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Hi Everyone, Newbie here. Trying to wrap my head around everything in BIAB. Man there's A LOT. I've figured out how to drag and drop the MIDI from the songs that I've made, meaning like the guitar part, drums, bass, etc, as individual MIDI tracks. However, I can't seem to figure out how to drag out the plain block chords associated with the bars. For example, my piano player might be playing i-VI-III-v, but I may not want the actual MIDI performance. I just want the simple block chords like this: ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31179&filename=Untitled.png) Is it possible to drag this out?
Last edited by kottke; 07/22/25 01:32 PM.
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![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31180&filename=Screenshot 2025-07-22 161025.jpg) Yes of course. Like many things in BIAB there are a couple ways to do it. I like this way... Options-Preferences-Output chords. 1) Select where you want the midi chords to be saved. Default is Utility #1 - Select any other options for the midi you may find useful. As soon as you do that, Utility Track #1 with change to "CHORDS". Now all you have to do is drag and drop that track like any other to any external location. If you keep this check box "on" it will always place the current chord sheet on this track as block chords. Give this a try. By the way, this is a huge feature for having BIAB communicate with other software.
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Awesome! Thank you sir!
I will give this a go once I have a chance to hop on my Mac.
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I will give this a go once I have a chance to hop on my Mac. Oh Oh,  no one mentioned a Mac?  Good luck.
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I will give this a go once I have a chance to hop on my Mac. Oh Oh, no one mentioned a Mac? Good luck. Oh dear! What does that mean lol?
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Over the past years we have discussed this midi block chord feature quite a bit here in the PC Forum. User Rustyspoon has done a number of very good demos to id the strength and weaknesses of this feature which have been used to further develop it. But I don't believe I even saw similar discussion in the Mac version of BIAB. Don't know - are there differences in features between Mac and PC versions? You tell me.
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BIAB often has a number of ways to do things. In the Windows version of the program, it is also possible to.... 1) Right-click on the track name for the track on which you want the block chords (#1 on the image). 2) Select "Edit Midi" (#2). 3) Select "Generate Chord Track on this Track". ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31181&filename=chord generation, block chords.jpg)
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Ahh...ok gotcha. Yeah, I am/was a lifelong Windows only user (still have a Windows PC also) until a 3-4 years ago. I ended up picking up a Mac because my wife got me into the Apple ecosystem with an iPhone. I then ended up becoming interested in Logic Pro, which led to the Mac. Ok, so good news! It's on the Mac version also, albeit in a little different spot. I was able to find the same settings under here and it worked like a charm. Figured I'd post a pic for any Mac users who have the same question. ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31182&filename=Untitled (1).png) Thanks again for your help! I really appreciate it.
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BIAB often has a number of ways to do things. In the Windows version of the program, it is also possible to.... 1) Right-click on the track name for the track on which you want the block chords (#1 on the image). 2) Select "Edit Midi" (#2). 3) Select "Generate Chord Track on this Track". Thanks for this. I’ll try doing it this way tomorrow.
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As Noel said, BiaB often has many ways to accomplish a task. I usually load the chord track from the BiaB plugin. There's a small square box with a "C7" inside about 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the plugin window. You can drag and drop the chord track into your DAW from there as well. Not sure about Mac though, as there are some differences.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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As Noel said, BiaB often has many ways to accomplish a task. I usually load the chord track from the BiaB plugin. There's a small square box with a "C7" inside about 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the plugin window. You can drag and drop the chord track into your DAW from there as well. Not sure about Mac though, as there are some differences. I was able to do this on the Mac as well. This was super simple. Thank you!
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BIAB often has a number of ways to do things. In the Windows version of the program, it is also possible to.... 1) Right-click on the track name for the track on which you want the block chords (#1 on the image). 2) Select "Edit Midi" (#2). 3) Select "Generate Chord Track on this Track". I tried this and it seems pretty straightforward. However, I kept getting this error message. I tried filling out anything between 1-127 for the velocity, but kept getting the error nonetheless. I'm sure I'm just missing something: ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31183&filename=Untitled (2).png)
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You have to have a Note Range entered. Try 60 - 83 which is the default for the PC version. ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31185&filename=Screenshot 2025-07-23 105934.jpg)
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Tried that and it didn't work: ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=download&Number=31186&filename=Untitled (3).png) Perhaps it's a bug on the Mac version?
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We need another Mac guy to confirm. Then we notify support.
In the mean time, don't use the drums track and midi channel 5. This legacy track may not respond well to the chords. Switch to a utility track and a different midi channel such as 9. Second, remember there are three different ways to do what you are trying to do. All three have been mentioned in this tread. Try a different method. And finally in the PC world we use the RTFS often when BIAB does not do what it is supposed to do. Give that a try if it is available.
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Gotcha.
I'm happily using the first method that you posted. It's working great. Just trying out the others to see which I prefer.
And thanks for the tip about the drums track and channel 5!
Appreciate all the help for a newb, guys!
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Welcome to the forum. Sometimes a question needs to be asked in the specific main forum for Windows or for Mac users. Theoretically the two platforms are nearly equal, although for the first half of the year the Windows version gets a new update before the Mac version. The handling of audio and MIDI may differ.
Although Mac OS users total almost 25% of computer users, I suspect based on experience here and the user post counts, that percentage here is lower (but rising).
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Welcome to the forum. Sometimes a question needs to be asked in the specific main forum for Windows or for Mac users. Theoretically the two platforms are nearly equal, although for the first half of the year the Windows version gets a new update before the Mac version. The handling of audio and MIDI may differ.
Although Mac OS users total almost 25% of computer users, I suspect based on experience here and the user post counts, that percentage here is lower (but rising). Thank you! Glad to be here. Yeah I will probably venture over there at some point. Now that I've started using BIAB and see its power, my biggest issue now is deciding if I should go ahead and upgrade. I just bought the Pro package to get started, but I'm considering going ahead and getting the upgrade to the UltraPak for $149. Seems like a great deal and I don't know if I can be patient enough to wait around for another sale.
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That actually sounds like quite a low upgrade price, and the 2025 Mac version was released not long ago. If I'm right, you should jump on it now because otherwise, the next sale will take place almost a year from now. I could be wrong about this - I use the Windows version.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Hello kottke,
If you are interested in upgrading to the UltraPAK, this really is the best time to do it. The UltraPAK has more styles, RealTracks, RealDrums, and other add-ons. Plus, not only is the package on sale right now, but you also get the Free Bonus PAK too.
If you have any questions feel free to contact our customer service department.
Thank you!
Catherine
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