Soundcloud link: https://on.soundcloud.com/vODqeEH2rml6wmY6qI YouTube link: I recently re-watched "Casablanca," and was inspired by the scene in Rick's Cafe where the Nazi officers were singing a German song, so the resistance leader Victor Laszlo led the French people in singing the French national anthem to drown out the Nazis. So I thought I'd try writing a national anthem: National Anthem Let’s all join together for this nation we love, Land of the fortunate and free. Let’s all join together for this nation we love, protector of liberty. We honor our brave soldiers, who fought in foreign wars, And let us always be prepared to defend our sovereign shores. We celebrate our snow-capped peaks, our rivers, lakes, and streams. Blessed with nature’s plenitude, in our fertile fields and seas. Bequeathed a strong democracy, and distinguished history, A country built by immigrants seeking opportunity. No problem is too difficult, that we can’t overcome; Our nation is invincible, when our people work as one. Let’s all join together for this country we love, Land of the fortunate and free. Let’s all join together for this country we love, defender of liberty. Our people are determined to achieve prosperity, We’ll move ahead with fortitude to fulfil our destiny. to fulfil our destiny. All music tracks by BIAB; vocals by Angus Buchanan. Style is MARCH_16.STY (March 16 Style) Style MIDI Instruments are : Tuba (59), Brass Section (62), Clarinet (72), Glockenspiel (10), MIDI Drums :1 Standard Drum Kit (1) Timpani 48 (from DRAMORK4.sty) Piano 1422 (from _CABNJAM.sty) Bass 2478 (from _CABNJAM.sty) Drums (from _CABNJAM.sty) Guitar 2930 (from _CABNJAM.sty) Warm Pad 90 VocalOosAhs 2976 Cornet Bb from MuseScore 4 I used Audacity for mixing and vocal reverb.
Hi Marty, It's always nice to hear a historical story-song! I enjoyed your bass and vocals, and the BIAB fiddle solo really kicked it up a notch. Great lyrics and mix, too - nicely done! Bob
Hi Janice & Bud, There's so much I like about this song! - "The good news is the bad news coulda been worse" is a great hook, - Janice's excellent lead vocals, and how Floyd's backing vocals meshed with them perfectly, - Bud's cinematic imagery in the lyrics: "left the front door standing open when you walked out," "Tom Petty T-shirt in a corner on the floor" - Peter's guitar work.... All in all, a superb country/Americana tune, very nicely done! Bob
Hey Brian, Cool song! You really nailed the country song vibe, it hits all the right notes - great beat, the singer sounds like the real deal, and the fun lyrics hit the mark. A tip of my Tractor Supply baseball cap to you! Bob
Wow, what a beautiful pop ballad! The piano provided a superb accompaniment to the wonderful vocals/melody. And I thought the modulations into "But I can feel" and "I never knew it was the end" were very nicely done. I also liked the strings and guitar. Great lyrics, too! Bob
Hi All, I have been using Band-in-a-Box for many years and currently use Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Windows and the Band-in-a-Box iOS app version 2.0.7 on my iPad. I have around 60 older songs that I created several years ago (probably with BIAB 2022 or earlier). These include original songs from my band as well as many practice songs. For each song I have: • SGU/MGU files • sometimes MGX files • matching *_render.m4a files These songs were carefully customized: • drums removed or muted in some arrangements • specific RealTracks selected • styles adjusted • many mix and arrangement changes made manually The rendered M4A files sound exactly as intended. In older versions of the Band-in-a-Box iOS app these songs worked perfectly: • the notation and chords were displayed • the original rendered M4A audio was played After updating to iOS app version 2.0.7, the notation is still correct, but the app seems to ignore the existing *_render.m4a files and regenerates the accompaniment from the SGU file. The result is different: • some styles are replaced • some RealTracks are different • the arrangement no longer matches my original rendered version I also noticed something interesting: When I use “Open → Local Song” in the iOS app, there is an old file called “your_old_biab_songs.zip” shown with the label “M4A+ Ready”. However, opening this ZIP causes the app to crash. The ZIP is not visible in the iPad Files app, so I cannot inspect its contents. I assume it is an old import created by a previous version of the app. My questions: 1. Has support for older BB2Go songs with *_render.m4a files changed in the newer iOS app versions? 2. Is there a way to convert or migrate these older songs so the existing rendered M4A audio is preserved and used by the iOS app? 3. Is there a utility in BIAB 2024 Windows (or another method) to embed or link an existing *_render.m4a into the SGU file without rendering the song again? 4. Is “M4A+ Ready” related to this older ZIP import format, and is there a way to recover or convert these songs? The important point is that I do not want the songs regenerated. The existing M4A files represent the final arrangements I created over many hours and are the performances I want to hear. I only need the iPad app to show the chords and notation while playing the original rendered audio. Thank you very much for your help.
This is actually my first look at workflow in Suno. Henry does a good job illustrating the process. Not going to change anything I do today, but who knows what the future for my music making will become.
I thought the lead guitar sounded natural instead of quantized. I like the little interactive instrumental bits. I understand what you mean about BIAB enabling us to unleash our creativity!
This program's graphic layout is pretty antiquated and there are multiple ways to go to the lessons, which makes it pretty difficult to navigate. I found the easiest way is to load the program, click the grey "welcome" button (which is itself a problem because it's grey and I missed it, thinking it would light up), click the grey "begin lessons" on the far right, then use the tiny green left and right arrows at the lower right corner of the blue/navy blue horizontal banner to work through the program. Ignore the toolbar at the top. It will bring up the hyperlinks which will take you to the chords. The content is there but the layout is atrocious.
Shigeki, thank you for your kind words. "I don't think anyone but you could have created this song." I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Haven’t heard anything. Haven’t looked either. A quick question about playing tablature, if you don’t mind. I understand the theory and always wondered if there could be some mathematical analysis of playing a passage that would result in the least finger movement. My question is, are there cases where this is not what you want? Where finger patterns are better even if there is more total ‘reaching’? For example, you might look at a trumpet player and assume any of the three valves is equally easy to play. Any pro trumpet player who says they are is lying. The first and second are far easier than the third, and it’s a good thing the third is used less. However, I often use alternate fingerings in quick passages where the total movement is easier. Hard to explain unless you play. Woodwinds are a better example, with all the two pinky fingers are expected to do. Fourth finger is the worst. Anything like that in the string world?
I don't know if there is any software that will do a mathematical analysis of the best position to play a solo note piece on the guitar for example, but when I do look at tab, I am always trying to figure out where it will fall more naturally under the fingers without jumping around the fretboard like a demented spider. Then there is the added thing to take into consideration where it will sound the best, as the same note but on different strings will sound somewhat different in tone Musical Timbre maybe.
+1. Stringed instruments afford the ability to find a certain note (pitch) in more than one spot. Each selection provides a different timbre to the note and often different harmony options. On a guitar finding where a melody (and harmonization) lies "best" is both a great exploration and sometimes frustration. Learning to play an arrangement (especially with harmonies) in 2 or 3 different places is a capability on guitar that definitely separates the men from the boys. Sometimes when learning a guitar cover, you may have to fiddle with where you play it to more closely approximate how a particular artist played it. Just playing the notes correctly is, at some level, not enough. It's got to feel like Carlos Santana, albeit with your personal sauce.
Hi Andrew, There is a file called data but it is not in the real tracks folder. should I rename this one. It has a lot of stuff in it, including a file called style pickers.
Perhaps somebody has posted on this somewhere else in the forum. I fired up BIAB today on my Tahoe 26.5.2 Mac Mini. Got the "you will be dead and in a grave soon" message. Didn't realize 6 years had passed since AAPL promised to kill rosetta. Anyway, I'm sure the Apple Silicon version will soon be ready for Beta Testing?
to OP... please read my tips in pg tips/triks forum re setting up a pc for music production. note the importance of various aspects re a pc. then... post back pics of your bb settings...your usb audio interface settings and your windows recording and playback settings includeing advanced tab. note there is a audio test signal in win. reason for above...its very difficult to help without getting info on your rig set up. happiness. om
Thanks TuneMonger! I hear ya about the Tascam bringing back memories for you. The mic I'm using was the one used on stage 30 years ago! Talk about bringing back memories You could say my "studio" is definitely not up-to-date - but functional
Hi, David. Great build up of tension in this piece. Plenty of emotion. I get the message too. Sometimes I feel I've been abducted by aliens, but then I think, why would aliens want me in their world either. Roll on happy times, Vic
B.D., My first impression was, "Wow, so you write lyrics like this, too?" It’s a really fun song that blends reggae and ska. Serious lyrics certainly wouldn't suit a track like this. Reggae has become popular in Japan lately. Personally, I prefer Latin music, so I feel a bit left out. Enjoyed my listen and watch a lot. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi
This entire scene is fiction. This is Raphaël Froissart's YouTube channel. He's the one responsible for the title: He asks for the most difficult piece ever and SHOCKS everyone with his pan flute...🤯 Now, why are these people "shocked"? After all, Michel Tirabosco is a world-class player. The answer is because the the video is intentionally set up to mislead people. Michel says to Raphaël: "Can I play with you? I have my flute." This is - at best - intended to mislead, to give the impression that he just happened to meet Raphael. Michel then says: Vivaldi? Winter, you know? He's trying to give the impression that he's selected "Winter" at random. And he's pretending that he's not Raphael knows the piece. That's rubbish, because we know that they've already recorded it.. When the "mob of musicians" comes along, Raphael acts as if this is unexpected - even as if he doesn't even know who they are. At 0:52, Michel saws "Wow", as if he's surprised by all these people who have suddenly appeared. By this time, it's straining credulity that anyone would believe this wasn't fake. But that's not the point. If they simply wanted to give the impression of a live performance, that's one thing. That's not what they're doing here. They're intentionally misleading people - and that's what I object to.
Two points that may help. I needed fewer steps by doubling the tempo of Noel's Chord Chart's measure 10 to 240; Equalizing the entire track to 120 bpm and that resulted in measure 10 performing two beats in 4/4 @ 120. Counting beats during playback went bar 9 4/4 1,2,3,4; bar 10 4/4 1,2; bar 11 4/4 1,2,3,4 This created the issue of needing artful editing or regeneration and careful phrasing for bar 10 to play a two beat phrase but the count was correct. Micro-Chords may help audio in measure 10. I didn't work on the audio portion. Secondly, since the audio for the equalization phase is temporary, it's faster to open the Master Channel and utilize the render/unrender to audio commands. It reduces the number of steps by eliminating WAV export and import then it also adds the ability to erase the track using this menu as well.
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
Time really is running out! Save up to 50% on Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrades and receive a FREE Bonus PAK—only when you order by 11:59 PM PDT today!
We've added many major new features and new content in a redesigned Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
Version 2026 introduces a modernized GUI redesign across the program, with updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, and a new Dark Mode option. There’s also a new side toolbar for quicker access to commonly used windows, and the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, making it easier to customize your workspace.
Another exciting new addition is the amazing new AI-Notes feature, which can transcribe polyphonic audio into MIDI. View the results in notation or play them back as MIDI, and choose whether to transcribe an entire track or transcribe specific parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
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, and much more!
Upgrade your Band-in-a-Box for Mac® to save up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® 2026 upgrade packages!
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Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed 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 transcribe 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, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
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You could say my "studio" is definitely not up-to-date - but functional 
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