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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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berntd Offline OP
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Hello

I entered my chords and it plays.

Now I want to enter a melody into the melody track (or any track)

I get as far as the notation window and I can see the notation for the drums, bass, piano...

The melody has improvisation marks on it.
I want to enter / edit there but I have no luck.
Even after watching the videos.

Right clicking (as shown in the videos to enter notes) does nothing.

The documentation is also elusive and for 2019 just mentions enhancements.

Doe anyone know how to get this going perhaps?

Best regards
Bernt


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Hi Bernt,

It sounds like your melody track might already be in use with a Realtrack or and existing melody.

Melodies can be entered on either the Melody or Soloist tracks but they need to be empty for that to happen.

If a Realtrack is present on the Melody track, you will be able to see it in the mixer.

Regards,
Noel


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The Notation Mode is for reading. Go into the Editable Notation Mode.

If you enter or edit notation on any track besides the Melody or Soloist, Freeze the track or BIAB will overwrite it in the next song regeneration.


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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In addition to Noel's excellent advice, presumably you have turned on Editable Notation Mode?

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2019-05-12_06-24-56.jpg (67.95 KB, 198 downloads)

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Yes, Videotrack’s graphic shows what I was talking about. Let us know if this isn’t the solution.


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berntd Offline OP
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Ok,
Thank you all! I have progress.
But so far, it appears that the notation editor has some problems.

For example,
I entered an F by clicking it in place. Then edit the note by right click->edit note. I then make the F a sharp.

Zoom, the F became an E instead of an F#!
That problem seems repeatable.

I am also struggling with extending the notes across more than one bar. It seems to auto change that every time I add notes to the second bar.

Maybe there re some tips 'n tricks I need to learn for this?

Regards
Bernt


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The note editor is a little unusual but once you get the hang of it it is quite practical.

Notes are essentially all created to a long length and then shortened to adjust to meet the next note placed on the stave. You can further shorten a note by adding rest(s) at the appropriate location.

Don't use 'Force Accidental' to change the F to an F#. Edit and change the note value to a Gb. It will then show correctly (depending on the key signature of course).

This video may also assist:


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Also, for the note to flip,I’m wondering if you have a transposition in effect?


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Matt, I tested and placed an F on the stave then edited the note and selected 'Force Accidental' to a Sharp and it caused the note to show as an E, as the O/P had described. I suspect that was what was occurring. Selecting Gb instead worked fine.


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Yikes.

EDIT: I'm not yet convinced. See my comment below.

Last edited by Matt Finley; 05/13/19 04:26 AM.

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Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
Yikes.
Yes, it wasn't the result I expected either !!!


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OK, let's explore this in more detail.


I'm using the latest Build 628.


In a fresh song, key signature of C, I enter an F (natural) on the editable notation.

I right-click on the note, Edit Note, Force Accidental, Sharp. I get E#.

That's right; that's enharmonically correct.


Next I right-click on the note, Edit Note, change Note using the arrow controls to F#. Force Accidental still says Sharp. I get F#.

That's right.


Next I right-click on the note, Edit Note, change Force Accidental to Auto. The F# in Note changes to Gb. That's annoying, but it still works.


Then I change Force Accidental to Sharp. The Gb turns to an F#. This is a bit mind-bending, but it works.



So, tell me the problem step by step that makes something NOT work. And tell me the key signature of the song, whether any transposition setting is in effect, and the chord at that point.



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I use the shift, Cntl, and Alt buttons as I enter the note. If you hold down these keys as you add the note it will make it sharp, flat or natural depending on which key you use. It's fewer key strokes as well


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Yep, BIAB gives you many ways to do some things.

Dave, are you experiencing a problem as described above?


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I haven't had a problem - at least not yet. But again I haven't had to use it recently.

I just tried it again and it definitely works.

Last edited by Dave; 05/13/19 06:47 AM.

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berntd Offline OP
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Originally Posted By: Matt Finley
OK, let's explore this in more detail.


I'm using the latest Build 628.


In a fresh song, key signature of C, I enter an F (natural) on the editable notation.

I right-click on the note, Edit Note, Force Accidental, Sharp. I get E#.

That's right; that's enharmonically correct.


Next I right-click on the note, Edit Note, change Note using the arrow controls to F#. Force Accidental still says Sharp. I get F#.

That's right.


Next I right-click on the note, Edit Note, change Force Accidental to Auto. The F# in Note changes to Gb. That's annoying, but it still works.


Then I change Force Accidental to Sharp. The Gb turns to an F#. This is a bit mind-bending, but it works.



So, tell me the problem step by step that makes something NOT work. And tell me the key signature of the song, whether any transposition setting is in effect, and the chord at that point.



You seem to be doing what I did but you have different (correct) results.
I started with an F and making it sharp resulted in an E which is wrong.

I am not aware of any transposing. I simply started afresh and entered the chords.
It plays the chords correctly at the correct pitch.
I did not enter any signature either so it should be just C.


I gave up last time I did this.
Reason was that I was not able to extend the notes to the correct length of 1 and 1/8 bar.
Every time I added a note into the 2nd 8th of the second bar (after the extended note), the duration of the extended note (1 + 1/8) changed automatically and I was not able to fix it.

Regards
Bernt


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Thanks. You answered two of my questions. The key signature is C and there is no transposition in effect. How about the third question: what is the chord at the point you enter this note? I’m just trying to figure out why our results are different.


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berntd Offline OP
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Sorry for the delay.
I can confirm the chord to be C.

The attached picture shows what I am struggling to enter.

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I’m not seeing a problem within that image. The first note?


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Originally Posted By: berntd

For example,
I entered an F by clicking it in place. Then edit the note by right click->edit note. I then make the F a sharp.

Zoom, the F became an E instead of an F#!
That problem seems repeatable.

It's not quite clear what you try to express via 'I then make the F a sharp'.

Maybe you tried to have an F dispayed as E# via clicking on 'Sharp' within the Force Accidental note edit dialog at some entered note E? The Force Accidental dialog just affects the display of accidentals - it won't change notes, such as an E to an E# or F for that matter.

But then again, 'the F became an E instead of an F#' sort of doesn't make sense at all.

We likely need just more info here.

For what it's worth, the Edit Note dialog works here like a charm.


Martin
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