But when really making music, it is often written as
C , G/B , Am , Em/G , F , C/E , Dm , G
I have two questions.
1:These two ways of writing sound different in BIAB, don't they?
2: How to judge when to write G as G/B....
What you should hear is the G chord will be associated with a B being played as the Bass note. The Em chord will have a G played as the Bass note, etc.
It is also available from the Chord Builder (right-click on a cell)
For your second question, this is usually used when you want to add anticipation or tension to a chord, or are intending it to resolve differently. There are no hard rules when it can / cannot be used.
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What you should hear is the G chord will be associated with a B being played as the Bass note. The Em chord will have a G played as the Bass note, etc.
It is also available from the Chord Builder (right-click on a cell)
Does this change make sense? Just use G directly, or G/B Just rely on ears to decide? Are there any principles to follow here? For example, try to make the bass decrease or increase like a staircase?
Bass lines in an ascending or descending pattern are very powerful.
Thank you, teacher. That is to say, when writing chords into BIAB, let the bass line go up and down to avoid jumping. This will make the generated music sound better. is it?
Bass lines in an ascending or descending pattern are very powerful.
Thank you, teacher. That is to say, when writing chords into BIAB, let the bass line go up and down to avoid jumping. This will make the generated music sound better. is it?
It will not necessarily make it sound better, it will make it sound different. As the composer, you should experiment and listen to the result to determine if it gives you a desired effect.
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Bass lines in an ascending or descending pattern are very powerful.
Thank you, teacher. That is to say, when writing chords into BIAB, let the bass line go up and down to avoid jumping. This will make the generated music sound better. is it?
It will not necessarily make it sound better, it will make it sound different. As the composer, you should experiment and listen to the result to determine if it gives you a desired effect.
To make sure I got this right, this C/G is aka Inversion, right? (no second G added to the chord itself, but the G is played an octave lower). One may play the root as the bottom note or in the middle or on top. These inversions are used often by piano players to make a chord progression more "compact". The hand does not need to jump around that much and the sounding notes are closer together, so the harmonies feel more "harmonic". Doing this does not result in a walking bass line in any case. To achive such, a more complex way to build the "Voicing" than to focus on the compactness alone may be needed.
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To make sure I got this right, this C/G is aka Inversion, right?
Not exactly. It is a C chord with a G played in the Bass. C/G should generally give you this:
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From a 4-part, classical-harmony perspective, the inversion of a chord is determined by the lowest note. This is irrespective of how the notes are arranged above this lowest note.
For example a major chord has two inversions. The staves below show some of the many possible arrangements of these classical inversions.
I use a classical theory approach when I'm working with bass notes. This seems to give me good results.
For example...
If I have a progression that goes from chord I to chord IV (this is from C to F in the key of C major), chord 1 first inversion is often a pleasant transitional sound to get to chord IV.
For example...
|I |IV |
= |C |F |
I rearrange this to become....
|C C/E |F |
If I was in the key of A minor, chord I is Am and chord IV is Dm. The same principle still works, though.
So...
|I |IV |
= |Am |Dm |
Could be rearranged to give....
|Am Am/C |Dm |
Where Am/C is the classical first inversion of the Am chord.
You wrote a chord progression using slash roots. By adding the slash roots, you force a bass note to be played and can make that bass go up or down by whole or half steps. This can be very powerful in your composition. However, it’s just one way to do that. VideoTrack was right when he said it’s just different, not necessarily better. A ii V7 I is also powerful and is perhaps the most powerful chord progression in Western music.
Originally you suggested using your ears to determine what’s good. Yes, that’s exactly it. You can experiment with concepts like a descending bass line but ultimately it’s your decision as the composer to write what you think sounds best. Study the chord progressions of songs you think are great. Learn the conventions for what works well. Then when you get good, you can break those conventions and you will know why you did it.
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Just to make explicit what is implied, regarding the original question:
What distinguishes this particular chord progression
C, G/B , Am, Em/G, F, C/E, Dm, C
from its unslashed counterpart is, specifically, a clearly defined descending bass line C B A G F E D C (I changed the final chord to fit.)
Presumably BIAB will generate tracks from such a slashed progression in a way that makes that bass line apparent to the listener. It may sound great, or it may not.
The fact that those chords can be inverted in that way to call out that bass line doesn't mean they should be, as this may have nothing to do with their function in the song, and may in fact distract from it.
what instrument do you play? the idea of descending bass lines is something a guitarist recognizes automatically and i am sure keyboard players know it too. just transfer what you are used to into BIAB and you'll find it makes sense
I use a classical theory approach when I'm working with bass notes. This seems to give me good results.
For example...
If I have a progression that goes from chord I to chord IV (this is from C to F in the key of C major), chord 1 first inversion is often a pleasant transitional sound to get to chord IV.
For example...
|I |IV |
= |C |F |
I rearrange this to become....
|C C/E |F |
If I was in the key of A minor, chord I is Am and chord IV is Dm. The same principle still works, though.
So...
|I |IV |
= |Am |Dm |
Could be rearranged to give....
|Am Am/C |Dm |
Where Am/C is the classical first inversion of the Am chord.
thanks！ Can you make a sug file, which is more intuitive
what instrument do you play? the idea of descending bass lines is something a guitarist recognizes automatically and i am sure keyboard players know it too. just transfer what you are used to into BIAB and you'll find it makes sense
I don't know how to play musical instruments. I just typed it into BIAB. I want to know how to input, it can be more in line with the actual situation, and it sounds better
...I don't know how to play musical instruments. I just typed it into BIAB. I want to know how to input, it can be more in line with the actual situation, and it sounds better
Have you considered taking music lessons with an accredited teacher? You can learn much about music theory this way, as well as practical knowledge of music. I would highly recommend that you consider this.
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Have you considered taking music lessons with an accredited teacher? You can learn much about music theory this way, as well as practical knowledge of music. I would highly recommend that you consider this.
Never considered it. Because I am better at using computers. The music teacher around me may play the guitar or the piano. But they don't know how to make music. These are two things. The reality is that I can use the computer to complete a song. Although the music teacher around me knows musical instruments, they are limited to live performances. I can complete the accompaniment through the computer, with the lyrics, I can complete simple works.
I think Band in a box and Scaler are the best teachers. The most important thing is BIAB FORUM and you.
The music teacher around me may play the guitar or the piano. But they don't know how to make music. These are two things. The reality is that I can use the computer to complete a song. Although the music teacher around me knows musical instruments, they are limited to live performances. I can complete the accompaniment through the computer, with the lyrics, I can complete simple works.
Forget the idea of taking lessons on an instrument (and I'm not sure that's what VideoTrack intended anyway.) You clearly need a better grounding in basic music theory to be able to use BIAB effectively as a composer. You approach every question as if it were an issue of how to use a software product, and that will not serve you well.
Anyway, sorry to hear all the music teachers you know are incapable of creating music, like you already can. I can see why you wouldn't want to study with them.
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Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
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