Shots and holds are playing techniques that one can use for playback. The usual method of setting them is by pressing F5 after clicking on the chordsheet.
A shot is where the notes play on the first beat of the chord and then rest until the next chord. A hold is where the notes play on the first beat and then hold (without rhythmical backing) until the next chord.
If you search help for SHOTS you will find some useful information to read through.
Incidentally, that file is an UPDATE of the many shorts and holds BIAB has. You have always has the ability to use them. And it's not the only update; there are more recent. Go here: https://www.pgmusic.com/support_windows_realtracks.htm
Within BIAB, I like the Help, Rests entry. It covers Rests, Shots and Holds. These three features give you tremendous power to help make music on a computer come alive. One of the topics is the keyboard shortcuts of one, two or three periods after a chord name. It's an alternative to using Alt+F5 as mentioned by Noel.
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.
All BIAB updates, both for versions of the program and RealTracks, are cumulative. You’ve probably long since had them.
The beauty of how PG Music handles updates is that it never hurts to install again when in doubt. The patch checks files by date and ignores a newer installed file than the file in the patch. Not to worry.
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.
My apologies, Berndt. I must have had a brain fade!
It's ALT+F5 -- this is the shortcut for "Chord settings".
The below PG Music video is around 2.5 mins long and explains shots, holds and rests. Although it's on an older version of BIAB, the principle is similar today.
If you want a Rest, just enter a single period (.) after the chord (e.g. G7.) If you want a Shot, enter two periods (..) after the chord If you want a Hold, enter an ellipsis (three periods ...) after the chord (e.g. G7...)
Check out the Help by searching for "Rest, Shots and Holds". It explains in detail.
I think this is what you are referring to? Otherwise, please advise.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Win 10 Professional, Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors
I find the shots part of the shots and hold useless because it affects all the tracks when used and there is no way to make the shots work for only one track.
Computer: Macbook Pro, 16 inch 2021 DAWs: Pro Tools, Logic, and Maschine plays drums, percussion, bass, steel pan, keyboard, music producer/engineer
Use ALT+F5 (WIndows machines) to enter "Chord Settings" and then it's possible to set tracks so that only particular ones will play or not play. The Melody and Soloist tracks are the only two that cannot be controlled individually.
Ok, I am at it again and here are the details as it just does not work for me.
Here is a screen shot...
Bar 1,2,3 have Holds Bar 4 has 2 shots Bar 36 has a shot
This plays once but when it hits the 1/2nd ending repeat, it goes silent forever. I am probably not using something correctly but what is it?
Edit: I noticed that it also does not work when I get rid of the shot at bar 36. I then DOES repeat but just plays Bb forever although the progress bar moves correctly across the chords from bar 5.
Last edited by berntd; 07/26/1903:44 PM.
Band in a Box Latest: ULTRA 2020 (734) on Win 10 And: MEGA 2020 (720) on Windows 7
Here is more detail yet. Note how in the linear view, the repeated section is just grey for the most part, no chords present except in the last few bars.
Band in a Box Latest: ULTRA 2020 (734) on Win 10 And: MEGA 2020 (720) on Windows 7
That second image is very valuable information. Thank you for posting it.
I see that you have created the repeat by right-clicking on the chord sheet and making the repeat.
If you do a repeat this way, you will need to copy the chords into the grayed out bar section. This type of repeat is meant to be used in Fakesheet mode and is a way of contracting the music (usually for printout).
Here's a PG Music video that explains more about this mode. It's 15 minutes long and worth the watch.
Given the information in your first image, it's possible to set BIAB to repeat without having to use the method that you have. See the graphic below.
In BIAB a "Chorus" is defined as "once through the entire song". The "Start Bar" means "that bar where the chorus starts (i.e. after the introduction ends).
If you used CTRL+T to change to standard view instead of fullscreen view, these inputs are labeled and make a little more sense.
In BIAB, I always lay my songs out linearly as a once-through event. This gives me maximum control with how I want it to sound. The only time I use the repeats that you did is if I want to reduce my printout to a few pages as possible.
Did you use the tutorial file mentioned in the manual? That is, "Miles1 Tutorial (no repeats yet)" that's found in bb\Documentation\Tutorials.
As you can see, with this file, and before the Repeat/Ending is generated, all the chords have been entered. It is after entering all the chords for the entire song that the repeat is created. The second image that you posted above seems to show that chords have not been entered in the second section -- this is the grayed out area and if chords were entered they would still be visible.
In case it's useful information, it's often a bit confusing to think of BIAB in terms of sheet music since sheet music is about condensing notation into as little space as possible for printing. I prefer to think of BIAB like a performance where it starts at the beginning and goes to the end. That is what I meant by the above when I said that I lay my songs out linearly from start to finish. I don't use codas, endings, etc.
When I get an opportunity, I will try setting up the repeats with a single bar for ending 1 and see what happens. Right at the moment, I'm not in a position to do this.
Regards, Noel
P.S. One other thought, if the second section of chords were not entered, was the option "Generate (insert) new bars" activated before the "OK-Make Repeat" button was clicked on? If this option was not selected, it could result in something like the second image shows.
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We've just released XPro Styles PAK 10 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 28 RealTracks and RealDrums!
Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
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Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
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