Bought BIAB years ago... enjoy it, even though it's often tough to wrap my head around.
In general, I have a good idea on how to use the Melodist to create random progressions in usable (simple) styles, for my students to practice soloing over (keyboards and guitar solos). Fairly straightforward. Main thing to always remember--- UNCHECK "Allow Style Change." And keep the tempo the RealStyle was made in, or go slightly faster than it, for the most realistic things for students.
My questions are, re: the Melodist styles/types:
1. Melodist 127-255-- there are no notes about any of these. I have no idea what genres they fit in... are all of these simply Jazz swing (Jazz)? They only show up in that sub-category.
2. Are there any Melodists that work best with pop styles? 1-5-6-4 chord progressions, with the V chord at the end of a part? Nothing crazy, no weird 2-5-1's... but standard pop? I have such trouble finding Melodist styles that are more simplified / poppy.. in a word, "cliche" or boring. It helps, with students learning basic pop structures, instead of 6th chords, dominant 9ths, etc.
3. Are there any RealStyles that have lead parts (whether "Soloists" or simply, "RealStyles Solos" (which to me, are two different things, are they not?) where it's not so much shredding or ultra-fast licks, but simple phrases? Nearly all of the Styles I have auditioned have solos that are just simply too busy, too insane, too shreddy. Doesn't matter if it's a slow jazz style or a chill pop style. The solos are always a bit much. Take for instance, the 60bpm Jazz Style with the Pat Martino solo. The solos are insane! It's a 60bpm, jazz brushes, pretty, coffeeshop vibe... why are the solos so fast and intense? It's like the soloing doesn't match at all, compared to the bass, drums, and piano under it.
4. Any way to constrain Soloists to stick with mostly chord notes (especially for MIDI soloists) and slower, more simple phrases? I teach a lot of intermediate students and no one is capable of soloing the way these pros PGMusic has brought on, can solo. I want them to stick with simple Pentatonics (minor and major) and just keeping things vibey, simple, normal. Any help/guidance is sincerely appreciated.
5. Is there any way to create Melodist "rules" that can create chord progressions in simple, cliche pop styles? Again, sticking with I, IV, vi, V, and occasionally, as needed, the ii and the iii?
6. Is there some sort of repository somewhere that has BIAB "BB Song" (*.MGU) files, of famous pop songs? It seems like there should be, as long as BIAB has been out there.
7. Soloist-- I honestly have no idea how to use this properly. I would think the MIDI Soloists over the most power/tweakability, because it's MIDI. But oftentimes, any Soloists I generate just do not match my chord progression. I could have the most basic Am-F-C-G thing... and the Soloist is throwing in non-chord tones throughout, making it sound ridiculous, and not necessarily a good guideline for a kid to listen to, if they don't know what to do at all. RealStyles offer a lot better phrasing, even though I tend to hear the same licks generated, over and over (it's different and fresh, but once you generate a lot of stuff, you hear the repeated licks a lot). Main thing is... I just want the Soloist to be more simple... "phrasing"... which is everything. It doesn't ever seem to think in phrases... just random notes being sprinkled everywhere. There's got to be a setting I have wrong. Can anyone help me with some better results?
I haven't used the program in some time, but I'm getting back into it and it just makes my head spin, sometimes. I mainly just want simple, simple styles, simple chord progressions in pop contexts (love the whole Nashville sus2 thing, too)...
I just want more simple, stripped-down things, to generate with Melodist. I don't want insane chords, unless I'm going for a jazz thing for a kid... mainly simple pop/rock stuff.
I've reached out to Henry Clarke, who makes great BIAB Youtube videos. But, his responses to my questions are often dismissive: "Don't know, try different things.... or, that's weird I never have that problem, or... your question seems a bit complicated. Experiment" I don't think any of these questions are unreasonable or weird in any way. Figured I'd hit up the forum... hopefully you pros can help out!
Groove3.com has a sample +++ video tutorial +++ featuring the Soloist. Click on the link and the second sample tutorial is "Using The Soloist".
To me your question reads somewhat like a comment or observation that many of the Soloists are too busy. If that is in fact the case then you may want to consider composing a suggestion to post in the +++ Band-in-a-Box Wishlist +++ forum section.
Here are a few suggestions you may have already considered:
Open the Soloist using Shift+F4 or the icon, select a Soloist then select the "More". Changing "Use large Soloist files" & "Create long phrases" changes the material the soloists uses to create its solos.
In the Soloist window select the Soloist Maker "Edit..." button. Then try different settings with the checkboxes in the bottom right corner of the screen.
If you are not familiar with these settings, the Help button in each window is your friend.
There are several PG Music video tutorials on the Soloist feature on the +++ Support +++ webpage. I opened a search window using Ctrl+F and using the search term "solo" found multiple videos with the latest from 2019.
Hi Jim! Thanks so much for your help, will check out.
I was trying to point out the negatives and the positives for my issues... wasn't so much commenting, just trying to strike a balance. Explaining, then a question.
I'll experiment (as I've always done) and see what works. Thanks!
Anyone else ever confused insanely by the Soloist and Melodist configurations? Would love to hear other people's opinions.
Never have worked with the Soloist. There are so many solo RT instruments to choose from I never had the need to do anything other than load and run.
I worked with Melodist only once, and just a couple weeks ago. I did a lot of experimentation and was actually pleased with what I came up with. I may actually even use it in my next project.
1. Melodist 127-255-- there are no notes about any of these. I have no idea what genres they fit in... are all of these simply Jazz swing (Jazz)? They only show up in that sub-category.
These are just undefined (empty) Melodist slots.
Quote:
2. Are there any Melodists that work best with pop styles? 1-5-6-4 chord progressions, with the V chord at the end of a part? Nothing crazy, no weird 2-5-1's... but standard pop? I have such trouble finding Melodist styles that are more simplified / poppy.. in a word, "cliche" or boring. It helps, with students learning basic pop structures, instead of 6th chords, dominant 9ths, etc.
Try the "Light Rock 8ths" category, which use the MELPOP8.st2 database, or "Rock 8ths (Pop)" (MELROK1.ST2), or "EZ Listening (Pop)" (MELEZ.st2). You're right, even with the simplest settings it does try to be interesting. You won't get it to create a song that is mostly a repeated I vi IV V. If you want that, you should just type it out. If you then want a melody you could use the Melodist with "Generate chords" unchecked. It is a good feature suggestion to restrict certain chord types.
Also the "Edit menu | Chords | Jazz down" might be useful - this doesn't change the chord progression, but makes the chords less complex.
Just for your information you *can* define your own Melodist but it's not a common thing to do. (1) Choose a simple Melodist, maybe #89. (2) Click the Melodist Maker Edit button. (3) Click Export, and save the M1 file. (4) Choose one of the aformentioned undefined slots. (5) click Import, and select the M1 file you saved. (6) Type in a title, and edit some settings, for example uncommon chord progressions == 0. Now you have your own melodist saved in this slot. Note that if we update the main melodist file you would need to re-import your M1 file so save a backup of it.
Quote:
3. Are there any RealStyles that have lead parts (whether "Soloists" or simply, "RealStyles Solos" (which to me, are two different things, are they not?) where it's not so much shredding or ultra-fast licks, but simple phrases? Nearly all of the Styles I have auditioned have solos that are just simply too busy, too insane, too shreddy. Doesn't matter if it's a slow jazz style or a chill pop style. The solos are always a bit much. Take for instance, the 60bpm Jazz Style with the Pat Martino solo. The solos are insane! It's a 60bpm, jazz brushes, pretty, coffeeshop vibe... why are the solos so fast and intense?
Well, Pat Martino was a virtuoso... this is the style of playing of this particular RealTrack - I'm assuming you're talking about #2156 (Guitar, Electric, Soloist JazzBalladPat Sw 060).
However, you CAN 'tame' it by selecting the "simple" variation. This is a checkbox in the RealTracks Picker. I loaded in a style demo for _SBLPAT and rendered 8 bars playing the regular and 'simple'... here they are:
Note: There is an S in the "Simple" column in the RT Picker which tells you that a simple variation is available.
But in general it is dependent on the particular RealTracks. You just need to find a less intense one. One idea is to use Background type RealTracks instead of Soloists.
Quote:
4. Any way to constrain Soloists to stick with mostly chord notes (especially for MIDI soloists) and slower, more simple phrases? I teach a lot of intermediate students and no one is capable of soloing the way these pros PGMusic has brought on, can solo. I want them to stick with simple Pentatonics (minor and major) and just keeping things vibey, simple, normal. Any help/guidance is sincerely appreciated.
If you're using RealTracks, this is mainly dependent on which RealTracks you are using. You could start with one of the demo songs - these typically have fairly simple chord progressions that are appropriate for the style. Either load in a demo from the StylePicker, or find a Soloist/Background RealTracks in the RT Picker and use the Load Demo button there. Then, just simplify, modify the chords to suit and save the .SGU as a different file name (to not overwrite the original). For example, I took _cursed.sty and here is the Guitar Electric soloist #3362: https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/support/misc/_cursed_quickdemo.m4a
Also, have you seen the Instrument Studies? If you have the Songs and Lessons PAK then you have these in the Songs and Lessons folder. They focus on teaching licks using common chord progressions. Not beginner, but can be slowed right down, and there is detailed and accurate notation / tab.
Quote:
5. Is there any way to create Melodist "rules" that can create chord progressions in simple, cliche pop styles? Again, sticking with I, IV, vi, V, and occasionally, as needed, the ii and the iii?
No, but it is a nice feature idea. Please put it on the wishlist forum.
Quote:
6. Is there some sort of repository somewhere that has BIAB "BB Song" (*.MGU) files, of famous pop songs? It seems like there should be, as long as BIAB has been out there.
We don't have anything like that here. However, you can enter the songs yourself in under a minute per song. There are a bunch of keyboard shorcuts that can speed this up. For example, of you type K <enter> this will copy the previous 8 bars to the current position. K4<enter> for the previous 4. There is a list in Help --> reference --> Shortcut keys. There is also a song titles feature (top right-hand section of StylePicker) that you can use to search up a popular song - I think it has over 20K songs in the database. This will start you out with the correct feel / tempo / etc. of the style, so you then only have to worry about the chords and melody.
If you want to enter a (MIDI) melody for the song, this would take a little bit longer but there is a trick you can use that is easier than entering the melody note by note with your mouse:
(1) First enable the 'wizard playalong feature' under the Play menu. (2) Record MIDI, and tap the melody on your (QWERTY) keyboard. Don't worry about the note pitches, just rhythm. (3) Open the Notation window and toggle Editable notation mode. (4) Now, hold down shift and use the right/left cursor keys to step through and highlight the notes. Use the Up/Down arrows to change the pitch of a note.
WOW!! Never thought I was dismissive. Sorry I gave you that perception. In all fairness I do spend over an hour per week just responding to comments and I just don't have the cycles to dig too deep into certain subject areas. Especially areas that are used by very few. For that I apologize. Hopefully someone in this forum can assist better I.
Np Henry, thanks for responding. Yeah, I mean... I know how DEEP this program is, but it seems like, from PGMusic to experienced random Youtubers like yourself, there is never a simple step-by-step... maybe like, having 5 different examples of Melodist's creation, or 5 different examples of Soloists, you know? A lot of videos are simply "look at all these options, try things out!" I don't have time to try things out, by and large. I want to hear someone with a straightforward video go "Example 1. Click. Listen. Example 2. Click. Listen."
"Melodist - making a nice Bill Evans progression" "Melodist - making a nice Taylor Swift-style pop arrangement" "Soloist - making slower, more flowy solos for slower music."
And just, choosing the right settings... instead of a lot of "Here is where you can do this and that. And this setting can do that." Ok... that's great. I know how powerful it is. But, anything shown step-by-step, how to nail something in your head, would be so appreciated. That's what I'd love to see more of.
Andrew's response-- that. That's definitely good stuff!
I'm hoping someone in the community can go "hey, I can do videos like that!" I would immediately subscribe to them and spread the word around like wildfire, if they had an under-5-minute video series, similar to those people with their Adobe Premiere tutorials (Adobe In A Minute, etc)... that would be so wonderful.
I primarily use RealStyles, for the record... I can't get on with the MIDI stuff because it sounds so bad, and I don't know how to use a multitimbral plugin properly (such as Sampletank) to get it to make the sounds I want it to, without sounding terrible. RealStyles give me the most happiness, right off the bat (and my students, too! To practice over).
Still struggling with #2 and #3, above. The best Melodists I've found for pop/rock chord progressions so far is "Children's." It gives me standard triads (major/minor) and catchy chord progressions. Any other style is insanely jazzy and complex, even the ones Andrew mentioned, above.
Re: #3-- I can't find any slow / chill guitar solos, at all. I mean, I know when you have the UltraPak+, there are basically 10,000 RealStyles... and I just can't seem to find a soloist for slower stuff (60-90bpm) that isn't quite honestly, "too fast / busy". I love the Slow Jazz with Pat Martino style, still... but, I wind up muting his leads. They shred too much... too off-time, even. He was an amazing guitarist, no doubt... but, none of his generated solos sound musical at all, to me.
The cursed style demo audio Andrew provided... man. Some of those licks were alright but just... whoa. Way, way, way, way, way, way WAY too much.
New question about endings and re-generating just a few bars
Is there a quick way to re-generate an ending, or just like 1-2 bars of a song? If I highlight 2 bars, then click "Generate and Play" - it just re-generates the entire song, instead of the two bars. There's got to be a more simple way to simply re-generate 1-2 bars... because I notice when I make stuff with Slow Jazz w/ Pat Martino, I keep hearing this piano melody going upwards, a quick run.... "doodle-doodle-doodle-doodle-y-do-- PLINK - bop-bop-doo....." - it's such a cliche and it seems to be in every single song I generate. I would love to just not hear that melody, anymore.
EDIT: yeah, it doesn't work with 2022. Is there a different command?
Actually, I think it requires the features of 2023 version.
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
This late in the year i would update in Dec for 2024.
As far as midi, it is just a matter of a good sample set and some effort to "humanize" the midi If you learn it you open up a lot of options. None of this is easy. I also had BiaB for a few years and shied away from some of it because it is deep and wide. I did last year dive into the melodist and i found with a bit of work i can get some decent results. I used Real band for a few years rather than dig to deep into BiaB it was more familiar due to years of traditional DAW work. One thing that slowed me down was over thinking it to some degree. Sometimes this stuff it easier than it seems. The other issue i had was Not wanting to dig deep enough, and just wanting everything to just happen by magic. You know in the Box!
HP Win 11 12 gig ram, Mac mini Sonoma with 16 gig of ram, BiaB/RB 2026, Reaper 7, Harrison Mixbus 11 , Presonus Audiobox USB96
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PST on Thursday, January 15, 2026!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. You can view the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to process an entire track or focus on specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Windows to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
Plus, when you order your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade during our special, you'll receive a Free Bonus PAK of exciting new add-ons.
If you need any help deciding which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We are here to help!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
Good news! You still have time to upgrade to the latest version of Band-in-a-Box® for Windows® and save. Our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® special now runs through January 15, 2025!
We've packed Band-in-a-Box® 2026 with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can process an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, XPro Styles PAK 10, Xtra Styles PAK 21, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PST on January 15th, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® today! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
In this video, we explore the updated Piano Roll, complete with a modernized look and exciting new features. You’ll see new filtering options that make it easy to focus on specific note groups, smoother and more intuitive note entry and editing, and enhanced options for zooming, looping, and more.
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
This video demonstrates how to use the new AI-Notes feature together with the AI-Stems splitter, allowing you to select an audio file and have it separated into individual stems while transcribing each one to its own MIDI track. AI-Notes converts polyphonic audio—either full mixes or individual instruments—into MIDI that you can view in notation or play back instantly.
Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®
With your version 2026 for Windows Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
Android Band-in-a-Box® App (included)
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean