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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,806
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If you go to Bob "Notes" Norton's website, you will find that he has taken many of the available "fake books" you can buy and entered the chord progressions into BIAB, and has worked with other folks to find appropriate styles to go with the songs (either his own styles or those provided by other style makers or PGMusic styles) and then sells them (they used to be on disk, but are just a downloadable self extracting zip file now). You could do the same, but it takes a long time to do it, so by buying the fake disks, you get hundreds of songs ready to go with appropriate styles (not cover styles, because that's not what BIAB does, but close in feel to the original). Much like you could create all the XTRA RealStyles yourself, PGMusic has done all the work for you figuring out which ones go well together, so you don't have to. So it's a convenience factor. They do not come with melody lines because of copyright restrictions, but they have the chord progressions as indicated in the actual fake books. I have purchased many of them, along with the appropriate fake books, and all I have to do is open the fake book, select one of the songs from the fake disk, and start playing along. It's great and a lot of fun.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,796
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Expert
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,796 |
Actually the name comes from fakebook, the latter indicating a song book with printed "leadsheets" of more than one song: just lyrics, chords AND melody. Originally meant as a cheaper way of selling expensive individual sheet music per song, f.i. for professional (Jazz?) band musicians and singers to be played at gigs etc. I remember in the 6-ties i got such a book as special "don't pass it on item" from my piano teacher coming from a Dutch publishing agency; Only to be sold to the pros, you couldn't get them in a general sheet music shop then .... F
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2017
Posts: 1,685
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Expert
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 1,685 |
will have a look at Norton music thanks
win 10 64 bit 16gb,i7 chip, ssd 500gb, m-audio air, ,Roland BK-7M, 1000,shure sm7b,sonar,acid,mixcraft, variety of plugins.Sample tank 3,Kontakt. TC Helicon Voicelive 3 2 . https://beatmaster1.bandcamp.com/releases
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,471
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Thanks VideoTrack, that is exactly the right page to point someone to, John Ford for the concise information, and Fiddler 2007 for the additional info.
Notes
Last edited by Notes Norton; 07/21/17 01:40 AM.
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove & Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,449
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The quality of Notes Norton's work is excellent.
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.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,471
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,471 |
<...snip...> Originally meant as a cheaper way of selling expensive individual sheet music per song, f.i. for professional (Jazz?) band musicians and singers to be played at gigs etc. I remember in the 6-ties i got such a book as special "don't pass it on item" from my piano teacher coming from a Dutch publishing agency; Only to be sold to the pros, <...> I had one from a German company that had taken sheet music or Piano Guitar Vocal (PGV) books, snipped out the grand staff (for the piano accompaniment) so only the melody, lyrics and guitar (or uke) chord boxes were left, pasted them together to save space (one song per page) and printed them that way. The title was, "No Dogs", referring to the fact that there were only good songs there ('dogs' being an expression for the unwanted filler songs you get in many music books). That is where the Fake Book title came along. Without the piano staff arrangement of the song, the pro player was able to read the melody and chords but then had to 'fake' the arrangement, bass lines, countermelody and other rhythm section parts. Later I got the fist edition of "The Real Book" which was hand written notation full of jazz standards. At the time, in order to get all the tunes that were in that book, you had to buy books from several different publishers, because they didn't allow other companies to 'rent' their songs for publication. So "The Real Book" had a little minor rant printed as an introduction saying they would rather buy the songs legally, but a jazz musician needed all the songs in the repertoire in a single book as bringing a dozen or more books to a gig was impractical. I had to go to a music store where the clerks knew me personally, ask for the book, and they would get it from the back room. It was clandestine and because of that fun. Then the publishers decided to join rather than fight, started renting their songs for compilations, and the legal fake book was born. Now Hal Leonard is selling "The Real Book" with royalties paid to the appropriate publishers and hopefully through them to the composers. It's not quite as complete as the original, as a few stubborn publishers refuse to participate. On the other hand, they corrected most of the errors that were in the illegal "Real Book". (The people who transcribed the songs for the original seemed to have the philosophy that if a chord was good enough to play, it was good enough to substitute - and many of their substitutions were not appropriate), I'm glad Fake Books have gone legal because I like to reward the authors for the music I use. Hopefully some day with the explosion of different forms of e-madia, the publishers will come to a standard licensing agreement similar to mechanical usage and I'll be able to put the melody and/or lyrics in my fake disks. Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove & Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
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Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for being part of the Band-in-a-Box® community.
Wishing you and yours a very happy 2026—Happy New Year from all of us at PG Music!
Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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This Free Bonus PAK includes:
- The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
- MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
- Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
- Playable RealTracks Set 5
- RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
- SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
- Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
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- 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
- FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
- MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
- MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
- Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
- Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
- RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
- SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
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