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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 138
Apprentice
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OP
Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 138 |
I've done a little research on what the new 'Natural Arrangement' option does to MST harmonies, using the notation function.
Two findings so far: First, MSTs are considerably affected by the NA option. Second: NA can radically alter the harmony.
I've tested alts, because of the number of alterations (b9, #9, b5, #5).
The piano MSTs I've tested use #9 & #5 for alts. I've not found b9 or b5 included so far.
With NA enabled, lots of 9ths & 13ths suddenly appear - a very different harmony.
Interested to hear if any other nerdish types are looking into this.
Best - Andy
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975 |
Yes, that makes sense. The idea is that the same thing would happen if you handed a real musician that lead sheet. If you were playing with Herbie Hancock as your live piano player, you wouldn't be surprised when "lots of 9ths & 13ths suddenly appear" in Herbie's playing, that's considered normal (or natural as we call it).
Similarily, if you gave Herbie this leadsheet...
(#1) | Gm7 Gm9 | C13 c7b9 | FMaj13 F6 | F69 |
.... he's likely going to look at it, and think "
(#2) | Gm7 | C7 | FMaj7 | |
... that's what the natural arrangement feature does. So you hear nice phrasing and smooth voice leading when the player is freed up to play something natural like the simple II-V 1 (#2)
If you told Herbie "no, you must play the chords exactly as written in #1" - he'd do it, but it's likely that what he played wouldn't sound as good as if you let him play #2 (because then he could think of good phrases to play. This is what Band-in-a-Box 2017 does. (of course you can configure this option to be on/off for songs/tracks/globally etc. It defaults to ON for Jazz styles. You can turn it off in Prefs-Arrangments globally, or for the song only in Song-Settings.
It works for RealTracks and MIDI SuperTracks.
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572 |
Thanks, Peter. This is helpful information.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,586
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Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
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Yes. Definitely helpful. Thank you.
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 138
Apprentice
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OP
Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 138 |
Thanks Peter.
Indeed, it's certainly helpful to know what's going on with NA's.
In your example, Gm7-C7-Fmaj7 works perfectly well over the original changes.
But if the lead sheet says Calt and the backing harmony has become C13, the soloist is going to wonder why things sound a bit odd.
But no problem: next time Herbie drops by to sit in, I'll have a word with him...
Best to All - Andy
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,975 |
Andy,
Yes, that's true. We plan to add an option to disable it for a certain chord,so that you could type C7alt! And the exclamation would mean "I'm not kidding!", and then you'd be sure to get that chord.
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572 |
There you go. As a composer I want that control. I was thinking of making this suggestion when things from the new release calmed down.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,590
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,590 |
Aha. Starting to understand this. Presumably, you can turn it on and off at a song level as well?
Windows 10 Home 20H2 Build 19042.487
BIAB 2021 (Build 818)
Intel(R) Core(TM), i3-4160, CPU @3.60 GHz RAM 16 GB, 64 Bit X64-based processor
Zoom UAC-2 (USB 3 interface-built in midi)
VoiceLive 3 Extreme, Sputnik Valve Condenser Mic
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572 |
Presumably, you can turn it on and off at a song level as well? Yes, it's easy. Right-click in the Chordsheet and bring up Song Settings. At the bottom of the upper-right quarter, look for the Natural Arrangements pull-down.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 7,697
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If we can put an ! in the chord grid to force that chord, that would be cool.
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: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,572 |
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,704
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
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OK, a random thought;
Why does toilet paper need a commercial? Who's not buying it?
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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