Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 50
M
miseg Offline OP
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
M
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 50
When I work with a song, I normally create a dozen or so different tracks (multiple generation and export to files) and finish the work in Cubase.
A very typical need is to tell some tracks/instruments to ignore the holds that I have entered (C.. or C...), or in some cases pushes (^C or ^^C).
Can this be done on a track-by-track basis?

Cheers
Mikael

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,792
R
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
R
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,792
Breaks - Rests, Shots, and Held Chords

Breaks are points in a song when one or more of the instruments rests, plays a shot, or holds a chord.

- Rests specify any, some, or all instruments to rest at any bar. For example, you could rest all instruments except the bass for the first 4 bars, and then add the piano for 4 bars, and then add the entire band for the rest of the song. You may optionally disable the rests in the middle or final choruses (e.g., where you would likely have a solo, and rests may not be appropriate).

- Shots specify certain instruments play a “shot,” where the chord is played and then a rest follows. For example, the song “Rock Around the Clock” has a shot on beat 1 followed by a rest for 2 bars. The duration of “shots” is 60 ticks per beat.

- Held chords specify that certain instruments hold a chord sustained for a certain number of bars. For example, you can have the bass and piano hold a chord sustained while the drums continue to play a pattern.

A chord can be specified as a by adding a period after the chord.

C. indicates a C chord that is a REST.

C.. indicates a C chord that is a SHOT.

C... indicates a C chord that is a HELD CHORD.

Selecting BREAKS for different instruments.

You can specify that some instruments not be affected by the rhythm break.

The coded names for the instruments are:

B for Bass, D for Drums, P for Piano, G for Guitar, and S for Strings.

To type a rest for all instruments on a C chord type C.

To exempt instruments, add their letters following the break. For example, C.bd will put a rest on all instruments EXCEPT the bass and drums.

To indicate a held chord for all instruments except the piano, type C...p

I believe the same theory holds true for the pushes as well.


HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB/RB 2026, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 11 , Presonus Audiobox USB96
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,094
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 21,094
In short, generally, yes. In MIDI they should be available always as long as these are available (not all styles have these available). In RealTracks, again, depending on the availability of those phrases with the RealTracks you are using.

Specify the instrument names that you don't want to be affected by the modifier, e.g Ebm7...b will play a hold on all instruments except the bass.


BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 50
M
miseg Offline OP
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
M
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 50
Sorry, I might not have explained thoroughly.

I do know of hard coding exceptions on each push, break etc.

What I would like, is a way to totally exclude one (or several) particular track(s)/instrument(s) from all pushes, holds etc WITHOUT having to go through and re-edit the whole song.

One example:
I create a good general backing track (using all available tracks) with a lot of rests/shots/holds/pushes and then export these wav-files to Cubase. Next I'd like to replace some of the tracks with for instance a solo instrument that completely ignores the rests/shots/holds/pushes. Perhaps also some BIAB vocals, that typically do not handle shots/pushes so well.
For this scenario, it would be very useful to be able to somehow tell individual track(s) to ignore rests/shots/holds and pushes.

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,950
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,950
Originally Posted By: miseg
Sorry, I might not have explained thoroughly.

I do know of hard coding exceptions on each push, break etc.

What I would like, is a way to totally exclude one (or several) particular track(s)/instrument(s) from all pushes, holds etc WITHOUT having to go through and re-edit the whole song.

One example:
I create a good general backing track (using all available tracks) with a lot of rests/shots/holds/pushes and then export these wav-files to Cubase. Next I'd like to replace some of the tracks with for instance a solo instrument that completely ignores the rests/shots/holds/pushes. Perhaps also some BIAB vocals, that typically do not handle shots/pushes so well.
For this scenario, it would be very useful to be able to somehow tell individual track(s) to ignore rests/shots/holds and pushes.


Could this help??

Attached Files (Click to download or enlarge) (Only available when you are logged in)
Capture.JPG (72.94 KB, 64 downloads)

Retired to Make Music - No Plan B
My SoundCloud
Preview My Current Project .

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 50
M
miseg Offline OP
Enthusiast
OP Offline
Enthusiast
M
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 50
Closer, but ... could you do that _per_track_ ?

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,950
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 12,950
Originally Posted By: miseg
Closer, but ... could you do that _per_track_ ?


Maybe?
1) Freeze all tracks within the chord chart.
2) Unfreeze the individual track.
3) Dissallow the timing adjustments in song settings
4) Regen and Play. All frozen tracks should maintain the timing adjustment and the individual selected track should lose the timing adjustments. In Theory!

Let us know. This trick with freezing individual tracks have proven effective at times for things like this.

Last edited by MusicStudent; 06/17/20 03:52 AM.

Retired to Make Music - No Plan B
My SoundCloud
Preview My Current Project .

Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,569
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,569
That’s how I would do it.

Another method would be to enter the chords, record those tracks to your DAW, then add the shots and holds etc. and record those. Now you have all the raw materials in your DAW.

I think to do what you want after the fact, without alternately freezing tracks, would require a feature that BIAB doesn’t have, so head to the Wishlist Forum.


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
Band-in-a-Box for Windows
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,867
C
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
C
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,867
<<< I think to do what you want after the fact, without alternately freezing tracks, would require a feature that BIAB doesn’t have, so head to the Wishlist Forum. >>>

The wish list isn't necessary to complete the tasks this user wants to do. BIAB does have a feature to do this. It's available solely within the BIAB Mixer in fewer steps than the alternate methods offered. He can access advanced freezing and saving tracks to folders features by converting individual tracks or combination of tracks to user created Artist Performance Tracks. APT's work with every sound media BIAB recognizes, Midi, samples, loops, RealTracks, RealDrums and live or pre-recorded audio in any combination of these media types. The tracks or renders are frozen, a WAV/WMA file named and saved to a folder. Volume automation and levels, panning, plug-ins, effects, tone are all saved in the rendered file.

In this users workflow, he can generate and save dozens of tracks with or without effects and then generate those same tracks flat, dry and centered without ever leaving BIAB or having to open Cubase or any other DAW.


BIAB 2026:RB 2026, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!

All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!

It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.

What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?

XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!

Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!

The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.

The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.

The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.

Note: 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.

The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!

Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos

With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.

Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.

Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!

Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac is here and it is packed with major new features! There’s a new modern look, a GUI redesign to all areas of the program including toolbars, windows, workflow and more. There’s a Multi-view layout for organizing multiple windows. A standout addition is the powerful AI-Notes feature, which uses AI neural-net technology to transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI—entire mixes or individual instruments—making it easy to study, view, and play parts from any song. And that’s just the beginning—there are over 100 new features in this exciting release.

Along with version 2026, we've released an incredible lineup of new content! There's 202 new RealTracks, brand-new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two new RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!

Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac and save up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special offer—available until May 15, 2026. Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page to explore all available upgrade options.

2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
Our Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK are loaded with amazing add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is included with most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac packages, but you can unlock even more—including 20 unreleased RealTracks—by upgrading to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49.

Holiday Weekend Hours

As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:

April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours

Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!

— Team PG

Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!

If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!

If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.

Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® users: Build 1237 is now available!

Already a Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows user? Stay up to date and download the build 1237 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.

Forum Statistics
Forums57
Topics86,206
Posts801,939
Members40,069
Most Online64,515
Apr 8th, 2026
Newest Members
Allan63, brekkea, isledge, Gtrplr66, Mando Kat
40,068 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 118
zedd 110
DC Ron 101
rsdean 89
Noel96 79
Today's Birthdays
mike5256
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5