- the Mac version still lacks a piano roll window. This isn’t that popular on the Windows version, and we do plan to add it to Mac in future.
I've been hankering after this for ages. I really want to be able to compose new melodies using a piano-roll - and tweak the arrangement/chord-progressions on the fly. This to me seems a very obvious way of composing for those who think in terms of chord progression plus melody.
My other platform for composing is Ableton - where I love the MIDI editing - and SESSION page. The Piano-roll editor in that isn't as powerful MIDI editing wise as say Cubase or Logic but sufficient.
I simply don't like to create and edit melodies etc using conventional music notation EVEN IF I do read music and am trained classically. I just find the Piano-Roll convention to be natural.
Ableton is superb for composition - why ? because it allows one to go from a pattern-centric collection of ideas and finalise them ( in the arrangement page ) into a linear composition after that. This i find superb and inspiring.
But from more of a jazz/fusion type angle there is also a side of me which thinks in terms of chord-progression plus melody. And for this BIAB would be perfect to compose in. IF...... IF.... it had that MIDI Piano-roll editor.
Maybe Peter - there could be ways of improving the MIDI Note editing functionality which would make it more popular on windows too.
For example allowing an arbitrary number of MIDI tracks to be created and edited apart from just the MELODY track.
Maybe too there could be a option in BIAB to "FREEZE" a BIAB generated MIDI track ( Supertrack or just plain MIDI style ) into a MIDI track which could then be edited for final tweaking.
Many many years ago I briefly did own the Windows version - using Parallels on my mac - but it didnt work out. just seemed kludgy. And I never got on with the REALBAND app. For me the way BIAB works is ideal and for something more DAW-like i'd much rather just be working in Ableton or a proper DAW.
Please DO add Piano-Roll editing. But do also make sure to make it absolutely useable - as easy, robust and user friendly as the Ableton piano-roll. I used to own both Logic and Cubase too ( and Digital Performer for that matter ) but for some reason the Piano-roll in Ableton just seemed much more natural and easy to use. Keyboard shortcuts just worked as one would guess etc etc..
And maybe BIAB just needs to have its Piano-roll functionality shouted more from the rooftops - advertised as a useful feature - or PG could spend some time thinking about how professional composers might want to use MIDI editing and compose from within BIAB.
Maybe this could be a sign that more orchestral movie-composer-style REALTRACKS could be added to BIAB to cater for film TV composers. Currently they use HUGE sample libraries. But at the same time an awful lot of media content is actually pretty predictable - falling into several easily spotted categories and "styles" that lend themselves to becoming "film-TV-composer" REALTRACKS.
A pro-composer could used such BIAB MOVIE-SCORING REALTRACKS as initial style-guides, to quickly put together prototype scores.
Used to submit to a director prior to getting a commission or commissioning a real studio orchestra.
To be able to quickly score an orchestral part without having to manually write out every part in MIDI would be a huge time -saver.
And as i already said most scored orchestral parts aren't actually that sophisticated arrangement wise - but just use simple triads.
Sure - Thomas Newman or Desplat **really** do know how to produce proper rich harmonically engaging orchestral arrangements - and get paid accordingly - but the sheer amount of output material is much much more dumbed down and this. And thus would lend itself to the use of BIAB MOVIE SCORING REALTRACKS!
Give it a thought. And then... please! quickly give us PIANO ROLL EDITING ON OSX!!!
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