Long time, but casual, BIAB user here. I'm a chord based musician, not a note based one. I'd like to be able to print out a simple chord chart with just big fat letters (no clef lines or guitar fingering). However , I found it's not possible with BIAB, even with all its bells and whistles. Searched the forum and I see it's been a long time gripe. So, any suggestions for a low cost program that would take the output of a BIAB song (not audio) and print this type of chord chart?
Note: I’m not interested in work-arounds like screen shots.
Note2: I found this online, free site that will do this, but I don’t want to hand enter the chords again. www.chordsheet.com
Ralph, a feature to export chord sheets was added to BIAB. I haven't used it and I'm not at a computer now, but someone will give you the instructions. Whether the format of the export will meet your needs, you can decide, but BIAB does have this. I think one way involves Edit, Copy Special to Text and unselecting the meta information. Or maybe it's File, Save Special, Text.
It has also been possible for several years to Print a PDF of just the chords, if that helps.
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.
If I click on the "Notation" button, then the "Print" button and select "OK - Print Chords Only", I get a printed sheet that looks very similar to your example.
Matt: Thanks for the quick reply. I see that File-Save Special-ABC Notation has a format that maybe I can find an external program to print chords from. As far as printing with PDF and getting what I want, I haven't come across that yet. I’ll have to explore more, but since I don't want to ruin New Year's day I'll wait till tomorrow.
Martin: I like big fat chords like you see on the Control-T screen in BIAB. See attached PDF.
Lloyd: That was Martin's example. See my comment above to Martin.
Thanks to all for the help. Make some good music in 2021.
I too would like simple chord chart displays, but can't get what I'm after without extra space or text. My particular example has Section Layers (i.e. V1B, Bridge) in the chord chart. Even if I turn those off in the chord display, they still show up when printing "Chords only". So in this example:
1. There's a huge amount of wasted space between the lines.
2. The Section layer text is under the previous line, rather than right above the line where it belongs. The red arrows indicate where that text should be to stay associated with the measure where it belongs.
I'd be happy just getting rid of the section text as a compromise, and also would love to shrink the space between lines so most charts could fit on one page.
Any suggestions??
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
That looks nicer, but I'm using the section text layer on the chord sheet to help organize the arrangement. So I'd need a way to keep these around but not display them on the printout, and I haven't found a way to do that yet. Would be a two step or duplication process to get what I'm after even if I could hide the section text layer on the printout. I'm confused why there needs to be so much separation of the layer text from the measure its associated with. Not a good design IMHO.
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
Interesting feature, but I'd have to massage it to make a decent printed chord chart. Perhaps it can be read into some other programs. I have exported the file as MusicXML and read it into MuseScore, but still requires a good bit of work to put my section labels back in and a few other things.
So I'm gathering that there's no way to get the staffs closer together???? That would solve a big part of my problem. I have "unfolded" arrangements of 170 measures or so, and don't want to have a 3 or 4 page chart with a lot of wasted space.
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
I started with something simple just to illustrate the issue more clearly - loaded demo song for a style. First image is the view in the Notation Window Lead Sheet mode. Second image is just after hitting Print and choosing "Print Chords Only" or Preview/Graphics or Print to PDF.
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
MusicStudent: Thanks for this. Now I can create something closer to what I want by pasting into Word and changing font and size! Don't have to mess around with the complicated BIAB menus.
I'm fine with the bar lines, and they line up better if I check "Fake Sheet Mode" in the lead sheet window. The thing I want to have more control over is the large amount of white space between staffs in the second image. The lead sheet window gets about 50% more measures per page than the print version given the same settings.
I might be able to get close to what I want by just screen capturing the Lead Sheet Window, navigating through the song to get the next page displayed (there's not a "page down" in that mode). Ideally I want these to be PDF charts, but I could live with Jpgs or even stitch them into PDFs if needed. I just like the "native" PDF rasterization capabilities versus bitmaps.
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
MarioD, that helps a LOT in terms of real estate, so probably gives me something functional enough. Thanks much. The best display for my purposes requires showing notes and staff lines, which seems to squish things together enough on the vertical plane to make the section text layer at least not appear as likely to be associated with the line above. I'll probably highlight them just because they are partly obscured by the chords (see yellow highlights...). I do a lot of arranging and playing around with chord progressions in BiaB, so I need something I can then take over to the keyboard and at least know where I am in the arrangement, or give it to someone else to play along.
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
I suppose you know that there's a setting to move the chords closer to the staff. Not sure if it will change the position of the section text. Good luck! LLOYD S
Thanks - I had set that at a couple of points, but something (me or a "reset" or template) must have set it back. Looks like that lowers it enough to not obscure the section text. That gets me where I want to be - thanks!!
Chuck Wiggins
BIAB 2023 Win UltraPak, Cakewalk, Windows 10 Pro Custom AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core, Focusrite Scarlett 4x4 interface
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.
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.
PowerTracks 2026 is here—bringing powerful new enhancements designed to make your production workflow faster, smoother, and more intuitive than ever.
The enhanced Mixer now shows Track Type and Instrument icons for instant track recognition, while a new grid option simplifies editing views. Non-floating windows adopt a modern title bar style, replacing the legacy blue bar.
The Master Volume is now applied at the end of the audio chain for consistent levels and full-signal master effects.
Tablature now includes a “Save bends when saving XML” option for improved compatibility with PG Music tools. Plus, you can instantly match all track heights with a simple Ctrl-release after resizing, and Add2 chords from MGU/SGU files are now fully supported... and more!
Get started today—first-time packages start at just $49.
Already using PowerTracks Pro Audio? Upgrade for as little as $29 and enjoy the latest improvements!
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.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean