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My Most Useful Music Making Tools (other than actual instruments)

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Ha! Dan's a tool! Sweeeet! smile




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Like others; understanding music theory is a tool, so I am starting there
Starting piano lessons at 7
Starting Trumpet at 9
Learning Bass much later (by then I could read well, the challenge was interpreting it to the frets)
Then moving to guitar much later

Every other tool I use benefits from my learning to play those instruments first .. and (for me) in that order

Piano helped visualize how to read to begin with
Then trumpet made me learn to transpose
Bass was kinda easy after I learned the previous ones, but taught me how to use a basic fret board (one note at a time)

Guitar was/is ridiculously hard; I visualize notes on the piano keyboard instinctively, so then have to transpose them to the guitar fret board after 'reading' it in my head first
//For me, learning guitar first would make learning theory a lot harder in the beginning

FWIW I can work with other musicians much better because of learning theory how I did
So I consider that my most useful music tool


I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome
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Originally Posted By: JohnJohnJohn
My Most Useful Music Making Tools (other than actual instruments)


OK, I got a big laugh out of that. grin


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Originally Posted By: sslechta
Ha! Dan's a tool! Sweeeet! smile

Dang, I never thought of it that way!

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Originally Posted By: MusicStudent
Originally Posted By: JohnJohnJohn
My Most Useful Music Making Tools (other than actual instruments)


OK, I got a big laugh out of that. grin

I meant it as a compliment! You have helped me with MIDI and product recommendations and I really appreciate it!

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John, it was taken as a compliment and I thank you for letting me know that I was able to help you in some manner. I am always glad to share any knowledge I may have regarding our shared enjoyment for music making. I am not an expert since I don't have the needed credentials. But I have never been shy about sharing.

Dan



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Originally Posted By: MusicStudent


As you may be aware I was a Ph.D. Analytical Chemist for my 40 year career working in pharmaceutical discovery, manufacturing and regulatory affairs.


Kind of why we wanted you to come to Herbstock. What's a music festival without a "chemist"?

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- ears and mouth
- pen and paper

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Originally Posted By: MusicStudent
Originally Posted By: Bass Thumper

If you don't mind me asking, how do you use Scaler2 in your workflow or study time?


Don't mind at all. thanks for asking. Simply put, Scaler2 impacts, in one way or another, every chord progression I write. Like BIAB it is a boundless source of inspiration for constructing the core of my music. It outputs the chord progession as midi along with accompiament when needed.

However, before I attempt to detail my workflow, you first have to read this past thread... grin

https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=766615&page=1

I have to warn you, it is what I believe to be the second most viewed threads in forum history. Second only to Don Glover's joke thread. But should have background to explain Scalers role.

After you have perused the thread I will be glad to expand on any element. crazy

Sir Scaler

I read that thread from top to bottom and would never pretend to understand everything there but I do notice your exhuberance over Scaler2. I also watched a few of the videos and can't get my head around how this would be useful to me at this time.

Towards the end of that thread Mario said this.

Hi Matt,

The main thing it does for me is to give me different chords and chord progressions that I might not of thought of using BiaB. Being able to select chords from a different points of view does help, i.e. scales, modes, artist, genre, etc.

I have tried the melody function and it is on par with BiaB's Melodist. That is it will not give me a complete melody line that I find usable, just like the Melodist. I doubt no program will do that for me.

To be truthful I rarely use Scaler. I bought it when it was on sale and hoped it would do a lot more for me. I have worked with it and watched the videos but I keep going back to BiaB.

It might be beneficial to both of us if you asked the same question to a power user.


If your workflow/experience with this tool is markedly different from what Mario said, please share.


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Originally Posted By: Bass Thumper
<...snip...>
That said, I'm realizing that Tab is a good jumping-in "language" that hopefully can serve as a stepping stone to sheet music.<...>


My opinion:

I wouldn't waste my time learning TAB. Tab is limiting to what you can find written in TAB.

Put that effort into learning how to read music. I did that on the guitar with Mel-Bay type beginner books. But I already knew how to read music on saxophone.

The advantage of learning to read regular notation instead of TAB is that just about every song ever published is available as regular notation.

Pick up a fake book with thousands of songs that have the melody line and chords, and you can play them.

Furthermore, when you know how, reading regular notation is actually easier than TAB. The notes on the staff give you timing and pitch, and you don't have to look at the staff AND the TAB diagram, so sight-reading becomes much easier on regular music.

Being a multi-instrumentalist, I do admit that reading music on the guitar is more difficult than reading music on the Saxophone, Flute, or Piano.

But the guitar has some other things that are easier. If you need to change the key on the woodwind, brass, or keyboard instrument, the new key involves entirely different fingerings. Where the guitarist needs to learn how to play one major scale, and can just move it up and down so many frets, the other have to learn 12 different fingerings. The same goes for pentatonic, various minors and even chords/arpeggios.

My advice is to spend 15 minutes to a half hour per day learning how to read regular notation. Get a book that shows you how, and if need be, also check explanations on-line.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫


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Originally Posted By: Bass Thumper

Is your workflow/experience with this tool markedly different from what Mario said


Yes.

Scaler, for me, was not meant to replace BIAB. And, I never wanted Scaler to "do more for me". Instead, I wanted BIAB to do less, and Scaler to allow me to do more - for myself. After decades of using BIAB, I reached a point where I was letting BIAB perform too much of the creative process for song writing. I no longer wanted to pick a style, load the demo songs, and have the chords laid out in a canned progression. Scaler helps in the creative process by helping "ME" to write the progression. Nor did I want the entire accompianment to be added to my chords by picking and pluging RTs into the song. I came to the point where I needed to get more of me in my music. That dictated less of BIAB. Scaler was helpful for me in making the needed transition away from BIAB for me in order to grow musically.

I am not trying to sell Scaler (although it might sound like that crazy ). And I also am not trying to bad mouth BIAB. I still use both these tools, for the inspiration they provide.

In recent times, I have been able to bring more of me into the creative process by limiting my BIAB content and employing alternate tools, including Scaler and all the virtual instruments provided by Kontakt along with aids to write my own music. Its a long term process... but I am making progress.

Hope that clarifies my workflow strategy.


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Originally Posted By: MusicStudent
.....................

I am not trying to sell Scaler (although it might sound like that crazy ). And I also am not trying to bad mouth BIAB. I still use both these tools, for the inspiration they provide.

In recent times, I have been able to bring more of me into the creative process by limiting my BIAB content and employing alternate tools, including Scaler and all the virtual instruments provided by Kontakt along with aids to write my own music. Its a long term process... but I am making progress.

Hope that clarifies my workflow strategy.


Dan, your workflow isn't that much different from mine!

Like I said I use Scaler to help me with chords and chord progressions that I would not have thought of using BiaB alone. I transfer those chords and/or progressions into BiaB.

I also use MIDI loops to augment and/or replace parts of or enter BiaB tracks. I also use arpeggiators, soft synths, etc, and my own creativity to add to or modify BiaB MIDI tracks.

It is a long term learning process, but I wouldn't have it any other way.


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Originally Posted By: Notes Norton


<... snip ...>

My opinion:

I wouldn't waste my time learning TAB. Tab is limiting to what you can find written in TAB.

Put that effort into learning how to read music. I did that on the guitar with Mel-Bay type beginner books. But I already knew how to read music on saxophone.

<... end snip ...>




I agree. Invest your time in learning to read music. The benefits are worth the effort.

Even just a basic reading skill (I can read it, but I can't read and play at the same time) is worth having and really not all that hard to pick up. It opens so many possibilities that simply don't exist otherwise.

TAB is limiting in that basically its just "this string, this fret". If you don't know what the tune actually sounds like, the TAB is kind of useless.

Years ago (decades ago really) I decided to learn a few fiddle tunes on guitar. All I found (and I admit I didn't look very hard) was TAB. I had no clue what the tunes actually sounded like but they were fiddle tunes so what the heck, learn the TAB. Play the right notes in the right order real fast and that's that, right?

I learned the TAB of some tune played it for a guy who really did play fiddle tunes... on a fiddle no less. I played all the right notes in the right order and everything. He said "What the heck was that?" I told him. He picked up his fiddle and played something that sounded totally completely different and said "That's how that tune goes. Don't know what you played but you played it really well."

So TAB is useless? No. It is really useful doing what it actually does. It shows fingering position. If you want to learn an alternate chord voicing or a particular finger-picking pattern its great. The what string what fret is what you need. Understand though what you are learning....you are learning fingering position... which is technique (gotta have it so that's not all bad).

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Could have sworn I had chimed in on this....

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I kind-of agree with Steve. Dan's got the best tool box available grin


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As far as guitar tab goes, I actually had to Google what guitar tab IS. After that I vaguely remembered seeing it early along my music path but when I started guitar I was in a different place in the journey than most. I took up guitar at 11 but I had already been studying music for 6 years, and played first the accordion and then piano. My teacher beat theory into my head, and until I could tell him that the second space from the bottom was called A and it's this key on the keyboard I was not allowed to touch an instrument. But at that time I was 4 yrs and 10 months old. I could read words up to maybe 5 letters long so I knew that those things called A through G were the first 7 letters of the alphabet, and wow, how convenient that these piano keys were the same as those first 7 letters. Everything for the first few weeks of actually playing was in C, so no black keys. Then came the sharps and flats. He gave me such a strong foundation that I was fortunate to have gone to that guy for lessons. Now here's where it turns toward "but that's just me". That all happened in 1956. My exposure in the home was Slovenian ethnic music (polka and waltz) and big band music, some showtune type stuff. In other words, pre-Beatles. Once I heard The Beatles, the accordion went into the case and I only took it out when I wanted to play to remember how or amuse myself.

Now I said all that to say this. In 1963, when I was 12, I wanted a guitar, because I had recently started hearing this thing called rock and roll. I got a very cheap acoustic guitar for Christmas in 1963, and because I knew so much about the nuts and bolts of music, I figured out from my Mel Bay book #1 how to tune it, which incidentally I did by ear as I had perfect pitch then. (That has waned. I now have relative pitch, so if you play a C, I can then identify other tones by hearing how they relate to C in my head.) By the time I went to sleep that night I was playing chords that fairly recently became that thing called CAGED. I got that guitar at 7pm and by the time I went to bed at midnight I had finished book #1. Just after Jan 1st I started lessons with a guy who was about 10 years older than, so 22-ish, who I found via referral from the old man who taught me initially. He was a student of the old man before me, so he taught the same way. I took lessons from him twice a week. After 12 weeks he said he wanted to meet with my parents so he drove me the 2 blocks from his teaching studio to my house. We sat at the kitchen table and he told my parents that while he would be happy to keep taking their money that he really didn't have anything more he could teach me, that I was at a point where it was now a matter of how much time I wanted to put into it. And how that was due to my coming in with such a strong base in fundamentals and theory. He asked if I would go get my guitar, which I did, and then told me "Play that song you played for me right at the end of your lesson." It was a 3 minute "nothing" thing, with lyrics about a similar "nothing". When I finished he told my folks "He wrote that himself, and for his age it's rather complex."

And again, I said all that to say this. That is just the way I did it. I went right past guitar tab because I didn't need it. I knew that seeing an F on the page meant to press this string on that fret and could work out chord inversions and neck positions by myself. Which leads me to reiterate what I have said several times here. Learn your neck in a "planar" way, at a diagonal across all 6 strings, rather than from nut to body. Pick a note in your mind and find every instance of that note on every string with no regard to octave. Know that F is 1-1, 2-6, 3-10, 4-3 and 4-15, etc. Do that with all 12 notes. You won't learn that from tab.

/soapbox mode on

I HATE HATE HATE that guitar lesson have devolved into a teacher teaching songs and not teaching MUSIC. I also don't get why people think it's a good thing to marvel that so many old school musicians don't know chord formations, key structures, etc. But I think that because I WAS taught all of that, and being the only way I know, to me that is the "right" way to learn. In a convoluted way it brings me the the Eagles lyric "A man can use his back or use his brain." Also a funny poster that used to hang in every Army motor pool of a guy hanging a poster that says "The right tool for the job" and the guy was driving nails with a rock instead of a hammer. Sure you CAN become an outstanding player by stumbling around frets or keys or buttons and levers on wind instruments, but the road map that solid basis in theory provides can eliminate a lot of that stumbling.

//soapbox mode off

A guy on Youtube told the story about when he was recently called to be in the house band at Willie Nelson's 90th birthday party concert. Booker T was there. He went to Booker during a break in rehearsals and asked him "Can you show me the voicing you play on that Bm7b5?" And Booker T, one of the best ever, had no idea what he was asking for. He can play it in his sleep, but he can't show it because he doesn't know what it is. One of the best players ever doesn't consciously know any theory. He KNOWS theory. He just doesn't know he knows.

So, sure it can happen. But who here plays 14 hours a day to do all that experimenting that leads to subliminal knowledge of theory?

Which brings me to the tools. BIAB, with "song demo mode" (which I have never used), allows people who know zero about music to "write" songs. Pick a key, pick a style, use demo mode, save that demo creation, and call it your own. What did YOU write? You didn't enter a chord progression, right? You didn't do any production, like regenerating a section because you didn't like the fit of what was originally generated, right? What did YOU actually do? And when it's instrumental, you didn't even write lyrics, which compounds the felony.

There is no satisfaction in the world like writing a song with lyrics that tell a story of your life and then seeing that song get positive response from the listeners. At Herbstock, as we got started, I did a couple of songs that were remakes done in different grooves from a concept album I started and never finished. Songs like I Wish It Would Rain done in reggae, and 6345789 done in a boogie piano groove. Then I popped in a few I wrote. When we finished the first one, Herb, standing closest to me asked "Is that yours?". I said "Yep. One of my 'girl done dun me wrong' songs." And he said "That's really good." Those 3 words made all the driving and the physical toll that the trip took on me worth it. You won't know that feeling until you write something from your soul and people like it.

Songs are nothing more than stories set to music. Tell your story. Use your tools AS tools, not as creators. In other words, be a musician. The carpenter drives the nails, not the hammer.

EDIT: Here's a +++LINK+++ to the song I mentioned with a local guy, Bobby Lee, singing it.

Last edited by eddie1261; 06/16/23 05:06 AM.
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Originally Posted By: eddie1261
..............................
I HATE HATE HATE that guitar lesson have devolved into a teacher teaching songs and not teaching MUSIC. .........................


Eddie, this line brought back a memory that I will never forget.

A few years ago a local music store was advertising for another guitar instructor. I applied and got the job. The only other guitar instructor was teaching songs while I was and still am old school and taught music. I taught reading music and eventually learning theory. If a student was doing well I would throw in some fun stuff like a current song as a teaching exercise. The store owner was impressed and in a couple of months I had a lot more students than the other instructor. It turned out that the owner, although much younger than me, was also "old schooled"!

Thanx for the pleasant flashback.


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Originally Posted By: Notes Norton

I have some recommendations for every musician who plays in a modern, pop music of any kind.
  1. Learn how to read music
  2. Learn basic music theory
  3. Learn to play drums, at least the first dozen or so rudiments. That will tell you how to listen to drums, which will help you play all other instruments in a group
  4. Learn to play and memorize at least these scales and their arpeggios on your chosen non-drum instrument: major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, major pentatonic and minor pentatonic. If you are not playing a transposing instrument like a guitar, learn them in all 12 keys. Since music is made from segments of these, when playing, your fingers will find these without a lot of brain work from you.
  5. Listen to singers in all genres of music. Not the words but the inflections, pitch bends, dynamics and so on. This will teach you how to sing on your instrument.
  6. Listen to different genres of music.
  7. Listen to each instrument in a great song from start to finish. When you have that down, listen to how the parts each musician plays interacts with each other.
  8. Find a good teacher when starting out, who will teach you the right (easy) way to play your instrument. Learning bad habits is a lot easier than breaking bad habits so you can play better.
  9. Have fun when playing. OK, practice is not work, but it's repetition and not nearly as much fun as playing the song. But once you learn the song, and it's 'under your fingers', turn the language part of your brain off, and just have fun. If you are having fun, the audience will hear that. They don't call it playing music for nothing.

An overwhelming list for sure and one that can extend beyond anyone's lifetime. I guess that's one point, that the study of music can (should?) be a lifelong endeavor. So it comes down to prioritizing given that we all have limited time. I particularly like 1, 2 7 and 9.

PS> Many thanks to to all who have responded; it's been a good flood. I'm trying to reply to most but I can't keep up due to my current schedule . . . but I'm trying smile


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Originally Posted By: AudioTrack
I kind-of agree with Steve. Dan's got the best tool box available grin


Thanks AT. I am guessing that I am like many here, Music is our hobby! grin What may be a bit different in my case is that music is my ONLY hobby. crazy So at this time in my life, I can afford to give it my full and focused priority attention.


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With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!

Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!

Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.

Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.

Check out all the 202 new RealTracks (in sets 468-488)!

And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.

The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!

2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!

With your version 2026 for Mac 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)
  • iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
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)

Learn more about the Bonus PAK and 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!

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