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I agree that the delay between songs can empty the dance floor. Have you had any luck with playback songs using ptw and the jukebox feature? Ive been getting into that lately and it seems to do well to reduce dead time.



First of all, I don't use the jukebox feature, because I call the songs as the crowd needs them (or at least how I think the crowd needs them). I am not clairvoyant enough to know when they have had enough fast songs or when they might need a waltz, but I can usually tell by analyzing the faces and body language of the people on the dance floor.

I do not use BiaB on stage for 2 reasons (1) even without RTs, it takes too long to load the song, and it is nearly impossible to sync the beats of one song to the next and (2) personally, as good as BiaB's output is, I don't think it is good enough for stage play.

I can actually go from song to song without missing a beat (depending on the songs I select) with absolutely zero time between songs - much like a DJ mixes songs.

I want to sound better than all of my competition and that means adding song specific parts, and extensively editing the BiaB output - something that can only be done with MIDI styles.

Using BiaB" straight out of the box I can sound like a good band. After editing the tracks, adding some parts, subtracting some parts, and moving others around, changing instruments, adjusting volumes, putting in real intros/endings, adding crescendos, diminuendos, accelerandos, ritardandos, etc.and I can sound like an excellent band. I know it does take time to convert a good BiaB product to an excellent one, but I'm going to play those songs hundreds if not thousands of times and I want them to sound good for me to play sax/guitar/flute/synth/or/vocals on top of, and I want to sound better than my competition so I can ask for more money and get more work. It's the main reason why like most pros, I prefer MIDI to loops.

I have a page devoted to how I create and use my backing tracks here: http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.html

I also use mp3 files, and bring 2 computers on stage. That way my backing tracks are pretty much fail-safe. If one computer goes, I can get by with another. (We actually have 3 computers, and the spare computer had everything needed in case either Leilani's or my computer crashes.)

My philosophy is that if I want to survive as a musician, I should do everything to the absolute best of my ability and simply offer a better sounding and more professional product than my competition. I'm approaching senior-citizendom and for most of my life I've made my living doing music and nothing but music. So it's obviously working.

There are those who will settle for less; Using BiaB straight out of the box, buying sequences, taking long breaks, missing the downbeat, using set lists instead of having a dialog with the audience, playing at inappropriate volume levels for the gig, not having the best stage presence, etc., etc., etc., and personally, I'm glad there are so many that do --- because I can come off with a better product, charge more per gig, and get more work than they do.

The way I figure it is: I am not an employer of the place were I gig. Instead I am a sub-contractor, a purveyor of entertainment. The restaurant/yacht club/country club/etc. chooses the food purveyor that does a better job than the competition, a private party chooses the best caterer, and they make other choices for getting the best they can for the budget they have.

I want to be much better than the competition so that it's worth it to pay a little bit more and I do my best to be just that. Of course, I'm limited by by personal talents, but I work on making the best of what either God or Darwin gave me.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
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