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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 34
Enthusiast
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OP
Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 34 |
Thank you marty c.
Hey,great to hear from somebody like me! No offence to all you experts, I really do appreciate that you share all that experience & knowledge. I'm being educated but I have to digest it slowly. Not having a bunch of studio equipment, I will for now, I think, continue to mix in a garage or a large room similar to where I will be gigging, with the exact same amp & speakers I do the mix with. These are small places that typically hold anywhere from 15 to 40 people. My next one will be at an elder care facility that cares for people with mild to severe dementia & memory loss. We will be taking a "Sentimental Journey" with sweet old songs from the 20's,30's 40's. My goal is to maybe trigger a memory, encourage, entertain & inspire. I have another one in the works at a homeless shelter in Green Bay Wi. That one will be a little harder to mix, as it is in a small gymnasium that was a former Catholic school. There is a small church not far from where I live that is about the same size space wise & they give permission for me to set up in there & mix the songs I plan on doing. I'm going to try that. There are ways, I believe, to do these things that are not complicated or high tech. Oh I know that the sound engineers would find something not right, and I don't disrespect them, but I'm not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. People tell me that I have a sweet voice. I put emotion into my singing & I sing from my heart. BB has helped me add a dimension to my singing that I just didn't have with only my guitar & mic. It has been though, for me, a pretty steep learning curve.
Thanks to all of you,
Russ66
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5,139
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5,139 |
"... I will for now, I think, continue to mix in a garage or a large room similar to where I will be gigging, with the exact same amp & speakers I do the mix with."
Russ,
That was my main point - to get a good sounding mix on your amp and speakers. You should do just fine.
"My next one will be at an elder care facility that cares for people with mild to severe dementia & memory loss. We will be taking a "Sentimental Journey" with sweet old songs from the 20's,30's 40's. My goal is to maybe trigger a memory, encourage, entertain & inspire."
Good on you for volunteering your time to such a worthy endeavor. Nothing triggers memories like music. Best of luck!
Regards,
Bob
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,726
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,726 |
I can not add much to that except to share my experiences. I work in a business that has me in nursing homes from time to time to install and support security systems.
I have been there more than one time when there was a special musical guest performing. The important thing there is not so much the mix or the quality of the sound, it is quite simply, the songs. That trip down memory lane you spoke of. Music is powerful beyond our understanding, to trigger memories thought long forgotten.
Bringing a bit of joy to the lives of the residents and staff is the only thing that really matters. I've seen everything from church groups performing without instruments leading singing from an old Baptist hymnal, to using the badly out of tune piano in the dining room, to guys who come in with nice computer driven setups and cool speakers..... they all get great audience reaction and are appreciated. After all, those folks are lonely and appreciate the time people are willing to spend with them.
A huge KUDO's to you for doing that.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd 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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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 483
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 483 |
I also use BIAB as backing for live performances, usually senior centers and retirement communities.
I play tenor and sing. I use bass, piano or guitar(alternating choruses) and drums. Occasionally I insert a melody as a backing for my playing or singing. So far I think my description of what I do is in line with the the general discussion of this topic. I use a Fender Passport to do the mix at my home and also use it live at the venue.
This is what I think I do differently and has not heard mentioned. I pan the bass hard left, guitar/piano hard right and drums/melody center.
The Passport has RCA stereo inputs so the left and right channel volume, fx, bass/treble levels can be controlled to suit the room.
Last week two days in a row I performed in two entirely different rooms. My first song is a background selection that I use to evaluate the sound characteristics of the room and make the needed adjustments.
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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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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
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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
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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!
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Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
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