PG Music Home Forums PG Music Wishlists Band-in-a-Box Wishlist Band-in-a-Box GUI Suggestions

++ Another thread ++ started a nice discussion about how Band-in-a-Box's graphical interface needs improvement. I'm starting this thread so users and prospective customers can provide PG Music with specific suggestions for improvement. I've copied an edited version of Peter Gannon's thoughts below:

"Here's a screenshot of Band-in-a-Box 2015 http://static.emediamusic.com/product_assets/bb/2014-bandboxwin.jpg
And, no, that doesn't look like a cartoon to me. I happen to like that there is text present on most of the buttons and elements in BiaB, unlike the DAW program screen that has just icons with no text for many items.

Now don't get me wrong here- I am all for improving lots of aspects of BiaB GUI, and there's lots to be done there! But only in a way that makes it easier and more intuitive to use. So I'm not about to get rid of text on the buttons for example."

User jford posted some thoughts many users agreed with:

My personal opinion is that I like the retro "look" of BIAB. I don't know that I want BIAB to start looking like every other music app out there and become just a face in the crowd, like so many other music applications today. "It's familiar" (a great Andy Griffith line from "No Time For Sergeants").

That being said, there are a few (I would imagine) fairly simple things that could be done to modernize the user experience. Peter has often said to provide specifics for changes, so here goes.

The main screen has a lot of white, errr, grey space on it. The little chord entry box has been discussed at length recently, but just look at all the unused space surrounding the little box. The white space areas should be able to be used more efficiently, which is where some of the below suggestions come into play.

I think what would go a long way towards modernizing the interface would be to make all the window elements floatable (where you can move it around on the screen and resize it), dockable (you can lock it into place it on the screen at the top-bottom-left-right), visible/invisible (if you don’t want to see it on the screen, then poof, it’s gone, easily brought back), and scalable (which is different resizable – for example the static mixer window elements are of fixed size, which is why there isn’t room to see the Thru or Audio tracks. Resizable usually makes things disappear; scalable changes the size of the fonts and graphics to continue to display the entire element).

Toolbars should be fully customizable – dockable or floating. You should be able to determine whether the buttons have text on them, or are large or small buttons. You should be able to add/remove any buttons, as well as re-order the buttons to suit your own workflow.

While colors currently are user customizable, this should be made as easy as possible, with clear descriptions of what each screen element represents.

The request for improving chord entry in the chord grid has already been made and discussed at length, so I won’t go into here (other than something should be done to improve it).

Right now, for example, you can bring up the floatable mixer, but the static mixer stays on the screen. And they don’t look the same or have the same functionality. And the reason you made it floatable was to reclaim screen space, but that doesn’t happen. There should be ONE mixer window with all the functionality that could either be docked to one of the sides of the screen (PGMusic could figure out how that would work and what would go where when there are multiple elements docked), or it could float and you could move it around as you see fit (and all tracks should be displayed.

Additionally, when you change an instrument on the chord grid (maybe by using the F5 key at a certain bar), the mixer should change to reflect that new instrument, not just keep showing the instrument as originally defined in the style. It’s confusing to see a guitar listed and hear a violin, for example.

The VST/DX screen is in need of rework (this issue affects both BIAB and RealBand). The top part of the window takes up a third to half of the screen, leaving little room for the actual VST (which is what you really want to see in the first place). When I want to just check, for example, if an instrument is playing through the VSTi, I should not have to bring up the windows, move the window to the top of the screen, resize the window so I can adjust the scroll bars, then adjust the scroll bars to see the VST interface. By that time, I’ve forgotten why I clicked on it in the first place. The stuff at the top is important, but ought to be called up only when you need it, not visible on the screen the whole time. Maybe a twisty where it by default displays the current selection only (on a single line), but then you click on the twisty to see the other tracks and selections, and then click the twisty again and it just displays the [possibly new] current selection. That way, there’s plenty of room for the actual DX/VST interface, which s what you wanted in the first place.

Even though there has been some work done here, the menus need to be reworked to remove redundancy.

For example, on the File Menu, how many “Open” commands do I need. I should only need one, and then I can choose what to open once the “Open” window appears (just like other Windows applications do).

Likewise on the Export To and Send To commands. I understand that one is the “last one selected”, but just make the default entry on the “Export To” command be the “last one selected”. The redundancy is not needed.

And you really only need a “Save” and “Save As” command. If something hasn’t been saved previously, then it should invoke the “Save As” command; otherwise, it just saves with whatever options you previously set. And then any options you want to set should be on the “Save As” screen (this is where you would be able to save with patches/harmonies/etc).

The help menu also has a number of (in my opinion) unnecessary redundancies, but all menus should be looked at carefully.

Yes, there is more that can be done (did someone say StylePicker, RealTracksPicker, Songlist, etc?), but as a start these would, in my opinion go a long way towards improving user experience and workflow for creating music. Of course, these are just my opinions and suggestions. Take 'em or leave 'em. I still love BIAB/RealBand and will continue to support it, regardless. Nothing else comes even close to doing what they do.
_________________________
John

And my own contribution:

The ONE idea in the FL Studio video I would like PG Music implement is for the GUI to use vector graphics. BiaB and RB users have a wide variety of displays being driven by a variety of graphic cards or on board motherboard chips. The Fl Studio video demonstrated how vector graphics provides a sharp image on any size display. That's exciting!

I would like to see Band-in-a-Box and RealBand have screen tabs similar to those used in Chrome or Firefox. Each tab would display BiaB or RB from a different perspective. For instance, the default RealBand tabs might follow the progression to create a song with Tab 1 offering a minimal track screen, commands to import a SGU or midi file, chord sheet and load instruments, tab 2 geared to editing, tab 3 mixing and exporting.

While changing to vector graphics may prove a stretch, an effective use of tabs could eliminate a great deal of clutter.


Others suggestions were posted but I was unable to copy all of them.

"We want to take things out of the box, turn them on and see them leap into action without having to read anything"

taken from a blogg about user interfaces (2007).

The Sequencer Window.
If I were a new user, who knows chord E A and D on the keyboard and has a shrewd idea of what a sequencer was, if I was exploring the interface as part of my dipping my toes in the water, if I pressed a button marked "Sequencer"

I would expect to see a sequencer view.


What the user actually sees actually get is:

1] A pop up box asking him to choose between a 'melody' and a 'soloist'

Bemused by the difference (don't soloists play the melody?). The user click one at random

This presents the user with.......... a question about mutlichannels

The user begins to wonder if irt is some sort of initiation test, all he wants to do is see the sequencer.

He clicks a guess again...

He is presented with another warning message saying the track screen will be blank "Great!" he thinks and click on still hoping to find...... a sequencer.

What appears is a strange screen showing buttons for all or none of - nothing. It does not look like a sequncer at all. He tries in his mind to compare it to a sequencer, but there is just not enough resemblance to make any connection. He is baffled.

By chance he clicks the video button and a strange video appears (check it out). Whatever is being explained does not answer the question where is hte sequencer?

Yes where is the sequencer?

Well weeks later you discover, there isnt one. At least there is one but you have to go out of the program load into RB and work from there.

All you wanted to see was a sequencer. You wanted to see the Audio and the MIDI tracks along with your recorded tracks.

Months later it dawns on you what PG thinks is a sequencer is only something that applies to the "Melody" track and the "Soloist" track. You Wonder why you cant see the MIDI for the MIDI drum.

Proposed Solution

Provide a proper sequencer window.

Drop the notion of melodist and soloist (whilst cleverly retaining their function)

just have tracks and track types.

Make any track recordable by the user.

On any MIDI track make the Notation and the Piano Roll screens accessible by clicking on the tracks in the sequncer.

Make a chord track behave like a chord does already and show this at the top line of the sequencer


Show the parts underneath

on MIDI tracks have a notation button, which glows when notation is available. On clicking, provide three choices "score view" "manuscript view" and "Sequencer view". The Manuscriot view shows the part in concent with other parts. The Sequencer view shows the part in (treble or bass or twin) under the sequencer track.

Make similar functions available for the Piano roll view.

Be able to edit and move chunks of things with tools

Make Transport controls moveable and dockeable

Melody and SOLOIST tracks can still remain but simply as a track type in the sequencer. As a specified type they would have specific editable attributes.

each track type would have its own attributes - Real Tracks might have to arrive in blocks. Cut shape and fade tools would be provided.

Stop the need to work in two applications integrate them intelligently.

If this was done the new user would click on a sequencer button and see a useful sequencer, with useful tools.

Currently it must appear almost designed to confuse.

Z

provide a editable mixer that floats resizes and twins with this.

Well, seeing that I managed to 'rock the boat' yesterday (this was unintentional, although it appears that I managed to completely capsize it...), I thought it my duty to come up with practical ideas instead of talk. Talk is cheap. Ideas, and functional concepts are required. It was therefore my duty to put in some effort to restore normality - if that's possible.

So, I spent a little bit of time today with some 'ideas only' concepts of how the interface could be improved, by reducing clutter, an hopefully streamlining the look and appearance, so to speak.

This is a rough shot, only a day's work (including video), and is completely conceptual. It could be improved for sure, but it's a start.

I hope that others might think this has merit and could be taken further, or offer their own suggestions, as others already have.

(I hope PGM staff get a chance to see it too. Peter, feel free to PM me for design ideas.)

Watching on YouTube at larger size is perhaps more beneficial to see the new features.



Feel free to provide all comments, criticisms, good, bad, anything.

My intentions (as always) are only to provide ideas to improve and advance the product, nothing less.

None of the ideas in the video are difficult to implement too.

Best

Trevor

Oh boy, what a hoot!! I agree, that should help get you back in good graces.

Clambering, slowly but surely, bloodied fingers, shirt ripped off my back. What it takes, eh?

Trevor: excellent video, +1 +1 on the design. Hope PG gets in touch.

DE

Jim Fogle: really nice suggestions +1 +1 (and thank you).

I'd rather see improvements than new features.

DE

Very nice, Trevor. Those are the kinds of things that bring BIAB up-to-date, but yet still retain the unique BIAB "feel" to the interface.

Trevor,
Great work on the demo, and thank you! That could work, especially in the Ctrl-T (minimum GUI mode).

Trevor,

That's a very impressive video. You have some good ideas. Here are some random thoughts.

The tabs or buttons might work better if they were on two rows with the top row selecting broad functions like create song, practice, perform, custom 1 and custom 2. Buttons on the second row would change based upon the top row selection. For example, when perform is selected you would see second row buttons for import songlist, play songlist, create songlist, display lyrics on/off, display chords on/off.

Trevor, I would adopt that in a heartbeat. Really great job. A lot of this is like changing the navigation scheme on a website, leaving the underlying called pages the same as they were but giving a whole new appearance = easy to implement as you said. I love it.

Your ideas for the progress bar and audio meters look great, too.

We definitely should make you feel bad more often!

By the way, great name for a song: "Uncontrollably Brazen". Even better name for a band. But the song on the screen is not what we were listening to...

Jim, yes, we can refine ideas for the button/menu system including sublevels. I think Trevor was going for the concept of showing how we could have the chordsheet take most of the screen, which I would really like. I'll bet those who use a laptop and play live gigs using the conductor would agree. This is quite exciting stuff.

Absolutely brilliant ideas and video Trevor.

The thought occurred to me when the curser was over the tracks button, why stop at the limited tracks that biab has, why not let the "tracks" actually open all the tracks in a style vieweable as in a DAW and maybe the ability to add up to 24 tracks or more?

great stuff Trevor.
Musiclover

00 I agree with most of your ideas. What I would add or change is to have all 16 MIDI channels open for the user. That way we could add more strings, guitar etc to the mix. Make all 16 channels open for either MIDI or RTs.

I would also add going to 64 bit at the same time.

I would not merge BiaB and RB into one product. I would have two products; one with the enhancements to BiaB and another with RB added to the enhanced BiaB. YMMV.

Excellent job Trevor! The only thing that I would change would be to have the play/record/song track/meter toolbar be floatable and able to be pinned anywhere in the main window. I prefer mine to be on the very top. This is nitpicking for sure but something to think about.

Now I have to get you mad about the lack of new MIDI styles

+1 Trevor. I think the ability to see what you're typing in the chord cell should be implemented. This may have been mentioned is someone's previous post. We shouldn't have to look elsewhere to see what we're typing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfBwsG8ubFw

Great Trevor

+1 Mario and how about the ability to pin yellow messages

+1 Ray

It's interesting to me that the GUI is perceived to look 'better' when there is a menu structure (buttons) to bring up only the part(s) I want to see at the moment.

Just spent a couple of hours grooving on a blues with "fast string 8th blues - with Organ".

The Hammond is like a metal rattlesnake that gets behind your neck all warm and cosy as you settle down into the groove for the session.

Wonderful stuff - lest I forget, wonderful stuff.

Z