Joanne, I have not tried Chordify. Up until Song Master Pro, my go-to program for chord transcription (besides me) has been Chord AI, an iOS app. If you are familiar with that excellent app, perhaps it will help to know that Song master Pro is far better.
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; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
I just ran a song (Naufragio as sung by Ibrahim Ferrer) through the demo version. It did a very nice, if overly complex version of the chords. Often it would change chords entirely on a bass line change (passing tones). Mostly enharmonics, but something you notice. Nice work, but I would simplify before before bringing to rehearsal.
Nevertheless, Good stuff overall. If I could import the xml into biab and get decent charts that would save a lot of work. I guess you really won't know the cleanup effort till you buy the stuff.
I think I'll give them the $$$
biab2025(Mac) Latest Build Mac OS (Latest) Apple Mac Mini M2 pro 32GB Ram Logic Pro 11.2.2 Irwin Vice Grip Fencing Pliers
If I could import the xml into biab and get decent charts that would save a lot of work.
I export music xml from Song Master Pro > Musescore all the time and it works flawlessly. It's an incredible time saver.
Unfortunately, I've made a few testes importing those same music xml files into BIAB and the result hasn't been good. In fact, I've never been able to use Biab music xml import / export feature successfully.
Unfortunately, I've made a few tests importing those same music xml files into BIAB and the result hasn't been good. In fact, I've never been able to use Biab music xml import / export feature successfully.
Yes, that's the same experience that I have had.
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.
I did some more tests looking into the MusicXML files. Both BIAB and Songmaster PRO are using MusicXML 3.0 But they seem to handle the chord ”qualifier/extenstion specification" differently!
Looking in the MusicXML files for some sample chords as an example.
(strange that it should differ if they using the same the standard).
MuseScore uses MusicXML 4.0 and seems to import both versions correctly as far as I can see. as well as GuitarPro 8 uses MusicXML 2.0 and seems to import both versions correctly as far as I can see.
But BIAB misses the chord ”qualifier/extension specification” when importing MusicXML from SongMaster Pro ie an E7 or E9 chord comes in as E and similar for others. But the basic chord structure for the song seems to be imported ok (ie chords without qualifiers/extensions). Also BIAB seems to be able to import its own created MusicXML correctly.
Maybe there is a configuration issue somewhere (or some simple change one can modify in the MusicXML file to get it working?)
I don't know if there is one correct way to implement the standard or if both ways are equally correct. But interestingly other software companies seem to be able to handle it so it works for both cases.
BIAB 2026, Studio One 7 Pro, Song Master Pro, Win11 Home. i7-9700K CPU, 32GB, ESI MAYA44eX, ZOOM UAC-2, Guitar Pro 8, Transcribe, (EZKeys2, EZD3, SD3, EZBass, EZMix3) Amateur: fiddle, guitar, vocal, beginner on bass.
Music XML in BIAB also has issues with importing songs with time signature changes.
I understand that PG Music has been asked to consider updating the product to support Music XML 4.0
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.
(strange that it should differ if they using the same the standard).
On of the many complications of MusicXML in particular and XMLs in general is that so many tokens have options/attributes that one may or may not choose to use. Looking at MusicXNL 3.1, of which I happen to have a copy, I'm fairly confident that the that the text="7" attribute is optional, as are various other attributes of kind (use-symbols, stack-degrees, parentheses-degrees, bracket-degrees, print-style, haligh, valign). And that's just one token of many.
Also of course, the specification says what tokens and attributes are/mean, and in what context, but how that's interpreted by the software may be imperfect.
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 .
Unfortunately, I've made a few tests importing those same music xml files into BIAB and the result hasn't been good. In fact, I've never been able to use Biab music xml import / export feature successfully.
Yes, that's the same experience that I have had.
Too bad. I was hoping for a shortcut to manual labor.
As mentioned elsewhere, support of a current version (4.0?)of music xml by PG music would be helpful.
biab2025(Mac) Latest Build Mac OS (Latest) Apple Mac Mini M2 pro 32GB Ram Logic Pro 11.2.2 Irwin Vice Grip Fencing Pliers
Maybe it does not help with v4.0 for this specific problem with importing chords.
If v3.0 allows for using an optional textstring as a chord specifier rather than the detailed <kind> chord specifier as it seems to be at the moment (see above). Then maybe this problem will remain in 4.0 unless BIAB changes the way to interpret the chord specifier (only a speculation).
BIAB 2026, Studio One 7 Pro, Song Master Pro, Win11 Home. i7-9700K CPU, 32GB, ESI MAYA44eX, ZOOM UAC-2, Guitar Pro 8, Transcribe, (EZKeys2, EZD3, SD3, EZBass, EZMix3) Amateur: fiddle, guitar, vocal, beginner on bass.
I just ran a test with a Brazilian song (lots of complex chords). While Song Master Pro (updated) read the chords well, the Music XML loaded into BIAB showed only the chord root. I had to type over every chord to include 7, m7, Maj7, 9, 13, etc. It did get the roots in the correct positions in measures and surprisingly did read slash roots.
I need to read the code to find out where the error is.
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; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
it can interact with YouTube for it’s source material
Is available on iPad
Lenovo YOGA 900 Window s 10 Home 64bit M4 pro Mac mini 1tb HD 24GB mem casio wk7500 presonus audiobox i2 usb interface casio wk-7500 biab & realband 2025 everything pk both with Current builds
I have done some more testing on importing MusicXML generated by SongMaster Pro into BIAB. As mentioned in posts above when importing a MusicXML file that has been generated by SongMaster Pro directly into BIAB it only loads root chords no extensions. But maybe there is a workaround.
If I import the MusicXML file into MuseScore it loads all chords correctly. If I then export the same score (the MusicXML just loaded) out again as MusicXML from MuseScore and then load it into BIAB it may work. But it did NOT!
If I copy the same score (the MusicXML file I just loaded into MuseScore) into a fresh new empty score in MuseScore and from there export it out as MusicXML from MuseScore and then load it into BIAB….
… It seems to Work FINE.. (all chord extensions are there).
It seems that MuseScore4: 1) exports scores that have been created from scratch in MuseScore correctly in a format that BIAB can read (ie it includes both the ”text string chord extension names” as well as the <kind> chord extension definition parameter). 2) but when exporting a score that has been loaded from MusicXML it seems just to just export exactly the same MusicXML file that was originally loaded.
I don’t know what the standard states or which of the software that need change or maybe both (but MuseScore seems to import MusicXML files correctly both from SongMaster Pro and BIAB)
So there might be a workaround a bit heavy but it seems to work.
EDIT ------------ To me it looks like that the chord extention is specified by: 1) the <kind> chord extension parameter in MusicXML but also 2) an optional ”name text string” parameter (it is only my guess that it is optional I don’t know if it is mandatory)
SongMaster Pro only adds the 1) the <kind> chord extension parameter and not the 2) ”name text string” parameter.
But this seems to work fine with MuseScore (as well as GuitarPro8 and Notion 6) and it loads correctly with the correct chord extensions These programs do not seem to need the 2) ”name text string” parameter, they work fine with only the 1) the <kind> chord extension parameter.
But this is not the case with BIAB it seems not work without the the 2) ”name text string” parameter. it seems that BIAB requires the 2) ”name text string” parameter in order to interpret the chord extension and BIAB seems to ignore the 1) the <kind> chord extension parameter if it is given alone without the 2) ”name text string” parameter. (but as said this is only my guesses I don't know what the standard states).
EDIT2------------ I had to experiment with the BIAB load special settings: ”BB song bar offset” and ”Number of bars in XML to skip” in order for the chords to align correctly in BIAB. It seems to depend on if there is a non complete bar at the beginning of the song. The setting that worked for me was ”BB song bar offset=2”, ”Number of bars in XML to skip=1” and the first bar was only 1 beat (in the original song from SongMaster Pro via MuseScore). The file that I tested had chords spread over various beats 1,2,3,4 and they seemed to align correctly. Only thing it will miss the first bar with only one beat.
EDIT3 --- It seems to work fine with the default settings as well ie ”BB song bar offset=2”, ”Number of bars in XML to skip=0”. Only thing is that the 3 first beats will get an C chord since my song only begin with one beat in the first bar.
Below attached are screen shots: 1) SongMaster Pro first 20 bars 2) Imported MusicXML from SongMaster Pro into MuseScore after copied over to new empty score 3 New MusicXML exported from MuseScore and imported into BIAB with default settings ie XML bars to skip=0.
Last edited by shlind; 04/04/2402:52 AM.
BIAB 2026, Studio One 7 Pro, Song Master Pro, Win11 Home. i7-9700K CPU, 32GB, ESI MAYA44eX, ZOOM UAC-2, Guitar Pro 8, Transcribe, (EZKeys2, EZD3, SD3, EZBass, EZMix3) Amateur: fiddle, guitar, vocal, beginner on bass.
Thanks for the update shlind. I would have expected that Music XML 4 would have been backwards compatible, but perhaps there are other features in there that don't quite match up.
Your experimentation and feedback have provided valuable information.
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.
Back to SongMaster Pro for a bit, which program I've just started exploring.
I'm guessing I know the answer to this and it's "yeah, sometimes it just does that".
I've been trying to analyse the Dave Brubeck band's "Take Five" and it seems to fail fairly spectacularly to do what it should. It thinks it's in 4/4 (OK, easily enough fixed) and unsurprisingly I have to correct the timing at the beginning. It looks like it probably gets the chords right. But it fails to get most of the stems anything like right. Drums are OK, bass may be OK, most other instruments are in "The Rest" apart from some occasional witterings and the odd section where it decides the Sax is a guitar.
I can't say I'm surprised, really, as this always seemed a major "wow, that's incredible" and the instruments all have rich spectral content. It does transpose and adjust tempo OK, which was a large part of what I wanted, and I imagine it will work better for other pieces. I haven't seen anything yet that suggests there's a way to better tune it for generating the stems of other sounds.
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 .
Back to SongMaster Pro for a bit, which program I've just started exploring.
I've been trying to analyse the Dave Brubeck band's "Take Five" and it seems to fail fairly spectacularly to do what it should. It thinks it's in 4/4 (OK, easily enough fixed) and unsurprisingly I have to correct the timing at the beginning. It looks like it probably gets the chords right. But it fails to get most of the stems anything like right. Drums are OK, bass may be OK, most other instruments are in "The Rest" apart from some occasional witterings and the odd section where it decides the Sax is a guitar.
I can't say I'm surprised, really, as this always seemed a major "wow, that's incredible" and the instruments all have rich spectral content. It does transpose and adjust tempo OK, which was a large part of what I wanted, and I imagine it will work better for other pieces. I haven't seen anything yet that suggests there's a way to better tune it for generating the stems of other sounds.
Hey Gordon, I'm fascinated by what's going on under the hood with stem separation. I suspect that if the program wasn't trained on songs similar to Take Five, then it probably won't do a good job because of the sonic overlap of the various instruments.
One thing you might try is to make it easier to for the program by slowing down the tempo of the file you feed it . . . just a thought. Another thought is to email the file to the developer and see if they can do any better. At a minimum you'll makke them aware of the kind of music you're trying to decompose. --Steve
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
I've been trying to analyse the Dave Brubeck band's "Take Five" and it seems to fail fairly spectacularly to do what it should. It thinks it's in 4/4 (OK, easily enough fixed) and unsurprisingly I have to correct the timing at the beginning. It looks like it probably gets the chords right. But it fails to get most of the stems anything like right. Drums are OK, bass may be OK, most other instruments are in "The Rest" apart from some occasional witterings and the odd section where it decides the Sax is a guitar
I've been using the program intensively during the last months, and it's by far, the best buy I've made in many years, I'm saving sooooooo much time when transcribing songs / entire repertoires.
The program, however, is not perfect, and still have its limitations. I'm not sure which stem separation algorhtym is used by the program, but in any case, the algorhtym has been trained to meet the demands of most musicians and music aficionados, which means that works REALLY well with mainstream music (essentially modern pop and rock tunes), and not so well with jazz, and other not so popular styles.
It also works pretty well with modern mixes (from 1970s onwards), but not so well with older songs where, for example, the bass may be panned all the way to the right, while the drums are panned all the way to the right.
Regarding chord recognition, the program, again, does a great job with simple harmonic material (pop, rock, blues, soul, funk tunes) but may have some problems with more advanced, jazz based, compositions.
I've also found that the quality of the source has a great impact on the results: just avoid 192khz and below MP3s.
Knowing these limitations is essential to get the most out of the program, and avoid getting frustrated.
Steve ... I'll let AurallySound know, though I'm a bit sceptical how much they can improve things. I'll be interesting to find out.
Originally Posted by Cerio
Regarding chord recognition, the program, again, does a great job with simple harmonic material (pop, rock, blues, soul, funk tunes) but may have some problems with more advanced, jazz based, compositions.
I've also found that the quality of the source has a great impact on the results: just avoid 192khz and below MP3s.
Knowing these limitations is essential to get the most out of the program, and avoid getting frustrated.
Chord recognition on jazz is very exuberant. Not surprisingly it picks up on all sorts of stuff that jazz players put in. I knew I'd have to rationalise.
The observation about bit-rate is helpful ... I hadn't considered it, though now I'm informed it's obvious.
What I'm asking of it is quite a lot and I'm far from surprised it didn't make it. It will still be useful for things like transcription, though sometimes harder work. That's life; and it'll likely get better with tech advances.
Last edited by Gordon Scott; 04/15/2410:20 AM. Reason: just a typo
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 .
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)
Join Tobin as he takes you on a tour of the new user interface in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows®! This modern GUI redesign offers a sleek new look with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, and a smoother workflow. The brand-new side toolbar puts track selection, the MultiPicker Library, and other essential tools right at your fingertips. Plus, our upgraded Multi-View lets you layer multiple windows without overlap, giving you a highly flexible workspace. Many windows—including Tracks, Piano Roll, and more—have been redesigned for improved usability and a cleaner, more intuitive interface, and more!
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