Hello all
I am busy producing some play by ear tracks for an online training program using Band-in-a-Box and have been asked to include the key signature in the midi file of the melody. Problem is I have absolutely no idea how to do this.

Secondly, I cannot find out how to get the "virtual" piano up on my initial Band-in-a-Box screen (so that I can record midi straight from my computer without connecting a MIDI keyboard).

Any help is much appreciated.

Hi Joanne
The standard MIDI spec doesn't include Key Signature or Chords as far as I know, except it can be included/stored as Meta Data. I think that while it can be stored as meta data it is not transmitted as a MIDI message. Not sure how to store it, somebody will chip in for sure.

Hi Joanne,

If you click on the places labelled 1, 2, 3 on the image below, that will enable the keyboard wizard so that you can use the bottom two rows of your QWERTY keyboard to enter notes.

Regards,
Noel

VideoTrack is right. AFAIK the standard MIDI spec does not show the Meta Data, however it is exported in BiaB's XML file data. Meta data is used in scoring programs like the free Musecore:

https://musescore.org/en

In Musescore you can show the melody line with chords in notation view, tab view or both. You might want to look at this free program if you want to include the key signature.

Good luck.

Thanks Noel, Trevor and Mario. Will let you know how I get on.

Although it may not be a requirement in the spec, the standard MIDI file format can indeed store the key signature, and Band-in-a-Box does automatically store the key signature when you save the song as a type 1 MIDI file. (The chord symbols are a different matter - the MIDI file spec doesn't say anything about chord symbols.)

Thanks Andrew for the clarification.
So that essentially means that Joanne's MIDI question is already taken care of? The MIDI Type 1 file she creates already contains the key signature information?

Yes.

Thanks guys. I downloaded a midi editor program and saw that the key was already in the midi files. Thanks Joanne

Hi Noel. I want the onscreen piano keyboard to record midi. I dont know how to get the keyboard up on the screen. like this



This is what my screen looks like.

Hi Joanne

That particular window eludes me in the 2017 version.

However, you can record MIDI on the piano keyboard in the Mixer window. Select a MIDI track on either the Melody or Soloist tracks, press Record, select the track to record on and you can record using the keyboard.

Nice graphics Trev! They really are 'next level' impressive.

Joanne,

As far as I'm aware, the keyboards that Trevor shows are the most recent replacements of the ones that you show in your graphic.

Also, it would be possible to enter melodies using Notation Editor. This would be quick and easy.

Regards,
Noel

Good point Noel, I should have thought of that. Also, the Piano Roll Window provides another way to step-add notation.