BASIC BAND IN A BOX INSTRUCTIONS: A 10 STEP COURSE

Here is my suggestion for How to Learn Band in a Box if you are non-musician or basic beginner.

1.) Open Band in a Box.

2.) Choose a Style from 1 of the 3,000 or so.

3.) Choose load song demo and hit ok.

4.) Look at the demo chart that will appear, hit play and see what happens between verse and chorus. Realize there are thousands of other styles you can apply to this chord progression. Check a few out. See what makes the chord progressions cool in these demos. Study how it all works. It is the equivalent of a $80,000 Masters in Music degree except it is free.

5.) Go to Barnes and Noble or Amazon and buy the 500 page telephone book of classic songs (Fake Book.) I think it is called the "White Pages" or something like that. Avoid guitar tabs on the Internet if you aren't sure of yourself because they don't tell you where the chords go. There are like 10 of these books and they are cheap. Check it out. Better than smashing yourself in the head with a hammer trying to figure out chords.

https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Tab-White-Pages-Vol/dp/0634026119


6.) Go home and type in those chords exactly as you see them into Band in a box. For example, manual entry of C will put a C chord on beat one. Hit comma and it lets you put a chord on beat two. Ditto for Beats 3 and 4. In other words, the chord entry measure box defaults to beats 1 and 3 in 4/4 time when you hit enter. Hitting comma first puts the chord on off beats for push time. The Rolling Stones made a great career out of changing chords on the fourth beat.

7.) Pick a style you like.

8.) Hit generate.

9.) Sing along.

10.) See attached screenshot. Go to Chord Builder and select song form dialogue. Learn how to use it and master it.

Someone at PG Music should win the Nobel Prize for Inventing Song Form Dialogue. It will be your best friend for the rest of your life. Say you have a 4 bar intro. In slot A type 1 and 4. If you have an 8 bar verse type 5 and 8 in Slot B. If you have an 8 bar chorus type 13 and 8 in slot C. Then enter song from ABCBCBC if you have an intro and 3 verses and choruses. See screenshot.

You are done. Hit ok. Band in a Box takes care of the the rest.

Be Brave Young Padawan. Learned well you have.

Live Long and Make Music.

smile





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BIAB Instructions.png (259.36 KB, 92 downloads)
Song Form Dialog.png (198.84 KB, 92 downloads)
David Snyder
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