Greetings all.. New kid in town.. and new to BIAB.. Naturally I'd want to try to play with a song that's weird.. Just doing this for my own fun and learning.. The song I'm playing around with is "Footsteps" ~Merle Haggard (it's on you tube if you want to listen and see what I'm talking about). The 2nd line of the song does a chord change mid-bar.. This causes the 1-5 progression of the bass to reverse throughout the rest of the song because the beat is now mid-bar instead of at the beginning of each bar.. Not sure this makes any sense.. but I need the bass to start again at the beginning of a bar.. Maybe deleting half of a bar to get it back on track.. I've dug through the software and found nothing that would do this.. Hopefully someone halfway understand what I'm babbling about and throws me a hint or 2..
If I'm understanding your problem correctly, one of the below options might do the job for you.
ONE Try repeating the chord at the beginning of the next new bar following the mid-bar chord. See the image below. In most instances, repeating a chord causes the bass note pattern to start afresh.
TWO I am assuming that the song is in 4/4 time. This solution involves taking a single 4/4 bar and replacing it with two 2/4 bars.
Let's say bar 20 is the problem bar.
1. Right-click on bar 20.
2. Select 'Bar Settings'.
3. Change the 'Beats per bar' to 2.
4. Now right click on bar 21 and select 'Insert' and insert 1 bar. (This adds a new bar between bar 20 and bar 21.)
5. Right click on bar 22, select 'Bar Settings' and change 'Beats per bar' to 4. (BIAB if 'Beats per bar' is changed, BIAB will continue play the new setting until it reaches a bar to command it otherwise. By setting bar 22 to 4 and bar 20 to 2, this means the bars 20 and 21 will be in 2/4.)
6. Now put your first chord at the beginning of bar 20 and the second chord at the beginning of bar 21.
Hopefully one of the above will do what you are after.
I don't find Footsteps by Merle Haggard on youtube. Can you post a link? As Noel96 said;... You can insert a 2/4 bar by right clicking on the bar then choose Bar Settings. And, as he said;... change the following bar back to 4/4. BIAB will "strike the chord", as I call it, at the beginning of the bar for most styles. However, you may have discovered a way to create a syncopated feel out of a style by the way you have it. Can you tell me style you used? I want to experiment with it.
I don't see any song called "Footsteps". What I would suggest is to either use the audio chord wizzard and try to have it analyze the chords for the songs, or do what I do which is get the lead sheets to the songs and imput the chords to the songs that way. I like doing that because as a steel pan play, I play the melody, and I lead sheets help me learn the melodies really fast and easy. Plus, it's really fun to make BIAB backing tracks with all the Real Tracks I have.
Computer: Macbook Pro, 16 inch 2021 DAWs: Pro Tools, Logic, and Maschine plays drums, percussion, bass, steel pan, keyboard, music producer/engineer
Is the song title possibly "The Son Of Hickory Holler's Tramp"?
I too couldn't find "footsteps", but that word is used in the lyrics of the above song.
Welcome to the forums.
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
My song is in 4/4 but I am unable to insert a single bar of 6/4.
Page 166 of hard copy Windows 2016 says all I have to do is open the "Set Time.." window at the desired bar, hit 6/4 and I'm done - NOT.
At the target bar and the next 2, I get a red underline and no 6/4. I tried inserting a a bar of 2/4 but that doesn't work either. It's as if the program is not accepting my command.
I also tried the solution given below to Wayne without success. Hope someone can help. Thx.
BIAB will not accept 6/4. It can be simulated as some combination of two bars, like 4/4 then 2/4, or 2/4 then 4/4 or 3/4 then 3/4. Using F5 as mentioned above, you should be able to make it sound OK, although the printout will not look right.
ffreniere, could you cite the chapter where you read 6/4 in the 2016 manual, and about how many pages in? I don't have that older manual anymore. If something there is wrong, I'll check the new manual and report it.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
"Set Time Signatures (range of bars)" is about 59 pages into Chapter 6: Making Songs of the 2016 Windows Users Guide.
I'm not worried about printing; it's about inserting a single bar of 2/4 between two bars of 4/4 and hitting a different chord on beats 1 & 2 of the 2/4 bar.
"Set Time Signatures (range of bars)" is about 59 pages into Chapter 6: Making Songs of the 2016 Windows Users Guide.
I'm not worried about printing; it's about inserting a single bar of 2/4 between two bars of 4/4 and hitting a different chord on beats 1 & 2 of the 2/4 bar.
Hoping you can walk me thru this. Thanks!
OK, it's on the bottom of page 211 in the 2017 manual. It is pretty clear that you have to break the 6/4 bar into two measures. Here is the quote from the 2017 manual. Let me know if the 2016 manual doesn't say this (it hasn't changed since BIAB was first made, to my knowledge).
Example: A song in 4/4 time with a single bar of 6/4 time. The maximum # beats per bar is =4, so we will split the 6/4 bar into 2 bars, a 4/4 bar and a 2/4 bar. Insert a # beats per bar =2 at the beginning of the 2/4 bar, then restore the time signature to 4/4 by assigning # beats per bar =4 for the next bar
To get two chords in a 2/4 bar, just enter the two chords separated by a comma.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
But once you "fake" the 6/4 time signature, be sure to regenerate the arrangement. You may find it sounds best musically at one of the other alternatives: 2/4+4/4, or 4/4+2/4, or 3/4+3/4 Choose the one that works best.
Again, notation-wise it may look funny, but it will sound fine.
John
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We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 10 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
Special offers until December 31st, 2025!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 21 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 21 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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