Hi,

Wanted to know if Band-in-a-box has a feature where it could listen to someone play few chords to figure out the chord progression, the key of the song, it's tempo, perhaps identify a matching style and automatically start the blacking tracks ?

Can Band-in-a-box be used in live performance mode ? In live performance mode, I'd expect to be able to use something like a midi foot-controller, or usb foot-switch to switch between accompaniment tracks, styles, tempo etc.

regards,
bd

Hello bdutta,

Welcome to the forum. Band-in-a-Box has a feature called the Audio Chord Wizard (ACW) that analyzes an audio file and figures out the chords, key signature and a tempo map. There's actually two versions of the ACW, the original and a newer version recently added. Some users prefer one over the other. Both, take some getting use to to achieve the most accurate outcome.

The program has the SongPicker. The SongPicker works by you entering the name of a song. If that song title is one of the more than 10,000 song titles in the song title database then the StylePicker will display artist, tempo, time signature and key signature information. It will also display the chord progression used in the song and suggest a style.

Band-in-a-Box has a Jukebox mode that can play a playlist. It also has the Conductor that lets the transport work from a foot controller. You can switch between songs using a foot controller. I believe though that changes in instrumentation, tempo, styles and so on would need to be programmed into the song project beforehand.

In addition to Jim's excellent summary...

It's also possible to buy BIAB and, if it doesn't do the job that you want it to, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.

As I see it, one way to use this offer would be to get an entry level version of the software and play around with that (say the Propak or the Megapak). These versions are easy to download. After you've played around with this, if you wanted to get the Ultrapak, it would be possible to get your earlier purchase refunded towards that. Alternatively, it may be that you are perfectly happy with your original purchase.

The Propak and the Megapak do not have all Realtracks and styles, etc. The Ultrapak does.

I suggest that you use Live Chat/Help (at the top right of the web page) to talk to sales staff and ask about this. There's also a toll-free number found under Support (Contact Information).

Regards,
Noel

• my latest song: Can You Imagine? (remix)

With respect to live performance, I can't comment on foot controllers. I've only heard them and was impressed. The idea that loops and samples can be triggered is a fascinating one. Like I say, I don't know where PGM stands with that technology.
The other aspect of it, creating backing tracks for live performance and at home rehearsals, I am familiar with. In this forum, we all listen to hear what each other are doing with the program to create better sounding backing tracks. When I listen to my tracks of five years ago, there is no comparison.
I am off on this tangent to let you know that working with Band in a Box is a creative process, like learning to play. As a result, we are never satisfied that we have maxed out the potential.
Once you get used to the forum, I assure you will be astonished at some of the productions the members come up with.
One little key: with live performance, multi track volume control is a plus.

Hi

I may have misunderstood, but it seems you want to do this on the fly in a live situation. You cant really do that with the ACW, as you need to get the music imported into BIAB in one go, so that ACW can then analyze it and the chords and suggest a style after hearing it if you see what I mean,
Then you make your choice from the suggestions after the event.
I don’t know anyway for it to listen live and jump to a suitable backing as it will not know what is coming next.
Just a thought
Mike