Hi Jim.

I have been thinking about what you said in your most recent post and wondering if my problems with the RealTracks add-on has anything to do with not really understanding what RealTracks are or how they work in anything other than a very superficial way.

Until quite recently, I wasn't even interested in RealTracks. Midi has worked well for me for many years. When the end product is a printed musical score, with perhaps an accompanying demo or practice "tape", I don't really need much else. Now that I am attempting to produce music for direct use in live performances, the situation has changed. This is what has forced me into looking at RealTracks.

Up until now I have just accepted PG Music's marketing hype that you just type in some chords, select a suitable style and press the button for instant music. Perhaps this is the wrong way to look at working with RealTracks. I have been searching the internet including this forum for more information, I found what seems to be a lot of conflicting ideas and get the impression that I am not the only one who is confused. Is it correct to say that with RealTracks, the "old fashion" styles are now obsolete or at least redundant? Does the RealTracks Picker Dialogue replace the StylePicker? Is there a new or better way to work than simply selecting a style and pushing a button? If these assumptions are at all correct it would make what PGMusic are saying about their add-on sets much more understandable.

In my search for information I came across a couple of video tutorials on how to make your own RealTracks which I understand are called UserTracks. These tutorials didn't look too forbidding. I think I will have a go at trying to create my own RealTrack/UserTrack. In doing so I hope to increase my knowledge and understanding of this technology. It will probably take me a few weeks or even longer to produce something that sounds half reasonable but if I can accomplish this I will post a summary of my experiences on the UserTracks thread of this forum.

Regards
Tim