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Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,287
PG Music Staff
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PG Music Staff
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,287
With Band-in-a-Box® 2017, we added the Natural Arrangements option!

If you give a pro musician a complicated chord progression, with fancy extensions like C7b9b13 or Gm11, the musician may reinterpret these rather than playing them exactly as written. This can achieve a much better sounding arrangement because the musician has freedom to choose from similar chord extensions. Now you can get Band-in-a-Box to do the same thing, with options to set this on a global basis, song basis, or individual tracks!

To set this feature for all tracks in your song, head to the Preferences dialog; for specific tracks in your current song, click on the track within the Mixer, go to Tracks Settings | Set Natural Arrangement, and choose the option for you!

Have you used this new feature in Band-in-a-Box 2017?


Callie
Marketing Representative
PG Music Inc.
Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 299
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Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 299
First
I think this feature is there because styles, soloists and melodies don't have many patterns for those complicated chords. Substitution allows access to "similar" chords, producing more variation.Nothing wrong with that. I sincerely thought that "underneath" it already automatically did that. smile so, I was wrong.
Second
I noticed that version 2017 is more cpu and memory hungry, I feared that this feature was to blame for it. So on slower pc's, I'd like to disable this.
Third: chords and harmony
On the other hand, it's not as simple as this. Players often substitute dom13b9's with altered and vice versa, then you really alter the underlying harmony. Same with altering a major chord by substituting diminished or augmented.
Thing is, musicians tend to not discuss this beforehand, you try to hear it and adapt your comping or soloing. But if Biab would change chords in this way (altering the harmony) that would be too much. You can always change the arrangement manually.
Fourth
Some chords are really specific and call for certain notes to be played... the phrygian minor as a susb9 or as a slash chord: this chord hates thirds and doubts when it comes to playing b13 or regular 13(melodic minor). The "special notes" can be essential. When the author specifies m11 it is primarily because it fits the melody. So careful with that.
Finally
Most people (including me) don't bother to type in all the extensions. We type IIIm7-VI7 before the II-V-I and we know most players don't add regular 9ths to the III and VI chords, cause it sounds bad. So, it's not simplifying that we are after, it's more intelligent thinking. If we write dom7, it can be altered in many ways, but if we write13b9 it should sound half-whole diminished. Not specifying gives room for alterations, specifying sticks to the suggested harmony. I thought biab already did that.


Biab, Kontakt, Sampletank and lots of nice libraries, from Fluffy audio to Abbey Road drums.
Check out these great contemporary Jazz Styles: www.jazzstylezz.com
Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,082
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can you really tell/hear the difference ( s ) when you are working with those pre-recorded audio files ???


also does it not depend on the audio playback system ( example: computer speaker system versus audio mixer/speakers ) ???

when i play one of those " fancy extensions like C7b9b13 or Gm11 " it depends if i am using an electronic keyboard versus an actual piano because the electronic keyboard is actually playing a pre-recorded audio file

for me the term natural arrangement is somewhat elusive when applied to playing electronic instruments and sound systems

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This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245

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