I have a tune that I'm arranging with Stems. I've done the Stem Splitter, ACW to clean up what the chords are, but I have a problem with a pickup chord on beat 4 of the pickup measure. I've defined the measures in ACW, with measure 1 after the pickup chord, as the tune should be. However, in Chord Sheet View, I can't see the pickup measure, so I can't enter a chord on beat 4 of that measure.
How can I enter the one-beat chord pickup before measure 1?
Band-in-a-Box® for Windows Version 2026 (1220) 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor RealBand 2026 (4) Windows 11 Home Intel(R) Core(TM) 5 120U (1.40 GHz) 12.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)
I’m not at a computer, and this will mess up the measure numbering and the count-in, but as a workaround you could put the pickup note(s) and chord at the end of measure 1. In other words, enter rests on measure 1, Beats 1 2 & 3. Song starts on bar 2.
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.
Can I enter a chord name and have BB generate the chord?
I don't currently have access to BIAB, but did you try what you asked, and did it work?
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 can't see a way to enter a chord in bar in Bar -1, or Bar 0 ("Lead in") and have BIAB play it, but you could try the Support people with the "Let's Chat" button here and see what they say. Or perhaps a more knowledgeable Forum member will chime in.
If you have to do it "manually", you would need to enter what you needed in Notation or Piano for EACH instrument in your "Band". Good luck! LLOYD
Well, I don't know how to enter a chord into the Notation window and have it generate the chord. That's the question.
It seems like this is a huge oversight. In order to have the band play a pickup, the instruments would need to be muted until the pickup chord, and the mute cancelled at the correct time placement.
If this is supposed to act like a band, and there is a default two-bar pickup, why would one not be able to, in my case, define a shot or chord on beat 4 of the 2nd pickup measure?
Last edited by Funkifized; 07/22/2510:27 AM.
Band-in-a-Box® for Windows Version 2026 (1220) 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor RealBand 2026 (4) Windows 11 Home Intel(R) Core(TM) 5 120U (1.40 GHz) 12.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)
I’m curious, who said anything about a default 2-bar pickup? Unless you mean the count-in? What might give that impression is that a few instruments sometimes play a bit ahead of bar 1, beat 1 (especially the guitar) but I’ve never heard more than that, except drums.
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.
When I hear you say "pickup notes or measure" I think of Autumn Leaves. Is this what you are trying to do?
Here is annotation Sheet
Here is Chord Sheet
In this case you will see that "Pickup Bar" is NOT indicated on the BIAB Chord Sheet. In stead, the notes entered on the notation sheet play in the hidden countin bar prior to Bar 1 ( Am7). So you can not enter any Chord Name on this pickup bar.
If this is news to you, well that is just the away BIAB does it.
That’s a fair question Dan. I was making the assumption it was not pickup notes that was requested, but a chord to be entered during or in place of pickup notes. Since I don’t think BIAB can do that, I gave a workaround.
If I’m correct, this could make a good item for the Wishlist.
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.
Great example DrDan! And yes Funkifized, as Matt pointed out, your need to put a chord on beat 4 of the pickup bar (in this case Bar 0) could work as shown. That bar would have a dotted half note to take up 3 beats, then your chord on beat 4.
However, as I mentioned before, you can see from DrDan's screenshot, that this is only the PIANO track. If you want other instruments (bass, guitar, drums etc.) you would have to do the same for those tracks.
If indeed you're going to take this over to the Wishlist (which I think is a great idea), my preference would be to allow the user to start the bar numbering at any "cell" on the ChordSheet, and have all preceding bars show as "minus" bars, with option of how many to display on the ChordSheet.
Looking at Dan's chordsheet, if you want a chord populating the minus bars prior to Bar 1 or if you want to use the method Matt and Lloyd outlined in these measures, you can use any measure to create the data you want to occupy those bars and copy/paste or move/paste from the Audio Edit Window and that data will sound out and play the same as the Grace Notes in Dan's example.
I would consider the bars prior to any measure containing the Am7 in Dan's example for the Chords to use --- Bar 8, 10,19/20, and 23/24 or you can create any chord or progression for those slots and place them in the minus bars at the beginning of the song.
These chords or grace notes will not show up in Notation, the Piano Roll or Chord Sheet but the track or tracks edited will play correctly.
To enter exactly what you want, you can enter the notation or piano roll to transcribe it and use the Playable RealTracks feature or likely a midi or SuperMidi instrument.
I imported the stems from the song that I'm looking to arrange. The band, drums/piano/bass/guitar/horns, play a chromatic leading chord on beat 4, and then all hit on the I chord for measure 1, beat 1. They all did come in 1 beat before the downbeat.
When I used ACW to define the measure and flesh out the chords, I waited for the chromatic leading chord, and then defined measure 1 as being the downbeat after, or measure 1, beat 1. Now I have stems that are coming on on measure 0, beat 4, with the next measure being measure 1. In ACW, I can see the Audio notes of the stems on the 4th beat of measure 0.
As you all know, even with the stem starting on measure 0, there is no way to enter a chord to be generated in this measure 0. That's the issue. Support gave me a similar answer for a workaround that I've received here, with a few extra steps to have the count-in on a Utility track, etc. Here's their answer:
BIAB has a two-measure lead-in by default. This makes it easy to add MIDI notes that are a pickup, using either the piano roll Mode or the Editable Notation Mode, at the end of bar 2.
This cannot be done with chord inputs without it pushing the rest of the song. You can adjust all of your stems by using the Audio Edit for each track if you are looking to use an additional measure to to add the pickup.
Here's how to make a pick up riff start before Bar 1 in BIAB:
* Generate the song normally. * Select a track and instrument. * Open the Audio Editor. The editor should open on the correct BIAB Mixer Channel you previously selected, if not, select that channel from the drop down menu and the WAV file should be visible. This is for RealTracks. If the instrument is MIDI, then it must be converted to a WAV file. * Select the Riff you want to use for the early pick up notes. Tip: Check the Snap Box if necessary to ensure the very first of a measure is captured if this is necessary. Otherwise, just be sure to highlight all of the riff. * From the Edit Menu or use Alt-C or Command-C, Copy the highlighted riff. * Select the target Track to copy the audio to. (Audio Channel or a Utility Track) * Place the cursor where you want the riff to begin and Paste. For instance, if you want the riff to begin at beat 4 of Bar zero, place the cursor there.
To silence the fourth beat of the Count-in:
*Select the Drums Track, highlight and copy the full Drum Track. *Paste the count-in on a Utility Track. *Highlight the fourth beat and from the Edit Menu, select silence. Optionally, if you also want to increase the volume of the count-in, highlight the full count-in and Normalize to -3db.
The reason the full drum track needs to be copied is so the original drum track can be silenced and only one drum count-in will play. Otherwise, both tracks will count-in and the fourth beat on the original track will sound and the two tracks may also not be synced correctly. Mute the original Drums Track and place the volume level to -0- (Zero) otherwise it can still be heard.
One may have to vary the audio selected to come in early in order to maintain the cohesion and continuity of the track but that will be obvious. All of the other tracks will begin at Bar 1 normally. Of course, any audio from the channel can be selected to use for the Pickup riff. For example a guitar RT solo beginning at Bar 24 can be selected and copied and pasted at Beat 4, Bar 0 and be the pickup riff.
I don't have a riff that I want to start the tune with. All I want is for the entire band to play on beat 4 before the downbeat. It seems way too complicated to have to copy and paste an audio piece for each instrument to make this happen. BTW, if I choose to go that route, I then can't change the instrumentation, add an instrument, etc., without going through these steps for the changed/added instrument. Copying all of this audio to paste it is a little beyond what BIAB is supposed to do, no? I don't think it's asking a lot to count a band in("One, Two, One, Two, Three, {Chord}") with the band starting before the downbeat of the song. We can do that with melody notes, such as Autumn Leaves. Why not with the rest of the band also playing on that pickup?
Seems like a fairly surprising oversight.
Band-in-a-Box® for Windows Version 2026 (1220) 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor RealBand 2026 (4) Windows 11 Home Intel(R) Core(TM) 5 120U (1.40 GHz) 12.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)
Your workaround could work, but it defeats the purpose of having a count-in. I'd also have to silence all of the instruments before the band hits on the pickup.
Last edited by Funkifized; 07/22/2510:31 AM.
Band-in-a-Box® for Windows Version 2026 (1220) 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor RealBand 2026 (4) Windows 11 Home Intel(R) Core(TM) 5 120U (1.40 GHz) 12.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)
Your workaround could work, but it defeats the purpose of having a count-in. I'd also have to silence all of the instruments before the band hits on the pickup.
That is all correct.
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.
How can I enter the one-beat chord pickup before measure 1?
It is not possible to enter any chords before bar 1. As Matt and others have mentioned, you would need to enter your pickup chord in bar 1, then start your song in bar 2. As BIAB will automatically require a chord at the start of bar 1, you should mute it by entering C followed by a period.
How can I enter the one-beat chord pickup before measure 1?
It is not possible to enter any chords before bar 1. As Matt and others have mentioned, you would need to enter your pickup chord in bar 1, then start your song in bar 2. As BIAB will automatically require a chord at the start of bar 1, you should mute it by entering C followed by a period.
How would a count-in work, then?
Band-in-a-Box® for Windows Version 2026 (1220) 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor RealBand 2026 (4) Windows 11 Home Intel(R) Core(TM) 5 120U (1.40 GHz) 12.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)
The count-in happens before bar 1. If you want some count-in clicks in bar 1 before your pickup chord, you could add the sidestick drum notes to a Utility Track set to MIDI channel 10.
The count-in happens before bar 1. If you want some count-in clicks in bar 1 before your pickup chord, you could add the sidestick drum notes to a Utility Track set to MIDI channel 10.
But if I use chord with a dot after it, doesn't that silence the Utility tracks, as well?
Band-in-a-Box® for Windows Version 2026 (1220) 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor RealBand 2026 (4) Windows 11 Home Intel(R) Core(TM) 5 120U (1.40 GHz) 12.0 GB (11.7 GB usable)
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.
![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31173&filename=Pick up Notes or bar in BIAB.jpg)
![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31174&filename=Chord view in BIAB.jpg)
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean