Becoming familiar with BIAB Styles.

Here is part of how I did it, anyway. (BTW, I am speaking exclusively to MIDI Styles. Some of this may apply to Real Instruments, some won't.)

Listening is essential to learning music. BIAB is a musical program. Therefore it is essential to listen to BIAB. Stupid-basic, but stay with me.

BIAB is not Artificial Intelligence, although it sounds like it at times; it is an Expert System. (You can find out more than you want to know about expert systems in this Wiki article.) Styles are at the heart of BIAB's expertise.

What other application lets you listen to a Country song, then, with a mouse click, hear it as a Reggae tune? Then--in quick succession--Scott Joplin, an Irish jig, or a Swing tune? I entertained myself for a long time doing just that. It's easy to get lost in this, and I did. But eventually I entered some of my own songs. That's when the first epiphany happened.

I was listening to something I had written--this is important--in one Style, and playing it back in another, when BIAB did something totally unexpected. I think it played a flourish during a turnaround, but it isn't important. BIAB had done something a human player might, something I would not have thought of, and likely couldn't do if I had, since there were five instruments involved. This was my first clue to the incredible knowledge base which has been invested in this program. It's not about coding; it's about putting advanced human skills at your disposal.

Here, IMHO, is the best way to familiarize yourself with what BIAB offers you out of the box (so to speak ). Get a notebook and a sharp pencil, set aside an evening or two and just listen to Styles and Demos. Many of these are amazing, especially through a good synth. When you get ideas, mark them down elsewhere in your notebook, or stop and Follow Your Muse. But know that you are deferring the basic task--listening to BIAB. Get back to it ASAP!

I wanted to introduce a friend to BIAB, so we did a "lightning" session one evening. I'd play a Demo, we'd accompany it for one or two choruses, then do another. (A "video lead sheet" is another amazing feature.) (Did I say BIAB was amazing? It's amazingly amazing!) We went through dozens of Styles and Demos that night. He was amazed because he'd never heard BIAB. I was amazed--again--because, if you let it, BIAB will make you stretch. I played things I never would have otherwise.

To quickly learn how Styles can sound with your music, put in a short, distinctive chord progression with A & B parts at least, set it to Loop and have at it. (I say use "distinctive" progressions because these can bring out embellishments you might not hear otherwise.) Change Styles on the fly and you can hear a lot in a short time. Mute or replace various instrument sounds.

Learn how to make Hybrid Styles. An easy exercise would be to graft a human-type drummer into a Techno Style, or vice versa. Think. Imagine. Ask questions (in the BIAB Forum, please).

I'm really charged up now! I could keep going, but this is supposed to be basic. I hope you've learned something, and that other experienced users will contribute to this thread, too.

Richard

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."