PG Music Band in a Box - 2007 Windows User Guide
®
Version 2007 for Windows
© Copyright PG Music Inc.1989-2007. All rights reserved.
PG Music Inc. License Agreement
CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE COMPLETING THE
INSTALLATION OF THIS SOFTWARE. USAGE OF THE SOFTWARE INDICATES YOUR ACCEPTANCE
OF THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
LICENSE
A. The program may only be used on a single machine.
B. You may transfer the program and license to another party if the other party agrees to accept the terms of
this Agreement. If you transfer the program, you must either transfer all copies, whether in printed or
machine readable form, to the same party, or, destroy all copies not transferred. This includes all
modifications and/or portions of the program merged into other programs.
C. You may receive the program in more than one media. Regardless of the type or size of media you receive,
you may install or use the media on a single machine.
D. The program (including any images, “applets,” photographs, animations, video, audio, music, and text
incorporated into the program) is owned by PG Music Inc. or its suppliers, and is protected by international
copyright laws and international treaty provisions.
You may not use, copy, or transfer the program, or any copy, modification or merged portion of the program, in
whole or in part, except as expressly provided for in this license. If you transfer possession of any copy,
modification or merged portion of the program to another party, your license is automatically terminated.
LIMITATION OF REMEDIES
PG Music Inc.'s entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be:
A. The replacement of any media not meeting PG Music Inc.'s “Limited Warranty,” which are returned to PG
Music Inc., or an authorized PG Music Inc. dealer, with a copy of your receipt.
B. If PG Music Inc. or the authorized dealer is unable to deliver replacement media which is free of defects in
materials or workmanship, you may terminate this agreement, and your money will be refunded.
In no event will PG Music Inc. be liable to you for any damages, including but not limited to lost profits, lost
savings, or other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or the inability to use such program,
even if PG Music Inc. or an authorized PG Music Inc. dealer has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or
for any claim by any other party.
TRADEMARKS
Band-in-a-Box®, GuitarStar®, PG Music®, and PowerTracks Pro® are the registered trademarks of PG Music Inc.
in the United States, Canada, and other countries. Microsoft® and Windows® are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Apple®, the Apple logo,
Macintosh®, Mac®, Panther®, Power Mac®, QuickTime®, Tiger™, and TrueType® are trademarks of Apple
Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. IBM® is the registered trademark of International
Business Machines Corporation. Roland® and “Roland” Logo, EDIROL® and “EDIROL” Logo, GS® and “GS”
Logo, are registered trademarks and “MIDI2” Logo, EDIROL Virtual Sound Canvas Multi Pack, VSC-MP1™ are
trademarks of Roland Corporation. ASIO is a trademark and software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. Other brands and their products are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be noted as such.
PATENTS
Band-in-a-Box is protected under US Patent 5990407. The TC-Helicon Harmony feature in Band-in-a-Box and
PowerTracks Pro Audio is protected under US Patents 5567901, 564 1926, 5986198, 34583, 296.80.173.9,
PI9603819.5, 0368046, 0750776, 6,046,395, and patents pending.
Printed in Canada
2
PG Music Inc. License Agreement
Table of Contents
PG MUSIC INC. LICENSE AGREEMENT.............................................................................................................2
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 1: WELCOME TO BAND-IN-A-BOX!.................................................................................................6
WHAT IS BAND-IN-A-BOX?........................................................................................................................................6
INSTALLING BAND-IN-A-BOX FOR WINDOWS ............................................................................................................7
MIDI SETUP...............................................................................................................................................................7
AUDIO SETUP ...........................................................................................................................................................12
CHAPTER 2: QUICKSTART..................................................................................................................................16
STEP 1 – TYPING IN THE CHORDS .............................................................................................................................16
STEP 2 – CHOOSING A STYLE....................................................................................................................................18
STEP 3 – PLAY YOUR SONG!......................................................................................................................................20
CHAPTER 3: BAND-IN-A-BOX 2007 ...................................................................................................................22
BAND-IN-A-BOX 2007 PLUS!....................................................................................................................................22
SUMMARY OF BAND-IN-A-BOX 2007 FEATURES ......................................................................................................23
QUICKSTART TUTORIAL FOR THE VERSION 2007 NEW FEATURES ...........................................................................37
CHAPTER 4: THE MAIN SCREEN.......................................................................................................................45
MAIN SCREEN OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................45
STATUS BAR.............................................................................................................................................................47
SYNTH WINDOW / PIANO KEYBOARD.......................................................................................................................47
TITLE WINDOW ........................................................................................................................................................53
CHORDSHEET AREA .................................................................................................................................................55
CHAPTER 5: GUIDED TOUR OF BAND-IN-A-BOX .........................................................................................57
LOADING AND PLAYING SONGS................................................................................................................................57
THE CONDUCTOR WINDOW......................................................................................................................................63
ADD A MELODY – MIDI AND/OR AUDIO..................................................................................................................63
ADD A SOLO - “THE SOLOIST”..................................................................................................................................67
VIEW AND PRINT NOTATION ....................................................................................................................................69
PIANO ROLL WINDOW..............................................................................................................................................72
LEAD SHEET NOTATION WINDOW............................................................................................................................80
THE GUITAR WINDOW .............................................................................................................................................85
BIG PIANO WINDOW.................................................................................................................................................89
PLAY THE JUKEBOX..................................................................................................................................................90
IMPORT A MIDI FILE................................................................................................................................................92
AUTOMATIC SONGS - “THE MELODIST”...................................................................................................................93
MAKE YOUR OWN SONGS........................................................................................................................................94
SAVING YOUR WORK.............................................................................................................................................103
BURN YOUR OWN AUDIO-CD................................................................................................................................104
CHAPTER 6: BAND-IN-A-BOX POWERGUIDE ..............................................................................................106
OPENING FILES.......................................................................................................................................................106
GLOBAL SONG OVERRIDES ....................................................................................................................................107
CHORD ENTRY .......................................................................................................................................................108
REPEATS AND ENDINGS..........................................................................................................................................112
PLAYING/PAUSING/STOPPING SONGS .....................................................................................................................113
ADDITIONAL PATCHES ...........................................................................................................................................116
Table of Contents
3
HANGING VOLUME, PANNING, REVERB, CHORUS, BANK.....................................................................................118
C
EDIT FUNCTIONS ....................................................................................................................................................119
APPLYING STYLES..................................................................................................................................................128
REALDRUMS STYLES .............................................................................................................................................134
BREAKS - RESTS, SHOTS, AND HELD CHORDS........................................................................................................137
SONG SETTINGS DIALOG ........................................................................................................................................140
SAVING SONGS.......................................................................................................................................................142
THE JUKEBOX.........................................................................................................................................................148
THE CONDUCTOR ...................................................................................................................................................150
CHAPTER 7: NOTATION AND PRINTING ......................................................................................................155
STANDARD NOTATION WINDOW ............................................................................................................................156
EDITABLE NOTATION MODE ..................................................................................................................................157
STAFF ROLL NOTATION MODE...............................................................................................................................163
NOTATION WINDOW OPTIONS................................................................................................................................164
LEAD SHEET WINDOW ...........................................................................................................................................173
LYRICS ...................................................................................................................................................................180
PRINTING................................................................................................................................................................186
CHAPTER 8: AUTOMATIC MUSIC FEATURES.............................................................................................194
AUTOMATIC SONGS – “THE MELODIST” ................................................................................................................194
AUTOMATIC SOUND TRACK GENERATOR - “SOUNDTRACK” .................................................................................198
AUTOMATIC SOLO GENERATION – “THE SOLOIST”................................................................................................199
AUTO PIANO HAND-SPLITTING...............................................................................................................................207
AUTOMATIC GUITAR SOLOS – “THE GUITARIST”...................................................................................................208
AUTOMATIC EMBELLISHMENTS – “THE EMBELLISHER”.........................................................................................211
CHAPTER 9: WORKING WITH MIDI...............................................................................................................215
RECORDING LIVE IN REAL TIME ............................................................................................................................215
ENTERING NOTES MANUALLY ...............................................................................................................................216
RECORDING WITH THE WIZARD FEATURE ..............................................................................................................217
MELODY/SOLOIST SEQUENCER ..............................................................................................................................218
IMPORTING MIDI FILES..........................................................................................................................................221
EDITING THE MELODY TRACK................................................................................................................................223
CHAPTER 10: WORKING WITH AUDIO .........................................................................................................228
AUDIO TRACK ........................................................................................................................................................228
RECORD AUDIO......................................................................................................................................................230
PLAYING THE AUDIO FILE......................................................................................................................................233
EDIT THE AUDIO FILE.............................................................................................................................................233
AUDIO HARMONIES................................................................................................................................................234
PITCH STYLES PRESET DETAILS (ONE PER VOICE)..................................................................................................239
APPLYING AUDIO PLUG-INS...................................................................................................................................240
RENDERING AUDIO FILES.......................................................................................................................................244
BURN YOUR OWN AUDIO-CD.................................................................................................................................249
CHAPTER 11: USER PROGRAMMABLE FUNCTIONS.................................................................................253
THE STYLEMAKER.................................................................................................................................................253
MAKING REALDRUMS STYLES...............................................................................................................................284
THE HARMONY MAKER..........................................................................................................................................304
THE SOLOIST MAKER .............................................................................................................................................308
THE MELODIST MAKER..........................................................................................................................................311
THE GUITARIST MAKER .........................................................................................................................................313
CHAPTER 12: TUTORS, WIZARDS, AND PRACTICE AIDS ........................................................................317
AUDIO CHORD WIZARD (“CHORDS FROM MP3”)...................................................................................................317
4
Table of Contents
FILE CHORD INTERPRETATION WIZARD .......................................................................................................326
MIDI
PRACTICE WINDOW................................................................................................................................................332
EAR TRAINING TUTOR............................................................................................................................................333
EAR TRAINING GAMES ...........................................................................................................................................337
VOCAL WIZARD .....................................................................................................................................................338
REHARMONIST (CHORDS FOR A MELODY)..............................................................................................................341
CHORD SUBSTITUTION WIZARD .............................................................................................................................343
CHORD BUILDER ....................................................................................................................................................346
RHYTHM GUITAR CHORD TUTOR ...........................................................................................................................346
CHORD “BREAKS”..................................................................................................................................................348
MIDI FILE TO STYLE WIZARD................................................................................................................................348
REPEATS AND ENDINGS WIZARD............................................................................................................................353
CHAPTER 13: TOOLS AND UTILITIES............................................................................................................356
ROLAND VSC3 VIRTUAL SOUND CANVAS.............................................................................................................356
TRANZPORT SUPPORT - WIRELESS REMOTE CONTROL ..........................................................................................356
GUITAR TUNER.......................................................................................................................................................358
DYNAMIC 3D DRUM KIT WINDOW.........................................................................................................................359
MIDI MONITOR......................................................................................................................................................362
SOUND BLASTER SUPPORT.....................................................................................................................................365
EVENT LIST EDITOR ...............................................................................................................................................365
PG VINYL DIRECTX PLUG-IN.................................................................................................................................367
PG RTA DIRECTX PLUG-IN...................................................................................................................................371
PG VOCAL REMOVER PLUG-IN ..............................................................................................................................372
CHAPTER 14: REFERENCE................................................................................................................................374
BAND-IN-A-BOX MENU DESCRIPTIONS..................................................................................................................374
FILE MENU.............................................................................................................................................................374
EDIT MENU ............................................................................................................................................................377
STYLES MENU........................................................................................................................................................383
OPT. MENU.............................................................................................................................................................385
PLAY MENU ...........................................................................................................................................................420
LYRICS MENU ........................................................................................................................................................422
MELODY MENU......................................................................................................................................................424
SOLOIST MENU.......................................................................................................................................................430
AUDIO MENU .........................................................................................................................................................434
GM MENU..............................................................................................................................................................437
HARMONY MENU ...................................................................................................................................................440
NOTATION MENU ...................................................................................................................................................442
WINDOW MENU .....................................................................................................................................................443
HELP MENU............................................................................................................................................................446
KEYSTROKE COMMANDS - HOT KEYS....................................................................................................................448
CHORD LIST ...........................................................................................................................................................451
BAND-IN-A-BOX FILES ...........................................................................................................................................452
PG MUSIC INC.......................................................................................................................................................454
INDEX ......................................................................................................................................................................455
PG MUSIC REGISTRATION FORM ..................................................................................................................465
HOW TO REGISTER.................................................................................................................................................465
5
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
Congratulations on your purchase of Band-in-a-Box, the favorite of musicians, students, and
songwriters everywhere. Get ready to have fun!
What is Band-in-a-Box?
Band-in-a-Box is an intelligent automatic
accompaniment program for your multimedia
computer.
You can hear and play along to many song
ideas and go from “nothing” to “something” in
a very short period of time with Band-in-a-Box
as your “on demand” backup band.
Just type in the chords for any song using
standard chord symbols (like C, Fm7, or
C13b9), choose the style you’d like, and Bandin-a-Box does the rest, automatically
generating a complete professional-quality
arrangement of piano, bass, drums, guitar, and
strings in a wide variety of popular styles.
Band-in-a-Box is so easy to use!
Band-in-a-Box is a powerful and creative music composition tool for exploring and developing
musical ideas with near-instantaneous feedback. Over the years many features have been added
to Band-in-a-Box – Notation and Lyrics, Piano Roll, 16-channel Melody & Soloist multitracks,
Harmonization, the StyleMaker and StylePicker, and a Conductor window for live playback
control. The Soloist and the Melodist are popular “intelligent” features that generate
professional solos or even create whole new songs from scratch. RealDrums adds the human
element of a live drummer, bringing the entire Band-in-a-Box arrangement to life, and the Audio
Chord Wizard has the amazing ability to analyze and extract the chords from audio recordings
and write them to the Band-in-a-Box chordsheet.
The inclusion of digital audio features makes Band-in-a-Box the perfect tool for creating,
playing, and recording your music with MIDI, vocals, and acoustic instruments. Band-in-a-Box
®
for Windows
can also record an acoustic instrument or voice to add to the composition, with
processing through DirectX audio effects. Its built-in audio harmonies will turn your audio track
into multiple harmony parts or adjust its pitch, with vibrato and scooping effects for realistic
vocal styles.
You can print out your finished creation with repeats and endings, DC markings and codas, or
save it as a graphic file for web publication or to e-mail to a friend. And when you're ready to let
others hear your composition, you can burn it directly to an audio CD. Or save your composition
as a Windows Media File or in other compressed formats for a file that’s “Internet ready.”
Let’s get started!
This guide will have you making great music with Band-in-a-Box in a matter of minutes. We’ll
begin with the easy installation and setup procedure.
6
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
Installing Band-in-a-Box for Windows®
Minimum System Requirements
- Windows® 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista.
- 128MB of RAM.
- Digital audio features require a Pentium-class system.
- 120 MB available hard drive space for Pro version, 3 GB for MegaPAK including RealDrums.
- PC sound card or external MIDI device (synthesizer, sound module, etc.).
Installing the Program
Use any of the following three methods to install the program files into the Band-in-a-Box directory. By default this
directory is C:\bb; you may choose another location.
Method 1 – Auto Run.
1. Insert the program CD-ROM into the CD drive.
2. In a few seconds, a browser window will open with a list of the CD contents.
3. Double click on SETUP.EXE to run the installation program.
Method 2 – My Computer.
1. Insert the program CD-ROM into the CD drive.
2.
Access your CD-ROM drive from the Windows desktop by double clicking on the My Computer icon.
Then, double-click on the CD-ROM drive icon and double-click again on the SETUP.EXE program found in
3.
the root or main folder of the CD-ROM.
Method 3 – Start Menu.
1. Insert the program CD-ROM into the CD drive.
2. From the Windows [Start] button select Run.
3. Type D:\SETUP in the “Open:” command line box. If your CD-ROM drive uses another drive letter type
the appropriate letter, for example E:\SETUP.
4. If you don’t know the drive letter for your CD-ROM you can use the [Browse…] button to find it.
SETUP.EXE will copy all of the program files to your Band-in-a-Box subdirectory (usually C:\bb) and install
icons to a Band-in-a-Box program group. Click on the Band-in-a-Box icon or launch bbw.exe to open the
program and configure the setup.
MIDI Setup
Band-in-a-Box uses the multimedia drivers for your MIDI interface and/or sound card that are supported by the
Windows operating system. To get sound playback you need to have a MIDI (and audio - for songs with digital
audio) driver installed.
To start using the program you will need to make sure that your MIDI interface, audio driver, and Windows sound
source is installed and configured.
Run the program by double-clicking the program icon. The first dialog you should encounter is a MIDI Output
Driver message similar to this one:
The program sets your initial
MIDI output driver automatically.
Note which driver has been
selected and press [OK] to
continue.
The next dialog you encounter is the MIDI Driver Setup.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
7
If the driver that was selected is not the best choice, simply make an alternate selection from the MIDI Driver
Setup dialog. Select a MIDI Output Driver to use for MIDI sound playback and optionally a MIDI Input Driver if
you are using an external MIDI controller keyboard or guitar. If the setup is panned to mono, the program offers to
change it to stereo.
Perhaps the easiest way to configure Band-in-a-Box is to pre ss the [Run Driver
Wizard..] button in the Opt. | MIDI driver setup window.
The MIDI Output Driver
Wizard dialog will take
you step-by-step through
the process of auditioning
and selecting an
appropriate driver. This
assumes that the
appropriate Windows
sound drivers are installed
and correctly configured.
8
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
DirectX Instrument Synthesizer (DXi plug-in) Support
Software synthesizers allow Band-in-a-Box to play high quality sounds directly through your computer sound card,
without requiring any external MIDI hardware. Most new software synthesizers are released as “DXi plug-ins,” so
they will work in a standard way with many programs. Connecting Band-in-a-Box to the software synth as a plug-in
provides several advantages over the previous method of connecting as a MIDI driver. The plug-in allows Band-ina-Box to merge/synch in any existing audio file (vocals etc.) with the synth output. You can also directly render
your performance to a .WAV file using the DXi plug-in. Sampler-based synths allow you to assemble a huge,
customized library of instrument samples to use with Band-in-a-Box. Examples of popular DXi synths include the
RolandED VSC-DXi and Coyote’s ForteDXi.
To use DXi with Band-in-a-Box, you should think of the DXi as a type of “MIDI Out Driver.” As such, you visit
either the Opt. | MIDI driver setup or click on [Pref] [MIDI Driver] and select the “Use DXi Synth” checkbox.
When you do this, you can select the type of DXi to use (from a list of installed DXi, if any), and also will see a
panel display of the DXi that allows you to make settings directly for your DXi synth.
The DXi will convert the MIDI information to audio, which Band-in-a-Box will playback through your sound card
to audio speakers.
You can select DirectX DXi Software Synthesizers as the MIDI destination, and also apply DirectX Audio plug-ins
to the Band-in-a-Box audio track.
Check the Use DXi Synth checkbox to enable DXi playback. While using DXi or VSTi, all
playback information is routed to the DXi/VSTi, including
the option to route the THRU part from your MIDI keyboard to the DXi/VSTi
synth.
Note: To use this option, you must have a polyphonic DXi synthesizer installed on your computer, such as the
Roland/Edirol VSC DXi. It will also be most convenient if your DXi synthesizer can use General MIDI or GM2 patches.
To select the DXi synthesizer, click the [DXi Synth Settings] button, which will open the DirectX Plugins window.
The Synth Track tab edits Synthesizer
settings, and the Audio Track tab edits
Band-in-a-Box audio track DirectX
plug-ins. Select your desired DXi synth
in the top plug-in Insert Slot 1.
To apply DirectX audio plug-ins to the
synth, insert DX audio plug-ins to Insert
Slots 2, 3, or 4. This can be useful to
add EQ, Reverb, Compression, or Peak
Limiting plug-ins, if the “raw sound” of
the synthesizer needs sweetening.
VST Instrument Synthesizer (VST plug-in)
To add VSTi synthesizer plug-ins, please make sure the Synth Track tab is selected, and use the plug-in menu on the
top synthesizer slot.
VST plug-ins appear at the bottom of the plug-in list below the DirectX plug-ins. VST plug-ins and synthesizers
have the text “<VST>” prefixed to the name of the plug-in or synthesizer.
To select a VST plug-in for the first time, select the “Add VST plug-in...” item at the bottom of the plug-in Menu.
Select a VST plug-in .dll file in the following Select a VST plug-in dialog, and it is added to the plug-in list. After
you add each VST, the plug-in is permanently added to the list. You only have to add each plug-in one time.
Note: Some VST host programs scan for all available plug-ins every time they start up. We decided not to use that
method, because the scanning can take a long time if there are many plug-ins on your system. Additionally, a badly-written
or corrupt plug-in could cause program malfunctions. Therefore, we feel the method of selecting only the plug-ins you wish
to use is both safer and faster.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
9
VST/VSTi Additional Panel Controls
VST is necessarily different from DirectX/DXi, and some extra controls are available for VST plug-ins.
DirectX/DXi plug-ins save their presets to the Windows Registry and only one setting is “alive” at a time.
VST/VSTi plug-ins save their presets to disk files. VST/VSTi plug-ins contain a bank of presets in memory. You
can switch between presets while editing, and each edited preset is remembered in the current bank. If you save the
bank, it will save all the presets you have edited. You can save individual presets, or you can build a custom bank
by loading individual preset files into different preset slots, and then save the new bank file.
Select Preset Menu
Select a preset. You can also use the small Right/Left arrow buttons to step forward/backwards through the presets
one at a time, to audition each preset.
Note: Some very nice plug-ins, including some advanced synthesizer plug-ins, may only have one preset, but that single
preset can be a doozy containing many settings. Even with single-preset plug-ins, you can Save/Load Presets or Banks.
Rename Pst: Rename the currently selected Preset (in the plug-in's memory).
Save Preset: Save the currently selected Preset. VST/VSTi preset files use the “.fxp” extension.
Load Preset: A “Select Preset To Replace” dialog appears where you should pick which preset in memory to
replace. Then select the desired Preset file in the following File dialog.
Save Bank: Save a Bank file of all the current presets in the plug-in. VST/VSTi bank files use the “.fxb” extension.
Load Bank: Load an entire bank of presets. Different plug-ins have different bank sizes. One plug-in might
contain 10 presets in a bank, but another plug-in might have 128 presets in a bank.
VST Generic User Interface
10
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
VST/VSTi plug-ins are not required to have a fancy graphic control panel. There are many “faceless” VST plug-ins
which have many adjustable parameters, but no fancy control panel. When you open such a plug-in, the control
panel will look like the above example. Band-in-a-Box presents one “generic” slider for each adjustable parameter
in the plug-in.
Parameter Name: Simply the name of each adjustable parameter.
Value Slider: Move the slider to adjust the parameter value
Value Indication Text: Displays the value of the slider, as interpreted by the plug-in. In the above example,
Parameter 0: Bright is interpreted as an ON/OFF switch, but Parameter 1: Volume is interpreted as a value from 0 to
10.
Options: Remove VST Plug-In (from list)
This feature allows the removal of unwanted plug-ins from the Band-in-a-Box VST/VSTi plug-in lists.
Driver Latency
Software synthesizers have some inherent latency, which is the delay between the time a note is played and it is
processed by the computer. Older softsynt hs had noticeable latency, whereas a DXi synth using ASI O drivers has
very little. This setting is used to synchronize the visual display (notation, chords, virtual piano etc.) with the sound
you hear. Band-in-a-Box automatically sets the latency for DXi and some other softsynths.
The [Latency Adjust…] button opens the SoftSynth Latency Adjust dialog where you
can manually adjust the latency.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
11
Alternate Patch Maps
You can choose the patch map (instrument list) that matches your synthesizer keyboard or sound module. Original
equipment sound cards or integrated sound chips are General MIDI (GM) compatible.
We have made preset drum/patch files for many
synthesizers and sound cards including the Roland VSC
and VSC DXi.
If your synth is not listed you should use the General
MIDI Instrument Misc. patch kit (default).
You can probably omit this step unless you're using an
old synth that is not General MIDI compatible. If your
non-GM synthesizer or sound card is not listed you can
easily make your own patch map in Opt. | Preferences |
Patch Map.
General MIDI 2 (GM2) Support
General MIDI 2 patches are supported for 128 additional
instruments, the type of GM2 support is set in this dialog.
The choices are:
- General MIDI 2 support: If you're using the Roland VSC3, or a newer Sound Canvas (i.e. newer than
1999, or newer than the Roland SC88), then choose this GM2 support.
- Roland GS (older Modules): “Older” Sound Can vases (SC55/SC88) support GS, but not GM2. The good
news is that they have the same patches available, just at different locations. So if you choose this option,
Band-in-a-Box will find the patches at the “GS” locations instead of the “GM2” locations. If you have a
newer GS module like the SC8820, it supports both GM2 and GS - you should likely choose GM2.
- No GM2 support: Some sound cards don't have GM2 support yet; they just support the original 128
General MIDI sounds. Band-in-a-Box will use the closest instrument in these cases.
Audio Setup
Band-in-a-Box performs the audio setup automatically using the installed system audio components
To restore or modify this set up click on the Preferences button and then select the [Audio]
12
button to launch the Audio Settings dialog.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
To reset the default MME driver settings click on [Get from soundcard…] and Bandin-a-Box will analyze the sound card and enter the correct audio settings.
If your computer has ASIO capability you can use these drivers instead of the default MME drivers.
ASIO Audio/Software Synth Drivers
By using an ASIO audio driver, software synths like the Roland VSC (DXi or VSC) will play with almost no
latency (delay is only 5-10ms). So you’ll hear the sounds instantly, and be able to play along using MIDI Thru with
the same ultra-low latency.
On the Preferences [Audio] tab, you’ll see the following options for “Audio Driver
Type,” MME or ASIO.
MME is the default Windows audio driver type. MME is good, but there is latency
(delay) associated with MME drivers.
For this reason, Steinberg developed a faster type of audio driver system, called
ASIO. It allows for much lower latency than ordinary MME drivers do.
Note: Many OEM or value sound cards do not include an ASIO driver, so you may not have an ASIO driver yet. In this
case, you’ll need to get an ASIO driver from the Internet.
This ASIO Audio Drivers dialog lets you choose an ASIO driver. You can arrive at this dialog in 3 different ways:
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
13
1) If you haven’t used ASIO drivers, but Band-in-a-Box detected them, and you answered “Yes” when Band-
in-a-Box asked if you want to use an ASIO driver.
2) If, within the Audio Settings, you change the “Audio Driver Type” from MME to ASIO.
3) If the ‘Audio Driver Type’ is already set to ASIO, but you later press the [Audio Drivers…] button in the
Audio Settings.
The Select one ASIO Driver list box lets you select an ASIO driver to use. You can only select one ASIO driver at
a time.
Once you have selected an ASIO driver, you will see the Input Port and Output Port list boxes filled with your
driver’s input and output ports. By default, the first of each will be selected. You are allowed to select different
ports (but only one input and one output port at a time can be selected). The ports you selected will be available for
output within Band-in-a-Box. If you do not hear input or output, then you may need to try different ports than the
defaults. You may need to read your sound card’s instructions to determine the correct ports to use.
Tip: The ASIO4All driver sometimes cannot connect if the Microsoft GS Wavetable synth is being used as a driver. So if
this happens, you will get a message that ASIO will be silent, and the solution is to de-select the ASIO4All driver.
The ASIO Driver’s Control Panel button launches the Control Panel for your driver. This usually lets you adjust the
latency by letting you choose different buffer sizes in milliseconds. Some drivers might let you choose the buffer
size in samples, which is less convenient than milliseconds. The smaller the buffer size, the lower the latency, and
the faster the response. Smaller buffers require more CPU power and if you hear dropouts or artifacts, you may
need to increase the buffer size. See the Understanding Latency section that follows.
Since many ASIO drivers do not support multiple sample rates, Band-in-a-Box has a built-in resampler which lets
you play and record songs that have a different sampling rate than the rate(s) directly supported by your ASIO
driver. For example, if the driver does not support 44.1K sampling rate, but supports 48K, then Band-in-a-Box will
use the resampler to convert to 48K when playing back, and to convert FROM 48K when recording. The
Resampler Quality combo lets you choose Fast, Good, Better, or Best. Fast is the quickest, but is the lowest of the
four levels of quality. Best is the slowest (uses more CPU time), but the most transparent and accurate quality.
The ASIO Driver’s Control Panel button launches a settings dialog specifically provided by your driver
manufacturer. This usually lets you adjust the latency, and usually you will have a choice between buffer sizes in
milliseconds. See the Understanding Latency section later below.
Show Warning for Untested Soundcard Formats is an optional setting that shows a warning if your ASIO driver
format has not been tested in Band-in-a-Box. This message does not necessarily mean your driver will not work,
and it can be disabled if you want.
The Driver Info field shows various characteristics of your driver.
The Name is the driver’s name.
The Version is the version number of your driver.
Input Channels is the total number of mono input channels that your sound card has. (Note: Band-in-a-Box groups
each into a stereo pair.)
Output Channels is the total number of mono output channels that your sound card has. (Note: Band-in-a-Box
groups each port into a stereo pair.)
The Allowed Sample Rates field shows the sample rates are allowed by your sound card’s ASIO driver. Band-in-a-
Box has a built-in resampler which lets you play and record files that aren’t directly supported by your ASIO driver.
The Buffer Sizes In Samples shows the range of allowed buffer sizes. The “Pref” is the preferred size, and this is
the size that Band-in-a-Box uses. Your driver may alter the preferred size if you’ve launched the ASIO Driver
Control Panel and have selected a new buffer size from within the driver’s Control Panel. If your driver changes the
preferred size, then Band-in-a-Box will be aware of the new preferred size.
Understanding Latency
Latency is based on the buffer sizes. The smaller the buffer sizes the lower the latency. Lower latency allows you
to hear mixer volume changes very quickly, as well as hear MIDI thru echoed out via a DXi soft synth practically in
real time.
The latency, in MS is determined by the buffer size in samples, as well as the driver’s sampling rate.
14
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
Note: If your ASIO driver’s control panel lets you select the buffer size in MS, then you don’t have to pay much attention to
the part of discussion below about converting samples to MS.
Converting Samples to MS: For example, suppose the driver’s sample rate is 48K. A 48K sampling rate means
that it is playing at 48,000 samples per second. If the buffer size were 48000 samples, then the latency would be 1
second, or 1000ms (which is very large and slow, and usually not allowed in ASIO). If the buffer size were 4800
samples, which is 1/10
1/20 second, the latency would be 50 ms. If the buffer size were 240 samples, which is 1/200
second, then the latency would be 100ms. If the buffer size were 2400 samples, which is
second, the latency
would be a mere 5ms which is incredibly low and very fast.
Normally, you can change your driver’s latency by pressing the Launch ASIO Driver’s Control Panel button.
Normally, the driver specifies the buffer sizes in milliseconds which is equal to the latency.
Low latency is faster and more responsive, but uses more CPU power.
Depending on the speed of your computer, you may find that the playback has dropouts, clicks/pops, or other
artifacts if you set the buffer sizes too small. This is because smaller buffers use more CPU power and if your
computer can’t handle the low latency you will hear artifacts. If this happens, you would need to use larger buffer
sizes. You may need to experiment to find what works well. You may be able to use smaller buffers with songs that
don’t have a lot of tracks and effects, but may find that you need to use larger buffers with songs that have more
tracks and use more effects. This is because more tracks and more effects use more CPU power, which leaves less
CPU power available for the audio routines to keep up with lower latencies.
Now you’re ready to have fun with Band-in-a-Box!
Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!
15
Chapter 2: QuickStart
Creating music with Band-in-a-Box is as easy as 1-2-3! In this chapter, you’ll see how easy it is to get started with
Band-in-a-Box.
Step 1 – Typing in the Chords
There are numerous ways of entering chords into Band-in-a-Box. We’ll discuss five fast ways of entering chords:
1. Using the computer keyboard.
2. Playing directly on a MIDI controller keyboard.
3. Using the Chord Builder feature.
4. Importing chords from a MIDI file.
5. Loading an Existing Band-in-a-Box format song.
On the main screen of the program, you’ll see an area called the chordsheet.
Band-in-a-Box main screen showing chordsheet.
Each of the numbered cells on the chordsheet represents a bar. In this example, we see that there is an E chord in
the first bar of this song, an A chord in bar 5, and later in the song, an E7 in bar 12. Notice the box in the first half
of bar 1. This is the highlight cell, and it represents the bar you are currently working on. You can move the
highlight cell around using the cursor keys, or select a specific bar using the mouse.
Enter Chords Using the Computer Keyboard
To enter a specific chord, move the highlight cell to where you want to place the chord. For example, to add (or
change) a chord in bar 10, you would highlight bar 10 on the chordsheet. Next, type in your chords. If you want an
A chord at bar 10, type the A key on your keyboard, and press [Enter]. Notice that when you use th e enter key, the
highlight cell moves to the second half of the bar. You could then enter another chord at beat 3. Chords names are
normally typed using standard chord symbols (like C or Fm7 or Bb7 or Bb13#9/E), but you can enter them in any of
the supported chord symbol display formats like Roman Numerals, Nashville Notation, and Solfeggio.
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Chapter 2: QuickStart
Enter Chords Using a MIDI Controller Keyboard
If you have a MIDI controller keyboard, you can use it to enter chords into Band-in-a-Box. Play a chord on your
MIDI keyboard, and then type Ctrl+Enter. The chord will be entered into the chordsheet at the current highlight
cell position. Another method allows you to choose alternate chords. From the Window | MIDI Chord Detection
menu item, you’ll see this window:
When you play chords, Band-in-a-Box shows you the chord name and suggests alternates that you can choose from.
Typing Ctrl+Enter enters the first selection, and advances the highlight cell by ½ bar.
Enter Chords Using the Chord Builder
Press the Chord Builder button. This opens the Chord Builder dialog with a list of chord roots and their
extensions.
To enter a chord at the current bar, select the chord root from the left pane, and then the extension on the right pane.
Pressing [Enter Chord] or using the arrow keys will enter the chord and advance the highlight cell to the next half
bar.
Import Chords from a MIDI File
You can have Band-in-a-Box import chords from an existing MIDI file. Choose Import Chords from MIDI File on
the File menu.
When the dialog opens, press the [Open (Change)…] button to choose a MIDI file that you want Band-in-a-Box to
interpret the chords from. To help Band-in-a-Box interpret the chords better, you should choose a genre (Preset) for
the song. Choose from among such genres as Pop, Rock, or Jazz Standard.
Tip: It helps if you’ve previously listened to the MIDI file, in order that you can choose a genre most appropriate to the
song.
Chapter 2: QuickStart
17
Loading an existing Band-in-a-Box format Song
Press the Open Song button. The first time you use this button, Band-in-a-Box will offer to build a Song
list for you. We’ve included many demonstration songs; they are listed in the song list.
You could also load a pre-existing song by using the File | Open menu item, or by typing [F3], which will launch
the Windows file dialog. Songs usually load a “Style,” which we’ll learn about in the next section.
Step 2 – Choosing a Style
Band-in-a-Box creates backing arrangements based on the chords you type in, playing them in a particular style.
What’s a Style?
A style is a set of rules that determine how Band-in-a-Box creates music using your chords. By adjusting the rules,
we have created hundreds of styles for everything from Country to Bebop, such as Jazz Swing, Blues Shuffle, Hip
Hop, Country 4/4, Pop Ballad, Waltz, and Medium Rock to name just a few. If you don’t find a pre-made style that
suits your tastes, create one from scratch using the StyleMaker. There’s a “how-to” section on custom Styles in this
manual.
Four Fast Ways To Pick A Style
Method 1:
To open a user style from disk, you can just type the [F9] key. You will be presented with a Windows file dialog
from which you can select a specific Style. Alternately you can select the Styles menu item Open a User Style from
disk.
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Chapter 2: QuickStart
Method 2:
You can use the StylePicker window to select your style. Select the button above the chordsheet, or
type Ctrl+F9 on your computer.
This window shows styles listed by Category and by Styles Set number. Select a Set or genre from the left pane,
and choose the specific style on the right pane. There are Memos and examples for each of the Styles.
In addition to the selection categories, styles can be filtered by “feel” and “tempo.” They can also be selected by the
number of the styles set.
Chapter 2: QuickStart
19
Method 3: Styles that you’ve used previously show up in the Favorite Styles dialog. Choose this with the [F]
button next to the [Style] button in the song title window, from the Styles menu, or type Shift+F9 on your computer
keyboard.
You can choose to save a Favorites set for use later. You can also load a set of favorite styles in this manner.
Method 4:
In the Styles menu, you can choose from among the 24 “built-in” styles. This list provides a quick way to choose
from among the most popular music genres.
Step 3 – Play your song!
You’ve entered chords on the chordsheet and chosen a style. Now it’s time to play the song! You’ll need to tell
Band-in-a-Box how long your song is, how many times to play it through, in what key, and how fast.
Framing the Song
To tell Band-in-a-Box where to start and end the song, take a look at the middle of the main screen.
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Chapter 2: QuickStart
Locate the framing buttons. There are three of them, one each for Beginning of Chorus, End of Chorus, and
Number of Choruses. In the example above, the chorus starts at bar 1, ends on bar 32, and is going to play 3 times.
Setting the Key
In the example above the key is set to C. However, you can set this to any key. In our first view of the chordsheet
the Blues song was in the key of E. If you do change the key, Band-in-a-Box will offer to transpose the chordsheet
for you.
Setting the Tempo
If you know the tempo value of your song, you can enter it in the tempo box. The song example above has a tempo
of 120. There is an even faster way to enter a tempo. Locate the minus key [-] and the equals key [=] in the number
row of your computer keyboard, they are usually next to each other. If you tap the minus key 4 times at your tempo,
Band-in-a-Box will set the tempo automatically for you. If you tap the equals key four times, Band-in-a-Box will
set the tempo and begin song playback!
More fun with Band-in-a-Box…
That’s all there is to quickly creating music with Band-in-a-Box. Band-in-a-Box has many more features and user
settings, which are discussed in later chapters. Have fun making music with Band-in-a-Box!
Chapter 2: QuickStart
21
Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
Band-in-a-Box 2007 Plus!
We’ve got a great new release of Band-in-a-Box, with many new features and enhancements since 2007. We now
have Band-in-a-Box 2007 Plus (version # 2007.5)
We’ve improved the Real Drums, AudioChordWizard, added Remix features to allow you to add BB styles to
existing MP3 files, and much more! We’ve also made 5 new RealDrums sets for Band-in-a-Box, with authentic
Nashville, Rock and Jazz styles. There are now 10 RealDrums sets available! And we’ve got 2 new styles disks, and
2 Soloist disks.
These are the new features added since version 2007:
AudioChordWizard enhanced . The AudioChordWizard is the feature that automatically figures out the chords,
tempos and bar lines present in audio files (MP3, WAV, and WMA). The improved features are present in version
2.1 of the AudioChordWizard:
- Better detection of chords, bar lines, and tempos (compared to 2.0)
- 2 chords per bar detected (previously was one)
- Easy setting of tempo and bar lines by tapping F8 (or Enter key) when song is playing. On many songs, you
can now tap “F8” just once or twice, and bar lines will be lined up for the song!
- Faster chord interpretation and scrolling
- Hotkeys (and remote control support) added to navigate around the song
- No requirement to “Set Bar 1” as the first bar line. Can renumber bars at any time.
- .. and many more AudioChordWizard enhancments.
‘Remix’ Features – After using the Audio Chord Wizard for an MP3 (or auther audio) file, an automatic tempo
map is created, so that the MIDI styles in Band-in-a-Box sync to the Audio File for the whole song. This allows you
to remix an existing MP3, by adding a BB style to the MP3. For example, add strings or congas to an existing song,
(or a trumpet solo, or chord reharmonization etc.) and they stay in sync for the whole song, and can be all played or
rendered to a WAV file. The tempo map can be added, removed, re-added etc. from the song at any time.
Automatic detection of key signature based on the chords only. This is useful for a song from the Audio Chord
Wizard, where you forgot to set the key signature or for any song without the key signature set.
Audio Chord Wizard Utilities dialog added, with handy options to 1. Make/Remove tempo map in Band-in-a-Box
2. Remove audio file from song 3.Auto-set Key signature, with button present in the Audio Chord Wizard (4)
enable/disable the BB MIDI style
RealDrums improved
- Faster. Smaller. Now take up much less space, using WMA files instead of WAV files, still with great
quality! Uses 1/10 of the space! When you install, you can either install as WMA or WAV files. Either
can be used. This allows your downloads and installations of RealDrums to be much faster!
- RealDrums Variations of instruments with each “play”. Most RealDrums styles (starting with
RealDrums set 5) contain may instrument variations (“brushes vs. Sticks”, “HiHat vs. Ride Cymbal”
“Percussion only” etc.). Now, by selecting Prefs-Real Drum Settings – choose different Variations with
each play, you can hear a different variation each time play is pressed, so the song sounds fresh each time.
One time you’ll hear it with “brushes”, the next time with sticks and ride cymbals, etc.
- “Favor Brushes”, “Favor Sticks” settings. When selecting RealDrums styles to use for a style, BB will
use your preferences for brushes and sticks. For example, if you choose “Favor Brushes”, BB will always
choose from among variations that include brushes (when available).
- Selectable Folder for your RealDrums styles. Now you can choose any folder (e.g. e:\Drums) for your
RealDrums. This allows you to, for example, conserve space on your C:\ drive.
- RealDrums “Compatible song/style finder.” In the RealDrums Settings dialog, there are now buttons that
will, for a chosen RealDrums style, enable you to (1) play the RealDrums demo song, (2) show a menu of
BB styles that would work with the Real Drum style and (3) play a song demo of various BB styles that
work with the Real Drum style.
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Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
- Tempo checking for chosen RealDrums styles. If you choose a RealDrums style, and the tempo is out-
of-recommended-range for the style, BB will inform you of that – you can still use the style of course.
RealDrums styles that get chosen automatically by Band-in-a-Box will always be compatible with your
song.
- RealDrums styles can now have 2 separate feels, with different push amounts, and custom fills for
transitioning between substyles (see above). We made a great new style that starts out in Bossa, and
changes to ‘swing’ at ‘b’ substyle, with custom drum fills for the transition fills. This “BossaThenSwing”
style is on RealDrums 10, and is very effective for Latin/swing tunes.
- Drum Fills can now be customized to include fills specifically used when changing from ‘a’ to ‘b’ substyle
(and vice versa).
RealDrums “Developer Mode”.
(1) People making their own styles benefit from the “Developer Mode”, that outputs TXT files with information
about their style-in-progress. Now they can render a batch of songs, which will all save separate TXT files, useful
for analyzing their styles.
(2) Bars Blocked limit increased to 2,000 bars
Other improvements, including….
Improved: The Erase-Audio option now provides a message reminder that you should Save the song for the erasure
to become permanent.
In the Style picker, when choosing “Song Demo”, the melody patch used will be the one from the demo, even if
you’ve set “Change Melody Patches” in the dialog. This insures that you’ll always hear the correct melody
instrument for the demo.
Improved Vista support – Recording panel button opens up the Vista Sound Control Panel, with tips on
enabling/disabling microphone/line-in recordings.
… and more!
Summary of Band-in-a-Box 2007 Features
Version 2007 adds more than fifty new features to Band-in-a-Box.
We've added RealDrums - these are audio drum styles that replace the MIDI Drum track with actual recordings of
top studio Jazz/Rock/Country drummers! These are not “samples” of single drum hits; they are full recordings,
lasting from 1 to 8 bars at a time, playing along in perfect sync with the other Band-in-a-Box tracks. They sound
like a real drummer, because they are recordings of a real drummer. And adding a real instrument to the mix makes
all of the Band-in-a-Box parts sound more authentic. As well as improved drum sounds, you are hearing the exact
rhythms played by the drummer, including features not seen in MIDI (subtle drum rolls, variations in ride cymbal
taps, complex fills, etc.).
And we've added an amazing “Chords from MP3” feature (Audio Chord Wizard). This amazing feature
automatically figures out the chords from any MP3, WAV, or WMA audio file, and displays them in Band-in-a-Box.
The Audio Wizard also figures out tempo, bar lines, and fine-tuning from the MP3 file.
There’s also a new “SoundTrack” feature that allows you to generate new royalty-free music of a specified length
for use in home or corporate videos, soundtracks, etc.
A “Reharmonist” feature figures out a chord progression for any melody. This allows you to create a new chord
progression or enhance an existing one. Solos are enhanced with features that allow the solo to be influenced by the
melody, just as a musician does.
Other great new features: Save as MP3, batch MP3/WAV/WMA generation, TranzPort
Auto-memo generation, Chord Breaks, Practicing Window, Melodist/Soloist/Notation enhancements…and much
more. Please read on for the details.
RealDrums
We’ve added real audio drums to Band-in-a-Box!
This replaces the MIDI Drum track with real recordings of top studio Jazz/Rock/Country drummers.
®
wireless controller support,
Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
23
These are not “samples,” but are full recordings, lasting from 1 to 8 bars at a time, playing along in perfect sync with
the other Band-in-a-Box tracks. For example, choose a brushes style, and you will now hear lush Jazz brushes. The
results are dramatically better than MIDI. They sound like a real drummer, because they are recordings of a real
drummer. Adding a real instrument to the mix makes all of the Band-in-a-Box parts sound more authentic. You’ll
wonder, “Why does the guitar sound more real?” It’s because the realism of the drum part has the effect of
improving the overall sound.
As well as improved drum sounds, you are hearing the exact rhythms played by the drummer, including features not
seen in MIDI (subtle drum rolls, variations in ride cymbal taps, complex fills etc.). And the tracks intelligently play
differently at faster/slower tempos, so you hear appropriate playing for the current tempo (not seen in MIDI drums).
Change tempos or volumes during playback, using the same tempo/volume controls as MIDI. And best of all, we’ve
seamlessly integrated the RealDrums into Band-in-a-Box, so you just use the program as you normally do, and you
will hear RealDrums instead of MIDI drums, according to your preferences.
You can fully control which styles you will hear MIDI vs. RealDrums. New RealDrums styles can be made by the
user or third parties, using standard WAV files. User created styles can control fills/post-fills/pattern
lengths/substyles etc. We include a huge library of RealDrums styles to get you started, and all of the RealDrums
styles are available in the MegaPAK Upgrade or MegaPAK First-Time purchase package.
Chords from MP3 (“Audio Chord Wizard”)
This is one of the all-time most requested features for Band-in-a-Box!
Now this amazing wizard automatically figures out the chords from any MP3, WAV, or WMA
(Windows Media) audio file and displays them in Band-in-a-Box .
Just load in any MP3 file and you’ll instantly see the chords in Band-in-a-Box. And there’s more! In addition to the
chords of the song, the PG Audio Wizard also figures out:
- the tempo of the file,
- bar lines throughout the song,
- fine tuning detection (e.g. 5 cents sharp from A440),
An included Audio Piano Roll displays many of the notes found in the file. This serves as a helpful guide to
transcription.
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Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
Once you have the chords-from-MP3 inside Band-in-a-Box, you can auto-sync the file with Band-in-a-Box, so you
can hear the original MP3 playing in sync with the bar lines in Band-in-a-Box. You can then add your own Bandin-a-Box parts to it, for example, add a Strings part, or a RealDrums part to an old audio recording that didn’t have
drums! Or have the Band-in-a-Box Soloist generate a Bluegrass Banjo solo for one of your Country MP3 files!
SoundTrack Generator
Need to generate some original, royalty-free music for backgrounds, home videos, slide shows, voiceovers ,
jingles, themes, underscoring scenes, entr’acte, dance routines, ceremonies or any occasion
that calls for musical accompaniment?
The SoundTrack feature allows you to generate music in the style you choose for any length of time you specify. As
the “producer,” you select the genre, length of time, instruments, and fade-in/fade-out options. The SoundTrack
adjusts the tempo and duration to match the settings, and then allows you to save the file as a WAV, WMA
(Windows Media), or MP3 file for further use in your own projects. Generate original music (over 20 genres) or
select from over 50 supplied SoundTrack types (Bluesy/Excite/Healing/Jazzy/Tropics etc). In seconds, you can
generate a 30 second audio music clip in the genre of your choice, for example!
Melody Influenced Solos
Solos are enhanced with the new “Melody Influenced” Soloist. When musicians solo for a song, the solo is typically
influenced by the melody as well as the chords. Now Band-in-a-Box can also allow the melody to influence the type
of solo generated by its Soloist feature. The result is a much better solo generated for the song. A strength (%)
setting allows you to control how much the solo will be influenced by the melody. Choose the melody influence
(%), and one of several presets to control the type of influence (pitches/rhythms/note density, etc.).
The Reharmonist
Generate Chords for a melody, or an improved chord progression for a melody with the new
“Reharmonist” feature.
This feature generates a chord progression in the genre that you choose, based only on the melody.
Generate a new chord progression for a complete song or a portion of a song.
Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
25
Or use the feature interactively by displaying a menu of possible chord progressions for a portion of the melody, and
audition them to choose the best one using the “Bar Reharmonist.” This allows you to hear some new chord
progressions for existing melodies, or new progressions for tunes without chords.
TranzPort
®
Support
Wireless Remote Control support for Band-in-a-Box!
The Frontier Design TranzPort is a wireless remote control hardware unit
(Electronic Musician Editors’ Choice 2006) that now allows you to control
Band-in-a-Box through walls from 30 feet away!
The backlit LCD provides a two-line readout, and buttons and a wheel allow
control of many Band-in-a-Box features.
Select songs and play/stop/pause/loop. Select/mute/solo tracks and
volume/tempo changes are all supported.
And best of all, when the song is playing, the chords of the song are displayed in time on the backlit LCD screen.
You can, for example, put the TranzPort unit on your piano at home (or your music stand on a gig) and
load/play/control and view chords for songs, all while far away from your computer – all wirelessly up to 30 feet –
even through walls! Selectable transpose lets the TranzPort show chords in a non-concert key (e.g. Eb Alto) while
the computer shows concert - great for jam sessions! Or display the scrolling lyrics of the song on the TranzPort for
a wireless Karaoke session! The TranzPort also works “right-out-of-the-box” with other popular music software,
including Pro Tools
Note: The TranzPort is sold separately.
®
, Sonar™, Logic®, Cubase®, Digital Performer®and others.
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Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
Chord “Breaks”
This feature is great for practicing tempo contr ol . Select the # of bars ,
and Band-in-a-Box will play for, say 4 bars (selectable), and then will
rest all instruments for the next 4 bars.
During the silence, you keep playing (comping, drums, melody, etc.),
trying to stay in tempo. Drummers can mute the drum part.
When the band comes back in after the 4 bars, you’ll get instant feedback on how well you have maintained the
tempo, if the band comes in time with you or not. Once set, this feature works automatically with all songs until you
turn it off.
Auto-Set Key Signature
There is a function to auto-determine the correct key of a song, given only the melody.
Audio Settings Dialog
The Audio Playback settings dialog makes it easy to mute, solo, or
change the volume of the audio track, similar to the control of the other
instrument parts in Band-in-Box. Simply click on the “Audio” label onscreen, and choose these options.
Other Audio enhancements
Punch-In Recording
There is now punch-in audio recording, allowing you to punch-in record or overdub a section of audio. You can
also now hear the existing audio part when you are overdubbing.
Audio Offset
Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
27
A new Audio Offset feature allows you to synchronize any point of the audio file with bar 1 of the Band-in-a-Box
song. This is useful after importing an audio file into Band-in-a-Box that you want to sync with a song – just rightclick on the Audio window to set Bar 1. The Audio Settings dialog is now also accessible from the MIDI Driver
Setup dialog or Audio menu.
Batch Convert to Audio Files
In the Render to Audio File dialog you can batch convert a folder of Band-in-a-Box songs to audio
files (MP3, WAV, or WMA).
Press the [Batch] button to convert an entire folder of Band-in-a-Box songs to audio files.
There is an option to name the resultant audio files based either on the original file name or the song title name.
MIDI Keyboard Wizard
The “QWERTY” Keyboard Wizard now works with MIDI keyboard input.
Now you can also use a MIDI keyboard to play the Keyboard Wizard. The Keyboard Wizard always plays correct
notes (chord tones or passing tones on the current chord), and is a fun way to play along with Band-in-a-Box (as
well as a useful way to enter melodies, by playing notes in correct rhythm and fixing the pitches afterwards).
By turning on this wizard, (C/E/G/Bb) notes played on a THRU keyboard will be mapped to chord tones, and
D/F/A/B will be passing tones.
Note that you also need to have the Wizard checkbox selected on the main Band-in-a-Box screen.
The MIDI keyboard also sends volume information (unlike the QWERTY keyboard), so is a better choice if you
have a MIDI keyboard connected.
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Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
Automatic Memo-Generation
The Song Memo has been enhanced, with a “summary” checkbox.
If selected, you’ll see an additional window that automatically displays a full summary of the song
(title/tempo/patches used in the song) as well as other special features, such as substyle patch changes or harmonies.
This saves much of the work previously required to manually type in this information to the memo.
Practice Window
A new Practice Window allows convenient “1-click” access to many Band-in-a-Box features that help you
with practicing.
These include the Ear Training dialog, games (Pitch Invasion etc.), Metronome, CopyMe, Sight Reading, 101 Riffs
series, and more.
Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
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Soloist Enhancements
Melody Influenced Solos
When musicians solo for a song, the solo is typically
influenced by the melody as well as the chords. Now
Band-in-a-Box can also allow the melody to influence the
type of solo generated by its Soloist feature.
The result is a much better solo generated for the song. A strength (%) setting allows you to control how much the
solo will be influenced by the melody. Choose the melody influence (%), and one of several presets to control the
type of influence (pitches/rhythms/note density, etc.).
You can now select “Genres” of soloists (e.g. Modern Jazz) and see only soloists matching the genre.
And you can also filter to show/not show soloists from Soloist sets that you don’t have.
Expanding on the “trade 4’s” feature, you can now “Trade 2’s” or “Trade 8’s.”
Soloist suggestions have been enhanced.
Melodist Enhancements
The Melodist has been enhanced.
Melodists can be filtered by “Genre” (e.g. Dixieland) to show
only Melodists in that genre.
And you can also filter to show/not show Melodists from
Melodists sets that you don’t have.
StyleMaker Enhancements
The StyleMaker now displays current patch numbers for the parts on the main window.
Moving notes in notation on the StyleMaker notation now plays the note on the current instrument.
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Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2007
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