, Cakewalk, and S1 on Surface Pro 3 Win 10 (latest versions).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,600
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,600 |
I would appreciate any feedback on this idea. Would this be useful for Singer/Songwriters who are using BIAB to write music?
- The chart on the left dynamically shows next chords by color schemes.
- The table on the bottom show progressions (statistically gather form 1000 of songs) by song part.
- The Chart on the right shows the flow of typical chords changes via arrows.
- All three audition the chords when clicked.
They can be used to build better and more complex progression very quickly. Thanks in advance
Studio One (latest version), Win 11 23H2 , i9 -10940X 3.3 GHz, 32GB Mem, a 4K 40" monitor, PreSonus Studio Live III Console as interface/controller. secondarily test on Reaper, Cakewalk, and S1 on Surface Pro 3 Win 10 (latest versions).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,869
Expert
|
|
Expert
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,869 |
Some form of chord sequence library could be vuseful - e.g. 2'5'1s 1'4'5' , cycles, with user definable key and lenght of sequence (ie. two to a bar one to bar).
Win 11 64, Asus Rog Strix z390 mobo, 64 gig RAM, 8700k
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,600
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,600 |
Yes the key must be defineable.
These tools are usually there to help in the full progression writing process.
So for example a typical 1, 4, 5 ( and then what for the pre chorus?) well let’s try a ii,V,iii,IV progression or perhaps to find a chord that goes well with the melody line. (There might be 6 alternative chords that contain the melody movement)
They are very helpful for guitar players or less formally trained musician that relay on their ears. (Like me)
Studio One (latest version), Win 11 23H2 , i9 -10940X 3.3 GHz, 32GB Mem, a 4K 40" monitor, PreSonus Studio Live III Console as interface/controller. secondarily test on Reaper, Cakewalk, and S1 on Surface Pro 3 Win 10 (latest versions).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
I see this kind of like asking BIAB to be a teacher of music theory. I mean, the 4th is the 4th note of a scale in every circumstance, so I never even refer to a chord wheel. It's just not that hard to count D-E-F#-G to get to the 4th in a song written in D.
Remember, when you are writing, it's your song and you can take your song anywhere you want to that sounds right to you. I mean, intro, verse, bridge, chorus, half verse, bridge, chorus, solo, break, chorus... why be boring and cliche if you don't have to? Start with a chorus if you want. One of my songs starts with a bridge in a minor key! Just because I can.
Sit at the keyboard and play every chord in every progression and see what sounds right to you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 886
Expert
|
|
Expert
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 886 |
HERE is a free program that will generate lot's of fun chord progressions....... 
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 3,926 |
It's an interesting suggestion and could probably be done. Perhaps I don't fully understand the OP's needs, but I am not sure what benefit would be received.
I would suggest taking a basic course in music theory at a local college or music institute. (I recommend this as opposed to buying a book. In a class you can ask questions and hear the teachings used by a skilled musician.) IMO this would give a better understanding of musical structure overall and let the student/user pick apart their own or others' compositions in order to better apply these principles to BIAB and to his or her instrument. Besides, it's fun, if you're kinda geeky about it, and you get to pick other people's brains.
HTH,
Richard
"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Richard gets a "bravo". Being an old school guy, I believe KNOWING music is the framework for PLAYING music. Learn how notes relate to each other. Learn that no matter what note you start on, a major scale is whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. More important, learn what a STEP is. Once you know how to look at a keyboard or guitar neck and know how to form a scale, you will never need a chord wheel again. The "Circle of 5ths" and "Counter clockwise circle of 4ths" will be ingrained.
Chord relationships come from practice and experimentation. You can sit and crank out status quo songs or you can experiment and play with chord progressions that are not "standard". If you are in C, standard composing sends you next to Dm, Am, F, G.... why not take it to Ab? Or F#?
Remember, songs are nothing more than stories set to music. You are telling the story. You can tell your story any way you want to. It all starts with fundamentals. An 8 week music theory class will open doors for you that will remain locked if you try to figure it out yourself. You will eventually figure it our yourself, but having a teacher there to answer questions will help a lot. I don't know how old you are, where you are and what your life is like so finding classes at a time you can attend them may be an issue, but for 8-ish weeks or so of sacrifice, you will get a foundation of knowledge that has value you can not put a price on. I was fortunate to have done all of this at age 5. I sat for 6 weeks before I was allowed to touch an instrument and took music lessons on a blackboard. And years later, had the man who taught me not been long since dead, I would have liked to find him and thank him. Seriously consider this. It will help you more than you know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,608
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,608 |
+1 Ryszard and Eddie. There seems to more and more users here on the forum who don't have even a basic knowledge of musical theory and they want BIAB to do everything for them. It shouldn't work that way. Later, Ray
Asus Q500A i7 Win 10 64 bit 8GB ram 750 HD 15.5" touch screen, BIAB 2017, Casio PX 5s, Xw P1, Center Point Stereo SS V3 and EWI 4000s.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
Ray, that exact concept gets me into ALL kind of trouble in our local music community. I express this theory that there is a difference between someone who can play an instrument and a musician. I believe if I sit a chimp down in a room with a piano eventually he will play a song. The chimp, however, doesn't KNOW he played a song. He just did the same motion over and over and over and over until it became routine for him. The "musician chimp" knows why he pressed the keys in that specific order.
And SO MANY PEOPLE go off about that. Interestingly, the ones who go off don't know chord structures.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,600
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 4,600 |
Thanks for the input.
Although I have been using BIAB for about 10 years, and have written many songs without such a tool, this is my first post of the forum. I have many feature request ideas and just thought I would test the water with this one.
It was by no means a suggestion for replacement of formal music theory training nor should it paint someone in a” same old same old” music box. (in my experience they help to paint outside the box)
I am sure no one needs to be reminded that BIAB already has a chord recognition tool to help people to find the name of a chord that is being played. It already has chord generation options in the Melodist tool; it already has Chord solo generator tools, chord builder tools, harmony generator tools and chord substitution tools.
My examples were from SongFrame, Harmony Navigator, ChordMaps.com so there is a real market for such tools. This just seemed like a feature that might be useful for certain types of customers.
Again thanks
Studio One (latest version), Win 11 23H2 , i9 -10940X 3.3 GHz, 32GB Mem, a 4K 40" monitor, PreSonus Studio Live III Console as interface/controller. secondarily test on Reaper, Cakewalk, and S1 on Surface Pro 3 Win 10 (latest versions).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,869
Expert
|
|
Expert
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,869 |
I learnt to improvise Jazz by playing exercises from pattern books - I suppose this would be an equivelent to this. I dont think many of us remember every chord sequence without reference to something, leadsheet or otherwise. I would use a BIAB chord sequence library for exploring and practice. Finding this a useful teeaching tool doesn't mean you have to ignore other learning roots, lets not be too hasty here 
Win 11 64, Asus Rog Strix z390 mobo, 64 gig RAM, 8700k
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 886
Expert
|
|
Expert
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 886 |
Quote:
It was by no means a suggestion for replacement of formal music theory training nor should it paint someone in a” same old same old” music box. (in my experience they help to paint outside the box)
Agree....
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 4,026
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 4,026 |
Have you checked out chord substitution feature in chord settings ? It looks at your choice and gives it's opinion . Right click any bar >chord setting >chord subs ,looks ahead a few bars too . Has anyone ever made a really awful progression and auto-generated a name and gotten a snide remark for a name ? Try it and see ! Might be a funny post !
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box Wishlist
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 886
Expert
|
|
Expert
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 886 |
i5 3.20GHz, 32gb RAM, 1tb SSD OS, 12tb HDD, 4gb gForce vid card, 32" monitor, Audient id44, Win10 x64, BiaB/RB 2023, Reaper 6,IK Multimedia Total Studio 3.5 MAX, Waves 10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 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 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums57
Topics85,796
Posts796,275
Members39,959
| |
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean