Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,291
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,291
When BIAB plays chords that are not quite what you wrote
Matt Finley December 2021; edited October 2022 to include some great tips by other users; edited February 2024 for a comment on Natural Arrangement

Does BIAB play exactly the chords you wrote? If it does not, and plays tones you don't like, what can you do about it?

BIAB is designed to be an accompaniment program. If you used real in-person musicians instead of this computer software, they would introduce some variety to the playing no matter what the genre. They might play a GMaj7 instead of the G Major triad you wrote. Or a G69. A jazz player seeing G7 might well play G7(b9), G9 or G13. A folk guitarist might introduce some finger-picking that suggested other passing chords. Musicians are creative and will often do the unexpected to make the music more interesting. BIAB has ways of using artificial intelligence and/or the actual performances of their RealTrack artists to simulate this. However, what if you do not want this to happen?

Here are a few settings in BIAB that you can experiment with if BIAB is not playing what you wanted and what you think you wrote. There may be more, and I have intentionally NOT included any solutions that involve editing audio. These settings are not listed in any particular order since you may have to try several to give you the sound you want. Also, to my knowledge there is no description of the hierarchy of these commands, so I don't know what combining some of them will do.

  • Simpler RealTrack(s) There is often (but not always) a 'Simpler' checkbox when selecting RealTracks in the RealTracks picker (Assign RealTracks to Track dialog window). Even for my jazz songs, I often select this for the bass or piano when it sounds too 'busy', or as PG Music describes it, the playing will be 'less embellished'. Less embellished may mean that you will hear fewer non-chord tones.

  • Jazz down the chords. In Options, Preferences, RealTracks, find 'On Jazz RealTracks, JazzUp Triads to Sevenths. Uncheck this box if your genre isn't jazz.

  • Set a global 'simple' option. There are several global options at the bottom to make instruments simpler in Options, Preferences, Overrides. Also make sure neither button for Pop/Country or Jazz is clicked On (yes, both can be Off).

  • Force simple. In Edit, Song Form, Settings (or press Ctrl+N) there is a checkbox for Force Song to Simple Arrangement. Check the box.

  • Change the RealTrack artist / change the Style. Some artists tend to play the same upper extensions of a chord, so try another.

  • Natural Arrangement. This might be the first thing to try because it's easy and it may work. Consider turning off Natural Arrangement for the song in Options, Preferences, Arrange. You can also instruct BIAB here never to use Natural Arrangement even if an individual song has the instruction to use it. As a jazz composer, I use this adjustment perhaps more than the others, because I need to hear exactly the chord progression that I wrote. But, why? What does Natural Arrangement do? As I understand it, since we users do not know how it works, the program will take a more complex chord progression and simplify it to allow the RealTrack artist to play longer recorded phrases that are more 'standard' sounding. In my experience, the comping from a piano is less 'choppy' and has better voice leading when using Natural Arrangement, and this is often more pleasing. It may not be playing the precise upper extension the composer wanted to hear, however. So, it's a trade-off. Note that this setting does not apply to MIDI-only instruments.

    EDIT: PG Music weighed in on this with advice for a forum user who was not hearing mMaj7 chords. They advised trying it with Natural Arrangement turned off.

  • Use a different chord. Let's say you write G7 and hear G7(b9). You do not like the sound of the flatted ninth, so you can write G9 instead. Yes, you will hear the ninth, but almost certainly not a flatted or sharped nine. Or let's say you write a G chord but hear GMaj7 when that major seven conflicts with the melody. You could write G7 forcing the program to never play the major seventh, only the dominant seventh. Or write G6 or G69. The common attribute of these examples is that the more precise you are in specifying your chord, the less likely BIAB will choose a random color tone that you don't like.

  • Wrapping up. If you've made any of these changes to Settings and you like the effect, consider going to Options, Save Preferences. Then you can retrieve your preferred settings if you have to do Options, Return to Factory Settings to resolve a problem.

    I hope this helps address some of the questions I've seen recently on the forums. I welcome corrections and additions.


EDIT: User Dominatoruke discovered a case where the chord consistently played a note he did not want, but when he changed the BIAB song to the correct key signature, the problem went away. There are several reasons why you should set the correct key signature of a song when you begin, but this particular reason fits in this thread as one more step you can try.

EDIT: User Noel96 made a great addition at the bottom of this thread about Auto Fix Sour Notes in Track Settings. In all my years using BIAB, I didn't know this function was there. Count on Noel to find things like this. See this post: https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=694482#Post734804


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,732
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 2,732
+1


Great tips Matt!




Steve

BIAB/RB 2022, Pro Tools 2020, Korg N5, JBL LSR 4328 Powered Monitors, AKG/Shure Mics.
PC: Win11 PRO, 4 TB M2 SSD, 2 TB HD, 128 GB Memory
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,399
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,399
This is great Matt! Thanks for putting this together. It will be of great help to many.

Jeff


Win11, Intel i7 7700K 4.2Ghz, 32Gb RAM, 2x1Tb HD, 500Gb NVMe, BIAB/RB 2024, MOTU 828MK3 audio, MOTU Midi Express, Yamaha Montage 7, DX7II, TX802, Motif XS Rack, Roland Fantom XR Rack, Oberheim Matrix 1000, VoiceLive3 Extreme, Kontakt 6, SampleTank 4.3
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 172
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 172
This is an astounding document and so generous of you to provide. Very orienting and summarizing. All of the options contain elements of mystery and thus experimentation will be necessary. Thanks you!

Should this be made sticky?

Last edited by BackingTrack; 12/28/21 01:35 PM.

BIAB 2022 UltraPak, WIN10, Scarlett 2i2, Guitar Rig 6, Fishman LoudBox Artist, Martin D35, Taylor 812c, Cordoba 55FCE, Fender Strat, Epiphone LP, Ibanez GB10se
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,180
Veteran
Online Content
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,180
An excellent and well researched article. I can see that this will be referenced and viewed many, many times.
My only suggestion is that this should be 'pinned' by the moderators.


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
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 38
Enthusiast
Offline
Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2020
Posts: 38
Thanks, Matt. Some excellent suggestions which I will certainly be trying out.


BIAB 2024 Ultrapak, Studio One
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,329
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,329
Originally Posted By: AudioTrack
An excellent and well researched article. I can see that this will be referenced and viewed many, many times.
My only suggestion is that this should be 'pinned' by the moderators.

+1


Bandcamp
Soundcloud
Win-11; BiaB-2024-latest Beta;
Cakewalk; Melodyne-5; Scaler 2; NI Komplete:
Focusrite Scarlett 18i20



Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 172
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 172
Matt, may I share your Dec 2021 post/article on this topic in a private forum with full attribution? I think it is invaluable.


BIAB 2022 UltraPak, WIN10, Scarlett 2i2, Guitar Rig 6, Fishman LoudBox Artist, Martin D35, Taylor 812c, Cordoba 55FCE, Fender Strat, Epiphone LP, Ibanez GB10se
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,291
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,291
Interesting question. I don’t think my permission is the approval you need. I suspect PG Music should give permission. This is their forum and it is a sensitive topic since it involves a proprietary feature of their product. I don't even know for certain if my advice is correct.

Here's Forum Rule #1:

All material posted or uploaded to the forum remains the property of the original poster and PG Music Inc.

Last edited by Matt Finley; 01/29/22 10:02 AM.

BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 172
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Aug 2021
Posts: 172
Thanks so much!


BIAB 2022 UltraPak, WIN10, Scarlett 2i2, Guitar Rig 6, Fishman LoudBox Artist, Martin D35, Taylor 812c, Cordoba 55FCE, Fender Strat, Epiphone LP, Ibanez GB10se
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,295
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,295
Instead of copying and pasting the text you could always provide a hyperlink to Matt's post.


Jim Fogle - 2024 BiaB (1113) RB (5) Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 366
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 366
Spot on Matt - thanks for an excellent summary


MacMini M1 - BIAB2021 - Logic Pro X - iZotope Music Production Suite - Scaler 2 - far too many Waves plugins and Line 6 Guitars and boards + a fantastic Yamaha THR10ll mini Amp - Avid MBOX Studio

Peters' Garage is available on all major streaming services
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,196
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,196
As well as the great information in Matt's post, a recent addition to BIAB is also worth trying.
This is the "Auto-Fix Sour Notes" option.

To access this...

1. Right-click on the faulty track (the Bass track in your case).

2. Select "Track Settings".

3. Select "Auto-Fix Sour Notes".

4. Unfreeze your faulty track if it is frozen and regenerate the song so that the setting can do its job.

The image below may help explain things.

Attached Files (Click to download or enlarge) (Only available when you are logged in)
sour notes fix.JPG (82.75 KB, 211 downloads)

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2024
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,291
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,291
I had never seen this. Thanks, Noel.


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 5,936
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 5,936
Matt,
Just discovered this. Very useful and important. Thank you!
This should be revised to add Noel's post and made into a sticky, as suggested or some kind of tutorial that can be easily accessible. You reminded me how little I know smile

Post your own Tips and Tricks here
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,291
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,291
Originally Posted By: Rustyspoon#
Matt,
Just discovered this. Very useful and important. Thank you!
This should be revised to add Noel's post and made into a sticky, as suggested or some kind of tutorial that can be easily accessible. You reminded me how little I know smile
Misha, thanks, and I just did update the original post. FYI, I had asked Andrew if it were possible for the original poster to edit the first post of a thread in this Tips & Tricks Forum, and he made it so! This is the second such edit I've made to include some great tips by users who read the thread.

It's up to PG Music to decide if this should be sticky. There is a lot I still don't understand about a few of these commands, especially how they might interact with each other, so it would be best if the whole post were reviewed by the company first.


BIAB 2024 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 6.5 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
New! XPro Styles PAK 7 for Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Mac!

We've just released XPro Styles PAK 7 with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 50 RealTracks and RealDrums that are sure to delight!

With XPro Styles PAK 7 you can expect 25 rock & pop, 25 jazz, and 25 country styles, as well as 25 of this year's wildcard genre: Celtic!

Here's a small sampling of what XPro Styles PAK 7 has to offer: energetic rock jigs, New Orleans funk, lilting jazz waltzes, fast Celtic punk, uptempo train beats, gritty grunge, intense jazz rock, groovy EDM, soulful R&B, soft singer-songwriter pop, country blues rock, and many more!

Special Pricing! Until September 30, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 7 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea)! Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box 2024® with XPro Styles PAK 7! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.

Watch the XPro Styles PAK 7 Overview & Styles Demos video.

XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2024 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.

New! Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Mac!

Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box version 2024 is here with 200 brand new styles to take for a spin!

Along with 50 new styles each for the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, we’ve put together a collection of styles using sounds from the SynthMaster plugin!

In this PAK you'll find: dubby reggae grooves, rootsy Americana, LA jazz pop, driving pop rock, mellow electronica, modern jazz fusion, spacey country ballads, Motown shuffles, energetic EDM, and plenty of synth heavy grooves! Xtra Style PAK 18 features these styles and many, many more!

Special Pricing! Until September 30, 2024, all the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 18 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea)! Expand your Band-in-a-Box 2024® library with Xtra Styles PAK 18! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 18 here.

Watch the Xtra Styles PAK 18 Overview & Styles Demos video.

Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 18 requires the 2024 UltraPAK/UltraPAK+/Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

New! Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Windows!

Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box version 2024 is here with 200 brand new styles to take for a spin!

Along with 50 new styles each for the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, we’ve put together a collection of styles using sounds from the SynthMaster plugin!

In this PAK you'll find: dubby reggae grooves, rootsy Americana, LA jazz pop, driving pop rock, mellow electronica, modern jazz fusion, spacey country ballads, Motown shuffles, energetic EDM, and plenty of synth heavy grooves! Xtra Style PAK 18 features these styles and many, many more!

Special Pricing! Until September 30, 2024, all the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 18 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea)! Expand your Band-in-a-Box 2024® library with Xtra Styles PAK 18! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 18 here.

Watch the Xtra Styles PAK 18 Overview & Styles Demos video.

Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 18 requires the 2024 UltraPAK/UltraPAK+/Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

New! XPro Styles PAK 7 for Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Windows!

We've just released XPro Styles PAK 7 with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 50 RealTracks and RealDrums that are sure to delight!

With XPro Styles PAK 7 you can expect 25 rock & pop, 25 jazz, and 25 country styles, as well as 25 of this year's wildcard genre: Celtic!

Here's a small sampling of what XPro Styles PAK 7 has to offer: energetic rock jigs, New Orleans funk, lilting jazz waltzes, fast Celtic punk, uptempo train beats, gritty grunge, intense jazz rock, groovy EDM, soulful R&B, soft singer-songwriter pop, country blues rock, and many more!

Special Pricing! Until September 30, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 7 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea)! Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box 2024® with XPro Styles PAK 7! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.

Watch the XPro Styles PAK 7 Overview & Styles Demos video.

XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2024 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.

Video - Band-in-a-Box® DAW Plugin Version 6 for Mac®: New Features for Reaper

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 includes built-in specific support for the Reaper® DAW API, allowing direct transfer of Band-in-a-Box® files to/from Reaper tracks, including tiny lossless files of instructions which play audio instantly from disk.

We demonstrate the new Reaper features in the Band-in-a-Box® VST DAW Plugin 6.0 in our video, Band-in-a-Box® DAW Plugin Version 6 for Mac®: New Features for Reaper

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Mac® - Update Today!

Already grabbed your copy of Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Mac®? Head to our Support Page to download build 803 and update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 installation with the latest version developed by our team!

Learn more & download now.

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Mac® Video - Over 50 New Features and Enhancements!

Read all about the 50+ newest features in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Mac®, or you can watch our video "Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Mac®: Over 50 New Features and Enhancements!" to see it in action!

Forum Statistics
Forums65
Topics82,955
Posts751,545
Members38,952
Most Online2,537
Jan 19th, 2020
Newest Members
rojina9, soul57, Vince44, iTsens, Brankee
38,952 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 114
rsdean 106
DC Ron 96
BYOBand 82
dcuny 65
Today's Birthdays
lancehankins, Randy29
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5