107. Can I get Band-in-a-Box® to display more realistic guitar tab and correct fingerings in the Fretboard Window?

For the most realistic representation of a guitar part in the Notation Window (tab) and Guitar Fretboard window, the MIDI note data needs to be on multiple channels. Usually, channel 11 is used for a note that should be played on the 1st string, channel 12 is used for the 2nd string, and so on up to channel 16. If multiple channels are not used, there is no way for Band-in-a-Box® to know for sure which string each note is supposed to be played on. Band-in-a-Box® will do its best to figure this out and this will be adequate in many cases, but you may find some places where a "live" musician would use a different string.

Most Band-in-a-Box® styles use multi-channel note data for the guitar part; when you use these styles, Band-in-a-Box® will display the guitar part intelligently (how a real musician would be most likely to play it). This is because the guitar patterns have either been recorded by a human using a MIDI guitar controller, or guitar macros have been used in the style. If you have entered a melody into Band-in-a-Box® and you are finding that it doesn't display as intelligently as you want it to, this is because it doesn't have multi-channel note data. You can change your Melody track into a guitar-type track by going to the Melody menu | Track Type, and selecting 'Guitar'. This will show you tab, but will not modify any of your note events. You would need to either use a MIDI guitar to record your melody, or go through each note one at a time by right-clicking on the note in editable notation mode and editing the channel used by the note.

Another thing you can do is to enter the melody by opening the Guitar Fretboard window and clicking on the strings. This will input the notes into the notation window as long as (1) you are in editable notation mode, and (2) you have 'Send Notes to Notation Window' checked in the Guitar Fretboard Settings window. You need to move to the position in the Notation Window where you want each note to be inserted.


Alyssa - PG Music