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Quote:
One point that may have been overlooked in my first posting is I create cover songs most of the time

Now that this was said I'll add my way. I ONLY play live. No interest in making CDs to listen to.
Many years ago I started this and have gone through many evolutions BUT because I was approaching this as I one -man-band I wanted to be unique so i took this approach.
1. I do not try and copy cover songs verbatim. I stay true to the chord progression, lyrics and melody.
2. I have settled on a Band Lineup of players. Like a real band.
3. The arrangements are for my band.
What I end up with is a band with there own consistent sound doing their own arrangements.It makes for a much more believable One man show.Less Karaoke sounding in my opinion.Because I end up not sounding exactly like the record when I'm asked, " were do you get your songs"? and I say "well I do all the arrangements myself, I play the live parts, I play some of the recorded parts and friends/non friends play the other parts",it's believable and is the truth.


John
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John, for covers, I like that technique too. You're unlikely to sound exactly the same as the original artist, so don't try to do that. Make it your version.

I actually like rharv's signature "Make your sound your own!"


BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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For covers, close is good enough in most cases. Every band I've ever been in, most of which were cover bands, none of them every played a song note for note like the artist.

The old adage of "Make it your own" holds true.

In this case, BB/RB will get you there in fine fashion. I've used it to recreate a few covers through the years and they came out amazingly close to the originals... with my twist and signature on them.


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Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
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The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Originally Posted By: MarioD
Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker
Working with BB/RB, currently there is no way for you to have it create exactly what you hear in your head,


I will respectfully disagree. You can get BiaB and RB to create exactly what you hear in your head using MIDI.

The main point that I am trying to make is do not limit yourself to just RTs or MIDI. Both have strengths and weaknesses. They are tools you already have so why not use both?



I should have been clearer in stating that. I'm not talking about song ideas when I said that. I have yet to have a song idea that was undo-able in BB/RB. BB/RB is the best work sheet for my writing ever.

What I specifically meant is that I have not found a way (perhaps there is a way that I don't know of yet, although I've had that conversation in the past with several folks) to have a real track play a specific melody line for a song.

Yes I know I can use midi to trigger a synth with some sweet samples and get that melody line I want, but doing it using real tracks and the sound samples real tracks use.... nope, I have not found that workaround yet.

That said, I can often find useful parts in the real tracks. Some that are simply amazing in what they play and I'm able to work them in well to the overall vision for the song.

hope that clarifies it a bit.


You can find my music at:
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Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
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Thanx Herb for clarifying that. I misunderstood what you were trying to say.

I agree that you can not get RTs to play note for note what you want. But if it could I think it would be just like MIDI, that is notes with no expression. RTs have great expression and nuances in them whereas with MIDI you have to emulate them yourself. Just my thoughts here.


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Originally Posted By: MarioD
Thanx Herb for clarifying that. I misunderstood what you were trying to say.

I agree that you can not get RTs to play note for note what you want. But if it could I think it would be just like MIDI, that is notes with no expression. RTs have great expression and nuances in them whereas with MIDI you have to emulate them yourself. Just my thoughts here.





and there you go.... that would be the magic that RT would need to incorporate..... even if the processing took longer..... it would look at the midi track and with it's black box algorithms, determine the articulations based on note pattern, style, and player...... and produce a track..... I'll bet that's being worked on in the deepest darkest recesses of the PG music labs programming dept...


You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker

and there you go.... that would be the magic that RT would need to incorporate..... even if the processing took longer..... it would look at the midi track and with it's black box algorithms, determine the articulations based on note pattern, style, and player...... and produce a track..... I'll bet that's being worked on in the deepest darkest recesses of the PG music labs programming dept...


That would be ideal wouldn’t it! You could play your part, have the RT generate a part and both would be the identical sound. That would be a huge improvement if they could pull it off.


I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.

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I think it's only a matter of time....


You can find my music at:
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Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker
I think it's only a matter of time....


I sure hope so! That would be neat!


BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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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.

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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.

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You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!

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  • 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
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Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!

Video: New User Interface (GUI)

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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 10 – Now Available for Windows Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher!

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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.

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Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!

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