PG Music Band in a Box - 2012 Macintosh User Guide
Version 12 for Macintosh
®
OS X
®
®
Copyright 1989-2004 PG Music Inc. All rights reserved.
PG Music Inc. License Agreement
CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AN D CONDITIONS BEFORE COMPLETING
THE INSTALLATION OF THIS SOFTWARE. USAGE OF THE SOFTWARE INDICATES
YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDIT IONS.
LICENSE
A. The program may only be used on a single machine.
B. You m ay transfer the program and license to another party if the other part y ag r ees 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 p r ograms.
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.
The program (including any images, “app lets,” 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 c opyright laws and intern ational treaty provi sions.
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 that 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 incid ental or consequentia l damages arising out of the use or the
inabilit y t o use such program, even if PG Music Inc. or an authorized PG Music Inc. dealer has b een
advised of the possibility of such damages, or for a ny claim by any other party.
TRADEMARKS
Band-in-a-Box®, PG Music®, and PowerTracks Pro® are the registered trademar ks of PG Music
Inc. in the United States, Canada, and other countries. Mic r osoft® and Windows® are ei ther
registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporati on in the United States and/or other
countries. Apple®, the Apple logo, iMac®, Macintosh®, Mac®, Panther™, Power Mac®,
QuickTime® and True Type® are trademark s of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S . and
other countr ies. 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 pr otected under US Patent 5990407.
Printed in Canada
PG Music Inc. License Agreement 2
Table of Contents
PG Music Inc. License Agreement 2
Chapter 1: Introduction 6
Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial 8
Step 1 – Typing in the Chords............................................................... 8
Step 2 – Choosing a Style.................................................................... 11
Step 3 – Play your song!...................................................................... 12
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 14
Chapter 4: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box 25
Loading and Playing Songs.................................................................25
View and Print Notation......................................................................29
Play the Jukebox.................................................................................. 31
Automatic Songs - “The Melodist”...................................................... 32
Make Your Own Songs........................................................................34
Have Fun!............................................................................................ 39
Chapter 5: The Main Screen 40
Overview of the Main Screen.............................................................. 40
Synth Window / Piano Keyboard ........................................................ 42
Tool Bar...............................................................................................45
Title Window....................................................................................... 46
Chordsheet Area..................................................................................48
Chapter 6: Band-in-a-Box PowerGuide 50
Song Settings.......................................................................................50
The Chordsheet.................................................................................... 55
Table of Contents 3
Chord Preview/Builder .........................................................................66
MIDI file “Chord Wizard” ...................................................................68
Applying Styles....................................................................................70
Playing, Pausing, and Stopping Songs .................................................72
Changing Volume, Panning, Reverb, Chorus, Bank ............................74
Saving Songs........................................................................................74
Other Edit Functions.............................................................................76
More Preferences – Preferences 2........................................................81
MIDI Setup...........................................................................................85
The JukeBox.........................................................................................90
Chapter 7: Notation and Printing 93
Notation................................................................................................93
Printing...............................................................................................104
Chapter 8: Automatic Music Features 107
Automatic Songs - “The Melodist” ....................................................107
Automatic Solo Generation – “The Soloist” ......................................115
Automatic Guitar Chord Solos – “The Guitarist”...............................120
Chapter 9: Recording Tracks 125
Real Time Recording..........................................................................125
Step Edit Notes...................................................................................127
Entering Notes Manually in the Notation Window............................128
Recording with the Wizard Feature....................................................128
Importing Pre-Recorded MIDI Data...................................................129
Record using The Melodist ................................................................130
Additional Options for Melody/Soloist Track....................................131
Chapter 10: Built-in Drums 139
Animated Drum Kit............................................................................139
Drum Kit Main Window ....................................................................142
Table of Contents 4
Chapter 11: User Programmable Functions 144
The StyleMaker...............................................................................144
The Harmony Maker.......................................................................... 167
The Soloist Maker..............................................................................173
The Melodist Maker .......................................................................... 176
The Guitarist Maker........................................................................... 181
Chapter 12: Tutors and Wizards 186
MIDI File Chord Wizard................................................................... 186
The Guitarist...................................................................................... 194
Guitar Tutor.......................................................................................198
Chord Substitution Wizard................................................................ 201
Chord Builder....................................................................................205
Chapter 13: CoreMIDI and QuickTime OS X 206
CoreMIDI and QuickTime OS X Tutorial......................................... 206
Chapter 14: Reference 213
Band-in-a-Box Menu Descriptions....................................................213
Song Menu......................................................................................... 226
GS Menu............................................................................................ 249
Keystroke Commands – “Hot Keys”................................................. 254
PG Music Inc. 258
Index 259
Registration Form 267
How to Register................................................................................. 267
5
Chapter 1: Introduction
The latest version of Ba nd-in-a-Box for Macintosh is
built for OS X, and adds many new features! This
exciting new version of Band-in-a-Box for Mac intosh
runs “Native” in OS X Jaguar or Panther (version
10.2 or higher recommended) and includes many new
and enhanced features.
Band-in-a-Box version 12 is fully Mac OS X carbonized. We have a huge
number of new and improved Styles, Soloist , Harmonies, and Song Demos,
making your Band-in-a-Box program sound better than ever! P rogram
operations are much faster, including up to 3 times faster notation redraws, song,
and soloing generation. Playback timing is improved and rock-solid with Mac
OS X. You can export your Band-in-a-Box files and import them into Apple’s
GarageBand program for further processing. And we include a great
QuickTime video tutorial, showing you all the newest features in version 12!
The styles have been greatly enhanced – we’ve edited the existing styles, and
made many more styles using the newest features. This automatically makes
your existing songs so und better! New Soloists, Melodists and Harmonies are
now included , ma kin g thi s the best-so unding Band-in-a-Box ever!
The user interface has been enhanced with improved menus, and other
enhancements, giving Band-in-a-Box a much better look in the OS X
environment. Improved OS X 128X128 “high resolution” program and file
icons are also included with this upgrade to enhance the user experience.
Timing has been improved to microsecond accuracy for tighter playback.
MIDI support for Band-in-a-Box 12 for Macintosh now includes CoreMIDI
(for support of external MIDI devices) as well as improved support for
QuickTime Music synthesizers, making it work and sound much better in OS
X. Additional MIDI driver enhancements allow users with controller keyboards
such as the M-Audio Oxygen 8, or the Edirol PCR-1 to play thru the QuickTime
Music synthesizer from their MIDI keyboard.
Other enhanced features include: odd-time signature support (7/8, 11/8 etc.),
maximum n umber of Soloists increased from 256 to 1024, count-in types now
include choice of drum pattern or regular count-in, addition of “low root
harmony” setting to Harmony Edit dialog, “Strauss-in-a-Box” to automatically
transform any 4/4 song to a Waltz 3/4 feel, “De-Strauss” to transform any song
with a 3/4 time signature to a 4/4 feel, StylePicker Dialog enhancements, bass
player plays better “5ths” over some Jazz chords, support for audio and video
memos for songs , options to set the note density in the Soloist and much
more.
Chapter 1: Introduction 6
And muc h mo r e …
People familiar with the previous versions of Band-in-a-Box will be pleased to
know that we have kept the same functionality of our previous rel eases. The
new features are optional and don't interfere with familiar methods of using the
program. All songs, styles etc. are completely compatible with previous
versions, so that you can upgrade without losing any o f your existing work.
Chapter 1: Introduction 7
Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial
Creating music with Band-in-a-Box is as easy as 1-2-3! In this tutorial, you’ll
see just how easy it is to get Band-in-a-B ox making music for you.
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
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 ch ordsheet.
Each of the numbered cells on the chordsheet represents a bar. In this example,
you can see that there is an F6 chord in the first bar of this song. Similarly, one
row down, you can see an F6 chord in bar 5, and later in the song, a G7 in bar 7.
Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial 8
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, if you wanted to add (or change) a chord in bar 20, you
would highlight bar 20 on the chordsheet. Next, type in your chords. If you
want an F7 at bar 2, type F and 7 on your keyboard and press return. Notice
that when you use the return key, the highlight cell moves to the second half of
the bar. You could then enter another chord at beat 3. Chords are commonly
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.
Enter Chords Using a MIDI Controller Keyboard
If you have a MIDI contro ller keyboard, you can use it t o enter chords into
Band-in-a -Box. First, you must make sure that your cables are p roperly
connected and you have the correct input drivers selected.
If you play a chord on your MIDI keyboard, and then press Ctrl+Return, the
chord will be entered into the chordsheet at the current highlight cell position.
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.
Chord Builder Dialog
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 ___] enters the
chord and advances 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
File | Import Chords from MIDI File on the File menu, or use the keystrokes
Ctrl+Option+I, to open the Chord Wizard dialog.
Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial 9
Chord Wizard Dialog
When the Chord Wizard dialog opens, press the [Open (Change)…] button to
choose the 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 can choose a preset for
the song. Choose from among such genres as Pop, Rock, or Jazz Standard.
Loading an existing Band-in-a-Box format song
Press the [song] button. The first time you use this button, Bandin-a-Box will offer to build a song list for you. We’ve included many demo
songs for you to use, and they are listed in the song list.
You could also load a pre-existing song by using the File | Open song… menu
item, or by pressing the F3 function key, which will launch the familiar
Macintosh file dialog. Note that most songs will automatically load a “Style,”
which we’ll learn about in the next section.
Going to the next step …
Now that you have chords on your chord sheet, you are ready to move on to step
number two.
Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial 10
Step 2 – Choosing a Sty le
Band-in-a-Box creates backing arrangements based on the chords you type in,
applied to 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 that are
appropriate for everything from Country to Bebop. Some style examples would
be 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. Making custom
styles with the StyleMaker is explained in detail in the full documentation.
Four Fast ways to Open a Style
Method 1: From Disk
To open a user style from disk, you can just type the F9 key. You will be
presented with the familiar Macintosh file dialog from which you can select a
specific style from the Styles folder.
Method 2: The StylePicker
You can use the StylePicker window to select your style.
Select the [Style] button above the chordsheet, or type
Ctrl+F9 on your computer keyboa rd.
The StylePicker
Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial 11
Selecting a Style using the StylePicker.
This window shows styles listed by Styles Set number, and by genre. 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. Styles with a similar feel
and tempo range to the current selection (prototype) are marked with an (*)
asterisk. These styles are possible substitutes for the prototype. Styles marked
with a (^) caret symbol are similar in feel but have a different tempo range. The
style of your song can be changed at any bar by pressing the F5 key to launch
the Edit Bar Settings dialog.
Method 3: Favorites
Styles that you’ve used previously show up in the Favorite Styles dialog.
Choose this from the menu User | Load Favorite Styles… or type Shift+F9 on
your computer keyboard, or click on the [f] button to the left of the [.STY]
StylePicker button. You can choose to save a Favorites set for use later. You
can also load a set of favorite styles this way.
Method 4: Quick Pick
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!
We’ve entered chords on the chordsheet and chosen a style. Now it’s time to
play the song! First we need to tell Band-in-a-Box how long our song is, how
Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial 12
many times we want the program to play through the chords, in what key and
how fast.
Framing the Song
To tell Band-in-a-Box where the start and end of the song is, we look at the
middle of the Band-in-a-Box main screen.
Locate the framing settings, there are three of them. The numbers (1 -32) in
brackets are the bar numbers for the beginning and the end of the Chorus. The
number 3 to the right of the brackets is the number of times the Chorus repeats.
In the example above, the Chorus starts at bar 1, ends on bar 32, and is going to
play 3 times. You can change these settings to play more choruses, or make the
Chorus start later, for example in the case where you want an intro to play.
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 F. If you do
change the key, Band-in-a-Box will offer to transpose the chordsheet for you.
This is especially useful when loading in new songs and transposing them to
other keys. If you’ve entered a progression that you i nt end for a particular key,
and then choose the key afterward, you should say no when asked to transpose
the chordsheet.
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 c omputer ke yboard, they are usually ne xt to each other. If you tap
the [-] key 4 times at your tempo, Band-in-a-Box will set the tempo
automatically for you. If you tap the [=] key four times, Band-in-a-Box will set
the tempo and begin song playback!
Press Play
When you’re ready, just press the [Play] button or the F4 function key a nd
Band-in-a-Box will immediately generate and play a professional arrangement
of your song using the setti ngs and the style you selected.
Having more fun with Band-in-a-Box.
That’s all there is to quickly creating music with Band-in-a-Box. There are also
many powerful features and user settings for you to discover. Have fun making
music with Band-in-a-Box!
Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial 13
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features
New Features in Band-in-a-Box Version 12 for Macintosh OS X…
All New 32-bit PPC Carbonized Engine.
Previous ver sions of Band-in-a-Box were 68K code, which req uired translati on
by the processor to operate on newer Macs. The new program is rebuilt with a
32-bit-clean carbonized PPC engine, so that it runs natively in OS X. Program
operations are much faster, including up to 3 times faster notation redraws, song
and soloing generation. Playback timing is improved and rock-solid with Mac
OS X.
Odd-Time Signature Support.
Previous versions of Band-in-a-Box supported only X/4 time signatures, but
now we’ve added support for odd-time signatures like 9/8, 11/8, 13/16, 19/16,
etc. The count-in and the style plays in the odd-time signature feel, and you can
change time signatures during the song.
Note: The notation window still displays/edits these odd-time signatures in 4/4, but
the styles all play/sound correctly.
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 14
Example of odd-time signature support:
Load in a demo song like Songs: 11_8_Pop.MGU.
This loads in the “11/8 Pop” Style.
When you press Play, you’ll hear a count-in in 11/8 time.
The 11/8 time signature is stored within the style, so you can switch at any bar
to a 4/4 style, and the song will change time signatures easily. Also, if you
change from a 4/4 style to an 11/8 style, the Melody will still stay nicely in time
with the bars.
With the pro version we include 5/4, 7/8, 24/16, and 11/8 time signatures. There
are 20 more available on the “About Time” Styles disk #38. There is also an
“About Time Video” available that demonstrates using odd time signatures in
BB, and how to “count” in odd-time signature styles.
Maximum Number of Soloists increased
Maximum Number of Soloists increased to 1,024 (from 256), and new
Soloists added. The previous limit of soloists was 256, and we had already
defined 253 of them! We’ve now increased this limit to 1,024, and have added
new soloists. The default Soloist file for the OS X version of Band-i n-a-Box is
now called Default_OS X.SOL. (the OS9 version is called DEFAULT.SOL)
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 15
New Count-In Options
“Count-in” can be Drum Patterns instead of “1-2-1234.” There is a new
option in Preferences to select count-in type. You can specify to have Ba nd-ina-Box play 2 bars of a drum pattern instead of the count-in. You may prefer
hearing the drum beat to a simple count-in, since it provides more information
about the upcoming groove. If you’r e playing with Band-in-a-Box live on a
“dance floor,” this setting is a great way to avoid “dead air” between songs, and
keep the drumbeat going. Includes options to have “a” or “b” drum fills or
patterns play for the 2 bars.
To set this, choose Prefs | CountIn, and set Lead-in Type to one of “b” substyle
fills/ “a” substyle fills/ or fill-pattern or pattern-pattern combinations.
Harmony – Low Root Feature.
The Harmony Edit dialog now has settings for “low root harmony” which adds a
voice that plays the root of the chord. This is useful for a cappella or baritone
sax harmonies, where the lowest voice is playing the bass roots. You can set the
low-high range. The root played will always be at least one octave from the
melody note (assuming it can still be inside the set lo w/high range). We incl ude
many harmonies that are preset to use this low root harmony feature. They are
in the range starting at harmony #153.
The Harmony Edit dialog now has settings for “low root harmony” which adds a
voice that plays the root of the chord. This is useful for a cappella harmonies
where the lowest voice is playing the bass roots. You can set the low-high
range. The root played will always be at least one octave from the melody note
(assuming it can still be inside the set low-high range).
You can edit a ny harmony to add a low root harmony by pressing Edit H armony
(on the Harmony selection dialog), and then selecting “Low Root” and then
inputting the range of acceptable notes for the low root voice, and a velocity
boost if applicable.
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 16
Strauss-in-a-Box
Transform 4/4 Melody to a Waltz 3 /4 (“Strauss-in-a-Box”).
You can now automatically transform any 4/4 song/melody to a Waltz 3/4 feel.
Simply load in any 4/4 song and change the style to a Waltz style. The program
will offer to transform the melody so that it works as a Waltz (or choose the
added menu item Melody-Edit-Utilities-Transform to 3/4). This function is
referred to as “Strauss” in honor of Johann Strauss – the famous Waltz
composer. It is fun and educational to hear and play familiar songs in a Waltz
feel. Band-in-a-Box uses intelligent algorithms to transform the melody to the
new time signature.
To use this feature, load in any song in 4/4 time. Then load in a Waltz style. If
there’s a Melody (or Soloist) present, you’ll be asked if it’s OK to change the
Melody from 4/4 to 3/4. If you click YES to that, the transformation will occur
and you can listen to the Melody in 3/4 time.
If you click NO to the offer to transform the Melody, you can still convert it
later by choosing Melody | Edit | Utilities | Transform 4/4 to 3/4. Note that if
you choose the manual command, the Melody prior to transformation should
have 8 beats before bar 1 beat 1 of the Melody begins (as it normally would in a
4/4 style)
Transform “Waltz” Melody to 4/4 (“De-Strauss” the Melody.)
If you have a song with a 3/4 time signature, you can now instantly hear it as a
4/4 feel. Simply load the Waltz song and then change the style to a 4/4 style.
Band-in-a-Box will prompt you to transform the melody to a 4/4 feel and will
then will change the melody. There’s also a dedicated menu item for this,
Melody-Edit-Utilities-Transform to 4/4. Band-in-a-Box uses intelligent
algorithms to transform the melody to the new time signature. (Note: If loading
from the StylePicker window, you need to have “Prompt w/p review” for t he
prompt option to appear.)
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 17
To use this feature, load in any song in 3/4 time. Then load in a 4/4 style. If
there’s a Melody (or Soloist) present, you’ll be asked if it’s OK to change the
Melody from 3/4 to 4/4. If you click YES to that, the transformation will occur
and you can listen to the Melody in 4/4 time.
If you click NO to the offer to transform the Melody, you can still convert it
later by choosing Melody | Edit | Utilities | Transform 3/4 to 4/4. Note that if
you choose the manual command, the Melody prior to transformation should
have 6 beats before bar 1 beat 1 of the Melody begins (as it normally would in a
3/4 style)
Bass player plays better “5ths
Bass player plays better “5ths” over some Jazz chords. Band-in-a-Box’s
bass player was playing some natural 5ths over some chords like C7 altered or
others. Now, after a discussion with some bass players, we’ve improved Bandin-a-Box so that the bass part plays the #5 or b5 correctly on these Jazz chords.
Load Previous Style, Load Next Style.
This function, (analogous to the Load Next Song function) loads in the previous
(or next) style in alphabetical order of the file name. To load the next style, in
alphabetical order, choose the menu item File | File Utilities | Load Next Style,
or use the hot key Command+Shift+F8 (Control+Command+Shift+F8 for the
previous style ).
“Chase Volumes” added for playback.
For files that include volume change events (Controller 7). Band-in-a-Box will
locate the most recent volume control information that is prior to the current
location in the song. Band-in-a-Box will then send this volume control
information at the start of playback.
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 18
Drum count-in options
Option to hear the drum count-in even if the drums are muted or disabled.
This is great for drummers who play along with Band-in-a-Box and mute the
drum track. Previously, when the drum track was muted or disabled in a song,
the count-in drum click wouldn't play. Now there's an option to play the drum
count-in in all circumstances. To set this option, choose Edit | Preferences and
set “Lead-in drum count if drums muted” to true (default is true).
StylePicker Enhancements.
There is a new filter to display only the styles of a certain styles set number,
as well as displaying the full descriptive name of the styles set. The li mit o f
number of styles has been increased (to 4,800) to accommodate the large
number of third party styles developed for Band-in-a-Box. The window size
has been increased, providing more space for the category descriptions. A
new “Show All” button removes any filter set.
There is a new filter to display only the styles of a certain Styles Set number, as
well as displaying the name of the Styles Set. To select this, open the
StylePicker, and choose “Only Show Styles Set #.” When you pick Styles Set #,
you can then see only that Styles Set listed, regardless of the category you are in.
The limit of number of styles in the StylePicker has been increased to 4, 800 to
accommodate the large number of third party styles developed for Band-in-aBox. The window size has been increased, providing more space for the
category descriptions.
Technical note: The Styles list file is called BBM.LST for the OS X version and
BBW.LST for the OS9 and prior versions.
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 19
StylePicker Dialog “show all” button
StylePicker Dialog “show all” button added which removes any
filter set.
Mono/Stereo menu options
Mono/Stereo menu options are available to easily switch all parts to mono or
stereo. Also, if your current settings are mono, the program will offer to convert
to stereo when you exit the MIDI Driver selection dialog. On the GS Menu, see
the dedicated menu items to set to Mono or Stereo.
Video and Audio Memo support
You can add an audio (MP3) or video (QuickTime) memo to your Band-in-aBox song. These are prepared outside of the program, but can be associated with
the song by using a similar filename to the song (see technical note). Several of
PG Music’s new “101 Series” programs include these audio and video memos.
For example, there are video guitar memos that demonstrate “advanced Jazz
guitar comping” showing video examples corresponding to the MIDI guitar
examples in the Band-in-a-Box song.
When a song has an Audio memo, an “Audio Memo”
button appears on-screen below the “Memo” button.
When a song has a Video memo, a “Video Memo”
button appears on-screen below the “Memo” button.
Technical notes: To add an audio memo to a song called “My Song.MGU,” put
the memo as a MP3 in the same folder as the song, naming it My
Song_AudioMemo.MP3. To add a video memo to a song called “My Song.MGU,”
put the memo as a .MOV in the same folder as the song, naming it My
Song_VideoMemo_3.MP3.
Soloist “Note-Density” option.
Now you can control the maximum number of notes per quarter note that the
soloist will use. For example, you can set a “Rock Guitar” Soloist to use nothing
shorter than 16th notes. This will produce fewer “guitar hero” solos with bursts
of 32nd notes, etc. Or you could create a jazz solo that uses only quarter notes or
longer to help with your sight-readi ng or student study. We’ve already modified
many of the soloists using this new setting, so your solos will already sound
better without you having to change this setting.
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 20
For example, Soloist 188 is edited so that it will play at most 5 notes per beat.
Dedicated menu items added on GM Menu
Dedicated menu items added on GM Menu for “Turn Local On,” “Turn
Local Off,” and “When program quits, turn local on.”
“Local” refers to sounds generated by playing on an external MIDI keyboard, if
set to “off,” Band-in-a-Box will play the keyboard via the THRU part, if set to
ON, both Band-in-a-Box and the keyboard might be playing the same THRU
part.
The GS Menu has been re-designed, with many items added, and a separate
pull down menu added for the Master Volume Adjust options.
Note: Most of the items on these sub-menus have hotkeys, and it is easier to
access them quickly using the hotkeys.
New Hot Keys
These hotkeys are slightly different than previous versions, and are now the
same as the Windows versio n.
− Ctrl+Shift+Q and Ctrl+Shift+W change the volume of the current part.
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 21
− Ctrl+Shift and E/R change the Reverb,
− Ctrl+Shift T/Y changes the Chorus,
− Ctrl+Shift U/I changes the Pan,
− Ctrl+Shift O/P changes the Bank.
Configuration Files
Band-in-a-Box stores its preferences files in the main Band-in-a-Box folder.
These are the configuration files for the OS X version. The names in brackets
are the names of the same files under OS9. It is possible to run the Band-in-aBox OS 9 version from the same folder as the OS X version, so the
configuration file names are slightly different. These configuration files have
different names in OS X than previo us version of Band-in-a -Box.
• Intrface_OS X.BBW (OS9 name was Intrface.BBW) This file stores
the many Band-in-a-Box program preferences
• Band-in-a-Box Preferences_OS X (OS9 name was Band-in-a-Box
Preferences) This file stores the name and information of the currently
selected MIDI Driver (e.g. QuickTime or CoreMIDI)
• BBM.LST (in OS9 was BBW.LST). This text file stores the styles list
for the StylePicker.
• Default_OS X.SOL (OS9 name was Default.SOL) This stores the
Soloist names.
These configuration files have the same names in OS X as they did in previous
versions of Band-in-a-Box
• Default.HAR, Default.GIT, Default.MEL (same names in OS9).
These store the Harmony, Guitar and Melodist names.
• MySetup.DK (Same name in OS9) This file stores the drum kit, patch
map information.
• DefaultM.Ali (Same name in OS9). This file stores the names of style
aliases used.
If you want to reset Band-in-a-Box to default settings, you can erase the 3 files
Intrface_OS X.BBW, Band-in-a-Box Preferences_OS X, and MySetup.DK.
It is easy to find these files, from the Finder, sort by date and they will likely be
the most recently written files to the Band-in-a-Box folder.
About Hot Key Names on the Menus
When hotkeys are listed on the menus, we now use the OS X-recommended
symbols. For example, the picture shown here is from the Finder menu.
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 22
This represents the command key.
The up arrow is for the Shift key.
This represents the Option Key.
The caret symbol represents the
^
Control key.
New Program Hints Added
Band-in-a-Box supports the OS X style hint tags (“yellow windows”) that
appear when you hold your mouse over a button, menu item, or dialog item. In
addition, if you hold the Command key down, a “Long hint” will appear with
additional information.
The hints are configurable inside Band-ina-Box, in the Edit | Prefs 2 dialog, there are
settings to control length of time before the
hint appears, whether you’d like long hints
to be the default display, and enabling of
hints overall and in the dialogs.
…and many more!
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 23
Let's check out Styles Set #38
Note: Styles Set #38: If you ordered Band-in-a-Box 12 as an upgrade, the
package includes Styles Set #38: About Time. (This is not one of the
styles disks that are included in the first time purchase unless you order
the MegaPAK.)
If you have t he first time version of Band-in-a-B ox and don' t have a Bandin-a-Box Folder: #38 Style Demos folder, use the \BB\SOLODEMO
directory of Band-in-a-Box for this example.
To try out the new styles from Styles Set #38, press the OPEN button and load
in a song (e.g., from Band-in-a-Box Folder: #38 Style Demos).
Once you have a song loaded in, the directory will be set to the styles demo.
Then you can simply press the SONG button to see a full list of the songs.
Press the Jukebox button to hear all of the styles demonstrated, one after
another.
There are 20 new “About Time” styles in Styles Set #38.
11_8_EV.STY 11/8 even 8ths style
11_8_POP.STY 11/8 meter Pop style
13_8_POP.STY 13/8 meter Pop style
14_8_JAZ.STY 14/8 Jazz style
15_16POP.STY 15/16 meter Pop style
19_16_44.STY 19/16 meter & 16/16 meter style
2416VISH.STY 24/16 Vishnu - Jazz/Rock (Fusion) style
54_EVEN.STY Even 5/4 meter style
54_FSTRK.STY 5/4 fast 60s style Rock style
54_SWING.STY 5/4 meter with Swing based 8th notes style
58_28_38.STY Even 5/8 meter style
58_78POP.STY 5/8_7/8 Pop style
68_BOSSA.STY 6/8 Bossa style
68_JAZZ1.STY 6/8 meter (Swing 8) Jazz style
78_CTRY.STY Country/Pop style in 7/8 meter style
78_POP.STY Pop 7/8 meter style
78_ROCK.STY 7/8 Rock style
98_4_5.STY 9/8 meter style
98_JAZZ1.STY Jazz Style in 9/8 meter
98_ROCK.STY 9/8 Rock style
Chapter 3: Summary of New Features 24
Chapter 4: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box
You can arrange, record, save, and print your own song ideas with Band-in-aBox. Just type in the chords to any song; choose a style and press [Play] to hear
the “band” play a full arrangement. Have some fun by changing to different
styles. For e ven more fun record a MI DI Melody – or have Band-in-a-Box write
a Melody for you. Add Harmony, an automatically improvised Soloist, an Intro,
and print out a lead sheet and play along.
Loading and Playing Songs
To play an existing Band-in-a-Box song here’s all you need t o do:
Open any song file with the familiar file dialog.
Start song playback.
Stop song playback.
Pause the song with the [Hold] button; resume by pressing it again.
Jump to any bar in the song. Press the [From] button to choose
which chorus and bar number to jump to.
The [Song] button opens a list of all of the songs in the current
directory.
Chapter 4: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box 25
The first time that you select the [Song] button Band-in-a-Box automatically
writes the song list. From then on, the song list opens when the [Son g] button i s
selected. Check “Play when selected” to automatically play the song selected.
For even more fun, play along with the band! Once you have selected a song,
you’ll see the chords in the chordsheet, so it’s easy to read and play along.
Play along with your MIDI Controller Keyboard
If you have an external MIDI keyboard controller connected to your computer
system, you can use the MIDI THRU features to play along with the program.
Harmonize your play along part by pressing the [T] button in the synth
window to choose a Thru harmony, just as you would for the Melody part.
Change the Style
The hundreds of musical styles availa ble for Ba nd-in-a-Box include lot s of
variations for any style you choose. You can even use several styles in the same
song by pressing the F5 function key on the computer to open the “Edit Bar
Settings” dialog to change the style at any bar.
Try different styles by clicking on the [.STY] button to choose
from the StylePicker. Styles that are in a similar feel to the
prototype will be indicated with an (*) asterisk. These would be styles that have
the same feel (triplets/ eighth/ sixteenths) and a similar tempo range. Styles that
have a similar feel but a different tempo range are marked by a (^) caret symbol.
Choose the “Show Styles Filter” to d isplay all styles, or only styles that match
the prototype partially or fully.
Chapter 4: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box 26
Change the Sound
Band-in-a-Box has several instrument parts - Bass, Piano, Drums, Guitar, Solo,
Strings, Melody, and Thru. You can change patches on any part.
The easiest way to change patches on a part is to select the part by clicking on
the desired part to change.
Click on the Instrument Panel box. You will then see a menu of 128 instrument
names. This list is the General MIDI patch list. Scroll down the list to find the
patch that you want .
Or click on the numbered buttons below the Instrument Panel box to choose
from the 10 most common instruments chosen for that particular part.
If you have a General MID I module, or any of the uni ts that have a patch file for
higher banks (*.PAT file) listed for them, then press the '+' button on the main
screen to choose the .PAT file from the Synthkits folder.
This is an especially useful feature if you have a synthesizer or sound source that
has patches on higher banks beyond the basic 128 General MIDI instruments.
The window that appears when you click on this button looks like this:
This will provide you with a list of all the patches available to you by name on
the left, and where the patch is located (patch #, bank) on the right.
Chapter 4: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box 27
Add a Melody
Band-in-a-Box is much more than an arranger and accompanist.
You can also record your live MIDI performance to the
Melody track, enter a Melody in the Notation note-by-note,
or use the Wizard to record from your computer keyboard.
Enable the Embellisher, and the Melody will be embellished
as it is played so that you hear a more lively and realistic
Melody - and it's different every time. The Embellisher is
only active while the music is playing; it doesn't permanently
affect the Melody track.
Harmonize the Melody
Press the [M] button in the
song title line to add a
harmony to the Melody track.
The Select Melody
Harmony dialog box allows
you to choose from any of the
pre-defined harmonies and
even allows you to define
your own.
Play along with the Wizard
The Wizard is an intelligent play along feature that is controlled
with the bottom two rows your computer’s QWERTY keyboard. The bottom
row of keys plays chord tones, the second row plays passin g tones - you play
any key in either row and never make a mistake!
Add a Solo
That’s right! Band-in-a-Box can “solo like a pro” in over 200 styles.
Use the [Solo] button on the main screen to open the Select
Soloist dialog box and choose from over 200 Soloist profiles.
Chapter 4: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box 28
Use the preset Soloist settings, or choose your own Solo Mode and the Choruses
where you want a solo. The Soloist Maker [Edit…] button gives access to the
advanced settings in the Soloist Editor where you can edit existing profiles or
create new Soloists of your own.
To see the Soloist part play in standard music notation open the
Notation window and press the [S] button at the far right of the
instrument buttons.
Notation window showing Soloist part.
View and Print Notation
Open the Notation window with the Notation button. You
will see standard notation on the grand staff.
Standard Notation Window
Click on the instrument buttons to see the notation for
the different parts, the Melody [M], or the Soloist [S].
Chapter 4: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box 29
Band-in-a-Box Stand ard Notation window.
The Standard Notation window is for notation display and the entry of chords.
Just type a chord name and it will be inserted at the current time line location.
The time line is the black vertical stripe just below the notation tool bar.
Toggle between Standard, Editable, and Staff Roll notation
modes with the [N] button.
Press the [Opt.] button to set Notation windo w options such as
resolution, chord position, split point, transpose options and
more.
Print out any part with the [Print] button. Pressing this button
opens the Print Options dialog where print settings are made.
Editable Notation Mode
Click on the [N] button to go from Standard Notation to Editable Notation
mode. Chords can be entered as in the Standard Notation window, the Editable
Notation mode also permits point-and -click entry of notes and rests as well as
drag-and-drop editing.
Band-in-a-Box Editable Notation window.
This is the screen for step-entry of a melody or for editing existing parts. Note
that each beat is sub-divided by either 3 or 4 broken vertical lines.
- Swing styles use 3 lines to divide each beat into eighth note swing triplets.
- Straight styles use 4 lines to divide each beat into sixteenth notes.
Chapter 4: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box 30
Loading...