"Run Fast, Stand Still, Or, The Thing At The Top Of The Stairs, Or, New Ghosts From Old Minds" -Ray Bradbury, from Zen in the Art of Writing

Despite having registered on this forum only last fall, I have had BIAB since v.7, on a machine running Win 3.1. I don't mention this to signify my Great Skills and Experience with BIAB--rather the opposite--but that I have had considerable time to think about it . . .

In fact, this was the first program I had encountered which I actually found intimidating; it seemed that deep. (Regarding new versions: "Our situation has not improved." -Sean Connery as Prof. Jones in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade)

So, for a long time, I simply pushed buttons. Played demos. Changed styles, instruments. Programmed Beatles songs and played harmonies with Big Synth Noises. Yay. Big deal.

Two things happened to utterly change my approach to, respect for, and use of Band in a Box.

The first was programming in my own songs, things I'd had kicking around for years, even decades. Letting BB generate a Lionel-Hampton-style solo on a 30s-jazz piece, doing minimal editing to get a stunning addition to my composition. Then I programmed in some of my contemporary stuff, and that's when it happened. I was listening with half an ear when it came to a turnaround and I said, "What the hell is that?!" Because it did something totally unexpected. Don't remember what, or even which song; doesn't matter. It just did something I never would have thought of, but which was completely appropriate--and better than--what I would have done. Although the thought didn't come into my mind at that moment, that was when I began to think of BB as a co-composer. And I went a little crazy putting in the music I had written to that point, just for the fun of hearing a 'stranger' play some changes on it.

The second was when the two machines I had for music production went Tango Uniform and I was 'reduced' to a P3/700 Mhz with 192 Mb of RAM, a 30 Gb drive and a $15 sound card (nice speakers, though)--but was determined to keep on working. Up to this point I had simply let all the instruments play in a song, all the time. Now I began muting all but, say, guitar, or bass and drums in an intro, then gradually bringing in the rest of the instruments. Just like 'real' music. Playing with Rests, Shots and Held Chords. Entering Alternate Bass notes (Bb/D, e.g.). Lots of other stuff. And the music began to take on a life of its own. (I have one piece where I alternately mute all but bass, drums, and guitar at points, and I swear there's a sassy sense of humor in the interplay between instruments.)

An important part of growth with BB has been the result of breaks--time away from the computer--at times. I was divorced in 2000, have moved many times since, each resulting in significant down time. But each time I came back to BB (and other programs, too, notably Propellerheads' Reason) something had 'fermented', something new occurred to me, and I was doing newer, stranger, more wonderful things.

Speaking of wonderful--I drove a taxi for several years. And even a minimal laptop with a built-in soundcard, using MIDI only--no audio--allows (or forces) you to try new things. I had lots of time between rushes to just sit in the car and doodle. Some of my favorite stuff came from this time.

Cherish "mistakes". Sometimes they will reveal things you would never have done intentionally.

Read the manual. I keep it in my PC bag, look up the answers to specific questions, or just flip through it from time to time. I swear I find things that weren't there before . . .

Learn about yourself, who you are, how you work best. What is your learning style, your work style? There is no generic best way to achieve goals, but there may be a best way for you. Find out what it is.

"Be strong, go forth, and do it." -King David

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."