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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 238
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OP
Apprentice
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 238 |
I'd like to understand how styles are made in BIAB... I've read some of the tutorials but it all sounds Greek to me (no pun intended). Is making styles an easy thing or is it diffucult/impossible? And what's the best thing to do to learn how to do it? Obviously people like Norton are doing it... Do they have something special or they are just persistent? Not that I want to go into heavy-duty style making, but I am curious kind of guy and I'd like to learn as much as possible....
Any help is welcome...
2008 Gibson ES-339 Custom & 2010 Les Paul Traditional. Fender SCXD Amp
BIAB/RB 2015 UltraPAK + Ketron SD2
Windows 7/64 Intel i5 3550 PC, Tascam USB144MKII
Behringer X1204 Mixer
Bose Companion 3 and/or L1 II w/T1 + SM58 MIC
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,495
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,495 |
Hi, Try the link below and scroll about 7/8ths of the way down the window. There's a collection of "How to" videos available. A couple of these are on how to make styles. They might help. http://www.pgmusic.com/videos.bbwin.htmRegards, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,736
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 3,736 |
What type of styles are you trying to create?
How much do you know about music theory?
Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit M4 pro Mac mini 1tb HD 24GB mem casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface
casio wk-7500
biab & realband 2025 everything pk both with Current builds
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 238
Apprentice
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OP
Apprentice
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 238 |
Nothing in particular, pghboemike. Just trying to satisfy my curiosity... I am really a beginer when it comes to music theory, but I am trying to learn as much as I can -- mostly self-teaching. I watched the video tutorials as well, and I re-read some of the tutorials... I am getting a better idea, but it seems one needs to know what defines a style first and then go about making one in BIAB... I am probably not ready yet.
2008 Gibson ES-339 Custom & 2010 Les Paul Traditional. Fender SCXD Amp
BIAB/RB 2015 UltraPAK + Ketron SD2
Windows 7/64 Intel i5 3550 PC, Tascam USB144MKII
Behringer X1204 Mixer
Bose Companion 3 and/or L1 II w/T1 + SM58 MIC
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,840
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,840 |
Have you tried loading an already existing style into the stylemaker and taken a look at the individual parts?
Or, tried the style wizard to create a style from a MIDI file and looked at the results in Stylemaker?
After doing that, what I would do is to think about a song you like a lot and then build a style based on that song. Does the drumset go boom-chicka-boom, chicka-boom, chicka-boom, or maybe it just goes boom-click, boom-splash, boom-chick, boom-crash. Well don't worry about making the next big style, just try to enter the MIDI notes that get that sound. Then think about what happens in the B section - maybe it's nothing more than hitting the same thing a little harder.
Then, figure out what the guitar is supposed to do. There are guitar macros you can use to easily get down-up strums in a style based on the rhythm you specify - it's documented in the user guide. Just enter some of those macro notes to get a chinga-linga-ling-ling feel.
Maybe the piano part just does arpgeggios. So, enter some arpeggios. If I recall correctly, style entry must be based on the C7 chord, so your arpeggio might go C-E-G-E-C or E-G-Bb-C-E, or whatever you want.
Save all that and then create a chord program and select your style (unless you saved it in the BIAB folder and rebuilt the style list, you may have to load style from disk to select it).
But just play with it and see what you get.
I'm sure as Notes will tell you, it's a lot of work, but once you get the hang of it, it will get easier.
Again, I would start by looking at what's already there. Learn about the weights (which determine which patterns play the most), and especially a weight of 9, which has special meaning (all documented in the user guide).
Don't know if that helped any; good luck!
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,494
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,494 |
It is a lot of work, there is a learning curve, but it is a lot of fun too. It will teach you a lot about arranging. It can also open your ears when listening to music. Just what is the _______ doing in that song? How does it contrast/complement what the other instruments are doing? How do they add up to get the total expression of the song? Is the song square and robotic, or does it 'breathe'? The more you make styles, the more you listen, and the more you understand.
Start with something simple, that you are familiar with.
Personally, I bought computer music software to play with, so playing with it is time consuming, and I guess you would call it work, but really, if you enjoy doing it, and if you enjoy watching your progress, and if you enjoy making something musical that sounds good, it's interesting.
I start by playing the parts into a MIDI sequencer, so I get real live feel to them, and then import snippets into the StyleMaker app and assigning the appropriate masks one at a time.
The better you get at this, the better the style will be. A knowledge of basic music theory and music arranging is a big help. There are plenty of books and web pages that can help with those subjects.
Good luck.
And if you come up with a disk full of styles that are good enough to sell, let me know. I sell BiaB products from myself, Roy Hawkesford, David Bailey, Jim Wedd and Sherry Mayrent.
Notes
Last edited by Notes Norton; 03/05/12 02:06 PM.
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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