I would very much like to be able to easily visually examine at my leisure the notes of the chord that BIAB is playing (has just played) at any time. Currently, I can watch them fly by (e.g. on the Big Piano) during playback, but they immediately vanish, like tears in rain, if I stop the playback in the hope of looking, studying, and internalizing the voicings.
There are two specific ways I would suggest for how to accomplish this. Both would have much value, IMO.
1. Implement the ability (as an option, in case some do not wish it) for the last chord played to REMAIN VISIBLE on the Big Piano and/or the Guitar when the user pauses (or stops) playback.
You could, for example, call this "Big Piano Memory Mode" and "Guitar Memory Mode" and have it be on/off via a checkbox on the Big Piano and on the Guitar. There appears to be plenty of space in the UI for this.
2. When the Piano Roll of a part (any part) is visible, allow notes which have been selected (and we would ideally want a quick multi-select for this, like a draggable rectangle) to be visible (not during playback though) on the Big Piano and/or the Guitar.
This could be called, for example, "Link to Piano Roll", and also be a checkbox on the Big Piano and on the Guitar.
I hope that the utility of these displays is self-evident w/o the need to explain and opine prolifically about it. The existence of Big Piano and Guitar shows that PGM already "gets" the educational value of showing musicians the fingerings on these instruments. Letting the player linger over the display would greatly enhance their ability to study and internalize the wealth of musical information that BIAB currently and already provides.
P.S. Being able to "re-sound" the displayed notes at will via a button and/or keystroke completes the concept!
Have you looked at the Chord Builder window? You can access the window is by pressing the three pc keyboard keys "Control" + "Shift + "B" at the same time. You can also select Window > Chord Builder on the menu bar or select the Chord Builder button on the Tools bar. The window uses the built-in Windows midi to play every chord Band-in-a-Box can play.
Another thought is to reduce the tempo. If the part is midi, the tempo can be reduced as much as needed.
From your description I'm wondering if you're wanting to study notes (like what is available in the melody and solo tracks) more than study chords. If so, those tracks likely contain midi.
Thanks for the comments, but my goals here are entirely audio-visual as relates to the guitar and/or piano voicing "just played" in the middle of whatever song is current.
In case my words are compromising my meaning more than describing it, here is a picture (Big Piano, in this case) of what I would like to see when I stop the playback.
The point is simply that the chord display remains, rather than disappears, when playback is stopped.
I'm not sure if this does exactly what you require, but there is a "Play Current Chord" option. It is available from the Edit drop-down menu, but also by pressing <Shift><Enter>. It will show the notes on the piano keyboard in the mixer for the selected instrument track:
BIAB & RB2024 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Thanks much for the pointer to "Play Current Chord". That's pretty close to the idea, and it is helpful, allowing the user to navigate to any point in the song and see a chord. However, the visual still goes away!
I *really* need the visual to stay until I replace (or dismiss) it.
Also, I have a strange observation to report - I was able at first to see the chords display both in Big Piano and Guitar. Then I presumably changed something (not sure what) and now I can only see the chords display in the small pianos (like your pic above).
I guess I'll have to check with support about how I can get that back!
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!
We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!
Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.
You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.
This new panel offers built-in specific support for the Reaper® DAW API allowing direct transfer of Band-in-a-Box® files to/from Reaper® tracks!
When you run the Plugin from Reaper®, there is a panel to set the following options:
-BB Track(s) to send: This allows you to select the Plugin tracks that will be sent Reaper.
-Destination Reaper Track: This lets you select the destination Reaper track to receive media content from the Plugin.
-At Bar: You can select a bar in Reaper where the Plugin tracks should be placed.
-Start Below Selected Track: This allows you to place the Plugin tracks below the destination Reaper track.
-Overwrite Reaper Track: You can overwrite previous content on the destination Reaper track.
-Move to Project Folder: With this option, you can move the Plugin tracks to the Reaper project folder.
-Send Reaper Instructions Enable this option to send the Reaper Instructions instead of rendering audio tracks, which is faster.
-Render Audio & Instructions: Enable this option to generate audio files and the Reaper instructions.
-Send Tracks After Generating: This allows the Plugin to automatically send tracks to Reaper after generating.
-Send Audio for MIDI Track: Enable this option to send rendered audio for MIDI tracks.
-Send RealCharts with Audio: If this option is enabled, Enable this option to send RealCharts with audio.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.