Okay, first of all, Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! I hope you and yours are doing well and having a great time and all that.
Now, on to the topic at hand. I know this isn't the case with all RealTracks, but it is with many of them. You know how, when you click on the Notation icon, then a RealTrack track, often the notation information will be displayed? Well, just how hard would it be for BiaB to go ahead and create a MIDI track from this info, if the user so desired? Seems like BiaB's already done it, in order to display the notation information, right?
Or maybe this is possible, and I just haven't found a way yet how to do it?
Why would I want to replace a RealTrack with a (possibly inferior) MIDI track? Simple. I can edit the MIDI track, and with a decent synth and other controls, you can get MIDI track sounding very nice. But mostly, I can EDIT it. I can move it around, rearrange it, and place elements of it where I want in a piece of music. Can't easily do that with a RealTrack. Well, I suppose you can chop up a RealTrack, but it isn't so easy changing what's being played.
Currently, if I wanted to copy a RealTrack, I'd have to print it to a .pdf file, then load that file into a character recognition program like SmartScore X Pro or PhotoScore & NotateMe to produce a MIDI file. Both of these packages tend to be problematic, but they work, more or less. Or, I could just do it the manual way and notate the chart into a notation package, like MuseScore. But it would sure be nice if I could just save the track(s) as a MIDI file, which it appears I'm not able to do.
So I guess that would be a big wish list item of mine for a future version of BiaB.
If the Realtrack has MIDI notation associated with it, it's very easy to create a MIDI file of that track.
Simply click on the track on the top display of tracks (not the tracks in the mixer), hold the mouse button down, and drag the track to the MID quadrant of the dropbox.
The MIDI is created in a click of the fingers and you'll find it in \bb\DragDrop (which can be accessed by right-clicking on the dropbox).
I do this regularly -- especially with piano, drums and bass. As you've already pointed out, editing is really powerful with MIDI and a good softsynth can achieve excellent results.
The image below shows how I do it with notated Realdrums.
. How can I tell, by looking, if the RT has midi notation associated with it? Thanks...
Look for the underline in the track header.
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If the RealTrack does not have MIDI notation attached to it, one can pull the track into Melodyne then export it as MIDI. However for this Melodyne is required. If the part is polyphonic (eg piano, guitar) you will require at least the Editor version of Melodyne.
Tony
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Thanks Dan, I figured out the answer to my question, and then deleted my post... I realize now I should not have done that... No stupid questions, right?
If the RealTrack does not have MIDI notation attached to it, one can pull the track into Melodyne then export it as MIDI. However for this Melodyne is required. If the part is polyphonic (eg piano, guitar) you will require at least the Editor version of Melodyne.
Thanks Dan, I figured out the answer to my question, and then deleted my post... I realize now I should not have done that... No stupid questions, right?
I was always taught that it is easy to recover from a stupid question but often difficult to recover from a stupid mistake. Also, a common saying is “there are no stupid questions just stupid answers”.
Tony
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home, Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612 BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
If the Realtrack has MIDI notation associated with it, it's very easy to create a MIDI file of that track.
Simply click on the track on the top display of tracks (not the tracks in the mixer), hold the mouse button down, and drag the track to the MID quadrant of the dropbox.
The MIDI is created in a click of the fingers and you'll find it in \bb\DragDrop (which can be accessed by right-clicking on the dropbox).
I do this regularly -- especially with piano, drums and bass. As you've already pointed out, editing is really powerful with MIDI and a good softsynth can achieve excellent results.
The image below shows how I do it with notated Realdrums.
Regards, Noel
Wow! Thanks, Noel! Something told me there had to be a way to do this within BiaB. Glad I was right and I'm really glad I asked the question because I would have never figured that one out.
Cool, so I just now converted a half dozen tracks to MIDI. Looks like I'm gonna have some editing fun in the next few hours.
I had one more question, but I think I answered it. I was wondering if I could do this conversion for tracks that did not display any musical notation data, and apparently the answer is "no." I've just tried a few different RealTracks where notation data is not displayed and, instead of that little MID box in the DragDrop turning green it turns red and there's a note that pops up in the bottom right corner of the screen, saying basically that there's nothing to be displayed. Too bad.
I don't know if I have a copy of Melodyne Editor -- probably don't. I just discovered earlier today that apparently I have a Melodyne VSTi -- it came up in Cakewalk, as I was having it scan for VSTi's.
So if the track is of an ensemble, such as a horn section, Melodyne won't work as well? Seems to me it could be treated about the same way a piano score would.
The freebie versions given with daws are usually Melodyne Essential. Melodyne Essential won’t do polyphonic. It is ok for vocal, bass or a single horn and that sort of thing. Right now (29th Nov 2019) the upgrade from Essential to the Editor version is US$149 at Pluginboutique. With the editor you can do polyphonic tracks so converting piano tracks or guitar tracks is possible.
I don’t often convert to MIDI but this discussion had my interest up. I dropped a guitar RealTrack to MIDI then used Addictive Keys to play it back. It gave me a really nice addition to the song. Thanks for sparking a thought.
Tony
Last edited by Teunis; 11/28/1908:53 PM.
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home, Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612 BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
It would seem that Assistant or upwards is required for Audio to MIDI. The base version that came with Cakewalk (Essential) doesn't seem to have that support feature.
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It would seem that Assistant or upwards is required for Audio to MIDI. The base version that came with Cakewalk (Essential) doesn't seem to have that support feature.
Thanks for that I never even considered the Essential version does not do Audio to MIDI. Whilst the Assistant version does I don’t think it can do Polyphonic note editing or MIDI conversion. (It’s been a long time for me as I’ve owned the Editor version for years).
Tony
HP i7-4770 16GB 1TB SSD, Win 10 Home, Focusrite 2i2 3rd Gen, Launchkey 61, Maton CW80, Telecaster, Ovation Elite TX, Yamaha Pacifica 612 BB 2022(912) RB 2022(2), CakeWalk, Reaper 6, Audacity, Melodyne 5 Editor, Izotope Music Production Suite 4.1
Band-in-a-Box can transcribe audio to MIDI, as long as it is a monophonic instrument. In the Audio Edit window, click on the [Edit] button and choose Transcribe. This will transcribe the entire track, or the selected region, into MIDI on the Melody or Soloist track.
This feature is available in version 2018 or higher.
To first get a RealTrack copied to the Audio track, one way is to right-click on the Master radio button (top-left), and choose Render Song to Audio Track.
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Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
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128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
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Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
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We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
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New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Windows!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
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