Hello, folks. I've had the product for about three weeks and will use it mostly for developing backing tracks for 50's and 60's rock 'n roll. Can anyone tell me how to insert a drum loop into a song? Mostly want to put particular fills in particular places.
I don't see a way. Thanks in advance for your tutelage.
In Band-in-a-Box (BiaB) you create a drum fill by adding a part marker. If you want a drum fill in bar 4 then add a part marker by clicking on the number 5 in bar 5. Click on the number 5 in bar 5 multiple times to rotate through the part marker choices; typically the rotation starts with none, blue, green and none once again. Part marker colors visually indicate the feel of the song. None means the feel is the same as the last part marker, blue is with "normal" energy (such as what you have in the verse of a song) and green has "higher" energy (such as what you have in the chorus of a song). Adding a part marker of the same color as the previous part marker does not change the energy level, just tells the drum track to add a feel.
Hi, Jim. On the same subject, I occasionally get blue, green, and other, so four RD settings, (I don't have a song up right now, so guessing say yellow and violet).
Can you tell me what triggers them to be available?
I'll take my answer on the line.
Andy
BIAB 2017 Ultra Windows 8 and 10 Scarlet 18i8 Reaper and Mixpad
The part markers trigger a drum fill based on the color of the part marker.
You can insert part markers anywhere you want a drum fill.
The fills, like I said are in the style you selected and will work for most applications.
If you need a specific fill, or some kind of custom fill, you will need to be slightly more creative.
In that case, you want to work in a DAW where you can edit the drum track directly. Dong that in BB is difficult if not impossible. (I have actually never tried to edit a track in that manner in BB) In a DAW, you can edit by cutting and pasting in a new part.... or even using a drum synth with a similar sounding kit to play exactly what you need played by MIDI.
I have done that very thing with piano in the song FOOLS ERRAND. (on my music site) Biab uses a Real Track piano part for most of the song. However, there's a part closer to the end immediately following the bridge, where the piano is playing simple quarter note chords.... that part is midi with a piano sample chosen to be a sound alike to the BB/RB piano part. It's not even noticeable that it's not the real track doing that.
You just have to think outside of the box every now and then to get things done like you want them done.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 03/09/1703:12 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
Hi, Jim. On the same subject, I occasionally get blue, green, and other, so four RD settings, (I don't have a song up right now, so guessing say yellow and violet).
Can you tell me what triggers them to be available?
I'll take my answer on the line.
Andy,
Many of the RealDrum tracks include variations for both "A" & "B" part marker parts of a song. PG Music calls them Groove Variations. Some styles have variation calls built-in. You can take any existing style and do the same thing.
Hover your mouse over any bar number and right click and the window you see in the photo below pops up. Notice RealDrum groove variations is not active in the menu. If I was using a RealDrums track with variations the command would be active.
Also notice another menu command "define C/D ..." has a red box around it. Select define C/D ... and you can call up another style with it's A & B part markers redefined as C & D for this song. Save the current style with a new name and you've created a multi-style.
Also of note is the long, vertical alphabet menu. You can use the alphabet menu to divide a song into user defined sections like A = intro, B = verse, C = chorus, d = ending then build a song using song sections.
Thank you all for the suggestions. But this is not exactly what I need. I want to know hot to insert a drum loop into an individual bar and have it temporarily replace the real drums for the one bar only. I will probably need to do this with the bass as well, but for now I am concentrating on the drums.
Nick, I really think this is undertaken most effectively in a DAW, e.g. RealBand, where you could edit any bar and introduce the audio drum loop wherever you want.
As an example, you could place the Drum Loop(s) on a separate track, and cut the audio of the main drums, or even just lower the volume of the main drums at that point where the loop audio takes precedence.
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
Thank you all for the suggestions. But this is not exactly what I need. I want to know hot to insert a drum loop into an individual bar and have it temporarily replace the real drums for the one bar only. I will probably need to do this with the bass as well, but for now I am concentrating on the drums.
Thank you again!
Nick
Hello Again Nick,
As VideoTrack indicated, what you are wanting to do is much easier to do using RealBand than it will to try in Band-in-a-Box.
With that said, I remember Band-in-a-Box 2017 allows use of multiple drum tracks but I have not used that new feature so you may have to view the new feature video or check the user manual.
A second way is to record the audio of the existing drum track (without drum fills), name the recorded drum track audio file the same name as your song file (song.sgu and song.wav for instance) then import the audio file into the audio, soloist or melody track.
Now use midi and a midi instrument to create your drum fills on the drum track.
Use F5 bar settings to switch between the sound of the drum audio and drum track as needed.
Thank you! I have another month of BIAB under my belt since I made this post. I have found that I usually don't do an entire backing track in BIAB. I do some of it, then save as .wav, put it up in Audacity and add more tracks. I see that it's possible to render the song as all separate audio tracks. I need to get that figured out too! That would make for a more flexible final mix.
I haven't had time to really try Real Band as yet. It sounds like that is where I should be spending my time. I'll give it a go as time permits.
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
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.
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.