Yesterday I found a progression at my fingertips, worked on it, found the tempo in BIAB, entered the chords n structure. I went for whatever style picker offered that encompassed It's Only Rock N Roll by the Rolling Stones. That gave me a pretty nifty drum track, (still tackling a clicky kick though). This morning I added three guitars and bass then had BIAB build a solo to help map out the structure more clearly. No ideas about narrative or, shudder, melody BUT it was fun hammering away at the guitar. Sounds a bit Crazy Horse to my ears. JUNE NEXT MIX I swapped a different cymbal pattern into the B (chorus) sections as I THINK the original was too splashy. Does the change work? TWEAKS LATEST MIX I've replaced the RealTrack Wah solo with mu own awful one and put in a scratch/sketch vocal that's only semi solid in the chorus and is low in the mix in the verses as it's VERY sketchy. TWEAKED some more
Slightly reworked lyrics and retracked vocal...a little stronger... Incremental progress
Draft Lyric
Instead of Fireworks
V1 Just a spoon full of honey makes the acid less sour He’d lose the ego the light in his soul would devour He felt the beginning as Karma took power.
C1 The Eclipsed Celebrity Death Club Czar Wondered if he’d left the doors ajar Wrote “…one hundred micrograms intra muscular”
V2 Swami complained he’d broken the doors of perception He looked outward focusing on introspection Alice’s script was another Disney deception
C2 The Eclipsed Celebrity Death Club Czar Hadn’t noted the date on his calendar Wrote “…one hundred micrograms intra muscular” Solo
V3 The point as always was counter point And he ignored young Bess’s offer to anoint He knew from the first this brave new world would disappoint
Last edited by rayc; 06/15/2012:27 PM.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Nice progression in agreement with a pleasant metal style. The guitar solo comes a little late. But the mix is great. Best regard Dero13 alias JaniJackFlash
Thanks for listening Dero. If it sounds like metal I'll have to do a rethink though.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Hi Ray, This is you on all the guitars? Nice! I especially like that wha guitar. Nice progression! Lots of potential with this one, looking forward to hearing it fleshed out.
Everything but the drums and WAH is me. That's a BIAB realsolo. Thanks for your kind words. The Realtrack WAH will go if/when I have something to replace it with. I have a nice old (late 80s) JH1 Wah and I love it BUT I can't play lead for the life of me.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
LOVE the "getting ready" noises at the beginning!!
Great energy. The guitars are talking loud-and-proud. I wanted the bass to have just a little more "definition". It gets a little lost in the mix at times.
Ray, Nice! Sometimes coolest things come unexpectedly. I liked the panning effect of guitars. Wah works like a charm. I do wish to hear more of the bass, kind of hiding, and it is the one you want to hear. Overall, very solid bed. Interesting where it would lead. Thank you for sharing!
ray, LOVE the "getting ready" noises at the beginning!! Great energy. The guitars are talking loud-and-proud. I wanted the bass to have just a little more "definition". It gets a little lost in the mix at times. This is close already. Looking forward to see where it goes.... fj
Thank you sir, Bass tweaked on suggestions from yourself and Misha. I'm becoming quite keen on the potential cinema verite aspects that can be included in a simple song vid. I think I need a plugging in noise to fake the real!
Last edited by rayc; 06/12/2001:37 AM.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Ray, Nice! Sometimes coolest things come unexpectedly. I liked the panning effect of guitars. Wah works like a charm. I do wish to hear more of the bass, kind of hiding, and it is the one you want to hear. Overall, very solid bed. Interesting where it would lead. Thank you for sharing!
Misha.
Thanks Misha, I've tweaked the bass a bit for you.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
We didn't listen before the bass tweaks but it certainly sounds good now.
Man, that snare sounds huge in a good way.
Great use of the wah RT.
The distortion tracks are really good. Tom Adams once told me that "grit comes from putting hair around the edges." You have just the right amount of "hair."
Look forward to the final product!
J&B
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
Cool song you made. I am curious how the singing will be in it. That chordprogression gives the song a very nice tension. The only thing is I can't hear 'Crazy horses' in it. I played that song many times, but maybe I had another version ;-) But who cares when your final song comes out. It already sounds very strong. And with a smoky abrasive voice it must be marvelous. Keep on going!
We didn't listen before the bass tweaks but it certainly sounds good now. Man, that snare sounds huge in a good way. Great use of the wah RT. The distortion tracks are really good. Tom Adams once told me that "grit comes from putting hair around the edges." You have just the right amount of "hair." Look forward to the final product! J&B
Thanks J&B, The snare was strong in the RealDrum track. I found its freq, and gave it a little bump upward. The reverb on the drums, (wide chamber instrument), did the rest I think. There's not much of it but just enough to accentuate. I was surprised at the distortion...the amp isn't "dimed" and the master volume is at about 2 but I used at 70s EQ pedal to boost and as well as adding a strong mid peak. Thanks again.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Cool song you made. I am curious how the singing will be in it. That chordprogression gives the song a very nice tension. The only thing is I can't hear 'Crazy horses' in it. I played that song many times, but maybe I had another version ;-) But who cares when your final song comes out. It already sounds very strong. And with a smoky abrasive voice it must be marvelous. Keep on going!
Hans
Hans, THIS Crazy Horse... The otehr one - well, if it was the Osmonds then I can understand the difference - that one sold REALLY well in the US but it's weird hard rock for a boy band. Thanks for the kind words.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Hey rayc, I really like the gritty, grungy sound on that track from the guitars and the chord progression is pretty cool too. I think any hint of metal is probably coming from one of those chord transitions, and the fact that the transitions are pretty rapid and more chromatic than diatonic (to my ear). I would say there's definitely a Neil Young'ish vibe in there but he probably had too much "stimulant" .
Cool song!
Ed Z
Soundcloud profile https://soundcloud.com/user-415064494 BIAB user since 2019 iPad Mini, Garageband for iOS, BIAB for Windows 2020 UltraPAK, Xtra Styles packs 6-9, Windows 10 Lenovo PC, Kontakt Player, SpitFire LABS, SampleTank 4 CS, some Soundfonts
Cool song you made. I am curious how the singing will be in it. That chordprogression gives the song a very nice tension. The only thing is I can't hear 'Crazy horses' in it. I played that song many times, but maybe I had another version ;-) But who cares when your final song comes out. It already sounds very strong. And with a smoky abrasive voice it must be marvelous. Keep on going!
Hans
Hans, THIS Crazy Horse... The otehr one - well, if it was the Osmonds then I can understand the difference - that one sold REALLY well in the US but it's weird hard rock for a boy band. Thanks for the kind words.
Ah, now I understand our confusion on the name. I had the song of the Rolling Stones in mind. and now I can place your song better in this context. I think your song will be much better, but only when the vocals are included!
Hey rayc, I really like the gritty, grungy sound on that track from the guitars and the chord progression is pretty cool too. I think any hint of metal is probably coming from one of those chord transitions, and the fact that the transitions are pretty rapid and more chromatic than diatonic (to my ear). I would say there's definitely a Neil Young'ish vibe in there but he probably had too much "stimulant" . Cool song!
Ed Z, Thank you sir, This was an attempt by me to slow down as I'd be beyond 130 to 160 recently. This represents a stately pace for me at the moment and the changes are , at their most frequent, only one per bar. I think that comes from me being, basically, a bass player used to filling in the space between chord changes so now write to avoid spaces...min you it was uncommon for me, and rather difficult, to hammer away at just Em for eight bars for the intro, but I made myself do it. I can see how the "slipping in" of a chromatic change could give a modern metal impression - along with mostly power chords for the verses. I was recently torn to shreds online by a bloke who couldn't handle me writing without a root chord. Music is wonderfully liberating until one allows the "rules" to tie one down. I can see you're not tethered! Again, thanks for your generous words.
Oh, I LOVE the tag Ed Z... in Oz/NZ/UK English that's Edd Zed.
Last edited by rayc; 06/13/2002:23 AM.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Hi Ray, This is really one kick @ss song! IMHO it don't need no stinking vocal. YMMV Super groove and a spot on mix. Good work here!
Thanks Mario, With my voice it's better off with no steenkeeng vocal. When I let the RealTrack solo play through I'd agree with you BUT I started making music in my late teens becasue i was writing bad poetry that had a better chance of not being laughed at if it were hung on chords. After all, most folk don't read lyrics. Thanks for your very kind assessment.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PDT today!
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Another exciting new addition is the amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
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Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
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Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
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2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
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This Free Bonus PAK includes:
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-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
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MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
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