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I've been meaning to post this message for several days now, but problems have kept intervening. Things are pretty quiet now, so perhaps this is the time. You know, there's too many posts here where people are explaining problems they're having with BiaB. All that negativity. Very few posts where people are relating how pleased they are with this software. Well, this post is about being pleased. A lot. I've been quite busy with BiaB lately. Working on several of my tunes and, a first for me, turning everything over to the Melodist, and just letting it run with things. I had my doubts, honestly, that much of anything would come of it. I've used the Melodist before when I needed help on a tune's melody and it's largely been hit or miss. Mostly miss. But I know from experience that it can come through for you. Several years ago, I was working on a chord progression I wrote on guitar back in about 1978! It's a cool little progression, but I could never come up with a melody that worked the way I wanted it to and I was struggling. So I turned things over to BiaB. Well it churned out several failed attempts, but then it generated one that was mostly pentatonic, and I suddenly realized bingo! That was the answer. So within a matter of an hour or so, I'd finally written the melody to this piece, entirely in a pentatonic scale. So, what I've learned from all this is, if you stick with it, you'll eventually get a hit. Boy will you ever. I now have probably close to a dozen tunes that are in the 80-90% complete range that were entirely generated by BiaB's melodist. And these are nice sounding tunes too. Not at all like most results I get when I go to generate a tune with the Melodist. The remaining 10-20% with these tunes has to do with little spots in the melody or harmony I don't care for, or a few obvious errors -- like playing a perfect fifth in the melody against a 7b5 chord. Makes me cringe every time I hear it. It's funny how Major 7ths can sound all dreamy and romantic and playing a natural 5th against a b5 makes one wince, isn't it? I mean, let's face it, BiaB's Melodist is a computer program -- a smart one, but still just a bunch ones and zeros, albeit most artfully arranged, I'm sure  So when I ask the Melodist to generate a melody for a tune I've written or ask it to just go for it and see what happens -- most of the time the results are pretty lame. But every once in a while, the stars must align themselves and the wind is coming off the mountains just right and Jupiter is ascending -- whatever -- every once in a while the Melodist just belts one out of the park. It's kinda funny how this works, you know? Here I'll be, hitting the Melodist button, listening to the generated tune for maybe 10 or 15 seconds, then hit the button again. Repeat, repeat. I mean, if the song doesn't hook me within the first 10 or 15 seconds, it isn't going to within the next three minutes. So I'm hitting the button again, and suddenly, there's a nice melodic phrase that springs forth. Surrounded by a nice, slick-sounding chord progression. And the phrase turns nicely into another and another, and I'm thinking DAYum! The Melodist, when it gets it right, it gets it all right. Funny how that is. Fascinating, actually. When the Melodist offers up a good one, it has for me consistently delivered complete songs that had no weak spots --- well except for a few minor points, as I mentioned above -- but nothing structurally weak. One thing I've noticed with the Melodist is it tends to reuse certain motifs, regardless of the sort of style that is selected. And yes, a couple of them have made it into a couple of my Melodist-generated tunes. It's probably inevitable. But that's where the editorial magic comes in. I can always go in and tweak these motifs so that they become mine instead of mindless regurgitations. So since I'm still kinda new to all this, I'm curious what your experiences have been like with the Melodist. I suppose the Harmony and Soloist functions should be included as well, but I haven't used either yet, so I can't really comment on either. So, any remarkable experiences with just turning loose this program and letting it run with it? If BiaB was more classically oriented, it would be a real treat to knock out a sonata or a concerto -- or maybe even a symphony! I'm curious -- have the PG Forums ever hosted a competition to see who can come up with the best 100% Melodist-generated piece of music? It sure would be an easy competition, wouldn't it? I mean all a contestant would have to do would be to keep hitting the Melodist button until it coughed up a tune the contestant liked. Or maybe you could have two categories -- one where the Melodist does everything and another where the Melodist puts a melody to a contestant's music. It might not be much of a contest as far as contests go, but it sure would make for an interesting showcase of the Melodist's capabilities.
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So do you like the Melodist Feature or not? Your kind of all over the place on this? 
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I know im going to get thrashed for this.
Isnt using Melodist cheating? Surely it takes away the human cerebral process of Creativity and simply produces computer generated Muzak based on a chord chart one developed without any further input from a human? How could anyone claim the "Result" to be theirs? And surely,IF by fluke of 0's and 1's it turned out to be a masterpiece, it must be uncopyrightable as the human didnt compose anything?
Now to run away and hide!!!
Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
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I know im going to get thrashed for this.
Isnt using Melodist cheating? Surely it takes away the human cerebral process of Creativity and simply produces computer generated Muzak based on a chord chart one developed without any further input from a human? How could anyone claim the "Result" to be theirs? And surely,IF by fluke of 0's and 1's it turned out to be a masterpiece, it must be uncopyrightable as the human didnt compose anything?
Now to run away and hide!!!
Wendy By that logic, isn't using BIAB also cheating?
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So do you like the Melodist Feature or not? Your kind of all over the place on this? Actually, I'm being as honest as I know how to be. Most of the time IMNSHO the Melodist turns out totally forgettable stuff. But like I wrote above, every once in a while it manages to put it altogether and comes up with something remarkable. So I'm not really all over the place. Just covering all the bases. Look, if you've never tried it, do as I recommend. Let the Melodist generate the chords, the intro, the melody, everything. What you'll probably experience is a lot of duds and then one piece will pop up that will really surprise you. That's all I'm getting at. I know im going to get thrashed for this.
Isnt using Melodist cheating? Surely it takes away the human cerebral process of Creativity and simply produces computer generated Muzak based on a chord chart one developed without any further input from a human? How could anyone claim the "Result" to be theirs? And surely,IF by fluke of 0's and 1's it turned out to be a masterpiece, it must be uncopyrightable as the human didnt compose anything?
Now to run away and hide!!!
Wendy Well, ownership is 9/10s of the copyright. Maybe more. PG sez everything about BiaB is free with no copyright claims. Now, regarding intellectual honesty and the creative experience, that is something I've pondered at some length. But here I am admitting to the entire PG community that my 'puter is coming up with cool pieces of music without my input. So obviously I'm not trying to claim it as my own. But if I decide to publish any of it, you better believe I'll own the copyright. Because it appeared on my computer first, if for no other reason. Or did it? Hrm, that's something I've been wondering about. What are the chances that a piece that my copy of BiaB writes is the same or very very similar to a piece that another PG user's copy of BiaB came up with? Now, that's something I wonder about. I reckon the only way I'll find out about that being a possibility is if we start sharing some Melodist generated stuff. Be all that as it may, the process of developing a piece of music will progress well beyond just assembling a chord chart with a melody. Using my own non-Biab experiences as a guide, with all the pieces of music I've written in the past, every one has gone through a number of revisions before I was entirely happy with it. I don't see any tune "created" by BiaB as being any different. I'll still give it a close going over and there will in all likelihood be a considerable amount of revision. Now for the creative bit. I don't have a problem with writing music. These past few weeks I've composed probably a half-dozen or more tunes (haven't been keeping track -- that's the way it is with me when the creative juices are flowing) -- chord progressions that I've plugged into BiaB and edited until I liked what I was hearing. Some of them I've written melodies for, others I've had the Melodist come up with passable melodies. But you know, after over 50 years of being a musician, I still consider myself to be a student of all this, so I like to study and analyze what BiaB is doing when it generates melodies and harmonies. Looking at many of the chord progressions that the Melodist comes up with ends up being a great study in chord theory and harmony in general. Melody is a lot more arbitrary and, as I wrote, most of the stuff the Melodist comes up with is discardable. For example, what is a hook? Can you analyze what it is about a piece of music's hook that makes it one? Not so easy, I'll wager. It's like as soon as you try to dissect it, it just crumbles away. Cuz all it is is an assortment of artfully placed intervals, isn't it? So when I analyze melodies, it is a good deal more difficult. Nonetheless, I'd like to think I'm absorbing some of this stuff and maybe even getting better as a result. I'm gonna post a few of these tunes up at Soundcloud soon. I'll let y'all know when I've done so and I'll be looking forward to your feedback as well.
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I know im going to get thrashed for this.
Isnt using Melodist cheating? Surely it takes away the human cerebral process of Creativity and simply produces computer generated Muzak based on a chord chart one developed without any further input from a human? How could anyone claim the "Result" to be theirs? And surely,IF by fluke of 0's and 1's it turned out to be a masterpiece, it must be uncopyrightable as the human didnt compose anything?
Now to run away and hide!!!
Wendy By that logic, isn't using BIAB also cheating? Please elaborate, John? For years, I just used BiaB as a very large set of backing tracks. So it depends on what you're using it for, seems to me.
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Not copyrightable? I’ve never used that feature but with BiaB when you hit the button you own it - whether it’s the melodist or a RT track. Cheating? Cheating who? If you generated a song with the feature, sent it to a placement library and it ended up in a film who got cheated? Heck, we can write a song including the lyric, chord structure and melody but because we use BiaB to create a great band some folks wii think it’s cheating. Not suggesting you would just mentioning it as I’ve run into that. And with the melodist generated song if the final product is gonna sound like anything worth listening to somebody is have to mix and master it. And that ain’t quick  Cheers Bud
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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I have never had the melodist give me a complete good song, the key work there is good. However I have taken a few measures from the melodist and made a complete song with them. That is how I use the melodist. YMMV.
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
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Precisely my points, Bud. Writing's the fun part. Slogging it out through all the editing and re-editing (mixing and mastering, as you call it -- same difference), listening to the same tune over and over and over and over again is enough to make me want to beat my head against a wall at times. But it is a necessary part of the creative process.
What you wrote reminded me of something that I experienced. I took a couple of semesters of composition lessons from a local music professor, and I took them from him because he was one of the best, but he wasn't hung up on a particular style of music. So I knew he could be open minded about anything I managed to come up with. Well, as a semester project, I had to come up with a couple of complete pieces of music -- songs, but without words, if you will -- and I used BiaB for a couple of rhythm tracks and the drum track for these tunes. The rhythm tracks were keyboards and I'm a guitarist, and I'm sure not a drummer. So why not have BiaB put them together.
So after presenting the music to him, I described what I'd done -- with the exception of those few tracks, all of the music had been written or performed by me, and I told him about this. I'll never forget, when I told him I had BiaB pick up those few parts, he had a look on his face as if I'd just farted. Obviously, he had expected me to write and/or perform every single bit of music in those two pieces. Fortunately, because he was my professor, he wasn't on the jury, and I wasn't gonna tell the jury about BiaB unless I was specifically asked. Lesson learned. I got "A"s for the compositions. Of course.
But here's the irony. He was very familiar with BiaB --- I'm sure he used it, even. Plus he was one of the band directors at the school. So I got to wondering, when he started working up music with his band, did he write out a complete arrangement for the keyboardist and tell the drummer exactly which drums to hit and how many times? Somehow I doubt it. And what's the difference between any composer of big band music and somebody who writes a tune and uses BiaB to fill in the details? Did Glenn Miller tell his piano player exactly which notes to hit and his drummer exactly which drums and cymbals to hit? Somehow I don't think so. Also, I've played in a lot of bands in my life, some in which we worked on our original music. It would have never occurred to me to tell the bass player or the drummer exactly how to play their parts.
If these pieces would have been formal pieces of classical music, then sure, I could understand that sort of mindset, but not with what I wrote, which was very much in a popular genre.
So, I guess what I'm getting at is, getting an odd reaction from people who should even know better should not be such a big surprise.
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I have never had the melodist give me a complete good song, the key work there is good. However I have taken a few measures from the melodist and made a complete song with them. That is how I use the melodist. YMMV. Hey Mario, by "key work," do you mean the harmonic progressions, or . . . ? I've found that even when the Melodist generates a forgettable melody, it almost always cranks out a nice progression. Taking a few measures is a great idea. Sometimes that's all it takes for me also to write a complete song is just a few good measures -- preferably complete with melody Next time you have a spare 10 or 15 minutes, just for the heck of it, I want you to sit down with BiaB, set up the Melodist where it does everything, and then just keep hitting that Melodist key and see if it doesn't come up with something that might just surprise you. I have lost count, but I probably have close to twenty "keeper" tunes that I've generated by just continuing to hit the melodist key.
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I know im going to get thrashed for this.
Isnt using Melodist cheating? Surely it takes away the human cerebral process of Creativity and simply produces computer generated Muzak based on a chord chart one developed without any further input from a human? How could anyone claim the "Result" to be theirs? And surely,IF by fluke of 0's and 1's it turned out to be a masterpiece, it must be uncopyrightable as the human didnt compose anything?
Now to run away and hide!!!
Wendy By that logic, isn't using BIAB also cheating? Please elaborate, John? For years, I just used BiaB as a very large set of backing tracks. So it depends on what you're using it for, seems to me. I'm not saying it is cheating. But if using Melodist is cheating why not BIAB?
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Well, hopefully Wendy will respond. Personally I don't think using BiaB is cheating. It's no different from having three or more of your bandmates on call, which is impractical, but not impossible, and which creates no infractions that I'm aware of.
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I have never had the melodist give me a complete good song, the key work there is good. However I have taken a few measures from the melodist and made a complete song with them. That is how I use the melodist. YMMV. Hey Mario, by "key work," do you mean the harmonic progressions, or . . . ? I've found that even when the Melodist generates a forgettable melody, it almost always cranks out a nice progression. Taking a few measures is a great idea. Sometimes that's all it takes for me also to write a complete song is just a few good measures -- preferably complete with melody Next time you have a spare 10 or 15 minutes, just for the heck of it, I want you to sit down with BiaB, set up the Melodist where it does everything, and then just keep hitting that Melodist key and see if it doesn't come up with something that might just surprise you. I have lost count, but I probably have close to twenty "keeper" tunes that I've generated by just continuing to hit the melodist key. I have used it mostly for a few measures of melody that I place in my already determined chord progression. But I took your advice last night and had it generate a complete song. You are right as it does produce some excellent chord progressions! Thanx for that little gem of a tip! This is what I love about this forum. People either suggesting or showing things they do that I would have never tried. I have learned so much on these forums!
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You know what, I was messing around with the Melodist last night, and it produced a very unusual chord progression. If you've generated a lot of them, then you know the Melodist has an inordinate fondness for I VI II V and this one started out that way, but just for the intro, and then it just took off into all sorts of strange places. Key of C and the first eight bars are FMaj7 Bb9sus G9sus Cm7 Bbm7 Eb7 AbMaj7 G7#9 C Bb9sus C Bb9sus. WTF! After six bars, it finally lands on a C chord, and immediately sets up this exchange between C and Bb9sus, which is kinda cool sounding really. So I became fascinated with this progression, and next I began searching for a suitable style because I didn't care for the style that went with the melody "style" or whatever it's called. Found an interesting one that fits the mood better. And then I switched the Melodist over to generating melodies only because I didn't care for the original melody that came with the chord progression. After about five tries, I wound up with one that has some possibilities. I'm rewriting it to fit better into the mood of this progression. I see some interesting possibilities with this tune so far. So, is that cheating? Are you kidding? There's still a lot of work to be done before I've got anything resembling a song. "But you didn't come up with the progression," some might say. My response will be how many musicians have "borrowed" I VI II V for their songs? It's got to be in the tens of thousands. So the progression I "borrowed" is different. So what. Besides, I've already changed some of the chords in the progression and I'll probably change more. "But you didn't come up with the melody," others might say. My response will be, that's right I didn't and I'm changing it to fit the progression better. When I'm finished with it, it will be mine legally and technically. "But what about the style -- you didn't come up with it," a few others might dare. And my response will be, Yeah and I usually don't tell a drummer and bass player what to play when I give them a time signature, a key signature and tempo. So get over it. Heh. 
Last edited by cooltouch; 11/12/17 10:48 AM.
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No argument from me on this question. Of course it is not cheating. Music is the grand illusion so make it any way you can.
That being said, I am always looking to put more of me in my music. But that can take many forms. It can be composition, production, arrangement or accompaniment. Music is more than writing melodies.
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I've found the Melodist and the Reharmonist are excellent resources for opening the doors to creativity. The Demo Songs that come with Stylepicker have also been extremely useful over the years. For me, anything that helps me get out of the rut of my own thinking and prompts me to look at things a little differently is a very valuable tool. The below video clips are from PG Music's Youtube website... This first clip is a quick one (3:51 mins) about creating melodies and chord progressions in BIAB. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Los82-EFnwwThis second clip is an in-depth tutorial (15:52 mins) on the Soloist and the Melodist. Even though it's using an older version of BIAB, the information is still applicable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV2z3CJm28gRegards, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Oh gosh guys I never meant to start a fire! It just seemed to me that just pushing the button and claiming any result that was any good as one's own work was cheating. Cheating s probably too string a word but couldn't think of anything lighter at time. My personal mindset says if it doesnt come out of my brain, its not mine and i can hardly ge proud of it. BTW my bro tried that chord progession this afto and was blown away. Loves it even though it was hard to feel comfy with it. I'm guessing its a never ending topic with every one s concept as valid as the next.
Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
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<My personal mindset says if it doesn't come out of my brain, its not mine and i can hardly be proud of it.>
You are right Wendy. But be comforted by the thought that something has to get into your brain before it can come out modified in such a way to be your own inspiration.
So, if you over hear a catchy phrase spoken by someone else in a conversation in an elevator and you manage to 'cheat' and make the phrase into a song, so be it. That's inspiration, not cheating.
Take Heart? "For the benefit of Mr. Kite" and "A Day in the Life" songs written by the Beatles, were both developed in such a way. "For the benefit of Mr. Kite" lyrics are nearly verbatim to the circus poster John Lennon used to capture the song idea and "A Day in the Life" was inspired by a newspaper article. Lennon and McCartney musical analysts bandy the terms inspired and genius about their lyrics and never the word cheating.
I wrote song lyrics for an original "Trucks" that were inspired by the insane and stereotype comments on a Facebook post of a 4 wheel pickup truck...
Another original song's lyrics came from a list of song titles on a forum members web site.
BIAB 2026:RB 2026, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
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Good points, Charlie, and right in line with what I was about to mention. That being that it's been many a year since anyone has come up with anything truly new in music. It's pretty much all recycled from the same seven notes, ya know? The fact that so much has been and can be done with so little is one of the truly extraordinary things about music. Wendy, you have me curious now -- which chord progression are you referring to that your brother was "blown away" over? Not that little snippet I wrote above, was it? Because that's only the first eight bars. You wrote, "My personal mindset says if it doesnt come out of my brain, its not mine and i can hardly ge proud of it." Here's the thing about music -- even if it's something that did come exclusively from your brain, chances are, somebody at some time or another wrote the same thing, or very close to it. You may be able to put a spin on it to make it quintessentially yours even though it may have been done before, which is plenty good enough in my book. And this conversation is hardly a fire. Heck it's barely even warm yet. I've found the Melodist and the Reharmonist are excellent resources for opening the doors to creativity. The Demo Songs that come with Stylepicker have also been extremely useful over the years. Thanks for the info, Noel. I've never tried the Reharmonist until just now. I selected the "Auto Generate Chord Reharmonization" option after discovering that the Chord Reharmonist Dialog will apparently do the substitutions only two measures at a time. So it ended up redoing the entire piece -- with a progression that I feel is inferior to the original. So I tried using the Undo command. Well, I clicked on Undo, but it didn't undo anything. Oops. Glad I'd saved that song first. So a word to the wise. Save your song before you try this "feature." Still, it's good to know what it and the other menu selections can do -- especially in situations where I'm truly unhappy with the way a chord progression is working out.
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Posts: 274 |
Yes cooltouch it was that Fmaj7,Bb9sus thingy. He played it as you show it in a jazz guitar waywhich wasnt easy he said but we couldnt figure a tune to go with it. Maybe I need Melodist. Lmao! Sorry.
Ill shut up now.
Wendy
BiaB2022PLUS,927. every extras pack I can find ;-),Sonar7XL,Win 10
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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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Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PDT today!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
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 amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
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, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Mac® to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed 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 transcribe 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, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
Holiday Weekend Hours
It's Victoria Day Long Weekend in Canada. Our Customer Service hours are:
Saturday, May 16: Closed
Sunday, May 17: Closed
Monday, May 18: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Regular hours resume Tuesday, May 19th!
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Don't wait - order today!
Check out all the new features in the redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
If you have any questions about which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We're here to help!
202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
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)
- iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
- 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 PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
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