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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,974
PG Music Staff
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OP
PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,974 |
> Let's not forget, RealTracks ARE audio loops. BIAB is perfectly capable of making contemporary music. This is after all making music with computers. As with any musical instrument, the musician is more important than the tool. Thanks for the post. Many people wondering BiaB can create contemporary music are unfamiliar with examples of what can be done, and are surprised by the results. For example, here are some demos we made , that are full songs vocals added to BiaB styles. All the instruments are band-in-a-box generations. Most of them are pop, country, folk. There are still lots of people under 40 that like pop, country and folk. Some of the pop fit into contemporary music. If you want to know what BiaB can/cannot do, have a listen to these songs and then reply describing what you’d like it to do that isn’t on these demos. Here are some pop oriented demos: (all band-in-a-box styles, + human vocalist) So You Wanna Be Bad: https://youtu.be/3_R2ZomBjYw?t=751And I Forgive: https://youtu.be/3_R2ZomBjYw?t=2083You Can Be My Man: https://youtu.be/3_R2ZomBjYw?t=3673Hearts Upon Our Sleeve: https://youtu.be/3_R2ZomBjYw?t=4302Here’s a link to all the demos (there are 4 videos like this, this one is #3 / 4 ) https://youtu.be/3_R2ZomBjYw
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 7,248
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 7,248 |
Peter,
"Many people wondering BiaB can create contemporary music are unfamiliar with examples of what can be done, and are surprised by the results."
That is very true. BIAB is very capable and content is great. Absolutely you can cook something very modern. I am a huge fan of your software, mainly because it (content) does not steer me into single direction. You can get as creative as your imagination and time permits. The way I see, the biggest issue and discomfort people face is workflow. Many folks just give up trying to discover what BIAB has to offer. Workflow is equally if not more important than content to many.
You can "inject" almost anything "contemporary" to BIAB from clever drum machines to synths to crazy melodic randomizers. This became much easier now with Chord Track(s). There is no point in BIAB leaning specifically to "contemporary" direction, as many 3rd party plugins are very mature in that field. (While there are some alternatives, we will definitely need VST3 support soon for these)
The missing piece of the puzzle is "contemporary" workflow... and also I will echo MarioD long time request of giving more love to MIDI (and Super Midi) side of things.
Peter and PG Team,
Thank you for your effort and consideration!
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 282
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 282 |
I agree.
Many years ago I tested BiaB and found the workflow was too unintuitive and intimidating, so I gave up.
It wasn't until a few years later I realized BiaB is a gem.
The 2023 integration of SynthMaster marks the beginning of a new era for contemporary music to be massively produced by BiaB.
BiaB's current sound library is GOLD. If the interface/workflow could be gradually optimized in the upcoming years, BiaB will become GOAT.
A Canadian music producer, singer songwriter, composer, and professional guitarist.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,503
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,503 |
I think it is up to us, the Band-in-a-Box community, to get the word out to the younger musicians. BiaB is a wonderful tool for making contemporary music, it's loop based, and it's a natural for Electronic Dance Music.
Older musicians have always passed on trade secrets to the younger ones. I remember when I was a 17-year-old sax player, playing in a bar with two bands. The sax player in the other band showed me a lot of things one never learns in school band. He told me, "I am the past, and you are the future."
In that same way, we need to show young musicians the benefit of this amazing tool.
I am in a duo with my wife, who sings, and plays guitar and synth. I keep a copy of BiaB on a computer that I bring on stage, and am eager to show young and older musicians this tool, if the opportunity presents itself.
Last week, I had a guitar player who was here in Florida on vacation approach me and I gave him a basic tour of how to make a simple backing track with BiaB. He will be going back to Boston and plans to buy BiaB. Hopefully he will show others how incredible it is.
The more people who know about BiaB, the better it is for the entire BiaB community.
Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,564
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 27,564 |
Most of the good musicians I know tried BIAB decades ago (we're all in our 70s) and soon rejected it as a toy because of the MIDI sounds. They have no idea when I reintroduce them to what it can do now. Some of those are teachers.
When I taught a college jazz ensemble course, I often prepared take-home backing tracks for the songs we were studying, and students were introduced to BIAB that way. One semester, I had no piano or guitar players so I programmed BIAB to play those parts.
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.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,031
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,031 |
I like Groove3's video tutorials. Every series I've seen is well organized, each video is short seven minutes or less, a video series outline is available, the videos are available for download to be viewed offline or online for streaming. The video and audio are clear. Groove3 has four Band-in-a-Box tutorial series: +++ Songwriting with Band-in-a-Box +++, +++ Band-in-a-Box Getting Started +++ , +++ 2014 Band-in-a-Box for Mac Explained +++ and +++ 2015 Band-in-a-Box for Windows Explained +++ . PG Music use to offer the Mac and Windows "Band-in-a-Box Explained" series on their website. However, now I'm unable to find a link for them. The main issue I have is the Band-in-a-Box Explained series are old (2014 & 2015). They do not cover features introduced since their release. I believe Groove3 has the credentials and young audience to offer a successful "How To Use Band-in-a-Box to Create Contemporary Music" video series. At the same time I think it would be great if the PG Music Marketing department and Groove3 could find a way for Groove3 to offer updated "Band-in-a-Box Explained" series every couple of years.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 282
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 282 |
I agree with @Jim Fogle, Groove3 has the best unofficial BiaB tutorials out there.
The only problem is, their courses are outdated and don't cover BiaB's new features of recent years.
Would be nice if PG Music could sponsor Groove3 to create a few up-to-date beginner/intermediate courses, and sell them or give them for free.
"Buy a Pak of Band-in-a-Box 2024 Today, Get a Groove3 Course for Free", or something like that.
A Canadian music producer, singer songwriter, composer, and professional guitarist.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 3,110
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 3,110 |
If you want to add modern beats you need to make it easy to do so you can drag n drop samples/loops into the track anywhere and be able to set the key/chord tempo and set it to repeat for so many bars all non destructively so they can be moved around and edited easily. The Loop dialog is so old and limited. Then you can do it all in Biab without having to sync Biab to FL Studio or Reaper. I remember asking for loops years back and showing drag n drop but the old Loops dialog was added and don't give much control and is a slow roundabout way of doing things. You need easy drag n drop non destructive. How it is now is like having to open so many jail doors by entering a code one after the other to do something. See with both FL and Reaper it's all drag n drop non destructive easy editing. 
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Videos
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.
Check out this forum post for "One Stop Shopping" of our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Videos!
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac is Here!
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.
Holiday Weekend Hours
As we hop into the Easter weekend, here are our holiday hours:
April 3 (Good Friday): 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM PDT
April 4 (Saturday): Closed
April 5 (Easter Sunday): Closed
April 6 (Easter Monday): Open regular hours
Wishing you an egg-cellent weekend!
— Team PG
Update to Build 10 of RealBand® 2026 for Windows®!
If you're already using RealBand 2026 for Windows, download build 10 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
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.
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® users: Build 1237 is now available!
Already a Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows user? Stay up to date and download the build 1237 to get all the latest additions and enhancements.
PowerTracks Pro 2026 for Windows is Here!
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!
Order now!
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