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Joined: Feb 2007
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I am doing FAWM this year and they had a one-hour "song-skirmish" on Sunday afternoon. The rules: You were given a song title at 1:00 and you have to write, record and post a new tune by 2:00. Here's was my thing. I could have done it just on acoustic guitar, but "how boring!" The song title handed out at 1:00 was "YES" Wow! was I nervous! I didn't sing the first chorus correctly -- no time to fix!!! 15 minutes for the lyrics 15 minutes to pick a reggae/jazz demo song in Band-In-A-Box and change the chords (make them easier) and turn it into 16 bar verse /16 bar chorus. Save all the tracks as WAV files and imported them into Sonar. I used the "New Day - =KingdG.Sty demo" 20 minutes to record vocals, then guitar (guitar's not mixed right). 9 minutes to create MP3, load to site and fill in FAWM song info. The vocals were done in one shot as was the guitar. The vox mixed OK, but the guitar was too low. I didn't get to practice enough to hear anything in my mind on this one, so I think I just plunked around in some kind of pentatonic scale. I think it was the G maj pent. Hmmm, the songs in F with a Gm7 chord -- no wonder it sounded funny (ha, ha). Got everything down with a minute to spare!! MP3: http://www.jkt9000.com/html/yes.mp3Kevin ***************************************************************** Yes! (v1) In a world full of rules and No! never anything fun, just whoa! well it looks like you're making a mess Do you think you're right or just flexing your might well it's time we heard yes (chorus) Just say yes it's not that hard to do just say yes don't try and think it through just say yes and you'll start to feel much better (chorus) Just say yes it's not like it's work just say yes it won't even hurt just say yes it's these moments we'll treasure (v2) I seem to remember a time when everything was just fine but then the rules starting piling up It hurts the brain makes us all insane Time to stop and just say What? (repeat chorus) Kevin: Vocal, acoustic guitar BIAB: drums, bass, piano, muted guitar
Last edited by Kemmrich; 02/22/10 07:28 AM.
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Joined: Feb 2010
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This is very nice, Kevin.... and in an hour! A good demo of what BB can do. I wouldn't worry too much about not hearing your acoustic guitar... unless you feel guilty about how good a partner BB is.... He he.
Daisy
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Fun we tried to do this on my site a year or so ago with two hours, and no one but myself was able to get it done. BiaB was the seqwet weapon!
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB/RB 2026, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 11 , Zoom Livetrack L-8
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Joined: Jan 2009
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Apprentice
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Kevin,
That was incredible. When I sit out to write a song it takes me many, many hours to get it to even sound like a song.
Steve
Steve
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Journeyman
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Joined: Jun 2009
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Kevin, Jazz/Reggae. Man, I have heard it all! That is too cool! Reggae drum with Jazz piano, vocal & guitar. Your idea sent me looking for some neat ideas like this.
Frankly, it would take me 20 days and not 20 minutes to write a lyric. I would have to say, it is a benchmark for your gifts as both songwriter and musician.
Did you win?
RickeG
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It’s all been said.
The only thing I can add is maybe you should always write songs in an hour as this is really really good. Plus it has a lot of energy that may have been taken out with tinkering with it, i.e. polishing it until it’s dull!
GREAT song and vocal!
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Posts: 676 |
Good lyrics (you are a very good songwriter), but the reggae just doesn't work, IMO. It's actually distracting. If you didn't have that mixed in, I would say your song almost has a bluesy-jazzy country style, a la Lyle Lovett. If you went more in that direction, I think it would be a better song.
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Daisy: Thanks for stopping by. BIAB is a great tool, isn't it? I do feel guilty -- or is it envy? The "real" players are all way better than me!!!!
Robh: I believe it! However, I think at least 30 or so folks did a song in an hour (there were a few other BIAB users in there!). Some of the folks that didn't use BIAB were AMAZING!! Blew my effort away, totally. Thanks for listening.
retake: If you can write a song in many, many hours -- then you can write one in an hour. You just have to force yourself to try. Of course, you have to write a lot of songs so you get experience. I've written about 100 (with lyrics) in the past three years or so.
RickeG: Thanks for the props -- but I am way down on the songwriting totem pole (ha, ha)! yea, check out that "New Day - =KingdG.Sty demo". Just so you know, I have a reggae song and a gospel song written (or semi-written) for FAWM so I had some of these style already in mind. When I did my BIAB search The KingdG.sty was the first one that popped up! Lucky me!
MarioD : Yup, yup, yup -- you should always write songs super fast -- and then take whatever time is required during the re-writing process. It was a lot of fun, but I really was nervous, like I was performing on stage or something!! Thanks for stopping by.
DanL: LOL! 10 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 year -- it doesn't really matter how long (or short) it takes. It is all about the final result! Thanks for your honest opinion -- I will never fault someone that has an opinion. Now, I disagree with you (ha, ha) -- I think the vibe I chose works very well, but I respect you taking the time to listen and comment.
Kevin
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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.
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Peter Gannon Talks Band-in-a-Box with zplane
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
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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®.
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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):
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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.
Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!
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!
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