Take the “Tempo / time signature challenge”, using Blueberry Hill.
Here is a simple challenge, where you are asked to listen to a piece of music (Fats Domino - Blueberry Hill). This piece of music is notated in different time signatures, sometimes 12/8, sometimes 4/4.(and could be notated in 6/8 too)
===================
The simple questions are:
1. what is the approximate tempo of this recording if it was notated in the following time signatures:
12/8 time sig, tempo is _____ bpm 6/8 time sig. tempo is _____ bpm 4/4 time sig, tempo is ______ bpm
Of course the tempo will vary slightly in the live performance, we are not concerned with that as we are just looking for the approximate tempo in the first 8 bars or so. Note the answers are expected to be the musically correct answer, ie) What Leonard Bernstein (and other educated musicians) would agree that the tempo is. Not what Program X says it is.
2. (Y/N) the DAW I use is _________ and I was/wasn’t able to load the audio and set the tempos above in my DAW and the barlines (approximately) matched. ================
Now, once you’ve answered those questions, can you load the audio of that into your DAW and match it up with the tempo you’ve entered above, with those time signatures.”
Maybe someone here will make a short audio excerpt (on Dropbox) from the video so we have a WAV file example. Let us know if you’ve been able to match up the bar lines tempos youve entered with the tempo in your DAW.
It will be interesting to hear everyone’s answers and what DAWS agree with them. I have stated my answer many times on the forum, and will post them in a few days when others have been able to enter their results. Remember, we are only looking for apporxamire numbers, don’t worry about precise tempos to the decimal point.
There is a definitive answer to the questions above, and I hope that this challenge ends with everyone agreeing.
...with all the limitations like currently talked about with time signatures not matching the standard of DAW's and notation programs. There is so much resistance from PG as there are major issues with the software because things were all done wrong in the first place and have been there for so long, then they have to use boggy workarounds to solve issues, I think only a total rewrite will fix them. It's always "BB & The Workarounds".
Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Windows Special Offers End Tomorrow (January 15th, 2026) at 11:59 PM PST!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Windows® Special Offers Extended Until January 15, 2026!
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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!
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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)
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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)
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