PG Music Band in a Box - 2008 Windows Upgrade Manual

Version 2008 for Windows

PG Music Inc. License Agreement

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LICENSE

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TRADEMARKS

Band-in-a-Box®, CopyMe®, 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, 5641926, 5986198, 34583, 296.80.173.9, PI9603819.5, 0368046, 0750776, 6,046,395, and patents pending.

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PG Music Inc. License Agreement 2

Table of Contents

PG MUSIC INC. LICENSE AGREEMENT 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 5 CHAPTER 2: SUMMARY OF NEW FEATURES 6

Band-in-a-Box 2008 6

CHAPTER 3: QUICKSTART TUTORIAL 12

QuickStart Tutorial for the Version 2008 Upgrade 12

CHAPTER 4: REALTRACKS 19

What are RealTracks? 19 Using RealTracks in Styles. 19 Using RealTracks in Solos. 20

CHAPTER 5: MULTISTYLES 22

MultiStyles in Styles (“+” Styles) 22

MultiStyles in Songs 23 CHAPTER 6: MEDLEY MAKER 24 CHAPTER 7: AUDIOCHORDWIZARD 26 CHAPTER 8: REALDRUMS ENHANCEMENTS 28

Style Changes 28

Artist Support 28

StylePicker RealDrums Settings 28 CHAPTER 9: STYLEPICKER ENHANCEMENTS 30

Expanded Category Listings 30

Auto-Find Styles 30

Long Style Names 30 CHAPTER 10: STYLEMAKER ENHANCEMENTS 32

Style Instrument Assignments 32

Table of Contents 3

Style Log Options 32 CHAPTER 11: NOTATION WINDOW ENHANCEMENTS 34

Confirmation Dialog 34

Bar Number Options 34 CHAPTER 12: OTHER NEW FEATURES 36 PG MUSIC INC. 43 INDEX 44

Chapter 1: Introduction 4

Chapter 1: Introduction

This documentation covers the new features in Band-in-a-Box Version 2008.

- Chapter 2 is a summary of the new features.

- Chapter 3 is a QuickStart Tutorial.

- Chapters 4 -12 describe the new features in detail. Band-in-a-Box 2008 is here with over 50 cool new features!

There are some exciting new features in Band-in-a-Box. We've added RealTracks - these are audio instruments that replace the MIDI track with actual recordings of top studio Jazz/Rock/Country musicians! These are not “samples” of single instrument 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. We’ve made the following RealTracks – RealPedalSteel, RealSax, and RealAcousticGuitar – with more on the way. For example, choose a Country MIDI style that includes RealPedalSteel, and you will now hear a studio pedal steel player, exactly as you'd hear if he was in the room with you. The results are dramatically better than MIDI. They sound like real musicians, because they are recordings of real musicians. And we’ve added MultiStyles to Band-in-a-Box. No longer are you limited to 2 substyles, styles can now have up to 24 substyles in a song, easily selectable using letters A to ‘x’. Our newest styles sets are now MultiStyles, typically with 4 substyles per song (First Verse, Verse, Chorus, and Break) or easily make your own. And we've made big improvements to the amazing "Chords from MP3" feature (Audio Chord Wizard). This feature automatically figures out the chords from any MP3, WAV, or WMA audio file, and displays them in Band-in-a-Box. We’ve added a Chord Sheet window to the Audio Chord Wizard, so you can see the whole song at a glance, and jump around to where you want by clicking on the chord sheet. Other Audio Chord Wizard improvements include part markers, section paragraphs (to align new sections to a new line), chord editing and more. Change key signatures at any bar. GUI has been enhanced support for Windows themes, section paragraphs, drag-and-drop copying of sections or selected regions. Load Karaoke MP3/CDG files to see scrolling Karaoke lyrics in the CDG Window. Use the Medley Maker to quickly make a medley of your favorite songs, including automatically generated transition chords/bars between the medleys to smooth out transition between styles, tempos, and keys. RealDrums have been enhanced, with RealDrums style changes at any bar, RealDrums intelligent menu in StylePicker, support for multiple Artists playing same-named style, “Cycling” through new drum grooves every part marker. StylePicker is enhanced, and auto-scans your BB folder to find any styles that you have made or added. And many more!

Chapter 1: Introduction 5

Chapter 2: Summary of New Features

Band-in-a-Box 2008

The new features in Band-in-a-Box 2008 for Windows are... RealTracks

With the previous release of Band-in-a-Box, we added RealDrums. Now we’ve added three additional “Real” instruments, including Real Pedal Steel, Real Acoustic Guitar, and Tenor Sax soloing (RealSax). These tracks replace the MIDI track for that instrument, and can be controlled just like the MIDI instrument (volume changes, muting etc.). Best of all, they follow the chord progression that you have entered, so that you hear an authentic audio accompaniment to your song. 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. RealTracks can be built in to the style, replacing the Bass, Guitar, Piano, or Strings part, or they can be generated to the Soloist (or Melody) track using the Soloist feature.

MultiStyles

We’ve added MultiStyles to Band-in-a-Box. These are styles that can have up to 24 substyles! Previous Band-in-a-Box styles had 2 substyles (A and B). Now, for example, a MultiStyle with 4 substyles (First Verse, Verse, Chorus, Break) can be used, and you select the various sections using a/b/c/d part markers. Our newest styles sets are MultiStyles, typically with 4 substyles, but some Techno styles have 24 substyles. You can easily make your own MultiStyles, either from scratch, or combining parts from existing styles to make a MultiStyle. For example, if you have 10 favorite Country styles, you can quickly make a single MultiStyle that has 20 substyles available within the same song.

Medley Maker

Would you like to make a medley of various Band-in-a-Box songs (MGU) using Band-ina-Box? This is easily done with the new Medley Maker. Inside the Medley Maker, simply select the songs that you want, and Band-in-a-Box will make the medley for you. A medley is not simply joining songs together. A good medley uses a “transition” area between songs, to introduce the new style, key, and tempo. The Medley Maker automatically creates a nice transition area for you, writing in chords that would smoothly modulate to the next song, style, key, and tempo!

Audio Chord Wizard Enhancements

The Audio Chord Wizard is the amazing feature that automatically figures out the chords from MP3 files (or other audio files like WAV, WMA, and audio CD etc.). Using the Audio Chord Wizard is a great way to learn and practice popular songs as you play along and see the chords.

We’ve added a Chord Sheet window in the Audio Chord Wizard that shows the chords for the whole song on a single screen. This allows you to click on a bar on the chord sheet to jump to that area of the song.

You can mark sections of the song using part markers, and the sections will begin on a new line with a line space between so they are clearly seen. So you can then also learn the form of the song, as you can see the various sections (intro/verse/chorus/break) at a glance, or quickly jump to the any section simply by double clicking on that part of the chord sheet.

RealDrums Enhancements

The RealDrums feature replaces MIDI drums with audio drums.

Chapter 2: Summary of New Features 6

- You can now have style changes - multiple RealDrums styles within a song - either

using the RealDrums from a Band-in-a-Box style or specifying a specific RealDrums style to use at a bar.

- We have “artist” support. This allows you to choose among

different drummers playing the same style. For example, we have multiple artists playing the “JazzBrushes” style. You can set Band-in-a-Box to choose a different artist with each play, or always choose a specific artist.

- You can now select RealDrums styles within the StylePicker. Highlight a MIDI

style that you like, and press the RealDrums [Best] button, to see a list of the most compatible RealDrums styles for that style, or the [RealDrums] button to select from all available RealDrums.

- There is also a hot key combination to turn RealDrums on/off (Ctrl+Shift+F6). This also

works while the song is playing.

StyleMaker Enhancements.

Long Style Name can be stored in the style (up to 32 characters), and this

will appear on screen and in StylePicker.

- Style Log options. For people making styles, this text files shows exactly which pattern was used in the song

generation for every instrument and bar/beat. Useful in fixing errant patterns.

Chapter 2: Summary of New Features 7

- Styles can now contain RealTracks.

Styles can now use MIDI soloists. For

example, make a style with a banjo part that has the same quality as the Band-in-a-Box Banjo soloist.

- Feature added to turn embellishment on/off for entire style.

- Style Flipping; convert “a” section to “b” and vice versa.

StylePicker enhancements

- StylePicker categories/subcategories redesigned, with new categories for Blues, Country (6 types), Jazz (9

types), and many more.

- Do you have styles that don’t appear in the StylePicker (because you’ve just made them, or got them from a

3rd party)? Now the StylePicker will automatically find those styles and add them to your list in an “Other Styles” category. The information regarding style name, Even/Swing, 8ths/16ths, and time signature are filled in for you.

Chapter 2: Summary of New Features 8

- Long style names appear on the main chord sheet screen beside the

short style name

- You can also specify a long style name (up to 32 characters) when

saving a style from the StyleMaker or Hybrid style, and the 32 character name will appear in the StylePicker and on screen.

- RealDrums selection can now be made from the StylePicker.

- Support for up to 20,000 entries in the StylePicker.

Notation Window Enhancements

- New feature (confirmation dialog) to prevent accidental entry of a duplicate note (same pitch near same time).

- New feature (confirmation dialog) to prevent accidental entry of a very high or very low note (large # of

ledger lines).

Bar Number options

- Setting for bar # size on notation, lead sheet, and printout.

- Bar # options to include bar # on lead sheet and printout (e.g., every bar, every part marker, every row, every

page).

- Option to include substyle name when printing out - a, b, c, d, etc.

- Bar # offset for printout and lead sheet.

Other improvements Other improvements include chord editing, and much more. Chord Editing (in-place entry/editing)

Press Ctrl+F2 or right click on a chord, and an Edit control allows you to see and

edit the current chords. Change of Key Signature at any Bar. Previous versions of Band-in-a-Box were limited to one key, now you

can have multiple keys in a song. The new key signature is shown on notation. The GUI has been enhanced. There is support for Windows “Themes.” Band-in-a-Box will use the current

them that you have selected in Windows Control Panel to use for windows and dialogs. Copying of sections or selections can be done using drag-and-drop, simply drag regions around the chord sheet

to quickly rearrange your song. Hold down the Ctrl key for finer control about insert/overwrite options etc.

Section Paragraphs. When you’re reading a book, a new section begins on a new line, with space between. Now we’ve done that for chords too. Whenever a new section occurs (a part marker), we start the new section on a new line and draw a grey line above to clearly mark the new section. For example, if you have a song with

Chapter 2: Summary of New Features 9

a 7-bar section, followed by 8-bar sections, the previous version of Band-in-a-Box wouldn’t start the other sections on a new line. The result was that it was hard to delineate the sections, as if an entire story was told within one paragraph. With the Section Paragraphs feature you’ll see each section on a new line so that the form of the lead sheet is easier to see. The feature is configurable and optional.

Import Song. Easily import part or all of an existing Band-in-a-Box song to your current song, with options to specify source and destination range, type of information to import (chords, melody, lyrics, etc.), and more.

Karaoke MP3/CDG Files. Audio Karaoke files are popular using several formats. The most common is CDG format, which includes the lyrics in graphical format on audio CDs. Since the computer user doesn’t typically use audio CDs, there is now a format that combines MP3 (containing the music) and CDG (the graphical lyrics). Now you can open up MP3/CDG files inside Band-in-a-Box and see the scrolling lyrics from your Karaoke files. Best of all, you can use the Audio Chord Wizard to figure out the chords as well, making Band-in-a-Box a great choice to play your Karaoke files!

File-Open now shows and opens all available file types (MGU, WAV, WMA, MP3, MID, KAR, CDG,

and CDA). And it remembers your preference, so you can restrict it to a certain file type. If MySong.MGU is loaded, and a same named audio file (MySong.WMA, MySong.MP3, MySong.WAV, etc.)

is present, Band-in-a-Box will open the audio file to the audio track. This allows third parties to make audio files with chords in them, by making a MySong.MGU and MySong.MP3 pair of files, which will load into Band-in-a-Box, yet will have the audio compressed to take up little disk space. For example, make a teaching set of trombone files for Band-in-a-Box, with audio trombone track, and Band-in-a-Box file with chords, all fitting in a small file size.

Style Wizard enhanced. The Style Wizard converts a MIDI file to a style. Now you can also use Chord masks so that specific patterns over chords will get added to your style, and they will play exactly as in your MIDI file (just transposed).

“Fixed Do” Chord Entry and Display. In Italy and other parts of Europe, chords like C7 are

always referred to by the Solfeggio name (“Do 7” for C7) regardless of the key signature. Band-in-a-Box now supports chord entry and display using “Fixed Do” (in addition to the Normal, Solfeggio, Nashville, and Roman numeral types.

Changes at any Bar (F5) can now specify a chorus. Previously, any changes at a bar would apply for every chorus. Now you can specify the change to happen for

every chorus and/or a specific chorus. This applies to bar settings like tempo changes, style changes, RealDrums changes, patch changes, volume changes, and harmony changes.

Other Features Find File. So many files, so little time? This feature is a “Swiss Army Knife” that allows you to find a Band-

in-a-Box song (or any file that Band-in-a-Box can open), including filtering by words found in file name or any text in the file.

Example Find File uses: You can

- get a listing of all Band-in-a-Box songs on your PC with the word “Blues” in the title.

- get a listing of all Band-in-a-Box songs in the BB folder with the word “Reggae” in them. This produces a

list of over 50 songs in the MegaPAK so you can quickly choose from them and know that, if you’re a reggae lover, you haven’t missed out on any Band-in-a-Box songs/styles with Reggae. A similar listing for “Blues” reports 454 files.

The listing stays between sessions, so you can then take your time to explore all the files that Band-in-a-Box offers matching your find term.

Fadeout Song.

Chapter 2: Summary of New Features 10

You can now quickly choose a fadeout ending, just press the [Fade]

button in Song Settings, and Band-in-a-Box will fadeout the last “x” bars of the song (you can specify how many bars). Or customize the fadeout with precise values for each bar.

Tempo is set based on Style when choosing File | New. Instead of always resetting to tempo=140, the tempo is now the best tempo for the current style.

Improved Enharmonics on slash chords. For example, a chord like Gm7b5/Db will display correctly using a Db instead of a Gm7b5/C#, since Band-in-a-Box now bases it on a Gm scale.

MIDI files now read in Section Markers and show them as part markers. Audition Styles. In the style change dialog (F5, and others), you can now audition the style that you are

considering. SongPicker dialog – new options added for

- Find File.

- File Open (all types).

- And Favorite song dialog.

- “BB” button that changes the current folder to the BB folder.

Audio Batch render.

- Option added to reset the DXi synth after each render. This insures that no audio (stuck notes etc.) from

previous file is retained.

- Cancel button for the Audio Batch added.

On-screen display of file name includes “*” when file has been changed. Double Lines || drawn on chord sheet at bar before a part marker.

…and many more!

Chapter 2: Summary of New Features 11

Chapter 3: QuickStart Tutorial

QuickStart Tutorial for the Version 2008 Upgrade

The full descriptions of the new features in Version 2008 of Band-in-a-Box are provided elsewhere. This tutorial is a QuickStart tour of the new features in Band-in-a-Box 2008.

Note: It is assumed that you are somewhat familiar with the previous release of Band-in-a-Box.

Explore Band-in-a-Box Version 2008

First, we’ll take a quick tour of the new features in Band-in-a-Box. Then we’ll do an in-depth tutorial for the main new features. The other chapters in the manual are also tutorial style presentations of the new features.

Let’s explore the main screen and menus.

On the chord sheet, you’ll notice the “Section Paragraphs” feature. When a part marker is entered, the chord sheet will start a new line, with a line between the rows, and a double bar line on the prior bar.

The look of the windows and dialogs have been enhanced, with support of “themes” so that you can change the look of the program in the Windows Control Panel | Display | Themes.

New Main Menu Items

The File | Medley Maker command will open the Medley Maker, allowing you automatically make a medley of songs.

The File | Import MGU Song will import a MGU song into an existing song. The File | Open command opens all types of files, not just MGU (i.e.

MGU/MID/KAR/WAV/WMA/MP3/CDG/CDA)

Let’s explore the RealTracks.

The RealTracks are covered in detail in Chapter 4, but let’s get started here in the tutorial. All the demo songs are found in the following Tutorial folder:

c:\bb\Tutorial BB 2008 RealTracks and MultiStyles.

Open up the song named “=GeorgeP.MGU.” This loads the style “=GeorgeP.STY.”

Note: RealTracks style naming convention: The “=” indicates that it has a RealTracks. “George” is the name of the style, and “P” indicates RealPedalSteel.

Chapter 3: QuickStart Tutorial 12

You will notice that the word “Strings” at the top of the screen is lit up in green. This indicates that

a RealTrack will play on the strings track, because it is stored in the =GeorgeP.STY.

Press Play. You will then hear the song play. On the Strings part, you will hear a RealPedalSteel part.

This is made from actual recordings of a top Nashville session pedal steel player. As the file plays, you can change the volume of the RealPedalSteel just as you would for the Strings part, or

mute it by right clicking on the Strings part.

Now, let’s load in a Real Acoustic Guitar song. Load in “=GeorgeG.MGU” and play it. You’re now

hearing the RealAcousticGuitar part on the Guitar part.

Load in “=GeorgGP.MGU” to hear both RealTracks at once.

Open the song RealSax.MGU,

and then press the Soloist button,

and choose Soloist # 361.

Set the Soloist to solo in all choruses.

Now generate the solo. You’ll then hear a RealSax solo.

Of course with any of these RealTracks, you can type in whatever chords that you want, and hear them playing over your songs!

Let’s explore the MultiStyles.

MultiStyles are styles that have more than 2 substyles. Instead of just “a” and “b,” they can have a, b, c, d, etc. all the way to “x.”

Most MultiStyles that we’ve made have 4 substyles, conforming to the following pop song format (a=verse, b=chorus, c=intro (pre-verse), d=break (interlude)

Open up the song NR_CURR+.MGU. This loads NR_CURR+.STY.

Note: MultiStyle naming convention: The “+” indicates that it is a MultiStyle, with more than 2 substyles.

You can see the MultiStyle markers on the chord sheet.

Chapter 3: QuickStart Tutorial 13

Look at the toolbar at the right of the screen.

There is a RealTracks button. These are audio styles like RealPedalSteel, RealAcousticGuitar, and RealSax that replace the

MIDI instrument track with actual recordings of top studio musicians. The RealTracks Settings dialog lets you control the RealTracks.

There is a Medley Maker that launches the Medley Maker – this allows you to make a medley of songs automatically.

Play the file, and you can hear the various substyles.

Explore additional MultiStyles by visiting the StylePicker, looking in the category called “MultiStyles.”

Note: The first time that you visit the StylePicker, it will rebuild the list of styles, this will take about 30 seconds. It will scan your BB folder to look for other styles that you have, so they can be included in the list automatically.

Once that’s finished, you’ll see the StylePicker window.

Chapter 3: QuickStart Tutorial 14

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