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Songwriting
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Joined: May 2020
Posts: 1
Newbie
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Newbie
Joined: May 2020
Posts: 1 |
Yes, I write melodies using the piano roll window. Will often create a melody in Band in a box, port it over to my DAW (Logic Pro 11). After so many years, I find it faster to rewrite/spruce up the BIAB melody on a piano roll.. You can copy melody phrases to a different section and make subtle changes to accommodate the current chords. Now I can do it without any assistance. Years ago, I would do a BIAB version of the song with the 'hymn' style. and export that MIDI into Logic. The notes in this MIDI file are blocked out for the full chord length. I copy the chords and paste them several octaves higher and lower than the original position. I mute and shorten them. and display these and the current BIAB melody. This makes it easier to know which important notes to put on one current chord note.
You can add passing tones, I often do them on the 'ands' of notes in 8ths or 16ths. Make them shorter and lower the velocity so they don't get so much attention. You can also move the melody notes to 6th, 7th, 9ths, 13, diminished for extra spice occasionally.. After a while, it becomes 2nd nature. After many years of playing, I don't bother with the guide reference notes. My ear/hand puts the note in the right place. The vast majority of the time I get it right. Sometimes I have to slide the note around.
Now also it is a good time to fool around with syncopation. Slide some notes forward backward to make the melody more interesting.
A great tip I discovered, was an old John Lennon work cassette. He woujld take the powerpoint or important notes in a 6 or 8 note melody, and sing that note in all musically available intervals.. Some of the examples he worked on, ending up in some of this best hits. Sometimes you want to move the important melody note higher. There are 'power positions' for certain notes, you want to experiment where you place them on the scale. Hope this helps
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Songwriting
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Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 292
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Mar 2025
Posts: 292 |
Thanks Mark! There’s some interesting ideas in your post. I am a guitarist teaching myself keys so I can add a riff or lick here or there in my songs. I usually have a go at playing a section on keys, then I go to the piano roll in my DAW to tidy it up, which usually involves time-shifting the odd note or removing errant key touches, then as you say, copying the section to other parts.
I hadn’t heard the Lennon PowerPoint story before, but sounds like a useful tool to look for a nice touch to a melody. It fits with advice I’ve read elsewhere about distinctive melodies containing more interval jumps/drops - a distinction between McCartney and Lennon - the former’s melodies using more interval jumps while the latter tended to use melodies with minimal interval movement underpinned by harmonic development with chord progressions (generalisations but some truth to it).
Andrew D
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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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Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
Join the conversation on our forum.
Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac Videos
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll also keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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Reference this forum post for One-Stop Shopping of our Band-in-a-Box® 2025 Mac Videos — we’ll be adding more videos as they’re released!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!
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Band-in-a-Box 2025 Italian Version is Here!
Cari amici
È stata aggerate la versione in Italiano del programma più amato dagli appassionati di musica, il nostro Band-in-a-Box.
Questo è il link alla nuova versione 2025.
Di seguito i link per scaricare il pacchetti di lingua italiana aggiornati per Band-in-a-Box e RealBand, anche per chi avesse già comprato la nuova versione in inglese.
Band-in-a-Box 2025 - Italiano
RealBand 2025 - Italiano
Band-in-a-Box 2025 French Version is Here!
Bonjour à tous,
Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music
Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:
BIAB 2025 - francisation
RealBand 2025 - francisation
Voilà, enjoy!
Band-in-a-Box 2025 German Version is Here!
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Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.
Stay up to date—get the latest update now!
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