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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,778
PG Music Staff
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OP
PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,778 |
> 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: 6,694
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6,694 |
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: 6,312
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 6,312 |
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: 26,888
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,888 |
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 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & 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: 10,752
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,752 |
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.
Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8 Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
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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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Holiday Weekend Hours
Our Customer Service hours this weekend are as follows:
Friday, April 18: 8:00 - 4:00
Saturday, April 19: closed
Sunday, April 20: closed
Monday, April 21: Regular hours
Thank you!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 French Version is Here!
Bonjour à tous,
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music
Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:
BIAB 2025 - francisation
RealBand 2025 - francisation
Voilà, enjoy!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 German Version is Here!
Update Your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 to Build 1128 for Windows Today!
Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.
Stay up to date—get the latest update now!
Update to RealBand® 2025 Build 5 Windows Today!
Already using RealBand® 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 5 now from our Support Page to ensure you have the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.
Get the latest update today!
PowerTracks Pro Audio 2025 for Windows is Here!
PowerTracks Pro Audio 2025 is here! This new version introduces many features, including VST3 support, the ability to load or import a .FLAC file, a reset option for track height in the Tracks window, a taller Timeline on the Notation window toolbar, new freeze buttons in the Tracks window, three toolbar modes (two rows, single row, and none), the improved Select Patch dialog with text-based search and numeric patch display, a new button in the DirectX/VST window to copy an effects group, and more!
First-time packages start at only $49. Already a PowerTracks Pro Audio user? Upgrade for as little as $29!
www.pgmusic.com/powertracks.htm
Video: Summary of the New Band-in-a-Box® App for iOS®
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new Band-in-a-Box® app for iOS®! Designed for musicians, singer-songwriters, and educators, this powerful tool lets you create, play, and transfer songs effortlessly on your iPhone® or iPad®—anytime, anywhere.
Band-in-a-Box® for iOS® :Summary video.
Check out the forum post for more information.
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