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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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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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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
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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
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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 02:40 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
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The quality of Notes Norton's work is excellent.
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: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,504
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<...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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XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: 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.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.
Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.
Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours
Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!
If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® users: Build 1237 is now available!
Already a Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows user? Stay up to date and download the build 1237 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
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