So this is just amazing and I am sure some of the other Synths are too! As I get time I will check into them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5-ksmyh5H4&feature=youtu.be However where is the help video for getting the midi output of this into the BIAB melody track? I have 3 uses for this in my Jazz jams Club. If all this can do is play guitar on a keyboard that would be a major disappointment.
Also I am thinking I might create a working start of this "making BIAB Midi Notation sound real course" on my Jazz Jams Club website once I get this video. I will do it as I get my act together :-) I won't create the sample comparison database however. I am far too overloaded to pull that off.
Right, I think that since Dare to Compare was made over a decade ago, the number (and quality) of softsynths has exploded. The number of hardware synths is more, too, but by a far less degree. With so many available, it would be overwhelming for PG Music to demo them all. So that’s why I think a practical way to do it is as follows:
PG Music creates three or so BIAB song files, one each in a couple of genres like country, pop, and jazz. The styles used should be available to all, from the Pro version of BIAB.
PG Music creates a new version of the Dare to Compare Web page with MP3 audio of whatever synths they offer or sell, playing these song files.
PG Music makes the MGU song files available to us.
We prepare audio files using our choice of synth. We follow their guidelines about maximum volume and sample rate etc.
We send these audio files to PG Music with info about what created them, a link to the vendor, and any out-of-the ordinary instructions needed to use it.
PG Music adds this info to their web page.
A separate but linked web page to follow would be a video showing installation in BIAB of a few of the more common synths. This would include coverage of VST3, Kontakt Player, DXi, patch maps. Etc.
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.
Sounds like a good plan Matt. Part of the reason I could not do the database I mentioned is I am not much of a web programmer. I put together a VPS site once. Much of that is forgotten. My database is at home. I ship the page up to the web server. A full time pro data based web programmer would probably find my idea easy and not only that make it real slick as the existing one is. But your ideas merge well such that the best of both could most likely be done.
Also I have a suspicion any BIAB track can be turned into a midi melody track. So the course should include how to do this. If could be an appendix. I have use for this. One track for melody and 1 or 2 tracks for fills but a different midi instrument. The first 4 tracks are for a standard drums, bass, piano & guitar backing real tracks. Our objective of a jam is to replace the first 4 out with live players and the melody track as well. However the fill midi tracks often will be kept and if this is done the guitar real track would be kept as a click. Anyway, I can't see myself going out and spending money until I have this full course complete and this is the stinger for PG Music. A product is not of much value if you do not know how to use it.
Oh, I want those horns! I'm not a keyboard player, though. At least not in real time. Is there a way to get those controllers and articulations in with BIAB? Do the MIDI sounds come preprogrammed with, say, vibrato on the end of the longer notes, etc.? How can one get this stuff using step entry methods? Like select a note and choose a crescendo for that one note, etc.? Can I step enter edit the notes of the MIDI file in the Inignus software, and then import the MIDI file into BIAB or Real Band?
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Oh, I want those horns! I'm not a keyboard player, though. At least not in real time. Is there a way to get those controllers and articulations in with BIAB? Do the MIDI sounds come preprogrammed with, say, vibrato on the end of the longer notes, etc.? How can one get this stuff using step entry methods? Like select a note and choose a crescendo for that one note, etc.? Can I step enter edit the notes of the MIDI file in the Inignus software, and then import the MIDI file into BIAB or Real Band?
The (BIAB, Notation, editable notation mode, right click on a note, Edit Note, velocity of the note) adjustment is the general area where a lot of the BIAB midi melody descriptions would likely be entered (vibrato, slide up to the note from the prior note, slide down to the note from the prior note, bend up/down rather than slide, pick angle, slap, etc). Maybe BIAB would know what Synth is installed and somehow allow one to tweak the notes here (maybe a button to take you to a whole new way to update the midi sounds the synth can handle).
Personally I am not a big fan of loosing the old tried and true methods of representing notes. I barely use Guitar tabs (just a tiny bit in MuseScore and just for exercises). I have spent most of my musical hours (like 99.9%) with sheet music in front of me and 85% of the time I do not look at my guitar fingers.
#1: I had standardized all BIAB files to MGU extension on the file. I changed one file to a midi super track 2653 to give a much better organ sounding melody and it forces it to SGU. This has forced me to change the file name on my system so I can call it.
#2: But later an even bigger killer problem occurred. It later changed it to not play the written melody at all.
So I have had to return an old BIAB file copy which has extension MGU and the tiny sounding guitar. For now our Jazz Jams Club members will continue to play melody. It was a few years ago I learned of all this. Maybe in a few years I can revisit this.
Well, at the beginning I was with you. The questions you were asking made sense to me and we were on the same page. But this thread has taken a turn and lost me.... Not sure what is being talked about?
And by the way, A MST will not play your melody! Nor will BIAB midi drive that VSTi Guitar to play your melody. That's not how this works!
Updating the website is not in the slightest difficult. I've been writing websites since 1994 when there were very few.
But you're making mistakes in terminology that makes me (and perhaps others) worry that you aren't quite there yet.
The (BIAB, Notation, editable notation mode, right click on a note, Edit Note, velocity of the note) adjustment is the general area where a lot of the BIAB midi melody descriptions would likely be entered (vibrato, slide up to the note from the prior note, slide down to the note from the prior note, bend up/down rather than slide, pick angle, slap, etc).
That's correct.
Maybe BIAB would know what Synth is installed and somehow allow one to tweak the notes here (maybe a button to take you to a whole new way to update the midi sounds the synth can handle).
BIAB does know what synth is loaded but no program is going to adapt to it; it's quite the other way - the software libraries or hardware synths need to play what's given them (and they don't sometimes, depends on what you buy). MIDI has no sound. MIDI is just instructions to a synth.
#1: I had standardized all BIAB files to MGU extension on the file. I changed one file to a midi super track 2653 to give a much better organ sounding melody and it forces it to SGU. This has forced me to change the file name on my system so I can call it.
Well, no. SGU is the extension BIAB uses for a song without a melody or soloist track. MGU means the song does have something on the melody or soloist track.
#2: But later an even bigger killer problem occurred. It later changed it to not play the written melody at all.
That sounds like you put your melody on a track other than the melody or soloist track, and the song regenerated it as it should. Start a separate thread on that problem and we'll figure it out. The problem might be from this statement: Also I have a suspicion any BIAB track can be turned into a midi melody track.
Unless you freeze the track immediately, it will regenerate. And if the style thinks there is a RealTrack there, you must alter the style to use MIDI on that track.
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.
Updating the website is not in the slightest difficult. I agree. I think that is what I said. I said I was not that great a website programmer but a person who does it day in and day out won't find making it a database a problem. For them easy.
BIAB does know what synth is loaded Yes, I assume that because of the dare to compare page.
but no program is going to adapt to it yes, my understanding is BIAB sends the midi instructions to the synth. Here is where I might be wrong. My understanding is BIAB can send no more than GM or GM2 midi instructions to the synth and these synth's need more in order to get that great realistic sound. But that begs the question "how did it feed proper melody instructions to those synths in the dare to compare web page". I think your Comment Matt that a few videos are needed is the solution to all this (videos tied together in proper prerequisite sequence by the course outline).
Well, no. SGU is the extension BIAB uses for a song without a melody or soloist track. MGU means the song does have something on the melody or soloist track. I guess I need to explain a little better. I call BIAB from two programs I wrote. A program written in PHP and Javascript and also in Microsoft access VBA (visual basic for applications). It actually works out to 4 databases I have the BIAB file on (don't ask - there is a very logical reason for it that has to do with a long history). I am guessing one reason BIAB keeps changing the extension is so they can scan the tracks for categories or the styles for categories. Okays so this will not change so I decided to put at least 1 melody note on all my BIAB song files to force them to consistently be .MGU. However if trying to get the Melody Midi track to sound like real instruments is going to lead to the file extension constantly changing on me I have to develop code smart enough to deal with that automatically.
So I had the BIAB melody track set to Midi Instrument Patch "27 Jazz Electric Guitar". I set it to this midi supertrack.
Quote:
Organ, Rhythm Funk Ev 100 This funky rhythm organ plays a mixture of held notes, melodies, and bluesy riffs that complement a variety of funk styles. It works best with instruments that play a steady rhythm since it is very syncopated. Full notation is included so you can see exactly what is being played in your arrangement. Tempo range: 85-125
I highlighted the part that might be the problem. That red sentence makes it sound like it is replacing my midi melody notes with a new set of midi melody notes but it took away the M in .MGU so I have no idea what it did. I am analysing the 3 midi options (Midi Instrument, Midi Super Track, Custom Midi Style). So these are different categories of midi instructions I take it. Changing the instrument does not clobber my notes. Maybe the other categories replace my notes (wiping out a lot of work and thus if this is true I should get a warming!). I am working with a BIAB song file copy. I will experiment. The experiment confirmed this. The organ track replaced my notes. I guess I don't use that one...lol. So I decided to save my working copy. It changed it to .SGU. Maybe this means "Solo". Okay so I tried the 3rd midi option "Custom Midi Style". This also clobbered my midi melody notes (no warning). However this time it did not change the file extension. It seems to have found a track from a midi style and dropped it in my melody track. Its a guitar rhythm. Clearly this is not what I want to do. They need a drop down for "Better Sounding Midi Melody Notes" and you get a list of soft synths to choose from just like the dare and compare web page. So then maybe it would be a good idea to tell the user the various ways you can go back to your notation and spice the notes up a bit with the edit note stuff that this synth can accept (that new button I was suggesting in the edit note dialog box).
Also I have a suspicion any BIAB track can be turned into a midi melody track. Unless you freeze the track immediately, it will regenerate. And if the style thinks there is a RealTrack there, you must alter the style to use MIDI on that track.
I was trying to get the link to Jim Fogle's #603053 post on page two but I can't get it to work. I left the question below about his diagram.
Quote:
I noticed that the Melody track and the Thru track are the only two that have the top plugin set to "Coyote WT" and "SampleTank 2.x". I am making a guess that these are synthesizer software and also guessing that another track could be set for midi if it has these two in its top plugin. Is that correct? Also if they are synthesizer software how can two be allowed? This area is so full of questions.
So I think you (Matt) partly answered the question I asked Jim. To change a track to be midi I have to change the style.
I liked the PG-Music web page that said "midi instructions are like the sheet music instruction and the synth is like the human that plays the music". Simple concept but there are a boat load of numbers and number categories involved :-) My understanding is everything beyond GM and GM2 is the wild west of lack of standards across synths.
So here is my problem. I must discipline myself to let go of this. I have become very distracted (from playing music and from some Jazz Jam Clubs shared recording projects we have on the go and from house repair projects that need to get done) by this very interesting topic of trying to get the BIAB melody track being able to produce the proper midi instructions to drive various synths that produce great instrument sounds (Did I get the terminology correct). This distraction is taking a lot longer than I thought it would (more than I can afford). When PG-Music has a well thought out course of learning tied directly to their BIAB melody track (and making other tracks Midi melody tracks) I will try again (hopefully I will have time). For now I have to get my guitar finger clauses back :-) Its also not fair on the users (you guys). I am very good at learning a difficult topic like this if I have the proper videos and web pages to read in the proper sequence (a course). Don't get me wrong. Experiments work to :-) The problem is they take a lot longer and you have to make sure your BIAB file is backed up :-)
Related directly to this thread's topic I woke this morning with a time and money saving idea. I entered it in my MS-Access reminder database. It is a habit I have that I find very useful. I normally write these to myself in the 2nd (You) person but I copied it here in the 1st (I) person so it does not sound like I am telling people what to do. It gives PG-Music an Idea how the BIAB melody can be used. Also some may not have heard of AnthemScore. ======== Subject: Here is the cheapest fastest way I can capture my playing at a jam and get it into midi melody in BIAB so I can use it for future solos or even writing a song.
Cheapest (No need for a midi guitar and expensive midi equipment). Fastest (No need to go through the very slow process of fixing bad timing in the BIAB notation).
Method:
Remember, after the jam I have my solo on a separate track in .wav format.
Use AnthemScore to both analyse the full mix of the song and also your track's .wav file.
With either or both of these files use (AnthemScore's default spectrogram with notes) to figure our the notes of your solo and punch them directly into BIAB.
You can punch this into the melody track (if to be used for a song) or the solo track (if to be used for future solos as a lick-riff-motif idea).
Maybe you punch it into both and even use it at a live jam. In this case maybe a different instrument is used and you select a great soft/hard synth to play it. Maybe the soft synth can be changed in the Bar Settings dialog box????
Other uses for AnthemScore and punching notation directly into BIAB.
Capture other riffs from great artist records to be used at the jam. In this case at the jam use a BIAB click track along with the riff on the BIAB solo track.
A very difficult melody no one can play. Maybe the guy who initiated the jam could play it but he did not show up. BIAB plays the melody with a good synth for mimicking his instrument.
Sending members the shared recording backing tracks with melody before you have a chance to learn to play the melody. This could be from a BIAB file you picked up on the web which already has the melody.
======== One last comment about this. There might be faster ways to get the notation updated in BIAB using a keyboard but I am still pretty ambitions as a guitar player and this takes a lot of time. I don't really want to get too distracted from this goal of playing as well as I can. I know how to punch notes into BIAB pretty fast. The great majority of what I punch in is very simple. Having said that if the method of getting the notes into the BIAB melody track does not take a lot of (money, time to learn and BIAB bad timing correction time) I am all ears :-)
Okay here is my course outline page for making the BIAB Midi Melody and Solo tracks sound real. It started very rough. It is improving on the fly. It provides a central condensed location for the material such that I can quickly get back to material I need to review without trying to find it scattered about randomly in a giant forum thread on the topic. The objective is to eventually get it slick enough that I can use it and also later I can present it to the members of my Jazz Jams Club such that just maybe it will get some of them to buy BIAB which in turn will hopefully get them to be more likely to come out and participate in our jams. Maybe by that time the PG Music people will be thinking to themselves "We can easily out do John so lets make it happen". I am all for the very very best taking over :-) There is a saying that some great players can't teach worth a dam. In this case I suspect PG Music would be great teachers. In the mean time I will off and on look at it and improve it. I am open to any improvements in wording, sort order, prerequisite insertions, new videos, etc. Please remember our jam group has to use BIAB because the number of choruses often changes a few seconds before a song starts and I am already in a rush to get the next song going. BIAB works well.
Each time something comes in to improve it, I will make the changes and I will add a post to this thread with the link to the course outline.
Using the process shown by the arrows in the attached picture I first tried putting CoyoteWT in. That aborted and locked up the sound file. Luckily I had followed my habit of creating a temp version of my song file for that experiment. I used windows to close that abort down and brought in another working copy of the song file. This time I tried something I figured would not cause a problem as shown in the attached picture. I applied it but I hear no sound change. I finally noticed the help button. It is clearly worth clicking that button and reading the help. Hopefully that explains why I hear no sound change.
Anyway, as much as I am having a lot of fun I have to let it go for a while as I am under increasing pressure to get some Jazz Jams Club recording done. At this point the course outline should at least give a rough point A to point B learning process. As I learn more I will keep improving it and making additional pre-requisite sequence adjustments to it. I have already made my Jazz Jams Club members aware of it. I would say 40% of them have BIAB but most are not that advanced. It may help them at least be aware of the potential BIAB has.
I just did a complete review, reorganize and improvement to the lower section of the Course outline: Getting the BIAB midi (melody and solo tracks) to sound real. It is much easier to read and includes a better button breakout for the Dare-To-Compare Page. A special 3 way button for Midi Melody entry is now included. To go directly to these improvements click the link and ctrl+F string search for "28th". From there to the very end has been improved.
I am pretty sure I am finished that section now. After I get my two Jazz Jams Club recordings complete I hopefully can start the course myself...lol. That will most likely lead to improvements in the upper section of the course and these could go for a while.
John. It was explained way back in this thread, the problem is how you input the melody into Biab's melody track.
You referred to AnthemScore. That is a so-called audio to midi converter and so far all of those suck pretty bad. There have been threads about audio to midi converters here for years. People test them out and they're not very good. I looked it up and watched a vid of it. The demo song was very basic guitar and for that it picked up the notes pretty good. There is no mention in what I read or heard that it picks up any articulations, modulations etc. If the part is simple enough I can this saves you the time involved in entering the notes and that's ok but it doesn't help with make a solo line sound real. It's giving you just the notes. To make midi sound real you need all the articulations and other things I'll describe below.
I'll give you an example of the problem with midi in Biab. Someone enters in or, in this case imports a track created by AnthemScore onto the melody track and sets up a trumpet to play it. With no articulations etc, what you hear is a straight, solid, unwavering tone that sounds like a trumpet for a split second or two but then sounds incredibly fake because no human plays a trumpet like that. No amount of you tweaking Biab is going to change that and changing synths won't change that either.
Say you picked up $2,500 brass synth that I can't remember the name of now. It sounds incredible but it has been explained at least 10 times in this thread already, that incredible synth is only going to play what Biab feeds it. That synth is capable of playing back all kinds of horn things like falls, doits, lipping techniques, all kinds of stuff. But if that information is not written into the midi file by the use of CC numbers, pitch bends etc, all the synth plays is the basic notes with zero embellishments and it would sound totally fake.
And you would be back here saying I bought this $2,500 synth and it still sounds like crap! Why can't Biab fix this? It's because Biab has nothing whatever to do with that. And it doesn't matter which synth because they're all the same when it comes to this. They all play what Biab gives it, nothing more, nothing less. There is no "automatic" adding of human articulations and realism after the fact.
A midi file is like a computer program, it tells the deaf and dumb synth what to play and that's all it does. It really is no different than you looking at your guitar sitting in it's stand and you ask it "why can't you play me something?"
Thanks Jim, I am glad you feel it will be useful. For me it is a fun change from the same old routine :-)
Hi Bob,
over all I find BIAB Editable Notation mode very fast for inputting melody compared to musescore. It's unfortunate problem is not being able to input triplets in a latin tune (triplets against 16ths). If PG Music could borrow the technique that MuseScore uses verbatim getting it to print and play properly it would serve all my needs. I suspect it is a programming challenge.
I have used AnthemScore twice with the spectrogram and once trying use its notation capture.
AnthemScore SpectroGram: I find it sucks in its shortcut keys but I am starting to catch on to tricks for this. What I find is you start to learn to read the beat in the spectrogram such that you can count while it is running and if you are looking for a chord is is very good at helping with this (or single notes for that matter).
AnthemScore Notation Capture: I vaguely remember trying to play a melody on guitar and record it in .wav and see how AnthemScore wrote the music and it was terrible in that the inaccuracies in the notation created more problems than it was worth. So the solution was to use the spectrogram and learn to see the beat within the spectrogram and enter it correctly into BIAB. Your eye, ear and mind automatically know after a while what beats the notes are suppose to be on (just like old fassion transcribing). This is the trick.
Quote:
I'll give you a basic example of the problem with midi in Biab. Someone step enters a melody track and sets up a trumpet to play it. What you hear is a straight, solid, unwavering tone that sounds like a trumpet for a split second or two but then sounds incredibly fake because no human plays a trumpet like that. No amount of you tweaking Biab is going to change that and changing synths won't change that either.
That makes sense. I think BIAB sounds better on fast tunes where the player has less time to do anything with each note and that is in fact the only time I would ever use it at a jam (fast hard tunes if the song initiator did not show up - it happens - I hate wasting practice). Bottom line is I can not use a daw, mp3 or .wav file at a jam. BIAB is the only option. I explained that in this post. We have had 23 or so people come out to the jams using BIAB and every one enjoyed it. BIAB in no way shape or form causes you to loose your ability to have fun and put emotion into your music. I feel sorry for those who limit themselves here. Sneaking in a midi backup part won't ruin the jam. This leads to the next paragraph.
BIAB needs is a midi snap-to feature for printing sheet music of a song. So the player plays their instrument and BIAB creates midi that accurately reflects the human inaccuracies but it is not to be used for sight reading (which is primarily what I am after since I normally don't have BIAB play melodies). Then if the user wants to print it for sight reading they indicate what they want the inaccuracies to snap to. It could be 1/8ths, 1/16ths, 1/4s, whatever. So it cleans the human inaccuracies so it prints something that other musicians can sight read and add their own personal inaccuracies to. Vibratos would be left alone. Bends would be left alone. Volume changes would be left alone. I am sure I have heard of software that does this (maybe triple play's software).
I have about 30 songs I wrote in my early 20s. I put the music to paper as well as recording them. I quit guitar for 22 years (never touched it, never listened to music). To go back to those songs I would find it far to slow to figure out what I did by lifting the recordings. I just go to the music and in a very short period of time I can play them again. Litterly hundreds of times faster than record lifting.
Here is the question. With all the complaints I am hearing about BIAB playing midi or anything playing midi why bother with Midi at all? You may as well just record to .wav which is the ultimate sound capture. Anthemscore can create notes from a .wav but it does note have a snap-to feature. When you play the music back in AnthemScore from the spectrogram it sounds just like the record.
I just watched the BIAB recording midi video.. Can it record guitar slides, guitar bends, etc. How do they look in notation. I generally read read song melodies exact on the first melody then after the solos I change the melody around (jazz it up). Its good sight reading practice and improvising practice. But notating midi again is for recording hard melodies just in case the jam initiator can't attend.
That's the problem John. No music program or DAW can add anything to what you enter. All you can enter into Biab's notation is the notes. Yes, you can add some velocity by drawing curves with your mouse in the piano roll and that helps a little. You can draw in a fade at the end of some notes so they don't just cut off for example. But to do that for an entire 16 bar complex solo melody line? Man, you could be a week doing that.
I think a far better way would be to find complete midi files online that contain the melody that someone else already took the time to play live using a good midi controller. A controller has the sensors to capture your playing including velocity, modulation and all the other things that make a midi line sound real. If you want a sax playing the melody there are files where the sax player used a wind controller that plays like a sax and the DAW records all the nuances the controller puts out and that's what's in the midi file.
The problem is you may not be able to find commercial midi files of the songs you need and if you do find them you may have to pay for them. That could be worth it because they're usually not terribly expensive. They can be something like $6 or $7 each and they usually discount them if you buy 5 or 10 at a time. Many times you can find free ones too. But free is free and you get what you pay for. Some are pretty good, some not.
I basically get what you and everyone else is saying Bob. It is not exactly the most complex thing to understand. What I write below should make if very clear that I indeed understand everyone but additionally help you understand my stance as well (touch wood).
The melody of a song is not the only enjoyable part of a song but lets focus only on melody at the moment. It can be broken down into a continuum. I give you the continuum below. Some are happy at #1. I am happy at #4. You and others in the thread are happy at #6. Some are not happy until they get to #8. I don't understand how people can be happy at #1 but I accept that they are indeed happy there and I do not put myself on a pedestal and say there is something wrong with them. You don't understand how I can be happy at #4. You need to understand that I am indeed happy at the lower levels but at the same time I am maybe a touch happier at the higher levels and am totally in joy if I can play at level #8 but I roll with the punches better than most from the sounds of it.
1: Talking. No Melody. (rap music or the marketing name "Hip Hop" that some in jazz give it.)
2: Melody with boring note selection and tiny and monotone.
3: Melody with great note selection but still tiny and monotone.
4: Melody with great notes and great tone played on a midi that actually sounds like a great guitar but played monotone.
5: Melody with great notes and great tone played on a midi that actually sounds like a great guitar but played with varying volume adjustments to show emotion.
6: Melody with great notes and great tone played on a midi that actually sounds like a great guitar but played with varying volume adjustments to show emotion and added techniques to make it sound interesting.
7: Melody with great notes and great tone played on a midi that actually sounds like a great guitar but played with varying volume adjustments to show emotion and added techniques to make it sound interesting plus the player draws respect because they show they can sight read and improvise (play the notes exact and later improvise them).
8: Melody with great notes and great tone played on a midi that actually sounds like a great guitar but played with varying volume adjustments to show emotion and added techniques to make it sound interesting plus the player draws even more respect because they show they can right read and improvise (play the notes exact and later improvise them and they can put in extremely difficult improvising to).
Because I am happy at #4 this allows me to enter record lift notation into BIAB rather than Musescore such that I can have it played by BIAB at a jam if no one is there that can play it (to busy playing something else or it is just too difficult to play). These BIAB midi sub melodies or filler melodies are not the main attraction of the show (our live playing is). We hide the fact that one member of our group (BIAB Midi fill in melody) has no emotion. But this is not to say that this fill in melody can not make a good contribution at level #4. Our live playing takes the overall performance up to a level 7 and even at times a level 8. In the end the participants at our jams have a heck of a lot of fun. Many don't have the time to come out but they stay on the list hoping they eventually will.
The other use of putting filler melody in BIAB is just to have a place to record it so it is not forgotten. Better in BIAB than in Musescore so we can at least use it at a jam.
Now if I can use a midi guitar to take the BIAB midi melody to #6 at times (with bends, trills, volume adjust, octaves, slides, etc) I will indeed do so. I will be a bit happier at that level but I will still enter midi melodies in BIAB using BIAB notation if I have trouble playing them. I don't burn the house down just because it isn't perfectly clean. If the continuum didn't work hopefully the analogy did.
I might see if I can rent hardware midi and midi guitar after I finish the course. I am more likely to be able to add interesting techniques on guitar than on keyboard. I also need to see if I can find software that can do midi snap-to so the midi notation is sight readable. In other words if it was suppose to look like a triplet swing I won't want to see it written as a 64th note. I will create a BIAB wish list for this.
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!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
If you have any questions about which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We're here to help!
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.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
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!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
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)
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!
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.
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.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
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