Hello Musgiq and welcome to the forum. Can you provide more detail on what you're looking for? Song writing is a vast subject.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2024 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
or you could go to his main channel and also listen to some of the songs he's made with BiaB. A lot of the song he does are 'covers', so may not be quite what you want, but should help to understand how to use BiaB.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. Kawai MP6, Korg M50, Ui24R, Saffire Pro 40. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11; Win8.1: Scarletts BIAB2022 UltraPAK, Reaper, a bunch of stuff.
The best way to learn how to write songs is to ...
Start writing songs.
Byron Dickens
BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency.
I often tell people that writing a parody of some other song is educational and great practice.
If you analyze the original song well enough that you can match the structure, rhymes, accents, and even syllables you will have insight into how that song was written. Then you can pick a different song and do it again. Repeat as necessary.
If your problem is composing music, this won't help. But for lyrics and song structure, it's a useful tool.
I often tell people that writing a parody of some other song is educational and great practice.
If you analyze the original song well enough that you can match the structure, rhymes, accents, and even syllables you will have insight into how that song was written. Then you can pick a different song and do it again. Repeat as necessary.
If your problem is composing music, this won't help. But for lyrics and song structure, it's a useful tool.
Excellent advice. I couldn't agree more.
BIAB 2023 Audiophile, 24/60 Core M2 Mac Studio Ultra/8TB/192GB Sonoma, M1 MBAir, 2012 MBP Digital Performer 11, LogicPro Finale27.4, Dorico5, Encore5, SmartScorePro64, Notion6, Overture5
If you want to be caught in the trap of musical form/structure, comfortable progressions, conventional melodies & harmonies then start copying/changing what has come before. Alternately you could start but opening BIAB by picking a style you like the sound of, changing some components of it to suit your taste and then bang in chords until you're like the sound of them together. Far, far too many people are trapped by "the rules" of Western Musical tradition which is really only based on a couple of centuries of music that was controlled by the very rich and very powerful or you could, I suppose heed those who say learn the rules to break them, but it's a trap. Ignore the rules and mix things you like to make the stew you want. UNLESS you want to work in an established style, with all of it's attendant requirements.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Hey guys am an artist from uganda.I need help please on how to write a song. Your help is worth it.
This is a very general question. It's like asking for help painting a picture, but not specifying what should be in the picture, what style, what technique (oil, pencil, airbrush, etc.).
If you want to be caught in the trap of musical form/structure, comfortable progressions, conventional melodies & harmonies then start copying/changing what has come before. Alternately you could start but opening BIAB by picking a style you like the sound of, changing some components of it to suit your taste and then bang in chords until you're like the sound of them together. Far, far too many people are trapped by "the rules" of Western Musical tradition which is really only based on a couple of centuries of music that was controlled by the very rich and very powerful or you could, I suppose heed those who say learn the rules to break them, but it's a trap. Ignore the rules and mix things you like to make the stew you want. UNLESS you want to work in an established style, with all of it's attendant requirements.
You are demonstrating here a breathtaking - I don't know if it is ignorance or misrepresentation - of what music theory even is and of it's purpose.
Last edited by Byron Dickens; 11/14/2206:52 AM.
Byron Dickens
BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency.
OP has 2 posts. Claims to be from Uganda. Asks the most generic question ever. Never comes back to the post.
Yet folks still try to help which is very nice. Does give me a chuckle though that you guys think this is a real question.
+1 John, Even though it appears I was the first to be bamboozled, this continuation gives me a chuckle too. But in my defense I tried to ask for details which places some of his "skin in the game". No details, no help.
Is there a term for such a fellow? Is it troll?
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2024 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
OP has 2 posts. Claims to be from Uganda. Asks the most generic question ever. Never comes back to the post.
Yet folks still try to help which is very nice. Does give me a chuckle though that you guys think this is a real question.
+1 John, Even though it appears I was the first to be bamboozled, this continuation gives me a chuckle too. But in my defense I tried to ask for details which places some of his "skin in the game". No details, no help.
Is there a term for such a fellow? Is it troll?
Most of us will give the benefit of the doubt. I certainly did, though, wonder if I his lawyer wanted to transfer millions of dollars into my account. If (s)he comes back and gives sensible answers I'd still try to help, but I'm not holding my breath.
FWIW, I believe we've started using the word 'troll' and 'trolling' wrongly, though it may well be correct in this case. I believe it originally referred to the fishing method of trailing some bait in the water behind a slow-moving boat to see of you can get a bit or few.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. Kawai MP6, Korg M50, Ui24R, Saffire Pro 40. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11; Win8.1: Scarletts BIAB2022 UltraPAK, Reaper, a bunch of stuff.
Most of us will give the benefit of the doubt. I certainly did, though, wonder if I his lawyer wanted to transfer millions of dollars into my account
What? You wonder if being his lawyer you want to transfer millions into your account? I don't get this.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2024 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
Jazz relative beginner, starting at a much older age than was helpful. Kawai MP6, Korg M50, Ui24R, Saffire Pro 40. AVL:MXE Linux; Windows 11; Win8.1: Scarletts BIAB2022 UltraPAK, Reaper, a bunch of stuff.
If you want to be caught in the trap of musical form/structure, comfortable progressions, conventional melodies & harmonies then start copying/changing what has come before. Alternately you could start but opening BIAB by picking a style you like the sound of, changing some components of it to suit your taste and then bang in chords until you're like the sound of them together. Far, far too many people are trapped by "the rules" of Western Musical tradition which is really only based on a couple of centuries of music that was controlled by the very rich and very powerful or you could, I suppose heed those who say learn the rules to break them, but it's a trap. Ignore the rules and mix things you like to make the stew you want. UNLESS you want to work in an established style, with all of it's attendant requirements.
You are demonstrating here a breathtaking - I don't know if it is ignorance or misrepresentation - of what music theory even is and of it's purpose.
And you, dear Dickens, demonstrate a breathtaking ignorance of the value of ignorance. So much so that I 1st thought "What the Dickens!"
Children open software and start - fearless and buoyed by the knowledge that almost everything digital is easily replaced if a stuff up, crash or delete happens or if they're not pleased with the result of their endeavours. They do similar with almost everything they start, unless closely supervised and directed, explore in ignorance and discover in delight.
Most could sing before they could talk, could draw before they could write, could dance before they could march. All of these things are moved to the background when adults perceive the need for a child to replace the creative with more easily understood/measurable/quantifiable communication. You sir are an oppressor at heart.
If the OP wants to work in an established style and meet established expectations I invited them to respond accordingly.
Last edited by rayc; 11/17/2211:38 AM.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
And you, dear Dickens, demonstrate a breathtaking ignorance of the value of ignorance. So much so that I 1st thought "What the Dickens!"
Wow.
I'm "an oppressor at heart." That's rich, buddy. I must have really struck a nerve telling you how off base you are. What's the matter? Still trying to recover from the trauma of some nun whacking your knuckles with a ruler because you weren't paying attention during choir practice?
Suggesting that wilful ignorance is a virtue and that knowledge is undesirable is absolutely ludicrous. Ignorance is Strength. How very Orwellian of you.
First of all, music theory is a description, not a prescription.
Music theory is not a set of "rules" that one must "obey" in order to write "proper" music. Music theory is a a description of how the composer did what he did and how a piece of music works.
Music theory is much like grammar. Despite the impression that ruler-wielding nuns may have left upon you, the language comes first. The grammar comes later and it's proper role is to describe how that language is used in actual practice.
Music is a language and just like a spoken language the fact is that one has to use it similar to the way others do if one wishes to be comprehensible.
Furthermore, your statement about the "western musical tradition" being "really only based on a couple of centuries of music that was controlled by the very rich and very powerful" is pure Bovine Excrement.
The formal study of music theory in the Western world started at least as far back as Pythagoras and has continued through 12-tone serialism, Giant Steps and beyond.
And that is to say nothing of the music of other cultures.
Finally, knowledge is power. Knowledge engenders freedom, not "oppression."
One can not create music (or anything else, for that matter) in a vacuum, without reference to anything else.
Let's say I want to write a Jazz tune. First off, I have to know what Jazz even sounds like. Now, I could stab around blindly in the dark until I hopefully stumble upon something. But it will really help if I know that much of Jazz is based on a ii-V-I progression. However, for that to even make sense I kinda have to know what a ii, a V and a I even are.
Knowing how to get the sound I want is a lot less oppressive than wilful ignorance.
But let's say I want to create something new. Well, nothing can be created ex nihilo. It has to reference something, somehow and use materials that already exist. That's just the way the universe works. At least for mortals like me.
If I want it to be comprehensible in any way, it has to be familiar enough for someone else to understand it while still being unique enough to be novel. If it is too unique, however, comprehensibility goes out the window.
More knowledge about how music works can only help in that endeavor. Making one's burden lighter is freeing, not oppressing.
If you think that knowing music theory is a " trap," that's your fault, not Music Theory's.
Last edited by Byron Dickens; 11/18/2209:53 AM.
Byron Dickens
BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency.
Nicely done Bryon Dickens. You make my point for me. You seem "wilfully" ignorant of the contents of my posts. Much of your new post is about working within a system and it's "rules". Again, you make my point for me. I suggested that someone might begin to create without reference to a set of rules. "...one has to use it similar to the way others do if one wishes to be comprehensible." Again you make my point for me. I didn't restrict musical history to a couple of centuries. I was writing of the rules, and that'd be the rules of harmony specifically, that are in fact based on a particular period of western musical history. Oral communication isn't as restricted as you seem to make out: communication can be informal utterances as well as crafted sentences or expressive noise. You don't see your self as an oppressor but by maintaining a myopic frame of reference it is what you, and many of us if we can't accommodate alternatives to a language, a culture or an history, become. If the O.P. hears microtonality in his mind and wants to express it...ace! If the O.P. hears big band swing and wants to make it...ace! If the O.Pressor wants to limit expression to their concept of communication or language or expression...if their criteria for success is that they understand what is being communicated then blah! If you lack the self awareness then it's not my part to lead you to the mirror. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJHaDMMqdJA
Last edited by rayc; 11/18/2209:20 PM.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
And here I was under the impression that Australia is an English speaking country....
Byron Dickens
BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency.
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.
Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!
We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!
Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.
You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.
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.