Melodies Don't Transfer in BIAB for iPhone?

Hi Everyone,

I tacked this question onto my thread regarding the BIAB server, but thought I would post it here separately. Does anyone know if there is any way to have the melody play in BIAB songs transferred to the iPhone? I have (as I am sure many of us do) many Real Book BIAB songs that I would very much like to put on the iPhone with the melody, but for some reason the melody does not seem to play. If I render the songs on the desktop, can I transfer that version to the iPhone app with the melody? Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks!

Hi bharris,

Just copy the Melody to the Soloist track before rendering and it will play in the iPhone App.

Best regards
Michee

What a great idea! Will it use RealTracks to generate the melody line, then?

RealTracks cannot generate a specified Melody.

You should use your MIDI synth for just that Melody line.

--Mac

I tried copying the melody line to the soloist track, but still didn't hear the melody on the iPhone. Can someone please point me in the right direction - for example, how do I use the MIDI synth just for the melody and Real Tracks for everything else, and then how do I get that particular rendition onto the iPhone?

Similarly, I am confused as to when the iPhone app will generate a Real Tracks solo for a song. I press Settings-Patch, and then assign a sax (for example) where it says Real Soloist. However, sometimes a nice sax solo will be played (once I regenerate the song on the iPhone), and other times nothing. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks again, everyone, for your help and patience.

If your current melody is a RealTrack you can force the track to midi by selecting that track and entering the RealTracks picker.
check the box labeled "force this track to midi" and then create a midi melody and or transfer it to the soloist track using the Melody Drop Down menu -> Edit Melody track

There are a few reasons that the soloist might not play. Check the songs soloist window and make sure the solo is set to play (yes) for the first chorus. Make sure there are no bar settings mutes in place for the soloist track in the first chorus.

A little OT, but since this is the first post I saw about the Iphone app, let me ask a couple of questions about it.

The ad says it plays back RealTracks and RealDrums, just like the desktop app. (I would have thought a BIAB phone app would only do MIDI.)

Well, smartphones are more powerful and have more storage than ever before, but nothing approaching that of a desktop or laptop (or even netbook) computer. For instance, if one has all the RealTracks and RealDrums on a desktop computer, they take more than 100GB of space! I'm not too familiar with Iphones, but I think the largest storage capability for them is 16GB (which of course, could not all be used for BIAB). How in the world could a phone store and play RealTracks and RealDrums?

Also a suggestion for PG Music--expand your mobile app to other mobile OSes. Despite their advertising, the Iphone is not the only one. Android is very big these days, probably many more phones sold with Android, than the only one phone (Iphone) with the Iphone OS. Now there is a new Windows Mobile OS (called Windows Phone 7), and many of us are using earlier versions of Windows Mobile. (My smartphone, the HD2, fairly new, very powerful, runs Windows Mobile 6.5, the earlier version. And of course--there is also Blackberry, Symbian, and the new Palm OS.

Is the name for the mobile app Band-In-Your-Pocket, Band-In-Your-Pants, or Band-In-a-Phone? (BIYP (2 ways) or BIAP?) ;-)

Hi maiki,

The Band -In-a-Box App is called just that Band -In-a-Box.
It works on various iPad/iPhone etc...
I have the Itouch App and it works like this.
First you have to have Band-In-a-Box 2011 installed on your computer.
In the Band-In-a-Box 2011 there is the ability to run a Server (which you need for the Itouch App to work)
You create your song file - either RealTracks or Midi or both - then save it into a specific folder called BB2Go.
Once the file is saved into that folder you have to open the BB2Go folder by choosing - Window/BB2Go - and in the window that opens you can see the list of song files that you have saved in there (in the same window is the server startup)
Now you can make a MP4 audio file for the song file. Once that is done the iTouch App can (by choosing menu items on the App) see the server and you can then download the song file and it will automatically download the MP4 audio file, which you can then play on your iTouch App.
I can only talk about the iTouch App but my one works very well and the playback (through either headphones - which defeats the purpose (my opinion) or through a PA or Amp) and the sound is just like the original.

PS be aware that you have to have the latest Apple Quicktime installed onto your computer for Band-In-a-Box to generate the MP4 Audio File.

Hope this helps a little.

Best regards
Michee

Note: it is also possible to take and enter say 20 chords in a new 'sheet' on the remote application, and then pick a style (the mobile device contains a list.) The mobile device sends the data to the server, the server makes the m4a sound file, and transfers it back to the mobile device which then can play it back, and show the chord changes on a chord grid.

As far as new apps go.

1. Pg music is not some large company. I don't think more than a handful of people are involved in software development.

2. This caught most of us off guard a bit. If it was possible, for example, to make the 'apple' core program the same as the pc one, and it was relatively straight forward, it would have happened years ago. As it is there is obviously, or has been, some problem developing on the Mac side. For example if you have software written in C++ you 'should' be able to port it over, compile it, and sell it. But that's not yet possible.

3. Given the fact that many of the great features in Band in a Box have taken decades to show up, and given the revolutionary nature of them, I'm sure that if the iX application can be ported to Android or others it will happen.

4. Band in a Box didn't start out with all the bells and whistles. People who do not understand the application will ask for all sorts of stuff now, Lead sheets with words in large print for the visually impaired, a free parking space in Washington DC to go with the 99 cent app, more support for hip hop loops so they can dance with the iphone while wearing the free Band in a Box hat with the fake 80 buck price tag still hanging off it while the program lets them send chords to a friend at another club who's chilling...right.

This is a new product, just out of a beta test, and needs 2 things to make it worthwhile. First it has to generate sales, and not the 99 cent kind. And second it has to run on more things than an Iphone, as I for one won't ever have one, just like I would be hard pressed to take even the latest and greatest computer from the same company for free. Too locked down for John.