PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows BB Sounds Out of Tune with my Bb Instrument

Get a bari? (kidding, but the low A key is killer; I've never seen a tenor or soprano with a low A key; didn't know such existed)

OK. I think there are important clues in your last post that confirm my original guess was correct. If I am right, forgive me for dropping back a step (pun intended) and let's review. Go with me on each point and let me know if anything is unclear.

If you want to learn a song, the goal is to learn it so you play it in the 'standard' key everyone else does on a gig, or in the key of the recording. Naima is in Ab concert.

A Bb instrument is called Bb because, if you read a C on a piano score, it sounds a Bb. This is one full step (two half-steps) lower than the pitch you need, so your music needs to be written one step higher to compensate. [An Eb instrument is called Eb because, if you read a C on a piano score, it sounds an Eb. This is three half-steps higher than the pitch you need, so your music needs to be three half-steps lower to compensate. Note for anyone else reading this: I'm not counting the register jumps here; the tenor actually sounds an octave and a full step low, or a 9th low.]

A Bb version of the RealBook exists because someone playing a Bb instrument like tenor sax would read this to play along with rhythm section musicians (piano, bass, guitar) in a band who are reading the Concert C version of that Real Book.

You would not want to enter the song into BIAB using the Bb leadsheet because you are creating the song in what BIAB thinks is concert pitch. Now Naima on your computer would not be in Ab as it should be, but in Bb. [If you did, I'll fix it, below]

Then you play the song back, and your tenor sax pitch is one full step low again with respect to what you are hearing played. You post on the BIAB forum thinking the sound is wrong, and it sure is.

How am I doing so far?

So the first part of the remedy is to transpose the song you entered on BIAB down one full step. Noel said this part. If your key signature was C because most users forget to set it, transpose the song to Bb. If you did enter the correct key signature from your Bb fakebook and your key signature says Bb, transpose it to Ab. Later versions have a better fix for this.

Now BIAB plays the song in the key you want to learn, like everyone else will play it on a gig.

Lastly, because you are reading this music with a tenor sax, you need to visually correct the music you see on BIAB to appear one full step higher than it is actually playing.

BIAB has several ways to transpose. Although BIAB version 2021 added a new way, you can still do this in version 2015. I don't quite remember if the steps were different but here goes:

STEPS TO FIX IT

Enter the song from your Bb fakebook. Fix the chords we talked about. Remember I talk in concert pitch.

Use the key of the song, on the upper right of the chordsheet near the tempo, to adjust the pitch down. If it says C, change it to Bb. If you did put Bb there when you entered the song, good. Now change it to Ab. The sound you hear will go down one full step.

Now, go to Options, Preferences, Notation. Select Tenor Sax there for Transpose. Note that THIS transpose does not change the pitch of the song you are hearing, only the notes that are displayed!

Still with me?