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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 4
Newbie
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OP
Newbie
Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 4 |
I'm both dismayed and confused over the lack of materials for an actual "new user". It would seem that PG Music doesn't quite appreciate the extent to which the steep learning curve affects a completely new user. You might argue that this is not the true, but take a look at the top of this "Beginners Forum." The PG Music pinned post is a video on "What's New" which is near useless to the complete beginner. There is so much BiaB-specific terminology that one would need a "how to understand the what's new" video in order to even begin to comprehend.
Yes, I know that there is a lot of older how-to info out there, but what might make sense to those familiar with BiaB can be a brick wall to someone new. All it takes is a minor change and things become frighteningly difficult.
Henry Clark comes the closest to making newbie-friendly videos. Yet just a few minutes into his intro to BiaB video I was left scratching my head: The default screen and toolbar buttons shown on his screen were nothing like those on mine.
Turns out that due to my smaller screen, the default is a completely different view. Sure, there are -- as I eventually figured out-- toggles to turn the screen items on and off. Should we blame Henry? Of course not, his videos are a labor of love. The point is that there are no tutorial materials available from PG Music teaching the new user how to use the most recent iteration of their product.
All said, this post is not intended to be a "don't buy this product" nor a "this company sucks" missive. I am posting in hopes that the fine folks of PG Music might take a good look at something that is not only highly frustrating for the aspiring new BiaB user, but also -- IMHO -- is a barrier to both user engagement and new paying customers.
Last edited by PHarker; 03/29/23 03:11 AM.
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 836
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 836 |
Hi PHarker, this page is where our videos get posted. Scroll down on it to find the "Beginner" heading: https://www.pgmusic.com/videos.bbwin.htm We are also happy to help and clarify any concepts. You can contact us directly via live chat or email supprot@pgmusic.com.
Best,
Chantelle
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,635
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,635 |
Henry Clark comes the closest ... The default screen and toolbar buttons shown on his screen were nothing like those on mine. See "Toolbar Modes" on p54 the manual to swap between toolbar styles. Yes, that's arcane, which underlines your observation.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful.
AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11
BIAB2025 Audiophile, a bunch of other software.
Kawai MP6, Ui24R, Focusrite Saffire Pro40 and Scarletts
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18 |
Another dimension to this for beginners, is understanding the multiple layers of tracks and styles.
And I'm still bemused by the 3 x choruses format. Which 'popular songs' in the last 70 years have a chorus but no verses? Less than 1% I'm sure.
Several thousand tracks by accomplished musicians, but no obvious support for verses. Am I missing something?
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,455
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,455 |
Another dimension to this for beginners, is understanding the multiple layers of tracks and styles.
And I'm still bemused by the 3 x choruses format. Which 'popular songs' in the last 70 years have a chorus but no verses? Less than 1% I'm sure.
Several thousand tracks by accomplished musicians, but no obvious support for verses. Am I missing something? You missed the jazz terminology that BiaB uses. In jazz a chorus means play the entire song. Commonly the first chorus one played the melody, the second chorus was for improvisation, while the third was back to playing the melody. Of course there were variations in this theme. Playing the chorus in jazz means, in today's terms, play the verse, chorus, prechorus, etc. FWIW, I also use the unfolded method in BiaB. That is where I have 1-n x 1 which means start at the first measure, n means the number of measure in the song, and x 1 means play it one time. Don't fret over n as you can change that while figuring out you song. I also label each section via the bar based section letters: Right click on the measure number to get to the bar based section letters. I use I for intro, V for verse, C for chorus, etc. PS - BiaB started as a jazz program thus the chorus terminology. I hope this helps.
The bumper sticker said "I'm a veterinarian, therefore I can drive like an animal".
Suddenly I realized how many proctologists are on the road.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18
Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2020
Posts: 18 |
MarioD,
Yes your explanation helped me tremendously thanks.
I grew up in the UK listening to the Beatles and 60s pop/Motown, then 70s glam rock, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, T-Rex followed by punk (a breath of fresh air). Then Michael Jackson in the 80s, Duran Duran, Bob Marley.
In the 90s I worked in Phoenix, AZ for a while and fell in love with American classic rock and blues, and I mean real blues bars with sawdust on the floor and crusty customers ha ha.
Jazz was never mainstream in the UK, although my dear late Father did play me his Glenn Miller LPs. Does anyone remember LPs?
So my brain is hard wired with the intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, bridge, weird section, verse, chorus, key change, repeat, fade to outro format and all other permutations.
I get the n-1 approach and copy/paste of bars with lyrics will do fine, just like a word processor.
I found the "Edit Repeats and Endings" dialog that looks comprehensive. I'll start with the simple approach first, then tie myself in knots later.
Cheers
Paul
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Beginners Forum
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,455
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,455 |
I'm glad that you got things working and I'm glad that I could help.
The bumper sticker said "I'm a veterinarian, therefore I can drive like an animal".
Suddenly I realized how many proctologists are on the road.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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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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PowerTracks Pro 2026 for Windows is Here!
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Happy New Year!
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Season's Greetings!
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season—thanks for being part of our community!
The office will be closed for Christmas Day, but we will be back on Boxing Day (Dec 26th) at 6:00am PST.
Team PG
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
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Watch the video.
You can see all the 2026 videos on our forum!
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