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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 62
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 62 |
hello again...(been awhile)...
traditionally...(with me, that is)...the way in which I use B-i-a-B to compose, is to enter chord changes & a tempo...& pick a style. pretty mundane, I know.
but...what if I were to plug in a MIDI file of just one instrument...say, for example...a Bass line.
can B-i-a-B create a composition from a single instrument MIDI source, such as that ???
if so...how would one go about such a task ?
thanks,
doxology
Moon.Wav MusicMedia
ADK Quad Pro, w/ Intel Core i7 2600 CPU | 16 GB DDR3-1600 RAM | Win 7 Pro 64-Bit | Lynx Aurora8 ~ AES16 | PG Music Band-In-A-Box 2022 Audiophile [< 2012.5]
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
While BIAB can make chord changes to notes on the Melody track using the Chord Sub Wizard, I don't think it would do what you want.
Microsoft Songsmith can make entire chord progressions from your singing a melody, or whistling, you may want to look into that, it uses the BIAB engine and if you already own BIAB Songsmith can use any of the MIDI styles you already own as well as the handful of styles it comes with.
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,161
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,161 |
If you enter a Midi melody line from whatever source you can use the Reharmonist (see Icon consisting of 4, 8th notes and G7) feature to develop chord progressions and then you can add the appropriate style etc.
Lyn
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 235
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 235 |
Citaat:
Microsoft Songsmith can make entire chord progressions from your singing a melody, or whistling, you may want to look into that, it uses the BIAB engine and if you already own BIAB Songsmith can use any of the MIDI styles you already own as well as the handful of styles it comes with.
--Mac
Haha, I bet you didn't try it Mac. I saw this and got curious. I checked it and downloaded it. Start to play with it and wow!!! 
Really superwow even! So amazing! Amazingly bad! 
It is about the crappiest thing I have seen in music world, the battery charged electric piano's (small sized ones) they make for children from about 4 years sound even better, and not so much over the music it makes on its own, but more what it creates over vocals or guitar. Hahaha, it was so bad.  It almost inspires to create the worst song ever. I wonder if microsoft had in mind to find as much wrong chords to a tune as they could. In that case they certainly succeeded! 
But I guess every downside has a good sight too. They could give it and install it for all computerjunkies! They will run away screaming never to come back to their computers again! They might end up with a trauma or a phobic though... 
I'll be back...
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
Quote:
Haha, I bet you didn't try it Mac. I saw this and got curious. I checked it and downloaded it. Start to play with it and wow!!!
But I HAVE tried it.
It might take you more than one or two tries to get the thing to work well for you...
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 62
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 62 |
thanks all...
I think I'll stick w B-i-a-B, tho...I watched the songsmith video on utube & was horified at it's simplicity.
So...in B-i-a-B...it has to be a melody line, eh ???
I'll go to the help files & see what the steps/methods are. I think I'm going to try my MIDI Bass lines anyway & see what I can come up with (& then I'll report back).
thanks again,
dox
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 38,502 |
Pays not to view a single music making program as the only one at your disposal, dox.
For example, you might use the Songsmith program to generate chords to a sung melody, then export that as a MIDI file to be opened up in BIAB, type in the same chords there and continue working.
Of course, nothing can beat the study and learning of music theory and harmonization for this purpose, simply because of the fact that a single note line is not enough information in the first place. One can come up with many different chord changes that can work with a single note line, each set may have a completely different feel, taste or whatnot, plus each can be theoretically correct. That's where YOU come in...
--Mac
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,657
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,657 |
I played around with MS songsmith, and found it interesting, not great but interesting. I can see where one could get some basic ideas out of it with some practice. Sometimes we laugh this stuff off because it does not write a grammy winner for us with one pass, but i thing it could be a part of the tool box. Heck BiaB with all it's features is still only a starting point at times.
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB 2025, Realband, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 9 32c , Melodyne 5 editor, Presonus Audiobox 1818VSL, Presonus control app.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 235
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 235 |
Citaat:
Citaat:
Haha, I bet you didn't try it Mac. I saw this and got curious. I checked it and downloaded it. Start to play with it and wow!!!
But I HAVE tried it.
It might take you more than one or two tries to get the thing to work well for you...
--Mac
Whoops! Sorry about that then. 
Well maybe I need to do that Mac, I don't know, but the weird thing was: I even tried to make it very simple by singing one long note after the other and the result was all badly out of tune. Maybe I had to do something else with the few settings it has, something I missed? At first I doubted if maybe my voice was not constant enough or out of tune, so I tried the same with guitar, same result. Then I thought well, it cannot go wrong with the perfectly tuned keyboard, but alas again. If playing a melody as well as a single note per bar, it all ended up with a horrible out of tune structure and with very limited variation too. I did not expect a ready-to-be-a-millionseller-song of course, but I did not expect it to be that bad either. So yeah maybe you are right that I needed to give some time or explore the thing's settings, but well as sceptic as i was about it, i did not want to put that much time in it. Who knows, I might one time install it again, if I read more positive reactions about this tool from other users. I googled it and found quite some bad reactions too, so I did not really have that faith in it yet...
I'll be back...
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,122
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,122 |
I tried Songsmith for a few days, it worked okay, considering what it is meant to do. I didn't really see many errors, although the chord structure is very simple, but for a scratchpad device, export to midi, then open in BIB then work your magic with styles, real styles, the melodist, the soloist, etc. Even the roughest pebble can be polished with enough effort. It will never be a diamond, but smooth polished rock is prettier than a rough raw diamond.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 181
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 181 |
I agree with your "part of the tool box" view. Songsmith is a piece we (or at least I) did not have before, and it becomes one more thing that can help in certain initial aspects of the ultimate process we all undertake in our own ways. Even when viewed properly narrowly, it's a great deal for the money and a lot of fun. And my kids love it, and anything that increases their interest in and encourages them along the road of creating music is wonderful.
www.LawTunes.com: The LawTunes - The Musical Scales of Justice - Original Lawyer Rock & Roll www.SurfChords.com: The SurfChords - The Endless Summer Continues and The Wave Never Ends
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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.
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Video: New User Interface (GUI)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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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.
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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!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Video: XPro Styles PAK 10 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch 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!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 21.
Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch 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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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 60 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
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Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box setup—at a great price!
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