The chord entry system is the first thing you work with, and where you spend much time. Now, if you make a mistake typing a chord in the Chordsheet, nothing happens. This can be especially puzzling because BIAB has a few cases where special syntax is required. We often see posts in the forum by new users asking, "How can I enter this chord that is in the fakebook chart I have" etc.
To enter a chord, I would like BIAB to behave more like, say, Microsoft Word and your Internet browser. It could flag a chord that is typed incorrectly or especially a chord type that is not supported, and put you into a smart edit mode, rather than have the full entry just disappear. BIAB should allow you to see and fix the chord rather than just expect you to retype it and hope you got it right. It might function like my iPhone, with artificial intelligence suggestions for chords as I type (again, this would need to be optional, like turning off autocorrect on your smartphone that some people hate).
Here are some examples of how I think this new chord editor window might work:
As I type FMa it underlines in red as incomplete syntax, and presents F, FMaj7, FMaj9, FMaj9#11 etc. for me to click on.
If I type FBaj7 and press Enter, the chord underlines in red, giving me an opportunity to edit the error. BIAB could say, "Chord type not supported" and even give me some suggestions I could click on to fix the entry. It should recognize that maybe I was intending to type FMaj7.
Or as another example, I type FMaj7#11 and press Enter. It would underline in red, say the chord is constructed correctly but is a chord type not supported by BIAB. It would not only suggest FMaj9#11, but also put up a green message about how I could consider creating a chord shortcut that would make this replacement automatic in the future. Optimally, it would offer to create that shortcut for me.
Suppose I type HMaj7. The new BIAB chord edit window flags it, recognizes the error, and presents a list of the twelve tones I might have meant, even using the key signature in place at that cell to present the proper enharmonic spelling (A# rather than Bb, say).
Again, this system should be optional. It should assist new users, but more advanced users may wish to turn it off and have the program behave as it does now, and type using only the cell in the Chordsheet.
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Matt Thanks for going into such tremendous detail describing a feature that once it has been mentioned, it is so obviously missing from the current product.
This is a great idea, and would save me the countless number of times I have to launch Help and then searching for what Chord spellings are available. I type in 'Chord Types' in the words to search for. I get a list of 164 options to search through. No, it's not under 'Chord Sheet', it's not under 'Typing in Chords', eventually I find it under 'Chord List', the Help ranking place is 15.
Your idea would save all of that, make the program more intuitive, help others to see possible variations in an instant and more.
Yes please. +1000
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"I get a list of 164 options to search through. No, it's not under 'Chord Sheet', it's not under 'Typing in Chords', eventually I find it under 'Chord List', the Help ranking place is 15."
For years I've been so frustrated that I no longer use it, it HAS to be re-written.
For a while now I've been taking snippets of the comments here, give it a proper title/description and keep it in a special email folder -- that's my help system.
DE
Win 10, 64 bit, love my Lenovo T420, BIAB 2019 (613), RB 2019 (2)
I like your idea, Matt, but might want to avoid using Hmaj7 as an example, since in some European countries, H = B. My Norwegian mother, when teaching me piano, would tell me to play an H and I didn't know what she was talking about (because the method book I was playing from used ABCDEFG). I believe that they call B-flat a B, B-natural an H, and also call flats in general "b's".
I don't know if the German (or another European) version of BIAB supports H's or not, but just something to consider.
Last edited by jford; 04/29/1504:48 AM.
John
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Wow John. I've never encountered that. I surely don't want any Europeans confused. I trust the PG Music Canadians will follow my drift, and you have nicely cleared it up for Europeans in any case. I won't edit my post, because then your comment wouldn't make any sense.
Thanks. That was interesting and fun!
Just for curiosity, are you saying there are other music programs that have to adopt the convention you described when making versions for these other languages? That's a serious amount of coding change. This question, as you may have guessed, is posed by someone who has not been to Europe. And yes, I wonder about BIAB whether it supports what you are saying in those versions for other countries, or are those users forced to learn 'our' nomenclature?
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"I get a list of 164 options to search through. No, it's not under 'Chord Sheet', it's not under 'Typing in Chords', eventually I find it under 'Chord List', the Help ranking place is 15."
For years I've been so frustrated that I no longer use it, it HAS to be re-written.
For a while now I've been taking snippets of the comments here, give it a proper title/description and keep it in a special email folder -- that's my help system.
DE
That's great DE, but the O/P's thread creates as idea would avoid using the help. So I wonder do you support the idea? Best Trev
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Ya, it is funny when you start talking about this that you realize how goofy it has been for so long. After awhile you just tend to accept these things.
I notice John mentioned about H and B. I came across this in my early days of playing Bach. He wrote in H moll which translates as B minor. He also wrote in B dur which translates as Bb major. That was when I learnt that in German use, B = Bb and H = B.
Interesting how the music has developed Noel, so amazingly different from what we assume is 'standard' today.
I think the O/P's idea would be a great innovation, and at the same time creates an 'instant' learning tool for those who are not familiar with Chord structures. Learn on-the-job, so to speak.
It would be fantastic to see such an implementation.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Professional & Windows 11, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
It would be great to be able to construct a chord and not be hindered by this program. Major altered chords are very limited. Also the entry window needs to be MUCH LARGER.
As a brand new user...less that two weeks... the first thing I tried to do was enter chords.
When I entered something BIAB did not understand and just displayed a blank it took me a bit of messing around to understand what the program was trying to tell me. Like hey dummy what is wrong with you???...lol It would have been helpful if a window popped up with a list of chord syntax rather than returning a blank.
Many things seem hard when one does not understand how something works. Having a program display nothing is sort of like the old C: in DOS..lol...not much information there.
The good news is that most chords were typed in just like you would write then. c c7 c7b5 c7b5#9 caug cdim c7b5/e.
I guess no one likes uncommanded action that produce results that are unexpected.
Actually I have no complaints so far...well...there is that analog to midi wish, but that has been on my wish list long before BIAB.
I guess every new feature is a balance between code cost and increased sales, and happy users.
A happy user,
Billy
PS...anything can be improved and if Matt says something should be changed that is good enough for me.
Last edited by Planobilly; 07/19/1510:02 AM.
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
Thanks for the great comments, everyone. I am especially pleased to read the reaction by Billy, our newcomer, who experienced some of what I could only imagine.
Oh, and Billy, about this:
Originally Posted By: Planobilly
if Matt says something should be changed that is good enough for me.
I would also like World Peace...
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