First of all: There is more than one right way to make music...I gig for a living, and don't use BiaB live.
- Since I play commercial music, there are certain songs that need specific licks, they are as important as the melody. BiaB styles are generic (and should be) so I can export to a MIDI sequencer or DAW and add the song-specific parts.
- Sometimes BiaB is not the best choice for a particular song, so I do the songs from scratch, playing all the instruments myself into a MIDI sequencer or DAW. Other times I might use BiaB for some parts depending on the song and whether a BiaB style is appropriate or not
- Often I use BiaB for harmonization of parts I write like horn, synth, or other countermelody or background parts. I can play the notes I want and let BiaB take care of the other parts. BiaB does it just like I learned in music theory class, and that saves me a lot of time
- Intros and endings. That's a big one for me. BiaB doesn't really have intros, although I can always put a sequence of cords for an intro, and sometimes the endings are either inappropriate for the song or ragged. The beginning of the song creates expectations, and the ending leaves an impression. Both are as important and sometimes more important than what goes on in between them.
- Crescendos, diminuendos, dynamics, accelerandos, ritardandos, and other expressive elements are better done in a MIDI sequencer or DAW than the limited capabilities of BiaB
I work in a very competitive environment for duos, so I have to be better than my competition. If it takes me two days to make a backing track, and it's as good as I can possibly make it, so be it.
We have to be better at what we do than our competition. We have to sound better, make music choices better, sing better, play our lead instruments better, and generally give our audience a better experience than they get with our competition. All this to the best of our ability.
What we do must be working. We've gigged in our area for 37 years now, and until the COVID 'vacation', we have never been out of work. We even have to block out weeks for vacation, because if we don't, we end up gigging with no time for vacation. We also charge a bit more than our competition.
If the timing and audience is right, I tell our audience, the only band who have been together longer than us is The Rolling Stones. After a pause, I'll add "And we still have all the original members."
I don't mean to imply anything negative about BiaB. It's a wonderful tool, it saves me hours and hours of work. It even does things that I cannot do without BiaB. I consider it one of the 3 essential music tools that I have, the other being a MIDI sequencer/DAW, and a full-blown notation program.
Each tool has its job, and together they make the music better for me than any single tool.
There is nothing wrong gigging with BiaB. I can see that it gives you unlimited songs, you can change the tempo or style on the fly, you don't need to do so much prep work at home, and depending on your act, your audience, and most importantly, the type of music you play, BiaB life can be the right tool for you.
There is more than one right way to make music.Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Norton Music
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