Hi PG Music Team and Community,

I’m writing as a long-time and deeply appreciative Band-in-a-Box user. BIAB has always been a true pioneer. Long before “AI” became a buzzword, BIAB was already giving musicians intelligent arranging tools that changed the creative landscape. As we look toward BIAB 2025 and beyond, I would like to share some constructive ideas on how AI can strengthen — rather than dilute — the original mission of BIAB: empowering musical creativity from the very first chord idea.

1. “Neural RealTracks”: From Fixed Performances to Elastic Musical Expression

RealTracks are one of BIAB’s greatest strengths. However, they remain bound to the musical register in which they were originally recorded. Unlike a sampler or synthesizer, a RealTrack does not truly “transpose” freely across octaves — in many cases the performance simply does not exist in the requested register. And although some limited transposition may be possible, RealTracks are not designed as elastic instruments that can change register while retaining a fully natural tone.

Proposed Direction

• Elastic Voicing with Natural Tone Preservation
This is exactly where AI could provide real value. Instead of stretching audio, BIAB could use neural, formant-preserving resynthesis to re-create the same musical performance in another register while maintaining the original tone and realism. That would allow composers to freely choose chord voicings and registers — without relying only on what was captured in the original recording sessions.

• Natural Endings, Pads and Phrasing
Some RealTracks and RealDrums — especially pads — can end abruptly. An AI-driven phrasing engine could generate smooth, organic tails and transitions so arrangements sound polished without external editing.

This would evolve RealTracks from fixed recordings into living, flexible musical instruments.

2. Enhancing Creative Flow: Fully Integrated Utility Tracks & Chord Intelligence

Creativity should flow as quickly as the musical idea — yet Utility Tracks still feel partially disconnected from BIAB’s global arrangement logic.

Proposed Direction

• Full Shot / Rest / Hold Integration
Utility Tracks should follow Chord Sheet symbols and Bar Settings exactly like the core tracks. Currently, even manually-created rests may be refilled when regenerating. Full integration would unlock richer arranging possibilities.

• Contextual Pop-Up Chord UI
When entering a chord, BIAB could display a smart panel for inversions, extensions, and micro-timing — eliminating deep menu navigation and supporting spontaneous creativity.

3. Expanding Notation and Lyrics for Modern Arranging

With up to 24 Utility Tracks now available, the notation architecture should evolve to reflect that scale.

Proposed Direction

• Multi-Track Lyrics (L1–L14 and beyond)
Independent lyric layers would allow choirs, harmony vocals, and spoken elements to each maintain their own phrasing — separate from the lead.

• Unified Printable Notation
Exporting to MuseScore is useful, but it breaks the creative flow. Ideally BIAB should visualize and print the full arrangement internally — not just seven instruments — so users can complete the entire process inside BIAB.

4. AI-Assisted Production: The “DaVinci Resolve” Philosophy

DaVinci Resolve became a market-changing platform by applying AI directly to real workflow bottlenecks, delivering professional-grade tools like automatic masking, object removal, noise cleanup, voice reconstruction, dialogue-aware editing, audio enhancement, stem separation, and more. The principle was simple:

One environment. One purchase. A complete professional solution.

Band-in-a-Box has the same opportunity — especially if BIAB and RealBand evolve toward a Unified Production Module built around musical creativity.

Proposed Direction

• AI-Assisted Mixing & Mastering
Introduce intelligent balancing tools inspired by iZotope Neutron (now within the Native Instruments ecosystem), plus AI mastering that prepares LUFS-compliant versions for each streaming platform while still protecting musical dynamics. The goal is not loudness at any cost — but musical, release-ready results inside BIAB.

This would allow users to compose, arrange, mix, and master in one coherent ecosystem — just as DaVinci Resolve unified post-production.

5. Setting Clear Expectations for AI: Meaningful, Not Novelty

If BIAB invests in AI features such as stem separation or audio-to-MIDI, they should ideally reach a standard comparable to what already exists — otherwise most users will still rely on external tools.

For example:

• Stem separation should aim for results similar to RipX DAW Pro, ideally using deep spectral analysis rather than simple EQ-style processing.
• Audio-to-MIDI should be competitive with Melodyne 5 Studio, while being harmonically aware — respecting key, chord structure, realistic register limits — and integrating directly with the Chord Sheet and Notation windows.

If AI tools do not reach that threshold — and are not musically integrated — they risk becoming interesting demonstrations rather than genuinely useful composition tools.

6. AI Lyric Generation — Only If It Truly Supports the Writer (Including Optional Internet Knowledge)

If BIAB is going to offer AI lyric-generation tools, they should provide real creative value — not only by working from a small internal dataset, but also by optionally accessing a broader body of cultural and musical knowledge, with the user’s consent.

Many modern AI systems (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, etc.) are powerful not simply because they generate text, but because they are trained on — or can reference — large, diverse knowledge sources. That allows them to inspire the writer with themes, rhyme patterns, structures, emotional tone, and genre-specific language.

Proposed Direction

BIAB could offer an AI lyric assistant that:

• works locally from BIAB’s own library, and — if the user agrees — can connect to the Internet to draw broader inspiration,
• suggests ideas rather than copying lyrics,
• understands musical and stylistic context (tempo, genre, mood),
• and integrates directly into the songwriting workflow so users do not have to leave BIAB to seek creative support elsewhere.

The goal is not to replace the songwriter — but to keep the creative flow inside BIAB from the first idea to the finished song.

Conclusion: Strengthening the True Identity of BIAB

None of these ideas are about turning BIAB into a generic DAW. Quite the opposite:

They are about protecting what makes BIAB unique — intelligent musical creation — while giving users the option to finish their work without leaving the platform.

If RealTracks become truly elastic, if Utility Tracks integrate deeply with arrangement logic, if notation and lyrics reflect real-world arrangements, and if AI-assisted mixing, mastering and lyric tools allow a song to be completed in one ecosystem — then BIAB can stand, confidently and proudly, as the world’s most musical and integrated creative workstation.

Note: Due to my work schedule and the time-zone difference between Europe and the United States, I may not always be able to respond quickly to replies. Please accept my apologies in advance if it takes me some time to get back to the discussion — I truly value any feedback or conversation that this post may inspire.