As a long-term user and enthusiast of Band-in-a-Box, I would like to share some technical observations that I believe could help to further improve the software's user experience. I want to clarify that these points have already been communicated to the support team, who confirmed to me that they have been escalated to the development team. I am sharing this report here with the desire to collaborate and also to see if other users have had similar experiences.
1. Lyrics on the Melody track replicated on the Soloist track When lyrics are entered in the Melody track, they are automatically replicated in the Soloist track, even if that track is empty. This creates duplicate text on the printed lead sheet, which can complicate final editing. This behavior is not documented in the manual (at least according to my review), so I would appreciate knowing if other users have experienced this and if there is a recommended way to avoid it.
2. RealDrums notation depending on the track they're loaded into In tests with CongaEV8 (RealDrums), I noticed an inconsistency in how the percussion notation is displayed: [*] If loaded into the Drums track, the notation is displayed correctly in both the Notation and Lead Sheet windows. [*] If loaded into a Utility Track, the notation is only visible in the Notation window and disappears from the Lead Sheet window. I was wondering if users of the 2025 version could confirm if this display issue has already been resolved in the Utility Tracks.
3. Lead sheet printing limitations [*] When renaming tracks (for example, imported MIDI or Utility Tracks), these names are not always reflected on the printed lead sheet, which maintains the default RealTracks or RealDrums names. [*] Despite having 16 Utility Tracks, the printed lead sheet seems to be limited to 7 instruments per page, without extending to additional pages. This presents challenges for those who want to print complex arrangements or those with larger instrumentations.
4. Suggestions for future versions In a spirit of collaboration, I would like to share some ideas that, in my opinion, could add value to the product: [*] Lead sheet improvements: Advanced layout and editing functions, similar to those offered by software like MuseScore, Sibelius, or Finale. [*] Support for multiple lyric lines: Useful for songs with multiple verses or languages. [*] Greater AI integration: Leveraging the technologies already used by PG Music, extend them to generate new RealTracks, RealDrums, or other personalized resources.
I thank everyone for their attention. [b]I always seek to strengthen with practical suggestions a software that I consider an excellent tool for musical composition.
I believe that Marking the thread as Resolved is not what prevents you from editing your post. There is a time limit. I’m not sure how long you have, but I think it’s somewhere between one and two days.
You can send an email to support@pgmusic.com and reference this thread. Or, do the live chat with support during Pacific time business hours.
I won’t comment on your suggestions about lyrics because I don’t use them in my instrumental music.
About notation, I do a File, Save Special to export the song as Music XML, then open that file in my preferred notation program. It has some implementation problems like most programs have with Music XML but it’s better than starting from scratch.
I’ve noticed in discussions here that there are very few requests to improve notation, and indeed it has seen little improvement over many years. I don’t have a problem with that, because some of us feel it’s better to use whatever tool is best suited, and let BIAB concentrate on what it does uniquely.
But this is the Wishlist, and all suggestions are valid and will be noticed by PG Music. If a program offers a function, that function should work well.
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.
Hey, thanks so much for the welcome and for your detailed response. I really appreciate you clarifying the time limit and for the tip about contacting support directly—that's great to know.
Your point about using Music XML is a great workaround, and I'll definitely give that a try. I also completely agree with you that if a program offers a function, it should work well. It's that core principle that motivates me to post, not a desire to see BIAB become a full-fledged notation program.
Thanks again for the help and for your insight. It’s good to be part of the community.
Wow, thank you so much for the incredibly kind welcome and for your high praise. It means a lot coming from a long-time member like yourself. I'm honored!
I’m very glad to be part of this community, and I definitely look forward to contributing more.
Provisional Solution for RealDrums Notation in BIAB 2022 (Windows) Hello everyone,
I'd like to share a finding that could serve as a provisional solution and, at the same time, as a clue for the PG Music development team.
I've noticed that in my version of BIAB UltraPack 2022 (Build 927), the precise notation of the "CongaEV8" RealDrums does show up in both the notation and score windows if it's loaded into one of the five smart tracks (Bass, Piano, Drums, Guitar, or Strings), but it only shows up in the notation window and not in the score window when the RealDrums is loaded into the Utility Tracks.
This is helpful for two reasons:
Temporary Solution: For those who need to see the notation for this percussion in the score, you can load it into one of the smart tracks.
Clue for Developers: Hopefully, this information can help the team compare the functional structure of the five smart tracks with that of the Utility Tracks to find the root cause of the problem.
I would like to ask the community: Has anyone with the 2025 version noticed if this RealDrums no longer shows any notation, not even in the notation window, when loaded into a Utility Track?
I hope this information helps solve this limitation in the future. Thanks!
Just to clarify, the term many of us use to refer to the first tracks in the mixer is ‘legacy’ tracks. I actually like your more-descriptive term better. Somewhere around the updates near 2022 there was a goal ‘all tracks are equal’ and many improvements were made. I’ll try answering your test question when I get to my computer.
Suggestion: add a Signature to your posts with BIAB 2022 listed. It sometimes makes a difference in answers. See how I did mine, just below.
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.
Thanks for the clarification on the term "legacy tracks." I appreciate the tip, and I'll start using it.
And a huge thank you for your willingness to test the issue on your computer! That's incredibly helpful. It's great to be part of a community with such dedicated users.
Thanks for the tip about adding a signature, too. I'll make sure to get that set up.
I always offer to do it but 19 out of 20 times, someone else beats me to it. Usually the folks from Australia … 😎
Ha ha - It happens because we're 14 hours ahead. It's already tomorrow here
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'm using the exact same RealDrums you mentioned: CongasEv8[single], with track number Ntn276, performed by Jim McGillveray. I'm not using the CongasEv8Med[single] variant (Ntn382).
I’d like to ask you something: Are you loading that RealDrums track into one of the five old tracks (Bass, Piano, Drums, Guitar, or Strings), or into a Utility Track?
I ask because I’ve noticed the following difference:
* When I load that RealDrums into an old track, I can see the percussion notes in both the notation window and the lead sheet window.
* However, if I load it into a Utility Track, I can only see the notes in the notation window, but not in the lead sheet window.
If you're using a Utility Track and you can also see the notes in the lead sheet window, then it means that PG Music has achieved parity between the old tracks and the Utility Tracks in version 2025.
Ah, ok. I loaded the Conga into the legacy drum track then copied that track into Utility #1.
I never tried to select and load a track directly into a utility track. Surprise for me.
Explanation: I think when the concept of a utility track was introduced, you used it the way I described. I just kept doing that; never thought to try it any other way. If that works, I just learned something that skips a step, and is progress toward “all tracks are equal”.
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.
My thoughts on your reply, plus a couple of related points:
Thank you for your reply! Yes, the idea is to load the CongasEv8[single] RealDrums (Ntn276), performed by Jim McGillveray, directly into a Utility Track—that is, to generate it there, not copy the notes from another track. The goal is to use the Play/Generate button so that BIAB 2025 creates the RealDrums content from scratch within the Utility Track.
I’m pointing this out because, when copying notes from a Drums track to a Utility Track, BIAB does not transfer proper drum notation (crash cymbals, kick, snare, toms, floor toms, etc.). Instead, it shows generic melodic notation, which is not useful for percussion reading.
What I’m trying to verify is whether BIAB 2025, when generating a RealDrums part directly in a Utility Track, now displays full drum notation correctly in both the Notation window and the Lead Sheet window. If this is now possible, it would be excellent news—it would mean PG Music has finally achieved parity between legacy tracks and Utility Tracks in terms of drum notation.
Also, on a different note, I’d like to ask:
In BIAB 2022 (UltraPAK, build 927), when I write lyrics in the Melody track via the Notation window, BIAB automatically duplicates those lyrics into the Soloist track, even if that track is empty. This happens without user action, and it’s problematic, especially if one wants to use different lyrics for each track.
Do you know if this behavior has been fixed in BIAB 2025? Ideally, lyrics should remain only on the track where the user places them.
Before posting my earlier question, I ran a few more tests and discovered something that shifts the focus of my inquiry.
In my current version—BIAB UltraPAK 2022 (build 927) for Windows—if I generate a RealDrums track with notation on a legacy (or “intelligent”) track, and then generate another RealDrums track (for example, CongasEv8[single], which also supports notation) on a Utility Track, then:
* Both RealDrums parts appear correctly and independently in the Notation window,
* BUT in the Lead Sheet (staff view), only the RealDrums on the legacy track is displayed. The Utility Track’s drum part does not show up in the staff view.
On the other hand, if both RealDrums are generated on legacy or intelligent tracks, the notation for both percussion parts is displayed correctly in both the Notation and Lead Sheet windows.
📷 I've attached a comparison image that clearly shows this behavior.
❓My question for BIAB 2025 users:
If one RealDrums (with notation) is loaded on a legacy/intelligent track, and another RealDrums such as CongasEv8[single] is loaded into a Utility Track, can the notation for both drum parts now be displayed simultaneously in the Lead Sheet window?
I’d really appreciate it if someone could test this on BIAB 2025 and confirm whether this limitation has been addressed.
I just loaded CongasEv8[single] directly into utility track #2 while using a notated drum track and yes both are in notation. The attached picture shows the CongasEv8[single] notation.
I hope others try this to see if it is a universal situation as sometimes it is not depending on hardware and/or other software.
Love is grand. Divorce is twenty grand!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
I wonder if this was an issue with earlier versions, and has been resolved in a later version?
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.
Hi Mario D., thank you very much for your response and for taking the time to test it and share the screenshot.
Indeed, as you clearly show, the notation for the RealDrums CongasEv8[single] does appear in the notation window when loaded onto a Utility Track. However, my question is focused on a slightly more specific detail:
Is it possible for both drum parts (one loaded on a legacy/smart track and the other on a utility track) to appear simultaneously in the staff view (main score window)?
In my tests using BIAB UltraPAK 2022 (build 927), when using this configuration (one RealDrums on a smart track and another on a utility track), only the smart track drum part is displayed in the staff view, even though both parts do appear in the individual notation windows.
That’s why I’m curious to know if this limitation has been resolved in BIAB 2025, allowing both percussion parts to appear together in the main score, regardless of whether they are on legacy/smart or utility tracks.
Thanks again for your input. I’d really appreciate it if others could test this as well.
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m trying to find out. In my current version (BIAB UltraPAK 2022, build 927), when loading one RealDrums track on a legacy/smart track and another (like CongasEv8[single]) on a Utility Track, only the smart track’s notation appears in the staff view, even though both notations are shown in the individual notation windows.
That’s why I originally asked—to see if this behavior has been improved in newer versions (such as BIAB 2025), allowing both percussion parts to appear simultaneously in the main score, regardless of the type of track used.
Hopefully someone with BIAB 2025 can confirm this with a direct test!
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