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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Nov 2014
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OP
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I have a number of nice gospel songs worked out but am not real satisfied with any of the bass guitar notes available. Could someone tell me, in a simple way but with all the details, how they can be changed to the exact notes that I would want to use?
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,598
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Expert
Joined: Nov 2005
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If you have a Midi bass track, you can use the piano roll: http://youtu.be/V97VYOeotmkIf you are using a Bass realtrack, what you want is impossible within BIAB. I recommend you exporting your track to an external DAW and edit it there (most modern DAWS have powerful note stretching and pitch shifting audio tools these days)
Last edited by Cerio; 11/29/14 10:39 AM.
Latest BIAB version, latest build.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
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Or open the file in Realband which has a fine Pitch Shift feature and still handles the BiaB generation features.
Highlight the note
Right-click -> Time Stretch and Pitch Shift
Enter the relevant transposition to the desired note (up a whole step would equal transposing up 2 half steps, up a third would equal 3 or 4 half steps depending on minor or major third).
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Or when you enter your chord, use a slash to enter the bass note you want. i.e.: C/G, C/E. 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.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2011
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If you're using a midi generated bass track, you can edit midi either using the piano roll or notation views.
If you're using Realtracks, freeze all instruments EXCEPT the bass instrument. Then you can write slash chords in the chordsheet view. You can write a slash chord for each quarter note in a bar or measure. Slash chords tells the bass instrument to play the note to the right of the slash.
For instance if the chord is "C" and you want the bass to decrease by one note for each quarter note in a 4/4 bar you would write C/C,C/Cb C/B, C/Bb. Note the commas as they separate the odd numbered beats from the even numbered beats. The slashes instruct the bass track to play C, Cb, B & Bb on beats 1, 2, 3 & 4 of the measure.
Now click on the "regenerate and play" icon. The bass instrument will follow the instructions. The rest of the instruments are frozen so they shouldn't change.
Using slash chords you should be able to get the bass instrument to play a specific note at any beat of any bar. What you can't easily do is tell the bass to transpose an octave. Remember, with RealTracks you are not using samples but are using one, two, four or eight bar audio file splices.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2011
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Expert
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VisualVox VST would work great if there was not that PG VST problem where it just gets stuck and loops the first bar.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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If you're a keyboardist and don't need another chord instrument, you can enter whatever note you want for the bass. C,B A,G for a walkdown on a C chord. C,B Bb,A for a Cmin chord walkdown. C,C# D,E | F for a walkup to an F chord. 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.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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OP
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Yes, I am a keyboardist, but I don't understand how to get notes from the keyboard to BIAB. It's a MIDI keyboard and has good bass sounds that I would be happy to use.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
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Zeke,
You have mentioned two totally different scenarios.
BiaB is playing notes you'd like to change
VS
Using your MIDI keyboard synth for bass sound
This is the classic Audio vs MIDI ..
Clarify the first (highest) priority;
do you want to hear your MIDI keyboard synth play the existing bass notes
or
do you want to change the notes that you hear the current bass playing in BiaB
or
both?
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 22
Enthusiast
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OP
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I would rather add or replace the existing notes.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,539
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Jim, Cerio, raymb1 and myself have posted suggested ideas.
Have you tried any of these?
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 22
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OP
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I'm so sorry. I really appreciate the help you've all given me. I know I'm real green at this, but the only thing that's worked so far, for me, is entering the chord with the bass note (C/G etc). I don't have an external DAW or even know what that is. As hard as I tried I can't even figure out how to switch to RealBand yet. It's not that I'm not trying; I read the related material in the pdf manual and watched all the related videos. I just can't seem to "connect the dots" yet. I'm a mess! But what I lack in brains, I make up for in
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 22,539
Veteran
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Veteran
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Entering the chords with the bass like that is a good way to git 'er done.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
Make your sound your own!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,010
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Zeke,
Just keep asking questions and we'll keep coming up with answers. I understand what you mean about RealBand not making sense.
There are days when RealBand or Band-in-a-Box don't work for me. Most of the time it's just one or the other so I can still get things done.
Both programs are like photography, easy to start but a lot of depth. It's actually pretty easy to put a song together and get it 85% of the way you want it. But the other 15% takes a lot of digging, expermentation and learning.
There are many experienced users on this forum that enjoy helping. There are normally multiple ways to approach an issue. Most of the time somebody will come up with an answer that makes sense to you. When that happens, and the lightbulb goes off, it makes everyones day brighter.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Zeke, don't give up but if you don't know what a DAW is then you have a lot of reading and playing to do. DAW = Digital Audio Workstation. What we're talking about here is Digital Audio and how to work with it.
I can't stress enough for a noob like yourself you MUST learn Real Band at the same time you're learning Biab. Spend an hour with one then an hour with the other.
Bob's mantra: "Audio is not midi, midi is not audio, ommmmmm". Learn that and understand it.
Here's a start. Take your keyboard for example. When you listen to it using the 1/4" audio outs to an amp, that's audio. When you have it hooked up to your computer using midi cables you're sending midi information NOT audio information to your computer. That's midi.
But, and here's the confusing part in order to hear what the midi information is doing you can use any midi synth you want either software or hardware. It doesn't have to be your keyboard playing it back. All you did was use your keyboard to enter the midi info. But if you want to hear your keyboard play back the midi info you still need the keyboard's audio outs connected to your studio monitors. Audio vs midi.
Bob
Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 463
Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Posts: 463 |
Zeke,
As Jim stated earlier:
If you have a midi bass line and want to change some notes, you can make the changes in notation mode and then freeze the track.
I have also copied the bass track to the melody track, made the changes, copy back to the bass track and then freeze it.
Percy
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