Pg Music Band In A Box 2008 5 Windows Instruction Manual

Band in a Box - 2008.5 (Windows) - Instruction Manual BB_2008.5_en Free User Guide for Band in a Box Software, Manual

2015-07-28

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Version 2008.5 for Windows

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®, CopyMe®, GuitarStar®, JazzU®, PG Music®, PowerTracks Pro®, and RealDrums® 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.
Printed in Canada

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!.................................................................................................7
WHAT IS BAND-IN-A-BOX? ........................................................................................................................................7
INSTALLING BAND-IN-A-BOX FOR WINDOWS ............................................................................................................8
MIDI SETUP ...............................................................................................................................................................8
AUDIO SETUP ...........................................................................................................................................................14
CHAPTER 2: QUICKSTART..................................................................................................................................17
STEP 1 – TYPING IN THE CHORDS .............................................................................................................................17
STEP 2 – CHOOSING A STYLE ....................................................................................................................................20
STEP 3 – PLAY YOUR SONG!......................................................................................................................................22
CHAPTER 3: BAND-IN-A-BOX 2008.5 .................................................................................................................23
WELCOME TO BAND-IN-A-BOX 2008.5! ...................................................................................................................23
SUMMARY OF NEW FEATURES IN BAND-IN-A-BOX 2008 .........................................................................................23
SUMMARY OF NEW FEATURES ADDED IN BAND-IN-A-BOX 2008.5..........................................................................29
CHAPTER 4: THE MAIN SCREEN.......................................................................................................................39
MAIN SCREEN OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................................39
STATUS BAR .............................................................................................................................................................41
SYNTH WINDOW / PIANO KEYBOARD .......................................................................................................................42
TITLE WINDOW ........................................................................................................................................................48
CHORD SHEET AREA ................................................................................................................................................50
CHAPTER 5: GUIDED TOUR OF BAND-IN-A-BOX .........................................................................................53
LOADING AND PLAYING BAND-IN-A-BOX SONGS ....................................................................................................53
THE CONDUCTOR WINDOW ......................................................................................................................................61
ADD REAL INSTRUMENTS – REALDRUMS AND REALTRACKS ..................................................................................62
ADD A MELODY – MIDI AND/OR AUDIO ..................................................................................................................64
ADD A SOLO - “THE SOLOIST”..................................................................................................................................68
VIEW AND PRINT NOTATION ....................................................................................................................................70
PIANO ROLL WINDOW ..............................................................................................................................................73
LEAD SHEET NOTATION WINDOW ............................................................................................................................81
THE GUITAR WINDOW .............................................................................................................................................86
BIG PIANO WINDOW.................................................................................................................................................90
PLAY THE JUKEBOX ..................................................................................................................................................91
IMPORT A MIDI FILE ................................................................................................................................................93
AUTOMATIC SONGS - “THE MELODIST” ...................................................................................................................94
MAKE YOUR OWN SONGS ........................................................................................................................................95
SAVING YOUR WORK .............................................................................................................................................106
BURN YOUR OWN AUDIO-CD................................................................................................................................108
CHAPTER 6: BAND-IN-A-BOX POWERGUIDE ..............................................................................................110
OPENING FILES .......................................................................................................................................................110
GLOBAL SONG OVERRIDES ....................................................................................................................................113
CHORD ENTRY .......................................................................................................................................................113
PART MARKERS AND SUBSTYLES ...........................................................................................................................119
REPEATS AND ENDINGS ..........................................................................................................................................119

Table of Contents

PLAYING/PAUSING/STOPPING SONGS .....................................................................................................................119
ADDITIONAL PATCHES ...........................................................................................................................................123
CHANGING VOLUME, PANNING, REVERB, CHORUS, BANK .....................................................................................126
EDIT FUNCTIONS ....................................................................................................................................................127
APPLYING STYLES ..................................................................................................................................................138
MULTISTYLES IN STYLES (“+” STYLES) .................................................................................................................139
MULTISTYLES IN SONGS ........................................................................................................................................140
REALDRUMS STYLES .............................................................................................................................................147
BREAKS - RESTS, SHOTS, AND HELD CHORDS ........................................................................................................151
SONG SETTINGS DIALOG ........................................................................................................................................154
SAVING SONGS .......................................................................................................................................................157
THE MEDLEY MAKER .............................................................................................................................................164
THE JUKEBOX .........................................................................................................................................................165
THE CONDUCTOR ...................................................................................................................................................167
CHAPTER 7: NOTATION AND PRINTING ......................................................................................................173
STANDARD NOTATION WINDOW ............................................................................................................................174
EDITABLE NOTATION MODE ..................................................................................................................................175
STAFF ROLL NOTATION MODE ...............................................................................................................................181
NOTATION WINDOW OPTIONS ................................................................................................................................182
LEAD SHEET WINDOW ...........................................................................................................................................191
LYRICS ...................................................................................................................................................................198
PRINTING ................................................................................................................................................................204
CHAPTER 8: AUTOMATIC MUSIC FEATURES.............................................................................................214
AUTOMATIC MEDLEYS - “THE MEDLEY MAKER” ..................................................................................................214
AUTOMATIC SONGS – “THE MELODIST” ................................................................................................................215
AUTOMATIC SOUND TRACK GENERATOR - “SOUNDTRACK” .................................................................................219
AUTOMATIC SOLO GENERATION – “THE SOLOIST” ................................................................................................221
AUTO PIANO HAND-SPLITTING ...............................................................................................................................230
AUTOMATIC GUITAR SOLOS – “THE GUITARIST”...................................................................................................231
AUTOMATIC EMBELLISHMENTS – “THE EMBELLISHER”.........................................................................................234
CHAPTER 9: WORKING WITH MIDI...............................................................................................................238
RECORDING LIVE IN REAL TIME.............................................................................................................................238
ENTERING NOTES MANUALLY ...............................................................................................................................239
RECORDING WITH THE WIZARD FEATURE ..............................................................................................................240
MELODY/SOLOIST SEQUENCER ..............................................................................................................................241
IMPORT A BAND-IN-A-BOX SONG...........................................................................................................................244
IMPORTING MIDI FILES..........................................................................................................................................244
EDITING THE MELODY TRACK................................................................................................................................246
CHAPTER 10: WORKING WITH AUDIO .........................................................................................................252
ABOUT BAND-IN-A-BOX AUDIO FILES ...................................................................................................................252
AUDIO TRACK ........................................................................................................................................................252
RECORD AUDIO ......................................................................................................................................................254
PLAYING THE AUDIO FILE ......................................................................................................................................257
EDIT THE AUDIO FILE .............................................................................................................................................258
AUDIO HARMONIES ................................................................................................................................................259
PITCH STYLES PRESET DETAILS (ONE PER VOICE) ..................................................................................................264
APPLYING AUDIO PLUG-INS ...................................................................................................................................265
REALTRACKS .........................................................................................................................................................269
WHAT ARE REALTRACKS? .....................................................................................................................................269
USING REALTRACKS IN SONGS ..............................................................................................................................270
RENDERING AUDIO FILES .......................................................................................................................................274
BURN YOUR OWN AUDIO-CD .................................................................................................................................281

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 11: USER PROGRAMMABLE FUNCTIONS.................................................................................285
THE STYLEMAKER .................................................................................................................................................285
MAKING REALDRUMS STYLES ...............................................................................................................................322
THE HARMONY MAKER..........................................................................................................................................342
THE SOLOIST MAKER .............................................................................................................................................345
THE MELODIST MAKER ..........................................................................................................................................349
THE GUITARIST MAKER .........................................................................................................................................351
CHAPTER 12: TUTORS, WIZARDS, AND PRACTICE AIDS ........................................................................355
AUDIO CHORD WIZARD (“CHORDS FROM MP3”)...................................................................................................355
MIDI FILE CHORD INTERPRETATION WIZARD .......................................................................................................365
PRACTICE WINDOW ................................................................................................................................................371
EAR TRAINING TUTOR ............................................................................................................................................372
EAR TRAINING GAMES ...........................................................................................................................................376
VOCAL WIZARD .....................................................................................................................................................377
REHARMONIST (CHORDS FOR A MELODY)..............................................................................................................380
CHORD SUBSTITUTION WIZARD .............................................................................................................................382
CHORD BUILDER ....................................................................................................................................................385
RHYTHM GUITAR CHORD TUTOR ...........................................................................................................................385
CHORD “BREAKS” ..................................................................................................................................................387
MIDI FILE TO STYLE WIZARD................................................................................................................................387
REPEATS AND ENDINGS WIZARD............................................................................................................................392
CHAPTER 13: TOOLS AND UTILITIES............................................................................................................396
FIND FILE ...............................................................................................................................................................396
ROLAND VSC3 VIRTUAL SOUND CANVAS .............................................................................................................397
TRANZPORT SUPPORT - WIRELESS REMOTE CONTROL ..........................................................................................397
GUITAR TUNER.......................................................................................................................................................399
DYNAMIC 3D DRUM KIT WINDOW.........................................................................................................................400
MIDI MONITOR......................................................................................................................................................403
SOUND BLASTER SUPPORT .....................................................................................................................................406
EVENT LIST EDITOR ...............................................................................................................................................406
PG VINYL DIRECTX PLUG-IN.................................................................................................................................408
PG RTA DIRECTX PLUG-IN ...................................................................................................................................412
PG VOCAL REMOVER PLUG-IN ..............................................................................................................................413
CHAPTER 14: REFERENCE................................................................................................................................415
BAND-IN-A-BOX MENU DESCRIPTIONS ..................................................................................................................415
FILE MENU .............................................................................................................................................................415
EDIT MENU ............................................................................................................................................................419
STYLES MENU ........................................................................................................................................................425
OPT. MENU.............................................................................................................................................................427
PLAY MENU ...........................................................................................................................................................465
LYRICS MENU ........................................................................................................................................................467
MELODY MENU ......................................................................................................................................................469
SOLOIST MENU .......................................................................................................................................................475
AUDIO MENU .........................................................................................................................................................479
GM MENU ..............................................................................................................................................................482
HARMONY MENU ...................................................................................................................................................485
NOTATION MENU ...................................................................................................................................................487
WINDOW MENU .....................................................................................................................................................488
HELP MENU............................................................................................................................................................491
KEYSTROKE COMMANDS - HOT KEYS ....................................................................................................................494
CHORD LIST ...........................................................................................................................................................497
BAND-IN-A-BOX FILES ...........................................................................................................................................498

Table of Contents

PG MUSIC INC. ......................................................................................................................................................500
INDEX ......................................................................................................................................................................501
PG MUSIC REGISTRATION FORM ..................................................................................................................511
HOW TO REGISTER .................................................................................................................................................511

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-ina-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 Band-in-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!
Just type in the chords to any song (like C or Fm7b5), pick a musical style from the hundreds available, and click the
[Play] button. Band-in-a-Box then automatically generates a full backing arrangement of piano, bass, drums, guitar,
and strings plus optional live audio tracks with RealDrums and RealTracks.

And that’s not all...
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 MIDI Multitracks, Harmonization, the StyleMaker and StylePicker, a live
performance Conductor window, Medley Maker, and 24 –substyle Multistyles. 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 while RealTracks add even more live session musicians,
bringing the entire Band-in-a-Box arrangement to life. The Audio Chord Wizard has the amazing ability to analyze,
extract, and show the chords from audio recordings on-screen and then write them to the Band-in-a-Box chord sheet.
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 its own DirectX audio effects. Its built-in
TC Helicon audio harmonies will turn your audio track into multiple harmony parts or adjust its pitch, with vibrato
and scooping effects for realistic vocal styles and up to sixteen choral parts.
You can print out your finished creation with lyrics, chords, repeats and endings, DC markings and codas, or save it
as a graphics 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
any other compressed formats you have) for a file that’s “Internet ready.”
You’ll have even more fun making automatic medleys, playing your favorite song lists in the Band-in-a-Box
Jukebox, and singing along to your Karaoke files with CDG graphics.

Let’s get started!
This is a comprehensive guide to the program. It includes information not found in the printed manual. To start, it
describes the basic steps to get you making great music with Band-in-a-Box in a matter of minutes. We’ll begin
with the easy installation and setup procedure.

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.
256 MB of available RAM.
Digital audio features require a Pentium-class system.
Minimum 400 MB available hard drive space. More space is required for RealDrums, about 1 GB per set.
RealTracks (included with Band-in-a-Box) requires 2.5 GB of free hard disk space.
Band-in-a-Box is fully functional with or without RealTracks and RealDrums.
A MIDI sound source is required. This could be a sound card, a MIDI keyboard, MIDI sound module, or
software synthesizer. The high quality Roland VSC-DXi software synthesizer is included with Band-in-a-Box.

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.
Insert the program CD-ROM into the CD drive.
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
the root or main folder of the CD-ROM.

1.
2.
3.

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.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!

The next dialog you encounter is the MIDI Driver Setup.

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 press 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.

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,

Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!

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 Bandin-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 ““ 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.

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.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!

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
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 this 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.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!

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 softsynths had noticeable latency, whereas a DXi synth using ASIO 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!

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 with the [Patch Map]
button in Opt. | Preferences.
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 Canvases (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 but they do support the original 128
General MIDI sounds. Band-in-a-Box will use the closest instrument in these cases.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!

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] button to launch the Audio Settings dialog.
To reset the default MME driver settings click on [Get from soundcard…] and
Band-in-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:
1) If you haven’t used ASIO drivers, but Band-in-a-Box detected them, and you answered “Yes” when Bandin-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.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!

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

Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!

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-aBox 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.
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 second, then the latency would be 100ms. If the buffer size were 2400 samples, which is
1/20 second, the latency would be 50 ms. If the buffer size were 240 samples, which is 1/200 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!

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 six of them:
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. Importing chords from an audio file (WAV, MP3, WMA, WMV) with the Audio Chord Wizard.
6. Loading an Existing Band-in-a-Box format song.
On the main screen of the program, you’ll see an area called the chord sheet.

Band-in-a-Box main screen showing chord sheet.

Each of the numbered cells on the chord sheet 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 chord sheet. 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 the 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

Chapter 2: QuickStart

the supported chord symbol display formats like Roman Numerals, Nashville Notation, Solfeggio, and Fixed Do
(popular in Italy and other parts of Europe).
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 chord sheet 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

Import Chords from the Audio Chord Wizard
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.).

Chapter 2: QuickStart

You can make adjustments for the start of bar 1 and individual bar lines and also 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. Then send
the chords
to Band-in-a-Box where you can make your own arrangement, tranpose it to your
key, and print out your own lead sheet for the song with chords, melody, and lyrics.
Loading an existing Band-in-a-Box format Song
Press the [Song] button to launch the SongPicker, which lists up to 10,000 songs in any folder. Songs
can be sorted and filtered by various criteria such as alphabetically, by title or by style.
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 BB File open 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:
The StylePicker window assists your selection with its categorized list, detailed descriptions, preview,
search, and filter features. Select the [Style] button or type Ctrl+F9 on your computer.

Chapter 2: QuickStart

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.
Method 2:
To make a quick selection, go to the Styles menu and choose from among the 24 “built-in” generic styles. This list
provides a convenient way to choose from among the most popular music genres.

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:
To open a user style from disk, you can just type the F9 key. You will be presented with an Open File dialog from
which you can select a specific style. Alternately you can select the Styles menu item Open a User Style from disk.

Chapter 2: QuickStart

Step 3 – Play your song!
You’ve entered chords on the chord sheet 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.

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 chord sheet
the Blues song was in the key of E. If you do change the key, Band-in-a-Box will offer to transpose the chord sheet
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 sign key [-] and the equal sign key [=] in the
number row of your computer keyboard, they are usually next to each other. If you tap the minus sign key 4 times at
your tempo, Band-in-a-Box will set the tempo automatically for you. If you tap the equal sign key four times, Bandin-a-Box will set the tempo and begin song playback at the tempo you tapped.
More fun with Band-in-a-Box…
That’s how easy it is to start creating music with Band-in-a-Box. Band-in-a-Box has many more features and user
options, which are discussed in later chapters. Have fun making music with Band-in-a-Box!

Chapter 2: QuickStart

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5
Welcome to Band-in-a-Box 2008.5!
Over 80 new features!
Band-in-a-Box 2008 introduced 50 cool new features, and now we’ve added 30 more with Band-in-a-Box
2008.5! Read on to discover the exciting new developments in Band-in-a-Box 2008, and then please keep on
reading to see what’s been added in the free update to version 2008.5.
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, dragand-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!

Summary of New Features in 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 can 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

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

make your own MultiStyles from scratch or by combining parts from existing styles into a MultiStyle. For example,
if you have 10 favorite Country styles, you can quickly make them into 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.
-

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.

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

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.

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 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

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)

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

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 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. For example, 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-ina-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.

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

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-aBox 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.
Fade Out Song.
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 Edit Settings for Bar 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 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

Summary of New Features Added in Band-in-a-Box 2008.5
This version has over thirty-five improvements, primarily to the area of RealTracks. And we have forty-four new
RealTracks available to add to the previous three released with Band-in-a-Box 2008.
The new RealTracks include Acoustic and Electric Bass (8), Fiddle (1), Guitar Fingerpicking (5), Guitar Strumming
(9), Metal Guitar comping (3), Electric Guitar (11), Resonator Guitar (2), Slide Guitar (2), Pedal Steel (4), and Sax
(3). These RealTracks are usable for background accompaniment or soloing.
These include diverse RealTracks for Country, Jazz, Pop, and Hard Rock. Examples are Jazz Acoustic Bass,
Country Guitar Soloing, Motown Sax, Metal Guitar comping and soloing, plus great Country sounds including
Resonator Guitar, pedal steel, slide guitar, fiddle and more!
In addition to the new RealTracks, there are thirty-five new features in Band-in-a-Box 2008.5, that will make your
existing RealDrums and Realtracks work faster, better, and use much less hard drive space!
Here are the new features:
Faster Generation of RealTracks. The time it takes to generate RealTracks is now three times as fast.
“Waveless” and much smaller in size, version 2008.5 uses 1/8 of the hard drive space compared to2008!
RealTracks and RealDrums no longer need WAV files – they can use WMA natively. This frees up huge amounts of
your hard drive, so that the RealDrums and RealTracks take up only 1 /8 of the space that they used to take! The
handy “Archive” function will remove the no-longer-needed WAV files with a single-click. This means that the new
version uses up much less hard drive space than previous versions.
Tempo stretching quality enhancements. Now the RealTracks sound great over a much wider tempo range,
typically -15 and +40 beats per minute from their original tempo.
Stereo panning is now available for the RealTracks.
Automatic prevention of audio clipping. (New Float mixing and Peak Limiter added.)
™
RealStyles available - these are styles that include all “Real Instruments,” with no MIDI. Up to 7 Real Instruments
all at once in a single style!

Improved transitions for RealTracks eliminating Pops/Clicks.
Right click menu is available for each part in Band-in-a-Box (bass, drums, piano, guitar, strings), allowing you
to quickly assign RealTracks, (or RealDrums) to that part along with other functions like mute, solo, save single
track, etc.
RealTracks browser dialog shows comprehensive information about the RealTracks, including name, genre, feel,
tempo, type, demos, and preview. Lists can be sorted or filtered by any column.
Easily save a style (.STY) with RealTracks, directly from the main screen (“save what you hear” as a style).
RealTracks Rests and Shots. RealTracks work for rests and shots.
Endings are now present in RealTracks.
Name of RealTracks or RealDrums display at the top of the screen for each part.
Save Single Track. Right click on a part to save that single track to disk as a WAV file.
RealTracks demos now present in RealTracks – demos folder, and can be opened from the StylePicker.
RealTracks Preview function to hear how a RealTracks will sound, without losing your current song.
Time Shift RealTracks. Ability to time shift a RealTracks by certain amount, to achieve more laid-back playing
for example.
Variations of RealTracks can be made, for things like a simpler type of soloing, or certain variations.
RealTracks can have multiple substyles. For example, the Jazz Acoustic Bass plays “2”’ feel in “a” substyle, and
“4” in “b” section.
Soloists can solo over different chords than the chords of the song. For example, the Metal Guitar Soloist can
have a tonal center controlled by the user, different than the song chords. So that the Metal Guitar can be soloing
over a G chord, while the chords of the song are G F G Bb, for example.

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

“Crescendo” Soloing can be generated for some RealTracks that have the intensity of the solo building up with
the flashiest part of the solos played as the solo builds.
Musicality of the solo phrasing improved, phrasing much closer to human.
RealTracks button added to Soloist dialog, with color coding to allow quick access to RealTracks.
RealTracks folders now have descriptive names. Instead of cryptic names like RacG001, they have names like
“Guitar, Electric, Soloist Cowboy Ev 165”
Bass track can now play RealTracks.
StyleMaker lists RealTracks names on the main screen.
Non English versions will work with the newest RealTracks without a new translation of the Soloist list
(Default.SOL file).
Archive and Install WAV buttons to control the use of the WAV files for RealDrums and RealTracks. WAV files
are no longer needed as the program can use the much smaller WMA files. If you prefer to use WAV files (slightly
higher fidelity and slightly faster operation), these commands provide the option to install or archive the WAV files
on a global or folder by folder basis.
…and more!

Nine Sets of RealTracks
The Band-in-a-Box 2008 release included three RealTracks. Now there are forty-four more RealTracks instruments
in nine different sets.
RealTracks Set 1: The Originals, New and Improved
Improved versions of the three original RealTracks – RealSax, Pedal Steel, and Acoustic Guitar.
RealTracks Set 2: Country Ballad
Acoustic guitar, both strumming and fingerpicking, a beautiful "spacey" electric guitar with delay effects, as well as
a sweet pedal steel part and a RealBass.
RealTracks Set 3: Swingin' Country
Two Swing RealPedalSteel styles and five Swing 8ths acoustic guitar RealTracks, including both strumming and
fingerpicking.
RealTracks Set 4: Modern Country
Rock, Pop, Folk and Country with RealResonatorGuitar, RealAcousticGuitar & RealBass plus a modern syncopated
groove that includes both acoustic & electric guitars.
RealTracks Set 5: Rockin Guitar
Smokin' Rock & Country Rock rhythm guitar grooves, as well as slide guitar soloists and R&B RealBass.
RealTracks Set 6: All Metal
Three different tempos of killer Metal rhythm guitar parts and totally tight bass parts plus the RockHardEven8
RealDrums style.
RealTracks Set 7: Acoustic Jazz Bass and Rock Sax
RealDoubleBass with either the straight-ahead, fluid approach of our PaulC bass style, or the aggressive approach of
our RayB style. Also in this set is the "Motown Rock" sax soloist.
RealTracks Set 8: Country Folk
Resonator Guitar, sweet RealFiddle, and basic acoustic guitar strumming patterns.
RealTracks Set 9: Country Electric Guitar
Great Country guitar grooves and soloists played by top Nashville session musicians. Included are two rhythm
guitar parts, "Cowboy," which is a true classic country groove, and "Train," which is a fast train-beat groove.

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

QuickStart Tutorial for the Version 2008/2008.5 New Features
The full descriptions of the new features in version 2008/2008.5 of Band-in-a-Box are provided elsewhere. This
tutorial is a QuickStart tour of the new features in this version of Band-in-a-Box.
Note: It is assumed that you are somewhat familiar with the previous release of Band-in-a-Box.

Explore Band-in-a-Box Version 2008/2008.5
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: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

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!

Assign RealTracks to Track dialog.
This dialog assigns a RealTracks instrument to any of the Band-in-a-Box instrumental tracks. It also shows any
RealTracks that are assigned to Band-in-a-Box tracks.
This dialog is launched by
1. Right-clicking on an instrument name at the top of the Band-in-a-Box main screen and choosing
Add/Remove RealTracks in the menu.

- or 2. Press the [Assign to Track…] Button in the RealTracks Settings dialog.

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

The dialog allows you to assign a specific RealTracks instruments to a track in a song. It also displays the current
RealTracks that are assigned to each track.
RealTracks can either be assigned from the style, or from the song. The dialog allows you to assign the ones in the
song.
Tip: RealTracks in styles are assigned in the StyleMaker. Press the [Misc.] button or use the menu command Style | Misc.
Settings to go to the Misc. Style Settings dialog, then click on the [More] button for the More Settings dialog.

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

To use the dialog, first select the track that you want to assign. Then, select the RealTracks that you want in the list
below it.

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.

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.

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

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.

Now, let’s make a Medley!
Choose File | Medley Maker (or press the [A+B] Medley Maker button on the toolbar).
Using the [Append] button choose the following files.
- C:\bb\styles00\ZZCHACHA.MGU
- C:\bb\styles00\ZZBOSSA.MG4
- C:\bb\styles00\ZZJAZZ.MG1
Your screen will look like this.

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

Press [Make Medley NOW].
You’ll now be hearing the medley. Note that:
- Style changes and tempo changes occur for each song.
- There are automatic transitions between the songs, with outro and intro chords between them generated
automatically.
- Key signature changes are written to the notation.

- Patch changes for the melody occur for each song because we have checked “Patch Changes” in the “Include with
Songs” group box.
-

The medley doesn’t loop at the end (because we left the Loop box unchecked).
Let’s put in a fadeout for the Medley.

Press the Song Settings button or select Edit | Settings (for This Song).

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

Choose a number of bars to fade out (press the [Fade] button to insert 6 bars of fade, or choose your own). Now the
song will fade out at the end!

Let’s visit the improved Audio Chord Wizard.
The Audio Chord Wizard now has a full chord sheet, allowing you to see the whole song at once, and you can insert
part markers to delineate the sections.
This means that you can learn the chords of the song while also seeing the form of the song with the sections divided
up.
This may become your “preferred method” of learning Pop tunes:
- Load the tune (MP3) into AudioChordWizard,
- put in the part markers,
- look at the sections to learn the form of the tune, and (of course),
- learn the chords!
And navigate through the song musically by clicking on the bars (with chords) in the chord sheet, instead of clicking
on the waveform’s timeline!
Press the Audio Chord Wizard button to launch the Audio Chord Wizard.
Choose an audio file (WAV/WMA/MP3/CDA from audio CD). For this discussion, open up c:\bb\Tutorial
BB2007\Frontier.MP3
You will now see the song, and the new Lead Sheet window in the Audio Chord Wizard is visible.
Press to play the song.
As the song plays, hit the Enter key (or F8) when the downbeat of a new bar starts.
This is called “tapping in a bar line.”
The first time you do that, the program will consider that point to be “bar 1.” Tap in a few more bar lines.
Click on the chord sheet, and the music will jump to that location.
Now, let’s define some sections in the song.
If a bar begins a new section, click on the bar # on the chord sheet, or press the P key to put in a part marker.
Pressing P again will change the part marker, and then turn it off.
Now the song is divided into sections, with space between each section, and each section starting on a new line.

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

We’ve explored the main screen, RealTracks, MultiStyles, Medley Maker, improved StylePicker, and Audio Chord
Wizard.
There are more details on all of these and other features in the following chapters.
This is the end of the tutorial.
Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter. Have fun!

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2008.5

Chapter 4: The Main Screen
Main Screen Overview
Band-in-a-Box supports Windows themes. It will use the current theme that you have selected in the Windows
Control Panel to use for windows and dialogs.
The main screen gives direct access to the major features and program settings of Band-in-a-Box for ease and
convenience during a session.
There are five different areas on the main screen.

1→
2→

3→
4→
5→

The main screen of Band-in-a-Box with a new, blank song.

1. The Status Bar is used to show program running status messages and path names of the currently loaded song.
2. The Synth Window is the area between the Menu Bar and the Piano Keyboard where Instruments patches are
set and levels are adjusted. It also includes buttons for adding harmonies to the Melody, Thru, or Soloist parts.
3. The Tool Bar area under the Piano Keyboard has buttons for direct access to important program features and
menus. Hold the mouse cursor on any button to see a pop-up hint that describes its function.
4. The Title Window shares the Tool Bar area. In addition to the song title, it includes all the other settings for
the song such as its Key Signature, Tempo, and Chorus settings. To the right of the Title Window are two
floating, dockable toolbars that can be configured by the user.

5. The Chord Sheet Area occupies the lower part of the screen. Chord changes for the song are typed into the
numbered bars (cells) in the sheet. Part markers (a, b, through x) are entered here to switch between up to 24
Band-in-a-Box substyles. Double lines are drawn on the chord sheet at the bar before a part marker. Repeats
and endings are also shown.

Personalizing the Main Screen
Band-in-a-Box gives you many options to personalize the main screen.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

Screen Layout
The Chord Sheet area (or Notation Screen) can be placed at the top of the screen if desired by selecting the “Put
Notation/Chords on Top” from the Window menu or by pressing Ctrl+T. (This is reversed by selecting the same
option.)
Display Options
Go to Opt. | Preferences or click on the [Pref] button to open the Preferences dialog. Then click on the [Display]
button to open the Display Options dialog where you can select a toolbar mode, show or hide the on-screen piano,
pick a song title font and set options for the chord sheet display including the number of rows to display for the main
chord sheet, the font to use, and the font size too. This allows you to read the chord sheet window from “across the
room.”

If you choose a Custom font, you can choose the size as well. Choose a preset font, and the size will be set
automatically to fit into the height of the row. Choose Jazz Symbols to see shorthand Jazz chord symbols in the
chord sheet and notation. To revert to the “old look” that used a small System font, and lots of rows, you can choose
that as the type of font “Small font (system).”
Whenever a new section occurs (a part marker) you have the option to start the new section on a new line and draw a
grey line above to clearly mark the new section. With this Section Paragraphs feature you’ll see each section on a
new line so that the form of the song is easy to see.
Transpose visually transposes the chord sheet and notation a number of semitones, e.g. +14 for tenor sax.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

Color Schemes
You can choose from several color sets using the 256-color palette in Windows. Choose from pre-made color
schemes or make your own. To change the color scheme, select Opt. | Preferences from the main screen, and then
click on the [Colors] button in the Preferences dialog to launch the Color Selection dialog.
To select a pre-made color scheme, press the [Import..] button and choose from the list of schemes. Select [OK] to
make the changes permanent. Use the [Export..] button to save and share your customized color schemes.
To make your own color scheme, click on the name of the element you wish to change (Chord Area, List Box, etc.),
then click on the [Choose…] button to bring up the Windows Color palette and click on the color you desire.

Status Bar
The name of the open song is identified in the status bar at the top of the screen. The full file name and path name
are shown, as well as audio track information if present, the length of the song in minutes and seconds, and the
current position of the highlight cell. Other “running status” messages such as Soloist Generation and Song
Generation display in the status bar.
The status bar changes during playback to show additional information like the current bar and chorus location and
the current style. The on-screen file name includes “*” when a file has been changed.

Status bar during playback.

Taskbar hint
The entire song name displays in the taskbar hint when Band-in-a-Box is
minimized. This is useful to find the name of a song playing when Band-in-aBox is playing in the background.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

Synth Window / Piano Keyboard

The Piano Keyboard:
This keyboard displays the notes (in different colors) that are being played by all instruments on various parts of the
piano keyboard during playback (except drums). The MIDI Thru/Soloist is also displayed on the piano keyboard.
On the top row, guitar (green), melody (red), and soloist (pink) are displayed.
On the bottom row, bass (brown), piano (blue), and strings (grey) are displayed.

Instruments and Parts:

Part Settings: The Bass/Drum/Piano/Guitar/Strings/Melody/Soloist and Thru buttons refer to instrument parts.
The parts in use for the current song and style are shown in yellow. Parts that are not used are in white. Parts with
RealDrums and RealTracks are colored green. The names of muted parts display in red.
To change a setting for one of the parts you need to do the following:
- Select the part by mouse clicking on the part name, or on the button immediately
to the left of the part name.
- Change the desired parameter to affect the new setting.
Instruments - Choosing

The instrument panel allows you to change the instrument for any part:
- Clicking on the drop-down arrow produces an instrument list that you can choose from by highlighting and
clicking on the desired instrument name.
- Clicking the [F] button produces a representative list of predefined favorite instruments that you can choose
from.
The [GM2] button lets you select patches from a list of both General MIDI and General MIDI 2 patches if
your system supports GM2.
Clicking on the instrument panel [+] button produces a comprehensive list of ALL of the patches
available for your synthesizer, including ones on higher banks (if applicable). This list displays
your patch names by name, where the patch is located (patch #, bank) and lets you pick them from an easily
customizable list.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

Audio
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. Click on the “Audio” label onscreen to open this dialog.
Harmony
The Harmony area displays the current Melody and Thru Harmony.
At the top right, you'll see the harmony boxes for the Melody and the Thru/Soloist.
The [M] button is for Melody harmony--pressing the [M] button
produces a list of harmonies you can choose from. In this case it's set to SuperSax for a Big Band Sax-section
harmony.

This button permanently writes the generated harmony to the Melody track.
Once converted, set the harmony to none to prevent a “harmony-on-harmony” effect.
The [No harmony] button disables the harmony for the song. The keystrokes Shift+F10 also allow or
disable the Melody harmony.
Tip: You can also search for a harmony by a keyword (i.e. typing in the first few letters of a harmony name) in either the
Harmonies or Favorite Harmonies dialog.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

Pressing the [F] button produces a list of your favorites;
the 50 most recently loaded harmonies.

The [T] button is for Thru/Soloist harmony. Either
your live part or the Soloist will be harmonized in real
time--in this case using George Shearing Quintet type
harmony (piano, vibes and guitar). Pressing the [F]
button produces a list of your favorites (the 50 most
recently loaded harmonies). Pressing the Shift+F11
keys toggles the Thru harmony on and off.

Loop Section Settings
The loop button launches the Loop Section Settings dialog, allowing you to set a range of bars to loop in
Band-in-a-Box.
The “LoopSec/LoopScn” checkbox turns the Loop Section on/off. When it shows “LoopSec” a
selected range of bars repeats in an endless loop. “LoopScn” indicates a screen of notation is looping.
The Wizard and Embellisher
The Wizard is an intelligent play along feature that uses your QWERTY keyboard as a
substitute for an external MIDI piano-style keyboard or optionally works with a connected external MIDI keyboard
on the Thru channel. Toggle this checkbox “on” to play along with Band-in-a-Box. The bottom row of keys plays
chord tones, the second row plays passing tones - you play any key in either row and never make a mistake!
During playback, the Melody Embellisher changes timing of notes, durations, velocities,
and legato, as well as adding grace notes, additional notes, and “turns.” It is turned on and off by the Embellisher
checkbox on the main screen.
Embellisher settings are accessed from the menu item Melody | Embellisher or the Embellisher button
on the toolbar.

Toolbars
The main toolbar extends the full width of the screen. (It is divided in two here.)

The [New] button clears the Chord Sheet to start a new song. Band-in-a-Box reminds you to save your
work before it erases the chords.
The [Open] button is used to open (load) songs into the program from a standard Windows Open File
dialog.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

Use the [Prev.] button to immediately open the previous song in the same folder (in alphabetical order)
without going through the usual file opening process.
Use the [Next] button to instantly open the next song in the same folder (in alphabetical order) without
going through the usual file opening process.
The [Save] button saves the song to disk with the standard Windows Save As dialog.

This saves the song, allowing you to choose or confirm the name and location for the file save.

The [Save +] button opens the Assign Instruments and Harmonies to Song dialog where custom
patches, harmonies, and other settings can be permanently saved with the song.
The [.MID] button allows you to make a Standard MIDI File and save it to disk as a file with extension
.MID or to the Windows Clipboard with type “Standard MIDI File.” Type 0 and Type 1 MIDI files are
supported, or you can also choose to save the song as a Karaoke file with the .KAR extension.
This is the “Render to WAV file” button, which will convert (render) your MIDI arrangement to an audio
wave file. It includes a batch render feature to convert an entire folder of songs in a single operation.
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.
Transport Controls
These buttons are like the transport controls on a CD player or a media player.

[Play] button generates a new arrangement and plays the song.
[Loop] plays the selected (highlighted) section of the chord sheet in a loop.
[Replay] plays the song from the beginning without creating a new arrangement.
[Stop] button stops the song or the Jukebox from playing.
[Pause] button pauses the song during playback.
[From] button is used to play a song starting anywhere in the song, including tags or endings. This feature is also
available from the right-click menu in the Chord Sheet.
The [Melodist] button opens the Generate Chords and/or Melody dialog, where you can choose
the type (or genre) of Melodist you wish to have generate a complete new song with chord changes
and melody as well as an improvised solo and an original song title.
The [Soloist] button opens the Select Soloist Dialog, where you can choose the Soloist you wish to
have play over any given chord changes.
The [Juke] button is used to start or stop the Jukebox. The [Õ] and [Ö] arrow keys
are used to move to either the previous or next song in the Jukebox.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

The [Rec.] button is to record a song from the beginning. The music that you play in to the computer
will then be stored on the Melody track. The “R” key is the keyboard equivalent.
The [R. Aud] button launches the Record Audio dialog for live audio recording.

You can make yourself sound like a 5 piece vocal group or a 16-voice choir! Record a vocal part,
and add a 4 part audio harmony. Press the audio harmony button on screen to do this.
Band-in-a-Box supports DirectX and VST audio plug-ins – you can apply them directly to the digital
audio track. Use the cool PG Music plug-ins provided, or any other DirectX and VST plug-ins that
you have.
This allows you to select and configure DXi (DirectX instruments) or VSTi software synthesizers.
The “Use DXi Synth” checkbox must be selected in the MIDI Driver Setup dialog.
Sends out an “all notes off” message to your MIDI or software synthesizer, so it can function as a
“panic” button to stop a hung or stuck note.
This button resets General MIDI devices by sending a GM mode On message and then setting up the
Band-in-a-Box patches.

Floating Toolbars
These are Copy and Paste buttons for chords or notes. They copy to the Windows
clipboard, and paste from the clipboard.
The Folder button allows you to change song and style folders or directories from within the
program.
Use the Favorite Folders button to select a folder from previously used folders. Shift-click on this
button to choose any folder.
Open an audio file (WAV, WMA, MP3) and the Audio Chord Wizard will automatically figure out
the chords.
The Practice Window is where many of the features and add-on programs useful for learning can
be launched.
This controls the RealDrums, which are audio drums that can replace the MIDI drums with a real
drummer.
This opens the RealTracks Settings dialog. RealTracks are audio instruments other than drums,
such as RealPedalSteel, RealAcousticGuitar, and RealSax.
The Medley Maker allows you to quickly make a medley out of existing Band-in-a-Box songs.
The guitar button launches a guitar fretboard window that displays guitar notes as music is playing.
This button allows you to enter repeats, 1st and 2nd endings, DS al coda, DC al coda and more. The
Auto-Find feature enters them automatically.
The [Intro] allows you to generate and insert an intro into a song with a “press of the button.”

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

The Big Piano button launches a Big Piano window. It will display the notes to any track (except
drums) as the music is playing.
This launches the applet for your sound card mixer. Use the mixer to make global settings to your
sound card's input and output options.
Press the Guitar Chord button to launch the Generate Guitar Chord Solo dialog.
The Ear Training button opens the Ear Training window that plays chord types and intervals for
you to improve your playing-by-ear.
Launches the Pitch Invasion game that helps to develop perfect pitch as you shoot down “alien”
notes invading from above.
Launches the Music Replay game that develops pitch, rhythm, and melody recognition by
replaying what the program plays.
The Vocal Wizard selects and transposes the song to the best key for a singer’s vocal range.
This button launches the Chord Options dialog box, which allows you to add chord pushes, rests,
shots, and held chords for any given bar.
The grace note button opens the Melody Embellisher dialog for customizing the Melody
Embellisher.
You can convert your composition to an audio CD. Press the CD button to burn a CD with the
built-in CD burner program.
This button connects to the www.pgmusic.com web site.
If you have a Sound Blaster card, this button runs the Creative Mixer.
The SoundTrack feature allows you to generate music of fixed length for backgrounds in videos,
corporate presentations, jingles, etc.
The Reharmonist creates a chord progression based only on the melody. It can also reharmonize
existing chord progressions.
This button opens the Notation window, where you can enter chords and lyrics, edit notation, and
view MIDI notation.
The Lead Sheet notation is a full-screen notation window with optional Fake Sheet mode that
shows 1st and 2nd endings, repeats, and codas.
Launches the Piano Roll window for editing the Melody or Soloist tracks in a piano roll format,
including graphic controller editing.
The Audio Edit window displays a graphical waveform and allows editing. Hold Shift when
pressing to open a moveable window.
Use the Print button to launch the Print Options dialog, which allows you to print Lead Sheet or
Fake Sheet style notation.
The Drum button launches an animated Drum Kit window. Press it to launch this fully functional
(and fun) GM-MIDI “virtual” drum kit.
The Song Title button generates a song title for the current song. Each time it is pressed a new title
is generated.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

This button opens the Big Lyrics window for full screen “Karaoke-style” scrolling lyrics.
Runs the Sequencer for control of multi-channel Melody or Soloist tracks. Each track can record
up to 16 separate channels.
The Conductor window allows live, real time QWERTY keyboard or MIDI control of the song as
it is playing.
The Audio VU meters display the input volume for audio recording and the output volume for
audio playback.
There’s a Lyric Document window so you can easily copy and paste lyrics to and from your
favorite word processor.
This button opens the Windows Recording mixer where you set your recording inputs. Select
Microphone or Line-in to record audio.
The [Pref] button will bring up a dialog box where you can set various settings all at once and
access most of the program options.
The StyleMaker button opens the current style in the StyleMaker, allowing you to edit the style by
editing the patterns.
This button opens the “Hybrid Styles” feature that allows you to create a new style by using
instrument parts from up to five different styles.
This opens the Style Creation Wizard dialog, where Band-in-a-Box will automatically convert a
MIDI file into a Band-in-a-Box style.
This is the Chord Builder button. Chords may be heard and entered to the chord sheet by clicking
in this dialog.
The MIDI Monitor button launches a MIDI Monitor that displays the MIDI Data flowing in and
out of your computer/synth.
The tuner button opens the Guitar Tuner so you can tune a guitar or other instrument that is
plugged into the sound card.
The SB button opens the Sound Blaster control panel, but only if you use a Sound Blaster card.
Sound fonts are loaded in the control panel.
This button toggles the chord display among standard (CMaj7), Roman Numeral (Imaj7), Nashville
(1Maj7), Solfeggio (DoMaj7) and Fixed Do.
This runs the stand-alone Title Generator program, which will generate and print 50 new song titles
at a time.

Title Window
The Title window shows the basic information about the current song at a glance - its title, style, key, tempo, and the
length and number of choruses. It also gives quick access to the Song List, the StylePicker, Memos, and Song
Settings.

The [Song] button launches the Load Song by Full Titles dialog box.
The [F] favorites button opens a list of the last 150 songs played.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

The [Style] button launches the StylePicker window. This window offers detailed information about
each style.
The [F] favorites button opens a list of the last 150 styles chosen.
The names of the last five songs are listed at the bottom
of the File menu, and are numbered from 0 to 4.
Note: Pressing Shift+F3 on your computer keyboard
will bring up a list of the last 150 songs that you’ve
loaded.

The Song Title window allows you to enter the name of a song.

Click in the box with your mouse to start an insertion cursor and type in the name of your song. The title is
automatically included when the song is printed.
Style Display Window
This window displays the current style in use. Both the name of
the style file and the long name are shown.
Mouse over the style to see the full name or right mouse-click on the style name for a menu of style utilities. These include
choosing and changing styles as well as playing the demo song for the currently loaded style. A right click also brings up
the style memo at the same time.

Key Signature
The key signature of the song is displayed on the main screen under the title. To change the key, click
on the key signature to choose a new key from the dropdown list box. Band-in-aBox then asks you if you would like to transpose the song or not. Press [Yes] to confirm, or [No] to leave the
melody and chords untransposed (only the key signature will change). An instance where you would say “no” is
where you have entered a song without first setting the key signature and you want to apply the correct key
signature.
Tempo Control
The current tempo displays in the Title window, with controls for easy tempo settings and
adjustments.
Click the mouse on the spin control arrows to raise or lower the tempo in by 5 bpm (beats per minute) at a
time. Use a right mouse click on the tempo arrows to change the tempo by 1 bpm at a time.
Tap the = (equal sign) key on the number row of your computer keyboard for 4 beats to set the tempo and
start the playback immediately at that tempo. Or click the [=] button on the screen with your mouse pointer.
Tap the – (minus sign) key on the number row of your computer keyboard for 4 beats to set the tempo. Or
click the [-] button on the screen with your mouse pointer.
Chorus Control
The Chorus Control buttons are used to set the overall format of your song.
Chorus Begin button: Click on the Chorus Begin Button to select the first bar of the chorus. The Bar
number that you select is displayed.
Chorus End button: Click on the Chorus End Button to select the last bar of the chorus. The Bar number

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

that you select is displayed.
The number of choruses possible for a tune is 40. Click on the chorus button and choose how many
choruses you require.
As the song is playing the current chorus is displayed at in the chorus button. 2/3 shows that the second of
three choruses is playing.
If you change the number of choruses, Band-in-a-Box will offer to fill up or remove choruses of the Melody track to
match the new number of choruses.
Title window checkboxes
When the loop checkbox in the Title window is checked, the song plays endlessly until stopped by
the Esc key, the space bar, or the [Stop] button.
Enables fake sheet mode for the chord sheet with 1st and 2nd endings and repeats. Right click to
auto-detect repeats.
Press the [S] button, or choose Edit | Settings (for This Song)… to select additional settings for the
current song.
The [Memo] button allows you to put in a memo to a song. You can type in a memo or you can
paste text from the Windows clipboard.
The song memo has a “Close w/play” option to close the memo automatically when Play is pressed, and not reopen
when Stop is pressed. This setting, in combination with the “Auto-open” setting, ensures that the memo opens when
the song opens but closes during playback.

Automatic Memo-Generation
The Song memo has 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, like
substyle patch changes or harmonies.

Chord Sheet Area
Chords, rests, shots, holds, and part markers are entered in the Chord Sheet.
The chord sheet can be viewed in the full linear view showing all bars, or optionally in fake sheet view that shows
1st and 2nd endings and repeat signs. Another option shows bars past the end of the song in gray.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

Chord Entry
The basic way of entering a song into Band-in-a-Box is to type in the chords to the song on the chord sheet
(worksheet). The arrow keys move the active (highlighted) cell around in the chord sheet. The Enter key advances
to the next ½ bar. Chords can be entered from the QWERTY keyboard or an external MIDI keyboard (see Window
| MIDI Chord Detection…).
Chords are typed in using any of the supported chord symbol displays:
1. Standard chord symbols (e.g., C or Fm7 or Bb7 or Bb13#9/E).
2. Roman numerals (Imaj7).
3. Nashville Notation (1Maj7).
4. Solfeggio (DoMaj7).
5. Fixed Do. In Italy and other parts of Europe, chords like C7 are always referred to by the Solfeggio name (Do7
for C7) regardless of the key signature.
Notes: It is not necessary to type upper or lower case. The program will sort this out for you. Any chord may be entered
with an alternate root (“Slash Chord”) e.g.: C7/E = C7 with E bass. Separate chords with commas to enter 2 chords in a 2
beat cell, e.g., Dm, G7

Shortcut Chords:
If you enter a lot of songs, you'll appreciate these shortcut keys.
- J = Maj7
- H = m7b5 (H stands for Half diminished)
- D = dim
- S = Sus
Example: To type CMaj7, just type CJ (it will be entered as CMaj7)
Add your own chord shortcuts.
You can make your own shortcuts text file and name it \bb\shortcut.txt. This allows you to add new chord shortcuts.
(Note that this file doesn't ship with Band-in-a-Box or it would overwrite your file.)
If you find a chord that Band-in-a-Box won't accept like Csus2 (it expects C2), you can enter this on a single line
(without the quotes) “Csus2@C2.” Then Band-in-a-Box will enter the chord C2 if you type in Csus2.

Part Markers
Part Markers are placed on the chord sheet to indicate a new part of the song, to insert a
substyle change, or to insert drum fills. They typically occur every 8 bars or so, but may
be placed at the beginning of any bar.
Double lines are drawn on the chord sheet at the bar before a part marker.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

MultiStyles
Band-in-a-Box MultiStyles are styles that can have up to 24 substyles; original Band-in-a-Box
styles had two substyles, “a” and “b.” Band-in-a-Box MultiStyles typically have four substyles,
but may have up to twenty-four, selected by using part markers “a” through “x.”
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.

Play Selected Area as a Loop
To use this function, select a region on the Chord Sheet.

Click on the [Loop] button, Shift-click on the [Play] button, or press F10 (Play Selected Area as Loop)
and the program will play a selected region, and loop the selection. For example, you can select bars 19
and 20, and then press F10, and bars 19 and 20 will play looped.

Chapter 4: The Main Screen

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box
With Band-in-a-Box you can arrange, record, save, and print your own song ideas. Just type in the chords to any
song; choose a style and press [Play] to hear the “band” play a full arrangement. Then record a Melody - either
MIDI or live audio – or have Band-in-a-Box write an original Melody for you. Add Melody embellishments and
harmony, an automatically improvised Soloist, an Intro, and print out a multi-part Lead Sheet or a Fake Sheet with
repeats and endings in a “handwritten” Jazz font. Edit the notes for the Melody or Soloist track in the Piano Roll
window, with precision graphic editing of controllers. Use the Melody Pitch Tracking feature to “tweak” the pitch
of your Band-in-a-Box audio track, and then add amazing “stylized” 4-part audio harmonies. PG Music’s live audio
RealDrums and RealTracks add the human element of live studio recordings to your arrangement.

Loading and Playing Band-in-a-Box Songs
Band-in-a-Box supports most popular song formats in addition to its own native song files. It will open most audio
file formats, and its powerful Audio Chord Wizard feature will interpret the chords from an audio file and write
them to a Band-in-a-Box song file. You can also play karaoke files, including Karaoke MP3/CDG files with
scrolling graphical lyrics, in Band-in-a-Box.
In this section we will explain how to load and play existing Band-in-a-Box song files.
Open any song file with the familiar Windows-style dialog box, just like any other file on your
disk. Or use the Find File feature (File | Find File) to filter files by words found in the file name or
any text in the file.
Start song playback.

The [Loop] button plays the highlighted section of the chord sheet or notation in an endless loop.
Click and drag the mouse to highlight a section of bars to loop.
Replays the song without regenerating the tracks, so the current arrangement is preserved. (Save the
song to a MIDI file to permanently save the arrangement.)
Stop song playback.

Pause playback with the [Pause] 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 the SongPicker window, a resizable window that lists all of the songs in the
current directory and, optionally, its subdirectories. For example, if you get a song list of c:\bb, it
can include songs in subfolders like c:\bb\styles34.
You can lock the SongPicker to always open in the same folder and use the same list to keep track of all songs on
your disk.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

The first time that you select the [Song]
button Band-in-a-Box automatically writes
the song list. The current folder name is
displayed in the title bar, with the total # of
songs displayed. The Song List generation
has a [Cancel] button so that it can be
interrupted.

From then on, the SongPicker opens when the button is pressed and songs can be selected by title from the
alphabetical list. Songs can be sorted by any of the column headings, like Song Title, File Name, Style, Tempo, etc.,
by clicking the mouse on the heading at the top of the column.
Either a plus (+) or minus (-) sign will appear beside the selected column heading.
A plus sign indicates that the column is sorted in ascending order; a minus sign
indicates that it is sorted in descending order.
Filter
Use the filter to search by column, song title, file name, or style.

Folder Settings
The folder settings are at the bottom of the SongPicker.

The Current Folder name is displayed.
The folder can be changed, either by:
1.

Selecting the new folder.

Choosing a folder from recently used favorites folder.

Changing the current folder to the BB home folder.

Going “up” a folder (e.g. from c:\bb\styles to c:\bb).

When the new folder is chosen, the song list for that folder will be displayed. The song list may need to be rebuilt;
the program will do that automatically.
If the “Always open in this folder” item is selected, the song picker
will always open up in the specified folder. So if you put all of your
songs in c:\songs, you can make the SongPicker always open to the c:\songs folder.
If “Include Subfolders” is selected, the SongPicker list will contain songs
from the folder and any subfolders. So if you have subfolders to c:\songs
like c:\songs\country and c:\songs\jazz, you can see/search them all in the same SongPicker dialog.
Tip: If you choose c:\ as your folder, the SongPicker would find every Band-in-a-Box file on your hard drive and display it in
the SongPicker. You might instead find it easier to put all of your songs within a folder like c:\songs, and have various

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

subfolders to that. And then set the SongPicker to always open up in the c:\songs folder. Then you’ll have access to all of
your songs easily.

Choose a song from the Favorite Songs dialog.
Open a song (or any media type) using the Open File dialog.
Find a song using the Find song files… dialog.
Copy the song list to the Windows clipboard where it can be pasted into any
word processing program and printed.
Search for song by keyword will find the search term if it is present in any field.
The filter (upper right) can also be used to search the song list.
Search Again repeats the previous search starting from the current point.
[Rebuild List] will exit the dialog and build or rebuild the song list file by
loading in all of the songs in the directory. It will then launch the SongPicker
dialog with the updated information.
Exports the list as a Comma Separated Value text file that can be opened by
spreadsheets.
Click here to change the fonts in the SongPicker window.

Band-in-a-Box SongPicker window.

Check “Play when chosen” to automatically play the selected song.
Once you’ve loaded a song you’ll see the chords on-screen in the chord sheet so you can follow the chord changes
and play along with the band.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

There are right mouse menu options on the Chord Sheet, such as “Play from Bar/Chorus #.”

Chord Sheet Options
You can set up the chord sheet with your own preferences. Go to Opt. | Preferences or choose the [Pref]
toolbar button to open the Preferences, and click on the [Display] button to open the Display Options.
In the Chord Sheet area of the Display Options you can pick a chord sheet font and the number of rows to display,
or set an option to automatically adjust the number of rows to display.
Whenever a new section occurs (a part marker) you have the option to start the new section on a new line and draw a
grey line above to clearly mark the new section. The “Extra line space between sections” setting determines the
amount of space (in pixels) to add on a new line when there is a part marker.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Transpose Chord Sheet option
The “Transpose” option is also found in
the Display Options dialog. It is useful
for non-concert pitch instruments like
Tenor Saxophone. This option is also
available on the Notation window.

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, including the Harmony feature.
When playing along on a keyboard to the Band-in-a-Box “band,” if the sound
of your keyboard is too quiet and increasing the THRU Volume doesn't help
enough use this option to boost the THRU velocity and make your THRU playing louder. (For example, nonvelocity sensitive keyboards are usually set to output a quiet velocity of 64). To set this “THRU velocity boost,”
open the MIDI Settings dialog (Opt. | Preferences | Channels). Click on the [Options] button and set “Boost
THRU Velocity by” to a value in the range of –127 to +127 in the MIDI Options dialog. (Default is 0.)
Harmonize your play along part by pressing the [T] button in the Synth window to choose a harmony,
just as you would for the Melody.
Using the Wizard with MIDI keyboard input

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

The Wizard can also be used with a connected MIDI keyboard. The keyboard wizard always plays correct notes,
and is a fun way to play along with Band-in-a-Box. The MIDI keyboard also sends volume information (unlike the
QWERTY keyboard), so is a better choice if you have a MIDI keyboard connected.
This feature is accessed with the [Transpose] button in the Preferences dialog. To turn on the Wizard to allow
MIDI control, choose “Use Wizard for THRU part.” Make sure that the Wizard
checkbox is enabled on the main screen.
Now, when you play notes on the MIDI keyboard (during playback), they will get remapped to chord tones.
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.
This scale - C D E F G A Bb B - is considered the “Bebop” scale, useful for playing over dominant 7th chords.

Change the Style
Try different styles by clicking on the [Style] button to choose from a list of the styles available
in the StylePicker window. Styles that have the same feel (triplets, eighths,
sixteenths) and a similar tempo range to the current prototype will be indicated with an (*) asterisk. Styles with a (^)
caret have a similar feel but a different tempo range.

Band-in-a-Box StylePicker window.

You can 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.
You can also change the style at any bar in the song, so you could use a
few similar styles to add variety while keeping the same feel. This is
done in the Edit Settings for Current Bar dialog, which opens with
either the F5 function key or the Edit | Settings for Current Bar menu
command.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

In the style change dialog (F5 and
others) you can audition the style that
you are considering.

This dialog can also be opened
with the [Bar Settings] button in the
Song Settings dialog.

Make a MultiStyle Song
If you have a song, you can also use more than 2 substyles for that song. For example, let’s say we have a song that
is a Bossa Nova and you want to have a Jazz Swing section. Rather than finding a MultiStyle that has this exact
combination, we can make one, in the song, for this song only as follows:
Load a song like c:\bb\styles0\zzbossa.mg4

Right click on a bar number, and choose “Define c/d.”
Then choose ZZJAZZ.STY from the StylePicker.

You will then see that there are 4 substyles now, a, b, c, d. You can use the “d” substyle for Jazz Swing walking
bass, since it is the same as the “b” substyle from ZZJAZZ.
Load the song c:\bb\Tutorial BB 2008\ “Demo of MultiStyle in song only Bossa 2 Jazz.MG4” and you can see the
finished result. This song switches styles using part markers.
Note: The RealDrums will play for all of the styles if you have enabled RealDrums and “Substitute RealDrums for \ MIDI
drums” in the RealDrums Settings dialog.

Change the Sound
You’ll find the Synth window at the top of the screen. Select an instrument part by clicking its name. The black
dot beside the name indicates the selected part. Any changes to the Instrument, Volume, Reverb, Chorus, Bank, etc.
will apply to that part. Change the instrument patch by scrolling through the 128 General MIDI instrument names in
the Instrument box, even while the song is playing.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

The Band-in-a-Box Synth window controls instrument settings.

Solo an Instrument Part
While listening to Band-in-a-Box, you can easily solo (isolate) a certain part by holding the Control key and mouse
clicking (left or right) on the instrument at the top of the screen. For example, if you want to hear only the Piano
part, Control-Click on the Piano part. If you want to use hot keys for this, you can press Alt+2 (Mute-All) and then
Alt+4 (Unmute Piano).
Mute All Parts
To mute/unmute all parts as the song is playing, simply press Alt+2 or right-click on the “Combo” radio buttons at
the top of the screen.
MIDI Normalize
If performing live, or at a jam session, it helps to have the volume of all of the songs be similar. With the MIDI
Normalize feature, you can level the volumes to a setting in the program options. For example, you can set all
volumes to be 70 and the program will make each song play within those levels. This is done in the Preferences
[Arrange] tab.
When you have set the normalize to “on” the status bar at the
top of the screen reports that Normalization is set to 70, and that
the velocity of the currently playing song has been increased from 49 to 70.
The normalization will affect bass, drums, piano, guitar, and strings. If you select the “Including melody and
Soloist” option, the normalization will also affect the melody and soloist parts.

Play Selected Area as a Loop
To use this function select a region on the Chord Sheet.

Loop any Section of the song.
You can loop any section of the song. The program will then start playback at the first loop point and play the
looped section until stop is pressed or looping is turned off. This feature is handy for looping a full chorus or other
section of a song for practice or performance.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Looping of a section of the song is enabled by the “LoopSec” checkbox or with the keystroke
NUMPAD 1.
Open up the Loop Section Settings dialog by clicking the Loop button, or pressing NUMPAD 2. The Loop
settings dialog will then display.

Medley Maker
Would you like to make a medley of various Band-in-a-Box songs (MGU) using Band-in-a-Box? This is easily
done with the new Medley Maker. Inside the Medley Maker, simply select the songs that you want, and Band-in-aBox 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!
To open the Medley Maker, click on the [A+B] button on the toolbar or choose File | Medley Maker. This
launches the Medley Maker dialog.

The Conductor Window
As the song is playing, many “single key” hot keys are available to control the playback and looping of the song.
For example, pressing the “4” key will insure that the middle chorus is the next one played, and pressing the “S” key
will insure that the middle section is looped. This would be useful to extend a song that has the last chorus playing.
Custom loop points can also be set for each song. These settings are ideal for live performance, or “jam sessions”
where you aren’t entering new Band-in-a-Box songs, but want full control of the playback. These loops happen
seamlessly at the end of the chorus, so are suitable for the “dance floor.” In addition, you can control Band-in-a-Box
from a standard MIDI keyboard, pressing MIDI keys corresponds to program functions. For example, load the next
song, play/pause/tempo adjust/change thru patch/jump to middle choruses/open the notation or lead sheet window –
all from your MIDI keyboard!
Press the Conductor button to launch the Conductor window with more settings and
descriptions. This feature is documented in the PowerGuide chapter and in the Help
file.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Add Real Instruments – RealDrums and RealTracks
Your songs, styles, and solos can use live audio tracks recorded by studio musicians. These live recordings can be
substituted for the Band-in-a-Box tracks in the RealDrums Settings or RealTracks Settings dialogs.

RealDrums
There are several ways to hear RealDrums with new or existing Band-in-a-Box songs.
We provide many styles that already have RealDrums. These styles can be identified by the style name beginning
with a minus sign. For example “-ZZJAZZ.STY” is a version of the ZZJAZZ.STY that uses RealDrums.
Styles (.STY) can have RealDrums (e.g. “–ZZJAZZ.STY”).
This setting is found in the StyleMaker’s Misc. Style
Settings dialog.

You can set the RealDrum style inside the StyleMaker, by pressing the [Misc] button, and then typing
the name of the RealDrum style.
RealDrums can be substituted for MIDI drums on existing styles in the RealDrums
Settings dialog, which opens with the RealDrums toolbar button or with the [RealDrums]
button in the Preferences dialog.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

With “Enable RealDrums” checked RealDrums may be used rather than MIDI. There is
also a hot key combination to turn RealDrums on/off (Ctrl+Shift+F6).
The hot keys also work while the song is playing.
This will substitute RealDrums for MIDI styles. You can change the setting from 1 to 5.

If set to 1, almost all MIDI drums will get substituted by RealDrums. If set to 5, only RealDrum styles that match
the style perfectly will get substituted.
Technical note: The text file a_pgmusic.ds provided by PG Music controls this, and users can make other files MySubs.ds
if they make their own RealDrums styles.

Songs can have RealDrums added to them. To do this, set the desired style in the Preferences
RealDrums Settings dialog, or with File | Save Song with Patches & Harmony.
This will let the current song use the specific RealDrums style.

The Edit Settings for bar… dialog (F5 key) lets you use multiple
RealDrums styles within a song - either using the RealDrums from a
Band- in-a-Box style or specifying a RealDrums style to use at a bar.

RealTracks
There is a RealTracks button on the toolbar. The RealTracks Settings dialog lets you control the
RealTracks.

This dialog can also be accessed by selecting the [RealTracks] button from the
Preferences window.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

There are three ways that you can use RealTracks with Band-in-a-Box.
1.

RealTracks in songs. The [Assign to Track] button in the RealTracks Settings dialog allows you to
assign specific RealTracks instruments to a track in a song. It launches the Assign RealTracks to Track
dialog, which also displays the current RealTracks that are assigned to each track.

Technical note: You can add a RealTrack to an existing style in the StyleMaker, using [Misc] [More] “Assign RealTracks to
style.” The RealTracks gets generated on one of the Band-in-a-Box style tracks (Piano, Guitar, or Strings).

RealSoloists. These are Soloists that are generated on the Soloist track, by pressing the Soloist button on
the main screen. Soloists 361-363 are using the RealTracks. Tip: You can quickly go to Soloist 362 by
typing 362 and pressing “Go To #” or using the Favorites if you’ve previously chosen this soloist.

We include 3 RealTracks with Band-in-a-Box Pro
1.

RealPedalSteel. This is suitable for Country/SoftPop ballads with an even 8th feel, at a tempo of about 85.
It can be used in styles (on the Strings part) or as a Soloist. It can be used in a style or as a stand-alone
soloist.

RealAcousticGuitar. This is also suitable for slow ballads, tempo about 85. It features a strumming
Acoustic Guitar, and can be used as a Soloist (#362) or in a style (on the Guitar part).

RealSax. This is laid-back tenor sax Jazz soloing, medium tempo. It is used as a Soloist. Technical note:
It would be possible to make a style that has sax soloing, it wouldn’t be that useful musically.

More RealTracks are available as add-ons, or included in the Band-in-a-Box MegaPAK, SuperPAK, and UltraPAK..

Add a Melody – MIDI and/or Audio
Band-in-a-Box is much more than an intelligent arranger and accompanist. You can record your live
MIDI performance to the Melody track, enter a Melody in the Notation note-by-note, or use the Wizard
feature to record with either your computer keyboard or a connected MIDI keyboard controller.
Enable the Embellisher, and the Melody will be embellished as it plays. You hear a livelier, more
realistic Melody, and it's different every time.
The Embellisher is only active while the music is playing; the recorded Melody track isn’t affected. There is an
option for the Embellisher to only humanize the timing of the music if the timing was “stiff” to begin with. This
allows the Embellisher to leave the timing of human input melodies alone, and humanize only the ones that were
entered in step-time.
You can save/load your own presets for the Embellisher. Press the Export button to save the data as an .EMB file.
You can record an audio track of your live vocal or instrumental performance and save it to an audio
wave file along with the Band-in-a- Box accompaniment. Make sure that you have a microphone
plugged in to your sound card, or a connection from a mixer, keyboard, or other audio device connected
to the Line In jack on your sound card.

Opening and Importing Audio Files
A mono or stereo WAV file can be imported to the Audio track, optionally merging with or replacing any existing
audio track. Choose the menu item Audio | Import Audio (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV) File. You then choose an
audio file to import. The Import Audio File dialog is then displayed, which allows selection of the point to insert the
audio file, and whether to merge or overwrite existing audio in the range.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Audio Chord Wizard (Chords from MP3)
This feature analyzes a WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV, or CDA audio file and imports it to Band-in-a-Box.
Using the Audio Chord Wizard is a great way to learn and practice popular songs as you
play along and see the chords. There is 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. You can then learn the form of the song, as you can see the various sections
(intro/verse/chorus/break) at a glance, or quickly jump to any section simply by double clicking on that part of the
chord sheet.
The Audio Chord Wizard is fully described in the Tutors, Wizards, and Practice Aids chapter.

Harmonize the MIDI Melody
Press the [M] button in the Synth window to add a MIDI harmony to
the Melody track. Pressing the [F] favorites button brings up a list
of the last 50 harmonies used.
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.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

This button opens the Harmony Maker,
where you can customize Harmonists.
You can search for a harmony by a
keyword (i.e. typing in the first few letters of a
harmony name) in either the Harmonies or Favorite
Harmonies dialog.
This button is to turn off any notes that
are stuck on. (There shouldn’t be any.)
Enter the number of the harmony you
want to go to and press [Go To #].
Pressing either the [Fav] or the [F]
button produces a list the 50 most recently loaded
harmonies.
The [No harmony] button disables the
harmony for the song. The keystrokes Shift+F10
also allow or disable the Melody harmony.
When adding a harmony to the Melody (or Soloist) you can use the option to loosen up start times of for the
harmony notes to achieve a more natural, richer harmony sound.
Choose menu item Melody | Edit | Utilities | Loosen Start Times. You can select the range of adjustments. For
example, if you want the notes to be played earlier, use a negative number. A setting of minus 5 to positive 6 would
cause the start times to be varied up to 5 ticks early and 6 ticks late. There is also a setting to choose whether you
want only the harmony notes present on the track to be affected, leaving the original melody unaffected.

Convert Track to Harmony

This feature permanently writes the specified harmony to the Melody or Soloist track, instead of being applied in
real time. Use the buttons in the Select Melody/Soloist Harmony dialogs, or the Convert Harmony… menu
command found in the Melody and Soloist menus. You’ll then see a dialog allowing you to choose the range of the
song to add the harmony, either the whole song or a specified range of bars.
There are options to “Eliminate Note Overlap” and “Loosen start times of notes” for the harmony notes to achieve a
more natural, richer harmony sound. The melody is not affected, only the harmony notes, and there are options for
the range of spread for the harmony notes.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Note: Once the track is converted you should set the harmony to “None” or you will hear harmonies being applied to the
harmony notes, i.e., “harmony-on-a-harmony.”

Live Harmonies While Band-In-A-Box Is Stopped
Normally, the Live Harmony feature is not active when Band-in-a-Box is stopped. But you can in fact use the Live
Harmony even while a song is not playing.
You need only to open the Harmony | Real Time MIDI Harmonies menu item. Note that this Live Harmony dialog
must remain open for this feature to be active.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

When this dialog (shown above) is open, you can play a chord in the Left hand (below the split point set in the
dialog), and the chord you play is and displayed in the dialog. Then, the notes that you play in the right hand will
get harmonized according to this left-hand chord.
If you set the Only Harmonize if Left hand chord held down you'll be able to control what notes get harmonized
by holding down the chord when you want a note to be harmonized.

Play Along with the Wizard
The Wizard is an intelligent play along feature that is controlled with the bottom two rows of your computer’s
QWERTY keyboard. The bottom row of keys plays chord tones; the second row plays passing tones. You play any
key in either row and never make a mistake!
In the Play menu, toggle Wizard uses “Smart” notes to “off” (unchecked) to have the Wizard provide you access to
the chromatic scale. Toggle it “on” to have access only to the notes based on the chord/key of the song.
This also allows you to record to the Melody or Soloist track without an external MIDI keyboard, and can even be
used to trigger the Soloist Wizard. Also, play along using the Wizard works with the harmony feature, so you can
play along live from your QWERTY keyboard in 4-part saxophone harmony for example.
Playing the Wizard
The Wizard Keys are active during playback. The active keys are the lower 2 rows of the keyboard.

MIDI Keyboard Wizard
By turning on this Wizard setting in the Opt. | Preferences Transpose dialog, notes
played on a Thru channel MIDI keyboard will be played through the Wizard. C, E, G, and Bb will be mapped to
chord tones while D, F, A, and B will be passing tones.
Changing Instruments / Settings for the Wizard
As a play along instrument, the Wizard uses the Thru instrument part. To change the instrument patch, volume,
reverb, etc. for the Wizard select the Thru instrument in the synth window.

Add a Solo - “The Soloist”
That’s right! Band-in-a-Box can “solo like a pro” in over 200 styles.
Use the [Soloist] button on the main screen to open the Select Soloist dialog box and choose from over
200 Soloist profiles.
You can select a Soloist type (e.g. Modern Jazz) and see only
soloists matching the type.
And you can also filter to show/not show soloists
from Soloist sets that you don’t have.
Use the preset Soloist settings, or choose a Mode and which
Choruses to solo.

RealTracks
Band-in-a-Box has “Real” instruments such as Real
Pedal Steel, Real Acoustic Guitar, and RealSax.
These tracks replace the MIDI track for that instrument, and can be controlled just like the MIDI instrument (volume
changes, muting etc.). RealTracks can be can be generated to the Soloist (or Melody) track using the Soloist feature.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

With the “Trade” feature, you can Trade 2’s, Trade 4’s, or Trade 8’s
between your live playing and the Soloist.
There is a dedicated function to vary the start times of notes on the Melody or Soloist tracks, with options for what
notes to affect (harmony, chords, and amount of variance). Choose menu item Soloist | Edit Soloist Track | Utilities
| Loosen Start Times.

Using the Soloist Feature
1) Generate a Soloist and practice the solo by loopingit, slowing it down, or printing it out, until you can perform a
great solo on any chord changes!

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

2) Generate a Soloist and attach a Harmony such as “Big Band Brass” to create phenomenally quick and interesting
Big Band Arrangements automatically. Generate a standard MIDI file or print them out (with PowerTracks Pro) for
you and your friends.
3) Have the Soloist play a solo according to your accompaniment and arrangement (along with the other members of
your Band-in-a-Box, of course!)
4) Trade 4’s in a call-response fashion with the Soloist (you solo for 4 bars, Band-in-a-Box solos for 4 bars, etc.)
5) Concentrate separately on different aspects of your playing with assistance from the “Wizard.” From soloing
with proper phrasing and “feel” (the best notes are included automatically) to accompanying a soloist with
confidence and authority (Tip: try muting out one of the accompaniment parts such as the piano or guitar part and
play along to the Soloist in a supportive role-- its fun!)
6) Use the Soloist track to record another part in addition to the Melody and other parts provided by Band-in-a-Box.
7) Generate a Soloist on chords/keys that you would like to practice. Band-in-a-Box will play and solo with you all
day without getting bored. For example, if you want to work on your II-V7-I progressions (“two-five-one”), you
can just type the chords you want, and generate a solo to play over those changes. As the solo plays, you see the
notation, can you can sight read along. Pressing the “Loop Screen” checkbox on the notation will loop the notation
the screen so you can master each 4 bar phrase (II-V-I) and then move ahead to the next one!
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.
There are 3 notation modes in Band-in-a-Box, selected with the buttons in the Notation window toolbar.

Standard Notation for display of notes, chords, lyrics, and optional guitar tablature as well as
entering chords and lyrics. Notation is not editable in this mode.

Editable Notation to enter or edit notation with the mouse

Staff Roll Notation works like the Editable Notation plus note velocities and durations can be
viewed and edited with the mouse.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Standard Notation Window

Band-in-a-Box Standard Notation window.

The Standard Notation window can be used for notation display and the entry of chords and lyrics. Just type a chord
name and it will be inserted at the current time line location (the black vertical stripe just under the tool bar.)
Click on the instrument buttons to see the notation for the different parts: Bass, Drums,
Piano, Guitar, Strings, and the Melody [M], or the Soloist [S].
Press the [Opt.] button to set Notation window options such as track type, bar resolution, lyric font size,
and position, transpose options, and Regular or Jazz fonts.
This button opens the Lead Sheet window, which provides a full screen of notation either for an
individual instrument or for multiple instruments that you choose to view together by clicking the
instrument buttons while holding the Ctrl key.
Print out any part with the Print Button. In the Print Preview window save your notation as a graphic
file to upload to the Internet or to e-mail.
The [#] button opens the Event List for editing the Melody or Soloist tracks.
This is the button for note-based lyrics, which are automatically aligned with the corresponding note in
the Melody track.
Use the plus and minus buttons to zoom the Notation in and out.
The text button lets you enter section text or boxed text into the notation.
When the Scrub button is selected, notes will play as the mouse is dragged over them while holding
down the left mouse button.
Switch to Editable or Staff Roll notation modes with these buttons.

Editable Notation Mode
Click on the Editable Notation button to go to Editable Notation mode. Chords, lyrics, and text 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.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Band-in-a-Box Editable Notation window.

This is the screen for step-entry of a melody or for editing existing parts. There are checkboxes for different note
entry modes.
The Note or Rest checkboxes determine whether a note or a rest will be
inserted when the mouse is clicked.
When the Mono checkbox is selected, the notation is entered as monophonic (one note only). This is useful for
melodies that only have one note playing at a time. Mono mode is a faster way to enter notes, because the Notation
window will automatically delete a note that is present at the same location that you are putting a new note on. So if
you have mistakenly put a B note on as a C, you just click on the B note, and if in mono mode the C note will be
deleted automatically.
The notation has confirmation dialogs to prevent accidental entry of a duplicate note (same pitch near same time) of
a very high or very low note (large # of ledger lines).
Clean Notation
When music has been played in from a MIDI keyboard, there are frequently effects like grace notes, glitches, and
notes played off time. The Clean Notation mode is an intelligent feature that “cleans up the notation” for you. It
does this by eliminating the display of grace notes and glitches, and also simplifies the Notation display so it is more
readable. Clean Notation doesn’t affect the actual track it just controls how it is displayed. In general this should be
on, since it improves the display. But if you want to see every grace note or glitch that was played, then turn it off.
Beat Divisions
In the Editable Notation mode 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.

Example of swing (triplet) resolution.

Example of straight (16ths) resolution.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Tip: The edits you make to Band-in-a-Box accompaniment parts will be overwritten when the [Play] button is pressed and the
program generates a new arrangement. To hear the song play as edited, use the [Replay] button found next to the [Play] button.
Edited songs can be permanently saved as a MIDI file with the [.MID] button.

Staff Roll Notation Mode
Click on the Staff Roll Notation button to go to Staff Roll Notation mode.

Band-in-a-Box Staff Roll Notation window.

In addition to the editing features of the Editable Notation mode, in Staff Roll mode the velocity (vertical line) and
duration (horizontal line) of notes can be edited with the mouse.

Piano Roll Window
You can edit your tracks using the “Piano Roll” window, similar to the type found in many sequencer programs.
Edit the Melody or Soloist tracks with greater ease and precision. There are 2 panes in the window – one for notes
and the other for controllers, velocity, and other data. All notes and controllers are displayed as black/gray bars on a
grid. You can change note duration and pitch by selecting and dragging with your mouse.

The Piano Roll window enables precise graphic editing of note timing and duration. You can also graphically edit
note velocity, controllers, program changes, channel aftertouch, or pitch bend.
The Piano Roll may be opened as a movable window, which floats above the Band-in-a-Box main window, or it
may be opened embedded, in the same position as the Chord Sheet/Notation panels in the Band-in-a-Box main
window.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Track Selection

Select the Track - Bass, Drums, Piano, Guitar, Strings, Melody, or Solo.
It is most practical to edit the Melody and Solo tracks. The other tracks for the accompaniment are rewritten every
time Band-in-a-Box rebuilds the song (every time you click the [Play] button). So if you edit a “backing track,” be
sure to save as a MIDI file before rebuilding the song, or your edits will be lost.

Keyboard Pitch Panel
1.
2.
3.
4.

Click on a single note of the keyboard to select all notes of the clicked pitch.
Click-drag on the keyboard to select all notes in a pitch range.
Shift-click-drag to add another set of notes to the selection.
Ctrl-click-drag to invert a pitch selection.

For instance, you could drag C5 thru C6 to select an octave of notes.
Then Shift-click A3 to add all A3 notes to the selection. Then Ctrl-click F5 to remove all F5
notes from the selection.

Note Panel

Horizontal bars represent notes. Notes can be selected, edited (start time, pitch, duration), inserted, and deleted.
Note Selection
Selected notes are red.
1. Click on individual notes to select.
2. Shift-click on individual notes to add to the selection.
3. Ctrl-click on a note to invert (toggle) its selection.
Overlapping notes are displayed in bold Aqua color, making them easy to identify. Overlapped notes can be
eliminated from the right-click menu in this window.
Click on white space and then drag a rectangle around notes to select a group of notes. Only notes that start within
the rectangle are selected. If the left edge of a note is not inside the rectangle, it will not be selected. This is a
feature, not a bug!
1. Shift-drag a rectangle to add another group of notes to the selection.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Ctrl-drag a rectangle to toggle the selection of the notes in the rectangle.

Graphic Event Panel

Graphically display and edit non-note MIDI events. This panel only shows MIDI events specified in the Chan,
View/Edit, and Controller Type controls.
Zero-value events are drawn as small hollow squares, to make them easy to identify.
When graphically inserting controller and pitch bend events the event density is adjustable from one event per 1 tick
up to one event per 30 ticks.
With events such as pitch bend or controllers like modulation and sustain, it is important to take care to end a
“gesture” with a zero-value event. Otherwise, subsequent notes will be affected, with an unwanted “hanging”
permanent pitch bend, permanent vibrato, or sustain pedal locked down.
Event Selection
Selected Events are red.
Graphic Event Ruler Time Selections:
The Graphic Event Ruler will only select non-note events. In addition, it will only select the type of MIDI events
specified in the Chan, View/Edit, and Controller Type controls. When you make a Ruler Time selection, ONLY
THE VISIBLE events in this time range are selected. Other MIDI events in this time range are not selected.

Snap-to-Grid
Selections, Inserted Notes, or Edited Notes will snap to the grid spacing. If you do not
want snap-to-grid, select [NONE] in the drop-down menu.

Note Duration
Set the default duration of new inserted notes. It is easy to mouse-edit a note's duration
after a note is inserted, so it is usually sufficient to select a typical note duration that
makes sense for your purposes and then mouse-edit the duration of “exception” notes
after they are inserted.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

View/Insert Channel
If a track contains multiple channels, “All” will display MIDI events on all channels.
Otherwise, select the channel that you need to see. If “All” is selected, new MIDI
events are inserted on the Band-in-a-Box track's assigned channel.
Except for perhaps multi-channel Guitar tracks, Band-in-a-Box plays all track events on
the assigned track channel. Therefore, in almost all cases, the channel of track events
does not matter.
For instance, if the Melody track is set to transmit on channel 4, all events on the
Melody track will be sent on channel 4 regardless of the “actual channel” of each track
event.

Ghost Notes
When viewing a single channel, notes on other channels can be ghost-displayed in light gray. This is
useful when viewing multi-channel tracks.

View/Edit Graphic Data
Determine what graphic data to view or edit in the bottom Graphic Data panel.
Choose Velocity, Controller, Program Change, Channel Aftertouch, and Pitch
Bend. If Chan is not set to “All,” only the selected channel events will be
displayed.

Controller Type
If “View/Edit” is set to “Control,” the Controller Type control becomes visible.
The Graphic Data panel will display the chosen controller type. If Chan is not
set to “All,” only the selected channel events will be displayed.

Cursor Location Info Panel
The Info Panel shows the cursor's Bar:Beat:Tick and MIDI note or controller value (depending on
the cursor location). In cursor locations where a value would be nonsensical, the status text values
are blank.
For instance, in the Note panel, Bar:Beat:Tick and Pitch are displayed. In the Ruler panels, only Bar:Beat:Tick is
displayed. In the left Piano panel, only Pitch is displayed. In the Graphic Event panel, Bar:Beat:Tick and Event
Value are displayed.

Chord Ruler and Note Time Ruler Panel
There are two top rulers. The top Chord Ruler displays chords and the Playback Location Indicator. The Note Time
Ruler displays bars and bar subdivisions. When zoomed-in, more subdivisions are displayed. When zoomed-out,
fewer subdivisions are displayed.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Click or drag in the Chords Ruler to set the Insertion Point (useful if you wish to use the menu Edit/Paste (Ctrl+V)
to paste into the Piano Roll). If a song is playing, a Chords Ruler click will stop playback.
Double-click the Chords Ruler to start playback at the indicated bar. You can also set the Insertion Point and then
tap Ctrl+G to start playback at the desired location.
Notes can be selected with the Note Ruler. However, the Note Ruler does not select non-note events such as
controllers or pitch bend.
1 Click-drag on the Note Ruler to select a time-range of notes.
2 Shift-click-drag to add a time-range of notes to the selection.
3 Ctrl-click-drag to invert the note selection of a time range.
For instance, you could drag to select all notes in bars 2 thru 7. Then you could Ctrl-drag to toggle off note
selections in bar 4. By using the Shift and Ctrl keys, very flexible time selections can be made.

Note Editing
Edit Note Time Stamp (start time):
Move the cursor over the left of a note. An east-west cursor appears. Then click-drag the note to a new time
(horizontal dragging).
If multiple events are selected, and you want to move all selected events, use Shift-click-drag. Otherwise a click on
a note will deselect the previous selection, and it will only select/edit the clicked note.
Edit Note Pitch:
Move the cursor over the middle of a note. A north-south cursor appears. Then click-drag the note pitch (vertical
dragging).
If multiple events are selected, and you want to transpose all selected events, use Shift-click-drag. Otherwise a click
on a note will deselect the previous selection, and it will only select/transpose the clicked note.
Edit Note Duration:
Move the cursor over the right of a note. A right-arrow cursor appears. Then click-drag the note duration
(horizontal dragging).
If multiple events are selected, and you want to change duration of all selected events, use Shift-click-drag.
Otherwise a click on a note will deselect the previous selection, and it will only select/edit the clicked note.
Insert a Note:
Hold the Shift+Ctrl keys. The cursor becomes a pencil. Click where you want the note and it is inserted with a
duration from the “Dur” drop-down menu, and on the channel selected by the “Chan” drop-down menu.
If “Snap” is enabled, the note is inserted at the nearest grid boundary. For instance, if the snap-to-grid setting is a
quarter note, inserted notes will snap to the nearest quarter note boundary.
There are many on-screen visual cues to assist cursor positioning. The Cursor Position Time Markers in the Time
Rulers can assist time positioning. The Cursor Pitch Marker in the Keyboard can assist pitch positioning. The
Cursor Location Info Panel gives precise time and pitch info. Also, the Note Panel has time grid markings, and
pitch accidentals are marked in light gray on the background.
If you make a mistake inserting a note, you can hit the Delete key to remove the new note. Alternately, it is very
easy to immediately drag the note to correct mistakes in time, pitch, or duration.
Delete a Note:
Select a note (or group of notes), then tap the Delete key. Alternately, select some notes, right-click, and choose the
“Delete Selected Events” item in the pop-up menu.
Eraser tool
For quickly deleting individual notes or controllers. Shift+Ctrl-click on a note or graphic event. If multiple events
have been selected, all selected events will be deleted.

Splitter Bar
A vertical Splitter Bar sits between the Note and Graphic Event panels. If you want to maximize the Note panel to
see more notes, drag the Splitter down. If you want to maximize the Graphic Event panel for more accurate event
editing, drag the Splitter up.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Two graphic event mouse editing modes for editing graphic events:
1. Add Mode
Add/subtract the same amount to all selected events.
2. Scale Mode
Scale the selected events. Select one or more Graphic Events, and move the mouse over one of the events.
Shift-drag vertically, and the events are scaled in a proportional fashion. Large-value events are scaled
more than small-value events. This keeps the same shape of a gesture, but makes the gesture bigger or
smaller.
Note Velocity Line Tool
- With Add Mode, note velocities will exactly match the slope of your drawn line.
- With Scale Mode, the Line Tool will shape the dynamics, but note velocities are scaled to follow the
approximate shape of your drawn line. With Scale Mode, you can insert a Velocity fade, or change the velocity
of a region, while preserving the Velocity dynamics of the music.

Edit Events
Edit Event Value:
Move the cursor over the top half of an event. A north-south cursor appears. Click-drag vertically to scale event
values. To scale a selected group of events, Shift-click-drag vertically on one of the events in the selection.
Edit Event Time:
Move the cursor over the bottom half of an event. An east-west cursor appears. Click-drag horizontally to slide the
event in time. To slide a selected group of events, Click-drag horizontally on one of the events in the selection.

Insert Events
Line Tool:
With no modifier keys, the “white space” cursor is a Line Tool. Move the cursor to white space and then click-drag
to draw a line. When the mouse button is released, a series of events are inserted which follow the line slope.
To avoid choking the MIDI stream, the maximum event density is one event per 10 ticks. Repeated events of the
same value are not inserted. Therefore, long gradual Line Tool fades have a lower density than short extreme Line
Tool fades.
Pencil Tool:
Move the cursor over white space and hold the Shift+Ctrl keys. A Pencil Tool appears. Shift+Ctrl-drag to
freehand-draw a curve. If you don't get the curve quite right on the first pass, just keep holding the mouse button
and move the mouse back-and-forth to draw your desired freehand curve. When the mouse button is released, a
series of events are inserted to follow the freehand curve.
To avoid choking the MIDI stream, the maximum event density is one event per 10 ticks. Repeated events of the
same value are not inserted. Therefore, many freehand curves have a fairly low density.

Delete Events
Make a selection of events with the Ruler or by clicking on events. Then tap the Delete key. You can also rightclick and choose the “Delete Selected Events” item in the pop-up menu.

Right-Click Contextual Menu
The pop-up menu can be accessed by right-clicking on the notes, graphic events, or any of the rulers.
Undo:
Duplicates the Band-in-a-Box Edit | Undo (or Ctrl+Z) action.
Delete Selected Events:
Deletes any selected events (highlighted in red). This can also be accomplished by tapping the Delete key.
Select All Notes and Graphic Events:
If the “Chan” combo box is set to All, this item will select ALL EVENTS on ALL CHANNELS (all events in the
track). Otherwise, ALL EVENTS are selected which match the CURRENT MIDI CHANNEL.
Select All Note Events (Of Current Channel): (right-click the Note Panel or Note Ruler)
If the Chan combo box is set to All, this item will select ALL NOTES on ALL CHANNELS, but it will not select
any non-note events. Otherwise, ALL NOTES are selected which match the CURRENT MIDI CHANNEL.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Select All Note Events (Of Current Channel): (right-click the Graphic Event Panel or Graphic Event Ruler)
If the “Chan” combo box is set to All, this item will select ALL GRAPHIC EVENTS of the CURRENT
VIEW/EDIT TYPE on ALL CHANNELS. Otherwise, ALL GRAPHIC EVENTS of the CURRENT VIEW/EDIT
TYPE are selected which match the CURRENT MIDI CHANNEL. For instance, you could select all channel 4
modulation events, then Delete, to easily remove all of those events from the track.

Cut:
Copy selected events to the clipboard and then remove them from the track. Can also be accomplished with the
menu Edit | Cut (or Ctrl+X) action. If you wish, it is possible to cut from the Piano Roll, and then paste into the
Notation window, or vice-versa.
Copy:
Copy Selected Events to the clipboard can also be accomplished with the menu Edit | Copy (or Ctrl+C) action. If
you wish, it is possible to copy from the Piano Roll, and then paste into the Notation window, or vice-versa.
Paste - Replace:
If no events are on the clipboard, this item is dimmed.
The paste occurs at the time location of your right-click. Move the mouse cursor to the desired insert location.
Right-click on the Note Panel, Graphic Event Panel, or any of the Rulers. Then choose this item from the pop-up
menu. Any previous event types in the paste range which match event types in the clipboard are removed before the
clipboard data is added to the track.
If the “Chan” combo box is set to All, pasted events keep their original (copied) MIDI channel. Otherwise, the
pasted events will be re-channeled to match the “Chan” combo box.
Paste - Merge:
If no events are on the clipboard, this item is dimmed.
The paste occurs at the time location of your right-click. Move the mouse cursor to the desired insert location.
Right-click on the Note Panel, Graphic Event Panel, or any of the Rulers. Then choose this item from the pop-up
menu. Events from the clipboard are merged with existing data in the track.
If the “Chan” combo box is set to All, pasted events keep their original (copied) MIDI channel. Otherwise, the
pasted events will be re-channeled to match the “Chan” combo box.
The feature can also be accomplished with the menu Edit | Paste (or Ctrl+V) action (to match the Notation window,
which also uses a merge style of pasting). Before using the main menu Edit | Paste (or Ctrl+V), first make sure the
insertion marker is set to your desired paste time location.
This is easy to do. Just click or drag in the Chord Ruler to place the insertion marker where you want it. Then tap
Ctrl+V.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Re-Channel All Events to the Track Channel (Ch = xx)
Re-channel all notes and graphic events (the entire track) to the MIDI Output channel assigned for this track.
Sometimes this can come in handy to bring some “sanity” into Piano Roll editing.
For instance, though the default Melody output channel might be channel 4, meaning that Band-in-a-Box transmits
any events in the Melody track on channel 4. The actual events in the Melody track might be channel 1, or a
mixture of several channels.
For ordinary playback or note tweaking, it doesn't matter if the event channels are “mixed up,” as long as you have
the view channel set to All. But if you wish to use Paste - Replace, the Paste - Replace function is smart enough not
to “stomp on” a track's events that differ from the channels of the clipboard MIDI data. So if you force all events to
the track channel, the Paste - Replace function will always replace appropriately.
Re-Channel Selected Events to the Track Channel (Ch = xx)
Re-channel only the selected events to the track channel.
Re-Channel Selected Events to the View Channel
When editing a multi-channel guitar part or editing an imported multi-channel MIDI file, this command may be
useful. Beware that it might initially appear confusing.
For instance, one might set the view channel to ALL, and make a selection (intending to set these events to Ch 12).
Then set the view channel to 12, and of course the selected events disappear (if the events had some other MIDI
Channel). But then when you invoke “Re-Channel Selected Events to the View Channel,” the MIDI events will
reappear on the Piano Roll.
Eliminate Overlapped Notes
Overlapping notes are displayed in bold Aqua color, making them easy to identify. Selecting this menu command
will remove the overlap.

Horizontal Scroll Bar, [+] and [-] Buttons
Scroll in time, and zoom the horizontal display.

Vertical Scroll Bar, [+] and [-] Buttons
Scroll to see different note ranges (does not scroll the Graphic Event Panel) and zoom the vertical display.

Zoom Buttons
Use these buttons, found in the right border of the Graphic Event panel, to zoom and un-zoom the Piano Roll view.
Zoom to Selection
Make a selection of notes, and then click the Zoom To Selection button. The vertical pitch range and
horizontal time range adjusts to fill the note panel with the selected notes.
Un-Zoom
Return to the previous view range after zooming in on a region.
Zoom All
Zoom the window so that all track notes are visible at a glance.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Lead Sheet Notation Window
The Lead Sheet Notation window displays a full page of notation with lots of options such as a selectable number of
staves per page, clefs to show, font size, margins, scroll-ahead notation, and lyrics. You can set it to a big font size
and read the notation from across the room. Since the notation scrolls ahead, you can read ahead without waiting for
a page turn.

Launching the Lead Sheet Window
You can launch the Lead Sheet window from the main screen by pressing the Lead Sheet button (or
Alt+W). The Lead Sheet button is also accessible from the Standard Notation window.

During playback, red rectangles highlight the current bar. If the bar is empty (or in Fake Sheet mode), the Lead
Sheet will draw the staff lines and bar lines in red.

Multiple Tracks of Notation
Multiple tracks of notation can be viewed together in the Lead Sheet window. To select tracks, hold down the Ctrl
key and click on the part buttons at the top of the screen in the order that the tracks should appear from top to

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

bottom. For example, clicking on [M], and then on [P] and [B] with the Ctrl key held down would display and print
the multi-stave staff system shown. Multiple tracks can also be printed like a score.

Band-in-a-Box Lead Sheet Notation window displaying multiple parts.

Multiple lines of Lyrics on Fake Sheet.
If your song has 1st and 2nd endings or multiple verses of lyrics, multi-line lyrics can be displayed, so you’ll see all
verses on the same fake sheet. Load in the song c:\bb\ Tutorial - BB 2005\Listen Multi-line lyrics Demo.MGU.
Open the Lead Sheet and select “Fake Sheet Mode.”

This song has a 1st/2nd ending entered, with separate lyrics for each ending. Multiple lines of lyrics will also appear
if there are lyrics in multiple verses (choruses).
In the Notation Window Options, “Lyric Position” allows you to vertically position the
height of the lyrics.

Lead Sheet “Lyric Text Block”
A large text block can now be appended to the Lead Sheet window and printout. This is ideal for song
lyrics that you want entered as a text entry appended to the end, multiple verses of lyrics, or any other text.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Open the Lead Sheet window and select the [Memo] button to launch the Lead Sheet Memo.

Select any available font type, size, and style. Type text or copy and paste from other
programs. The memo appears on the Lead Sheet and printout after the last line of notation.

Lead Sheet Printing
Click on the [Print] button to print your song as sheet music. There are print options for “# of copies to
print” and “print specific page #.”
In the Print Preview screen the notation can be saved as a graphics file to be imported to a document or uploaded to
an Internet page.
Choose the file type that you'd like to save to. If you want an exact rendition of the screen, choose MONO BMP,
since bitmap files are saved without any loss of quality. If you want a smaller file of your composition for Internet
use, choose a format like JPG, or PNG. These are smaller, because they compress the data, with some loss of
quality.
To save a JPG file, press the [OK -Preview/Graphics] and [Save…] buttons and then select “Save to File Type:
JPG.” You can then see the estimated size of the file, and can change settings by pressing the Low/Medium/High
resolution buttons.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

The notation can also be copied as a bitmap to the Windows clipboard and then pasted into any
application. This is done by clicking on the [Clipbd] button in the Print Preview screen.
To print a specific page, press the [OK -Preview/Graphics] and [Print
Page] buttons.

Band-in-a-Box MultiTrack notation.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Multi-Channel Notation (Sequencer Mode)
Normally you would want a single part on the Melody and Soloist tracks. But, since MIDI information can have
separate channels, it is possible to store 16 separate parts on each of the Melody and Soloist parts. When one of
these tracks has been set to “Multi (16)-Channel” we refer to this as sequencer mode.
Now, when you are in this multi-channel mode, output from the Melody/Soloist part will be on whatever MIDI
channel the information is stored on, and will not be using the Melody/Soloist MIDI channel.
If you click on the Lead Sheet window, you’ll see the entire MIDI file displayed on separate tracks of
notation. This is likely “too much information” to read, unless you are a symphony conductor.
To customize the notation display for sequencer mode, press the lead sheet options button and see the
settings for Multi-Channel Track display.
Note: These settings are only visible when the track type for the
Melody or Soloist is set to Multi (16) – Channel.

Select “CUSTOM channels play/display” and press the [Set…] button to launch the Sequencer Window (Multichannel track on Melody/Soloist) dialog. Then you can customize which channels will play and display.
This dialog can also be opened by clicking on the [SEQ] button on the toolbar.

In the example picture, we have set Channel 2 (Bass) and Channel 4 (Trumpet) to show on the notation, and have set
all of the channels to play (to hear them).

For a specific channel, (e.g. channel 3: piano), we see the following information.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Channel 3: Acoustic Piano (this is the patch name found on the track).
842
There are 842 events in the track; usually every note is an event.
We have customized the piano track so that it can be heard (play=true), but not seen in notation (Show=false).
There is a small button at the right of the track line that allows you to delete/ rechannel or
merge the channel with another channel.
You can also change the patch (instrument) for
that track by using the instrument patch combo box.
Now that we’ve customized the display, we are seeing bass and trumpet on the notation, and hearing the entire track.

The Guitar Window
This is a window for guitar and bass players! The on-screen fretboard displays any track on guitar, bass, mandolin,
ukulele, or banjo. This feature has many option such as auto-setting of correct positions, notes named on-screen,
auto-octave adjust to play in selected position, and a resizable guitar fretboard.

Launching the Guitar Window
To launch the Guitar window, press the Guitar Button, or Ctrl+Shift+G, or choose the Window | Guitar
Window menu item.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Notice the various areas of the Guitar Window.
- The top title bar states the key of the song is Cm, the Melody track is the track displayed, and the guitar is at the
8th position.
- The fretboard is displayed with the highest notes of the guitar at the top, and the open position of the guitar on
the left.
- There are names for the open strings displayed on the left (E B G D A E).
- There are fret positions marked at the bottom of the fretboard. You can mouse click on these positions to
change the current fret position.
- There are Note Names displayed for two positions on the guitar fretboard. One of the positions is the scale
beginning with the third of the scale on the lowest string. In the key of F, this is the 5th position beginning on
an A note (the third of the scale). Because it begins on the third of the scale, this position is referred to as the
Phrygian Position (since an A Phrygian scale is the same as an F scale). Similarly, the other popular scale is the
scale beginning on the 6th of the scale, in the key of F, this is up at the 10th position, and is called the Aeolian
Position.
- There are note names displayed in color, with ellipses around the notes that are in the scale. The root note of
the scale is highlighted in red, the third and fifth of the scale are in purple, and the rest of the scale tones are
circled in gray.
- Pitch bends show up on the Guitar Fretboard. As the pitch bend occurs, a blue line moves along the string in
real time, illustrating the height of the pitch bend. Load in the c:\bb\Tutorial\Pitch Bend demo song. You’ll
then see pitch bends written as a blue color moving along the string.
Automatic Settings for Guitar Display
Band-in-a-Box does a lot of things automatically on the Guitar window to ensure that the notes are displayed
intelligently on a guitar fretboard. These include:
- Automatically setting the two positions that will display the note names based on the key.
- Auto-Scanning the track to be played, and adjusting the display octave on the guitar fretboard to ensure that the
best octave is picked to minimize the number of notes that will be outside of the current position displayed on
the fretboard.
- After Auto-scanning the track, the best position for displaying the music on the guitar is determined. This is
always one of the two positions, Aeolian or Phrygian, though you may over-ride this by clicking on any fret
position.
- Color-coding note displays. In addition to the note names being outlined in the colors, when the note is played
it is highlighted in green if it is a scale note and yellow if it is an out-of-scale note.
Alternate Guitar Tunings
The Guitar window supports alternate tunings, including DADGAD, Drop D, Double Drop D, Open G, and 11
others. You can also select “Nashville High Strung” tunings, which tune certain strings up an octave. These tunings
are supported in Styles, Chord Diagrams, Guitar Tutor, Notation, Tab, and Printout. Learn how to play these
tunings by watching the on-screen Guitar Fretboard or Notation/Tab window. Easily change any style to use the
alternate tuning that you want.
In this discussion, we’ll be referring to DADGAD tuning, a popular alternate tuning. The same reasoning applies to
all of the other alternate tunings available.
There are four ways you can use Band-in-a-Box playing in DADGAD (or any alternate) tunings.
1. See any Melody (or Soloist track) displayed in DADGAD tuning. This will display on the guitar fretboard,
tab, and printout.
2. See guitar parts (chording etc.) in DADGAD tuning, using correct chord shapes. For this, choose a style
that has DADGAD tuning, and view the guitar part.
3. Use the Guitar Tutor, to view DADGAD chording for any style.
4. View guitar chord diagrams in DADGAD tuning, by setting the Notation Window Options “Guitar
Chord” to “DADGAD.”

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Guitar Fretboard
To see the guitar neck displayed in DADGAD, choose Melody | Track Type | Guitar – DADGAD Tuning.

When you open up the Guitar window and choose the Melody track, you’ll see the DADGAD tuning.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Any melody will now display in the chosen tuning. Similarly, you can set the Soloist track to an alternate guitar
tuning with the Soloist | Track Type menu.
The Guitar track (or Piano, Strings) is controlled by the style, and will only reflect the type of tuning stored in the
style. Load in some alternate tuning styles included in Styles Set #44 – Requested 4 to see the chording on the
guitar track in alternate tunings. Another way to see the guitar play chords in alternate tunings is to use the “Guitar
Tutor.”
Select DADGAD tuning, and enable guitar Tutor.

Now, during playback, you will see guitar chords on the guitar fretboard in DADGAD tuning.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

The examples above are for DADGAD tuning, but apply similarly to all 11 alternate tunings included.
Some of the tunings are “Nashville High Strung.” These tuning have the lowest 3 strings tuned up an octave, to
achieve a close sound. So a DADGAD High Strung tuning would have the lowest 3 strings “DAD” tuned up an
octave. Listen to some style examples that use this tuning.
One of the tutors uses 3 note Jazz voicings to simulate the famous BigBand chord guitar comping styles. If you use this tutor you'll only see 3 notes in the chords of course. Since it
sometimes helps to see the entire 4 chord voicing in this case, there is the option to show the muted note as well.
The Tutor normally just shows the guitar part without
writing it to any track. If you want to see the track in notation copy it to the Melody or Soloist track.

Guitar Window Toolbar
At the bottom of the Guitar window is the toolbar.
The [Set…] button opens the Guitar Settings dialog, which allows you to set the guitar
options.
These buttons will chord step advance, or note-step advance. The chord step advance is the
most commonly used function. It is also accessible by the hotkeys Ins and Del on the
numeric keypad and will advance or go back one chord at a time, leaving the chord displayed on the guitar.
This is the name of the current note that the mouse is over. If you click on the guitar at that position, the
note will sound.
If the Notation Window is open (in Editable Notation or Staff Roll mode), that note will get inserted on the notation
at the current position on the timeline – you can disable that option to insert notes.
When you open the Guitar Window, the first thing you'll want to do is choose the track
that you want to display. Usually this will be a Melody track or a Soloist track.
In the diagram here, the Melody track is the current track, and it has a red rectangle around it to indicate this.
To get to the Soloist track, you would click on the [S] button or use the hotkey Ctrl+F5, which toggles between the
Melody and the Soloist. Similarly, you can display other tracks like Bass, Piano, or Strings.
The “position” button. This toggles between the two popular positions displayed with note names.
There is a Guitar Tutor button.
Generate a guitar chord solo based on the existing Melody track using correct guitar fret positions.
When you have a note or chord highlighted press the [Ch-] or [Ch+] (insert guitar chord) button on the
guitar, or 7 or 8 on the NUMPAD keypad. Each time you press the [Ch-] or [Ch+] you'll see that the
guitar chord changes to a different voicing, cycling through the available 5-10 voicings possible for each chord.
(Some notes won't have any chord voicings, for example a C# note on a Cmaj7 chord, because it is always a passing
tone.)
In a similar manner, you can convert a chord to a guitar note using the insert guitar note button.
Pressing the [N+] (or 3 or 4 on the NUMPAD keypad) repeatedly cycles through playing the
same note on all 6 strings.

Big Piano Window
The Big Piano window can display the notes of any track on a resizable piano keyboard. You can also set the range
of the piano and number of octaves to display. Additionally, you can display notes names or guide notes --showing
the scale notes of the current key. Notes can be displayed using a different color for each note. There's an “AutoOctave” setting that will scan the track to be displayed and auto-size the piano to the largest size that would display
all of the notes. This 'Big Piano' makes it easier to learn piano parts from within Band-in-a-Box.
The Big Piano window is launched (or closed) by pressing the piano icon on the toolbar at the right-middle
of the screen, or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+N, or choosing Window | Big Piano Window.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

The default settings for this feature can be customized by pressing the [Settings…] button.
The Big Piano window displays a single track on the piano.
The piano can be resized by dragging the bottom of the window to enlarge it vertically.
The key of the song is displayed at the top.
The range of the piano is set automatically (based on the actual notes in the track) to show the largest possible
piano).
The notes of the scale are circled on the piano, with the note names included.
The root of the scale is colored in red. As the song plays, scale tones are colored green; other notes are colored
yellow.
The name of the note that the mouse cursor is over is highlighted at the top of the window. Clicking on the Big
Piano plays a note (using the Thru part) and this can be recorded or sent to the Notation window when entering
notation. You can select the track to use by clicking the [B|D|P|G|S|M|S] line of buttons.

Play the Jukebox
Use the Jukebox for continuous playback of a whole list of Band-in-a-Box songs or to
play all or the songs in a folder. The Õ Juk button plays the previous song in the
directory; the Juk Ö button plays the next song in alphabetical order. The Jukebox
will play continuous background music while you move to other Windows programs.
Click the [Juke] button to open the Options for Juke Box dialog where you’ll see a list of options that lets you
control how the songs in the chosen list or directory are played.
You could choose to only play songs with melodies or solos, and to randomly change the melody instrument.
Songs can be played in random order, or in the order they are listed.
Hide the song titles and play the “Guess the Song” game.
You can optionally disable the count-in.
The “Change Harmony” setting will randomly assign harmonies within a specified range of harmony numbers.
Solos can be generated over all the songs selected for Jukebox playback.
“Auto-Choose Soloists” lets the program choose the soloists, and “Change Soloist Instrument w/ each chorus” has
the program select a new instrument for each chorus of the solo.
Use the “Preview” feature to audition a complete directory of songs automatically by playing a part of each song and
then moving on to the next one.
Specify a selectable time delay (in seconds) between songs.
Check “Loop Jukebox at end” for continuous jukebox play rather than stopping at the end of the list.
You can type a folder name directly, or click on [Change Directory] to use the folder dialog.
When you have chosen the options you want, click [PLAY JUKE BOX] to play all the songs in the selected
directory folder.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Band-in-a-Box Jukebox options dialog.
In the main screen, click on the [F] button to open the Favorite Songs list and make your own
custom set lists for the Jukebox.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

- Use the [Clear] button to blank the list.
- Songs can be added or removed from the list with the [Insert], [Append], and [Delete] buttons.
- Use the [Save Set..] button to save the list of selected songs.
- The [Load Set] button loads a saved list of songs.
- The [Juke..] button plays through the list of songs automatically, like a jukebox.
This is a great feature for saving a list of current song projects, or for performing a live set with Band-in-a-Box
accompaniment.

Import a MIDI File
With the amazing Band-in-a-Box Chord Wizard, you can convert any MIDI file into a Band-in-a-Box song,
complete with Melody and Soloist parts. Then apply all of the powerful music making features of Band-in-a-Box to
create new accompaniments, add harmonies, add soloing, and embellish the melody. And when you're finished, you
can always resave your song as a MIDI file again.

MIDI File Chord Interpretation Wizard
You can open up any MIDI file in Band-in-a-Box, and Band-in-a-Box will automatically figure out the chords of the
song for you. It automatically analyzes the MIDI file, figures out where the bass, piano, melody and other tracks
are, and then figures out the chord changes for the song. The chords are written onto the Band-in-a-Box Chord
Sheet like any other song. You can also read tracks into the Melody and Soloist tracks.
To interpret a MIDI file, go to File | Import Chords from MIDI file or use the keystroke combination Ctrl+Alt+I.
This launches the Interpret Chords from MIDI file dialog where either user settings or presets can be applied to
specify how the chords should be interpreted.

Select a preset or choose custom settings for the MIDI Chord Wizard.
You can open an entire MIDI file into Band-in-a-Box. The chords will be automatically interpreted by the Chord
Wizard and the MIDI file will play and display on the Melody track. A “silent” style will be loaded so you'll only

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

hear the MIDI file. When the file is saved, the extension will be MGX, allowing you to easily identify the BB songs
that you have that contain entire MIDI files.

Sequencer Mode
There are 2 tracks in Band-in-a-Box to add your own recordings. These are the Melody and Soloist tracks.
Normally you would want a single part on each of them. But, since MIDI information can have separate channels, it
is possible to store 16 separate parts on each of the Melody and Soloist parts. When the track has been set to “Multi
(16) -Channel” we refer to this as “Sequencer Mode.”
If you want to use the 16 separate parts for the Melody track, you need to set the Melody Track type to “Multi (16) Channel.”
This is done from the Melody (or
Soloist) menu, or can be done by
pressing the Sequencer button.

Now, when you are in this multi-channel mode, output from the Melody part will be on whatever MIDI channel the
information is stored on, and will not be using the Melody MIDI channel. Both the Melody and Soloist tracks can
be set to multi-channel play, for at total of 32 channels.

Automatic Songs - “The Melodist”
Feel like composing a brand new song? With Band-in-a-Box you can compose a new song, in the style of your
choice complete with intro, chords, melody, arrangement, and improvisations, all created by the program! All you
have to do is pick from one of the “Melodists” and press [OK] - the program then automatically generates the intro,
chords, melody, and arrangement in the chosen style. It even auto-generates a title! You can go from nothing to a
completed song in less than 1 second!
You can also auto-regenerate any part of a song and modify it to suit you. The Melodist will also generate a melody
over an existing chord progression. A “Melodist Juke Box” mode creates and performs new compositions in
succession.

Launching the Melodist
To launch the Melodist, press the [Melodist] button on the main screen, or use the Shift+F5 hot
keys.

Melodists can be filtered by “Genre” (e.g. EZ listening) to show
only Melodists in that genre.
You can also filter to show/not show Melodists from Melodist
sets that you don’t have.

Check “Show if N/A” to list all Melodists, even if they are not
present in the :\bb folder.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Choose Melodist settings in the Generate Chords and/or Melody dialog.
Note: Band-in-a-Box also has a SoundTrack feature that allows you to generate music in the style you choose
for any length of time you specify. Click on the SoundTrack toolbar button to launch this feature.

Make Your Own Songs
Now that you see how much fun it is to play music with Band-in-a-Box, you’ll be pleased to discover how easy it is
to make songs of your own. This section shows you how with step-by-step instructions from start to finish.

Making a New Song
Clear the Chord Sheet
Click on the [New] button to blank the Chord Sheet.
Name the Song
Enter the title of the song by clicking in the title area and typing in the name.

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box

Choose a Key
Click on the Key Select List and choose the key of your song instantly.
It's easy to change the key by simply selecting another key from the list. Click on “YES” when the
program asks, “OK to transpose WorkSheet” and Band-in-a-Box will automatically transpose the
entire song into the chosen key.
You can have multiple keys in a song by changing the key signature in the Edit Settings for bar
dialog (F5 function key). The new key signature is shown on notation.
Type in the Chords
The chords we will enter are F, Bb, and C7. Mouse click on the first cell in the Chord Sheet
and type f. The letter f will appear in the chord box. Press the Enter key to enter the chord
Chord Box
F on the first beat of bar one. The Enter key advances the chord cell ½ bar at a time, i.e., 2
beats in 4/4 time.
Next, type the letters bb and press Enter to put a Bb chord on beat three of bar one. The highlight cell will advance
to bar two, type c7 and press Enter.
Tip: A chord can be entered on each beat. To enter two chords in the highlight cell type a comma between the two chord
names as shown in the example above.

This song will have no intro, and the chorus will be 32 bars long. The chord sheet we want to end up with will look
like this:

Chord Sheet and Song Title window with chords and song settings.

Copying Chords
Since many songs repeat the same sequence of chords throughout, a faster method to enter a song into Band-in-aBox is to copy the repeating chords.
Highlight a section of chords by dragging the mouse over them while holding the left mouse button. The area will
be highlighted in black. You can also select a region of the chord sheet by clicking on the first bar in the region and
then holding down the Shift key and clicking on the last bar in the region. This will highlight all bars in the region.

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.
For example, if you have an 8-bar section at bar 9:
To copy it to bar 23, and insert the 8 bars at that location drag the bar # and drop it at bar 23.

To copy it to bar 23, and OVERWRITE the 8 bars at that location hold down the Ctrl
key, and drag the bar # and drop it at bar 23. In the dialog that appears, just press OK.

Copying and Pasting Chords
Sometimes it is easier to copy and paste the chords, for example when you want to repeat the paste in several
locations. Press Ctrl+C, or select the Edit | Copy menu item. The highlighted area will be copied to the Windows
clipboard. It can then be pasted back into the Chord Sheet at any location, and reused as many times as you like.

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Use the arrows keys or the mouse to move the
highlight cell to the destination bar where you
want to paste the chords.
Paste the copied section with press Ctrl+V command, or select the Edit | Paste menu item. The chords will then
appear at the new location.
Import Song
Use the File | Import MGU Song menu command to 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.
Choose a Style
Pressing the [Style] button will open the Select Style dialog box where you can choose from the
hundreds of available styles.

Styles can be selected from the full list of All Styles or by categories. They can also be filtered by feel and tempo
and there is a search function to find styles by key words in the title, description, or memos.
RealDrums selection can be made from the StylePicker with an override option for styles with MIDI drums.
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. These functions are found in the Styles menu, or with the hot keys Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F8 (or
Alt+Shift+F8).
“Framing” the Song
A typical song contains the following three basic components:
- Intro: If present, an intro is typically 4 bars long.
- Chorus(es): Typically 3 or 4 choruses in a 3 minute song.

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Ending: Typically a 2 bar ending following all of the choruses.

Note: We use the term “chorus” here as it is used in Jazz music. A chorus therefore means once through the entire form of the
song. The typical length of a chorus is 32 bars. A song may have the form AABA where the A sections are verses and the B
section is the Bridge. This entire form AABA is considered one chorus.

Intro
In Band-in-a-Box, you can select the beginning and ending bars of the chorus (see below). If you select a bar
greater than 1 for the first bar of the chorus, then the program assumes that you want to use the bars prior to this for
an Intro.
Example: 4 bar intro to a song.
Type in the 4 bars of intro chords, starting at bar 1 of the chord sheet. Then, at bar 5, you will begin typing-in the
main chords of the chorus. Set the beginning of the chorus to bar 5 by clicking on the chorus begin button.
Framing a song designates the first and last bars of each chorus and the number of choruses Band-in-a-Box will play
before playing the standard 2 bar ending.
Here we have selected bar one to be the first bar of the chorus and bar 32 to
be the last. The chorus will play three times, jumping to the two bar ending
the third time through.
With the “Loop” checkbox enabled the entire song will keep repeating until stopped. (This is a different feature
from the “LoopSec” checkbox, which loops a selected section of the song.) The “FakeSh” checkbox is for a “fake
sheet” style of chord sheet display with 1st and 2nd endings and repeats.
The [S] button opens the Song Settings dialog for additional settings such as endings, tags, style variations, pushes,
rests, and chord embellishments.
Set the tempo
The tempo is displayed on the main screen under the title. By default, the tempo is set based the best tempo for the
current style when choosing File | New.

Let’s set the tempo to 160 beats per minute (bpm). Click the mouse on the arrow buttons to
adjust the tempo.
LEFT mouse click to change by 5 beats per minute at a time.
RIGHT mouse click to change by 1 beat per minute at a time.

You can quickly enter a specific tempo for the song by clicking on the tempo (hot key is Ctrl+Alt+T, or menu item
Play | Tempo | Set Tempo…), and a dialog will open up allowing you to type in a tempo. Similar dialogs are
available for Volume, Panning, Reverb, Chorus, and Bank settings.
Tap the tempo
Not sure of the tempo for your song? Tap it in real time on either the minus [-] key or the equals [=] key on your
computer keyboard. Four taps on the minus key sets the tempo, four taps on the equals key sets the tempo and starts
the song playing. This can also be done by clicking the mouse on the onscreen [-] and [=] buttons to the right of the
tempo box.
Finishing the Song Arrangement
Use the powerful musical intelligence of features like the Harmonies and the Soloist to add the final touches to your
song. The Edit Settings for Current Bar dialog (F5 function key) lets you fine tune your arrangement by changing
patches, styles, harmonies, tempo, and meter anywhere in the song.
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.
When selecting a style change you can audition the style that you are
considering. Press the [.STY] button to choose a style in the StylePicker, and
then press [Preview] to audition the style in your song.

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Add variations in the Edit Settings for Current Bar dialog.

Fade Out Song
You can now quickly choose a fadeout ending in the Song Settings dialog. Just press the [Fade]
button 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.

Record a Melody
Band-in-a-Box has two built-in sequencer tracks so you can record and edit your own melodies or solos. These
tracks are recorded from a MIDI keyboard (or other MIDI controller) connected to Band-in-a-Box by your MIDI
driver.
You can record up to 16 separate tracks on the Melody or Soloist part. Or simply load any MIDI file to
the either part and edit the channels.
This allows for counter-melodies or additional instrument parts. Simply set the track to “Multi-Channel” then
record the part, and specify the channel number. Each channel displays separately on the notation window.

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A Sequencer Window dialog allows for easy editing of the channels and patches with commands for deleting and
re-channeling.

If you want a metronome to play while you are recording, you can select it in the Opt. | Preferences dialog. You can
even have a visual metronome if you like.
Press the [Rec] toolbar button to begin recording. This launches the Record Melody dialog box, which prompts
you to set the position (bar and chorus) where you wish to start recording.
Pressing the [Record] button will start
Band-in-a-Box recording what you play
on the Thru track. An audible count-in is
played prior to recording.
You can punch in/out, overdub, and record
directly to the ending or the tag, and use
the filter to choose which MIDI events are
recorded.

Once you have completed recording your
melody, Band-in-a-Box will ask you if you
would like to keep the take and if you
would like to copy the recorded chorus to
the whole song.

Tip: Looking for inspiration? At the click of a button, the Band-in-a-Box Melodist will write entire new songs from scratch, complete
with Chords, Intro, Melody, Solo, Ending, and even an original Title. Or you can enter your own chord changes and let the Melodist
create a new melody over them. There are more than 100 Jazz, Pop, Rock, Latin, Country, and Classical melody styles.

Embellishing the Melody
When musicians see a Lead Sheet that has a melody written out, they almost never play it exactly as written. They
change the timing to add syncopation, change durations to achieve staccato or legato playing, add grace notes, slurs,

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extra notes, vibrato, and other effects. Now you can have Band-in-a-Box do these automatically using the
Embellisher.
If you enable the Embellisher, any Melody will be embellished as it is played so that you hear a
livelier and more realistic Melody - and it's different every time.
The Embellisher button opens the Melody Embellisher dialog with many user options to control
the embellishment settings. The Embellisher Presets allow you to choose a combination of
common settings for the Embellisher quickly.
The Embellisher Memo describes the current
embellishment, with statistics counting the number of
embellished notes.

You can save/load your own presets for the Embellisher.
When you have made a custom setting in the Embellisher dialog, press the Export button to save
the data as an .EMB file.
When you want to recall the saved preset, press the Import button, and load in a previously made .EMB file. You
can share your favorite presets with other installations of Band-in-a-Box using the EMB files.

Adding Note-Based Lyrics to Your Song
Open the Notation window by pressing the notation button.
Press the [L] button on the Notation toolbar. The Lyric Edit window opens up and the current note is
highlighted. In this example, lyrics have already been entered in bars 1 and 2, and the first note of bar three
is highlighted. The first syllable of the word “Swanee” has been typed in the lyric box.
Now by pressing [Enter] or [Tab] “Swa –” will be entered under the highlighted note and the highlight will
automatically advance to the next note.

Entering note-based lyrics.

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Viewing the Lyrics
The big [L] button in the user configurable toolbar opens the Big Lyrics/Karaoke window. The font and
colors are selectable, you can show or hide the chords, and words highlight as the music plays.

Band-in-a-Box Big Lyrics window.

Digital Audio Features
There is a File | Open Audio command, to open WAV,
WMA, MP3, WMV, or CD Audio files. Once opened, you can play the audio track along with a Band-in-a-Box
song.
Open an MP3/WAV/WMA or audio CD track, and play back at 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8 speed without affecting pitch. This
is great for transcribing or analyzing audio. To play it at a slower speed, choose the desired speed on the Play |
Tempo menu.

Audio Chord Wizard (Chords from MP3)
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. Using the Audio Chord Wizard is a great way to learn and practice popular songs as
you play along and see the chords.

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The Chord Sheet window in the Audio Chord Wizard 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.
As well as the chords of the song, the Audio Chord Wizard also figures out,
- the tempo of the file,
- bar lines throughout the song,
- fine tuning detection (e.g. 5 cents sharp from A440),
The digital audio capability offered in Band-in-a-Box enables you to combine MIDI music with live digital audio
recordings of voice and live instruments in a fully produced arrangement.
It also offers the ability to render a MIDI or MIDI+AUDIO composition into a single digital audio wave file. This
file can then be converted into a CD-Audio or streaming Internet audio file.
Digital audio features are fully described in the Working With Audio chapter.
Record a Vocal or Any Live Instrument
To start recording audio, plug your instrument or microphone into the computer’s sound card. The Line Out from
electronic instruments or amplifiers can be plugged directly into the Line In jack. To record your voice, or an
acoustic instrument such as a flute, plug a microphone into the Mic jack.
If you have a Sound Blaster card, this button is used to select the Microphone input and/or Line In input
to record digital audio. The Windows mixer Record settings can also be used.
Open the Record Audio dialog box with the [R. Aud] button. This dialog box lets you set the parameters
for the recording session.

You can adjust recording levels from this dialog with the [Set Recording Properties] button.

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Once you have set the recording properties and tested the recording input levels, recording is easy. Simply tell
Band-in-a-Box the place in the song where you want to start recording, whether or not you want to record the MIDI
data along with your acoustic instrument, and press [Record]. If you choose to start recording from the beginning of
the song, Band-in-a-Box will start with a lead-in count before the music starts playing. If you are starting from
elsewhere in the song recording starts instantly.
Punch-In Recording

Punch-in audio recording allows you to punch-in record or overdub a section of audio. You can hear the existing
audio part when you are overdubbing.
To select a punch-in range, open the Audio Edit window and highlight the punch-in section. The highlighted range
will set the From: and Thru: values for Punch-In Record.
Press the Esc key or click on [Stop] to stop recording. Band-in-a-Box will prompt you to keep the take or take
again.
When you get a take you like, press the [OK – Keep Take] button to save your recording. Use the Options to record
one Chorus and then copy it to the whole song, to overdub underlying audio on the track, and to retain audio past the
new take just recorded (punch out).

Add Audio Harmonies
You can apply a harmony to the audio part – allowing you to automatically create up to 4 part vocal harmonies from
your singing. And don’t worry if your singing is not in perfect tune, Band-in-a-Box can now “fix” vocals to the
correct pitch - automatically! Band-in-a-Box generates the harmonies using the world-leading TC-Helicon Vocal
Technologies engine. Once you have recorded a vocal part into Band-in-a-Box, you can use this feature in many
ways, including:
-

Record yourself singing into a Band-in-a-Box file. Create a vocal harmony for part or all of the song by
selecting a Band-in-a-Box harmony and choosing the Generate Audio Harmonies option (Harmony | Audio
Harmonies & Pitch Tracking or Audio | Audio Harmonies & Pitch Tracking). You can then hear yourself
singing in perfect harmony!

Did you hit a few “out-of-tune” notes when you recorded your singing to Band-in-a-Box? Fixing your “out-oftune” singing is easy, by instructing the program to correct the pitches to the Melody track.

When you’ve recorded your singing voice, in addition to harmony voices, you can add unison voices that
“fatten” your sound. Each unison voice can have different vibrato and pitch characteristics.

Each harmony voice can have up to 4 “choir” voices, duplicated and shifted slightly in time, pitch and more to
create an authentic, full choir sound. Create a 16 voice choir from your single vocal performance!

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Add Audio Effects
You can add professional audio effects like reverb, echo, and compression by
choosing a plug-in from the Audio menu (Audio | Plug-in). Band-in-a-Box comes
with a large selection of high quality audio effects built-in, and DirectX plug-ins
are supported.

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The plug-ins apply audio effects or utilities such as compression to the already recorded audio part. A typical plugin dialog is shown. The [Preview] button will play a short sample of the processed track, and the Edit | Undo
command will restore the original track if applied before another edit is performed.

Play Your Song
Press the [Play] button to hear your results!

Saving Your Work
Now that you have produced a great sounding song, it is time to save it as a Band-in-a-Box file, as a MIDI file, a
Karaoke file, or as an audio wave file.
The [Save] button saves your song in Band-in-a-Box format. Band-in-a-Box accompaniments are saved
with the file extension *.sgu. If a melody has been recorded the file extension will be *.mgu. The audio
track, if present, is saved as an associated wave file with the song name and the extension *.wav.
The [.MID] button will save your file in Standard MIDI File format. These files can be played in any
MIDI file player.
When making a MIDI file, you can select a range of bars to be included. Highlight any range
of bars, and the MIDI file will be made for just that range.
If you have recorded an acoustic instrument, Band-in-a-Box can render the MIDI data to a wave file (*.wav) and
merge it with your live audio recording to produce a complete digital audio file.
Press the [.WAV] button and Band-in-a-Box will render the song arrangement to an audio wave file.

The Render to Audio File dialog box permits you to save your file as a wave file (*.wav), a Windows Media Audio
(*.wma) file, or other compressed audio formats supported by your system.
You can direct render “MIDI only” songs into high quality wave files with the included Roland VSC DXi or any
other DXi or VST softsynth you have.
The MIDI parts are converted directly to audio without being rendered (recorded) in real time, usually in just a few
seconds.

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Use the Batch feature 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.

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Another option resets the DXi synth after each render. This insures that no audio (stuck notes etc.) from previous
file is retained.

Burn Your Own Audio-CD
You can burn your Band-in-a-Box composition directly to an audio CD. The resulting CD will play in any standard
CD player.
To burn your CD:
Press the [.WAV] button to open the Render to Audio File window. Then press the [Burn to Audio
CD] button. This renders the file to a stereo wave file, and then launches MiniBurn, the built-in CD
burner application in Band-in-a-Box. The song just rendered will be listed in the burn list.
You can add other files to the list to make up a full CD, or choose [Burn CD –
No Finalize] to allow other files to be burned to the CD later. The CD will
not be playable until finalized.
Note: This feature requires that you have a CD-R or CD-RW drive. If your drive is not recognized by MiniBurn then you
should burn the rendered .WAV file to CD using the software supplied with the CD drive.

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Built-in Miniburn program for burning audio CDs.

Congratulations!
You have completed the full process of song production in Band-in-a-Box.
You can now produce a complete song in Band-in-a-Box with a melody, solo, and harmonies plus RealDrums and
RealTracks and your own audio track with harmonies and professional effects.
You can print out beautiful notation in a professional Jazz font, complete with chord symbols, lyrics and your own
text markers and annotations. And you can save your song in various MIDI and audio formats for playback from
your computer, over the Internet, or from an audio CD.
You’re ready for endless hours of fun and great music with Band-in-a-Box.

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Chapter 6: Band-in-a-Box PowerGuide
This chapter is a guide to the advanced settings in Band-in-a-Box. When you’re ready to go beyond the basics to
utilize the full potential of Band-in-a-Box, this is where to start to become a Band-in-a-Box power user.

Descriptive Hints

The pop-up hints make it “too easy” to become a power user. They are comprehensive fly-by hints that appear when
you move over an item, including hints for the dialog boxes and various windows.
Go to Opt. | Preferences or select the [Pref] button to open the Preferences dialog and set the type of
hints to display, the time delay, and duration. Set a longer delay if you find that the hints are popping up
too often and getting in your way.

Opening Files
The SongPicker is a popular feature for finding and opening Band-in-a-Box song files, but
Band-in-a-Box also has helpful features for locating and opening all types of music files.

Find File
So many files, so little time? The Find File 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 the file name or any text in the
file.
The File song files dialog opens from the File menu with the command Find File. For example, 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.

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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.

File Associations
Go to the menu item File | File Utilities to associate the file types for Band-in-a-Box songs and styles in Windows.
Once set, this means that you can double click on a song or style and Band-in-a-Box will open up with that song or
style.
Choose the menu items File | File Utilities | Associate File types (songs, styles) with Windows… to associate the
Band-in-a-Box file types, and Remove File Associations (songs, styles) with Windows… to remove the associations.

Open File Dialog
The Open File dialog is opened with the Open toolbar button, the menu command File | Open,
or the F3 function key. It 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.

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Custom File Selection Dialog
The custom Open File dialog opens if you press Ctrl+Shift+F3 to load a song. You can make it the default dialog
if you go to Opt. | Preferences and select “Use custom filename dialog” under the

Environment Options in the Preferences dialog. Then the [Open] button, or the menu command File |
Open, or the F3 key will launch the custom Open File dialog. The custom Open File dialog has several
advantages over the traditional Windows dialogs:
The window is much bigger than the traditional one, allowing more room.
There is a selectable font size and typeface.
You can adjust the widths of the various columns.
The Window remembers your settings.
There are tabs at the top that allow sorting by name, date etc.
Additional information is displayed (file size, time of file).
You can open a song without typing the extension. For example, to open the song MySong.MGU you just have
to type MySong, without MGU.

The Font Selection button lets you pick a font, size, and style for the dialog from any of the fonts
installed in Windows.
The Search button allows you to search for a file by its name or part of a name.
The Favorite Folders button remembers the last few directories that you've used, allowing you to easily
change between directories.
Favorite Folders
The menu command File | Favorite Folders launches the Favorite Folders dialog with a list of recently used
folders. To open a song using this dialog you first select the folder from the list, and then you can directly open the
song from that folder. This allows you to quickly find a song in another folder.

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Hold the Shift key as you click the [Open] button. This will launch the Favorite Folders dialog,
allowing you to pick the folder. This saves you the time needed to navigate through the Explorer-style
folder choice, which can be time consuming if you’re hopping back and forth between folders.
Similarly, Shift-clicking on the [Save As] button will allow you to choose a favorite folder prior to
seeing the Save As dialog.

Global Song Overrides
Global overrides are found in Preferences [Overrides], which allow you to set the overall
song looping (always OFF, always ON, or as set in the song).

Similar overrides are available to see which other information gets loaded from a file, such as patches, harmonies,
volume/reverb/chorus/panning/banks. For example, you can set every song to load with looping ON, and don’t load
any reverb settings from songs.

For example, if you want every song loaded to have looping set to on, then set “Always set loop to ON.”

But if you are going out on a playing job, and don’t want any songs to loop, then set it to “Always set loop to OFF.”

If you want the settings to work the same way they did in previous versions, use the “As set in the song” setting, or
press the DEFAULTS button.

Chord Entry
The most common way of entering a song in Band-in-a-Box is by typing in the chords. Up to 4 chords per bar may
be entered.
Chords are commonly typed-in 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 - Roman Numerals, Nashville Notation, Solfeggio,
and Fixed Do.

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Tip: To view a list of chords recognized by Band-in-a-Box refer to the Chord List topic in the Help file.

To start typing in chords:
- Go to the top (Bar 1) of the chord sheet. The [Home] key will go there.
- Blank the Chord Sheet (if necessary) by clicking on the [New] button.
This is the chord highlight cell. Chords will be entered wherever this is placed. You may
move this around by cursor keys, the Enter key, or a mouse pointer click.
The chord highlight bar moves 2 beats at a time (½ a bar). When you have the chord highlight cell over the area that
you want to enter a chord, you simply type the name of the chord you would like to see there.
For example, type c6 to get the C6 chord. Note that you should never have to use the Shift key, as Band-in-a-Box
will sort this out for you.
- Use b for a flat, e.g. Ab7.
- Use 3 for a sharp #, e.g. for F#7 type f37.
-

Use / for slash chords with alternate roots, e.g. C7/E (C7 w/E bass). A chord like Gm7b5/Db will display
correctly using a Db instead of a Gm7b5/C#, since Band-in-a-Box bases it on a Gm scale.

Use a comma to separate the ½ bar, enabling you to enter 2 chords in a cell. In the example below, we would
type Ab9,G9 to get the 2 chords in the cell on beat 3 and 4 of bar 2.

The sequence of keystrokes to enter all these chords above would be:
HOME c6>am7>dm7>ab9,g9>c6/e>>a739
Note: We're able to type A7#9 as “a739” because Band-in-a-Box knows to use the uppercase of the 3, which is #. The >
indicates a carriage return, or the Enter key.

An option (in Prefs-Display) for “11th chords” allows display of “9sus” chords as “11”
(e.g., Bb11 instead of Bb9sus). This only affects how the chord is displayed, not how it is stored, and you can type
either C11 or C9sus to enter the same chord.
Press Ctrl+F2 or right click on a chord, and an Edit control allows you
to see and edit the current chords.

Enter Chords From MIDI Keyboard
You can also enter chords from an external MIDI keyboard using the Window | MIDI chord detection… feature.
Play the chord on the keyboard, then press Ctrl+Enter to insert the chord into the chord sheet on the first beat of the
current chord cell, i.e., beat 1 or beat 3 of the bar. Use Ctrl+Shift+Enter to insert the chord on the next beat, i.e.,
beat 2 or beat 4 of the bar.
Import Band-in-a-Box 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. Choose File | Import Song.

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In the Import Band-in-a-Box Song dialog, choose the range that you want to import (Import from Bar and # of
bars), and the destination bar (Import to Bar). You can also choose which information to import, and the insert
mode (Insert/Overwrite).

Copy and Pasting Section of Chords
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 etc.
For example, if you have an 8-bar section at bar 9:
To copy it to bar 23, and insert the 8 bars at that location drag the bar # and drop it at bar 23.

To copy it to bar 23, and OVERWRITE the 8 bars at that location hold down the Ctrl
key, and drag the bar # and drop it at bar 23. In the dialog that appears, just press OK.

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Another way to copy chords is to launch the Copy Chords and/or melody dialog by pressing Alt+C.
This allows you to copy chords/ melody/ soloist/ lyrics for a range of bars by entering the From and To locations and
the number of bars to copy. Select the checkboxes for the items you want to include in the copy.
Insert Bars at destination
If selected prior to the Copy bars will be inserted onto the Chord Sheet at the destination chosen.
# of times to repeat copy
If set to more than one, multiple copies will be made, optionally with transpositions on each copy. These are all
applied to the first chorus only.
With each copy, transpose ___ semitones
If more than one copy is selected, this will transpose the song with each copy. This is most useful when wanting to
learn a short phrase (“riff”) in different keys, or modulating a section of a song.
Random # of semitones
This will transpose the copy a random transposition and would be useful for advanced students who are trying to
master a riff or phrase in all keys.
Copy 1st Chorus to whole song
If set, this will apply any of the copying commands in this dialog to all choruses of the song, not just chorus #1.
This button toggles between [Show More] and [Show Less], depending on whether just the
basic functions or all Copy functions are displayed.
Copying chords to the clipboard.
Select the region to copy. To select a region of the Chord Sheet (or the Notation or Audio Edit window), you can
Shift+click on the end point to easily select a large area.
- Click on the starting bar.
- Shift+click on the ending bar.
Another way to select a region is by dragging the mouse over it. Place the mouse cursor at the bar to begin the
selection. Then, holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse over the region. As you do this you will see
that the region will be inverted (white characters on a black background). When you have selected the proper region
of chords to copy, then
- copy the selected (blackened) region to the clipboard
- click on the Copy button or choose Copy from the Edit menu.
Pasting chords to another section of the chord sheet.
Assuming you have already copied some chords to the clipboard you then paste them into the chord sheet by:
1.
Move the highlight cell to the bar to begin the paste of chords.
2.
Click on the Paste button or choose Paste from the Edit menu.
Tip: Remember that the copied section remains in the clipboard and can be repeatedly used. Example: If you're inputting a
song with verse, verse, bridge, verse you can just copy the first verse to the clipboard, and then repeatedly paste in the
other verses. The information on the clipboard remains intact even if you load in a new song, which means you can copy
and paste between songs.

Copy, Repeat X times, with Transpose.
The Edit | Copy From.. To.. menu command opens the Copy Chords and/or melody dialog, which has additional
fields allowing you to define the number of times to repeat each copy and define the number of semitones you
transpose. For example, you could have a 16 bar section, copy it 3 times with a semitone transpose each time. Or,
take a single 4 bar phrase, and copy it 11 times, transposing up a 4th each time, generating the same 4 bar phrase in
all 12 keys.

Deleting Chords
The chords at the current location of the highlight cell are cleared by the Delete key, the Windows “Cut” command,
or by typing a comma and pressing Enter.
Deletion of chords over a range of bars can be done by selecting the range and pressing the Delete key on your
computer keyboard. No confirmation dialog is required.

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Previewing Chords
This feature allows you to hear chords as you to type them in. After you type a chord name onto the Chord Sheet (or
notation window), press the Shift+Enter keys. This enters the chord onto the chord sheet and then plays the chord
for you, using the patches on the Piano part and Bass Part. You can also listen to a chord that has already been
entered, by just pressing the Shift+Enter keys after moving to that bar with the chord. If there is no chord entered
at that bar, you will hear the last chord that was entered.
You can right-mouse click on the chord sheet and choose Chord Settings to launch the Chord Options dialog, and
then press the [Preview] button to hear the current chord in the Chord Options Dialog.

Support for other chord display types
You can enter or display chords in Roman Numeral notation, Nashville notation, Solfeggio, or Fixed Do notation.
For example, the chord Gm7 in the key of F would be displayed as IIm7 in Roman Numeral Notation, 2m7 in
Nashville Notation, and Rem7 in Solfeggio.
“Fixed Do” Notation
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.
These systems are very useful for learning or analyzing tunes, since they are independent of the key signature. You
can take an existing song, and print it out in Roman numeral notation, so you can study the chord progression. You
can also type a chord in these systems, like “4” which will enter the 4 chord in the current key.
You can switch among any of these systems by pressing the Roman Numeral button on the right side of the
screen to toggle among the various settings.
The Roman numeral and other nonstandard displays use superscript for the chord display when in the Notation
window (or when printing out). Therefore, the alternative chord symbol displays are best viewed in the Notation
window.
maj7

Tip: Print out a song in Nashville Notation or Roman numeral notation. Then, learn the song this way, i.e. 1
4maj7
3m7b5 67b9. You'll soon discover that it is much easier to play the song in any key. Since you know the song goes from
the 1 chord to the 4 chord, so you can easily play it in the key of Bb, for example.

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Advanced Chord Entry and Editing Features
“Nudge” Chords feature allows moving a range of chords by a number of bars/beats.

For example, let’s say that you have entered a complete song chord progression, and you then realize that all of the
chords starting at bar 23 are 1 beat too late (maybe due to a time signature change). You can move all of the chords
1 beat earlier, by setting the nudge at bar 23, beat 1, and duration of the nudge to -1 (minus 1) beats.
You can nudge chords and/or Melody/Soloist parts.
A “Fold” routine converts a song with a single large chorus to multiple
smaller choruses, with optional tag ending.

A Search/Replace Chords feature will search and replace chords, including
support for asterisks (*) as wildcards.

A “simplify Jazz chords” option will simplify chords like C13#11#5 to simply C9.

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Part Markers and Substyles
Part Markers
Part Markers are placed on the chord sheet to indicate a new part of the song, to insert a
substyle change, or to insert drum fills. They typically occur every 8 bars or so, but may
be placed at the beginning of any bar.
Double lines are drawn on the chord sheet at the bar before a part marker.

Repeats and Endings
You can add repeats and endings so that the Lead Sheet window will display and printout using 1st /2nd endings.
The Repeats and 1st/2nd Endings button launches the Edit Repeats and Endings dialog where you can
enter repeats, 1st and 2nd endings, DC, DS al coda and more. The “Auto-Find” feature will
intelligently detect 1st/2nd endings automatically for you, so you can view and convert any Bandin-a-Box song to include 1st/2nd endings in lead sheet format.
The Edit Repeats and Endings dialog can also be entered by right-clicking on the chord sheet and selecting
Repeats/Codas/1st-2nd endings from the pop-up menu.
When you have created your repeats and endings, either manually or automatically, simply select the “Fake Sheet”
checkbox on the Chord Sheet or Lead Sheet window. Band-in-a-Box will hide the repeated bars and display the
fake sheet using 1st and 2nd endings.
There is a tutorial for this feature in the Tutors and Wizards chapter, and also in the Help file topic Repeats Edit
Dialog.

Playing/Pausing/Stopping Songs
Use the tool bar buttons to control the playback of your song in Band-in-a-Box.

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Play song

Loop selection

Replay song

Stop playback

Pause (Hold)

Play from any bar

You can also use the Play menu commands or keystrokes.

Lead-In Counts and Metronome
These settings are made in the Preferences dialog. Click on the [Count-in/Met.] button to
open the Count-in and Metronome Options.

The default count-in is two bars, but there is an option to shorten it to a 1 bar lead-in.
You can select any drum instrument for the count-in and choose different count-in rhythms (e.g. Tap on 2 and 4
instead of 1-2-3-4).
The Smart Lead-in feature avoids playing the count-in drum sound during a Melody pickup.
There's an option to play the drum count-in in all circumstances, useful when the style doesn’t have drums or for
drummers who play along with Band-in-a-Box by muting the drum track.
You can display the Visible Metronome on-screen during the entire song
(or just the lead-in). Choose the screen position, the size (up to near full
screen size), and the visual metronome pattern. The on-screen metronome
is a great way for a student to learn to keep on the beat, and with a settable
size, students can view this from across the room.

The Audible Metronome can be set to sound
“During record,” during “Record and Play,” or
“None” - turned off entirely.

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Play Selected Area as a Loop
Click on the [Loop] button, Shift-click on the [Play] button, or press F10 (Play Selected Area as Loop)
and the program will play a selected region, and loop the selection. For example, you can select bars 10
and 11, and then press F10, and bars 10 and 11 will play looped.
To use this function, select a region on the Chord Sheet.

Choose Play | Play (loop) Highlighted Section (or press F10).
The selected region will then play, and continues looping until STOP is pressed.

Loop any Section of the song.
You can loop any section of the song. The program will then start playback at the first loop point and play the
looped section until stopped.
Looping of a section of the song is enabled by the “LoopSec/ LoopScn” checkbox or with the
keystroke NUMPAD 1.
Open up the Loop Section Settings dialog by clicking the Loop button, or pressing NUMPAD 2. The Loop
settings dialog will then display.
The “Play within loop” command allows you to quickly play a looped section. Highlight the range of bars to loop
on the Chord Sheet, press NUMPAD 2 to open the Loop Section Settings dialog, and click the [Play within loop]
button.

To enter settings manually in this dialog, you start by choosing either “Loop a Single Screen of Notation” or “Loop
Range of Bars.”
“Loop a Single Screen of Notation” (Ctrl+NUMPAD 7) loops a single screen of notation at the current song
location. The length of the loop is determined by the number of “Bars/Screen” specified in the Notation Window
Options.
Select “Loop Range of Bars” if you want a custom range of bars, then enter the starting “From Bar” number, the
“Chorus #,” and the “# bars” for the length of the looped section. You can then play the song with the [Play within
loop] button and then [Close] the dialog.
Presets are available to set the loop points to Introduction,
First / Middle /Last Choruses or First & Middle, Middle
& Last combinations, Ending, or All.

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Presets are available to set the loop points to Introduction,
First / Middle /Last Choruses or First & Middle, Middle
& Last combinations, Ending, or All.
As the different buttons are
selected you will see the “Loop
Range of Bars” settings update.

Hot keys are also available for these, look in the Play menu under the Looping submenu.
Loop Keystroke Commands (useful for live performance)
NUMPAD 1

Toggle looping on/off.

NUMPAD 2

Open Loop Section Settings dialog.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 1

Play with last chorus looped.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 2

Play with middle choruses looped.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 3

Play with middle and last choruses looped.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 4

Jump to last chorus.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 5

Jump to ending.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 7

Loop Notation screen.

NUMPAD [DEL]

Advances the notation, lead sheet, and guitar window by one chord (group of notes).

NUMPAD [INS]

Backs up the notation, lead sheet, and guitar window by one chord.

Notebook users should set “Simulate NUMPAD Keys” to “ON” in the Preferences dialog, then use the regular
number keys to trigger looping.
The Title bar at the top of the main screen indicates the looping status. If a song has a looped section, this will be
listed at the top of the screen (e.g. “Will loop Middle Choruses” or “Currently looping Middle Choruses”). So you
can tell what is going to happen with the looping during a live performance.

“Conductor”- Live Looping/Playback control.
As the song is playing, many “single key” hot keys are now available to control the playback and looping
of the song.

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Additional Patches
A “patch” is a MIDI instrument name. Examples of patches are Acoustic Bass, Electric Piano and Violin. Patches
are used to emulate real instruments through MIDI playback. Band-in-a-Box defaults to using the standard bank of
General MIDI patches used by all MIDI manufacturers, but many MIDI synthesizers and sound cards have
additional patches available as alternatives to the basic GM list. These sounds are typically found on higher banks
in memory.

Patches on Higher Banks Dialog
This displays your patch names by name and lets you pick them from an easily customizable list. You've
probably got great sounds on higher banks -- now you can find and use them easily!
Clicking on the [+] button opens the Patches on Higher Banks dialog for easy access to patches on all other banks
as well as General MIDI

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To narrow your sound search you can do one or all of the following:
- Open the patch list and select an instrument (i.e. Electric Bass, Acoustic Piano, etc.)
- Click on the “Include Family” checkbox to have other offerings of similar type shown. (i.e., all bass family
patches, all keyboard family patches, etc.)
- Find a patch by keyword by clicking the [Search…] button and typing some letters that you know are in the
name (e.g., “mando” will find your mandolin patch and any others containing “mando”).

Converting Synthesizer Patch Lists in Band-in-a-Box
Band-in-a-Box can read a patch file list generated by PowerTracks Pro Audio or Cakewalk, and convert it to a .PAT
file for use in Band-in-a-Box.
Converting PowerTracks patch list to Band-in-a-Box .Pat files.
PowerTracks stores its patch lists in a single file, called PATCHES.INI. This file contains all of the patch lists for
the synths supported by PowerTracks. Band-in-a-Box stores the patch list for each synth in a separate file, with an
extension of .PAT.
To convert a PowerTracks patch file to a Band-in-a-Box Patch file, you will be choosing the c:\pt\ptw\patches.ini,
and then choosing the synth that you want to convert to a .PAT file.
Press the [+] button to the right of the Instrument name on the
main Band-in-a-Box screen.

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This will open the Patches on Higher Banks dialog.
Note: If a .PAT file has not been previously selected, a File Open dialog will appear. Select a .PAT file from the \bb
directory to launch the Patches on Higher Banks dialog.

Press the [Open INI/INS…] button to launch the BB File open dialog.

Choose the file c:\pt\patches.INI.
You’ll then see a menu of synths stored in the patches.INI file. Select
one to convert. Create a name for the .PAT file (e.g. My Patch
List.PAT) and save it to c:\bb.

Converting a Cakewalk .Ins file to a Band-in-a-Box .Pat file.
This is done using the same process described above for PowerTracks, except that you open the individual .INS file
instead of a PATCHES.INI file. For example, if you have a Cakewalk file called “My Synth.INS” you would select
this file name. You would then save that converted list to c:\bb\My Synth.PAT.

General MIDI 2 support
General MIDI 2 standard (GM2) adds 128 new instruments to Band-in-a-Box styles and songs, including ukulele,
mandolin, 12-string guitar plus many new and improved piano, organ, guitar, brass, and string sounds.
Note: The included Roland VSC3 synth supports the new GM2 instruments, as do many newer modules/sound cards. If
yours doesn't, a similar instrument from the existing 128 General MIDI sounds will be substituted.

The type of GM2 support is set in the MIDI Driver Setup dialog (Opt. | MIDI driver setup…). The choices are:

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General MIDI 2 support: If you're using the Roland VSC3, or a newer Sound Canvas then choose this GM2
support.
Roland GS (older Modules): “Older” Sound Canvases (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 that supports both GM2 and GS you should likely choose GM2.
No GM2 support: Most sound cards don't have GM2 support yet, so just support the original 128 General
MIDI sounds. Band-in-a-Box will use the closest instrument in these cases.

You can select the GM2 patch using the GM2 button next to the Instrument box. This shows a menu
organized by instrument types.

Technical note: For a GM patch like Nylon Guitar the patch is 25. For a GM2 patch like Ukulele, the patch is also 25, but it
is accompanied by two bank settings, MSB Bank Controller 0 setting of 121 and LSB Bank Controller 32 setting of 1.

When you select the instrument from this menu, it will make the bank settings (Bank0 and LSB) for you. You can
also change the bank #s directly, and the patch in the box will change. GM2 patches can also be selected elsewhere
in the program, such as the Edit Settings for Current Bar dialog and the StyleMaker.

Changing Volume, Panning, Reverb, Chorus, Bank
To change the Volume, Panning, Reverb, Chorus, or Bank of a part, click on the desired part to change.
The names of instrument parts that are playing are colored yellow. If the part name is white when the song is
playing it means that the instrument is not present. A red instrument part name means that the part is muted.
When “Drums” appears in green it indicates that RealDrums are in use and their volume level only will be set by
this control. RealDrums are not affected by the other controls. MIDI drums respond to all controls.

Then click on the spin control arrow keys to increase or decrease the setting.

The left mouse button increases/decreases by 5 at a time.
The right mouse button increases/decreases by 1 at a time.

You can also click directly on the number field to open a dialog and type the value in directly.
Chase Volumes.
For a file with Volume change events (Controller 7) written into the Melody (or other tracks) – if the song is played
back from somewhere in the middle, the most recent volume setting prior to the start of playback will be sent.

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Solo an Instrument Part
While listening to Band-in-a-Box, you can easily solo (isolate) a certain part by holding the Ctrl key and mouse
clicking (left or right) on the instrument at the top of the screen. For example, if you want to hear only the Piano
part, Ctrl+click on the Piano part. If you want to use hot keys for this, you can press Alt+2 (Mute-All) and then
Alt-+4 (Unmute Piano).
Muting Instruments
To mute/unmute all parts as the song is playing, simply press Alt+2 or right-click on the “Combo” radio buttons at
the top of the screen.
To mute an instrument click on the name of the desired part with the right mouse button. Click again to unmute.
When the part is successfully muted, the instrument name will turn to red in color, indicating that the part is muted.
Right mouse-click on “Combo” to mute/unmute all instruments at the same time.

Edit Functions

The on-screen display of the song file name includes “*” when the
file has been changed.
Edit | Undo and Edit | Redo allow you to Undo (or redo) most operations.
Edit | Cut functions like a delete command. It removes bars of chords from a song.

Highlighting Regions
This feature makes it easier to perform editing operations, such as copy/insert, etc. Simply highlight the region and
select the option. This feature also aids in Copy from..to...; Erase; Transpose; Insert; and Delete. For example, if
you select (highlight) a region by dragging the mouse and then choose one of the Edit menu commands the dialog
box will automatically adjust to the correct values, based on the region that you've highlighted.
To select a region of Chord Sheet, Notation, or Audio window, you can Shift+click on the end point to easily select
a large area
The Copy Chords and/or melody dialog is typical of the range selection dialogs used by several functions. You
are able to set a range for the function to be either part of the song, or the whole song.
Copy and Pasting a Section of Chords
Copying a section of chords is done in the same manner as copying text in a Windows word processor (read on if
you are unfamiliar with how this is done). There are also similar “keyboard shortcuts” for these operations as listed
in Keystroke Commands – Hot Keys section of this guide.
Copying Chords to the Windows Clipboard
- Select the region to copy. Place the mouse cursor at the bar to begin the selection. Then, holding down the left
mouse button, drag the mouse over the region. As you do this you will see that the region will be inverted (i.e.
looks dark). When you have selected the desired region of chords to copy, release the mouse button.
- Copy the selected region to the clipboard. Click on the Copy button or choose Copy from the Edit Menu.
Pasting Chords from the Windows Clipboard
Assuming you have already copied some chords to the Clipboard (see previous topic), you are then ready to paste
the copied chords into another part of your chord sheet.
- Move the highlight cell to the bar to begin the paste of chords.
- Click on the Paste button or choose Paste from the Edit Menu.
Tip: The copied section remains in the clipboard and can be used repeatedly. Example: If you're inputting a song with
verse, verse, bridge, verse, you can simply copy the first verse to the Clipboard, and then repeatedly paste-in the other
verses. The clipboard contents remain intact even if you load in a new song, so you can copy and paste between songs.

Additional Copy function for Chords/Melody
The menu command Edit | Copy From.. To.. launches the Copy Chords and / or melody dialog.

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This allows you to copy Chords, Melody, Soloist, and Lyrics for a range of bars. If you're copying the
Melody/Soloist you'll need to specify which chorus you wish to copy.
If you want to extend the song by inserting a new section by copying an existing range of bars, then select the
“Insert Bars at destination” checkbox to insert the extra bars.
”K” Quick Copy Method
By simply typing “K” at a bar followed by the Enter key you can instantly copy the last 8 bars to the current
position. By adding additional keys in the K command, you can customize this shortcut (e.g. typing K 12, 3 would
copy from bar 3 for 12 bars to current position.) The current position is advanced to the bar beyond the copy. This
speeds up song entry!
For example, if you're entering a song that has a repeating section of chords for 8 bars. Type in the first 8 bars of
chords, and then move to bar 9 and then type: k, Enter.
The last 8 bars will be copied to bar 9-16, and the cursor will be moved to bar 17, so you're ready to continue with
the tune. If you get to bar 25, and would like the chords from 1-8 to be copied to 25-32, type k,1 and this will copy
8 bars from bar 1 to bar 25.
The chords always get copied. The Melody, Soloist, and Lyrics also get copied if these items are set in the Copy
Chords and/or melody dialog.
Copy Rests
With the menu selection Edit | Copy Rests you can copy the attributes of a chord over a range of other chords. Rests
also include shots and held chords.

Erase From.. To..
To erase bars with additional control for erasing the Melody, Soloist, and/or Lyrics, choose Edit | Erase From.. To..
to launch the Erase Chords and / or melody dialog box:

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With this dialog, you have complete control over erasing a number of bars of chords and/or the Melody, Soloist, and
Lyrics. If you're erasing the Melody, Soloist, or Lyrics you need to specify which chorus you wish to erase.
Intro Bars – Auto Generate (or Remove)
To generate an intro, press the [Intro] button (or choose the Edit | Intro Bars… menu item). The
Generate Chords for Intro dialog opens.

With a single press of a button you can auto-generate a 2, 4, or 8 bar intro for any song. The chords will be different
each time, and you can keep trying as often as you like until you get the progression that you want. The intro
generated will be an intelligent chord progression (i.e. appropriate for an intro) in the chosen style of music
(Jazz/Pop). It can have optional pedal bass, and will “lead” correctly to the first chord of the song.
The duration of the intro can be set to 2, 4, or 8 bars. You can also get a pedal bass figure inserted throughout the
intro. Press the [Remove Intro] button to delete any intro present in your song.
Insert / Delete Bars
- Choose Edit | Insert Bars and the program will ask you to type in the number of bars you wish to insert.
- Choose Edit | Delete Bars and the program will ask you to type in the number of bars you wish to delete.
Nudge Chords/Melody
The “Nudge” feature allows moving a range of chords by any number of bars/beats. For example, let’s say that you
have entered a complete song chord progression, and you then realize that all of the chords starting at bar 23 are 1
beat too late (maybe due to a time signature change). You can move all of the chords 1 beat earlier, by setting the
nudge at bar 23, beat 1, and duration of the nudge to -1 (minus 1) beats.
You can nudge chords and/or Melody/Soloist parts.

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Repeats/codas/1st-2nd endings
Most lead sheet-style printouts contain 1st/2nd endings, repeats, coda, tag, and sign markings. Band-in-a-Box now
supports entry, display, and printout of song forms using these symbols. This command launches the Edit Repeats
and Endings dialog where you can enter repeats, 1st and 2nd endings, DC, DS al coda and more.
The “Auto-Find” feature will intelligently detect 1st/2nd endings automatically for you, so you can
view and convert any Band-in-a-Box song to include 1st/2nd endings in lead sheet format.
When you have created your repeats and endings, either manually or automatically, simply select the “Fake Sheet”
checkbox on the Chord Sheet or Lead Sheet window. Band-in-a-Box will hide the repeated bars and display the
fake sheet using 1st and 2nd endings.
Reduce (durations of chords by ½) cuts chord durations by 50% (e.g., 4beats>>2beats, 2beats>>1beat, etc.).
Expand (durations of chords by 2) doubles the durations of chords (e.g., 1beat>>2beats, 2beats>>4beats, etc.).
Unfold (convert To 1 BIG Chorus)
Choose Edit | Unfold (convert to one BIG chorus) to unfold a multi-chorus song into one BIG chorus.
becomes
If you have a song with 3 choruses and want to convert it to a single large chorus, this command unfolds the song
into just that; one BIG chorus. This is useful for customizing a song with style, patch or tempo changes in different
verses.
Fold (convert 1 chorus to multiple)
A “Fold song” routine converts a song with a single large chorus to multiple smaller choruses with optional tag
ending. If you have imported a MIDI file, you might have a file that is 96 bars long, but really consists of 3
choruses of 32 bars each. You can convert this to a 32-bar song by using the Edit | Fold song option, including
inserting tag endings, and 2-bar endings.
becomes
Set Time Signature (range of bars)
Under the Edit | Set Time Signature (range of bars) menu item, you can assign a specific time signature at any bar
and apply it to a range of bars, as often as you want.

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For example, to have one bar (bar 13) of 5/4, select Edit | Set Time Signature… and toggle the 5/4 button. Then,
type in the bar beginning and ending range in the space provided. (In this case, 13 and 1.)
Transpose

This submenu lets you transpose the entire song by a number of semitones, or specify a range to transpose with the
Transpose From.. To.. command.
To transpose part of a song, simply highlight the area you
wish to transpose and select Transpose From.. To.. in the
submenu. When you have confirmed the starting bar and
the number of bars you wish to transpose, click on the
“Transpose to Key” area and select the destination key.

Song Memo…
A Song Memo of up to 2000 characters may be added. When a song has a memo associated with it the
label on the Memo button (located to the right of the song title) is pink. Clicking on the [Memo] button launches the
Song Memo dialog, where you can type or edit a memo about the song and select an “Auto-open” option that will
show the memo each time the song is loaded.
The Song Memo has an option to close automatically during playback. When this option is set, the Memo button
will close when play is pressed, and not reopen when stop is pressed. This setting, in combination with the “Autoopen” setting, ensures that the memo opens when the song opens, but closes during playback.

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If the “Summary” checkbox is 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.
Auto-Generate Song Title allows you to generate a title for a song. There is also a button on the main screen for
this.
‘Jazz Up’ The chords
This will “Jazz Up” the chords by changing chords like C and Cmaj to 7th and 6th chords. Song embellishment will
be turned on for the song. Select the type of 7ths from the list box, and then click on the [OK – Jazz UP] button.
‘Jazz Down’ The chords
This will “Jazz Down” the chords by changing chords with 7ths (e.g. C7) to triads (e.g. C) and 9ths and 13ths to 7th
chords. Song embellishment is turned off. Press [OK – Jazz Down] to proceed.
Search/Replace Chords allows you to search and replace chord names, including wild cards.

Edit Dialogs
Chord Settings
If you can’t remember the various keystrokes to put in rests and pushes, you can use the Chord Options
dialog box instead. To get to the Chord Options dialog box press the [C7] button, click with the right
mouse button onto the chord sheet, or use the keystrokes Alt+F5.
You can launch the Preview, Chord Builder, or Chord Substitution functions from this window.

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You can enter pedal bass with any chord. For example, if you are in the Key of F, and would like a pedal on a C
note for 2 bars (on an Fm7 chord), then type in the settings as shown. This will play the rhythm specified – in this
case the pattern will play on beat 2 and 4.

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Settings for Current Bar

The number of beats per bar, tempo changes, patch, style, and harmony changes can be made by selecting the
Settings For Current Bar option on the Edit menu or by pressing F5 after you have selected a bar to edit.
Settings Apply to Chorus #
You can specify the changes you make 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.
Number of Beats this Bar
The initial time signature of the song is determined by the style (e.g., Jazz =4/4, Waltz =3/4). In some songs you
will want to change the time signature, for example, you might want a single bar of 2/4, or 8 bars of 3/4 time. This
option allows a change of time signature during a song.
The change takes place at the beginning of the bar and continues until a new time signature change is specified.
You can select from 1 to 4 beats per bar. Time signature changes are printed on the Notation/Lead Sheet.

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Example: A song in 4/4 time with a single bar of 6/4 time.
The maximum # beats per bar is =4, so we’ll split the 6/4 bar into 2 bars, a 4/4 bar and a 2/4 bar. Insert a # beats per
bar =2 at the beginning of the 2/4 bar, then restore the time signature to 4/4 by assigning # beats per bar =4 for the
next bar.
Tempo Change
If you want to change the tempo at a certain bar of the song, then use this dialog box to type in the new tempo in
beats per minute. The tempo change takes effect at the beginning of the bar and remains until a new tempo change
at another bar is inserted. Alternatively, you can specify a percentage change in tempo.
Key Signature Change
You can have multiple keys in the same song with the new key
signature shown on notation.
Select the new key signature you want from the combo list and
you will see the new key signature drawn on the notation at that
bar.

Style Changes
To choose a new style for this bar you can select the style from the StylePicker by pressing [.STY] or from the \bb
folder by pressing [Open].
The Preview button in the StylePicker button allows you to listen to the style before
loading it. This allows you to hear what the selected style will sound like in your song.
When chosen, the name of the style change for the current bar will be displayed. Click on [Clear STY] if you want
no style change to occur.

You can have multiple RealDrums styles within a song. You can either enter a change of RealDrums or you can
enter a change of style, which will also result in a change of RealDrums.
The name of the new RealDrums style is displayed. The [Clear RD] button deletes the style change.

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Individual styles have instrument patches assigned to them. “Send Patch changes with style change” allows the
option to send those assigned patches at the current bar. If you would like to keep the patches that had been
previously used in the song, deselect this option.
Notation - Start a New Line
You can set the notation to start a new line at any bar. This allows you to customize the number of bars on each
line, and is used in conjunction with the Notation Options settings of bars-per-line on the notation.
Instrument Changes
Volume and patch changes can be made for instrument parts and the audio track at any bar.
Volume changes can be specified values or fade up/down amounts. There are presets to mute or restore the volume
level for a part.
Patch selections include patches on higher banks, which are accessed with the [+] button.

Harmony Changes at This bar
You set a harmony to begin or end at this bar for the Melody or Soloist/Thru track. If you choose < no harmony > a
harmony that was previously playing will stop.
Set a specific beat for the harmony to begin, for example on a lead-in or pickup note at the end of a bar. You can
also switch to different harmonies in the middle of your song.

Style, tempo, keysignature, volume, patch, and harmony changes will be recorded on your song worksheet indicated
by a small red square around the bar that will be affected. Changes remain in effect from that bar forward until new
changes are recorded or until the next chorus if you have set the changes to apply only to the current chorus.

Song Settings Dialog
The Ctrl+N keys or the Edit | Settings (for This Song)… menu command brings up the Song Settings dialog.

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Here, you can choose from song settings
such as chorus variations, chord
embellishments, tag jumps, and endings,
to make your song interesting and varied.

The [S] button on the main screen
will also bring up the Song Settings
dialog.

You can 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.
This button opens a dialog box where the song’s title and its main settings can be
typed in. These settings are usually made in the main screen title window.

This buttons opens the Edit Settings for Current Bar dialog.
This button opens the Chord Options dialog where you can edit chords and add rests and
pushes.

Options and Utilities
These settings are found in the Opt. menu and the Opt. | Utilities submenu.
Language Selection
This item in the Opt. menu allows you to change language from English to another language for display. If there are
other languages supported by your version of Band-in-a-Box, then they will display in this dialog box. The new
language will be displayed the next time Band-in-a-Box is launched.

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Edit Chord Shortcuts file (shortcut.txt)
Add your own chord shortcuts. Have you found a chord that Band-in-a-Box doesn't recognize? If so, you can make
a text file called \bb\shortcut.txt for your own shortcuts. (Note that this file doesn't ship with Band-in-a-Box or it
would overwrite your file!) The file \bb\pgshortc.txt is only for shortcuts supplied by PG Music.
Refresh Chord Shortcuts…
When you have saved your shortcuts file click on Refresh Chord Shortcuts… to start using them. Changes to your
chord shortcuts won’t take effect until you choose this command.

Applying Styles
There are many styles available for use with the Band-in-a-Box program. Styles refer to styles of music like Jazz
Swing, Tango, Blues, Pop Ballad, or Country. You can pick a musical style either before or after you have entered
the chords to a song. Once a style is loaded, the song will be played back using your chosen style. All style files
have the .STY extension.
Note: The program defaults to the “Jazz Swing” style or it may be “aliased” to another style, such as the newer J_WYNT_K
style.

When a requested style is not found, Bandin-a-Box makes an intelligent substitution.
This feature is available for every style that PG Music has made, and also can be customized by third-party or any
users by making a text file (*.NA) with suggested alternative styles.
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. These functions are found in the Styles menu, or use the hot keys Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F8 (or
Alt+Shift+F8).
Current Style Window
The name of the current style is shown in the window below the song title.
The full (long) style name is displayed in a pop-up hint and also at the top of the
screen.
There is a convenient “Load Song Demo” option for style demos.
Click on the name of the style on the main screen, and the menu that
displays will include the option to “Load Song Demo” for the current
style.

The [Style] button opens the StylePicker window.
The [f] button opens the Favorite Styles list.

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MultiStyles for specific song only.

MultiStyles in Styles (“+” Styles)
Styles can be made that have multiple substyles, and you can choose the various substyles using the letters a, b, c, d,
etc. up to “x” for 24 substyles.
Our naming convention for MultiStyles is to use a + sign at the end of the style name. For example, MyStyle+.STY
would be a MultiStyle.
You can use these substyles easily, just enter the StylePicker and find the category “Styles With
MultiStyles,” or search for the “+” character.
For example, load the song NR_CURR+.MGU from the c:\bb\Tutorial BB 2008 folder. This loads the
NR_CURR+.sty. When you see the “+” in the style name, you’ll know that this is a MultiStyle.

Right click on a part marker, and you’ll see that there are 4 substyles available.
In the style NR_CURR+, there are 4 substyles, a, b, c, and d.
Standard Pop Song form with 4 substyle MultiStyle
In NR_CURR+ (and as a general rule for styles with 4 substyles):
- “a” substyle is for the verse.
- “b” substyle is for the chorus.
- “c” substyle is for the intro (or first verse).
- “d” substyle is for the break (or interlude).
Choose your substyle by clicking on the part marker, or right clicking to select and define substyles.
Here we have chosen “c” substyle, appropriate for the intro or first verse of the song (because the
playing is sparse and sustained).
Making your own MultiStyles in Styles
You can make a style that is a MultiStyle. For example:
-

Open the StyleMaker, press [Misc].

In the MultiStyles group box, type the name of a style that you would like to use for the c/d section.

If you’d like more substyles, add more styles separated by semicolons (e.g. “zzjazz;z5bossa;c_george”). Then
you’d have 8 substyles from “a” to “h.”
Note that each of these styles can have a specific RealDrums style, either stored in the style itself (Misc. Style
Settings “RealDrums Settings”), or substituted via MIDI substitutions in RealDrums settings.

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MultiStyles in Songs
If you have a song, you can also use more than 2 substyles for that song. For example, let’s say we have a song that
is a Bossa Nova and you want to have a Jazz Swing section. Rather than finding a MultiStyle that has this exact
combination, we can make one, in the song, for this song only as follows:
Load a song like c:\bb\styles0\zzbossa.mg4

Right click on a bar number, and choose “Define c/d.”
Then choose ZZJAZZ.STY from the StylePicker.

Using the StylePicker Window
The StylePicker window is opened by pressing the [Style] button or the Shift+F9 keys. It lists all of the
styles that are present in the \bb folder.
The StylePicker window allows easy selection of styles by category or from a complete list of all styles. For
example, you can select Jazz styles and see a list of all of your Jazz styles. Then you can select any style to see its
full title, description, and examples of songs appropriate to the style.
If you have styles that don’t appear in the StylePicker (because you’ve just made
them, or got them from a 3rd party) 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.
The current style of the song is listed at the top of the window; in this case it is the Jazz Swing style (ZZJAZZ.STY).
This is referred to as the Prototype Style. The prototype style can be changed to the current selection that is
highlighted in the list by pressing the [*Change Prototype Style] button.

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There are filters to display only styles of a certain “Feel” or “Tempo” or 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.
Styles can have different instruments (patches) for the “a” and “b” substyle. You can see a list of styles with multipatches by looking at the “Styles with Instrument Changes” category.
Styles with RealDrums
The StylePicker has a special category called “Styles with RealDrums.” This
lists many RealDrums styles (.STY) that we’ve made. We always name the
RealDrums style beginning with a minus sign, so that “-ZZJAZZ.STY” would be the ZZJAZZ.STY, but using
RealDrums instead.
Selecting RealDrums Styles
You can also 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 [RD] button to select from all available RealDrums.
The RealDrums for this style shows you the
current style that would be substituted (assuming you have
RealDrums enabled, and MIDI substitutions enabled in RealDrums
Prefs).
You can override the RealDrums for a certain song by selecting any RealDrums set with the [RD] button.

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Or use the [Best] button, which will show you RealDrums that match
the feel of the currently selected style. Or force MIDI drums for this
song.
There is a new hot key combination to turn RealDrums on/off
(Ctrl+Shift+F6). This also works while the song is playing.
When you open the StylePicker window, it shows you which styles would work best in your song, highlighting all
styles that have a similar tempo, genre, and feel to your song. You can preview styles before loading them so you
can hear what they'll sound like in your song. The window remembers the style and genre that you've used, and will
return to it the next time you visit the window.
For each style, you see the following information:
-

The asterisk (*) or (^) caret indicates if the style is a perfect or good match to the prototype style.
ZZJAZZ is the name of the .STY style file.
“sw” indicates that the style is in a Swing feel vs. “EV” for Even feel.
The “8” indicates that the style is an 8th note feel (vs. 16th note feel).
160 is the tempo for this style.
Jazz Swing Style is the full name of the style.
SD #0 indicates that the style is found on Styles Disk #0, one of the original 24 Band-in-a-Box styles.

Styles that are similar to the prototype are indicated with an asterisk (*). These are styles that have the same feel
(triplets/ eighths/ sixteenths) and a similar tempo range. Styles with similar feel but a different tempo range are
marked by a caret (^) symbol. So you can quickly see styles that are similar to Jazz Swing (in this example). The
styles J_BASIE and J_DIXIE could be substituted with a perfect match so are marked with an asterisk (*). Styles
like J_DJANGO are marked with a caret (^) because they sound best in a much faster tempo than the prototype Jazz
Swing style.
Use the filters to display all styles, or only
ones that you choose.

You can play the style demo from the StylePicker window by pressing the
[Load Song Demo] button.
The [Search] button that lets you find data in any of the fields. Also, the StylePicker
window opens up at the current style.
There is an option for this called “Defaults to current style.” When you choose a style with the song playing, it will
switch to the new style and continue playing!
When you find a style that you'd like to test, double click on its name in the list to hear a preview of your song in the
new style. Note that you must set the option Preview on Double Click for this to work.
Alternatively you can press the [Preview] button. The [Preview] button generates and plays an
arrangement with the new style; use the [Stop] button to end the preview.
Change the tempo by typing in a new tempo in the t= field at the top.
You can [Reduce] or [Expand] the duration of the chords, useful when changing the feel
of songs.
If the Prompt With Preview item is set, the program will ask you if you want to change the
feel of the song's melody, or auto-reduce/expand the chord durations when the styles change.
When a new style is previewed, patches appropriate to the new style

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get loaded in if you have selected “Auto Change Melody/Soloist Patch.” So when you load in a “Chopin Piano
Style” the Melody patch of your song will change to Piano. This allows the song to blend in with the new style.
This will copy the Styles List to the clipboard so that it can then be printed as a text file from any
word processor.
If you have added new styles to Band-in-a-Box (or edited the BBW.LST file) the StylePicker’s [ReBuild] button will update the styles list.
You can add your own styles to the StylePicker list by pressing the [Edit] button on the StylePicker.
Technical Note: All of the styles that you add will be appended to the bottom of the StylePicker under new category and
style names. This is because we don’t want editing of the main style list (BBW.LST) provided by PG Music, because we
update that list frequently ourselves, and the updated list would overwrite your changes. The edits that you make in the
StylePicker editor will stay permanently, and not be overwritten by future versions of Band-in-a-Box.

When you first launch it, there won’t be any styles added, so you’ll see a screen with only a blank category with no
styles on it.

The category here is called “My Styles,” you can change the name using the yellow “Category Name” area. For this
example, change the name to “Favorite Jazz.”
Let’s add a Style to the list.
Press the [Add New Style] button.
A style has been added, called NONAME.STY. You now need to fill in all of the
information in the colored fields to supply the information for the style you have added.
Note: For this example, we’ll add a Jazz style called NEWONE.STY. This style is included in the C:\bb folder.
This information includes:

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Name of the Style (8 characters maximum + .STY).

You can type in the style name, or press the Choose button to pick a style name from the \bb folder.
If the style doesn’t exist, a will appear in the style list beside the style name (as it does for the
NONAME.STY). Press the [Choose] button and choose NEWONE.STY.
Long Name of the style. This is a descriptive name that appears on the StyleMaker, and can be up to 32
characters. Enter “A Brand New Jazz Style.”

Memo and Examples. You can enter a memo for the style, and example songs that could be played in that
style. The memo and example can total 200 characters maximum. Enter a memo and examples for
NEWONE.STY.

We now enter settings to tell Band-in-a-Box what Soloist it should use when making improvisations using
this NEWONE.STY. For this, we need to know the genre of the style (Jazz, Country, and Pop etc.),
whether it is in an even or shuffle feel, and whether a soloist should be playing primarily 8th or 16th notes.
From the drop down combo box that appears, for this Jazz Swing style (newone.sty), we should choose
“Jazz Swing Triplet feel 8th notes.”

By doing this, Band-in-a-Box will then choose from many Jazz Swing type of Soloists available in BB.

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But if we want a specific soloist to always be used, we can specify that soloist number. You can see the
soloist numbers in the Soloist dialog. In this example, we leave this at zero, so Band-in-a-Box will choose
between many different soloists.
This setting enables double time soloing when the style is
played at slower tempos.
Next we describe the feel of the style. Are the 8th notes straight or shuffle? Is the time signature 3/4
(waltz) or 4/4, is it a 16th note based style (tempo usually less than 120), or an 8th note style (tempo usually
above 120). For the NEWONE.STY, enter these checkboxes as shown.
(Not straight 8ths, not a waltz,
and not 16th notes.)

Next is the Tempo area. Here you can enter the typical tempo and the range of the tempo for the style.

You can assign a number for the style disk. We recommend that you use numbers higher than 1,000 and
pick a unique number for your styles. You can then search for them easily. It is not necessary to enter a
Style disk #.

When a style is chosen in the StylePicker, it will send out patch changes on the Melody and Soloist tracks,
to make the song sound more authentic in that style. The settings for Melody and Soloist patches allow you

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to select which patch types will get sent out. Here we choose “Jazz Patches” for our NEWONE.STY

We’re finished adding the NEWONE.STY.
We could now continue adding new styles, and categories, for all of our new styles that are not in the list.
But let’s see our added style on the StylePicker.
Press the [OK – Save] button. This exits the dialog, returning to the StylePicker. The StylePicker
will recommend rebuilding the style list for the added styles. Answer “Yes” to this.

You will then see a rebuilt style list, and your category “My Styles” and your new style “NEWONE.STY” will
appear in that category.

Technical notes:
Information about styles you make yourself is stored in a file called A_USER.LS3. This is a text file, but it is better
to edit it using the StylePicker editor.
You can make other .LS3 files using the StylePicker editor, using the [Save As] and
[Open] buttons.

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You can also erase an .LS3 file from disk. Third party added styles are also stored in .LS3 files. Band-in-a-Box will
load in all of the .LS3 files that are in the \bb folder (in alphabetical order), and append them to the StylePicker list.
Technical Information about the BBW.LST file
The Help topics “Select Style with information” and “LS3 files” have information about adding styles to the Styles
List.
Favorite Styles Button
Another way to load a style is with the favorite styles [F] button, located to the right of the StylePicker button.
.This button opens a window with a list of the 150 styles you have used most recently. This lets you quickly
load in styles that have been used your last few sessions with Band-in-a-Box.
Click the “Play When Chosen” checkbox to have Band-in-a-Box play your song immediately upon selecting a style.
If you are technically minded and want to modify the styles list file then read on.
The Styles List is built from a text file called BBW.LST. You should only edit this file if you want to change the list
of styles, or add styles that you have created.
Technical Information about the BBW.LST file
This is the text file that defines the styles that appear in the Style Picker Dialog box in Band-in-a-Box. You may
edit this file to change the information, add/remove styles etc.
File Rules:
- Any line beginning with a semicolon “;” is a comment
- Lines beginning with ~ indicate a new category like jazz, country, pop
- Lines beginning with @ are a description of a style in the format @a\b^c*d
- where a = style file name e.g. zzjazzsw.sty (max. 8 chars + .sty )
- b= Long Style Name e.g. Jazz Swing Style (max. 32 chars)
- c= Style memo
- d= Examples of songs that can be played in this style
- c and d combined can be a maximum of 255 characters, e.g. c could be 200 characters and d could be 50
- Each style description must be on one-line, carriage returns not allowed in the middle of a style description.
Once made, you add the new information to the style picker by choosing the re-build option inside the style picker.
This rebuilds the binary file BBW.LSV from this file BBW.LST.
You can list a style more than once, for example Pop Ballad might be listed under Jazz and Pop Ballad. You can
also make your own categories. Like My Favorite styles, and build up a list.
The limit of number of styles in the StylePicker is 4,800 to accommodate the large number of third party styles
developed for Band-in-a-Box.
Example excerpt from the BBW.LST file
~Jazz
@ZZJazzSW.STY\Jazz Swing Style^This is the “built-in jazz swing style”using bass, drums and piano. Bass plays
half notes in “a” section and walks in “b” section.*Satin Doll, Sweet Georgia Brown
@A.STY\This is A^ How about this A style Useful for A songs
@BluHill.sty\Blueberry Hill Style^This is Blueberry Hill*Fats Domino songs
@GARNER.STY\Errol Garner Style^This is garner*I'll Remember april
@GARNER2.STY\Errol Garner Style #2^This style is in 2 feel for a and b*OLDFOLKS
Third Party Styles – LS3 Files
You can create LS3 files to add information to the StylePicker dialog about your styles. The LS3 files are for third
party added styles and style data descriptions.
An LS3 file cannot exceed 65,000 bytes (65K). If you need more, use 2 LS3 files. The style data and descriptions
show up in the style picker dialog.
- Lines beginning with @ are for style descriptions (memos etc.)
- Lines beginning with the 3 chars ^@ are for the style data
- More information on the format of the style data line is found at pgmusic.com/styledata.htm.

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Here's a summary of the style data line (on the next 4 lines)
; stylename,soloist# to use (1-255),soloist type to use (see list on web),double time OK (false/true),
; time sign. (3 or 4),straight or swing (sw/ev),16ths or 8ths (8/16),tempolow(30-500),
; tempo high range (30-500), tempo mid range (30-500), style disk # (0-30000) PG uses 1-255)
; melody patch to use (1-128 or higher-see list on web),soloist patch to use (1-128 or higher-see list),

RealDrums Styles
The RealDrums feature replaces MIDI drums with audio drums.
Why do RealDrums sound better than MIDI Drums?
The RealDrums are recordings of top studio drummers, playing multi-bar patterns. MIDI drums are patterns based
on single drum hits, being programmed, typically on a quantized grid, of what people assume drummers are
typically playing. We record drummers at multiple tempos, so the playing you hear at various tempos is also
musically different, not just “sped up.” Drummers play different types of fills etc. at slower/faster tempos, and these
are captured with RealDrums.
Technical note: If interested, you can see which tempos have been recorded by looking in the c:\bb\drums\ folder for the
particular style you are interested in.

How Do RealDrums Work?
There are several ways to hear RealDrums with new or existing Band-in-a-Box songs.
We provide many styles that already have RealDrums. These styles can be identified by the style name beginning
with a minus sign. For example “-ZZJAZZ.STY” is a version of the ZZJAZZ.STY that uses RealDrums.
Styles (.STY) can have RealDrums (e.g. “–ZZJAZZ.STY”).
This setting is found in the StyleMaker’s Misc. Style
Settings dialog.

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For RealDrums substitutions, choose different ^variations with each PLAY 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/Sticks

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).
Favor Artists

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.
For this song, choose different ^variations with each play
When this is set, if you save a specific style with a song, you’ll hear a new variation of that style each time you press
PLAY, with different drum instruments.
Clear button, this clears the currently selected RealDrums for the song.
RealDrums “Compatible song/style finder.”

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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.

INSTALL button. When this is pressed, WAV files will be created from any RealDrums styles that are still WMA
files. Make sure that you have enough space available on your hard drive prior to installing the RealDrums. Note:
Usually the WAV files have already been created upon installation, if so this feature isn’t needed.

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.

Tempo checking for chosen RealDrums styles. If you choose a RealDrums style, and the tempo is out-ofrecommended-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 Selection in the StylePicker
You can also 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.

Favorite Styles Button
Another way to load a style is with the favorite styles [F] button, located to the right of the StylePicker button.
This button activates a window with a list of the 150 styles you have used most recently. This lets you
quickly load in styles that have been used your last few sessions with Band-in-a-Box.
Click the “Play When Chosen” checkbox to have Band-in-a-Box play your song immediately upon selecting a style.
Style Aliases Dialog
The Style Aliases selection is found in the Styles menu.
Let's say you've got a new style for Jazz called “Wynt_K.” You can create an alias so that when Band-in-a-Box
looks for a Jazz Swing style, it will load in “Wynt_K” instead, so you don't have to make changes to all your songs.

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And when you have found a new favorite style, just change the alias. You can also load or save sets of “Alias” files
and share them with others.
To type in a style name that you don't have, use the [Custom...] button.
1. To create a new alias, click on an empty spot (i.e. no alias defined) in the alias list, or click on the alias you
wish to edit if you wish to change an existing alias.
2. Press the [Choose …] button below the Original style box and select the style you wish to be replaced.
3. Press the [Choose] button below the Substitution box and select the replacement style (alias).
If you have made a mistake and wish to change your style selection, press the [Clear] button. When you have
successfully made an alias, you will notice that there will be a small arrow in the Styles box on the main screen
indicating that you have an alias loaded.
You can Export and Import alias files to share with your friends by clicking the [Import..] button to read an alias file
from a floppy, or click the [Export..] button to send one out to a disk.

Tip: You can temporarily totally disable the Alias feature by unchecking the “Allow Any Style Aliases” checkbox. You can also
have confirmation of alias substitutions by checking the “Confirm Substitution” checkbox.

Enable/Disable Style menu item. (Alt+S E)
The Styles menu has an item to Enable/Disable the style. When disabled, the name of the style will have an X at the
beginning, which indicates a disabled style. The disabled style won't sound or write any data to the MIDI file. The
most common use for disabling a style is when a MIDI file is loaded to the Melody track. Then the style won't
sound and conflict with the full arrangement on the Melody track.
Forced Styles option
This allows you to keep a style in memory. This way, all subsequent songs that are loaded will not change the style
(even if they have a different associated style), so you can easily play songs in the same style. If you've found a new
favorite style, you can try it out in all kinds of songs without having to reload the style each time.
For example, let's say we've discovered the “GARNER” style, and want to try it out on all kinds of songs. Select
Styles | OK to load styles with songs so that the item is NOT checked. Now when you load a song the new style
doesn't load and you can play the song in GARNER.STY. You can temporarily override this setting by loading in
another style using the [STY] button or the Style menu, and the new style loaded will stay in until you choose
another one.

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Breaks - Rests, Shots, and Held Chords
Breaks are points in a song when one or more of the instruments rests, plays a shot, or holds a chord.
- Rests can specify any, some, or all instruments to rest at any bar. For example, you could rest all instruments
except the bass for the first 4 bars, and then add the piano for 4 bars, and then add the entire band for the rest of
the song. You may optionally disable the rests in the middle or final choruses (e.g., where you would likely
have a solo, and rests may not be appropriate).
- Shots can specify certain instruments play a “shot,” where the chord is played and then a rest follows. For
example the song “Rock Around The Clock” has a shot on beat 1 followed by a rest for 2 bars. The duration of
“shots” is 60 ticks per beat.
- Held chords specify that certain instruments hold a chord sustained for a certain number of bars. For example,
you can have the bass and piano hold a chord sustained while the drums continue to play a pattern
A chord can be specified as a REST by adding a period after the chord.
indicates a C chord that is a REST.
indicates a C chord that is a SHOT.
indicates a C chord that is a HELD CHORD.
Selecting BREAKS for different instruments.
You can specify that some instruments not be affected by the rhythm break.
The coded names for the instruments are:
- B for Bass
- D for Drums
- P for Piano
- G for Guitar
- S for Strings
To type a rest for all instruments on a C chord type C.
To exempt instruments, add their letters following the break. For example,

C.bd will put a rest on all instruments EXCEPT the bass and drums.
To indicate a held chord for all instruments except the piano, type C...p
Breaks can also be set in the Chord Options dialog.

Chord Options
Chord options include rests, pushes, and pedal bass. The Chord Options dialog opens with the C7 toolbar
button, or from the right-click contextual menu in the Chord Sheet.
Normally, when a “shot” or a “held” chord is assigned,
the instruments that are excluded from the shot/held
chord play normally.
There is an additional option for those excluded
instruments to stay silent. To set this, open the chord
options dialog, and select a shot or held chord, and
then select “Excluded instrument(s) should rest.”
This option gives you the ability to rest some
instruments while others play the shot or held chord.

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Other settings for how chords play are made in the Edit
menu. You can choose Edit | Settings (for This Song) to
open the Song Settings dialog and set the rests (breaks) to
happen only in the first, middle, or last choruses.
There are also settings to allow pushes, pedal bass, and
chord embellishment.

Pushes
”Pushes” (also called anticipations) are chords that are played before the beat. For example, in Jazz Swing, the
piano player often “pushes” a chord change by playing the chord an eighth note before the beat. To execute a
“push,” you can use either keystrokes or open the Chord options dialog box by right mouse clicking on a given
chord.
To use keystrokes :
Type the caret symbol [^] before the chord. The caret symbol is located above the numeral 6 on your computer
keyboard.
Type a single caret to get a chord an eighth note before the beat, e.g.,
Type a double caret to get a chord a sixteenth note before the beat, e.g.,

^C7
^^C7

In Jazz styles (and other triplet feels), the chord will be pushed by a triplet, regardless of whether there is a single or
double caret (^^).
Velocity Boosts for Pushes, Shots, and Held Chords
You can set the amount of velocity boost, so that
the effect won't be too loud.
In the Preferences dialog (Opt. | Preferences) click
on the [Arrange] button to open the Arrangement
Options. Then type in the amount of velocity
boost for pushes, shots, and holds.
The style can override the velocity for the pushes,
and drum velocity for shots, held chords, and pushes is also set in the StyleMaker.
Part Markers
Part Markers are placed on the chord sheet to indicate a new part of the song, to insert a
substyle change, or to insert drum fills. They typically occur every 8 bars or so, but may
be placed at the beginning of any bar.
Changing Substyles
to

Each style has “a” and “b” substyles. Band-in-a-Box Multistyles also have “c”
and “d” substyles, and could have from “a” to “x” for a total of up to twenty-four.

Most of these MultiStyles that we’ve made have 4 substyles, conforming to the following pop song format:
Substyle “a” is usually used for the verse of a song.
Substyle “b” is usually used for the “b-section” or the chorus, and for soloing in the middle choruses.
Substyle “c” is usually used for the intro or for an opening verse or pre-verse.
Substyle “d” is usually used for a break or interlude.
||

Double lines are drawn on the chord sheet at the bar before a part marker.

You can see the MultiStyle markers on the chord sheet.

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There is always a part marker at bar 1 so that Band-in-a-Box knows which substyle to begin with. The song
continues to play in one substyle until it encounters a new part marker. The substyle will change automatically on
second choruses when the “Vary Style in Middle Choruses” song setting is selected.
Placing Part Markers
- Move the highlight cell to the bar where you want to place the part market. Then press the P key on the
computer keyboard. Repeatedly pressing P scrolls through all available part markers,
or
- Position the mouse cursor directly over the bar line (or an existing part marker). Then, click the left mouse
button. Repeat this procedure to scroll through the available options.
- To remove a part marker keep pressing P or clicking the mouse until you reach the end of the available part
markers and there is no marker on the bar number.
Placing Drum Fills
A one bar drum fill will occur in the bar preceding a part marker. If you want a drum fill at bar 7 of a song, you
insert a part marker on the bar after the bar with the drum fill (i.e. Bar 8). You can either retain the original substyle
or change the substyle (a, b, c, d, etc.) when you place the part marker.

Section Paragraphs
When you’re reading a book, a new section begins on a new line, with space between. Band-in-a-Box does 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. You’ll see each section on a new line so that the form of the song is
easier to see.
For example, if you have a song with a 7-bar section, followed by 8-bar sections, earlier versions 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.

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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 with the “New line for every section (part marker)” setting in the
Display Options dialog (Opt. | Preferences [Display] button).

Song Settings Dialog
The [S] button on the main screen will bring up the Song Settings dialog. The keystrokes Ctrl+N key or the
Edit | Settings (for This Song)… menu command also brings up this window.
Here, you can choose from various song settings such as chorus embellishments, tag jumps, and endings, to make
your song interesting and varied.

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These are additional song settings that are saved with the song.
Vary Style in Middle Choruses
If set to “Yes,” the song will play in substyle “b” throughout the Middle Choruses. The Middle Choruses are
considered all choruses except the first and last ones.
For example, in the Jazz Swing Style, since the “b” substyle is Swing, all of the middle choruses will have swing
bass. (Whereas the “a” substyle is playing half notes on the bass.)
If set to “No” the middle choruses will play A and B substyles exactly as they appear in the song as outlined by the
part markers.
Allow Pushes in Middle Choruses
This is most frequently used if there are pushes in a song (indicated by the “^” symbol), but you don't want these
pushes to play in the middle choruses. Simply set the checkbox to “No” (disabled) and the pushes will be ignored in
the middle choruses. This is to allow for uninterrupted soloing choruses.
Allow Rests in First/Middle/Last Chorus
These parameters allow you to decide which choruses will play any rests that are present in a song (indicated by the
“.” symbol). For example, you may have put rests into a song but don't want the rests to play in the middle
choruses, since you are using them for soloing: simply set the ALLOW RESTS IN MIDDLE CHORUSES checkbox
to “No” (off).
Allow Pedal Bass in Middle Choruses
This determines whether Pedal Bass effect will be allowed in middle choruses.

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Allow Embellishment of Chords
The Jazz styles include embellishment of chords. This means that if you type a C7 chord, the piano part may play a
C13 or a C7b9. This makes the arrangement sound more authentic, as this is a common practice in Jazz playing. It
also means that you don't have to worry about inputting these types of extensions into your arrangements, since they
will turn up automatically if this feature is enabled.
Tip: If you are hearing b9 and b13 embellishments on a C7 chord that is clashing with the melody, you should rename the
chord C9 or C13, which will ensure natural 9 and 13 embellishments.

Tag Settings
A tag (also referred to as a coda) is a group of bars that are played in the very last chorus of a song. If you select the
“Tag Exists?” check box then the tag will play during the last chorus of the song. After the bar you specify as the
“Tag Jump After Bar #” the song jumps to the “Tag Begin At Bar #” and plays through the “Tag Ends After Bar #”
and then plays a 2 bar ending as usual.
Options for Song Endings
Band-in-a-Box will optionally create a two bar ending for your song.
Song endings can be turned off for all songs, or on a song by song basis. For example, you might want to have your
own custom ending that ends the song on the 3rd beat of a bar by playing a shot.
To turn song endings off for all songs, choose Opt. | Preferences and then press the [Arrange] button to open the
Arrangement Options dialog.
Set the “Allow any Endings” checkbox = “Off” (cleared).
To turn the song ending off for a single song, choose Edit | Settings (for This Song) and set the “Generate 2 bar
Ending for this song” checkbox to = “Off” (cleared) in the Song Settings dialog.
You can also have an ending that ends on the last bar of the song. This is set
in the Song Settings dialog – “Start the ending 2 bars early.”
The standard Band-in-a-Box ending is 2 bars appended to the end of the song. The “2 bars early” option gives you
an alternative to end the song on the last bar of the song. Band-in-a-Box will still play an ending on the chord that
you specify, and the ending will occur as a 2 bar phrase beginning 2 bars before the end of the form. This results in
more natural endings for many songs.
Fade Out Song
You can now quickly choose a fadeout ending, just
press the [Fade] button in Song Settings, and Bandin-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.
Sections on a new line (for this song) is an option to enable/disable the Section Paragraphs feature for this
particular song.

Slide Tracks
This is a menu command (Play | Slide Tracks…) that allows you to move any of the Bass, Drums, Piano, Guitar,
Strings, Melody, or Soloist tracks ahead or behind by a definable amount. For example, slide the Bass track a little
ahead of the rest of the band to make the bass player “drive the band.”
To slide tracks, select the Slide Tracks option from the Play menu. The values are measured in “ticks-per-beat” with
120 ticks being the equivalent of a quarter note. The musically useful range is from -10 to 10.

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Allow Any Slides
If you want the slides to occur, then set this to YES.
Humanize Slides
If set to YES, the slides will be humanized to slide the track a different amount for each note. The amount varies
from 0 ticks (none) to the slide setting for the instrument.
- Press the [Default] button to fill the tracks with default slide values.
- Press the [Zeros] button to 'zero-out' the slide values for all tracks.
- Press the [Update] button to affect your changes and hear the result instantly.
Tip: A track that always plays notes early by a certain amount tends to sound out of time, whereas humanizing the slide
makes the track sounds more alive.

Saving Songs
Once you have made a song (or have made changes to a song), you will probably want to save the song
by clicking on the [Save] button. Or choose Save from the File menu, or press [F2], or Ctrl+S.
Use [Save As] to save a song with a different name or in a different location. Shift-clicking on the
[Save As] button will allow you to choose a favorite folder prior to seeing the Save As dialog.
Songs will always be saved with last file extension letter of “U,” regardless of whether they are made with a built-in
style or not. For example, if you make a song with ZZJAZZ.STY as the style (one of the 24 built-in styles) early
versions of BB would save the song as MySong.MG1, where the “1” indicates Style #1 – ZZJAZZ. Now it is saved
as MySong.MGU. Older songs loaded in with .MG1 will still be re-saved as MG1 to prevent duplicate song files.
Note: Make sure you remember to save your songs as Band-in-a-Box song files (not only as MIDI files). The Band-in-aBox song files contain the names of the chords, etc. and are much smaller than MIDI files.

If you have an audio file associated with the song, the audio portion will be saved separately, and will be called
MySong.WAV.
Saving Song With …
Patches, Volume, Reverb, Chorus, Panning, Bank, Harmony (both Melody and Thru), and the Soloist may be saved
with your songs. This is done by selecting the Save Song with Patches & Harmony option from the File menu.
If you would like to save certain patches with a song:
a) Type in the number of the patch (instrument) that you would like. Leave the other instruments at = 0 for no
patch change. Remember that the General MIDI numbering system is always used for instruments.
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b) Press the [Fill w/Patches] button. This will fill the patch number boxes with the current patch settings showing
on your main screen instrument panel.
Use the checkboxes to choose which instruments you would like to save and whether you would like to save the
Melody and Thru harmony assignments and the Soloist selected to play on the song. You can also save the
instruments as “On” or “Off” for each song. For example, you could have a song with no piano part. Other
parameters that may be saved (Volume, Reverb, etc.) are shown on the right side of the window.
Tip: You can optionally save these kinds of settings with your songs for added realism. You can, for example, make a song
with the piano a little quieter than usual, or add reverb to the melody patch, or pan the bass to one side, etc.

Select the “For this song only, force MIDI drums” checkbox if you always want MIDI drums, not RealDrums, used
with the song.
Select “For this song only, use this RealDrum style” to assign a specific RealDrums style to your song. Press the
[RD] button to choose the RealDrums style.
This dialog box is usually used in combination with and not instead of saving a song. To save a song with this
embedded information to your hard drive, you therefore:
1.

Choose File | Save with Patches and Harmony (Alt+F2).

Choose the patch and other settings that you want to embed.

Press the [Save] button to save the song to disk.

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Saving MIDI and Karaoke Files
Your Band-in-a-Box songs can be saved as Type 0 and Type 1 MIDI files as well as Karaoke files and
General MIDI lyrics. Click on the [.MID] button to launch the dialog.

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Select the type of MIDI file you want to save in the dropdown “MIDI File type” combo box.

By default, Band-in-a-Box writes Type 1 multiple track Standard MIDI Files. You can also save Type 0 MIDI files,
they have all of the parts on a single track and are used by many hardware modules and other devices that play MIDI
files because they are simpler to play (since they only have 1 track).
Karaoke files (.KAR) are a special type of sing-along MIDI file with text events for the lyrics and a specific order
for the tracks. There is an option to write the MIDI file with separate tracks for each drum instrument. In the “MIDI
File type” combo box select “Drums on separate tracks.”
MIDI File Options
Use this button to set custom MIDI file settings in the MIDI file options dialog. This
dialog is also available from the [MIDI File] button in the Preferences dialog (Opt. |
Preferences).

Include Patch Changes in MIDI files will include the patch (instrument) changes.
Include Part Marker text markers writes descriptive text part markers to the MIDI file if selected.
If “Include Part Marker text markers” is selected the resulting MIDI file will have text markers. Then, in
PowerTracks Pro Audio (in the Bars window) you’ll see the descriptive text markers.

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For example, at bar 3, there is an “A, Chorus 1” marker, to indicate a part marker “a” substyle and chorus 1.
Text markers are also read in from MIDI files, and displayed as Section Markers on the Notation.
Include 2 bar lead-in in MIDI file
If you don't want to create a MIDI file containing the first 2 bars of the 1—2—1-2-3-4 count-in you can select this
option. If there is a Melody pickup, then the 2 bar lead-in will remain in the file.
Write Lyrics in General MIDI format
The GM specification has agreed upon specific requirements for writing lyrics in MIDI files, which are supported,
so that lyrics that you save in Band-in-a-Box should show up identically in other MIDI programs. This is one of the
MIDI File options in the Preferences dialog. We recommend the GM format.

Write Section Text as Text Events
Your section text can be included in the MIDI file as text events.
Include Volume/Reverb/Chorus/Panning
This will include the volume, reverb, chorus, and panning settings that you have made in the Band-in-a-Box synth
window in your MIDI file.
Include Forced Channel Meta Event
This will include the forced channel META event. It is recognized by PowerTracks Pro Audio and other PG Music
Inc. programs only.
Include Guitar Position Controller
This will insert a controller 84 which PG Music uses to indicate the fret position. Since some synths also use this for
Portamento Control, you should use this setting with caution.
Write Soloist Part On Channel 5
Normally the program writes the Soloist part on channel 8. Since that could also mean the left hand of a piano track
using the convention of channel 8/9 for piano, this option allows you to write it on channel 5 instead.
Write Harmony To MIDI File
If set to YES, the harmony will be written to the MIDI file. If not, just the melody will be written to the MIDI file.
MIDI File Harmony on separate tracks
If set to YES, the harmony will be written to the MIDI file on separate tracks for each voice. You could use this to
print out individual parts to your printer for example.
Write Guitar part on 6 channels
If set to YES, the styles that are Intelligent Guitar Styles will result in a MIDI file that has the Guitar part written on
6 channels (11-16). Then, when you read it in PowerTracks, or another sequencer that uses the convention of 11-16
for guitar strings, the guitar part will display correctly.
For partial range MIDI files, chop off sustaining notes at end turns off notes that would be “hung” because their
associated Note Off event does not fall within the range of bars saved to the MIDI file.
If song has RealDrums
Also generate MIDI Drums in the MIDI file can be unchecked if your song uses RealDrums and you don’t want
MIDI drums included in the MIDI file.
Also generate RealDrums in xxxx_RealDrums.WAV file saves the RealDrums (which are audio) as a separate
wave file. This allows you to easily import the entire Band-in-a-Box song into another program for editing.

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Set range of bars for MIDI files.
When making a MIDI file, you can select a range of bars to be included. Highlight
any range of bars, and the MIDI file will be made for just that range.

For example, you could select Chorus #2 if that is the chorus that you want.

The resultant MIDI file will be made from the selected range.
Alternatively, without selecting a range on the chord sheet, you can make a MIDI file for a
partial range by pressing the MIDI file button, and then the “Set Range” button.
Batch convert a folder of songs to MIDI files.
You can convert an entire folder of Band-in-a-Box songs to MIDI files with a single command
and choose the resultant file names to be based on either the file name or the song title name.
Press the “Batch mode” button in the MIDI file dialog to access this feature.

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Save Options
[File on Disk] saves a MIDI file to your hard drive or floppy disk. You can then load the
MIDI file into your sequencer for further editing.
[Clipboard] copies the MIDI file to the Windows Clipboard as a Standard MIDI File. This
feature allows clipboard enabled programs to Edit | Paste the Band-in-a-Box MIDI file
directly into the program. For example, you can clipboard-paste Band-in-a-Box MIDI data to PowerTracks Pro
Audio, CakeWalk, Musicator, etc.
The Melody/Soloist (with harmonies) will be written to the MIDI file. If you’ve set a Melody or Soloist/Thru
Harmony, that MIDI data will be written to the MIDI file also. See the settings in the Opt | Preferences dialog box
to control how the harmony is written to a MIDI file.
The Chord Sheet part markers are written to the MIDI files. They can be read by PowerTracks Pro Audio and by
Band-in-a-Box if re-importing the MIDI file with the Chord Wizard.
Recording to External Hardware Sequencers
Many people use Band-in-a-Box in live situations. If you are unable to bring your computer with you, a good
alternative is a hardware sequencer or a keyboard with a built-in sequencers that reads Standard MIDI Files. To
transfer songs to the Sound Brush, follow these simple steps:
-

·Make a MIDI file of the song by pressing the button.
·Either save the file directly to a floppy disk or copy it to the floppy from your hard drive.
·The Sound Brush is then able to read the IBM formatted disk with MIDI files on it.

MGX Files
When a MIDI file is loaded onto the Melody (or Soloist) track, the Track Type for the Melody (or Soloist) gets set to
Multi-Track. When the file is saved, the extension will be MGX, allowing you to easily identify the Band-in-a-Box
songs that you have that contain entire MIDI files.

Outputting MIDI to an External Device
Some external music hardware devices require chords played in root position to drive them in real time.
An example of this is the Digitech Vocalist. It will let you sing into a microphone and harmonize your voice
according to the chords that are input to the device. Band-in-a-Box has the capability of outputting a separate
channel with the chords in root position to support such external devices automatically.
There are also settings such as complexity of chords, output channel, velocity, and note range. It will also drive
“Real time Arrangers” like the Roland RA series. The best way to accomplish this is to access the Opt. |
Preferences and select the [OutputCh.] button. You will then be given a window like this:

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Click on the [Vocalist] button if you
have such a device connected to your
MIDI system. Band-in-a-Box will then
send it the appropriate chord information
automatically as your song is playing
(e.g., root position triads).

The Medley Maker
Would you like Band-in-a-Box to make a medley of various Band-in-a-Box songs (MGU)? 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!
To open the Medley Maker, click on the [A+B] button on the toolbar or choose File | Medley Maker. This
launches the Medley Maker dialog.

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To make a medley,
- add songs by pressing the [Append] or [Insert] button.
- remove songs using [Delete].
- change the order of the songs using [Move Up], [Move Down].
- for any song, customize using the “Settings for this song” group box, including changing the style, tempo, key,
start bar, # of bars, and # of transition bars. Press [Update] after customizing to see your changes in the medley
list.
- choose the type of information to include with your medley (styles, key signature changes, lyrics, etc.) in the
“Include with Songs” group box
- choose a number of transition bars (the default is 4). Transition bars are automatic bars of chords inserted by
Band-in-a-Box to transition from one song to the other, generating an “outro” and an “intro” between songs.
Press the [Make Medley NOW] button to generate a medley.

The maximum size of the medley is 255 bars (about 7 minutes).
The current size and time of your medley is displayed in the Length label.

You can have multiple choruses, so if you had 3 choruses of a 250 bar medley, it would last 750 bars.

Tip: Your medley will use RealDrums if you have RealDrums enabled. If so, you should keep the various tempos of the
songs within a close range. Because the quality of the RealDrums stretching would go down if a song in the medley had a
much lower tempo than the previous one, it is tempos that slow down to avoid.

The Jukebox
The Jukebox will load and play an entire subdirectory (folder) of songs. Songs play
continuously, one after the other. The Jukebox will continue to play while you move
to other Windows programs, providing continuous background music.
Click the [Juke] button to open the Options for Juke Box dialog.

Jukebox Options
Only Play song with melodies: If set to YES, the program plays only songs with melodies, that is, songs with an
.MG? file extension. If NO, the Jukebox will include ALL songs in the subdirectory.
Change Melody instrument: If you set this option to “Yes,” then the program will randomly change the melody
instrument among your favorite 10 Melody instruments.
Random order Playback: If set to “Yes,” the songs will be played in random order (though not repeating a song).
If set to “No,” the songs will be played in the order they are listed in the subdirectory.
Hide Titles (until title clicked): This feature is used to play the “Guess the Song” game. When set to “Yes,” the
titles are hidden till you click the title box.
Audible Count-in Click: While listening to the Jukebox, you might not want to hear the Count-in Click. If set to
“No” you won't hear the count-in click.

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Harmony Settings: Set the Change Harmony box to true/enabled if you would like harmonies in a given number
range to be randomly assigned for use with the Melody and Soloist/Thru tracks (if applicable to the song).
Generate Solos: Set this option to “On” to permit the Soloist to play a Solo over all the songs selected for Jukebox
Playback.
1. Change to this directory by loading/opening a song from the c:\bb\solodemo directory.
2. Instead of playing the song you have loaded, press the [Juke] button.
3. Ensure that the Generate Solos checkbox is set to “Yes.”
4. Select [PLAY JUKE BOX]. The Soloist Select Dialog will pop up with a suggestion to use a Soloist for the
first song in the Jukebox list. This is normal. Press [OK] to accept the Soloist suggestion. (The Jukebox will
not bother you with the Select Soloist dialog again; it will simply choose an appropriate Soloist for any given
song in the Jukebox song list.)
Preview:
The Jukebox Preview mode will optionally play
just one chorus of each song, or play a set
number of bars of each song (e.g. 8 bars).
To access this, press the [Juke] button, and select the Preview checkbox. Set the # of bars to use for the preview, a
setting of 99 plays one chorus of each song.
Delay between songs: The user can set a selectable time delay (in seconds) between songs.
Note: To manually start playback of each song in the jukebox list, set “Pause Play Until MIDI or Key received” to On
(checked) in the Preferences dialog. At the end of each song the jukebox will load the next song in the list and then pause
until playback is started by sending a MIDI note or a computer keystroke.

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Check “Loop Jukebox at end” for continuous jukebox play rather than stopping at the end
of the list.
Change Directory:
You can change the directory before starting the Juke Box with the [Change Directory]
button. You can also type a folder name directly, instead of using the folder dialog.

Favorite Songs
The Favorite Songs window is accessed by the [F] button, found on the main screen beside the
[Song] button. You can make a list of songs for a set by using the [Clear] button followed by
the [Append], [Insert], and [Delete] buttons to add songs. This can be saved as a set using the [Save Set...] button,
and reloaded with the [Load Set] button. Once you have the set, you can press the [Juke...] button.
This will play the set file in order, not randomly. It will start from the currently selected song.

MIDI Normalize
If performing a live set, or at a jam session, it helps to have the volume of all of the songs be similar. Now, with a
MIDI Normalize feature, you can level the volumes to a setting in the program options. For example, you can set all
volumes to be 70 and the program will make each song play within those levels. This is done in the Preferences
[Arrange] tab.
When you have set the normalize to “on” the title window at the top of
the screen reports that Normalization is set to 70, and that the velocity of
the currently playing song has been increased from 49 to 70.
The normalization will affect bass, drums, piano, guitar and strings. If you select the “Including melody and
Soloist” option, the normalization will also affect the melody and soloist parts.

The Conductor
The Conductor provides live looping and playback control. As the song is playing, there are options to allow
control the flow of playback by one of three methods:
1. Conductor window
2. QWERTY hot keys
3. MIDI keyboard

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The Conductor is launched with the Conductor button on the toolbar, or the tilde (~) hot key, or menu
option Window | Conductor Window.

You must enable the QWERTY keys to be active for the Conductor during
playback. This is done by selecting the “Enable Control by QWERTY keys”
checkbox on the Conductor window.
If you want to control the Conductor using the MIDI keyboard, you need to
enable this by selecting the checkbox “Enable control by MIDI keyboard.” When this setting is enabled, any MIDI
input will be interpreted as a hot key for the Conductor, and you won’t hear MIDI thru.
If you’d like the ability to switch your MIDI keyboard
between Conductor mode and regular playing mode, you can do this using the lowest “A-natural” MIDI note on
your keyboard. This is A1 on an 88-note keyboard. Note A1 will turn the Conductor off, Bb1 turns it on, and B1
will toggle the Conductor on only when the Bb1 note is held down. If you don’t have an 88-note keyboard, you can
set the octave setting to a number higher than 1, for example if you set it to “3,” then notes A3/Bb3/B3 will turn the
Conductor Off/On/Toggled.
Using the Conductor QWERTY or MIDI keys, you can:
- define and jump to up to 10 user defined sections in the song,
- jump back 1 bar/4 bars/# of bars/screen/part/chorus/section,
- jump ahead 1 bar/4 bars/# of bars/screen/part/chorus/section,
- LOOP 1 bar/4 bars/# of bars/screen/part/chorus/section,
- Pause/stop the song.
In addition, using the MIDI keyboard, you can also use the Conductor to:
A1

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Bb1

Turn MIDI Conductor ON

Turn MIDI Conductor ON only as note is held down

Here are the various functions available using the Conductor. The MIDI key and QWERTY hot key are shown.
C3

Normal Tempo

Ctrl =

Half Speed Tempo

Ctrl -

Quarter Speed Tempo

Eb3

Eighth Speed Tempo

Loop Section Enabled

NUMPAD 1

Play with last chorus looped

Ctrl-NUMPAD 1

F#3

Play with middle choruses looped

Ctrl-NUMPAD 2

Play with middle and last choruses looped

Ctrl-NUMPAD 3

G#3

Jump to last chorus (no loop)

Ctrl-NUMPAD 4

Jump to ending (no loop)

Ctrl-NUMPAD 5

Bb3

Loop notation screen

Decrease Tempo by 1

Shift [

C4(48)

Increase Tempo by 1

Shift ]

Db4

Decrease Tempo by 5

[

Increase Tempo by 5

]

Eb4

Tap tempo

- (press 4 times)

Tap Tempo and play

= (press 4 times)

Play

F#4

Stop

Escape

Pause

Backspace (or Ctrl H)

G#4

Replay

Ctrl A

MIDI Panic

F12

Bb4

Previous Song

Ctrl-Shift-F8

Next Song

Shift-F8

C5(60)

This is a control character for THRU patches. When C5 is held down, pressing MIDI notes 61/62
decrease/increase the THRU patch by one, and 63-72 change THRU patches to Favorite patches.

Db5

Open Notation Window

Ctrl-W

Lead sheet Window

Alt-W

Eb5

Reduce All Volumes by 5

Ctrl-Alt-Shift-Q

Increase all Volumes by 5

Ctrl-Alt-Shift-W

ALL Mute/Unmute

Alt-2

F#5

Bass Mute/Unmute

Alt-3

Piano Mute/Unmute

Alt-4

G#5

Drums/Unmute

Alt-5

Guitar Mute/Unmute

Alt-6

Bb5

Strings Mute/Unmute

Alt-7

Melody/Unmute

Alt-9

Soloist Mute/Unmute

Alt-8

Db6

THRU Mute/Unmute

Alt 0

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Audio Mute

F6 to D7

Jump to Sections 1-10 of the song

1-9 and 0

Eb7

Loop Current Chorus

Loop Current Section

Loop Current Bar

F#7

Loop Current 4 Bars

Loop current Part

Ab7

Looping ON, previous setting

Looping OFF

Bb7

Go Back 1 Chorus

Ctrl a

Go Back 1 Section

Ctrl s

Go Back 1 Screen

Ctrl d

Db8

Go Back 1 Bar

Ctrl z

Go Back 4 Bars

Ctrl x

Eb8

Go Back 1 Part marker

Ctrl c

Go Ahead 1 Chorus

Shift A

Go Ahead 1 Section

Shift S

F#8

Go Ahead 1 Screen

Shift D

Go Ahead 1 Bar

Shift Z

Ab8

Go Ahead 4 Bars

Shift X

Go Ahead 1 Part marker

Shift C

Customizing the Sections
Sections: This allows you to define up to 10 points in the song that are sections. By default, the following sections
are defined for each song.
- Section 1: Start of song
- Section 2: Intro
- Section 3: First Chorus
- Section 4 :Middle Chorus (i.e. start of chorus #2)
- Section 5: Last Chorus
- Section 6: Ending
- Sections 7-10 are user definable. To do this, type in any bar # using the bar/chorus format (e.g. 21/2 would
be bar 21, chorus 2).
If you prefer to enter custom values for the section numbers, you can do this if you check the “custom” checkbox,
and then type in up to 10 bar numbers for each section.

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The section numbers are saved with the song. Once you have defined the sections, you can jump to a certain section
of the song as the song is playing, simply by:
1. Pressing the 1-9 or 0 key on the QWERTY keyboard or,
2. Opening the Conductor window (~ hot key) and clicking on the section button or,
3. Pressing MIDI keys 77-86 (F6 to D7) corresponding to sections 1-10.
Mode (when to do the action).
By pressing a QWERTY hot key prior to an action, you can control when the action will take place. If no mode hot
key is pressed prior to an action, the default mode will occur.

The default is set in the “Default Mode for section change” or “Default Mode for going back or ahead” combo box.
For example, by default, the section change will occur as soon as you press the key, and it will go to the equivalent
place in the bar immediately before the beginning of the target section (so that the music stays in time, and the next
section begins at the end of the bar). But you can change the default for the action to take place at the end of the
current bar or current part marker etc.

Example uses of the Conductor:
In this example, we don’t have custom sections set, so the default sections apply (middle chorus = section 4 etc.).
- Jump to the start of middle choruses during playback (press “4”).
- Loop the middle chorus (press S, which is Loop Section).
- Jump to the end of the song (press 6).
- Pause the song (Backspace).
- Go back 1 chorus (Ctrl a).
- Go ahead 1 chorus (Shift A).
At the end of the current chorus, go back 1 section, press Y then Ctrl S.

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Note: Pressing the Y sets the mode to do the action at the end of the current chorus

These actions can also be done with the MIDI keyboard. See the MIDI keyboard mapping diagram for details.
Example using the MIDI keyboard. Assume Charlie is a piano player who uses his MIDI keyboard with Band-ina-Box, and would like to play his keyboard, but also use it to control Band-in-a-Box.

He sets the conductor to allow his MIDI keyboard lowest notes A/Bb/B to turn the Conductor mode
OFF/ON/Toggled-when held.
When he turns it off (low A note), he can play his keyboard normally.
If he wants to pause the song, he holds down the low B3 note as he presses the MIDI key for pause, which is G4.
The song will pause, and the conductor mode turns off as he lets go of the B3 key, and he can resume his piano
playing. If Charlie didn’t plan on using the MIDI keyboard for piano playing, he could leave it in conductor mode
by turning it on with the A3 key.

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Chapter 7: Notation and Printing
Band-in-a-Box offers a variety of notation and printing features, both for viewing parts on-screen as they play and
for printing them as sheet music.
To view the notation, open the Notation window by pressing the notation button on the main screen. Close
the Notation window by pressing the notation button again.

Band-in-a-Box Notation screen displaying the melody track in Standard Notation mode.
Tip: You can rearrange the windows so that the Notation window is at the top of the screen with Window | Put
Notation/Chords On Top or with Ctrl+T keys.

Band-in-a-Box offers multiple modes of notation for different purposes. The notation defaults to Standard Notation
mode, other modes are selected with buttons on the Notation window toolbar.
Standard Notation to display or print Notation and enter lyrics. The grand piano staff and/or guitar
tablature with notes, chord symbols, and lyrics.
Editable Notation to enter or edit notation. A special staff with time divisions for mouse-based editing.
Staff Roll Notation, to enter or edit notes, velocity, and duration. The note heads are shown with editable
velocity and duration lines.
Lead Sheet Notation to display or print notation as full arrangements or in fake sheet style. This is a full
screen notation window with notes, chord symbols, and lyrics.

Exploring the Notation Window
With the Notation window open, the toolbar at the top of the window gives you access to its many features and
options.
Options Button
Lead Sheet Button
Print Button
Notation Mode Buttons
Current Note

Opens the Options dialog box.
Press to launch the Lead Sheet Notation window.
Press this button to print the notation to any printer supported by
your Windows system.
3-stage buttons to select a Notation window mode - Standard
Notation, Editable Notation, or Staff Roll mode.
This box displays the name of the note that will be inserted when
you click the mouse.

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Note / Rest checkboxes

These determine whether a Note or a Rest will be inserted when
the mouse is clicked.

Mono Mode

When this is selected, the notation is entered as monophonic
(one note only) to avoid extra notes in a single note melody line.

Clean Notation

The Clean Notation Mode cleans up the notation by eliminating
display of redundant grace notes and glitches for easier reading.

Loop Screen

While a song is playing, click the “LoopScn” button and the
song will loop the bars shown on the notation screen.
Track Select

You can display or print any track from the program. Press the
appropriate button to change to the desired track.

Event List Editor

You can edit events including all MIDI events and lyric events
using the Event List Editor.

Lyrics Button

To enter note-based lyrics press the Lyrics button on the
Notation toolbar.

Zoom Buttons
Section Text
Scrub Mode

The zoom buttons make it easy to increase or decrease the font
size of the notation.
Add or edit Section Text on the Notation.
When this button is pressed in you can drag the mouse over
notes to hear them.

Chord Step Advance
Use the Ins and Del keys on the numeric keypad to step advance on any track by one chord. The track MIDI data
can display on the on piano, guitar, lead sheet, drums, and notation window(s).
This feature advances the current track and displays the next group of notes on that track. For example, if the
current track is set to the Melody track, pressing the chord advance buttons will display the next note or chord of the
melody. The Chord Advance feature is a great way to study the notes being played, and to navigate around the
track.
Note: In this context, “chord” is referring to any group of notes, or a single note, that occurs in a track at or near the same
time. You can adjust the width of what Band-in-a-Box determines a 'chord' to be in the Notation Options - More dialog.

Standard Notation Window

The Standard Notation window displays the notation for any individual track, and allows for the entry of chords and
lyrics. Features include:
- Notation display for the Bass, Drums, Guitar, Piano, Strings, Melody, or Soloist track.
- Optional display of guitar chord diagrams.

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Chapter 7: Notation and Printing

As the notation plays, the notes that are sounding are highlighted in red. This helps with sight reading or
following the music.
You can set the notation to scroll either 1 or 2 bars ahead of the music without interfering with your view of the
current notation.
Handles Jazz eighth notes and triplet figures correctly.
Automatic options such as auto durations, clean notation, mono display, minimize
rests, hard rests, and engraver spacing produce very musical and readable notation.
Beamed notes are automatically given slanted beams.
Groups of 5 notes will automatically display as groups of 3+2 or 2+3, or can be set
this way manually. If you'd prefer to see them as a group of 5 notes, you can right
mouse click on the timeline, and set the resolution to 5 for that beat.

Right-click menu for Standard Notation
This menu opens with a right mouse button click in the Standard Notation window.

Use this menu to access major editing features and dialogs. You can change to another notation mode by selecting it
in the list.

Keystroke Commands
-

To bring up the Notation Options window, press Alt+N+O.
To change between notation views, press Alt+N+N.
To bring up the Print Options window, press Alt+N+P.

To loop the screen, press 1 on your numeric keypad.

To jump 4 bars ahead, press the DOWN arrow key.
To step 4 bars back, press the UP arrow key

Editable Notation Mode
Enter the Editable Notation mode from the notation screen with a single mouse click on the Editable Notation
button.
In the Editable Notation mode you can enter, move, and edit notes and rests using standard mouse techniques – point
and click, drag and drop, and right-click to open the Note Edit dialog box.

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Band-in-a-Box Editable Notation window.

This is the screen for step-entry of a melody or for editing existing parts. Notice the grid of vertical lines, which
sub-divide each beat. These lines indicate where the notes will be placed according to the resolution of the song.
When mousing over notes in this window, summary information about the note is
displayed (pitch/channel/velocity/duration).
To enable this feature, click on the [More.. ] button in the Notation
Options to open the Other Notation Options dialog. Then select the “Show
Popup Hint for Note Properties” checkbox.

Resolution
The above example is in Jazz Swing style so Band-in-a-Box has automatically set the grid resolution to 3 per beat
(triplets). This resolution can be changed in the Notation Options dialog, but the program automatically sets the
resolution to the correct value based upon the Band-in-a-Box style that is in use.
- 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.

Example of swing (triplet) resolution.

Example of straight (16ths) resolution.

Beat Resolution
The user can manually set the resolution for any beat in the Beat Resolution dialog, which opens with a right click
on the black vertical time line.

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Setting the Treble Clef Resolution for this beat to 5 allows a group of five notes
to be placed on one beat.
Tip: Although you can edit any track (e.g., Bass track), your edits to Band-in-a-Box instrument parts will be lost if you press
[Play] and the song arrangement is regenerated. To save edits to accompaniment parts, save your song as a MIDI file for
export.

Entering Notes
To insert a new note on the staff move the mouse to the location that you want. If you want beat 1, move to the first
dotted line in the bar. Click on the staff over the note that you want.
Confirmation dialogs show warnings to prevent accidental entry of a duplicate note (same pitch near same time) and
of a very high or very low note (large # of ledger lines).
The Current Note box in the toolbar will give you the name of the note that you're on.
Click with the left mouse button to insert the note:
- To insert a sharp: Hold down the Shift key as you click the note.
- To insert a flat: Hold down the Ctrl key as you click the note.
- To insert a natural: Hold down the Alt key as you click the note.
Brackets (#) are drawn around accidentals after a bar line as a courtesy, where no
accidental is required.

How is the length of the notes determined?
Band-in-a-Box uses an intelligent auto-duration feature to determine how long the note should be. Auto-durations
mean that you can enter a lead sheet style melody by just clicking once per note, dramatically speeding up the entry
of notation.
Any note that is entered will initially have a duration of 2 bars (2 whole notes). When the next note is put in 2 beats
later, Band-in-a-Box will adjust the duration of the previous note to just shorter than 2 beats. This means that you
don't have to worry about durations at all, and can simply point and click to enter the notes where you want them. If
you want to override the auto duration, you can edit the note using the right mouse key, which will permit you to
type the exact duration that you want.
Entering Rests
Insert a rest by holding the back-quote key (tilde key without pressing Shift) then clicking on the notation window.
Another way to enter a rest is to click the Rest checkbox and then point and click where you want the rest to appear.
This automatically shortens the duration of the previous note.
Tip: If it is important to see rests less than a quarter note, make sure you de-select the Minimize Rests checkbox in the
Options dialog box.

Forced Rests (Hard Rests)
This allows you to insert a rest in the notation, which will be in effect even if you have Minimize Rests set to false.
For example, we are able to display a 16th note rest even though the Minimize Rests feature is on. To do this, click
on the [Rests] button and then click on the notation at the location that you'd like a 16th note rest. The Hard Rest

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will show up in blue in the editable notation window and can be removed by holding the [DEL] key and clicking on
the rest.
Moving a note in time.
If you want to change the start time of a note, drag the note with the left mouse button to the new location. This is a
simple way to move the note. Alternatively, you could edit the note numerically with the right mouse button.
Changing the pitch of a note.
Similarly, you can drag the note vertically to change the note value, and release it when you're on the note you want.
Hold down the Shift, Ctrl, or Alt key to have the note inserted as a sharp, flat, or natural respectively.
Insert Bends In Notation.
In the Editable Notation window, any note can be made into a bend by holding down the “b” key on the computer
keyboard and right-clicking on the note.

Right-click Editable Notation menu
A right-click of the mouse in the Editable Notation window will open this menu.

Insert Section Text
This launches the Section Text Event dialog box that allows you to type in the text. You can set the Text Event
Type to “Boxed” or “Regular”
Section Letters
Select a section letter from an alphabetical list and it will
be inserted into the notation at the current location of the time line bar. Use this same item to remove section letters.
Notation Symbols for Expression and Articulation
The Notation Symbols are entered from the Notation Event dialog, which is accessed from the right-click menu in
the Editable Notation window. This dialog lets you insert (or remove) notation symbols such as,

178

Slurs

Accents

Crescendo

Legato

Decrescendo

Marcato

Staccato

Staccatissimo

Chapter 7: Notation and Printing

Select a notation symbol from those listed and the Notation Event dialog will open. In this dialog you can further
define the event and its precise location, then press [OK - Insert Event] to insert it into the notation. Use the [OK Remove Event] to delete an existing event that is no longer needed.

The Event Type list box lets you choose the event type (slur, decrescendo, etc.).
The Length of Event field determines the length of a slur, crescendo, or decrescendo. The length is
specified in beats and ticks. If an event is a “single-peg” event, such as a staccato or accent, then this field
will cause multiple events to be inserted if the range is greater than zero (and the range spans multiple
pegs). If you had highlighted an area of the Notation window prior to right clicking on it (to launch the
pop-up menu and choose the notation symbols menu item) then this field is set based on the length of the
highlighted area.
Note: The highlighted area does not actually include the very last peg at the very edge of the highlighted area.

The Clef field, if present, indicates the clef in which the event will be inserted (or removed from). Most
events affect only one clef at a time, and therefore you must choose the clef and this field will be preset
based on where you had initially right-clicked with the mouse on the Notation window (you did this to get
the pop-up menu that launches this dialog). For example, if you had right clicked on the treble clef, then
this will be set to treble.
When Snap to notes toward beginning / end of range is enabled slurs, crescendos, and decrescendos will
be based on notes that exist at the beginning and end of the specified range.
The Offset field, if present, lets you adjust make adjustments to
the vertical position of an event, e.g. slurs or chord height.
The Start Time field is the start time of the event (in Measures:Bytes:Ticks).
OK – Insert Event – exits this dialog and then inserts the event into the notation track.
OK – Remove Event – exits this dialog and then REMOVES the event (if it exists in the specified time
range) from the notation track.

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Cleanup Orphaned Notation Controller Events
This command will remove notation symbol events (such as staccato) that are no longer close enough to a note to
display properly.
Chord height adjustment
Use this to adjust the height of a certain chord by adjusting the “Offset:” value in the Notation Event dialog.
Note that a positive value moves the chord symbol lower, and vice versa.
Modes
Clicking on another notation mode will change to that screen while staying at the same location in the song.

Editing Note Values
Right click on a note. This brings up a variation of the right-click window with added commands for editing or
deleting notes. Click on Edit Note to launch the Note dialog.
In the Note dialog box, you can manually change the characteristics of a note by entering the exact values you wish
for any given note. For example, you can change the velocity and duration by increments of 1 tick, as well as the
note's pitch and relative positioning in the bar.

There are spin buttons in the note attributes window. Holding the spin increments continuously, and Shiftclicking (or right-clicking) increments by a higher amount.
Shift+clicking on the spin buttons changes:
- the pitch of a note by an octave instead of a semitone.
- The velocity, duration or time stamp by 5 instead of 1.
For example, to change the octave of a note, Shift-click (or right click) on the spin arrows.
Click on Delete Note in the right-click menu to remove the selected note from the Notation.
Select a region of notation to edit
To select a region of the notation you can Shift+click on the end point to easily select a large area.
- Select a small region by dragging the mouse.*
- Enlarge the region by Shift-clicking on the end point.
*Note: Shift-click is also used to enter a sharp (#) note, so the selection via Shift-click requires that a small region be
already selected.

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Staff Roll Notation Mode
Click on the Staff Roll notation mode button to enter the Staff Roll mode.

This mode is similar to the Editable Notation Mode, except that the beats begin right on the bar line. You can see
the duration of the note visually represented by a horizontal blue line and the note’s velocity displayed as a vertical
blue line.
Tip: If you can't see these lines, press the [Opt.] button to check that “Show Note Durations, Show Velocity Lines,” and
“Show Bar/Beat Lines” options are enabled.

Using the Mouse to Edit Velocity and Duration
There is an additional function available in this mode; right mouse drag. Place the mouse cursor on the note head
and hold down the right-mouse button. Then, starting at the note head, drag the cursor horizontally to set the note's
duration, or drag it vertically to set the note's velocity.

Piano Roll Window
For advanced editing of notes plus graphic controller editing, go to the Piano Roll window, either by
selecting the Piano Roll button on the toolbar, or the Window | Piano Roll Window menu item.

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Notation Window Options
Press the [Opt.] button in a notation window to bring up the Notation Window Options dialog box:

Track Type
Normally you'd leave the track type set to Single Channel, but you can also set it to Multi-Channel, Guitar, or Piano.
Multi (16) All MIDI channel assignments are preserved and output on playback. This would be useful for
-Channel: importing an entire MIDI file, and playing it from the Melody channel using a silent style.
Guitar:

MIDI channels 11 to 16 are assigned to the guitar strings 1 to 6. Correct guitar tablature replaces the
bass clef, the notation will be up an octave, and guitar channel assignments are saved with MIDI files.

Piano:

In this mode, channels 8 and 9 are treated as the left and right hand of a piano part.

Triplet Resolution (Swing)
Band-in-a-Box automatically sets the resolution whenever a style is loaded. When a style has a triplet feel (such as
Jazz Swing or a Shuffle style), Band-in-a-Box selects Triplet Resolution. This ensures that Jazz eighth notes (swing
triplets) are handled correctly. When a style with a straight feel loads (Pop, Latin) the Triplet Resolution setting is
automatically turned off. Then the notation shows even eighth notes, not triplets, and each note and duration is
rounded to the nearest sixteenth note when displaying the music.
Show Bar/Beat Lines
This setting is for the Staff Roll mode only. When turned off (unchecked) only the staff lines will show, helpful for
editing note Duration and Velocity lines.
Show Note Durations
A Staff Roll mode setting to show or hide the horizontal Duration lines.
Duration Line Color (Green /Blue)
There are two color choices for the Duration lines, green or blue.

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Snap to grid lines
If the Snap To Grid Lines checkbox is checked, the inserted note will be lined up with the closest grid line. This is
similar to the way a graphics or typesetting program aligns elements accurately on a page. This means that you
don't have to click exactly on the beat to have the note inserted precisely on the beat.
Scroll Ahead
The Notation window can be set to scroll 1 or 2 bars ahead of the music without interfering with your view of the
current notation. To enable this feature, select the number of bars you wish to scroll-ahead in the Notation Window
Options (1 or 2). Select zero bars to disable this feature. When the notation scroll-ahead feature is enabled, the
lyrics will also scroll ahead.
Highlight playback notes in Red
Good sight-readers who like to read ahead can use this option to disable the highlighting of notes in red as the song
is playing so it won't be distracting.
Note Colors
Notation can display notes in different colors based on absolute note names or relative to chord or key. Colors are
definable; the default color scheme is one that was introduced by the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (18721915).
Colored notes will appear in color for printout on color printers or when saved in a color graphics file.
Pressing the [Edit] button launches the Note Color Editor dialog.
Change the colors by clicking on the color above the note name.
Pressing the [OK-Save] button will close the dialog and save the file as c:\bb\default.NCL.
You can also save/load different NCL files for different color sets.

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Note Names
There is an option to display note names in the center of the note head. You can display absolute note names (A, Bb
etc.) or you can display numbers relative to the key or the current chord. This is helpful for learning to read music.
Combined with the ability to display large font sizes, this achieves the big note look common to “EZ-2-Play” music
books.
Channel numbers can also be displayed on the notation. When editing notes, it is often
helpful to see the channel number of each note. By setting Note Names to “Channel
Numbers” you'll see the channel number for each note written into the note head of the
notes. This is useful when viewing an entire MIDI file that you've loaded onto the Melody
track, and want to examine the channel information, or for editing a guitar track that uses
channels 11 to 16.
Notation Fonts
You can use the PG Music fonts or Jazz fonts for your chords and notation. Or you can choose Arial or any other
font on your system for chords, lyrics, text, and titles. The Jazz fonts have the “handwritten manuscript” look. It's a
great alternative to music fonts that look too “computerized.”

Jazz Music Fonts for Notes, Symbols, Chords, and Titles.

To select just the Jazz music font select the “Use Jazz Music Font” option, then choose
your Chord, Lyrics, Text, and Title fonts.
Click [Regular Fonts] for a quick overall change to regular fonts in the Notation window.
The [Jazz Fonts] button installs a pre-selected group of Jazz fonts.
The [Arial] button installs the regular notation font and Arial for everything else.
You can select from any of the fonts installed on your computer
using the settings found in the Notation Options dialog.
Check “Use Jazz Music Font” to use the Jazz font, and check
“Jazz Symbols” to use shorthand Jazz chord symbols in the
notation.

The Lyrics and Text fonts appear in the Notation window, the Lead Sheet and the printout.
The Title font is used for the Titles, Composer, and Styles names that appear on the Lead Sheet window and
printout. You can choose from selected fonts, or use the “Other…” selection to use any font. For example, you
could use PG Jazz Text Extended (PGTextje) for a jazzy look.
Note: Using the PG Music notation and text fonts requires that they be installed in your Windows | System directory. The
fonts are installed automatically with the program.

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Jazz Chord Symbol Graphics (circles, triangles)

Jazz and Pop music often use certain non-alphabetic symbols for chord types. These include a delta (triangle) for
major chords, a circle for diminished, and a circle with a slash for half-diminished. Also, tensions like b9 and b13
are stacked vertically and contained in brackets. You can now select this option, and see these symbols for
display/printout on the Chord Sheet, Notation, and Lead Sheet windows.
The Jazz Chord Symbol Graphics can be displayed independently on the Chord Sheet and the Notation or Lead
Sheet windows.

To get the Jazz Chord Symbol Graphics on the Chord Sheet, choose Opt. | Preferences | Display Options and set
“Chord Sheet Font” to “Jazz Chord Symbols.”
You’ll then see a chord sheet like this.

To see the Jazz Chord Symbol Graphics on the Notation/Lead Sheet printout, set the Notation
Options. The Notation will then look like this.

The Lyrics and Text fonts appear in the Notation window, the Lead Sheet, and the printout. The Title font is used
for the Titles, Composer, and Styles names that appear on the Lead Sheet window and printout. You can choose
from selected fonts, or use the “Other…” selection to use any font. For example, you could use PG Jazz Text
Extended (PGTextje) for a jazzy look.
Note: PG Music notation and text fonts are installed automatically by the program in your Windows | System directory.

Bars/Screen
This option lets you to choose the number of bars per line for both the on-screen notation display and printing.
Guitar Chord Diagrams
These are available on the notation, lead sheet, or printout for Folk, Pop, and Jazz voicings. There is an option to
show the fret numbers on the diagrams.

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Tab
When set, the Guitar and Bass parts will print tablature notation.
Show fret #s on chord diagrams
This will display the fret numbers for each string on the guitar chord diagrams.
Load notation layout w/songs
When this box is checked your Notation Option settings will be saved with the song and restored the next time you
load the song.
Show Key Signature
If turned off, you won't have the key signature box displayed on the Notation Screen. This will save some space on
the screen.
Transpose Options
These preset transpose settings for non-concert instruments like brass and
woodwinds will auto-select the correct transpose settings and clef split points
for the instrument. For example, Trumpet +2 will write the music up 2
semitones, and the split point will be adjusted to display the music in treble
clef.
Guitar and bass settings are also included.

Transpose
The Transpose setting lets you manually adjust the Notation window to display notes either higher or lower than
their actual pitches.
Clefs split at
This setting determines the split point for placing notes on the Bass or Treble clef. The default setting is C5, middle
C. Use a higher split point, such as C6, if you want notes up to a B above middle C written on the bass clef with
ledger lines.
Max Ledger Lines
You can specify an upper limit of a note range so that high notes won't result in an excessive number of ledger lines.
The default is 6, which would show a maximum of 6 ledger lines above the treble clef staff.
Show Velocity Lines
This is a Staff Roll mode setting to show or hide the vertical Velocity lines. Line color is determined by the
Duration Line Color setting.
Use chord scale for enharmonics
The sharps and flats in Band-in-a-Box notation are context sensitive to the chord names. For example, if you are in
the key of Eb, and the chord is E7, a G# note will show up as G#, and not Ab. This means that the notation
accidentals will automatically show up correctly.

Enharmonics for chord tones are automatically based on the chord.

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Enharmonics for passing tones are based on chords if “Use Chord Scale Enharmonics” is set to true.

For example, on an F#7 chord in the key of Eb, the Ab note is part of the F#7 scale (as a G#, the 2nd of the scale),
but is also part of the Eb key of the song. If you want to display based on the chord scale, setting “Use chord scale
enharmonics” will display the note as a G# instead of an Ab.
Enharmonics on slash chords
A chord like Gm7b5/Db will display correctly using a Db instead of a Gm7b5/C#, since Band-in-a-Box bases it on a
Gm scale.
Engraver Spacing
This is another one of the program's intelligent features which spaces the Notation appropriately to avoid
overlapping notation while accounting for space required by accidentals, rests, etc. This feature is visible only in
Standard Notation mode.

Notation Settings
Tick Offset
The Tick Offset on the notation options is one of the keys to great looking notation. It accounts for playing that is
before or behind the beat. The track is automatically scanned to determine the best tick offset so that you don't have
to set this yourself. This results in better looking notation. You can change/override this setting in the Notation
Window Options dialog box, but normally the best tick offset is set automatically.
For example, to properly notate Jazz performances, it is sometimes necessary to set the tick offset to approximately 15. This effectively adjusts for a performance that has been played slightly ‘behind’ the beat or, in Jazz terms, “very
laid back.”
Minimize Rests
When checked, Band-in-a-Box will eliminate unnecessary rests. For example, if staccato eighth notes are displayed
as sixteenth notes separated by sixteenth rests the setting will remove the rests and show the notes as eighth notes.
Detect Fine Resolution Notation
Improved auto-transcription identifies and correctly displays up to 128th notes. If for some reason you prefer to
disable it, there is an option to do so. To set a beat to a certain specific resolution right mouse-click on the Time
Line located at the top of the Notation window. You'll then see a Beat Resolution dialog where you can set the
resolution for both the Treble and Bass clefs.
New Line each
Use this setting to automatically start a new line on each chorus, on each chorus and the intro, or on each part
marker. It applies to the Lead Sheet notation screen and to printing.

If you want to control how many bars per line get displayed for a regular (non-fake
sheet mode) display, use the Edit Settings for Current Bar (F5) options, and select “Notation - Start a New Line”
on bars that you’d like a new line of notation. That setting, in combination with the Notation Window Options
setting for “Bars/Screen,” and “New Line each” allow you to save custom settings for bars per line in non-fake sheet
mode.
R/L Cursor Edits
This is used in the Keystroke Note Editing features.

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Bar Number Font and %
Select any installed font for the bar numbers and adjust its size in a percentage range from 10% to 1000%. These
settings affect the notation, lead sheet, and printout.
Display Font Size %
To select the notation font size for display, enter the Display Font Size as a percentage, either more or less than
100%. The same setting is available in the Lead Sheet window and the Print dialog.
Chord Vertical Position

This controls how high the chords will be written above the staff. If set to 5 the chords will be written 5 notes above
the top of the staff. If your piece contains a lot of high notes, then set the chord position to a high setting.
Lyric Position
You can adjust the height of the lyrics by setting the lyric height (smaller values like –8 are higher on the notation).
Auto-Hand split Piano track
When checked, the Piano track (not any other track) will be displayed on both clefs with intelligent hand-splitting.
You can print out the Piano track with the hands separated.
You can also manually split a piano part on a Melody or Soloist track using the intelligent hand-splitting routines.
The left/right hands display in red/blue on the big piano, and on the bass/treble clefs on the notation. For example, if
you have a MIDI file that is a solo piano piece, File | Open MIDI file will put the music on the Melody track.

Then choose Melody | Edit | Utilities | Piano Hand Split. Make sure that Melody | Track Type is set to piano. You
will then see the piano part split into 2 hands intelligently.

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[More] button

The [More..] button opens the Other
Notation Options dialog.

Inserted Note Defaults
These settings determine the default values for notes that you enter manually.
Duration %
Notes are not always played for their full duration. If a whole note is inserted with a duration of 80%, the note
would play for 80% of 4 beats = 3.2 beats.
Velocity
The loudest possible note has a velocity of 127; a velocity of 0 is silent.
Channel
Assign the MIDI channel of the inserted notes.
Play Inserted Notes
When checked, notes that you insert will sound briefly as they are inserted. This lets you hear that the note you
inserted sounds correct.
Advanced Notation Settings
These advanced settings give you control over the clean notation features.
Chord Note Separation in MS and Chord Total Separation in MS
This lets you set the width of chords. Band-in-a-Box will display a new group of notes on the notation for every
chord. If you know that a track is single notes and therefore couldn't have any chords, set the chord note separation
to a small value like 10ms and then every note will be displayed on a new note stem. The chord width parameter is
also used for the “chord step advance” feature.

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Glitch Duration in MS and Glitch Velocity
When set properly, “Glitches” will not be shown on the notation. Any note less than a certain length of time or less
than a certain velocity can be filtered out.
Line Thickness Settings
These settings allow you to control the thickness of various line elements of the notation. For example, if you set
the Bar Line width to 200%, the bar lines will be twice as wide, and easier to see. This affects display and printout.

Show Popup Hint for Note Properties
If this is checked the note properties pop-up will open if you hover the mouse cursor
over a note in the Editable Notation window.

Confirmation Required to enter a note more than X Ledger Lines
To prevent accidental entry of very high/low notes, this means that a confirmation dialog would be needed to enter
notes with more than X ledger lines.
Defaults button
Click [Defaults] to have all modifications revert back to factory settings.

Keystroke Note Editing
You can easily edit notes using only keystrokes. By stepping through the notes one-by-one, when a note is
highlighted you can change the pitch using the cursor keys, and other values (timing, duration, channel) with other
hot keys. This speeds up editing of notes. To use this function, you do the following:
1. Open up the Notation window.
2. Move the mouse cursor to the note that you want to edit, and then press the Chord Advance (INS or DEL key
on the Numeric Keypad). This highlights the current note.
3. With the note highlighted in red, use the cursor up/down keys to change the pitch of the note. You hear the
pitch change as the note changes.
4. Use the cursor left/right keys to change the note's start time, duration, channel, or velocity (depending on the
setting of the “Right/ Left Cursor Edits” field in the Notation Options Dialog.
Press the Esc key or [Stop] button when you're done.

Section Text for Notation
You can add custom Section Text and Boxed Text messages at any position in the notation track, with
optional box to appear around the text.
To put a section text comment on the notation track:
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Right click on the track at the point that you want to enter the section text. Answer YES to the question
“Would you like to enter Section Text?”
This launches the Section Text Event dialog box that allows you to type in the text. You can set the Text
Event Type to “Boxed” or “Regular.”

Scrub Mode on Notation
Scrub mode allows you to move the mouse over a group of notes and hear them playing. To enable the
scrub mode, press the Scrub button in the Notation window toolbar. Then hold the mouse and drag it over
the notes that you want to hear.

Lead Sheet Window
The Lead Sheet window displays a full screen of notation with one or more parts. Other options include a selectable
number of staffs per page, clefs to show, font size, margin, scroll-ahead notation, guitar chord diagrams, and lyrics.
If you like to sight-read along with Band-in-a-Box, this is the window for you.
Launch the Lead Sheet window from the main screen by pressing the Lead Sheet button (or Alt+W keys),
or with the Window | Lead Sheet Window menu option. This button is also available from the Standard
Notation window.

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As the notation scrolls ahead, you can read ahead without waiting for a page turn. During playback, red rectangles
highlight the current bar. If the bar is empty (or in Fake Sheet mode), the Lead Sheet will draw the staff lines and
bar lines in red.

The Lead Sheet is also useful as a kind of “Print Preview” feature, as it offers you the ability to correlate the onscreen notation to a printout.
You can move around the Lead Sheet window in various ways. Cursor keys and mouse clicks will move a small
blue rectangle around the screen, which lets you type in chords at that location. Double-clicking the mouse at any
bar will start playback from that position.
Selecting Parts in the Lead Sheet
Click on the track selection toolbar to select a different track. The tracks are [B]ass,
[D]rums, [P]iano, [G]uitar, [S]trings, [M]elody, and [S]oloist.
To view multiple parts, click first on the button for the top part you want to view,
and then hold down the Ctrl key and click on the other parts you want
to view in the order you want to see them, from top to bottom. You will then see a group of tracks, displayed in the
order that you requested them. To revert to a single track of notation, simply click on a track without holding the
Ctrl key down.
There is an option in the Lead Sheet Options dialog to allow you to
display the chords above each track, or just the top track of the notation. If you press [Print] from the Lead Sheet
window you will be able to print out the multiple tracks of notation.

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Lead Sheet window showing multiple parts.

Lead Sheet Options Dialog
Pressing the [Opt.] button in the Lead Sheet window or the [Leadsheet] button in the Preferences
dialog launches the Lead Sheet Options dialog.
The settings in this dialog are applicable to the Lead Sheet window only. If you want to set options that are shared
by the Lead Sheet window and the Notation window, press the [Notation Options…] button.

Band-in-a-Box Lead Sheet Options dialog

Treble Clef and Bass Clef
These checkboxes choose which clefs will display in the Lead Sheet view.
AutoSet Clefs
When set, Band-in-a-Box will attempt to pick the clef for you automatically displaying the bass clef when you are
on the bass track or any other track with low bass notes. It will show both clefs when on the piano or drum track.
Clef Sign Every Line and Key Signature Every Line
By default, the Clef and Key will be shown at the beginning of every page, but if you want one every line, you can
check these options.
Band-in-a-Box have multiple keys in a song, the new key signature is shown on notation.
Chords and Staff Lines
Both are shown by default. Uncheck this box if you don’t want them to display.
Show Bar #s
Choose whether the bar numbers will be shown for each bar, only at part markers, or not at all.
Show Title
If set, the song title will be displayed along with other information like Composer Names and Style information that
is set in the Print Options dialog of the Notation window. To set these options choose File | Print from the menu.

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Fake Sheet displays multiple lines of lyrics shows lyrics for 1st and 2nd endings or multiple choruses stacked as
multiple lines on the fake sheet.
Fakesheet bars/line
You can set a custom number of bars to display on each row
of the fake sheet.
For example, enter “4,6,4” in the Lead Sheet Window options and the program will use 4 bars for the first row, 6 for
the second, and 4 for the rest.
Fakesheet include ending bars
Fakesheets can optionally include the 2-bar song ending.
Restore Defaults
You can reset all the Lead Sheet Options back to default settings by pressing the [Restore Defaults] button.
Notation Options
To set Options that are shared by the Lead Sheet window and the Notation window, press the [Notation Options…]
button.
Margins
Set margins for the Lead Sheet window, just like the margins in
a word processor. For example, if you want the lead sheet
window to only take up the top part of the screen, set a bottom
margin (of, say, 2 inches) and then make the lead sheet window
smaller by pulling the bottom up.
This feature has no effect on printout; the Print dialog has its
own margin settings.

Show Chords above each track
When using multiple tracks of Notation, this determines whether each track will show the chord names or not.
Show track names for multi-track notation
If checked, the Band-in-a-Box track names will be inserted at the start of each part in the multitrack notation display.
Harmony display

[Convert Harmony to track] will add a harmony to an existing Melody.

[Remove] will remove the harmony from the track.

Split Harmonies to different tracks enables the splitting of the harmonies to different tracks on the lead sheet.

Show Harmony Voice allows you to select ALL tracks, which will cause each track to display on a different
track on the Lead Sheet. Or select a specific Voice to display only that voice. For example, if you choose
“Voice 2” and press OK, you'll now see just voice 2 of the harmony.

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You can control the volume of the selected harmony voice relative to the other voices in the harmony. The Play
Volume of harmony voice setting can be set to:
-

Normal

Harmony plays as normal.

Solo

Only the selected voice will play.

50% Solo

Selected voice is much louder than other voices.

Quiet

Selected Voice is much quieter than other voices.

Muted

Selected Voice is muted.

These settings are useful to sight-read along on harmonies, and learn to hear inner voices of a harmony.
Staves Per Page
The number of staves shown in the lead sheet can be set by typing in a number or using the [+] and [-] buttons. If
“Auto-Set” is selected, the number of staves will be set automatically, attempting to fit the lead sheet on a single
page.
Font Size
Choose the font size with one of the preset buttons for popular sizes, or type a number between 45% and 300% in
the Lead Sheet Options dialog.

Fake Sheet Mode
The Lead Sheet window has its own Fake Sheet Mode checkbox. When it is NOT selected, the lead sheet will work
as it always has (in linear mode).

When Fake Sheet Mode IS
selected, the form will show like a
lead sheet, with only one chorus
showing, and 1st/2nd endings and
repeats displayed.
The Fake Sheet can show multiple
lines of lyrics for 1st and 2nd
endings or several verses stacked
in multiple lines.

Multiple lines of Lyrics on Fake Sheet.
If your song has 1st and 2nd endings or multiple verses of lyrics, multi-line lyrics can be displayed, so you’ll see all
verses on the same fake sheet.

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Load in the song c:\bb\ Tutorial - BB 2005\Listen Multi-line lyrics
Demo.MGU. Open the Lead Sheet and select “Fake Sheet Mode.”

Lead Sheet Memo
You can enter a memo to add to the Lead Sheet printout. Click on the [Memo] button in the Lead
Sheet to open the Lead Sheet Memo window.
You can copy/paste from/to this memo.
The memo will be automatically positioned after the end of the lead sheet and printout. Use extra blank lines in the
Lead Sheet Memo to control where it displays on the page.

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Press the [Choose Font] button to select the font you would like for the memo.
A text block will be appended to the Lead Sheet window and printout. This could be song lyrics that you want
appended to the end, multiple verses of lyrics, or any other text.

Harmony Notation Display
Harmonies can be displayed on the Lead Sheet window (or printed) with separate notation tracks for each
harmony voice. View each harmony on a separate track, or view/print a single harmony voice. To examine the
harmony display features, load in the song “Night_T.MGU.” The melody of this song was previously converted to a
harmony using the Melody | Edit | Convert Melody to Harmony option, so this song contains a harmony on the
Melody part.
Open the Notation window (Ctrl+W) and you'll see all four voices of the harmony on the same treble clef.

Four-part harmony on single staff.

Now open the Lead Sheet window. Band-in-a-Box now recognizes that this is a harmony (generated by
Band-in-a-Box), and displays each voice on a separate track of the lead sheet.
For example, you can see the first Bb note has the other harmony voices playing G (drop 2), F, and D.

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Four-part harmony on four separate staves.

Press the [Print] button to print out “Voice 2.” If needed, press the notation “Transpose Options” to first
visually transpose the instrument to Eb for an “Alto Sax” chart.

Multi-Channel Notation (Sequencer Mode)
Normally you would want a single part on the Melody and Soloist tracks. But, since MIDI information can have
separate channels, it is possible to store 16 separate parts on each of the Melody and Soloist parts. When one of
these tracks has been set to “Multi(16)-Channel” we refer to this as sequencer mode.
Now, when you are in this multi-channel mode, output from the Melody/Soloist part will be on whatever MIDI
channel the information is stored on, and will not be using the Melody/Soloist MIDI channel.
If you click on the Lead Sheet window, you’ll see the entire MIDI file displayed on separate tracks of
notation. This is likely “too much information” to read, unless you are a symphony conductor.
To customize the notation display for sequencer mode, press the Sequencer toolbar button, and see the
settings for Multi-Channel Tracks.
Press the “CUSTOM channels play/display” buttons to launch the
Sequencer Window (Multi-channel track on Melody/Soloist)
dialog. Then you can customize which channels will play and
display.

Lyrics
Band-in-a-Box supports lyrics in three different ways, Note-based Lyrics, Line-based Lyrics, and a Big Lyrics
(Karaoke) window. The complete list of lyrics functions is found in the Lyrics menu.

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Note-based Lyrics
Note-based lyrics offer accurate placement of lyrics by placing a word under each note.
As you enter the lyrics, the note is highlighted. Pressing the Tab or Enter key moves to the next note. Note-based
lyrics are saved with the MIDI file, so you can use them in your other MIDI programs.
You can enter note-based lyrics by pressing Ctrl+L keys or pressing the [L] button on the Notation
toolbar. You will see [Line] and [Para] buttons.
When you are finished a line of lyrics, hit the [Line]
button. This enters a backslash “\” line break marker
in the current lyric.
Vertical placement is set in the Notation Options dialog. A setting of -10
puts the lyrics directly under the treble clef, higher values put them lower.
Lyrics Event List
You can edit the lyrics using an event list as well. This allows you to enter lyrics at any point, not just
tied to a note.
Once you press the # button, you then press the [Edit Lyrics] button. You can then see the Edit
Lyrics dialog.

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From here, you can Edit lyrics, Insert new lyrics, Append lyrics to the end of the track, or Delete lyrics. A single
lyric event can be 128 characters.
The Lyrics Menu
The complete list of Lyrics functions is found in the Lyrics menu.

Enter Lyrics at current bar

Big Lyrics Window

Lyric Document Window

Copy Lyrics to Clipboard

Copy 1st chorus Lyrics to whole song

Erase all Lyrics

Opens the Lyric entry box at the current location of the timeline
or highlight cell.
Opens the Big Lyrics window for viewing lyrics and, optionally,
chord symbols.
Displays a full screen of formatted lyrics. Easily copy and paste
lyrics to and from your favorite word processor.
This function allows you to copy a song's lyrics (and/or the
chords) to the Standard Windows Clipboard. By pasting this data
into a word processor, you can print out the lyrics in the font of
your choice. The dialog has options to allow copying of notebased and/or line-based lyrics. With either option you can choose
to include the chord symbols, have double or single line spacing,
and make margin settings.
Copies the note-based lyrics for the first chorus to the rest of the
song.
Erases note-based and line-based Lyrics.

Erase Note Lyrics only

Erases only the note-based lyrics.

Kill Lyrics Choruses

Move Lyric ahead to time line

Select to kill lyrics in the First Chorus, Middle Choruses, or Last
Chorus from a list box.
If you have a note-based lyric that you want to time shift ahead or
back, you can click on the time line at the destination that you
want, and then choose this item. You can also shift lyric times
using the Lyric Event list.
These are functions that apply to the entire lyric track. They are
useful when you're inserting bars or beats into the song and need
to move the lyrics around to keep them in sync.

Move Lyric back to time line
Timeshift Lyrics (ticks)
Insert Beat(s) in Lyrics
Delete Beat(s) from Lyrics

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Edit Lyrics as Event List

Opens the Edit Lyrics dialog with Edit, Insert, Append, and
Delete functions.

Line-based Lyrics opens a submenu with additional features.

Copy Line Lyrics to Note Lyrics converts line-based lyrics to note based lyrics. It is imprecise, because the linebased lyrics don't correspond to individual notes. But you can edit the positions of the note-based lyrics using the
event list or the Move Lyric back/ahead to time line functions discussed above.
Move Line lyrics to Note Lyrics works like the Copy Line lyrics to Note Lyrics function, except it erases the Linebased lyrics.
Auto-Update all songs in folder to Note-based Lyrics will update an entire folder worth of songs, copying the
Line Lyrics to Note Lyrics. Only Note-based Lyrics get displayed in the Big Lyrics Dialog, so this feature will
allow you to see these lyrics in the Big Lyrics Window.
Move Lyrics Up or down row(s)… moves a line of line-based lyrics up/down a number of rows.
Erase Line-based Lyrics only erases only the line-based lyrics, preserving the note-based lyrics.
Tip: Lyrics are printable above or below the chord line, or printed separately after song end. Lyrics will also support
international characters such as è, š, and ó.

Lyric Document Window

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The Lyric Document window displays a full screen of fully formatted lyrics so you can easily copy and paste lyrics
to and from your favorite word processor. If you have the lyrics available you can quickly paste them into Band-ina-Box.
You may already have the lyrics to your song typed into a word processor, nicely formatted with font/color/bold
choices etc. Previously, you would need to retype them into Band-in-a-Box and would lose your formatting. Now
you can simply Copy/Paste them to/from your word processor. This allows you to quickly add lyrics to any Bandin-a-Box song.
You can open this window by choosing Window | Lyric Document Window, or pressing Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L. In
addition, if “Auto-open lyrics window for songs with lyrics” is set to true in the Lyric Window Options dialog
(Opt. | Preferences [Big Lyrics]), the Lyric Document Window will open up automatically when the song is
loaded, and close when the next song is loaded.
To use the window type or paste in text from a word processor. You can select fonts and colors as you would in a
word processor. Since the data is stored in RTF format, it should look very similar to the appearance it would have
in WordPad.
You can transfer “line based” or “note based” lyrics from the Notation Screen of Band-in-a-Box to the Lyric
Document window. Press the Copy Lyrics button to do this. This launches the Options for Copy Lyrics to
Clipboard dialog allowing you to select which elements to copy (line lyrics/ note-based lyrics/ chords) and
formatting options. Then click on [OK Copy to Text Clipboard]. A message will tell you that the lyrics have been
copied to the clipboard. Click on [OK] to paste the lyrics into the Lyrics Document Window.
You can also print directly from this window and copy to/from the Song Memo (using copy/paste).

Big Lyrics (Karaoke) Window
The Big Lyrics window is great for sing along or Karaoke. It opens from the Lyrics menu, with the keystrokes
Ctrl+Shift+L, or with the [L] toolbar button.

Each word is highlighted as it plays, and the window can be customized by clicking on the [Options] button. Click
on any word in the Big Lyrics window to start the song playing from that point.
Lyric Window Options
Add chord symbols, customize your color scheme, choose a favorite font, and select a size in the
Lyric Window Options dialog. Chords can be displayed on a row above the lyrics on the Big
Lyrics window.
On the Big Lyrics window Options dialog, if you set “Show chord symbols
above the lyrics,” you then see the chords written on a separate line.
When there are no lyrics for a few bars, the Big Lyrics window displays the chords in a line divided by bars so that
they are easy to read.
Separate chord colors are used for the Chords and Lyrics, allowing these elements to be visually separated.

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You can also select the color for the chords in the
options dialog.
With this option selected the Big Lyrics scroll a page at a time. When the lyric cursor
reaches the next-to-last line of the lyrics it will scroll to the top of the page, allowing uninterrupted reading of lyrics.
If you have the Lyrics window option “Auto-open lyrics window for
songs with lyrics” selected, and a MIDI file (or .KAR) containing lyrics is opened, the lyrics window will open to
show the lyrics.

The popular Karaoke file format (.KAR) can be opened directly into Band-in-a-Box just like MIDI files. Chord
symbols are displayed (Band-in-a-Box intelligently analyzes the chords of the song), as well as the lyrics from the
Karaoke files.
Karaoke MP3/CDG Files
Audio Karaoke files are popular using several formats. The most common is CDG format, which includes the lyrics
in graphic format on audio CDs. Since the computer user doesn’t always use audio CDs, there is a format that
combines MP3 (containing the music) and CDG (the graphical lyrics). You can open up MP3/CDG files inside
Band-in-a-Box and see the scrolling lyrics from your Karaoke files. If you want to play along on your own
instrument, you can use the Audio Chord Wizard to figure out the chords and display them in its Chord window.
To Open a Karaoke File, use File | Open, and find a WAV, MP3, or WMA file that has a same
named CDG file in the same folder. Then the Karaoke window will open and display the lyrics.
The BigLyrics window has some options for the Karaoke window.

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You can choose to have a background to the window, either a moving one, or fixed picture. These pictures are in
the c:\bb\KaraokeBMP folder, and you can add your own BMP or JPG image to that folder.
The Big Lyrics window’s [Print] button opens the Options for Copy Lyrics to Clipboard
dialog. This function allows you to copy a song's lyrics (and/or the chords) to the standard
Windows clipboard. By pasting this data into a
word processor, you can print out the lyrics in
the font of your choice.
The dialog has options to allow note-based
and/or line-based lyrics to be copied to the
clipboard.
With either option you can choose to include the
chord symbols, have double or single line
spacing, and make margin settings.
Process Lyric Lines cleans up the display of
lyrics by inserting and/or removing extra spaces
in line-based lyrics.

Printing
Band-in-a-Box prints Lead Sheet style notation with chords, melodies, lyrics, and text notes. It will also print
instrument parts from your Band-in-a-Box arrangements, either individual instruments or multiple parts. Most
songs will fit on one page, so your printout will look similar to a standard fake book.

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You can easily make and print out a custom fake book of all of your tunes. Instantly transpose and print parts for
brass or reed instruments. Print options include title, bar numbers, composer, style, and copyright information.

Print Options
Pressing the printer button launches the Print Options dialog box. Print options include title, bar
numbers, composer, style, and copyright.

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Customize your printed sheet music in the Print Options dialog box.

Chords
If selected, this will include the chords of the song on the lead sheet. Remember that you can set the height that the
chords will appear in a different dialog box (the Options Dialog box).
Notes
If you want only a chord lead sheet with no Notes, then turn this off. Otherwise it should be ON.
Staff Lines
Set to off (uncheck) to print a “chords only” fake sheet with chord symbols and bar lines but no staff lines or
notation.
Treble Clef
Normally you will want to include the treble clef unless you're printing a bass part or left hand piano part alone and
want to save space.
Bass Clef
For melodies or solos, you probably won't want the bass clef printed. For other parts (piano, bass, drums, etc.) you
should set this option to YES.
AutoSet Clefs
With this setting the program will print only the clefs that are necessary. For example, a Melody would probably
print with just the treble clef, while a bass part would use only the bass clef, and a piano part would use both clefs.
Tab
Enables tablature display and printout for guitar and bass tracks.
Clef Split At
This determines where the notation will split the treble and bass clefs. Middle C is normally considered to be C5,
and C4 is one octave below. For a melody or soloist part, you will probably want the entire part to be printed on the
treble clef, so you could choose to split the clefs at C4.

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Show Bar #s
There are options to include the bar # on the printout (e.g., every bar, every part marker, every row, every page).

Template
There are print templates in the print dialog to achieve various printout
styles - Normal/Lyrics Only/Chords and Lyrics/Chords Only/Blank Paper.
In the print dialog, select the desired print template. To return to default
settings choose the “Normal” template

Bar #s Below By
This sets the vertical position of the bar numbers in the printout between 1 and 7. 1 is closest to the staff and 7 is
farthest from the staff (lowest).
Lyrics
Lyrics can either be printed above the chords, below the staff, separately at the end (on a separate page), or not
printed at all. Normally lyrics are printed below the staff.
Clef Sign Every Line
Leave this unchecked if it’s not needed and you want an uncluttered look.
Key Signature Every Line
Most modern fake books don't include the key signature every line. If you would like to see a key signature at every
line, set this to “Yes.”
Print Note-based Lyrics
Set to “Yes” to print the Melody part with Lyrics, or turn off to print just the music for the melody line.
Print Range
(First Chorus/Last Chorus/Whole Song)
You can either print the First chorus, the Last chorus, or the whole song. When you change this setting, Band-in-aBox will reset the number of staves per page setting in order to auto-fit the printout to one page, if possible.
Tip: You'll want to print the last chorus in a song that has a tag ending, or if you want to see a 2-bar ending printed.

Custom
A specific range of bars can be printed, either by
highlighting a region or entering a range of bars.

To print out, for example, bars 11 to 16 of a
song in the Print Options dialog, press the
[Custom] button, and enter the range bar 11 for
5 bars. The song will then print only that range
of 5 bars.
Include Lead-In
If your song has a lead-in (pickup) to bar 1 then make sure you've checked the Lead-In. Actually, Band-in-a-Box
sets this for you by looking for notes in the lead-in measure. You can override this automatic setting, if necessary.
Font Size
This is the font size for the printed music. Changes will be seen in the Print Preview.

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Staves per page
Band-in-a-Box will automatically auto-fit on 1 page, use this to override the auto setting. Remember that the title
takes up 1 stave. The “Auto-Set” option will set the number automatically, and will try to fit the lead sheet on a
single page.

Click here to set margins.

You can also select the Always fill tempo option, which
automatically writes the current tempo on the song sheet.
On print out, if “Include ‘a’ / ’b’ part markers” is set bar
numbers will include “a” or “b” after them (the name of
the substyle).
Use “Offset Bar Numbers by” to offset the display of bar
numbers on the prinout or lead sheet. For example, if you
want bar 1 to display as bar 17, enter an offset of 16.
Title/Style/Tempo/Composer/Copyright
Enter this information in the fields provided. If the title is long the font size will be reduced, and the title won’t be
underlined. Titles are limited to 60 characters.
- Click the [A] button to print the title in upper case.
- The [T] button automatically inserts the current tempo setting for the song.
- The [©] button will insert the copyright symbol into the copyright field.
- The [S] button will enter the full style name into the Style field.
Setup Printer
This launches the setup dialog box for your printer. If you choose a new printer,
Band-in-a-Box will automatically set this as your default printer.
Click on the [Setup…] button to open the printer properties to set paper size, resolution, page orientation and other
settings controlled by the printer driver.
Tip: In the Notation Options you can specify an upper limit of a note range with the “Max Ledger Lines” setting high so
notes won’t have an excessive number of ledger lines.

Print Preview
This feature allows you to preview what the printed pages will look like by
displaying them on-screen.

Use the [Prior], [Next], [First], and [Last] buttons to navigate additional pages.
Press the [Opt] button to open the Preview Options dialog.

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In the Preview Options you can set the exact number
of pixels to display for the print preview, the same
settings are also used if you choose to save the pages
to a graphics file in the popular .JPG, .TIF, or .BMP
file types.
Printing your song to a graphics file allows you to
embed your notation in a document, or in an HTML
file for use on your web site.
This feature is only limited by available memory.
This allows high resolution BMP’s like 2400 x 3000.
A BMP of 2400x3000 is 300 dpi for an 8”x10”
image.
When saving to a JPG file there are additional
quality settings.
When you have selected your file options press the
[OK] button.
You will then see a high-res graphic on
screen, and you can save that to a BMP using
the [Save…] button.

To save a JPG file press the [Save…] button
and then select “Save to File Type:” JPG.
You can then see the estimated size of the file,
and can change settings by pressing the
Low/Medium/High resolution buttons.

Display Options
Use this button to display the notation across the full width of the screen.
This button will shrink the notation to display a full page at a time.
Saving the page(s) as Graphics files
The [Save…] button saves the current page as a Graphics file.
The [Save + +] button saves all of the pages to graphics files named songnamexxx.bmp, where xxx
is the page number.
With the clipboard button you can quickly copy a bitmap to paste into other applications.
Printing from the Print Preview
You can print the page(s) by pressing the [Print…] button to return to the Print Options and then
pressing the [OK – Print] button.
In the Print Options you can set the number of copies to print.
Press the [PrintPage] button to enter a page number and print only that page, not the complete
song or a full chorus.

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Chords-Only Lead Sheet Display and Printout
Need a simple fake book style chord chart? You can display just the chords in the Lead Sheet window or print out a
lead sheet with just chord symbols.
To print a chords-only lead sheet, uncheck the Staff lines checkbox in the Print Options dialog.

Band-in-a-Box chords-only Lead Sheet.

There are print templates in the Print Options dialog to achieve various
printout styles - Normal/Lyrics Only/Chords and Lyrics/Chords
Only/Blank Paper.
In the Print Options dialog, select the desired print template. To return to
default settings choose the “Normal” template.
Printing Multiple Parts
To print more than one track of notation:
- Open the Lead Sheet window.
- Click the mouse on the track that you want on the top stave.
- Ctrl+click (hold down the Control key and click the mouse) on the tracks that you want below the top stave.
You will then see a group of tracks, displayed in the order you selected them.
Note: When you are viewing Multiple Tracks of notation, the clefs will be auto-set for you, ignoring the clef settings in the
Lead Sheet options window. For example, the bass would always be on bass clef, you won’t be able to see it on bass and
treble clef.

Press [Print] from the Lead Sheet window to print the multipart Band-in-a-Box notation.

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Print Preview of Band-in-a-Box multipart notation including guitar chord diagrams.

Print Multiple Songs
To print out a single song you use the [Print] button in the Notation window. If you want to print out several songs,
use the Print Multiple Songs feature to print them all out at once.

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This allows you to print all of the songs in a subdirectory with one command. This feature is accessed from the File
| Print Multiple Songs menu item.
You can set options to refine which songs will get printed. For example, you might want to only print songs in a
certain style (e.g. Bossa Novas ), or only songs beginning with letters R to Z, or only songs with melodies.
Before you print out a whole bunch of songs, it is important to set the options that you'd like, as the program will use
the same options for each song. Use the Print Options dialog box. Perhaps you want to print out only the first
chorus of each song, for example. The program will automatically set each song to print out on 1 page if possible.
First, make sure that you are in the correct directory that you want to print. This is
displayed in the [Change Directory] button.
For example, if the box under the [Change Directory] button says “C:\bb” then the songs in C:\bb will be printed. If
you want to print songs in a different subdirectory, then press the [Change Directory] button.
If you want to print all of the songs in a subdirectory, then press the [All Songs]
button. Pressing this button sets the “Start” and “Finish” ranges to start at “ 0 “ (blank)
and finish at “ZZ.” Since song files with names like 8dayweek.mgu will appear before the letter A when sorted
alphabetically, the blank string “ 0” is used instead of the letter A to ensure the inclusion of all songs.
Normally you'll want the “Range of Songs to Print” set to “All Songs,” but if you've already printed out songs from
A to M, and want to resume printing starting at N, you can specify this range N to Z so that you don't have to print
out everything again.
If “Only print songs with melodies” is set then only files that have a melody in them (i.e., song files ending in mg?)
will print.
“Only print songs with style extension of _” is useful if you want to only print out certain styles. For example if you
only want to printout Jazz Swing songs, then you can set this to style 1 which is Jazz Swing. Style 4 is Bossa Nova.
The 24 built-in styles each have a number associated with them. All user styles have a style character of U.
Here are the style #s for the built in styles.
Jazz Swing

Heavy Rock

Country 12/8

Miami Sound

Country

Milly Pop

Bossa

Funk

Ethnic

Jazz Waltz 3/4

Blues Shuffle

Rhumba

Blues Even

Cha Cha

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Waltz (Old) 3/4

Bouncy 12/8

Pop Ballad

Irish

Shuffle Rock

Pop Ballad 12/8

Light Rock

Country old 12/8

Medium Rock

Reggae

If your printer requires loading each sheet, you might want the program to beep after each printed song. The “Beep
after each printed song” setting is useful to monitor the printout if you aren't near your printer, because if it stops
beeping, then printout has stopped, and you may be out of paper.
“When completed, beep “x” times” will notify you that the job is finished by beeping a specified number of times.
These buttons start and stop printing the multiple songs.
Band-in-a-Box monitors the Print Manager to avoid overloading it with songs to print. So if the Print Manager has
more than 2 songs waiting to print, Band-in-a-Box will pause before printing a new song. If your printer runs out of
paper, the Windows Print Manager and Band-in-a-Box will wait for you to put more paper in before automatically
resuming printout. The status of the Printout is displayed at the top of the dialog box.

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Chapter 8: Automatic Music Features
Automatic Medleys - “The Medley Maker”
Would you like to make a medley of various Band-in-a-Box songs (MGU) using Band-in-a-Box? This is easily
done with the new Medley Maker. Inside the Medley Maker, simply select the songs that you want, and Band-in-aBox will make the medley for you. A medley is not simply joining songs together. A good medley uses a transition
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!
To open the Medley Maker, click on the [A+B] button on the toolbar or choose File | Medley Maker. This
launches the Medley Maker dialog.

To make a medley,
- Add songs by pressing the [Append] or [Insert] button.
- Remove songs using [Delete].
- Change the order of the songs using [Move Up], [Move Down].
- For any song, customize using the “Settings for this song” group box, including changing the style, tempo, key,
start bar, # of bars, and # of transition bars. Press [Update] after customizing to see your changes in the medley
list.
- Choose the type of information to include with your medley (styles, key signature changes, lyrics, etc.) in the
“Include with Songs” group box
- Choose a number of transition bars (the default is 4). Transition bars are automatic bars of chords inserted by
Band-in-a-Box to transition from one song to the other, generating an “outro” and an “intro” between songs.
Press the [Make Medley NOW] button to generate a medley.

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The maximum size of the medley is 255 bars (about 7 minutes).
The current size and time of your medley is displayed in the Length label.

You can have multiple choruses, so if you had 3 choruses of a 250 bar medley, it would last 750 bars.

Automatic Songs – “The Melodist”
Feel like composing a brand new song? Using the “Melodist” feature you can compose a new song in the style of
your choice, complete with intro, chords, melody, arrangement, etc. All you have to do is choose from one of the
many “Melodists” available and press [OK] button. The program then creates the intro, chords, melody, and
arrangement in any given style. The Melodist will also generate a melody over an existing chord progression.
Once the song is generated, the chords and melody are part of the regular Band-in-Box tracks, and as such can be
edited, printed, saved as MIDI file, etc. You can also regenerate any part of a song to further refine your Band-in-aBox compositions.
A Melodist “Jukebox” mode creates and performs new compositions in succession. Besides the compositional
advantages of the Melodist, utilizing this feature can also be a powerful practicing aid for improving your sight
reading by reading the melodies generated in various keys using the Lead Sheet window, and improving your ear by
playing along with the chord progressions in the generated songs using the ear training window.
This feature can be a powerful practicing aid for sight reading and improving your ear.
Press the [Melodist] toolbar button to launch the Melodist.

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The left side of this screen displays the list of the Melodists available, including Pop, Swing, Bossa, Waltz, Rock,
Bebop, and Jazz Ballad.
Selecting the “All” checkbox displays all available Melodists, or they can be filtered by genre (e.g.
Dixieland) to show only melodists in that genre.
To filter the Melodists, de-select the “All” checkbox and then check on
the genre that you are interested in.
You can also filter to show/not show melodists from Melodist sets
that you don’t have.
Scroll down the list, and pick the Melodist that you'd like to use.

The Melodist will generate Intro, Chords, Melody Harmony, Style, and Solos using the group of settings preset with
the selected Melodist. Scroll down the list, and pick a Melodist that you'd like to use.
Generate Chords / Generate Melody / Generate Intros / Auto-Titles
The items that are selected will be generated. The convenient preset buttons will automatically set the appropriate
settings to popular presets.
The [Chords & Mel.] button will set the checkboxes to Generate Chords & Melody (but not
Solos).
The [All] button will generate Chords, Melody, and Solos.
The [Chords] button sets the options to generate Chords only (no Melody).
The [Melody] button will set the options to generate only a Melody (no chords) over an
existing chord progression.

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Insert Bass Pedals
When selected, a Pedal Bass figure will be inserted during the intro and at the end of sections.
Solo in Middle Choruses
This will generate an improvisation in the middle choruses of the song. Any Soloist can be selected.
Allow Style Changes
When selected, this option allows a Melodist to load in an associated style. If you don't want Melodists to change
the current style that you have loaded, then de-select this option.
Form
This selection box allows you to choose between a song generated with a specific form (AABA 32 bars) or “free”
form. The AABA defaults to 32-bar form, which is the most popular song form.
If you'd prefer for the song to have no form, you could set the song to “no form” This wouldn't be a very musical
setting, but might be useful for practicing or ear training.
Tip: Melodists may alternatively be set to 64 bars (e.g. Melodist # 18 ColeP 64 bar form). The song form refers to the
pattern that the verse and chorus repeat. An “AABA 32” form has 4 sections of 8 bars each: the “A” section is the verse and
the “B” is the chorus (or bridge) of the song.

# Choruses
This determines how many choruses of the song form (Melodies) are to be generated. For example, if set to 5, the
Melodist will generate 5 choruses, enough for an intro chorus, ending chorus, and 3 Middle Choruses. The #
choruses setting defaults to the # choruses present in the current song.
This button sets the Melodist back to its default settings.
Tempo / Auto Tempo
The Tempo Setting determines the tempo of the song, and defaults to the current tempo of the previous song. If the
“AutoTempo” is checked, the tempo will be set at the tempo range stored within that Melodist. For example, if a
Melodist is called “Fast Waltz,” it would have a fast tempo range stored inside the Melodist, and the song would be
generated at a fast tempo if the “AutoTempo” option is set.
A2 Transpose
In songs with an AABA form, it is common for the second “A” section to be transposed. For example, the first “A”
section might be in the key of Eb, and the second would be transposed up to the key of Gb. Melodists store these
settings, and some Melodists are set to transpose the A2 sections. If you don't want to allow Melodists to transpose
the form in this way, set the A2 transpose to none.
If set to “section plus” it will transpose the A2 section, and might also transpose 2 bars early or 2 bars late. The
song will only get transposed if the particular Melodist is set to transpose the section. This feature is discussed in
more detail in the Melody Maker section.
This area determines the key for the song. If set to “Any Key” the program will randomly
pick a key for the song, weighed more heavily toward the popular keys (C, F, etc.). “min.
key%” determines what % of songs are generated in minor keys vs. major keys.
If set to 20, then 20% of the songs would be generated in minor keys.
Select whether you want to generate the Whole Song or just part of it. If you select Part of Song,
you can specify which bar and chorus to start at, and how many bars to generate.
Tip: You can also set the “Song Key Combo” box to a specific key, or set it to use the current key of the previous song. If
you want to generate only part of a song, an easy way to set the range of bars is to highlight/select the bars by dragging the
mouse over the chord area prior to launching the Melodist dialog. Then the “Generate” form will be automatically set to
“Part of Song” and the range of bars will be set to the selected area.

Replace Thru form
If you have set the Melodist to “Generate Part of Song” you might choose to generate only bars 5 and 6 of the song
form in the “A” section of an AABA form. If the form of the song is AABA, you'd normally want the regenerated
section to be repeated throughout the form in all of the “A” sections. This option will instruct the Melodist to copy
the generated bars 5 and 6 to the other “A” sections (bars 13 and 14 and bars 29 and 30).

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Tip: If you'd like to remove the current Intro, Melody, or Soloist Track, press the [Kill Intro], [Kill Melody] or [Kill Soloist] button.

Press the [Search] button and type in part of a Melodist name, memo, style name, or other text associated with a
Melodist. This will cause the Melodist selection to change to the next item containing the text. Similarly, you can
type in a # of a Melodist and press the [Go To #] button.

The Memo area displays a memo for the current Melodist, as well as the name of the database (e.g. MELPOP1.ST2)
used for that Melodist.
Instrument / Harmony / Style / Change Instruments
Melodists can store patch and harmony settings, and these are displayed in the Instrument area of the Melodist
selection screen. You can also set the instrument to change each chorus. You can override the settings of the
current Melodist and choose your own patch, harmony and change instrument settings in these controls.
The Melodist Juke Box
Press [Juke Songs Now] button to launch the Melodist Jukebox. It will
continuously generate new songs and play them in Jukebox fashion. Using the
“From…To” setting, you can set the range of Melodists to include in the Jukebox,
or keep the Jukebox on the same Melodist by deselecting “Change Melodists.”

Write to track
Usually, the Melodist is written to the Melody track. If you'd prefer the Melody to be written to the Soloist track,
perhaps as a counter-melody, then change this setting to Soloist.
The Favorites button in the Generate Chords and/or Melody dialog allows you to pick a
Melodist that you've used recently.
The Favorite Melodists dialog keeps track of the
last 50 melodists that you've used, so you can
easily recall them.
Highlight the melodist you want to use and press
the [OK] button, or double-click on the selection
you would like to make.

If you'd like to create your own Melodists, or permanently change the settings of existing
Melodists, press the [Edit…] button to launch the Melodist Maker.

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Automatic Intro – Song Intros
With a single button you can generate a 2, 4, or 8-bar intro for any song. The chords will be different each time, and
you can keep pressing until you get the progression that you want. The intro generated is an appropriate chord
progression in the chosen style of music (e.g. Jazz/Pop), with optional pedal bass, and leads correctly to the first
chord of the song. Intros can also be removed.
Press the [Intro] button or select Edit | Intro Bars to generate an intro. Once you press the [Intro] button,
the Intro Dialog is displayed.

Pressing this button will insert or replace an intro in the song, with the given
settings.
Chord Types - You can choose between Jazz and Pop styles of chords.
Intro Length (bars) - This sets the duration of the intro to 2, 4, or 8 bars.
Starting chord (after intro) is - This setting assures the generated intro smoothly transitions into the song.
Remove Intro - Pressing this button removes the intro.
Pedal Bass - Inserts a pedal bass figure throughout the intro.
Use Maj7 instead of Maj6 - Choose between using Maj7 or Maj6 chords.
Note: The Melodist also has settings to auto-generate intros and song titles.

Automatic Song Title Generation
The Song Title generator names every song that the Melodist writes, if the Auto-Titles checkbox is selected. This
feature can be used on its own to suggest titles for your own compositions. It will keep making titles until you get
one you like.
Press the [TITLE] button to generate a song title , a new title will appear immediately in the title area of
the screen. Click again for another one. Select Edit | Undo Title to go back one title.

Customizing the song title generator
These word lists stored in a text file calledTITL1.TXT. This file has several sections, each with two sets of words
that will be put together. You can add new sections, with an adjective section and a noun section. Please see the
comments included in the file TITL1.TXT for details on adding text to the file.

Automatic Sound Track Generator - “SoundTrack”
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?

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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 Audio), 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.). For example, you can generate a 30-second audio music clip in the
genre of your choice in just a few seconds!
To use the SoundTrack feature, press the SoundTrack button (on the toolbar at right/middle of screen), or
choose the Window | Generate Soundtrack menu item.
You will then see the Generate SoundTrack window.
Note: The SoundTrack feature renders to audio files (WAV/WMA/MP3) using DXi or VSTi synths only. You need to have at
least 1 DXi/VSTi synth installed for the feature to work. Typical Band-in-a-Box installations include the Roland VSC DXi.

First, you should load in a song. There are several types of songs that you can load in:
You can generate a brand-new-royalty free composition
by pressing the [Generate Song Now] button, after
choosing a Genre and variation.

You can choose from over 100 premade “SoundTrack” compositions that
we have made. These are designed to be suitable for background music
for various uses.

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You can load in existing songs, song demos that we have provided for the styles, or songs that have RealDrums, or
finally there is a button to load in any song. Please note, if using an existing song (composed by someone else),
make sure that you have sufficient rights to use the song for your project.
Once you have loaded in a song, you can now choose a portion of the song to
use for your project. Assume that you want a 30 second clip of music.
Set the desired duration to 30 seconds.
Then press the [Adjust # of bars and Tempo] button. This will give a
number of bars at a tempo that closely matches your current settings, that
will last 30 seconds.
Adjust the “Starts at Bar” of the
music. To start at the beginning,
choose bar 1.
You can choose which instruments to include in the arrangement.
Use the [Play] and [Stop] buttons to hear the work-in-progress. You can also loop the song
playback.

Now, generate your SoundTrack file. This will save a file in
WAV, WMA, or MP3 format.

Set Fade-in, Fade-Out options in seconds for the audio clip.

You can hear your finished audio clip by pressing the [Preview]
button.

Automatic Solo Generation – “The Soloist”
To select a pre-made Soloist, click on the [Soloist] button on the toolbar, or press Shift+F4, or
choose Soloist | Generate and Play a Solo. The “Select Soloist” window opens.

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Pick a type of Soloist in the “Soloist type” list box and choose the appropriate style, or enable the “Auto” checkbox
and press the [Suggest] button next to it. This brings up a list of Soloists in that style; simply choose which one you
like.
You can select genres of soloists (e.g. Modern Jazz) and see only soloists in that genre. To do this, de-select the
“All Genres” checkbox, and then check on the genre that you are interested in.
The [Fav] button on the Select Soloist window brings up a
list of the most recently used (favorite) 50 Soloists. The
Soloists that you use most often will likely be at or near the
top of this list, making it easier to select the Soloist you want
than scrolling through your entire list of available Soloists.
Select the “Double Time?” checkbox (set to “true”) if you
want a double-time solo; 16th notes instead of 8ths.
You can also filter to show/not show soloists from Soloist sets that you don’t have.

If you can’t find the Soloist you’re looking for, try pressing the [Search] button to type in part of a
name to search for.
Go To# box allows you to select from the list exactly which Soloist to choose (if known).

The “Memo” field has a brief description of the Soloist style, and the name of the current database is shown.
The pre-made Soloists may set the style, instrument, and harmony, but you can change these settings to your own
choices.

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The [Clear] buttons will remove the currently selected Instrument, Harmony, or Style.
Use the [Choose(1)] button to select an instrument and automatically set the soloist note range for
that instrument.
For a harmonized solo, choose a harmony from the Harmony list.
Use the [Choose(2)] button to select any style from the \bb folder.

RealTracks
“Real” instruments, including Real Pedal Steel, Real Acoustic Guitar, and Tenor Sax soloing (RealSax) 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 generated to the Soloist (or
Melody) track.
Get to Soloists in the range 361-363. You can do that either by:

Typing 361 and pressing [Go To #].

Choosing [Fav] will allow you to return to a recently chosen Soloist

Choose the Genre “RealSax” from the list of Genres to
see all available Soloists that use RealSax.

As with other Soloists, press the [All Solo] button to make sure that the Soloist will be generated for
all choruses, or “Melody and Solo” if you just want the Soloist for a certain chorus.
Solo Mode
In Normal Solo Mode, Band-in-a-Box solos in the normal way of improvising choruses
of the song.
Several other options are provided for adding improvisation to your song in a variety of
ways, including Fills, Around Melody, Trade, Solo Wizard, and a user-defined Custom
setting.

Fills%
Fill instructs the Soloist to play fills or “noodle” on the song for a user-defined period of time (% box).

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Around Melody
To solo around the Melody, do the following:
- Open up a song that has a Melody, preferably a sparse Melody with some space in it so that a Soloist might be
able to “jump in.”
- Press the [Soloist] button. Select the Solo Mode “Around Melody.”
- Set the Soloist to play in All Choruses, and uncheck the “Mute Melody in Middle” option.
- Press [OK] and the Solo will be generated, playing riffs at times when the Melody isn't playing.
Tip: For added effect, add a guitar chord solo to the Soloist part using the Chord Solo button in the Guitar window and
choosing Solo as the destination, or simply choose a Guitar Harmony like 32 J Pass.

Trade
There is a type of soloing where different soloists trade phrases. For example, “trading fours” refers to a solo lasting
four bars, usually followed by a different melodic solo or drum solo for the next four bars. Band-in-a-Box can trade
2, 4, or 8-bar phrases.
This means that you can alternate your own phrases with those played by the Soloist.
Click on the number button beside the “Trade” radio button to toggle
between trading 2’s, 4’s, or 8’s. Band-in-a-Box can generate the first phrase or the second phrase.
Soloist Wizard
This option in the Select Soloist dialog enables the Soloist Wizard. As you play notes on either a MIDI keyboard
connected to the computer or on the QWERTY keyboard, the program will play correct notes in the style of the
current Soloist! This means that you can play a “perfect” solo every time, simply by pressing any key on your MIDI
keyboard or QWERTY keys.
Tip: The Soloist will use the velocities you play or pick its own, depending on the setting in Opt | Preferences | Use MIDI
velocity for Soloist Wizard.

Custom Solo Generation
The [Custom] button located on the Soloist Selection dialog launches the Generate Solo for a Specific Range of
Bars dialog. This allows you to set the range for the solo:

Tip: You can have these values preset to the values you'd like by first selecting/highlighting the range of bars that you'd like
from the Chord Sheet screen, then clicking on the Soloist button.

In real life, a Soloist tends to play a couple of extra notes after the solo section ends. Setting “OK to solo for an
extra beat”allows the Band-in-a-Box soloist to behave in the same way.
If you want to overdub a solo and you have multiple solo tracks going at once, de-select “Overwrite existing solo in
range.”
Once you press the [Generate Solo Now] button, the portion of the solo that you have selected will be (re)generated.
The song will automatically start playing 2 bars before the new part, so you can quickly hear the new solo.
There are additional buttons and checkboxes to further define the Soloist.
Auto-Suggest
If the “Auto” checkbox in the Select Soloist Dialog is on, you will find that an appropriate soloist is already selected
for you. If you would like a different soloist, press the [Suggest] button and Band-in-a-Box will suggest another
appropriate choice. Keep pressing until you are satisfied with the choice.

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Load/Save settings w/song
These settings allow the saving and loading of Soloist settings. Enable these checkboxes if you with to load and
save these settings with a song.
Force to # of Choruses
Allows you to set a song to a definable number of choruses (e.g. 5) so that there are enough choruses for everyone to
take a turn Soloing. This box allows you to quickly decide how many choruses you would like Band-in-a-Box to
generate without having to open the Play | Looping | Force loaded songs to # choruses menu item. The default is 5.
Note that when this setting is enabled (by setting the checkbox to “true”), all songs subsequently loaded using this
Soloist will also change to the number of choruses indicated in this box.
Solo Which Choruses?
Select which choruses you would like the Soloist to solo over. Choose from first, middle, last, any combination, or
all three choruses.
Press the [All Solo] button if you wish to have the Soloist play over everything.
Press the [Melody & Solo] button to have the Melody play the first chorus, then have the Soloist come in on the
second chorus, then have the Melody “play the tune out” on the last chorus.

Melody Influenced Solos
When musicians solo for a song, the solo is typically influenced by the melody as well as the chords. Band-in-aBox 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.).
To generate a solo that is influenced by the Melody, select the Enabled checkbox in the “Melody
Influences Solo” group box.

Then choose the type of influence by choosing a strength (0 to 100%) and a type. The default method works best on
simple melodies or Pop tunes, and others work on Jazz and complex melodies.
Melody Influenced Soloist Settings
A “Custom” method is available, allowing you to launch a dialog that let’s you change various parameters to control
how the solo will match the notes, rhythm, and density of the melody. When this method is selected a [+...] button
will display.
Click on this button to open the Melody Influenced Soloist Settings dialog.

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Enable Melody Influenced Soloist – enables melody influenced soloing when selected (true).
Overall strength – how much you want the melody to influence the solo.
First melody note MUST match riff – the first note of the riff must match the pitch of the melody at this point in
the song.
Last melody note MUST match riff - the last note of the riff must match the ptich of the melody at this point in the
song.
Overall Melody MUST match riff – the pitch needs to be found somewhere in the riff for this condition to be true.
Target Phrase Anchor Point score – phrase anchor points are points where both the pitch and timing of the
Melody note and the riff match each other.
Rhythm Matches – per cent of time that a melody note is found at the same time as the note in the riff at the same
point (pitch is irrelevant).
Density -# of Notes Matches – the number of notes in the melody compared to the number of notes in the solo. For
example, 8 melody, 10 solo = 80%. Note: If set to exactly 49, 59, 69 etc., soloist will stay quieter when the melody
is not playing.
If Melody is not playing, then soloist is not playing
Passing Notes acceptable % - percentage of time that passing notes in the riff are OK (if not found in the melody).
For example, if set to 20%, it is OK if 20% of the notes are passing notes.
Melody – Favor phrases that match melody – higher numbers will make the soloist follow the melody more.
Soloist Maker
The [Soloist Maker [Edit] button launches the Soloist Editor module where you can make
your own or modify an existing Soloist. This feature allows you to define your own
Soloists. See the following Soloist Maker topic for a full description of this feature.
This button launches the More Soloist & Melodist Settings dialog.

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This dialog can also be accessed from the Opt. |
Preferences [Soloist] button.
Set “Use MIDI Volume for Soloing Wizard” to
true if you want MIDI velocity information sent to
the Soloing Wizard. If you have a velocity sensitive
MIDI device attached to your computer and you
want to control the dynamics of the Soloist, you
should enable this feature.
Set the “Trigger Playback Early” to true to enable
song playback to start before the Soloist has actually
completed composing a solo. Otherwise, Band-in-aBox will completely compose a solo before song
playback begins.
Soloist/Melody Velocity Adjust
This box allows you to quickly boost or reduce the volume of the Soloist part relative to the other instrument parts.
For a realistic mix the soloist instrument is set slightly louder than the other instruments/parts in a song. The default
is 5.
Use large soloist files (ST3) is selected to use the optional large soloist databases, *.ST3 files, instead of the
smaller ST2 files. The ST3 files have improved phrases, but the solos take longer to create.
Create Long Phrases
Set this checkbox to “true” (enabled) if you would like the Soloist to use the longest musical phrases it “knows.”

Using the Soloist Feature
1.
2.

3.
4.
5.

Generate a Soloist and practice the solo by looping it, slowing it down, or printing it out, until you can perform
a great solo on any chord changes!
Generate a Soloist and attach a Harmony such as “Big Band Brass” to create phenomenally quick and
interesting Big Band Arrangements automatically. Generate a standard MIDI file or print them out for you and
your friends.
Have the Soloist play a solo according to your accompaniment and arrangement (along with the other members
of your Band-in-a-Box, of course!)
Trade 4’s in a call-response fashion with the Soloist (you solo for 4 bars, Band-in-a-Box solos for 4 bars, etc.)
Concentrate separately on different aspects of your playing with assistance from the “Wizard.” From soloing
with proper phrasing and “feel” (the best notes are included automatically) to accompanying a soloist with
confidence and authority
Tip: Try muting out one of the accompaniment parts such as the piano or guitar part and play along to the Soloist in a
supportive role - its fun!

6.
7.

Use the Soloist track to record another part in addition to the Melody and other parts provided by Band-in-aBox.
Generate a Soloist on chords/keys that you would like to practice. Band-in-a-Box will play and solo with you
all day without getting bored. For example, if you want to work on your II-V7-I progressions (“two-five-one”),
you can just type the chords you want, and generate a solo to play over those changes. As the solo plays, you
see the notation, can you can sight read along. Pressing the “Loop Screen” checkbox on the notation will loop
the notation the screen so you can master each 4 bar phrase (II-V-I) and then move ahead to the next one!

Technical Notes:
1. The Soloist has its own separate channel and settings. But when the Soloist uses a harmony, it becomes linked to the Thru
Harmony channels and settings. Since we are already using 12 of the available 16 MIDI channels in Band-in-a-Box, we didn't
want to use up another 2 channels on dedicated Soloist Harmony channels. So if you want to hear a Soloist with harmony,
use the THRU Harmony settings. In other words, wherever a Thru harmony is selected, the Soloist part will use the Thru
Harmony settings.
2. We have designed the Soloist to not repeat any solo ideas so that the solos are always fresh, with new ideas forming and
playing all the time. As a result, we have included a refresh Soloist menu item (under the Soloist menu) that, when selected,
will allow the Soloist to think about all of its musical notions again.

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Choosing the Refresh Soloist option is like telling the soloist “It's O.K., you can play whatever you like, even if it's something
that you played 5 minutes ago...” It's a good idea to refresh the Soloist regularly to ensure maximum “idea” availability.
3. The Soloist menu contains many options. It has all of the same editing options found in the melody menu, so you can treat
the Soloist track as a 2nd melody track. Even if you don't plan on using the Automatic Soloist feature, you can just use the
Soloist track as a 2nd track for counter melodies, overdubs etc. The result: two melody tracks, two solo tracks, or one melody
and one solo track all at your disposal for any song, without having to resort to an outboard sequencer.

Soloist Maker
The [Soloist Maker [Edit] button launches the Soloist Editor module where you can make
your own or modify an existing Soloist. This feature allows you to define your own Soloists.

Insert the title of your ‘soloist’ in the Title box, and any memo note you wish to add. (The Num field will be filled
in for you.)

For the Memo box, you can put in information like “extra legato, straighter 8th notes, on top of the beat, laid back,
etc.
The “Soloist is” box allows you to define what type of notes the Soloist will play (i.e. swing 8th notes, straight 8th
notes, 16th notes, etc.)

There are several databases of Solo ideas to choose from. This button will launch an Open File dialog
for the \bb folder where you can the select a database (ST2 or ST3) appropriate for the
type of song the Soloist will be playing over (e.g., J_SWING.ST2 for Jazz Swing songs).
Note: If you have an .ST3 database available for the style of soloing you want to generate, you can still choose the .ST2,
and the program will automatically substitute the appropriate .ST3 file if, (a) it is available and, (b) you have selected the
“Use Large Soloist files” checkbox in the “Select Soloist” dialog.

Press the [Choose] button in the Soloist Editor to select the instrument the Soloist should play (i.e.
Tenor Saxophone).

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The Sub-Soloist checkboxes are for use ONLY with add-on hybrid soloists such as the ones found on the
SOLOISTPAK for Band-in-a-Box. These checkboxes can be used to “sub” a different instrument and playing style
in a Soloist which contains more than one playing style, such as BG_BAND.ST2 found on Soloist Disk Set #5. For
more information on additional Soloist Disk Sets and the additional features available with them, contact PG Music.
To Modify (if required) the “Phrase Length,” “Space Length,” and “Outside Range” parameters, simply click in the
box you wish to change and type-in the new number.
For example, change the “Legato Boost %” to 10 %. This will add 10% to the duration of the notes.
Adjust the lateness by -5 to have the Soloist play the notes more “on the beat” than other Jazz soloists.
Adjust the 8th Note spacing by -5 to have your Soloist play 8th notes in a more even feel than other Jazz soloists.

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The Increase Velocity setting will increase the velocity of each note in the solo by the value entered, or DECREASE
the velocity if a negative value is entered.
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 would produce less
“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 sight-reading or student study.
Use the [Import] button to bring a soloist in from a disk and use the [Export] button to
save your Soloist to a disk to share Soloists with your friends.
You can also save your soloist to another Soloist file (*.s1) by pressing the [Save As] button
Use Copy/Paste to copy all settings from one Soloist to another. Copy to an undefined
Soloist # to create a new soloist. Changes are saved to the default file.
Press the [OK] button when you are satisfied with your choices.

Auto Piano Hand-splitting
This feature applies to the Piano, Melody, and Soloist tracks. It is found in the Notation Window Options and in
both the Melodist and Soloist Utilities submenus.

Piano Track (Notation Options)
The Piano part can be displayed on both clefs, using intelligent hand-splitting
routines that dynamically the split point. This happens automatically.
When you do this, the Piano track (not any other track) will be displayed on both clefs with intelligent handsplitting. You can print out the Piano track with the hands separated.

Melody and Soloist Tracks
You can also manually split a piano part on a Melody or Soloist track using the intelligent hand-splitting routines.
The left/right hands display in red/blue on the big piano, and on bass/treble clefs on the notation. Import a piano
MIDI file to the Melody track to get a split-hands display and printout!

For example, if you have a MIDI file that is a solo piano piece, File | Open MIDI file will put the music on the
Melody track. Then choose Melody | Edit | Utilities | Piano Hand Split. Make sure that Melody | Track Type is set
to piano. You will then see the piano part split intelligently into 2 hands.
When this is done, the left hand will be stored on channel 8, and the right hand on channel 9, on the Melody track.
You can export the MIDI file to a sequencer, and these 8/9 channel assignments will be preserved.

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Automatic Guitar Solos – “The Guitarist”
The Guitarist allows you to generate a guitar chord solo for any melody. Band-in-a-Box will intelligently arrange
the melody to a guitar chord solo by inserting real guitar voicings throughout the piece. You can select from among
many “Guitarists” in order to create your arrangement. You can also define your own Guitarists; choosing
parameters such as strum speed, types of voicings (Pop/Jazz), embellishments, and much more.
Guitar Solos are selected from the Guitar window, which opens with the Guitar button.

Press the [Ch Sol…] button to launch the Generate Guitar Chord Solo function from the Guitar
Window.
It is also accessible from the Melody | Edit Melody Track | Generate Chord Solo menu item.

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Here are the steps to generate a Guitar Chord Solo:
Select the Guitarist to use.
In the main list at the left of the Window, you see the list of
the Guitarists that are already defined. For example, you can
see that Guitarist #2 is called “Jazz Guitar, single position.”
That will create chord solos that stick to a single position on
the guitar neck whenever possible.
Select Melody (or Soloist) track.
Normally, the Guitar Chord solo is written to the Melody
track, but you can also select the Soloist track as the
destination.
Confirm the Guitar Patch selection.
The Guitarist that you pick (see item #1) will already have
chosen the guitar patch to use, but you can override it with this
setting.
Select the Range of the song to use.
You can either generate a chord solo for the whole song, or just a region of the song. In
either case, remember that you need to have an existing melody to work with.

Select the Main Guitar Position to use.
The “Auto-Set” feature sets the main guitar position for the
solo based on the key signature. For example, in the key of C,
Band-in-a-Box will choose the 5th position as the best

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position for the chord solo to be played. If you wanted the solo to be in the 12th position, you could de-select the
“Auto-Set” and then set the guitar position to 12th position.
If you already have a guitar track that has guitar channels (if it was played on
a guitar controller as a single string guitar part), then you might want to tell Band-in-a-Box not to change the guitar
positions of the notes that it finds. Otherwise set “OK to change existing guitar channels” to true.
Press OK to generate the Solo.
You'll then see a dialog box that tells you a solo has
been added to the track.

As you listen to the solo, you'll notice the following:
-

Some of the notes are left as melody, and some are assigned to chords.

A wide variety of guitar chords are used, including some advanced chords. All of them are popular chords
played by real guitarists – there are no theoretical chords.

The chords are strummed, to simulate a real guitar player.

The Track Type for the Melody has been set to Guitar – so the notation shows [Tab], and the MIDI file will be
saved with the Guitar Channels (11-16) preserved which preserves the fret positions.

All of these items can be customized in the Guitarist Editor.
Technical Note: Since some of the guitarists can be assigned to strum the chords in a delayed fashion, if you repeatedly regenerate the solo, the melody will become more and more delayed. The solution(s) for this occurrence would be to choose Edit |
Undo Solo prior to regenerating the solo, or picking a Guitarist that doesn't delay the strum. The Strum Delay Status is indicated
on the “Info” panel of the Select Guitarist screen.

ONCE YOU HAVE GENERATED A GUITAR CHORD SOLO…
The chord solo is now part of the notation track. You can edit it like any other part, by deleting/inserting notes, etc.
You can use the special guitar features discussed in the Guitar Window section to change the guitar voicings or
replace a note with a chord and vice versa.
When you have a note or chord highlighted press the [Ch-] or [Ch+] Insert Guitar Chord button on
the guitar window (or 7 or 8 on the NUMPAD keypad). Each time you press the [Ch-] or [Ch+],
you'll see that the guitar chord changes to a different voicing, cycling through the available 5-10
voicings possible for each chord. Some notes won't have any chord voicings, for example a C#
note on a Cmaj7 chord, because it is always a passing tone.
In a similar manner, you can convert a chord to a guitar note, and use the Insert Guitar Note button
for this. Pressing the [N+] (or 3 or 4 on the NUMPAD keypad) repeatedly cycles through playing
the same note on all 6 strings.
The solo will be saved with the song (.MGU) and exported to a MIDI file with the string positions intact because we
use channels 11 to 16 for the Guitar part. You can remove the solo at any time, even after the solo has been saved or
reloaded, by choosing Melody | Remove Harmony part menu item.
Guitarists can be customized using the Guitarist Maker, described in the User Programmable Functions chapter of
this manual.

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Automatic Embellishments – “The Embellisher”
Overview
When musicians see a lead sheet that has a melody written out, they almost never play it exactly as written. They
change the timing to add syncopation, change durations to achieve staccato or legato playing, add grace notes, slurs,
extra notes, vibrato and other effects. You can have Band-in-a-Box do these automatically using the Embellisher so
that you hear a livelier, more 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. There is an option to make the embellishment
permanent, so that if you like a certain embellishment you can add it to the Melody track.
The Melody Embellisher feature is turned on and off by the Embellisher checkbox on the main
screen. The Embellisher only functions during playback.
You will see the Embellished Melody on the notation as the Melody plays, so you can see the Embellished notes.
When [Stop] is pressed, the notation will revert to the original (unembellished) melody. The embellishment changes
timing of notes, durations, velocities, legato, as well as adding grace notes, additional notes and turns. Here is a
“before and after” example that shows a typical embellishment of a Melody.
Normal (unembellished) Melody…

Embellished Melody…

As you can see in the notation examples, the embellished melody adds an anticipation in bar 9, and in bar 10 adds
extra notes, timing changes, and grace notes to “spice up” the melody.
If you disable the Embellisher, by de-selecting the Embellisher checkbox, the Melody will function
as normal with no changes.

Using The Embellisher
The Embellisher settings are accessed during playback with the Embellisher button in the main screen
toolbar, or with the menu item Melody | Embellish Melody Dialog, or with the key strokes Ctrl+Alt+L.
There is a Melody Embellisher dialog that allows you to:
- Customize the settings of the Embellisher, or choose Embellisher presets.
- Make a particular embellishment permanent.
“Live Auto-embellish during every playback” is the same setting that is

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on the main page checkbox. If enabled, embellishment will occur during every playback. If disabled,
embellishment will not occur unless you choose the [Embellish NOW] button in the dialog.

Embellisher Settings
The settings that affect the embellishment can be turned on and off, and given a percentage strength.
Humanize
The velocities, durations (legato), and timing of the notes are humanized. The original velocities etc. of the notes
are ignored. The option to only humanize the timing of the music if the timing was “stiff” to begin with allows the
Embellisher to leave the timing of human input melodies alone, and humanize only the ones that were entered in
step-time.
Adjust Octave
The octave of the Melody is changed to the best octave for the current Melody instrument. For example, if the
instrument were a piccolo, the octave would be raised to the best range for a piccolo.
Anticipations
An anticipated note is playing a note early (“ahead of the beat”).

Unembellished notes.

ANTICIPATIONS on beat 1 and 3.

Less Anticipations
This is the opposite of anticipations. This finds notes that are anticipated, and “embellishes” them by playing them
later (on the beat).
Grace Notes
The grace notes are brief notes played just before, and a semi-tone below the original note. The grace notes
intentionally don't show on the notation, so that it will remain easily readable. They can be heard.
Doubled Notes
Melody notes are doubled with the same pitch.

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Quarter note doubled.

Unembellished.

Extra Notes
Extra notes are added between melody notes.

Unembellished.

With extra notes added.

Note Turns
With a note turn, a single note is replaced by a group of notes that include the original note and semitone or scale
tones above and below the note. In this “before and after” example, the C note is replaced by a turn of 3 notes with
a note a scale tone above the C.

Unembellished.

Embellished with turn.

Vibrato
Vibrato can be added according to the additional vibrato settings available in the “More” dialog. The vibrato can't
be seen on the notation window, but you can examine the events in the Event list.

If set, the Melody will be delayed a little, providing a laid-back feeling.
The Embellisher is usually referred to as the Melody
Embellisher, because you'll usually want to have it on the
Melody track. But if you'd like, you can choose to embellish
the Soloist track.
If you have done this, and want to restore the original Melody,
you can press the [Restore Original Melody] button.

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Embellisher Presets
The presets allow you to quickly choose common
combinations of settings for the Embellisher.
The Embellisher Memo describes the current
embellishment, with statistics counting the number of
embellished notes.

If the song is playing and the Embellisher is enabled, you
can update the embellishment by pressing this button. This
is useful if you've changed settings, and want to hear what
the new embellishment sounds like.
The [Defaults] button reverts to the original Embellisher settings.

There are additional settings, in the Embellisher Additional Settings dialog box. This allows you
to set advanced settings for the Embellisher. These include:
Vibrato Depth: The amplitude of the vibrato, in a range from 0-127.
Vibrato Speed: This is the speed of the vibrato (slow-fast) range 0-127.
Only use Vibrato if Note is this many ticks: e.g. If set to 120 ticks (one quarter note), then only notes of
duration at least 120 ticks will get vibrato.
Start the Vibrato after this many ticks: For notes that will get vibrato, the vibrato will start after this many
ticks.
Adjust Octave Method: If the octave is to be adjusted, it will either only adjust it if the notes are outside the
playable range, or always adjust it to the best octave, according to the setting you make here.
Dynamic Range: Refers to the range of velocities used for the humanization. Useful range 30-50.
Legato Settings: Refers to the amount of legato for the notes. Useful range 55 to 75.
This displays the same thing that appears in the Memo field, but will display it even when there is
no current embellishment.
You can save/load your own presets for the Embellisher.
When you have made a custom setting in the Embellisher dialog, press the Export button to save
the data as an .EMB file.

When you want to recall the saved preset, press the Import button, and load in a previously made .EMB file. You
can share your favorite presets with other installations of Band-in-a-Box using the EMB files.
If the song is not currently playing, you can still create
an embellishment and have it apply permanently by pressing the [Embellish NOW – Permanent] button. The
original melody is not affected permanently unless you have pressed the [Embellish NOW – permanent] button.
Normally the embellishment occurs live when the song is
playing, and doesn't affect the melody permanently. But if you like the Embellishment, and want to apply it
permanently to the melody, you can choose the “Make Current Embellishment Permanent” option.
You can use the [Undo] button to reverse a permanent embellishment before the song is saved to
file.
Use these transport controls for song playback within the Melody Embellisher
dialog.

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Chapter 9: Working With MIDI
Band-in-a-Box has two built-in MIDI sequencer tracks. They are named the Melody and Soloist tracks, but they can
be used to record any MIDI part you like – such as drum overdubs or layered accompaniments. MIDI can be
recorded in Band-in-a-Box
- Live with a MIDI keyboard, MIDI guitar, or MIDI wind controller.
- In step time by entering notes in the Notation window with the mouse.
- Using the Wizard feature to “play” notes with your QWERTY keyboard.
- Importing a pre-recorded Standard MIDI File into the Melody or Soloist.

Recording Live in Real Time
You can punch in/out, do unlimited overdubs, record directly to the tag or the ending, and start recording
from any bar. To record live using your MIDI keyboard, guitar, or wind controller click on the [Rec.]
button, or type the letter [R], or choose the menu option Melody | Record Melody. The Record Melody
dialog box will appear.

If you're sure that the settings are correct, just press “R” twice to immediately start Recording.
Tip: If you select the “Overdub underlying melody” option in the Record Melody dialog, you will hear the underlying melody
while recording.

Pressing this button will launch the MIDI Recording Filter. The Record Filter supports all MIDI
controllers including the sustain pedal.
You can record any type of MIDI information to the Melody or Soloist tracks, and use the Record Filter to select
what types to include. Choosing Opt. | Filter for recording will also launch the Record Filter dialog.
Press [Record] or the [R] key again to begin recording.
Stop recording by pressing the [Esc] key, or the spacebar, or by clicking the [Stop] button. The OK – Keep Take
dialog will open.

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OK - Keep Take (yes/no) saves the take you just recorded. Remember that it’s easy to fix small glitches in the
Editable Notation window or in the Event List editor.
Take Again lets you quickly reject a take and start the recording again. Press the “A” key to do this with a
keystroke.
Cancel ends the recording session; nothing is saved. To start again press the [Rec.] button or the [R] key.
Copy 1st chorus to whole song
If you have recorded one chorus of the song, checking this at the end of the recording will copy the same recording
to all of the choruses.
Overdub Underlying melody
You have the option to merge the recording with the existing melody. If there is no underlying melody this option
will be grayed out.
Retain Melody past last recorded
You have the option to erase any melody after the last recorded melody note, or keep it. Use this feature when you
want to punch out at the end of a take.

Count-In and Metronome Options
To set these options, go to the Opt. | Preferences dialog and select the [Count-in/Met.] button.

Recording to an external sequencer
Many people use Band-in-a-Box in live situations. If you are unable to bring your computer with you, a good
alternative is a hardware sequencer or a keyboard with a built-in sequencers that reads Standard MIDI Files. To
transfer songs to the Sound Brush, follow these simple steps:
- Make a MIDI file of the song by pressing the button.
- Either save the file directly to a floppy disk or copy it to the floppy from your hard drive.
- The Sound Brush is then able to read the IBM formatted disk with MIDI files on it.

Entering Notes Manually
You can enter melody notes directly to the track in the Notation window in either the Editable Notation Mode or the
Staff Roll Mode.

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Enter the Editable Notation mode from the Standard Notation screen with a single mouse click on the Editable
Notation button. In the Editable Notation mode you can enter, move, and edit notes and rests using standard
mouse techniques – point and click, drag and drop, and right click to open the Note Edit dialog box.
Conirmation dialogs prevent accidental entry of a duplicate note (same pitch near same time) and accidental entry of
a very high or very low note (large # of ledger lines).
Once you have some melody entered, you can copy and paste chunks of it as
you would in a text document. To copy and paste notation, highlight an area
of notation by dragging the mouse over the region. Then select Edit | Copy.
Click on the place where you want to paste to (by clicking at the time line on
top of the notation window) and then choose Edit | Paste. You can specify a
precise paste location in the Paste Melody dialog.

Recording with the Wizard Feature
This is a very helpful feature if you don’t have a MIDI keyboard but you want to record with a “live” feel. Use the
Wizard to record notes from the computer’s QWERTY keyboard for a track that’s more natural than step time.
Here’s how it works:
Enable the Wizard checkbox.
-

Press [R] key to record.
As the song plays, play the melody on any keys on the bottom two rows of the QWERTY keyboard, in the
rhythm of the melody. The “wizard” notes won't be the correct melody of course, but don't worry about that as
you record. When you're finished, look in the Notation window. You’ll see the wrong notes in the right places
with the correct durations.

Drag the notes (with the left mouse button) to the correct place on the staff. You’ll hear the notes play as you
drag them, and the names will show in the note name box. For sharps, flats, and naturals, hold down the Shift
key, Ctrl key, or Alt key respectively. You'll end up with a melody that sounds like it was recorded live,
without the rigid feel of tracks entered in step time.
Tip: If you have the Wizard “On” the spacebar won't stop playback. You need to press the Esc key to stop playback when
the Wizard is on. This is to prevent stopping the song if you mistakenly hit the spacebar while playing the Wizard.

Using the Wizard with MIDI keyboard input
The Wizard can also be used with a connected MIDI keyboard. The keyboard wizard always plays correct notes,
and is a fun way to play along with Band-in-a-Box. The MIDI keyboard also sends volume information (unlike the
QWERTY keyboard), so is a better choice if you have a MIDI keyboard connected.
This feature is accessed with the [Transpose] button in the Preferences dialog.
To turn on the Wizard to allow MIDI control, choose “Use Wizard for THRU
part.”
Make sure that the Wizard checkbox is enabled on the main screen.
Now, when you play notes on the MIDI keyboard (during playback), they will get remapped to chord tones.
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.
This scale - C D E F G A Bb B - is considered the “Bebop” scale, useful for playing over dominant 7th chords.

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The Wizard is useful for entering notation quickly. If you can’t play piano well, play the wizard in the correct
rhythm. The pitches will be wrong, but you can fix them in notation later, and the durations, volume, and timing are
already correct.

Melody/Soloist Sequencer
There are 2 tracks in Band-in-a-Box to add your own recordings. These are the Melody and Soloist tracks.
Normally you would want a single part on each of them. But, since MIDI information can have separate channels, it
is possible to store 16 separate parts on each of the Melody and Soloist parts. For the following discussion, we’ll
assume that you’re using the Melody track, but the same functions are available for the Soloist. When the Melody
track has been set to “Multi(16)-Channel” we refer to this as “Sequencer Mode.”
Also, for this discussion we’ll assume that you have a multi-channel track loaded in. Let’s load a MIDI file, using
File | Open MIDI file, and choosing a MIDI file like c:\bb\Violet.MID.
If you want to use the 16 separate parts for the Melody track, you need to set the Melody Track type to “MultiChannel.”

This is done from the Melody menu, or can be done by pressing the Sequencer button.
Now, when you are in this multi-channel mode, output from the Melody part will be on whatever MIDI channel the
information is stored on, and will not be using the Melody MIDI Channel.
You can examine the track to see the channels by looking at the event list, which you
can access by pressing the [#] button on the Notation window.
You’ll notice that the information in the event list is color coded by channels for multi-channel tracks. For example,
channel 7 is pink, and channel 10 is gold.

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If you click on the Lead Sheet window, you’ll see the entire MIDI file displayed on separate tracks of
notation.
Since this represents 6 separate tracks (in the case of violet.MID), this is likely “too much information” for you to
read, unless you are a symphony conductor.
To customize the notation display for sequencer mode, press the lead sheet options button, and see the
settings for Multi-Channel Tracks.

Press the “CUSTOM channels play/display” buttons to launch the Sequencer window. Then you can customize
which channels will play and display.

In the example picture, we have set Channel 2 (Bass) and Channel 4 (Trumpet) to show on the notation, and have set
all of the channels to play (to hear them).

For a specific channel, (e.g. channel 3: piano), we see the following information.
Channel 3: Acoustic Piano (this is the patch name found on the track).
843
There are 842 events in the track, usually every note is an event.
We have customized the piano track so that it can be heard (play=true), but not seen in notation (Show=false).

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There is a small button at the right of the track line that allows you to delete/
rechannel or merge the channel with another channel.
You can also change the patch (instrument) for that track by using the instrument
patch combo box.

So now that we’ve customized the display, we are seeing the bass and trumpet on the notation, and hearing the entire
track.
Removing All Tracks Except Melody From A Midi File
One use for the Sequencer mode is to load in a MIDI file, and then delete all of the
channels except the melody, so that you can allow the Band-in-a-Box rhythm
section to provide the accompaniment. To do this, open the Sequencer window,
and use the Edit pull down menu to delete all tracks except the melody.
Once you have done this, you don’t need the Melody | Track Type to be multi-channel anymore, so you should set it
to be Track Type [Single Channel], so that it will be like any other Band-in-a-Box song, and use the Melody channel
for playback.

Recording Your Own Parts To The Melody Sequencer
Normally you would record your parts to the Melody, and not be concerned about what MIDI channel they are
using, because Band-in-a-Box uses the Melody channel (usually channel 4) for this.
But if you have set the Track type to be multi-channel, the output on the Melody part will be whatever channel is
stored in the tracks.
When you record a Melody part and the track type is set to multichannel, the “Keep Take” dialog will have a selection for the
channel that should be used for the recording.
Also, make sure that you have “Overdub underlying melody” checkbox set, or you
won’t hear the other melody parts during the recording.
Example: Recording 4 Separate Counter Melodies On The Melody Track
So if you want to record, for example, 4 separate parts to go along with a Band-in-a-Box song, you should do the
following.
1. Set the Melody track to Multi(16)-Channel (Sequencer)

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Record a Melody part. At the end of the recording, pick a channel for the part that is not already
used by Band-in-a-Box. BB uses channels 2-10, so channels 11 to 16 are available for your counter
melody parts.
Repeat step 2 by recording additional melody parts.
Assign patches to the Melody parts using the

4.
Sequencer Window.

Import a Band-in-a-Box 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.
Choose File | Import Song.

Importing MIDI Files
Importing MIDI Files to the Melody or Soloist Tracks
Standard MIDI files can be read in to the Melody or Soloist tracks from MIDI files or from the Windows clipboard.
You can read in all of a MIDI file, or selected channels and a specific range of bars. Use one of the following two
commands:
1. Melody | Import MIDI File – to select a MIDI file from disk using the Windows Open File dialog.

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Melody | Import MIDI File from Clipboard - when the MIDI data is already copied from another program to the
Windows clipboard. The clipboard option will be grayed out if there is no MIDI data in the clipboard.

Once chosen, the Import MIDI File - Options dialog box opens.
Import Which Channel(s)?
You'll need to know which channel(s) of your MIDI file the melody is on. You then select these channels for Bandin-a-Box to read-in. If you select all of the channels, Band-in-a-Box will read in all of the channels and merge them
to the Melody track. You can import and play the complete file on the Melody track if the Track Type is set to Multi
(16) -Channel in the Melody menu.

# bars to offset from start of MIDI file
If you want to start reading from the beginning of the MIDI file, select 0 as the offset. If you want to start at bar 32,
for example, select an offset of 32 (bars).
How Many Bars to import?
Leave this setting at the default of 1000 to read-in the entire file (unless it’s longer than 1000 bars!), or set it to the
number of bars that want.
# blank bars to insert at beginning
This will insert blank bars into the Melody track. Remember that Band-in-a-Box normally has a 2 bar lead-in count.
If your MIDI file has no lead-in, then you'll need to set this to = 2 to compensate for the 2 bars of lead-in.
Include notes early by (120 PPQ)
If you’re reading in a MIDI file starting at bar 5, it would be annoying to have a note that was played 1 tick earlier
than bar 5 left out of the MIDI file that is read in. To include it, you can set this, and the note will be read in.
Include continuous controllers and pitch bend / Patch changes / Lyrics
If you don’t need these items you can save space by not importing them.
Merge with Existing Data on the track
You can choose to merge the imported data with your existing Melody track.

Import to the Melody with the MIDI Chord Wizard
You can open an entire MIDI file into Band-in-a-Box using the MIDI Chord Wizard. The chords will be autointerpreted by the Chord Wizard and the MIDI file will play and display on the Melody track. A “silent” style will
be loaded so you'll only hear the MIDI file. When the file is saved, the extension will be MGX, allowing you to
easily identify the songs that contain entire MIDI files.
The MIDI Chord Wizard is opened from the File | Import Chords from MIDI File menu item. In the Interpret
Chords from MIDI file dialog, select the “Open ENTIRE MIDI File to Melody” radio button, and then click on
[INTERPRET CHORDS NOW].
The chords will be interpreted and written to the Band-in-a-Box chord sheet and an “X” will appear in front of the
style name, indicating that the style is silent.

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Press [Play] to hear the MIDI file play on the Melody track.

Additional Options for Melody/Soloist Track
Choose Melody | Edit Melody Track | Time Shift Melody. This will move (slide) the melody a certain # ticks. There
are 120 ticks per quarter note. For example, to give the song a more laid-back feel, shift the melody about 10 ticks
ahead.
In the same submenu, choose Insert Beats or Melody | Delete Beats to insert or delete beats in the Melody. For
example, to insert 2 bars in the melody at bar 5, choose Melody | Insert Beats, select bar 5, and select 8 beats (2
bars) to insert.
Intelligent Humanize of Melody and Soloist Track
Quantize routines can leave the music sounding stiff and unmusical. Some routines attempt to humanize a part by
adding “randomization,“ which rarely has the desired effect since humans don't randomly change timing or volume.
Band-in-a-Box uses intelligent humanization routines to humanize a melody from one feel to another, from one
tempo to another, and vary the amount of swing to 8th notes. The results are very musical, with natural sounding
melodies.
Let's look at some of the parameters found under Humanize.
In this example, Melody | Edit Melody Track | Humanize Melody was selected. The window for Humanize Soloist is
the same.
As you can see, we have broken down
the Humanize effect into 5 main
categories: tempo, lateness, 8th note
spacing, legato, and feel.
The best way to learn how these
parameters combine is to try them (you
can always press the UNDO button if
you don't like the results.)
For example, try changing the tempo of
a song to see the changes that this will
make to the 8th note spacing and
lateness. Press the [Quantize NOW]
button to apply your changes to your
song.

Tip: Often, when musicians play at faster tempos they play the swing 8th notes closer together and a little later.

We feel that these categories are straightforward and you should have no trouble achieving the desired results.
Remember to apply such parameters as Legato and Lateness sparingly, then press the Quantize NOW button to
apply your changes to your song.

Editing the Melody Track
Event List Editor
You can edit events including all MIDI events and lyric events using the Event List Editor. It can be launched in
several ways.
- In the Melody menu, choose Edit Melody Track | Step Edit Melody.
- In the Soloist menu, choose Edit Soloist Track | Step Edit Soloist Part.
- In the Notation menu, choose Event List Editor…
or in the Notation window by pressing the event list button (#).

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Different colors are used for different event types in the event list, to visually distinguish notes, patch changes, etc.
The Event list for the notation colors the events differently as follows:
- Notes starting near the beat boundary are dark pink.
- Notes starting on the off-beat are light pink.
- Patch changes are cyan.
- Controller changes are yellow.
- Pitch Bends are grey.

The Event List Editor allows you to modify, insert, and delete notes:
- Double-click on an event to edit it (or press the [Edit] button.)
- [Insert] puts an event before the current event.
- [Append] puts an event at the end of the track.
- [Delete] removes an event.
- [Update] redraws the notation screen.
- [Edit Lyrics] – [Edit Soloist] – [Edit Melody] selects which track to edit.

Event List Filter
There is a filter for the Event List Editor, allowing you to quickly spot all patch changes. For example, to examine
the patch changes on the Melody track choose “Use Event Filter,” and then
press the [Filter…] button.

In the Event List Filter select the type of information you want to display. In this case, it is program changes
(patches) only.

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The track will then display with the program changes only.

The Event Type to Edit dialog opens when either the
[Insert] or [Append] buttons are pressed in the Event List
Editor.
This dialog allows you to select which type of event to
insert or append - note, controller, pitch bend, etc. – and
then opens the selected edit dialog.

Notation Window Editing
You can often get better results by using the Notation Window to edit notes instead of the Event List window. To
do this, open the Notation window in either Editable Notation or Staff Roll Notation mode. In both of these modes,
notes can be dragged and dropped with the mouse.

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For precise note editing, right mouse click on the note you want to edit and choose “Edit Note” in the contextual
menu.
This opens the Note dialog where all of the parameters of the note can be addressed.

Piano Roll Window Editing
The Piano Roll window enables precise graphic editing of note timing and duration. You can also graphically edit
note velocity, controllers, program changes, channel aftertouch, or pitch bend.
The Piano Roll may be opened as a movable window, which floats above the Band-in-a-Box main window, or
opened embedded in the same position as the Chord Sheet/Notation panels in the Band-in-a-Box main window.

Note Panel
Horizontal bars represent notes. Notes can be selected, edited, inserted, and deleted.
Note Selection
Selected notes are red.

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- Click on individual notes to select.
- Shift+click on individual notes to add to the selection.
- Ctrl+click on a note to invert (toggle) its selection.

Overlapping notes are displayed in bold Aqua color, making them easy to identify. Overlapped notes can be
eliminated from the right-click menu in this window.
Click on white space and then drag a rectangle around notes to select a group of notes. Only notes that start within
the rectangle are selected. If the left edge of a note is not inside the rectangle, it will not be selected.
- Shift+drag a rectangle to add another group of notes to the selection.
- Ctrl+drag a rectangle to toggle the selection of the notes in the rectangle.

Splitter Bar
A Splitter Bar sits between the Note and Graphic Event panels. Drag the splitter bar down to maximize the Note
panel and drag it up to maximize the Graphic Event panel.
Two graphic event mouse editing modes for editing graphic events:
1. Add Mode
Add/subtract the same amount to all selected events.
2. Scale Mode
Scale the selected events. Select one or more Graphic Events, and move the mouse over one of the events.
Shift-drag vertically, and the events are scaled in a proportional fashion. Large-value events are scaled
more than small-value events. This keeps the same shape of a gesture, but makes it bigger or smaller.
Note Velocity Line Tool
- With Add Mode, note velocities will exactly match the slope of your drawn line.
- With Scale Mode, the Line Tool will shape the dynamics, but note velocities are scaled to follow the
approximate shape of your drawn line. With Scale Mode, you can insert a Velocity fade, or change the velocity
of a region, while preserving the Velocity dynamics of the music.

Edit Events
Edit Event Value: Move the cursor over the top half of an event. A north-south cursor appears. Click-drag
vertically to scale event values. To scale a selected group of events, Shift-click-drag vertically on one of the events
in the selection.
Edit Event Time: Move the cursor over the bottom half of an event. A horizontal arrow cursor appears. Clickdrag horizontally to slide the event in time. To slide a selected group of events, Click-drag horizontally on one of
the events in the selection.

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Pencil Tool: Move the cursor over white space and hold the Shift+Ctrl keys. A Pencil Tool appears. Shift+Ctrldrag to freehand-draw a curve. If you don't get the curve quite right on the first pass, just keep holding the mouse
button and move the mouse back-and-forth to draw your desired freehand curve.
When the mouse button is released, a series of events are inserted to follow the freehand curve. The maximum
event density is one event per 10 ticks. Repeated events of the same value are not inserted. Therefore, many
freehand curves have a fairly low density.

Delete Events
Make a selection of events with the Ruler or by clicking on events and tap the Delete key. You can also right-click
and choose “Delete Selected Events” item in the pop-up menu.
Eraser tool
For quickly deleting individual notes or controllers. Shift+Ctrl-click on a note or graphic event. If multiple events
have been selected, all selected events will be deleted.

Graphic Event Panel
This panel only shows MIDI events specified in the Chan, View/Edit, and Controller Type controls. When
graphically inserting controller and pitch bend events the event density is adjustable from one event per 1 tick up to
one event per 30 ticks.

With events such as pitch bend or controllers like modulation and sustain, it is important to end a “gesture” with a
zero-value event. Otherwise, subsequent notes will be affected, with “hanging” permanent pitch bend, permanent
vibrato, or sustain pedal locked down.
Event Selection
Graphic Event Ruler Time Selections: Selected Events are red. The Graphic Event Ruler will only select nonnote events. In addition, it will only select the type of MIDI events specified in the Chan, View/Edit, and Controller
Type controls. When you make a Ruler Time selection, ONLY THE VISIBLE events in this time range are
selected. Other MIDI events in this time range are not selected.

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Chapter 10: Working With Audio
About Band-in-a-Box Audio Files
The File | Open menu command shows and opens all available file types including audio files
(WAV, WMA, MP3, 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.

Audio Playback and Audio Rendering
There are two types of audio features in Band-in-a-Box:
1. The first refers to the Audio track. This is a single 44K mono or stereo track that you can use to record
vocals or live instruments. In addition, the most popular types of audio files can be imported to this track
and played.
2. The second refers to rendering which is the process of converting a MIDI performance in Band-in-a-Box to
a stereo .WAV file or to different compressed audio formats for playback in media players or export to
other audio software programs.

Audio Track
The audio track includes only your live recording or the imported audio file, whereas the rendered .WAV file
includes everything in the file; MIDI parts plus the audio track.
Try the following with the Audio Track in Band-in-a-Box:
- Press this button and add an audio track to an existing Band-in-a-Box song. Add live vocals, guitar,
sax, etc.
- Process an audio track using audio plug-ins - such as reverb, chorus etc. (choose from over 20 plugins included).
- Export the audio (and MIDI) track to sequencers such as PowerTracks Pro Audio, Cubase, or
Cakewalk for further work.

Audio Playback Settings
Notice the “Audio” label at the top right of the
screen, beside the “Thru” part setting.
Clicking on the “Audio” label launches the Audio Playback
settings dialog.
This 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 on-screen, and
choose these options.

Import Audio File to Audio Track
Most types of popular audio files can be opened directly in Band-in-a-Box, but you may want to import an audio
track into your Band-in-a-Box song. A Mono or Stereo audio file can be imported to the Audio track, optionally
merging or replacing any existing audio track. Most popular types of audio files are supported, including WAV,
WMA, MP3, WMV and CD audio.

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Choose the menu item Audio | Import Audio (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV…). You then choose an audio file to import.
The Import Audio File dialog is then displayed, which allows selection of the point to insert the audio file, and
whether to merge or overwrite existing audio in the range.

Audio files can also be opened from the File menu with the command Open Audio (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV).
Open an MP3/WAV/WMA or audio CD track, and play back at 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8 speed. This is great for transcribing
or analyzing audio.
If you load in an audio song (WAV file, MP3), when the song plays you can:
- change the tempo of the audio to slow/speed up the song.
- press Ctrl+[-] for half speed, Ctrl+[=] for full speed.
- highlight an area of the Audio Edit window and press [Play Selected Area]. This will loop the audio.
- use the Audio | Set Audio Master (Base) Tempo menu item to insure that tempo stretches are based on correct
master tempo.
These features are useful as an aid for transcription.
Using the Half-Speed Audio feature to help you transcribe a piece of music.
Once you open the Audio file, open the Audio window and you can see the audio data on the track.

Choose “Half-speed tempo” (Ctrl+minus (-) hot key). Ctrl+equals (=) returns to normal tempo. (Use the Play |
Tempo menu for slower speeds like 1/4, 1/8.)
Highlight the range that you want to hear, and then press “Play Selected Area.”
You can then move around the window to play different sections as you transcribe the

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recording.

Audio Offset
The Audio Offset feature allows you to synchronize any point of the audio file with bar 1 of the Band-in-a-Box
song – usually to sync the audio file with the rest of the song.
Let’s say you have a home recording of a live performance of one of your songs, saved as a WAV file (or
MP3/WMA). File | Open Audio will load the song into Band-in-a-Box.
Now open up the Audio Edit window, and when you hear the point in the file that you would like to be
considered bar 1, right click at that point, and answer YES to “would you like this point to be bar 1.”

Then, as the song is playing, use the tap tempo feature (the minus key, pressed 4 times in tempo) to set the tempo of
the piece.
Your audio file will then start playing at bar 1 of the Band-in-a-Box song in sync with the audio starting at the place
you have marked as bar 1, and the bars will be in sync (approximately in sync, they will drift as the tempo of your
live performance varies.) You can put tempo changes on certain bars to keep it perfectly in sync if you want to.

Record Audio
Before you begin recording, you'll need to:
Set the Recording Properties
This tells your sound card (and Band-in-a-Box) what sources you would record from. You may be recording from a
microphone or a line-in plug into your sound card. If so, you need to have those items selected in the recording
properties panel for your sound card.
Most sound cards are capable of recording from the following sources:
Microphone – plugged in to the sound card to record vocals or live instruments.
Line-In – from the Line-Out of a mixer or keyboard, or a guitar direct box.
CD-ROM player – to record the audio from an audio CD.
Outgoing MIDI - not used when recording audio tracks, but is used if “rendering” the whole Band-in-a-Box song to
Audio. This is an important point to understand when using audio in Band-in-a-Box: the soundcard should be
capable of recording the outgoing MIDI that is being sent from your soundcard out to the speakers. When recording
an audio track (vocals etc.), you'd almost never want to record the outgoing MIDI as well or it would get mixed in
with the audio track. However, when rendering your whole composition to a single .WAV file to distribute on a CD
or the Internet you always want to record the outgoing MIDI.
Technical Note: This is only true if you are using the sound card for your output MIDI driver. If you have an external MIDI
device like the Roland Sound Canvas you'd need to route the Line Out from your Sound Canvas back in to the Line-In of
your sound card in order to record (render) the MIDI.

When you press the Recording Properties button, you'll see the Recording control panel of your sound
card's mixer.

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The panel displayed here is the typical panel that sound cards use. Different makes and models may not look
exactly like the example, but the basic layout and operation is the same. From this panel, you can set the recording
level for the items you want to record. Let’s take the example of recording live with a microphone.
- We select the check box to record the microphone.
- Then, we set the level of the recording input for the microphone with the aid of the built-in VU meters in Band-ina-Box.

Audio VU meters
These show the Record and Playback levels for audio, allowing adjustment of microphone and speaker levels.
VU Meters can be launched by pressing the VU Meters button on the toolbar.
The VU Meters will also open automatically when the Record Audio dialog is opened.

The VU Meters will close or stay open when the dialog is exited depending
on the “Leave VU Meters open” setting in the Record Audio dialog.
The VU meters show the average strength of the signal, with a dB scale, and a clip indicator. Clipping indicates that
the signal has overloaded, and will sound distorted (clipped).

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The green area represents normal levels, while red indicates an overload.
Ideally, the sounds should remain in the green and avoid the red altogether.
Unlike analog recording, where it's good to get a “hot” high signal, digital
recordings need to absolutely avoid high levels since any overload of the
signal will result in clipping and a ruined recording.

Press the [R.Aud] button to start
recording audio. The Record Audio dialog will open. This dialog displays
the mono/stereo status of the recording. If you want to change to/from stereo
(to/from mono), press the [Audio Options] button in this dialog. The
mono/stereo track status is also indicated on the Title bar at the top of the
main screen.

Set the start point for the recording.
You can record from the Start of the song, somewhere in the middle, or punch in by choosing a bar and chorus # to
start recording.

Punch-In Recording

Punch-in audio recording allows you to punch-in record or overdub a section of audio. You can select a section to
punch-in by highlighting it in the Audio Edit window. You can also hear the existing audio part when you are
overdubbing. This is automatic.

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Also Record MIDI?
In most cases you will only be recording audio, so you should set this to “No MIDI recording.” But if you want to
record MIDI at the same time (in a situation where you were playing a MIDI piano at the same time as you are
singing for example), then you could set this setting to “Also Record MIDI to Melody” (assuming that you wanted
the MIDI to get recorded to the Melody track - use the Soloist setting if you want it recorded to the Soloist track).
Overdub underlying Audio
If you have previously recorded audio on the track, and want to overdub (to add a harmony for example), then you
should select the Overdub underlying Audio. It is not essential to select it at this point, since you'll get another
chance at the end of the recording. Note that the audio track will not play during record, so you'd have to sing the
harmony without hearing the original audio part.
Press [Record].
Audio recording begins. If you've set the “Show VU Meter while recording” option, then
the Recording VU Meter will open up and display during recording so you can
monitor the VU meters.
Press [Stop] or press the [Esc] key.

You will then see the “Keep Take?” dialog.
If you are happy with your recording, you
should choose [OK -Keep Take] and the
audio will be added to the Audio track.
You can listen to the results by pressing
[Play].
If you are not happy with the results, you can choose Edit | Undo Keep Audio Take and you will be back to where
you were prior to the recording. You can also choose the option to [Take Again], which reopens the Recording
dialog.
Technical Details: The recorded take is recorded to a temporary wave file called TEMP_REC.WAV. This resides in the
\bb directory or the directory of the current song. Once you decide to keep the take, the TEMP_REC.WAV is merged with
the main wave file for the program, which is usually titled with the same name as the song (e.g. MySong.wav).

Options
If you've recorded only 1 chorus of the song, you can choose the option to
copy that first chorus of audio to the whole song. This will fill up the whole song with the audio by repeating it as
many times as necessary. Then you'd just need to record the ending of the song.
At the end of recording, you receive an option to overdub with the underlying
audio. This means that both recordings will be merged together to form a new file, with both recordings preserved.
There is also an option to “Retain audio past last recorded.” This allows you to “punch out” and preserve the rest of
a previously recorded take.

Playing the Audio File
You can play the Audio file that you've recorded by pressing [PLAY]. The size of the audio file will be displayed at
the top of the screen. If you haven't saved the song yet, your window title will look like this.

In this example, the song is titled NoName.SGU, and there is a 6.1mb .WAV file associated with the file, and that's
1 minute and 9 seconds of audio. The total duration of the song is 3 minutes and 20 seconds. Save the song with
the name “My First Song.” Then the window title will look like this…

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Once the song is saved, the wave file will be called with the same name as the song, which is MY FIRST
SONG.WAV. If you ever need to work with the .WAV file in another program, you can just directly edit the wave
file. If you do this, make sure the .WAV stays a 44K mono .WAV file.

Edit the Audio File
In the Audio Edit window you can edit audio data using Copy, Cut, and Paste. Launch the Audio Edit window by
the Audio | Audio Edit Window menu item or pressing the Ctrl+Shift+A keys.
You can see the dB (decibel) scale at the left of the Audio Edit window.
To select a region of the Audio Edit window, you can Shift+click on the end point to easily select a large area.
- Click on the starting bar.
- Shift-click on the ending bar.

Audio Edit Window Toolbar
These buttons zoom in and out to the audio window.
The 100% button sets the Audio Window to display about 8 bars per screen.
This button zooms to the sample level so that you can see the actual sine waves present. The
[100%] button restores the wave view.
This setting allows you to select audio by snapping to a 16th note (or a triplet in swing styles).
This button plays the selected area, and then stops. The other instruments are all muted;
you just hear the audio.
This button selects the whole track, useful for applying one of the built-in audio plug-ins.

Non-Destructive Audio Track Editing
The changes you make to the audio track are non-destructive and only become permanent if you save the file.
If you have a song file called MySong.MGU, the audio track is stored in a MySong.WAV file. If you are editing the
audio, the edits are now made to a temporary WAV file called TEMPMAIN.WAV, and not to MySong.WAV. If

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you save the song, the changes get written to the MySong.WAV audio file, but if you don’t save, the original file is
preserved.

Audio Harmonies
You can apply a harmony to the audio part – allowing you to automatically create up to 4-part vocal harmonies from
your singing. And don’t worry if your singing is not in perfect tune, Band-in-a-Box can “fix” vocals to the correct
pitch - automatically! Simply record your vocal part, choose a harmony, and Band-in-a-Box will generate the vocal
harmony part for you using the world-leading TC-Helicon Vocal Technologies engine.
Once you have recorded a vocal part into Band-in-a-Box, you can use this feature in many ways, including:
- Record yourself singing into a Band-in-a-Box file. Create a vocal harmony for part or all of the song by
selecting a Band-in-a-Box harmony and choosing the Generate Audio Harmony option. You can now hear
yourself singing in perfect harmony!
- Did you hit a few “out-of-tune” notes when you recorded your singing to Band-in-a-Box? Fixing your “out-oftune” singing is easy, by instructing the program to correct the pitches to the Melody track.

Audio Harmonies Tutorial
Note: All of the demo songs are located in the Tutorial - Audio Harmonies folder in the Band-in-a-Box (C:\bb) folder.

Let’s load in the song “Listen.MGU.”
First off, play the song “Listen” – it has an audio track, so you’ll be hearing a male vocal track lasting about 16 bars
(since WAV files are big, we only include a small 16 bar sample of the WAV file).
We’re going to apply some audio harmony to this “Listen” demo.
Since any edits we save to the audio WAV file are permanent, we want to make sure that we keep a copy of the
original file around that is unaltered.
Save a copy of the song as “Listen 4 Part Harmony.”
Press the [Save As] button, and choose a name of “Listen 4 part harmony.” We will now be working
with this file, so our original Listen file won’t be affected.
Choose menu item Harmony | Audio Harmonies & Pitch Tracking. You’ll see the Generate Audio Harmonies
dialog.

In this dialog, there are 3 types of harmony that we can choose from:
1. Melody Pitch Tracking only (this would change the pitch of our singing to the correct pitches found on the
MIDI Melody track).
2. Harmonize to the MIDI Melody. This applies a 1-4 part audio harmony – turning your singing track into a
harmony singing quartet.
3. Harmonize to the chords of the song. If your song doesn’t have a MIDI melody, you can still create a vocal
harmony, based only on the chords of the song.
Let’s harmonize to the MIDI melody, so choose the radio button with that title.

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Then select Harmony type “131 Four Freshmen 4 part
Vocal Harmony.”
This is a 4 part harmony that includes the melody, and one of the voices is above the melody.
Since we want to harmonize the entire song, choose “Whole Song.” The output can be mono
or stereo. Since we’re making a 4-part harmony, and we want to hear the voices panned across
our stereo speakers, we choose STEREO here.
We want Band-in-a-Box to play our files directly, and since Band-in-aBox plays only one WAV file at a time, we won’t be exporting the
4 voices as separate WAV files, and we don’t select the “Output (Export) as separate WAV file” option.
Press OK, and this launches the TC Helicon Harmony dialog, which lets you control the sound of
your harmonies.

Let’s examine the various sliders on this dialog, as they apply to our “Listen 4 part Harmony” File.
The “Dry Voice Level” slider is the level of our original voice. We can make the harmony to include more of our
original voice by raising this slider. Set it half way up (to 12dB).
The 4 columns labeled Melody, Voice 2, Voice 3, and Voice 4- 8va are the 4 part MIDI harmony that will be
transformed to an audio harmony using our original voice. The “8va” tells you that Voice 4 will be above the
melody.
Each of the voices have sliders for “Level” (loudness) and “Gender.” The “Gender” slider makes the voice sound
like a male or female (raise the slider to make it more female). Higher pitches of harmony should have a female
gender applied. Make the settings as in the picture above.
The Octave is an important setting that controls the overall octave of ALL the generated harmonies. If the harmony
generated is too high, lower the octave setting here.

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Try out the preview with the octave on 0, and then again on –1, you’ll hear all of the voices an octave lower on the –
1 setting. Leave it at 0 for this demo.
There are 3 Humanization settings (timing, pitch, and portamento) that affect the sounds of the individual voices.
Timing controls how “tight” the group sounds, with a setting of zero being perfectly synced start/stop times. Let’s
set it to about 20, to give some natural looseness to the group.
Pitch controls how steady the pitch will be. If set to zero the pitch will be exactly the MIDI pitch, if set higher, the
pitch will vary up/down with the original WAV file.
Portamento controls how fast the pitch will change from one pitch to another. Settings above zero give smooth
transition from one pitch to another.
Pitch Styles
When you generate audio harmonies to your recorded vocal tracks, you can select Pitch Styles to add vibrato and
scooping effects to the vocal harmonies. There is a drop down combo list at the bottom of each voice. You can
choose a type of “pitch effect” (combination of vibrato and scooping) called a Pitch Style to be applied to each
harmony voice.
In the example screenshot, we have chosen “Crooner,” “Lite Jazz,” “Lounge,” and “Head Voice” – somewhat
similar vibrato types, but different for each harmony voice.
The Pitch Styles are especially useful for harmonies generated from MIDI tracks, because these lack any vibrato.
Now by applying these pitch effects, you can get a natural sounding vibrato for these harmonies.
Now let’s preview our harmonies! Press the [PREVIEW] button, and after a 5-10 second delay, you’ll
hear a 10 second sample of the harmony. Once you hear it, you can tweak the settings, for example:
-

make the original voice louder by increasing the Dry Voice Level slider.
to make the individual harmony voices louder, increase their sliders.
to change the stereo separation, change the Pan sliders
to make the group more “loose” sounding, increase the Timing slider
to make the pitches and pitch-transitions more human, increase the Pitch and Portamento sliders
change the whole Octave of all of the harmonies with the octave slider.
If you’d like to get more help on-line about the settings, inside the dialog press the Help button and then
click anywhere in the dialog.

This launches the Band-in-a-Box Help file with more information.
When you are happy with the settings, press the [GENERATE] button. This generates a harmony for the complete
song (takes about 20 seconds for “Listen” depending on your CPU speed).
The dialog then exits, and your song is ready to play in Band-in-a-Box.
Band-in-a-Box gives you a confirmation message that the audio harmony has been created.
Tip: When playing back the harmonies, mute the MIDI melody (right click on Melody part at the top of the screen or Alt+9).

If you want to hear what the harmonies should sound like – we have included a completed version of “Listen 4 part
harmony.MP3” and this is included on the “c:\bb\Tutorial - Audio Harmonies” folder.
Melody Pitch Tracking
Now let’s use the Audio Harmonies for a different purpose, to “fix” pitches that may be out of tune, or to change
some pitches to more interesting notes.
For this, reload the song Listen.MGU. Now resave it by [Save As] and give it the name “Listen Pitch
Tracking.MGU.” Now, we’re going to change some notes of the MIDI melody. Open the notation, and
change the pitch of the D note at the end of bar 2 to an E. Also change the ‘B’ at bar 7 to a ‘G’ below it.
At bar 10, change the ‘E’ note to a C#.

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Now, choose Harmonies – Audio Harmonies, and select “Melody
Pitch Tracking” and press OK to again launch the TC-Helicon
Harmony Dialog. Now, we’re going to be changing the vocal track
into a different vocal track that instead is matching the pitches of the
MIDI melody (without any harmony).
So the dialog reflects this, by only showing one of the columns with a track name, and it is “Melody (BB).”
For this one, we should leave the original voice at ZERO (so we don’t hear any of it), and put some humanization
settings as shown.
Now try the [PREVIEW] button. You’ll hear that the harmony is ONE OCTAVE TOO HIGH. This is because the
MIDI melody is one octave higher than the vocal track (males sing in the bass clef!). No problem, just adjust the
Octave setting to –1, and try the preview again.
You’ll hear what sounds like the original voice, except you’ll notice that the pitch is fixed to perfectly in tune, and
some of the notes are changed in pitches (the ones we changed above, for example the E note on end of bar 2). Now
press [GENERATE] to hear this whole song.
If you want to hear what the pitch tracking final file should sound like – we have included a completed version of
“Listen Pitch Tracking.MP3” in the “c:\bb\Tutorial - Audio Harmonies” folder. (Play this file from Explorer by
double clicking on it.) Your tutorial example should sound very close to this.
Chordal Harmony
For the last example on “Listen,” we’ll do an example of the “Chordal Harmony.” This is a 4 part harmony based
only on the chords, when we don’t have a MIDI melody available.
Load in Listen.MGU. Save the file as “Listen – Chordal Harmony.MGU.” Now erase the Melody (just to convince
yourself that the Melody is not going to be used). Melody-Edit-Kill Entire Melody. Now choose Harmony-Audio
Harmonies to open the dialog, and then choose Chordal Harmonies.
You’ll see that the only harmony type available will be the Chordal Harmony, because there is no Melody available.

You can choose many different harmony variations, such as Four Above, or Three above etc. Let’s choose Four
Above. This will give us 4 harmony voices above our original melody. We want to include the original vocal track
as well, so we will mix the “dry voice level” up into the mix. Make the settings as shown in this dialog, and press
[PREVIEW], and then [GENERATE].
Playback this demo song, and also play the included “Listen Chordal Harmony.MP3” file – your file should sound
similar.
Unison Harmonies
Unison harmonies are available for the Chordal harmony. For example, if you recording a vocal track, and then
choose Chordal Harmony (i.e. “Harmonize to the Chords of the Song”), you can then choose a new preset called “1
Unison, 2 Down, 1 Up.”
This will give you 4 harmonies, and one of them will be a unison harmony doubling your voice. You can assign
specific vibrato and other settings to the unison voice so that it sounds slightly different than your own, creating a
“fattening” effect to your voice.

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Choir Effect
In the TC-Helicon dialog, you can select a choir effect, from
none/small/medium/large. A “large” choir effect makes each voice sound
like 4 people singing, so if you use a 4 voice harmony, you will hear the
effect as if 16 people are singing.

Audio Harmonies Pitch Styles (automatic “Vibrato” and “Scooping”)
When you generate audio harmonies to your recorded vocal tracks, you can select Pitch Styles, which adds vibrato
and scooping effects to the vocal harmonies. Choose from many vibrato/pitch presets, including “Ballad,”
“Broadway,” “Pop Diva” and more!
When you launch the TC-Helicon Audio Harmony dialog, you can see that there is a new drop down combo list at
the bottom of each voice. You can choose a type of “pitch effect” (combination of vibrato and scooping) called a
Pitch Style to be applied to each harmony voice. In the example screenshot, we have chosen “Natural Vibrato,”
“Ballad,” “Broadway,” and “Crooner” – different vibrato types for each harmony voice.
The Pitch Styles are especially useful for harmonies generated from MIDI tracks, because these lack any vibrato.
Now by applying these pitch effects, you can get a natural sounding vibrato for these harmonies.

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Pitch Styles Preset Details (one per voice)
Each of the four voice banks has a Pitch Styles preset selection list. This control allows pitch scooping and vibrato
effects to be added to the harmony voices. These effects can be used to increase the naturalness of vocals processed
by melody pitch tracking, produce a more polished, professional sound in the harmonies, and even to create strange
special effects. (Have you ever harmonized with a flock of sheep?)
The following table provides a list of the presets, as well as descriptions to help you decide when to use them.
Style Name

Description

1 B Natural Vibrato

This is a very subtle vibrato along with pitch effect that causes the harmony voice
to slightly scoop up into some notes, making it seem more distinct from the lead
voice.

2 Ballad Rock Vibrato

A Rock vibrato typically used in slower pieces.

3 Broadway Vibrato

The classic vibrato of the New York Show-Tune sound.

4 Classic Rock Vibrato

Classic Rock - A rich and potent sound.

5 Crooner Vibrato

The classic sound of the Las Vegas entertainers.

6 Deep Jazz Vibrato

Reminiscent of the great Jazz singers of the 1950s.

7 Discreet Vibrato

A very light vibrato.

8 Folk Vibrato

A warm and pleasant vibrato.

9 Funk Vibrato

An energetic sound from the 70s.

10 Head Voice Vibrato

A very resonant vibrato, using pitch and amplitude modulation.

11 Hi Energy Vibrato

A fast vibrato.

12 Lite Jazz Vibrato

A lighter Jazz sound.

13 Lounge Vibrato

The bold and big sound of the lounge entertainer.

14 Mellow Folk Vibrato

A sweet, mellow sound.

15 Mellow Pop Vibrato

Light accents to a Pop vocal.

16 Nervous Tremolo Vibrato

A very fast, “nervous,” and choppy vibrato.

17 Opera Tenor Vibrato

The sound of a Classical Tenor singer.

18 Tenor Delayed Vibrato

A Classical tenor sound with a delayed onset. Better for slow songs.

19 Pop Diva Vibrato

The sound heard on many hit Pop recordings.

20 Pop Diva XT Vibrato

A thicker and fuller Pop Diva vibrato, with a faster onset time.

21 R&B Vibrato

Vibrato from another Pop music culture - Rhythm and Blues.

22 Slow Ballad Vibrato

A style typical of slow Pop ballads of the 1970s. Use this on slow songs only

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because the vibrato isn’t triggered on short notes.
23 Slow Gospel Vibrato

The big sound of the southern US Gospel singer.

24 Smooth Pop Vibrato

A smoother Pop vibrato.

25 Soprano Vibrato

The vibrato sound of a Classical soprano.

26 Tremolo Vibrato

No pitch modulation, just amplitude modulation.

27 Warm Vibe Vibrato

A warm and quick vibrato sound.

28 Memphis Scoop Vibrato

A style typical in ballads of a certain singer from Memphis. Long scoops into some
notes, and a strong, slow vibrato.

29 Changing Scoop Vibrato

A style typical of a certain tambourine man. This one works best on slow songs if
you just speak the lyrics without singing them!

30 Country Scoop Vibrato

A style that mimics that Country “flip” sound on note onsets.

31 Jungle Vibrato

Special Effect. The sound of the jungle-man.

32 Landing Vibrato

Special Effect. The sound of a close encounter with a spaceship landing.

33 Motorbike Vibrato

Special Effect. A motorcycle-like sound.

34 Nervous Vibrato

Special Effect. An agitated, uneasy sound.

35 Sheep Vibrato

Special Effect. The likeness of sheep bleating in the field.

36 Siren Vibrato

Special Effect. The sound of a North American emergency vehicle.

37 Slicer Vibrato

Special Effect. A choppy alternative to a standard vibrato.

38 UFO Vibrato

Special Effect. The sound of your science-fiction imagination

Applying Audio Plug-Ins
When you've recorded audio, you'd likely want to apply some type of effect to the audio recorded. The usual one is
reverb. Choose the audio plug-in that you want from the Audio | Plugin menu. For reverb, choose the Reverb
option. You'll then see a plug-in with its own settings, specific to the type of plug-in.
Inside the plug-in, you can preview the plug-in effect, and if you like it you can then proceed with processing the
entire .WAV file. You can undo the affects of any plug-in by choosing Edit | Undo.

Direct-X or VST Plug-ins
You can apply your favorite DirectX or VST plug-in to the digital audio track. To process a WAV track with a
DirectX or VST plug-in, choose Audio | Plugin | DirectX Audio plugins.

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Important! This feature requires that you have Microsoft DirectX installed. You can download the latest version of
Microsoft DirectX from www.microsoft.com.

Real time DirectX or VST Audio Plug-ins
You can real time-process the Band-in-a-Box audio track using DirectX or VST Audio plug-ins. This is useful to
“non-destructively” apply EQ, Echo, Reverb, Dynamics, and other effects to a Band-in-a-Box audio track.
The advantage of real time processing is that you can set effects today, and if you decide you don’t like the effects
tomorrow, the settings can be easily changed, since the real time effects did not permanently affect your audio track
on the hard disk.
To use real time DirectX or VST audio plug-ins, open the Band-in-a-Box Audio Settings dialog with the
Preferences [Audio] buttons.
Check “Use Realtime DX Audio Plugins” to enable this feature.
DX/VST audio plug-ins are not enabled by default, in case an older/slower
computer might have trouble with DirectX. If your computer misbehaves with DX/VST audio plug-ins, simply
make sure this option is unchecked.
DirectX or VST audio plug-ins and DXi/VSTi synthesizer plug-ins can have playback latency (the delay between
when a note is played, and when a note is heard).
Adjust “Audio Latency in mS” to fine-tune for your computer. If you have a fast computer and excellent sound
card, the audio latency can be adjusted rather low. However, if you hear audio dropouts, you can set the latency as
high as 2000 milliseconds.
Playback timing is equally good with long or short latency. But with longer-than-necessary latency, you have to
wait awhile before hearing playback begin, and there is a noticeable delay if you adjust DX plug-in settings during
playback.
To edit DX plug-ins, click the [Edit Plugin Settings…] button.

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The Edit radio buttons let you chose which of the four in-line effects to edit.
The Bypass checkboxes let you bypass any of the four effects in a group.
In the above picture, four DX plug-ins are applied to the Band-in-a-Box audio track. First, PG Dynamics to balance
input levels, PG Ten Band EQ for tone polishing, PG Reverb to add ambiance, and PG Peak Limit to boost and
level the amplitude.
The [Load Group] and [Save Group] buttons let you load and save the effects settings for the currently selected
track.
The [Load Preset] and [Save Preset] buttons let you save and load presets for the current effect (such as PG
Reverb).
The [Delete Preset] button lets you remove a preset from the list of already saved presets.
The [Options] button brings up DX/VST Options (useful utility functions you may occasionally need).

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The [Edit DX Exclusion List] button lets you edit the list of plug-ins to include or exclude in the DirectX editor.
This is useful if you have plug-ins installed, which are not compatible with Band-in-a-Box. If you edit the exclusion
list, you’ll see a dialog box with the left side displaying the included plug-ins and the right side displaying the
excluded plug-ins:

The [<] button lets you move a plug-in from the excluded list to the included list. The [>] button lets you move a
plug-in from the included to the excluded list.
The [Scan for New Plugins] button will re-scan for newly installed plug-ins. Use this option if you have installed a
new plug-in since starting Band-in-a-Box.
The [Register a New Plugin] button can register a plug-in with Windows, so that audio applications such as Bandin-a-Box or PowerTracks can use the plug-in. Most DX plug-in installers register themselves, but this option is
useful if you have a plug-in that doesn’t automatically register itself.
The [Un-Register a Plugin] button removes a plug-in from Windows so it will no longer be available. Many DX
plug-ins have uninstallers that automatically unregister, but this option is useful to remove plug-ins that do not have
uninstallers. This function does not delete a plug-in from your hard drive. It only removes it from the Windows
registry so that is can’t be used.

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The [Run DirectX Diagnostic Tool] button runs the Microsoft Direct X Diagnostic Tool. This is a Microsoft
program, which checks for problems with DirectX.
[Remove VST Plugin (from list)…] opens a separate list where you can remove VST or VSTi plug-ins.
NOTE: The number of real time effects that you can expect to activate at a time without stressing the system depends on
the speed of your computer. The more effects you chain together, the more CPU power will be required. For example, only
an EQ plug-in will require less CPU power than a chain of four effects such as (Compressor – EQ – Chorus – Reverb).
Today, computers are usually fast enough to support full chains of effects on both the Audio Track and the DXi Synthesizer.

Reading the Audio and MIDI tracks into other programs
If you have a Band-in-a-Box song that has an audio track as well, and want to export that song to a sequencer like
PowerTracks Pro Audio, follow these steps:
For a song called MYSONG.MGU, the associated .WAV file (audio track) will be called MYSONG.WAV.
You should make a MIDI file (by pressing the .MID button). Save the .MID in the same folder as the song.
Then your sequencer can read the entire file by doing the following inside your sequencer:
Open the MIDI file.
Import the .WAV file track into the sequence.
Tip: PowerTracks Pro Audio recognizes that this is a Band-in-a-Box file with a wave file associated with it, and will offer to
read them both in. In earlier versions of PowerTracks Pro and other sequencers you'll need to follow the steps above.

RealTracks
What are RealTracks?
With the previous release of Band-in-a-Box, we added RealDrums. Now we’ve added three additional “Real”
instruments, including RealPedalSteel, RealAcousticGuitar, and RealSax soloing (tenor sax). 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, and
would replace the Bass, Guitar, Piano, or Strings part, or they can be generated to the Soloist (or Melody) track
using the Soloist feature.
There is a RealTracks button on the toolbar. The RealTracks Settings dialog lets you control the
RealTracks.

This dialog can also be accessed by selecting the [RealTracks] button from the
Preferences window.
There are three ways that you can use RealTracks with Band-in-a-Box.
1.

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RealStyles. These are Band-in-a-Box styles (.STY) that have at least one RealTrack. For example the
style called “=GeorgeP.sty” is a RealStyle because it uses RealPedalSteel for the Strings part, as well as
other instruments (MIDI bass, MIDI piano, MIDI guitar, RealDrums).
Technical note: You can add a RealTrack to an existing style in the StyleMaker, using [Misc] [More] “Assign RealTracks to
style.” The RealTracks gets generated on one of the Band-in-a-Box style tracks (Piano, Guitar, or Strings).

We include 3 RealTracks with Band-in-a-Box Pro
4.

RealAcousticGuitar. This is also suitable for slow ballads, tempo about 85. It features a strumming
Acoustic Guitar, and can be used as a Soloist (#362) or in a style (on the Guitar part).

More RealTracks are available as add-ons, or included in the Band-in-a-Box MegaPAK, SuperPAK, and UltraPAK..

Using RealTracks in Songs
Assign RealTracks to Track dialog.
This dialog assigns a RealTracks instrument to any of the Band-in-a-Box instrumental tracks. It also shows any
RealTracks that are assigned to Band-in-a-Box tracks.

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This dialog is launched by
3. Right-clicking on an instrument name at the top of the Band-in-a-Box main screen and choosing
Add/Remove RealTracks in the menu.

- or 4. Press the [Assign to Track…] Button in the RealTracks Settings dialog.

To use the dialog, first select the track that you want to assign. Then, select the RealTracks that you want in the list
below it.
The list can be sorted by columns.
The “None” button sets the current track to no RealTracks assigned for the song. The Clear
All button sets ALL tracks to no RealTracks assigned for the song.

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Disable RealTracks for this track. Select this track if you
want to have no RealTracks instrument for this track, even if the Style specifies a RealTracks.
Defaults sets the dialog to default values
Settings launches the RealTracks Settings dialog.
The “Save Style” button saves the current style, but with RealTracks assigned to the style equal to
the current song’s RealTracks. The volumes used in the style will match the volumes set on the main screen in
Band-in-a-Box (compared to a default of 90). For example, if you set the bass volume to 40, the Style will be saved
with a negative decibel (dB) setting, so that it will playback at a quieter volume (when all volumes are set to 90)
Preview and + button plays a short WMA file demo of the currently selected RealTracks,
without affecting the currently loaded song in Band-in-a-Box. The Preview button plays a solo file, and the + button
plays a file in context with a band.
Show RealTracks that are N/A. Since RealTracks are add-on purchases for Bandin-a-Box, your version may not contain all RealTracks. Selecting the checkbox will show you all available
RealTracks.
Tip: Opt. | What add-ons do I have? will tell you what RealTracks sets that you have.

Show RealTracks Variations. Some RealTracks have variations available, such as
the Acoustic Jazz Bass. It has variations that play in ‘2’ only, in ‘4’ only, or in ‘2’and ‘4’ (for ‘a’ and ‘b’ substyle).
Normally you will want to see available variations.

A filter is available. Type a filter text, (e.g. bass) and press UPDATE, and
you will then see the list filtered to show only RealTracks that have the word bass somewhere in the title, memo,
genre etc. Pressing SHOW ALL, will cancel the filter, and show all RealTracks again.
Generate Track will generate a RealTracks instrument on the currently selected track.
Close will close the dialog, and assign the RealTracks instrument to the current track, and then when
play is pressed, the RealTrack will generate.

Using RealTracks in Styles.
For this discussion, we will assume that we are using RealPedalSteel, in the style “=GeorgeP.sty.”
Note: We use this naming convention for Real Styles. This is optional.
The first letter of “=“ indicates that at least one instrument is a RealTrack.
The last letter(s) indicate(s) which instrument it is.
“P”= Pedal Steel, “G”=Guitar, “PG”=Pedal Steel and Guitar.
So the name “=GeorgeP.sty” tells you that it is a style called George, that has RealPedalSteel. The MIDI tracks will be the
same as another country style that we have called C_George.STY

Load in the song c:\bb\Tutorial BB2008\=GeorgeP.mgu

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You will see that the Strings part at the top of the screen is highlighted in green. That indicates that
this is a RealTrack.

To play the song, just press [Play]. You’ll then hear pedal steel guitar on the String part.
You can adjust the volume of the pedal steel part with the Volume control for the String part, just as
with any Band-in-a-Box part, or mute it by right clicking on the String part.
Note: The RealTrack can optionally be generated on the Piano, Guitar, or Strings parts in a Band-in-a-Box style.

Finding all styles that have RealTracks.
Open the StylePicker and locate the category called RealTracks styles. It will list any styles that are
present that include RealTracks.

Using RealTracks in Solos.
Press the Soloist button (Shift+F4) and launch the Select Soloist dialog. Get to Soloists in the range 361363. You can do that either by:

1.
2.

Typing 361 and pressing [Go To #].
Choosing Favorites will allow you to return to a recently chosen Soloist

Choose the Genre “RealSax” from the list of Genres to
see all available Soloists that use RealSax.

As with other Soloists, press the [All Solo] button to make sure that the Soloist will be generated for
all choruses, or “Melody and Solo” if you just want the Soloist for a certain chorus.

Configuring Real Tracks - RealTracks Settings Dialog
The RealTracks styles are stored in c:\bb\RealTracks (assuming that c:\bb is your Band-in-a-Box folder). You can
choose an alternate location, in the Preferences [RealTracks] dialog. You don’t need to visit this folder when
using RealTracks; it is used internally by Band-in-a-Box. So you shouldn’t add or remove files from this
RealTracks folder, unless you are sure of what you’re doing.

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The RealTracks settings dialog also allows you to Enable/Disable the
RealTracks feature, and apply an overall Global Volume Adjust to the RealTracks. If they are too loud generally,
set a Global Volume Adjust of about -10 dB.
The installation routine for Band-in-a-Box usually installs (decompresses) the audio files to WAV
files. But if you decided not to decompress them at install time, you can press the Install button to complete that
process.

Saving Your RealTracks
The RealTracks performance is not saved with the Band-in-a-Box MGU file. This is because the Band-in-a-Box
MGU file only contains chords/melody/lyrics (and an optional audio track WAV file)

As with other MIDI Band-in-a-Box parts and RealDrums, the RealTracks can be saved by
Rendering the performance to a WAV file, or
-

separate WAV files.

Technical Tip: If you want to permanently attach a RealTracks WAV file to a MySong.MGU song, you could render
to separate WAV files, and then rename the RealTracks WAV file to MySong.WAV. Then the RealTracks will be
on the Audio track.
Are other RealTracks available?
Currently there are forty-seven RealTracks available for Country, Jazz, Rock and Metal. We are making more.
Check www.pgmusic.com for details of availability.

Rendering Audio Files
Direct-to-Disk Audio Rendering
Audio rendering means converting a MIDI song to audio format, usually to a WAV file. Press the
[.WAV] button on the main Band-in-a-Box screen to launch the Render to Audio File dialog.

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This shows the directory where the rendered wave file will be saved. You can use the [Choose]
button to specify the directory for the rendered wave file, but remember that the file chosen must
reside in the same directory as the current one.
If you have selected a DXi synthesizer for your MIDI
output in the Opt. | MIDI Driver Setup dialog, one click
on [DXi - Direct Render] will quickly convert your song
to a .WAV file, normally in a few seconds. You can direct render to audio as separate tracks. If this option is
chosen, separate WAV files get written (mono or stereo) for each track (names MySong_Bass.WAV,
MySong_Drums.WAV, etc.) so you can import tracks to your favorite sequencer as audio files. For direct
rendering, you can also choose whether you want the output file to be mono or stereo.

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Batch convert a folder of songs to audio files (MP3, WAV, or WMA).
Do you need to convert an entire folder of Band-in-a-Box songs to audio files? This can be done easily by a single
command with an option to name the resultant audio files based either on the original file name or the song title
name.
Press the [Batch] button to Batch create audio files.

Select the folder that you want to use (e.g. C:\bb\my songs).

Add a suffix for each file name.
For example, if the suffix is _Demo, then MySong.MGU will
render as MySong_Demo.WAV)

Choose whether you want the filenames to be based on the filename or the song title.

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Select the file type for the output file from the “Audio File
Type” group box.
When rendering to WMA or MP3 files there is an option to
also write WAV files.
Note: For rendering MP3 files the program uses whatever
MP3 codec and bit rate you already have installed in
Windows.

Option added to reset the DXi synth after each render. This insures that no audio
(stuck notes etc.) from previous file is retained.
Press the “Go” button to render all of the Band-in-a-Box files in the folder to the
selected audio format.
There is a [Cancel] button in the Batch Rendering screen.
This button renders the file to a 44K stereo wave
file by real time recording of the MIDI output. See the Real Time Rendering topic.
Once the wave file is rendered is can be converted to Windows Media format, or to other compressed formats like
MP3 if you have the necessary codec present in your system. Or you can burn the .WAV to an audio CD and play it
in any CD player. Use the “Test” button to check the converted file.
Note: For rendering MP3 files the program uses whatever MP3 codec and bit rate you already have installed in Windows
XP.

Direct rendering to in a single step using your Roland VSC DXi (or other DXi/VSTi synth) is possible if you have
an MP3 codec on your system.

If you are not using a DXi synthesizer, you can do high quality audio rendering by using the Roland VSC3 software
synthesizer, included with Band-in-a-Box.

The file is saved using the high quality Virtual Sound Canvas sound
set powered by the included Roland VSC3. To render with the
Roland VSC3, make sure that you have installed the Roland VSC3.
If you have installed the Roland VSC3, you'll see it listed as one of
the output drivers when you choose Opt. | MIDI driver setup.
You don't have to select the Roland VSC as your MIDI Output
driver to use the VSC3 for rendering; you just need to have installed
the driver.
Press the [Render (Save WAV) w/Roland VSC3] button to launch the Roland VSC3 Virtual Sound Canvas. You'll
see the two panes of the Roland VSC3.
If you only see one of the panes, then you need to open up the “Player” section by pressing the
[Player] button. You’ll see that the MIDI file is already prepared and ready to convert to a WAV file.

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Press the [AUDIO-CONV] button, and then choose the location and name for the WAV file to save. We
suggest that you name the files with the suffix _VSC3, so that if your song is called “Violet Song” then you
could name it Violet Song_VSC3.WAV, but of course you can call it anything you want.
Tip: If your song uses GM2 patches you need to turn on GM2 in the VSC3.

The WAV file will then be saved as a 44K stereo wave file in a matter of seconds. You can choose a different
conversion rate by pressing the Setup – Audio Conversion Rate.
Launches the rendering Help file.
If you are not sure if you have installed the VSC click on this button to find it on your hard
drive.
After the VSC wave file has been rendered, you can merge the recorded Band-in-a-Box audio
track with the rendered wave file.
Once you've saved the WAV file, you can test it by pressing the [Test WAV] button.
You can then convert the file to a .WMA file (Windows Media File), by
pressing the[Convert any WAV to WMA…] button.
You can then select compression rates so that your file could stream on typical dial-up web modem speed.
You could then convert your song to a CD audio recording by pressing the [Burn to CD]
button.
Rendering Options

Merge in Audio Track
Rendering of songs to .WAV files always includes the MIDI tracks. If this option is checked, the audio track will be
merged with the MIDI tracks in the wave file.
Use “Adjust Audio Track volume by” a number of dBs to balance the audio track with the level of the rendered
MIDI tracks. A setting of 6 dB is double the volume, -6 dB is half the volume.
Include 2 bar lead-in
If this is not checked, and there is no Melody track lead-in, the 2 bar lead-in will be skipped in the rendered file.
Include Drum Count-in sound
If this is set the drum count-in will be included in the rendered WAV file.
Delay at start (seconds) will include enough silence at the start of the rendered wave file for a space between tracks
when creating audio CDs.
Delay at end (seconds) will insert extra time at the end of the song.

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Real Time Audio Rendering
The process of converting a MIDI file performance in Band-in-a-Box into an audio wave file is referred to as
“rendering.” It involves recording the real time MIDI performance as a stereo .WAV file.
Pressing this button or choosing the menu item
Audio | Render MIDI to Stereo .WAV file etc… enables you to render a MIDI file into an audio .WAV file. Use this
feature if you do not want to direct render with the Roland VSC3, for instance you might want to record the audio
output of your synthesizer or sound module.
Note: This button is not visible when “Use DXi Synth” is selected for MIDI Output.

The process differs from usual audio recording, in that you aren't recording from an input source of a Microphone or
Line-In, but instead are recording the OUTPUT of the MIDI as it goes out your sound card to your speakers.
Note: If you use an external MIDI module as your driver, then you would be recording from the Line Out of the external module
to the Line-In of the sound card.

These selections are done from the Recording panel of your Windows sound card mixer. This is launched
with the [Set Recording Properties…] button.
If you use your sound card as your MIDI driver …
It is essential that when you render the file, you have selected the correct inputs, and are recording the outgoing
MIDI, and not recording the Mic or Line-In.
If you use an external MIDI module as your MIDI Driver …
You should connect a cable from the audio Line Out of the MIDI module (like Sound Canvas) to the Line-In on the
sound card, and then deselect the recording of the rest of the inputs (Audio CD, Microphone, MIDI, Wave, etc.).
Rendering is a 3 step process:
It's quickest to do this with a small sample of the wave file. Once you have the volume mixed properly, you can
record (render) the whole file. This process takes as long as the song takes to play in real time, typically 3-4
minutes.
1. Set Recording Properties
Set the inputs to record your outgoing MIDI. This would be MIDI if you use a sound card for MIDI, and LineIn for an external module.
2. Render the song
Press the [(Re)-Render to WAV File…] button and wait as the song is recorded (rendered) in real time.When
you press the render button, a dialog will pop up indicating that the rendering is proceeding. You can STOP
this at any time, and if you stop it early, you'll be able to listen to the portion of the file rendered.

When rendering is finished, the name and size of the saved file will be displayed at the top of the Render to

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Audio File dialog.

Test the file.
You can then use the [Test WAV] button to test the WAV file. For testing, Band-in-a-Box uses Windows
Media Player (MPLAYER.EXE) to play the wave file, compressing the WAV file using the Windows Audio
Compression Manager (ACM Drivers).

Using the Audio Rendered Stereo .WAV file with other programs.
In our example we rendered a stereo 44K wave file. To read this file directly into other programs such as Windows
Media Player you would choose File | Open. Most audio programs have a similar ability to read a 44.1K stereo
.WAV file.
Saving in other audio formats
When you choose this option, Band-in-a-Box will launch the
Windows Audio Compression Manager.
From this dialog, you can choose the type of
compression that is appropriate (from the
available installed codecs). You can save your
settings as named presets by using the [Save
As] button.

Saving as Windows Media File
Band-in-a-Box has enhanced audio support for saving in Windows Media Player format. Once you've saved a
WAV file, you can compress the file for Internet use, using the Windows Media Player audio format (.WMA).
Press the [Save in Windows Media format (WMA)…]
button to save your Band-in-a-Box song as a Windows Media Audio file. This renders the file to a stereo WAV file,
and then launches the Convert to WMA/ASF dialog.

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There are options to save the file to a specific file name and destination folder, select a resolution (quality) for the
file, and even a space to fill in the appropriate Title, Author, Copyright, and Song Description credits. This
information will be embedded into the WMA file and will be viewable when the file is played in an appropriate
media player.

Burn your own Audio-CD
Press the [Burn to Audio CD] button to launch the
MiniBurn program and burn your wave file to a CD, which will then play in a standard CD player.
Note: Any CD you create won't be playable in an Audio CD player until the disc is finalized. Therefore, if you choose [Burn
CD - No Finalize] make sure that when you burn the CD for the last time the disc is finalized.

If launched from Band-in-a-Box, the current BIAB song has automatically been added to the Burn List. If MiniBurn
is running standalone, you must add Wave files to the Burn List.
Burn List
Burn list files are displayed in MiniBurn’s central file list region.
Column 1- Track Number
Column 2- Path and name of Wave files
Column 3- Play time of each Track, formatted in minutes:seconds:frames

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Burn Time indicates the sum of all the burn list track times.
Avail Time indicates the time available on the blank CD-R in the CD Burner. If no disc has been inserted, Avail
Time reads “No Disc.” If an unwritable disc has been inserted (CD-ROM disc or already-finalized CD-R, CD-RW),
Avail Time reads “UnWritable.”
Add Files to the Burn List
Wave files can be added three ways:
1.

Use the menu item File/Add Track…

Right-click on the Burn List and select “Add Track” from the pop-up menu.

Drag wave files into the MiniBurn window from an open Windows folder view.

Note: Only Wave files are accepted, and Wave files must be 16 bit stereo, 44.1 K sample rate (the standard format for
Audio CDs).

Remove Files from the Burn List
Files can be removed two ways:
1.

Left-click to select a track, then use the menu item File | Remove Selected Track.

Left-click to select a track, then right-click on the Burn List and pick “Remove Track” from the pop-up
menu.

Clear All Files from the Burn List
The list can be cleared two ways:
1.

Use the menu item File | Clear All Tracks From Burn List.

Right-click on the Burn List and select “Clear All Tracks” from the pop-up menu.

Change the Order of Tracks in the Burn List
Left-click on the “Trk” column of the file you wish to move, and drag the file to a new location in the list.

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Audition Tracks in the Burn List
Left-click to select a track in the Burn List, then right-click and pick “Play Selected File” from the pop-up menu.
To stop playback, right-click the Burn List and pick “Stop” from the pop-up menu.
It is not necessary to stop a wave file before playing a new wave file. It is not necessary to stop playback before
burning. Playback stops automatically before burning begins.
Burner Controls
Eject: Open the drive tray using the menu item CD Recorder | Eject. Of course you can also press the eject button
on the CD drive.
Close the Drive Tray: Close the drive tray using the menu item CD Recorder | Close Tray. You can also press the
eject button on the CD drive, or gently push the drive tray to close it. Some manufacturers advise against closing the
tray with a push.
Select a Burner
If the computer contains multiple burners, select a drive with the Burner drop-down menu. If a computer doesn’t
have any supported drives, the Burner menu will be empty and burning is not possible.
Set the Burn Rate
MiniBurn automatically selects the fastest rate reported by your drive. It is typical to use the fastest rate, unless you
know from previous experience that your computer doesn’t burn well at high speed. In that case, set a slower burn
rate to ensure a good burn.
Test Mode Checkbox (Simulate Burn)
To test the CD Burner without actually writing a CD, turn on the Test Mode checkbox. After your PC has “proven
itself” with a couple of good burns, routine testing is not necessary.
Cache Files Checkbox
If Cache Files is turned ON, MiniBurn writes an encoded temporary file before burning the CD. Unless burn errors
are encountered, performance is faster with this option turned OFF. It is not usually necessary to Cache Files, but
there are some situations where Caching is helpful:
1.

On a very slow PC, the computer may not be fast enough to translate the wave file to CD audio while burning.
Caching may be necessary to avoid errors.

If Burn List audio files are stored in another PC on your local network, the network transfer delay may cause
errors. Caching will pre-fetch the files to your local hard disk before burning the CD.

Use Burn Proof Checkbox
Burn Proof is a technology available on many newer CD/DVD burners. With Burn Proof, it is less likely to
accidentally make a bad CD. If a burner has the Burn Proof feature, the checkbox is automatically enabled and
turned ON. If a burner does not have this feature, the checkbox is grayed-out and cannot be adjusted. Unless Burn
Proof seems to be causing unlikely strange problems, always use this feature if it is available.
Burn CD + Finalize (Make Playable CD)
Start CD burning. This button is the preferred way to make CDs for use with standalone Audio CD Players. With
the other options, ‘Burn CD – No Finalize’ and ‘Finalize Only’, the tracks will typically be readable by computer
CDROM drives, but all of your recorded tracks may not be visible to standalone Audio CD Players, even after the
disc is finalized.
Note: If you want the disc to be playable in standalone audio CD Players, remember to use CD-R (CD Recordable) discs
rather than CD-RW (CD Rewritable) discs. Most stand-alone audio CD players cannot read CD-RW discs.

Burn CD – No Finalize (allow tracks to be added later)
Audio CDs must be “finalized” before they can be recognized by the majority of stand-alone audio CD players
(stereos, boom boxes, portable CD players, automobile CD Players), or television DVD players. However, many
computer CD drives can play “Un-Finalized” audio CDs, so you can play them on your computer until all the songs
have been added to the CD.
Use ‘Burn CD – No Finalize’ if you wish to add tracks to an audio CD over more than one session.

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Note: Be sure to use ‘Burn CD + Finalize’ or ‘Finalize Only’ when you add the final track(s) to a multi-session Audio CD.

When adding tracks to an “Un-Finalized” audio CD, the Available Time field displays the “empty” time remaining
on the CDR (the disc currently loaded in your burner).
Example: If you have already recorded 40 minutes to a 74 minute CDR, MiniBurn will display about 34 minutes of
Available Time. Take care not to add more tracks than will properly fit on the CD’s remaining empty space.
Make sure that the Total Time does not exceed the Available Time!
Finalize Only (Make Playable CD without adding new tracks)
Audio CDs must be “Finalized” before they can be recognized by the majority of stand-alone audio CD players
(stereos, boom boxes, portable CD players, automobile CD Players), or television DVD players. If you have
previously added tracks to a disc with the Burn CD – No Finalize function, you can finalize the disc with the
Finalize Only button.
Stop Burn
Stop burning before the disc is finished.
Note: If you prematurely Stop, the CD will almost certainly be ruined.

Burning Progress
While a CD is burning, progress is indicated in the lower-left of the MiniBurn window. Progress messages are also
displayed in the Status Bar at the bottom of the window.
Read Buffer %- The computer’s disk read buffer usage. If Burn Proof is not available, you may have burn errors if
this drops to zero in mid-burn. In this case, try a slower Burn Rate.
Drive Buffer %- The CD Burner’s write buffer usage. If Burn Proof is not available, you may have burn errors if
this ever drops to zero. In this case, try a slower Burn Rate.
If a bona-fide buffer under-run actually occurs, MiniBurn also displays an error dialog at the end of the burn.
The two Buffer fields are most useful for diagnosing problems-- If the Read Buffer gets too low, it may mean that
the Hard Drive (or network connection) is not fast enough. If the Drive Buffer gets too low but the Read Buffer
remains adequate, it may mean that background processes are stealing too much CPU time from MiniBurn.
Track Written- Indicate the current track’s progress.
Total Written- Indicate the progress of the entire burn.

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Chapter 11: User Programmable Functions
The StyleMaker™
The StyleMaker is the section of the program that allows you to create brand new styles or edit existing styles. This
is done by recording patterns for each of the drums, bass, piano, guitar and strings parts, or by entering these parts in
the StyleMaker Pattern Editor notation window. If you don't want an instrument in a style you don't need to record
any patterns for it. The StyleMaker window is accessed from the Styles menu by choosing any one of:
- New – Make a New Style to create an entirely new style from a blank template.
- Edit a Style (Alt+F9 keys) to open any style for editing.
- Edit Current Style (Ctrl+Shift+F9 keys) to open the current style in use for editing.

StyleMaker Pull-Down Menus
The StyleMaker has a separate pull-down menu to the main program. Many of the menu commands can be accessed
directly with the on-screen buttons in the StyleMaker window.
File
Save Style
(F2)

Saves the style, using the current style name. This will overwrite a previous style!

Save Style As
(Alt+F2)

This saves the style, allowing you to rename the style if desired.

Exit

Exits the StyleMaker, prompting you to Save the Style. If you don't save the style upon exit you
will lose any changes that you've made.

(Alt+F4)
Edit
Cut Pattern

Cuts whichever pattern is highlighted in a row.

Copy Pattern

Copies a pattern to the clipboard.

Paste

Pastes a single pattern from the clipboard. Can paste between styles by opening and
closing styles and copying and pasting.

Delete Pattern (Delete)

Erases a Pattern. Can also delete a Pattern by typing a weight of 0.

Cut from Notation

Highlight and cut notes from a pattern.

Copy from Notation

Highlight and copy notes in a pattern.

Paste from Notation

Paste notes into a pattern.

Pattern
Play Pattern
(F4)

Plays the pattern using the currently selected style. Loops after 2 bars. If you want to
play the song while the StyleMaker is open, you need to press the PLAY button on the

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Main screen, as the F4 key will not play the song, it will play the StyleMaker pattern.
Play Pattern on Chord

This plays back a pattern as it would sound in a song on a certain chord. This is useful to
see the effects of smooth voice leading or macro notes in a pattern.

(F8)
Record Pattern

Records a pattern. For drums it enters the STEP EDIT Drum Editor. For the other
instruments, it starts a real time record ( 2 bar lead in then record 2 bar pattern) .

(F3)
Options

Allows you to set or change options (masks) for a specific pattern. This same dialog box
also appears at the end of recording a pattern.

(F10)
Quantize Pattern
(Alt+Q)

Quantifies a pattern to a given resolution. You can apply a percentage setting to adjust
the “strength” of the quantization.

Slide Pattern

This time shifts the pattern X ticks (120 ticks per beat).

Volume adjust (this
pattern)

The Pattern | Volume adjust (this pattern) command displays the average velocity
(volume) of the pattern and lets you set a new volume. Styles sound smoother if all
patterns of one instrument are at similar volumes.

(Ctrl+Alt+W)
Volume adjust (this
row)

Pattern | Volume adjust (this row) sets the volume of all patterns in the selected row.

(Alt+V)
Volume Adjust (all
patterns) (Alt+J)

You can quickly set the volume for an entire instrument by using the Pattern | Volume
Adjust (all patterns) command. For example, if the strings are too loud, turn the [Strings]
button “on,” select Volume Adjust (all patterns), then type a number from 0 to 127 lower
than the number that is currently displayed.

Legato Adjust

This adjusts the legato of each note. Units are 120 ticks/beat. Legato is the length of each
note. Useful if you find a pattern that's too percussive or too legato.

Transpose Pattern

This transposes the pattern X semitones. For example, +12 would transpose the pattern
one octave up.

Trim Pattern

This deletes notes from the end of a Pattern.

Velocity Adjust

This function adds or reduces the velocity of a single pattern, row of patterns, or all
patterns in an instrument. Choose the menu items for 1 pattern, 1 row, or the whole
instrument and input the velocity change to make for the pattern(s). This will add or
subtract a certain velocity value to the patterns, useful for reducing or increasing the
volume of an entire instrument or fine-tuning the velocities in a style.

When adjusting velocities,
use a single note only.
Import Pattern
-

from MIDI File

from Clipboard

from Melody

When this menu item is selected, only the MIDI note number that is specified will
have its velocity adjusted, unless a note number of 0 is entered. If the note number is
entered as 0 then all notes in the pattern(s) will have their velocity adjusted.
This allows you to import pattern(s) from the Melody track, MIDI file, or MIDI data on
the clipboard. The dialog box that appears allows you to select the # of patterns you want
to import. Normally this will be one. If it is more than one (say, 4), then 4 consecutive
patterns would be imported on to the current row of the StyleMaker.

Style
Patch Assignments

Assign patches to a style. See Patch Assignment dialog box.

(Alt+F10)
Misc. Settings

Assign miscellaneous settings to a style. See Misc. Settings dialog box.

(Ctrl+F10)
Next Instrument (F6)
Previous Instrument
(Shift+F6)

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Chapter 11: User Programmable Functions

Import Instr. from Style Import an instrument from one style into another. See Import Instrument dialog box.
(Alt +F3)
Import Drums from
.MID to Drum Kit

Since you can define a custom drum kit for the grid editor, this function allows you to use
the instruments that are found in a MIDI file. A quick way of building up a kit. For
example, if you are making a Latin style called “mambo” you could load in a Mambo
MIDI file that you made, and then the StyleMaker’s “Style | Import notes from .MID to
Drum Grid…” menu command would extract the drum notes from the MIDI file, and put
them on the drum grid.

Define a Custom Drum Since the Drum Grid Editor uses 19 instruments, this allows you to define which
Kit
instruments will be used, and create a custom drum kit.
Copy all “a” substyle
patterns to “b”

Copies all “a” substyle patterns to “b” slots. This feature is handy when only a volume
increase tweaking is required for the “b” substyle.

Copy Current Row to
Row ___

Copies an entire row of patterns to the new row specified.

Delete all Patterns in
this Row

Deletes all of the patterns in the selected row.

Style Checker

Analogous to a “Spell Checker,” this function analyzes your style-in-progress and
identifies possible problems.

The Style Checker results are output to a text window, allowing you to examine the patterns and fix them if
required. It identifies patterns that might be “too busy” or incorrect macro notes etc. in a text report about the style,
listing possible problems with the style. Here is a sample printout.
-----Start of style checking ------JAZQUINT.STY
Drums: Row 1, Column 1 First pattern of instrument shouldn't contain masks in it. It should be generic.
Bass: Row 1, Column 1 First pattern of instrument shouldn't contain masks in it. It should be generic.
Piano: Row 1, Column 3 Non Chord tones found (other than C, E, G, Bb) and pattern is not set to a chord mask, riff
based or MACRO
…etc., etc.
-----end of style checking -----Style Summary

This displays a text window summary of the style, including lots of information about the
style such as # patterns, # patterns for each substyle, patches, pushes, volume changes, guitar
patterns, and more.

Help
These menu items are quick links to the main Help, and to StyleMaker topics in particular.
Index (F1)
Topic Search (Ctrl+F1)
StyleMaker Overview
Tutorial 5 Editing an Existing Style
Tutorial 6 Making a New Style
Drum Patterns
Bass Patterns
Piano/Guitar/String Patterns
How To (Shift+F1)

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StyleMaker Toolbar Buttons
These options are also available from the StyleMaker window pull-down menus.
Saves and overwrites existing style using current name.
Saves the style, but allows you to rename it first.
Plays the current pattern.
Stops the playback of the current pattern.
Plays the current pattern over a specific chord.
Allows creation or editing of a drum grid pattern.
(Drum Grid Editor)
Begins live recording of a Bass/Piano/Guitar/Strings pattern after a 2-bar intro.
(Record)
Displays current pattern in notation, allowing editing of pattern in notation.
(Notation)
(Options)
(Quantize)
(Volume)
(Legato)
(Patch)
(Miscellaneous)

Change the volume of the selected pattern.
Increases or decreases note durations for the pattern.
Assign instruments to the style.
Overall style settings including master volumes.
Assign instruments to the style.
Miscellaneous settings for the style.
Plays the current song using the new style you're making.
Exits the StyleMaker and closes the window.

A right-mouse menu has options to Play Pattern, Play Pattern on Chord, or Mute Pattern.

Exploring the StyleMaker
To become familiar with the StyleMaker it is easiest to begin with an existing style and examine its makeup. This
example uses ZZLITROK.STY, a basic Light Rock style. Patterns are played back from the main StyleMaker
screen:

The StyleMaker displays current patch numbers for the parts on the main window.

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Band-in-a-Box StyleMaker window showing Drums patterns window.

The StyleMaker always opens to the Drums window, as indicated by the highlighted button to the left of Drums.
Other parts are selected by clicking on their buttons, just as in the main Band-in-a-Box screen.
The rows of cells are for the musical patterns that have been recorded for the style. Each numbered cell is a pattern;
the blank cells are for new patterns. The numbers are the weights assigned to the pattern, a higher number, or
weight, means that a pattern will be played more often. The average weight is 5.
In the example above, you will notice that there are 4 rows of drum patterns.
- A pattern is the row to record drum patterns for the A substyle.
- B pattern is the row to record for the B substyle.
- drum fills are recorded on the drum fills row
- end drums are ending patterns (2 consecutive patterns of 1 bar)
This style shown has nine drum patterns for its “a” substyle, and eight more for the “b” substyle variation. It also
has eight drum fills and four ending patterns.
What’s a pattern?
A pattern is one musical figure, a single element of a musical style. When Band-in-a-Box combines the various note
patterns into arrangements we hear what the different instrumentalists would play for a song in that style.

Drum Patterns
In our example, the drum patterns are what the drummer plays for a Light Rock song.
You can view any drum pattern in the row if you click on the box and then on the drum grid button to
open the Drum Pattern Editor.
The Drum Pattern Editor grid shows which drums in an 18-piece kit are being played on what beats and with what
velocity (force) they are being hit. Each group of columns separated by a vertical line represents one beat in a fourbeat bar, sub-divided into 16th notes. If there was a number in each cell across the row for any instrument, that
instrument would play sixteenth notes for the whole bar.
In a swing style each beat would be sub-divided into eighth-note triplets, with three columns to a beat.
Let’s examine the pattern in detail.
The highlighted cell shows that the Bass Drum is being played on beat 1 at a velocity of 83. (The loudest possible
note has a velocity of 127, while 0 is silent.) Moving to the right, you will see that the Bass Drum plays again on the
second eighth note of beat 2 with a velocity of 73, and then on beat 3 with a velocity of 93, the familiar “boom-baboom” Pop/ Bossa Nova beat.
The Closed High Hat plays straight eighth notes at different velocities.
The Snare Drum plays on beats 2 and 4 in a typical Light Rock backbeat.
You can easily create new patterns of your own by selecting an empty box in a row of patterns and then clicking the
[Rec] button to open a blank Drum Pattern Editor grid. To hear the pattern you have made click on the [Play]
button. Click on the [Help] button for more tips and details.

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Defining a Custom Drum Kit
To set up a custom drum kit, select the menu item Style | Define Custom Drum Kit in the StyleMaker window to
launch the Define Custom Drum Kit dialog. You can choose the 18 drum instruments to be used on the drum grid.
Any of the GM instruments may be chosen. Kits may be saved and loaded to disk

In defining a custom drum kit in the StyleMaker, you can use the drum notes found in a MIDI file.
For example, if you are making a Latin style called “mambo,” you could
load in a Mambo MIDI file that you made, and then the [Import notes from

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.MID…]function would extract the drum notes from the MIDI file, and put them on the drum grid.
Drum Screen Alternate Notes
What are alternate notes?
Alternate notes can be entered for any note. This tells Band-in-a-Box to randomly choose a different note to the one
specified. For example
- you might want a note to be a closed high hat 80% of the time, and an open high hat 20% of the time.
- you might want a note to be high conga 60% and low conga 40% of the time.
- or high tom 30% of the time and NO note the other 70%
This allows one drum pattern to sound like many, because it will be played different ways depending on which of
the notes are picked.
How To Put In An Alternate Note
Click on the cell in the Drum Pattern Editor where you want to add an alternate note. Then press the [Alt.] button or
press the F5 key to open the Alternate Drum Note dialog box.
Type in the #s as you see here.
- The Alternate will play 50% of the time.
- The Alternate note #4 is Open High Hat (you will see the list of
note #s at the side of the screen.
- The Alternate note will play at a velocity of 90.
Check the “Double note (32nd note)” checkbox to have the
alternate note play as a doubled 32nd note.
“Omit first note” works together with the Double note feature to
play only the second 32nd note.
When you exit the dialog box you
will see that the note cell now has a red border indicating that an
alternate note is located there.
Tip: All Band-in-a-Box styles must have at least one drum pattern, even if there are no drums in the style. In that case,
open the Drum Grid Editor and enter a value of 0 on beat 1 of the pattern for any drum and then save the pattern.

Click on the [Exit] button to return to the Drum
window.
The Drum Options dialog will open, click on [OK]
and it will close.
These options determine how and when an individual
drum pattern gets played.

Relative Weight (Usual Setting =5)
Relative Weight is the number that you assign to the pattern from 1-9. Numbers from 1-8 indicate how often you
want the pattern to be played in relation to the other patterns on the same row. A weight of 9 is a special setting that
ensures that the pattern will ALWAYS be played. Patterns assigned a weight of 9 usually have other options set
which instruct the pattern to only be played at certain times (bar after a drum fill for example).

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Playback Bar Mask (Usual Setting =0)
Playback Bar Mask determines on what bars of the song the pattern will play. The bar #s are counted relative to the
last part marker. Bar 1 is the first bar after a part marker for example. A bar mask setting of 0 is the default. This
lets the pattern be played at any time.
Other bar mask settings:
- Bar 1 of 4
- Bar 2 of 4
- Bar 3 of 4
- Bar 4 of 4
- Bar 5 of 8
- Bar 6 of 8
- Bar 7 of 8
- Bar 8 of 8
- pre-fill - refers to the bar before a fill
- fill - refers to the bar of a fill. This is not applicable to drums because there is a special row for drum fills.
- post-fill - refers to the bar after a fill, which is the same as the first bar after a part marker.
Drum Fill On Substyle (Usual Setting =0)
This setting is only relevant on the Drum Fills line. It lets you specify if you want the drum fill to be used on the “a”
substyle, the “b” substyle , or either. The default setting is “either.”
Late Triplets (Usual Setting =0)
This is only relevant in drum patterns with time base =12 (triplet feel). If you want the 3rd triplet to be played late,
as is usually done in slow Jazz styles, then set a number from 0-10. The default is 0 = not late at all. A typical
setting for a slow triplet style is triplets late =5 where one unit is 120/beat.
This type of pattern is found in earlier Band-in-a-Box styles. Later styles use live MIDI drums, which are edited as
notation. The same options are used.
Editing Live Drums Patterns (or patterns imported from a MIDI file)
Live drum patterns are recorded in real time from a MIDI controller - either MIDI drum pads or a velocity sensitive
MIDI keyboard. You can also import MIDI patterns from any standard MIDI file with the StyleMaker’s Pattern |
Import Pattern from MIDI file command.
To edit these patterns, press the notation button in the StyleMaker toolbar to open a special StyleMaker
Pattern Editor notation window. Edit the drum notes in the Editable Notation or Staff Roll view, just as
you would edit regular notation.

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RealDrums Styles
RealDrums are actual recordings of studio drummers, pieced together by Band-in-a-Box to create a unique “real”
drum track that is played along with the MIDI tracks created by Band-in-a-Box styles.
It is possible to assign RealDrums (audio drums) to a particular Band-in-a-Box style in the Misc.
Style Settings dialog.

RealDrums Settings (Audio Drums, instead of MIDI drums)
Enable “Style uses RealDrums (audio drums)” in order to designate a RealDrums style, then press the [RD] button
to select your RealDrums style. Whenever the current style is played, it will use your RealDrums style provided that
RealDrums are enabled in the RealDrums Settings dialog. There are also additional volume controls here.
To make your overall dB setting a bit higher or lower for this particular Band-in-a-Box style you can enter a setting
here. There are also fields for adjusting the ‘a’ or ‘b’ subsection volumes only.
If you remove the check mark from either “Allow ‘a’ substyle RealDrums” or “Allow ‘b’ substyle RealDrums” the
one with the checkmark remaining will be used for the entire song, regardless of what substyle is currently called for
in the song.
See the following tutorial on Making RealDrums Styles.

Bass Patterns
Click on the button to the left of Bass to open the bass pattern window. Notice that the status bar gives the Row and
Column number for the current pattern.

You’ll see that this window is different from the Drums window, it has rows for different lengths of patterns – 8
beat, 4 beat, 2 beat and 1 beat – for both the A and B substyles, and a row for endings.

To see a bass pattern, select any numbered box and click on the notation button. The StyleMaker Pattern
Editor will open, showing the selected pattern as notation.
Click on the [N] button to enter the Editable Notation mode. In this mode notes can be edited, added, or deleted as
in the regular notation.

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A new pattern can be created by selecting an empty cell in the StyleMaker grid and then opening the StyleMaker
Pattern Editor window to enter notes with your mouse. A quicker way to make a new pattern is to record it live
from a MIDI keyboard or any other MIDI controller that is connected to your computer.
Recording a New Pattern
New patterns are recorded by playing them live in real time as the StyleMaker plays an accompaniment on the
drums and other instrument parts for the style. If you don’t want to hear other parts - say you just want to play along
to the drums – any part can be muted with a right mouse click on the instrument name in the Band-in-a-Box main
screen.
Go to the correct row for the length of the pattern you want to record (8 beat, 4 beat, etc.) and click on an empty cell.
Recording is started with the [Rec] button. When it is clicked, the drums and any other parts that are present will
start to play but recording has not begun.
The StyleMaker gives you a 2-bar intro to get ready to record the new pattern, so you can play along with the intro
for a “flying start” or just use the 2 bars to count yourself in. Recording then begins and continues for another 2
bars, no matter what length of pattern you are recording. If you are just recording a 4 beat pattern you will still hear
the 2-bar intro and then another 2 bars of accompaniment while the pattern records. You would just play your 4 beat
pattern and then wait until recording stops.
Tip: Remember that patterns can be edited in the StyleMaker Pattern Editor, so you don’t have to redo an otherwise good
take because of a small mistake.

When recording stops, a Record Options dialog
opens. The options determine how and when
each individual Bass pattern gets played. They
can always be changed after the style has been
saved.
Click on OK to save the pattern with the default
options. Click Cancel to erase the take and
record the pattern again.
To hear the pattern you have just recorded click
on the [Play] button or, better yet, click on the
[Chord] button in the StyleMaker toolbar to
hear how it sounds playing different chords.

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Bass Pattern Options
Relative Weight (Usual Setting = 5)
Set this # higher/lower if you want the pattern to be played more/less often than the other patterns on the same row.
This number is also displayed on the main StyleMaker screen. A setting of 9 (always) is a special setting that
instructs the pattern to always be played instead of the other patterns on the same row. These patterns always have
other options set which specify the times that this pattern would be eligible to be played.
Playback Bar Mask (Usual Setting = 0)
Playback Bar Mask determines on what bars of the song the pattern will play. The bar #s are counted relative to the
last part marker, and range from 1-8. Bar 1 is the first bar after a part marker for example.
Other bar mask settings:
- Bar 1 of 4
- Bar 2 of 4
- Bar 3 of 4
- Bar 4 of 4
- Bar 5 of 8
- Bar 6 of 8
- Bar 7 of 8
- Bar 8 of 8
Special Bar Masks
- pre-fill - refers to the bar before a fill
- fill - refers to the bar of a fill (this allows you to put in “bass fills” for example)
- post-fill - refers to the bar after a fill, which is the same as the first bar after a part marker.
Playback Beat Mask (Usual Setting = 0)
Set the beat mask to a beat from 1-4 if you want the pattern to only be played on certain beat #s. 1= Beat 1, 2= Beat
2 , 3= Beat 3 , 4= Beat 4.
Roman Numeral Mask (Usual Setting = 0)
If you have a pattern that should only be played on the I chord or the IV chord (of the key), you can use these
Roman Numeral Masks. This setting is rarely used.
Chord Type (Usual Setting = Any)
This setting is very useful. This allows you to record patterns that will only work on certain types of chords. For
example you can record a specific riff that will only work on a minor 7th chord. You then play the pattern on a
Cmin 7 ( not a C7 ). There are chord types for most types of chords.
Interval To Next (Usual Setting = Any Interval)
This setting allows you to restrict the pattern to be played only if the next chord is a certain interval away. For
example you can record a bass pattern that is walking up a fourth and then assign a Interval of Up 4th so that the
pattern would only be played if you're going up a 4th.
Half Octave range (Usual Setting = Full Octave)
This is a new setting in the StyleMaker. Usually a pattern will be picked on any of the 12 roots. You can select a
smaller range , either A to D , or Eb to Ab . In this case the pattern would only be picked if the chord in the song is
in that range.
Play Pattern Pushed how often (Usual Setting = 0 %)
# Ticks to Push Pattern (Usual Setting = 0)
Pushed patterns are patterns that are played before the chord begins. Jazz styles typically use pushed patterns for the
piano. Patterns are recorded in the normal way (non pushed) and then you assign the % of time and amount (in

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ticks, 120 ticks = 1 beat) to push the pattern. The pattern only plays pushed in the song, not when played in the
StyleMaker window.
OK to use Macro Notes (Bass Usual Setting = No)
Bass macros are special notes that you record. When they are played back they are replaced by a function.
List of Bass Macro Notes
Note# 72 (C):

Pop Walking Note(s). Playback with the [F8] key and note #72 will be replaced by up to 4
intelligent notes per pattern walking in a Pop/Country mode to the next chord.

Note# 76 (E):

Note a semitone below root of next chord.

Note# 77 (F):

Root of next chord.

Note # 78 (F#):

Note a semitone ABOVE root of next chord.

Note # 79 (G):

Best fifth (a fifth above or below the root depending on how high the root is. Stays on the root
if in a slash chord (C7 /E).

Remember that to get Bass Macros working you must:
-

Hit the right note # (you may be out by an octave).

Set “OK to use macros” to “Yes.”

Playback the Pattern with [F8] key or [CHORD] button. The [F4] playback key gives you a literal playback
with strange sounding high macro notes.

Chord Selection Dialog Box
This section is accessed by the [Chord]
button, the F8 key or by choosing Pattern | Play
Pattern on Chord from the pull-down menu.
This plays back a pattern on a specific chord that
you choose in either the key of C or the key of F.
You can hear what patterns will sound like in a
style by “trying them out” on certain songs.
Macro notes recorded in a pattern will play their
corresponding chords, smooth voice leading is
demonstrated etc.
Just choose a chord and press OK.
Note: Does not apply to drum patterns, since
drum patterns don't play any differently on
different chords.

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Assign Instruments to Style Dialog Box
The [Pat.] button opens the
Assign Instruments to Style dialog.
When the song is played back using
the style, these patch changes will be
sent to your synthesizer.
General MIDI instrument patch
numbers are used, and if your
synthesizer or sound card supports
GM2 patches they can be selected by
clicking on the [+] button.
Check “Use separate patches for ‘a’
and ‘b’ substyle” to have the patches
change when the substyle changes.
This example shows patches for the
‘a’ substyle.
If you don't require a specific
instrument for the style, select (No
Patch Change).

The patch changes take effect immediately in the style, so that when you are recording bass parts for example, you
will hear the bass patch that you have selected.
Thru Patch
If you set the Thru Patch to other than 0 the instrument that the user plays along to your style will be the Thru patch
that you set. If you're making a “Heavy Rock” style, you might want to set the Thru patch to be Overdrive Guitar if
you expected that the user would want to play along on a rock guitar patch.
Melody Patch
If set to other than 0 all melodies will be played on the specified instrument. If you're making a “Grover W” style
for example, you might want any melodies to be automatically set to saxophone.
Misc. Style Settings Dialog Box
This dialog box allows you to set some miscellaneous settings for the style.
Style Name
You can give a full 60-character name to the style.
Waltz?
If you want to make a waltz with the StyleMaker, check the “Waltz?” checkbox in the Misc. Style Settings dialog.
Then the StyleMaker will record, and play patterns in 3/4 time. The “8 beat row” will record “6 beat” ( 2 bar
patterns), the “4 beat” will record 3 beat (1 bar) patterns. The “2 beat” and “1 beat” still record 2 and 1 beat
patterns. The new style is made as a waltz, and will play with a 3/4 lead in. There is no need to put a 3/4 time
signature change in bar 1.
Jazz Style?
This lets Band-in-a-Box know if the style you've made is a Jazz style or not. If it’s a Jazz style it will use the Jazz
Snare/Bass Drum instead of the Pop Snare/Bass Drum, and also makes some other decisions based on this setting.
Tempo
This allows you to set the default tempo for the Style. This is stored with the style. You can also change this tempo
by the tempo button on the StyleMaker main screen. Tempos can also be changed by the [ and ] keys.

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Resolution
Styles can either have Triplet (swing eighth notes) Straight (even eighth or sixteenth notes) resolution.
Use Latin Drum Kit
Check to use a Latin drum kit in this style with instruments like maracas, casaba, and agog.
Velocity Boost of pushes
Pushes can get a velocity boost, so that they are played louder than other patterns. A usual setting would be 10.
# ticks to push
Styles can be pushed with the StyleMaker. This will cause the patterns to be played a little ahead of the beat, a
certain % of time, which gives your arrangement a more human (musical) feel.
Band-in-a-Box uses a resolution of 120 PPQ, i.e., 120 ticks to a quarter note.
- 30 ticks = sixteenth note
- 40 ticks = triplet eighth note (Swing)
- 60 ticks = eighth note
Choose the number of ticks for each push to use.
Substyle Pushes
The % of notes that are pushed can be set separately for each instrument part and for the “a” and “b” substyles.
In this example, the Bass part patterns will get pushed (randomly) 10% of the time in the “a” substyle and 20% of
the time in the “b” substyle.

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‘Riff’ voicing type uses chord tones
This is an option for piano, guitar, and string patterns. If selected, voicing modifies to match the chord and scale.
Deselect for a simple transpose ignoring chord type.
Press the [More..] button for the additional Settings for Rests, Pushes dialog.

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Guitar Macros
These settings determine what type of guitar chords will be used, and only apply if the patterns are recorded using
the guitar macro notes, and if the pattern is set to use guitar macro notes.
Allow Late Notes
This opens the Settings for Making Late notes quieter dialog. Notes played near the end of a pattern will usually
conflict with the next chord. So it’s best to prevent notes near the end of a pattern from playing. There is a global
setting for this in Opt. | Preferences | Prefs2.
RealDrums Settings (Audio Drums, instead of MIDI drums)
It is also possible to assign RealDrums (audio drums) to a particular Band-in-a-Box style.
Enable “Style uses RealDrums (audio drums)” in order to designate a RealDrums style, then press the [RD] button
to select your RealDrums style. Whenever the current style is played, it will use your RealDrums style provided that
RealDrums are enabled in the RealDrums Settings dialog. There are also additional volume controls here.
To make your overall dB setting a bit higher or lower for this particular Band-in-a-Box style you can enter a setting
here. There are also fields for adjusting the ‘a’ or ‘b’ subsection volumes only.
If you remove the check mark from either “Allow ‘a’ substyle RealDrums” or “Allow ‘b’ substyle RealDrums” the
one with the checkmark remaining will be used for the entire song, regardless of what substyle is currently called for
in the song.

Piano, Guitar, and String Patterns
Piano, Guitar and String patterns are recorded in the same way as live Drums or Bass patterns, but with added
features and options. Guitar styles can be created with authentic strumming and rhythm patterns using correct fret
positions.
Piano/Guitar String Pattern Options dialog box.

The StyleMaker shows summary information about non-default
settings in a pattern at the top title bar, so they are easy to spot.
Relative Weight (Usual Setting = 5)
Set this # higher/lower if you want the pattern to be played more/less often than the other patterns on the same row.
This number is also displayed on the main StyleMaker screen. A setting of 9 (always) is a special setting that
instructs the pattern to always be played instead of the other patterns on the same row. These patterns always have
other options set which specify the times that this pattern would be eligible to be played.

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Playback Bar Mask (Usual Setting =0)
Playback Bar Mask determines on what bars of the song the pattern will play. The bar #s are counted relative to the
last part marker, and range from 1-8. Bar 1 is the first bar after a part marker for example.
Other bar mask settings:
- Bar 1 of 4
- Bar 2 of 4
- Bar 3 of 4
- Bar 4 of 4
- Bar 5 of 8
- Bar 6 of 8
- Bar 7 of 8
- Bar 8 of 8
Special Bar Masks
- pre-fill - refers to the bar before a fill
- fill - refers to the bar of a fill (this allows you to put in “bass fills” for example)
- post-fill - refers to the bar after a fill, which is the same as the first bar after a part marker.
Playback Beat Mask (Usual Setting=0)
Set the beat mask to a beat from 1-4 if you want the pattern to only be played on certain beat #s. 1= Beat 1 , 2= Beat
2 , 3= Beat 3 , 4= Beat 4.
Roman Numeral Mask (Usual Setting = 0)
If you have a pattern that should only be played on the I chord or the IV chord (of the key), you can use these
Roman Numeral Masks. This setting is rarely used.
Chord Type (Usual Setting = Any)
This setting is very useful because it allows you to record patterns that will only work on certain types of chords.
For example you can record a specific riff that will only work on a minor 7th chord. You then play the pattern on a
Cmin 7, not a C7. There are chord types for most types of chords.
Interval To Next Chord (Usual Setting = Any Interval)
This setting allows you to restrict the pattern to be played only if the next chord is a certain interval away. For
example you can record a bass pattern that is walking up a fourth and then assign a Interval of Up 4th so that the
pattern would only be played if you're going up a 4th.
Half Octave Range (Usual Setting = Full Octave)
Usually a pattern will be picked on any of the 12 roots. You can select a smaller range, either A to D or Eb to Ab .
In this case the pattern would only be picked if the chord in the song is in that range.
Play Pattern Pushed – how often (Usual Setting = 0 %)
# Ticks to push pattern (Usual Setting = 0)
Pushed patterns are patterns that are played before the chord begins. Jazz styles typically use pushed patterns for the
piano. Patterns are recorded in the normal way (non pushed) and then you assign the % of time and amount (in
ticks, 120 ticks = 1 beat) to push the pattern. The pattern only plays pushed in the song, not when played in the
StyleMaker window.
OK to use Macro Notes (Usual Setting = No)
Piano Macros are special notes that you record. When they are played back they are replaced by a function, as listed
below.
List of Piano Macro Notes (same as Guitar/String macro notes)
MIDI Note # 83 B

Pop Chord Diatonic Below

MIDI Note # 84 C

Pop Chord

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MIDI Note # 85 C#

Pop Chord Diatonic Above

MIDI Note # 88 E

Jazz Chord Chromatic Below

MIDI Note # 89 F

Jazz Chord

MIDI Note # 90 F#

Jazz Chord Chromatic Above

Remember that to get macro notes working you must:
- Hit the right note # (you may be out by an octave).
- Set OK to use macros to Yes.
- Playback the pattern with [F8] key or [CHORD] button. The [F4] playback key gives you a literal playback
with strange sounding high macro notes.
Check “Use Guitar Macros” to enable guitar macro notes for this pattern.

Click the [Guitar Options..] button to specify guitar macro note parameters.
Transpose Root Pattern (Usual Setting = No)
This is a rarely used setting. It only is relevant when voice leading is set to smooth. It determines where the center
of the pattern is considered to be. If set to “Yes,” the center of the pattern will be moved to the key of the song.
Embellish Pattern (Usual Setting = None)
If set to “embellish 1” the pattern will be embellished. This is useful in Jazz styles. “Embellish 1” embellishes the
chord once in the pattern, whereas “embellish 2” changes the embellishment during the pattern.
Transpose Down Limit (Usual Setting = 6)
This setting is quite useful. It controls the range that the pattern will be played over. For example, if the transpose
down range is set to =2 the pattern (recorded in C) will be transposed a maximum of 2 semitones down, and
therefore up to 10 semitones up to play all 12 possible roots of the chords.
Voice Leading (Usual Setting=Transpose)
The easiest type of voice leading is transpose only. If the notes C-E-G-Bb were played as a C7 pattern, then Bandin-a-Box would transpose that voicing to an F7 chord as F-A-C-Eb, which is fine but not very smooth.
A more pleasant setting would be “smooth” voice leading. Then the F7 would be voiced automatically as C-Eb-FA.
“Riff based” voicing is used when you have recorded a pattern with a melodic riff in it. This setting ensures that
Band-in-a-Box will not try to transform any of the notes into chord tones.

Guitar Styles with the StyleMaker
Guitar Styles with incredible authenticity are possible in the StyleMaker. You can use new macro notes to be played
back as a Jazz, Folk, or Pop guitar chord using correct fret positions for accurate guitar-friendly chords.
Playing back Guitar Styles
Guitar Styles are identified by the exclamation point (!) in the style name. This is not a requirement, but is usually
present in the style name. For the typical user who is just using the styles for playback and isn't making their own
styles there's not much that you need to know about the styles, since they play normally like other Band-in-a-Box
styles.

You can see which tracks have intelligent guitar parts by looking at the title window of the Guitar fretboard, when
the track is highlighted. If it is a Guitar Style track, it will say [Guitar Voicings] after the name of the track. The
usual track that has the intelligent guitar styles is of course the Guitar Part. Some of the styles have more than 1
guitar, so the piano and/or strings part might also have an intelligent guitar part. In these cases, you can also view
the guitar on those tracks.

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The styles can be set to use different types of voicings for guitar. For example, there are Jazz, Pop, and Folk (open
position) voicings. Also, some of the styles allow the guitar to play advanced chords and inversions. Some of the
styles play chord patterns, so the chord in the song might be F7, but the guitar plays a “walking-chord” pattern of
F7,Cm7/G, Abdim, F7/A on each beat. There can be fingerpicking styles that have a lowest note alternate between
root and 5th.
Guitar Parts use channels 11 to 16 for the notes, corresponding to strings 1 to 6 of the guitar. When you make a
MIDI file, the notes will all get written on a single guitar channel. Sequencers like PowerTracks Pro Audio will
recognize guitar parts on all 6 channels, so if you want to write the MIDI file from an intelligent guitar style, you
can set Band-in-a-Box to do this from the Opt | Preferences… | Write Guitar part on 6 channels option.
To make a Guitar Style:
Press the [Misc] button to enter the Misc. Style Settings window, and then press the
[Guitar Macros] button to launch the Settings for Guitar chord macros dialog.
Note: A macro is a single note that triggers a preset chord pattern.

In the Settings for Guitar chord macros dialog choose the tracks that you want to put guitar parts on. Use the
Piano and Strings to layer multiple guitar parts.

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In the dropdown “Guitar Chord Types to Use” combo box, set the type of chords to use: Jazz, Pop, Folk, Half Note
(sax), Ukulele, Mandolin, 5-string Banjo or alternate guitar tunings.

Set the complexity of the chords to use. These can be single chords, chords with variations, inversions, and chord
“walking” patterns. If you want a simple guitar style, set the first one to 100%, and the rest to 0%.

Set the strum speed and fret range that should be played on the guitar.
The Guitar styles have an option to keep the same chord for the whole pattern
when using databases that have changing chords within the pattern. If set, databases that have changing chords like
the “Half Note (sax)” chords will only use the first chord in the pattern.
Exit the dialog and record a guitar pattern using Guitar Macro notes.
When the recording of the pattern finishes, set “OK to use Macros” and “Guitar
Macros“ to Yes.
Save the style, using the convention of putting an exclamation (!) somewhere in the name (e.g., as the first character
in the filename) to indicate that it is an intelligent guitar style.

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Guitar Macro Notes

Tip: Middle C is C5 or note number 60

The main Guitar Macro notes to use are:
Strummed Chords
C6 note

Plays a guitar chord, with a slow strum.

D6
Plays a guitar chord, with a faster strum.
For example, if you want a simple 4-in-the-bar pattern that plays a slow-fast-slow-fast strumming pattern, play the
notes C6 D6 C6 D6 for the pattern.
Additional strumming macros are:
F#6

Back strum, chromatic below.

Back strum.

G#6

Back strum, chromatic above.

Back strum, chromatic above, fast strum.

Single Strings in chord
C4

Plays a single string that is the low root of the chord.

G4, C5, E5

Plays single string (D string, G string, B string).

Plays high E string.

Plays high E string, but if none available will play G string.

Additional notes for fingerpicking, not part of chord
G3

Fifth below the low root of the chord for fingerpicking.

Fifth or 3rd above the low root for fingerpicking.

You don't need to set any Guitar Style Options, unless you want to override the settings already made in the Misc.
Style Settings dialog, for this pattern only. In the StyleMaker window, press the [Opt] button and then the [Guitar
Options..] button to see the options for the current pattern.

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Check the “Over-ride Guitar Settings for this pattern only” checkbox to set new parameters for this pattern only.
Guitar Chord Types to Use
Use this feature to set the type of guitar chords to use for this pattern from the list, which includes alternate tunings.
Single Chords
CHD1
The Single Chords feature will play the chord as intended in the pattern for the percentage value entered.
Single Chord - slight variation
CHD2
This will play a slight variation of the specified chord for the percentage value entered.
Chord with 5th in bass (inversion)
INV0
This feature will play your chord with a 5th in the bass.
Chord with inversion later in pattern
INV1
This feature will play your chord with inversion later in the pattern.
Starting on Chord Inversion
INV2
This feature will play your pattern starting on chord inversion.
Single Chord w/ some Chromatic movement
WK1
This feature will play single chord with some chromatic movement.
‘Walking’ pattern of chords
Walking pattern of chords.

WALK 2

Starting on chord substitution
Walking pattern starting on chord substituion.

WALK 3

Strum Speed (ms)
This setting in milliseconds (ms) affects the rate in which the guitar chord is strummed.

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Faster Strum Speed (ms)
The Faster Strum Speed setting affect the rate in which the guitar chord is strummed. Note that a lower setting in ms
equals a faster strum.
Include Highest Note in Strummed Chord
Check to include the highest note (for Strummed Macros) when played as a macro.
Include Highest Note in Finger Picking
Check to include the highest note (for Single String Macros) when played as a macro.
Only include first chord of pattern
Check to play the first chord only.
Lowest Fret
The Lowest Fret feature will limit the notes not to be played beneath the fret specified.
Highest Fret
The Highest Fret feature will limit the notes not to be played above the fret specified.
Embellish pattern OK (Sax db)
This allows embellishment of the pattern from the Sax patterns database.
[Zeros]
Click this button to reset all percentage fields to zero.
[100s]
Click this button to set all percentage fields to 100.

Miscellaneous Style Settings
This dialog box allows you to set some miscellaneous settings for the style. They are:
LongName (32 chars)
A long style name can be stored in the style (up to 32 characters), and this will appear on screen and in StylePicker.
Waltz?
If you want to make a waltz with the StyleMaker, check the “Waltz?” checkbox in the Misc. Style Settings dialog.
Then the StyleMaker will record, and play patterns in 3/4 time. The “8 beat row” will record “6 beat” ( 2 bar
patterns), the “4 beat” will record 3 beat (1 bar) patterns. The “2 beat” and “1 beat” still record 2 and 1 beat
patterns. The new style is made as a waltz, and will play with a 3/4 lead in. There is no need to put a 3/4 time
signature change in bar 1.
Jazz Style?
This lets Band-in-a-Box know if the style you've made is a Jazz style or not. If it’s a Jazz style it will use the Jazz
Snare/Bass Drum instead of the Pop Snare/Bass Drum, and also makes some other decisions based on this setting.
Tempo
This allows you to set the default tempo for the Style. This is stored with the style. You can also change this tempo
by the tempo button on the StyleMaker main screen. Tempos can also be changed by the [ and ] keys. When
creating a new song the tempo will be set to the default tempo for the style/
Resolution
Styles can either have Triplet (swing eighth notes) Straight (even eighth or sixteenth notes) resolution.
Use Latin Drum Kit
Check to use a Latin drum kit in this style with instruments like maracas, cabasa, and agogo.

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Velocity Boost of pushes
Pushes can get a velocity boost, so that they are played louder than other patterns. A usual setting would be 10.
# ticks to push
Styles can be pushed with the StyleMaker. This will cause the patterns to be played a little ahead of the beat, a
certain % of time, which gives your arrangement a more human (musical) feel.
Band-in-a-Box uses a resolution of 120 PPQ, i.e., 120 ticks to a quarter note.
- 30 ticks = sixteenth note
- 40 ticks = triplet eighth note (Swing)
- 60 ticks = eighth note
Choose the number of ticks for each push to use.
Substyle Pushes
The % of notes that are pushed can be set separately for each instrument part and for the “a” and “b” substyles.
In this example, the Bass part patterns will get pushed (randomly) 10% of the time in the “a” substyle and 20% of
the time in the “b” substyle.

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Allow Volume Changes with Style (Usually = No)
Usually you don't want specific volume changes in a style. But if you decide to change the volume of instruments,
you can do it by setting this to YES and then entering the Volumes you want in the settings below. (A better way to
change the volume of a part is to use Pattern | Volume Adjust (Alt+W) to set the volume of each pattern
individually.)
‘Riff’ voicing type uses chord tones
This is an option for piano, guitar, and string patterns. If selected, voicing modifies to match the chord and scale.
Deselect for a simple transpose ignoring chord type.

More Settings (for Rests, Pushes, RealTracks)
Press the [More..] button for the More Settings (for Rests, Pushes, RealTracks) dialog.

Since rests can be “shots” that play a chord on beat 1, the style can define what instrument to use for this, and at
what volume.
Similarly, each push is accompanied by a drum stab, and the style can define what instrument to use and at what
volume.
The Lowest Bass Note setting defaults to the low E on the bass guitar or acoustic bass. It can be changed to match
the range of other bass instruments, such as a tuba, or to extend the range of the bass for keyboards or 5-string and 6string basses.
Assign Soloist (MIDI) or RealTracks (audio) to style
Styles can contain RealTracks and RealDrums or MIDI soloists.
To assign RealTracks to a style set the “Instrument” to use, and the RealTracks #. In the example, we are using
RealGuitar for the Guitar track.

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Styles can have multiple RealTracks. For example, you could have RealPedalSteel and RealAcousticGuitar. And
also RealDrums.
Styles can also 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. Here we are assigning an Earl Scruggs Bluegrass solo to the Strings part.

Enable “Style uses RealDrums (audio drums)” in order to designate a RealDrums style, then press the [RD] button
to select your RealDrums style. Whenever the current style is played, it will use your RealDrums style provided that
RealDrums are enabled in the RealDrums Settings dialog. There are also additional volume controls here.
Note: There is a hot key combination to turn RealDrums on/off (Ctrl+Shift+F6). This also works while the song is playing.

To make your overall dB setting a bit higher or lower for this particular Band-in-a-Box style you can enter a setting
here. There are also fields for adjusting the ‘a’ or ‘b’ subsection volumes only.
If you remove the check mark from either “Allow ‘a’ substyle RealDrums” or “Allow ‘b’ substyle RealDrums” the
one with the checkmark remaining will be used for the entire song, regardless of what substyle is currently called for
in the song.

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Choose “Vary ^ styles with each play” to 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.
Assign Instruments to Style Dialog Box
Select the [Pat.] button in the StyleMaker tool bar to open the Assign Instruments to Style dialog.

This dialog box allows you to assign instruments to a style. When the song is played back using the style, these
patch changes will be sent to your synthesizer. Remember, these are General MIDI Instrument numbers, not the
patch numbers of your synth (unless you have a General MIDI synth).
If you don't require a specific instrument for the style, leave the setting at 0 < No Patch Change >.
Styles can have different instruments (patches) for the “a”
and “b” substyle. For example, you can have drum brushes
on the “a” substyle, and sticks on the “b” substyle, or
acoustic piano for the “a” and electric piano for the bridge.
The patch changes take effect immediately in the style, so that when you are recording Bass parts for example, you
will hear the bass patch that you have selected.
Melody Patch/Soloist Patch
If set to other than 0 < No Patch Change >, all Melodies/Soloists will be played on the specified instrument. If
you're making a “Grover Washington” style for example, you might want any melodies to be automatically set to
saxophone.
Thru Patch
If you set the Thru patch to other than 0 < No Patch Change >, the instrument that the user plays along to your style
will be the patch that you set. If you're making a “Heavy Rock” style, you might want to set the Thru patch to be
Rock Guitar if you expected that the user would want to always play along on Rock Guitar.

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Advanced Editing Of Patterns
Patterns can be “tweaked” with the other advanced features in the StyleMaker - Trim Pattern, Late Notes, and the
Event List Editor.
Trim Pattern
The Trim Pattern routine deletes notes past the end of a pattern, or (optionally) a specified distance from the end of a
pattern. This can be accessed from the Pattern | Trim Pattern(s), row(s) command.

In the dialog displayed, we are trimming 50 ticks from an 8 beat pattern. This means that all of the information past
8 beats (less 50 ticks) will be deleted. This feature is useful to erase “busy playing” that is present near the end of a
pattern, and also delete notes that are just taking up space in the style.
Pattern Velocity Adjust
This function adds or reduces the velocity of a single pattern, row of patterns, or all patterns in an instrument. It is
useful for reducing or increasing the volume of an entire instrument, or fine-tuning the velocities in a style. Choose
the StyleMaker menu item Pattern | Velocity Adjust for 1 pattern, 1 row or all patterns, and input the velocity change
to make for the pattern(s). This adds or subtracts a certain velocity value to the patterns.
Tip: There is another velocity command, “Volume adjust,” but it works differently. It will change the velocities to a certain
value, useful for “smoothing out” velocities.

Late Notes
The [Late Note] button is found inside the StyleMaker’s Misc. Style Settings dialog. It opens a dialog with
“Settings for Making Late notes quieter.” There are settings for allowing or not allowing late notes, and for how late
the notes can be.

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The global setting for late notes in Opt. | Preferences [Arrange] will reduce the volume of the late notes for a
smoother transition from one chord to another.
Event List Editor
The [#] button in the StyleMaker Pattern Editor notation window opens an event list for editing, inserting,
or deleting notes in the patterns.

Style Log Options
For people making styles, the Style Log text file shows exactly which pattern was used in the song generation for
every instrument and bar/beat. This is useful in fixing errant patterns.
To set a style log, choose the StyleMaker Style | Write BBStyleLog##.txt file menu option Display BB
StyleLog##.txt” in Notepad with each play.

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Then, a file called BBStyleLog##.txt will be displayed. Here is a sample:
Bass: Bar 1 Beat=1, Row= 1, Col=12, Location=13, Chord= C
Piano , Bar 1 Beat=1, Row= 1, Col=17, Location=140, Chord= C
Guitar , Bar 1 Beat=1, Row= 5, Col=8, Location=287, Chord= C
Strings, Bar 1 Beat=1, Row= 5, Col=23, Location=274, Chord= C
This tells you that when the song was generated, for the bass track, at bar 1 the pattern found in row 1, column 12 of
the StyleMaker was chosen.

Alternatives to Recording Patterns
It’s not always necessary to record every pattern for a style, or any patterns, for that matter. The import features in
the StyleMaker make it possible to assemble an entirely new style from existing styles, or to import patterns from
favorite MIDI files.
Hybrid Styles
The “Hybrid Styles” feature allows you to play and create a style that has instruments from up to five different
styles! You can, for example, play a song with a Reggae bass, Rock drums, Salsa piano, or any combination of up
to five styles that you want. Create a name for your hybrid style and you can save it with the song so that it will play
that way in the future.
To use the Hybrid Styles feature, choose Styles | Make a Hybrid style or click on the hybrid [STY] button
in the toolbar. You’ll then see the Make a Hybrid style dialog.

Your hybrid style can be up to five instruments, each from a different style. For example, you can have a Latin
drum part, with a Zydeco bass, and Jazz guitar part, and strings from a Classical style!
Select the instrument (e.g. Bass), and then select a style by pressing the [.STY] button. Repeat for
up to five instruments.
When you’re ready to generate the Style, press [OK- (re) Generate style
with name ---〉], and choose a name for your style.
Remember that style names in Band-in-a-Box can be a maximum of eight characters, with no spaces! (This is to
insure compatibility with Macintosh and previous versions of Band-in-a-Box.)
Press [Play] in Band-in-a-Box and you can hear the results. You can revisit the Make a Hybrid style dialog to
make any changes.
Editing a Hybrid Style
You can edit a hybrid style just like any other style. Open the StyleMaker to view the patterns. In addition, in the
StyleMaker, if you press the [Misc] button, you’ll see a style memo listing the various styles that made up the hybrid
style.

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Importing Instruments from Other Styles
This is a great way to have fun with the StyleMaker, and to create great new styles in no time. The dialog is
accessed from the Style | Import Instrument menu item.
Choose the instrument you want to import and select the desired options. Click on [OK] and a standard Windows
Open dialog will be launched so you can select any style on your computer as the source for the instrument. Mix
and match instruments from different styles to create fresh new arrangements.
Notice the selector box to choose an instrument to
import and the destination instrument in “Import to
this instrument.”
For example, to add a second guitar to your style,
you could import it to the Strings part if it is empty
(or if you want to replace the strings with another
guitar).
Note that Piano/Guitar/Strings can be interchanged
here, but Bass can only be imported from Bass, and
Drums from Drums.
Try some instruments from dissimilar styles for fun
and surprises! You can also add parts that were not
present in the original style this way.

Importing Patterns from a MIDI file
You can use any MIDI file as a source for new StyleMaker patterns by accessing Pattern | Import Pattern from
MIDI file menu item.
Use the options to specify the channels and the exact bars to import, and also to include or exclude controllers.
The import # patterns option allows you to import more than one at a time.
In the StyleMaker, when you choose Pattern | Import from a MIDI File (or
clipboard or Melody track) the dialog shows a further option at the bottom.
For example, if you import 8 patterns, the 8 patterns will be inserted in the first available 8 positions on the current
row. They will be offset by the # of beats present on the current row. For example, if you are on the “4 beat” row,
the patterns will get inserted offset by 4 beats, so you'd get patterns for each bar in the 8 bars imported.

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Convert Track to C7 chord
Choose Melody | Edit Melody Track | Map Melody track to C7 chord. The purpose of this function is to allow you
to quickly import any MIDI file track into the StyleMaker and make a style from it.

Once you choose the option, you select whether it is a bass track to import, or a piano track (actually any part other
than bass or drums). A bass track uses notes below C4 (MIDI note #48) and above the lowest note you select in the
dialog.
If you select piano track the notes will all be mapped to a C7 chord, it is not important that the chords on the
spreadsheet are correct. However, if you are importing a bass track, it is important that the chords are correct. You
can select options to allow patterns that are anticipations, and also convert chords to “macro notes.” Force mapping
to “tritones” is useful for guitar or string parts that you might only want 2 notes for.
Once you have mapped the track to the notes, you can examine the Melody track to make sure the results are what
you want, and then use the Pattern | Import From Melody track command, and set the # of patterns to import, etc.
This function allows you to read in any track of music from a MIDI file that you've created, and quickly convert it to
patterns in the StyleMaker. Since the StyleMaker requires all patterns based on a C7 chord, this function
automatically maps the entire track to notes on a C7 chord. You can then import any # of patterns (using the
function to choose the number of patterns to import).

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Editing Patterns
Slide Pattern X ticks
This is another option available on the StyleMaker menu. This allows a pattern to be time shifted any number of
ticks, based on a PPQ setting of 120.
The StyleMaker screen displays the number of patterns, which combined with the map to C7 function, allows you to
quickly import any MIDI file track into the StyleMaker and make a style from it.
There are other additional StyleMaker features such as definable instruments on the drum grid, 32nd notes on the
drum grid, “live” drums, the ability to load-in patterns from MIDI file to the drum grid or live drums, etc. to
facilitate importing patterns from MIDI files.
Velocity Adjust
This function adds or reduces the velocity of a single pattern, row of patterns, or all patterns in an instrument. It is
useful for reducing or increasing the volume of an entire instrument, or fine-tuning the velocities in a style.
Choose the menu items Pattern-Velocity Adjust (for 1 pattern, 1 row, or whole instrument) and input the velocity
change to make for the pattern(s). This will add or subtract a certain velocity value to the patterns.
Style Checker
Analogous to a “Spell Checker,” this function analyzes your style-in-progress and identifies possible problems. The
results are output to a text window, allowing you to examine the patterns and fix them if required. It identifies
patterns that might be “too busy” or incorrect macro notes etc.
To access the Style Checker, open up the StyleMaker (Ctrl+F9), and choose Style | Style Checker. You'll then get a
text report about the style, listing possible problems with the style. Here is a sample printout:
-----Start of style checking ------JAZQUINT.STY
Drums: Row 1, Column 1 First pattern of instrument shouldn't contain masks in it. It should be generic.
Piano: Row 1, Column 3 Non Chord tones found (other than C, E, G, Bb) and pattern is not set to a chord mask, riff
based, or MACRO.
Style Summary
This displays a text window summary of the style, including lots of information about the style such as # patterns, #
patterns for each substyle, patches, pushes, volume changes, guitar patterns, and more. To access the style
summary, from the StyleMaker, choose Style | Style Summary. You'll then see a detailed text summary of the Style.

Using the MIDI File to Style Wizard
The Style Wizard
converts any MIDI file to a
Band-in-a-Box style. In
this tutorial, we're going to
load in the Violet.MID
found in the \bb folder and
convert it to a style - which
we'll call Violet.STY.
Start with a new song and
press the Style Wizard
button or choose Styles |
Style Wizard to launch the
Style Wizard.
The dialog is largely empty
because we haven't chosen
a MIDI file yet.

Press the [Open] button and load in the file c:\bb\violet.MID. The Style Wizard then does the
following automatically:

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The chords for the MIDI file are interpreted and written on the Chord Sheet.
The “part markers” for the file are displayed on the Chord Sheet. For Violet.MID, the Style Wizard has found the
correct part markers – by looking for drum fills and other signs of a part change – and has assigned substyle “a”
to all of them. We'll change some of them to “b” later.
The channels used in the MIDI file
are displayed in the dialog,
with the patches used and # of
notes played on each channel.
(For Violet.MID you can see
that channels 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and
10 are used.)
The Style Wizard analyzes the
parts and guesses at which
Band-in-a-Box part - Bass,
Piano, Drums, Guitar, or
Strings to use for each track.
Band-in-a-Box has correctly
assigned 5 instruments – not
assigning a part to the
Melody.
The Style Wizard suggests which
bars (“snapshots”) to include in
the style. The suggested bars
are bars with all of the “BB
Part” instruments.

Usually you'll want to customize these snapshot bars to control which bars get included in the “a” or “b” substyle.
In the Violet.MID style, the Style Wizard has offered to include Bars 9-101 (inclusive) and wants to put them all on
the “a” substyle. Continuing on, we want to make a great sounding style, so it is important that we have the
following two items correct:
The “BB Parts” have to be correct. We can audition the MIDI file by playing a loop and listening
to the MIDI file and muting channels by clicking on the “Channel” checkboxes. From that, we can
hear the individual parts and assign them correctly, as we would like them in the style. By playing
the MIDI file inside the Style Wizard we can tell which bars to use for the “a” and “b” substyles.
Note: The Style Wizard has entered some of these settings automatically – but you'll have to type in the data as shown.

The Snapshot Bars should be correct for the “a” and “b” substyle. You need to tell the program what bars to
use for the “a” substyle and for the “b” substyle. The program makes an attempt to guess at this, but since MIDI
files can contain many different substyles (and a Band-in-a-Box style allows only 2), you'll likely want control over
these snapshots yourself.
Tip to help you choosing which bars to use:
To listen to the MIDI file, you can either exit the Style Wizard dialog
and just play the song like any other Band-in-a-Box file, or play a
looped section inside the Style Wizard using the [Play], [Stop], and
“Loop at Bar” settings.
OK, the Style Wizard has already made the correct settings for the “BB Parts” for us, so we don't need to make any
changes there. Let's move to the Snapshots section, and enter the bar numbers that correspond to the substyles that
we'd like for the Jazz tune. After listening to the tune, we notice that there is a “2-feel” Jazz section, and a “4-in-thebar” section. We want those as “a” and “b” substyles, so we enter the bar #s that correspond to these settings.

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In the Snapshots area of the Style Wizard:
-

Enter “1-20” for the bars for the “A” Substyle.

Enter “21-28, 37-68” for the “B” Substyle.

Enter “12, 20” for the “A” Drum Fills.

Enter “28, 36, 44, 52, 60, and 68” for the “B” Drum Fills.
Note: Of course you don't need to enter this much detail. You could just enter a single range like 1-20 for the “a” substyle
and make a quickie style. We're illustrating “advanced” style-generation here.

Press [Generate NEW style…]; choose a name for your style, and the style will be
made.
Let's call it Violet.STY. Now to hear your style! You could play the style with any song of course, by loading in a
song and then loading in the Violet.STY It is easily available from the Favorite Styles dialog (Shift+F9).
For this tutorial, load in the song V_TEST.MGU that we made for you. That's a Jazz Swing song using different
chords than Violet, and it uses the Violet.STY (So you need to have made that style before you try to play the song
or you'll get a “Violet.STY not found” message.)
Save the existing song before loading in the new song. When Band-in-a-Box saves a song that has an entire MIDI
file on the Melody or Soloist tracks it gives it a special MGX extension. So you'll be saving the file as Violet.MGX.
Alternatively, if you'd prefer to play the Violet.STY style without loading in another song, you can do it as follows.
Since the Violet.MGX file currently has the entire MIDI file on the Melody track the first thing we need to do is
Mute the Melody (Alt+9 or right-click on the Melody part at the top of the screen). The next thing is the Enable the
Style, by choosing Style | Style is Enabled so that this item has a checkbox.
Auto Endings for Styles without Endings
If you‘ve made a style, and haven’t included an ending, a 2-bar ending can be generated automatically, based on the
style. This makes it easier to make complete styles using the Style Wizard.
To hear an example, load in the song c:\bb\Tutorial – BB 2005\No Ending.MGU. This song uses
NOENDING.STY, a style that doesn’t have an ending. An ending will be generated automatically for this style.
So we've made our first style! In summary, making styles with the Style Wizard is a process involving:
1. Loading a MIDI file into the Style Wizard.
2. Listening to the MIDI file by muting channels to identify parts.
3. Picking the channels to use for the BB Parts.
4. Picking the snapshot bars for the “a” and “b” substyle.
5. Pressing the [Generate NEW style…] button.

Advanced Settings and Preferences
Click on the [More] button to open the Style Wizard Advanced Settings and Preferences.

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There are 2 sections to this dialog, Advanced Instrument Settings and Preferences.
Advanced Instrument Settings
The advanced instrument settings allow settings for the instruments (drums / bass / piano / guitar / strings) to be
included in the style. The settings are:
The “Substyles” determines whether the instrument is included in the “A,” “B,” or
both “A&B” substyles. For example, if you want to make a style that only uses the
strings on the “B” substyle, set the strings instrument part to “B” only.
The Voicings settings determine, for the various instruments:
Drums (“voicings”): Whether the patterns will use live or grid style
patterns. Default mode is “auto,” which normally uses live patterns, but
you can force it to use live or grid style patterns. Live patterns have
higher resolution and can use more instruments, so in general are the
better choice.
Bass (“voicings”) determine if the bass part will use All notes / Scale
tones only / Root 3rd, 5th,7th / Root, 3rd, 5th / Root and 5th / or just the
Root. The default is “Auto-select” which usually allows all 12 semitones.

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Piano, Guitar, and Strings Voicings determine how the Piano patterns will
be voiced. The choices are Auto, Include Full Voicings, Tritones only
(3rd/7ths), Power Chords (Root/5th), Chord Mask Half Octave, and
Chord Mask Full Octave.
The auto-setting usually uses the “Include full voicings.” If the part uses
2-note chords, you should over-ride this setting to “use tritones” so that
the most important notes of the chord (the tritone)
will get included. 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). Set the voicings to use “ChordMask Full Octave”
or “ChordMask Half Octave.”
You wouldn’t make a Style Wizard style from scratch using chord masks,
because there need to be generic patterns in the style. So you do it as a
2-stage process. First time, make the style using generic patterns (e.g. Voicing type “Auto”) and then change
voicings to Chord Mask, and add those to the style. As with other Style Wizard features, it is important that the
chords and part markers on the chord sheet be very accurate. So if they aren’t, you should fix them before
generating a style.
The Emb. (embellish) checkbox determines if the patterns for Piano, Guitar, and Strings will be
embellished. If embellished on a chord like D7 (in the key of C) 13ths, 9ths, and #11 notes might be added to
embellish the chord. A Jazz piano style would likely use this.
The “Include Empty patterns Threshold” setting defaults to None. Possible settings are None / 2
beat / 1 bar / 2 bars. If set to none, the instrument will always play in the style, if set to “1 bar” there
will be “spaces of silence” up to 1 bar long (perhaps longer if chained together) in the style for that
instrument. So if an instrument is used sparsely in a style, set this setting to something higher than
none.

The Velocity Adjust will make an instrument louder or softer in the style.

Preferences
Preferences affect the style itself.

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If set, after generating the style, the StyleMaker is left open for you to examine/edit the style directly.
Auto-interpret MIDI file. (Default = Yes)
When set, the Style Creation Wizard will set the channels, BB Parts, and snapshots for you. Normally this setting
should be left on.
Delete existing patterns (when adding to the style). (Default = No)
If this option is set when you create style patterns to add to an existing style, the entire instrument will first be erased
in the style for any instrument used in the new style. When you generate a style by adding to an existing style, the
StyleMaker is then opened up, allowing you to pick a new name for the style (so you don't overwrite the existing
style).
# columns to leave unused in the style. (Default = 0)
If set to zero (the default), the Style Creation Wizard can create the biggest style possible – filling up the rows
completely with patterns. But if you set this to a non-zero value it will limit the # of patterns that can be made.
Since there are 30 rows in the StyleMaker, you can set this setting from 0 to 29.
Generate new pattern after # duplicates
The Style Creation Wizard won't insert patterns unless they are unique compared to the ones already entered. But
(with this setting at the default of 8), after 8 duplicates of the same pattern, a 2nd pattern will get entered that is a
duplicate of another pattern. Setting this to zero would mean that every pattern would get entered (regardless of
whether it was unique); setting it to a high number like 200 would mean that only truly unique patterns are entered.
To maintain the correct balance in the style, since the maximum weight of a pattern in the StyleMaker is 8, this
setting should be left at 8 in most situations. If your style is “filling up” all of the available columns, then set this to
a higher number.

Allow Pitch Bend in style
If set, pitch bend present on the MIDI file will be included in the style. Make sure that the MIDI file pitch bend
range = two semitones.
Allow pushes in style
If set, the style will allow pushes (playing instruments before the beat). This is done by setting the push values in
the individual pattern’s options.

Making RealDrums Styles
Introduction to RealDrums

™

RealDrums are actual recordings of studio drummers, pieced together by Band-in-a-Box to create a unique “real”
drum track that is played along with the MIDI tracks created by Band-in-a-Box styles. You can combine any
RealDrums style with any Band-in-a-Box style, so the potential combinations are endless!
A RealDrums style consists of a wave file containing various bars of drum patterns, and a text file with instructions
on how Band-in-a-Box should interpret the wave file. In order for the style to work, the text file needs to be located
in the main Band-in-a-Box directory in the “Drums” folder, and then in a sub-directory that is the name of the style
group. The file-name needs to be the same as the style group, followed by an underscore ( _ ) and a three digit
number representing the tempo. Additionally, “_Style” has to be in the filename after the tempo.
For example, for a “JazzBrushes” style that is 120 beats-per-minute, this text file needs to be present:
C:\bb\Drums\JazzBrushes\JazzBrushes_120_Style.txt
The wave file also needs to be in a subdirectory of the “Drums” folder. It is usually located in the same place as the
text file:
C:\bb\Drums\JazzBrushes\JazzBrushes_120_Style.wav
However it can be in a different directory, and there are some instances where this is necessary (see “Reduced
Styles” below).

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“RealDrums style groups” are multiple RealDrums styles that have the same basic feel, but were recorded at
different tempos. In the example above, “JazzBrushes” is the group, and “JazzBrushes_120_Style” is the style. In
that particular example, the JazzBrushes group contains 10 RealDrums styles:
JazzBrushes_045_Style
JazzBrushes_060_Style
JazzBrushes_070_Style
JazzBrushes_100_Style
JazzBrushes_120_Style
JazzBrushes_145_Style
JazzBrushes_175_Style
JazzBrushes_210_Style
JazzBrushes_250_Style
JazzBrushes_300_Style
The easiest way to make a style is to use a text-file template.

Making A RealDrums Style Using An Existing Template
Templates are available for download from http://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/realdrums_stylemaking_templates.zip.
The information given below is all you need to create a RealDrums style using any of several provided templates.
For a more in-depth look at the intricate details of creating styles, please read on to the following topics under Elements of
RealDrums Styles.

Recording your wave file
For the wave file that will be used for your RealDrums style, you can either record a drummer, or you can piece
together a wave file using drum loops. If you use drum loops, just make sure you have the necessary permission
from the original artists and/or publishers of the loops.
Regardless of the method that you choose for creating your drum wave file, you need to have it conform to one of
these descriptions in order to have it match the accompanying template:
1. 32_bars_of_drumming.txt
2. 32_bars_of_drumming_with_shots.txt
3. 32_bars_of_drumming_with_shots_two_endings.txt
4. 64_bars_of_drumming.txt
5. 64_bars_of_drumming_with_shots.txt
6. 64_bars_of_drumming_with_shots_two_endings.txt
1. 32_bars_of_drumming.txt
bar#

1-2 – count-in for two bars (i.e., “one, two, one-two-three-four”)
Bars 3-18 will use the same basic groove:
3 – PostFill (usually a bar of playing with a cymbal shot at the downbeat, or some kind of bar that
would sound good after a fill)
4-9 – normal playing
10 – Fill
11 – PostFill
12-17 – normal playing
18 – Fill
Bars 19-34 will use a slightly different groove (‘B’ section) than 3-18
19 – PostFill

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20-25 – normal playing
26 – Fill
27 – PostFill
28-33 – normal playing
34 – Fill
35-36 – ending, lasting two bars (usually the second bar ends on the downbeat, with a cymbal decaying)
2. 32_bars_of_drumming_with_shots.txt
This is exactly the same as 1, with these bars added:
37 – single drum hit, which will be used for “shots” in Band-in-a-Box
38 – single drum hit, which will be used for “pushes” in Band-in-a-Box
3. 32_bars_of_drumming_with_shots_two_endings.txt
bar#

1-2 – count-in for two bars (i.e., “one, two, one-two-three-four”)
Bars 3-20 will use the same basic groove:
3 – PostFill (usually a bar of playing with a cymbal shot at the downbeat, or some kind of bar that
would sound good after a fill)
4-9 – normal playing
10 – Fill
11 – PostFill
12-17 – normal playing
18 – Fill
19-20 – two bar ending
Bars 21-36 will use a slightly different groove (‘B’ section) than 3-20
21 – PostFill
22-27 – normal playing
28 – Fill
29 – PostFill
30-35 – normal playing
36 – Fill
37-38 – ending, lasting two bars (usually the second bar ends on the downbeat, with a cymbal decaying)
39 – single drum hit, which will be used for “shots” in Band-in-a-Box
40 – single drum hit, which will be used for “pushes” in Band-in-a-Box

4. 64_bars_of_drumming.txt
bar#

1-2 – count-in for two bars (i.e., “one, two, one-two-three-four”)
Bars 3-34 will use the same basic groove:
3 – PostFill (usually a bar of playing with a cymbal shot at the downbeat, or some kind of bar that
would sound good after a fill)
4-9 – normal playing
10 – Fill
11 – PostFill
12-17 – normal playing
18 – Fill
19 – PostFill

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20-25 – normal playing
26 – Fill
27 – PostFill
28-33 – normal playing
34 – Fill
Bars 35-66 will use a slightly different groove (‘B’ section) than 3-18
35 – PostFill
36-41 – normal playing
42 – Fill
43 – PostFill
44-49 – normal playing
50 – Fill
51 – PostFill
52-57 – normal playing
58 – Fill
59 – PostFill
60-65 – normal playing
66 – Fill
67-68 – ending, lasting two bars (usually the second bar ends on the downbeat, with a cymbal decaying)
5. 64_bars_of_drumming_with_shots.txt
This is exactly the same as 5, with these bars added:
69 – single drum hit, which will be used for “shots” in Band-in-a-Box
70 – single drum hit, which will be used for “pushes” in Band-in-a-Box
6. 64_bars_of_drumming_with_shots_two_endings.txt
bar#

1-2 – count-in for two bars (i.e., “one, two, one-two-three-four”)
Bars 3-36 will use the same basic groove:
3 – PostFill (usually a bar of playing with a cymbal shot at the downbeat, or some kind of bar that
would sound good after a fill)
4-9 – normal playing
10 – Fill
11 – PostFill
12-17 – normal playing
18 – Fill
19 – PostFill
20-25 – normal playing
26 – Fill
27 – PostFill
28-33 – normal playing
34 – Fill
35-36 – 2 bar ending
Bars 37-70 will use a slightly different groove (‘B’ section) than 3-18
37 – PostFill

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38-43 – normal playing
44 – Fill
45 – PostFill
46-51 – normal playing
52 – Fill
53 – PostFill
54-59 – normal playing
60 – Fill
61 – PostFill
62-67 – normal playing
68 – Fill
69-70 – 2 bar ending
71 – single drum hit, which will be used for “shots” in Band-in-a-Box
72 – single drum hit, which will be used for “pushes” in Band-in-a-Box
Editing the text file
For the most part, the text files are ready-to-go. There are, however, a few small essential changes that you need to
make to the text file, and some other small changes you can make to improve your style.
Essential Changes
The first thing you need to do is change the filename of the wave-file and the text file to match the RealDrums style
group to which to which you want your style to belong. For example, if you want your style group to be called
“MyFunkyStyle”, and the style you recorded was at 70 beats per minute, your wave file would have to be called
“MyFunkyStyle_070_Style.wav” and your text file would have to be called “MyFunkyStyle_070_Style.txt”. Both
files would have to be placed in your main Band-in-a-Box directory (usually C:\BB) in the “Drums” folder, and
from there in a folder that is named for the style group. In this case, it would be C:\BB\Drums\MyFunkyStyle\.
The second thing you have to do is to change the first line of the text file so that it has the same name as the wave
file. In this case, you would change “wavename=mystyle.wav” to “wavename=MyFunkyStyle_070_Style.wav”
The last thing you would need to do would be that if your style were a waltz (3:4) style, you would need to change
“TimeSig=4” to “TimeSig=3”. If, however, you are making a 4:4 style, your style is ready to be used!
Additional Changes
There are a few additional changes that could be made to fine-tune your style. The first is to enter a different value
in the “Offset=“ line. Drummers often hit a drum a few milliseconds before the beat, because the actual sound of the
drum tends to peak a few milliseconds after it is hit. Because of this, you want Band-in-a-Box to “grab” a bar of
drums a few ticks (1 beat = 120 ticks) early to compensate for this. The amount entered in the template is –5 (ticks),
but if you are finding that the drum hits at the beginning of bars are not starting properly, you can experiment by
setting a different offset value. –6 or lower (since it’s a negative number “lower” means –7, -8, -9, etc.) will mean
the bar is “grabbed” earlier, and a higher number (-4, -3, -2, -1, 0, etc.) means that it will be “grabbed” closer to the
bar line.
Another thing you can change is the volume. If you are finding your style is too loud in Band-in-a-Box, you can
reduce this by entering lower numbers in the “dbAdjust=“ line. The default is 0, but if you enter –1, -2, -3, etc., the
drum volume will be lowered.
For the patterns and the shots, all of the patterns that are entered in the templates will match your wave file, provided
that the wave file was recorded to the specifications listed above. You can make changes to the patterns and shots,
but it is a good idea to read further into the specific meaning of all of the elements of these lines. This can be done
in the complete RealDrums style making documentation.
Testing your RealDrums style
Once you have made your RealDrums style, you can test it in Band-in-a-Box by loading a song and setting the
tempo near to the tempo of the style you just created. You would then go into the RealDrums Settings dialog

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(either by selecting Opt. | Preferences | RealDrums or by pressing the RealDrums toolbar button) and make sure
RealDrums are enabled. Put a checkmark beside “For this song only, use this RealDrum style”, and then select your
style from the “RD” button. When you close the dialog and play your song, your RealDrums style should be
playing as well. To make sure that it is playing, you can look at the Band-in-a-Box title bar. If your style is
“MyFunkyStyle_070_Style”, you should see [RealDrums=MyFunkyStyle_070].

Elements of RealDrums Styles
For an in-depth explanation of all elements of creating a RealDrums style, please read below.
Elements of the Wave File
The wave file must contain a two bar count-in. This can be a metronome sound, a drummer actually counting in, or
even a two-bar drum fill. These two bars will always be played at the beginning of a Band-in-a-Box song, unless the
count-in is disabled in the preferences. It is important to note that the beginning of the wave file should not contain
a bar of drum playing that is intended to be used in the middle of a song. If this bar were to chosen, there would
likely be an audible gap of silence at the beginning of the bar when playing in Band-in-a-Box (this is due to the “ms
offset” which will be discussed later)
The majority of the wave file can then contain any number of bars of drumming, keeping in mind that there are two
“substyles” available in Band-in-a-Box. This means that the basic groove should be the same throughout the first
half of the drum bars, and then the groove can change and should remain basically the same through to the end.
Keep in mind also when you either record or piece together your wave file, that in each “substyle”, there need to be
examples of fill, normal bars, and post-fills (bars specifically designed to come after fills, often containing a crash
cymbal which completes a fill). You also need at least one 2-bar ending.
After the bars of drumming should be a short section of single drum hits. These will be used to mix in with the bars
of drumming to emulate pushes and shots.
Example 1 shows an entire RealDrums style wave file. You can see that the first two bars contain the count-in, then
the majority of the file is taken up by regular drumming (you can see that halfway through the pattern is different –
this represents the ‘B’ subsection), then at the end there are 4 “shots” (single drum hits).

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Example 1: Wave form of an entire RealDrums style wave file

Elements of the Text File
The text file contains three main portions, global settings, pattern definition, and shots definition. We’ll examine
each one separately.
Global Settings
Wavename=x.wav
The first line of the text file must be “wavename=x.wav”, where “x” is the name of the filename. For example, the
first line of the JazzBrushes_120 text file is “wavename=JazzBrushes_120_Style.wav”. This file usually is in the
same directory as the text file, but does not have to be. For example, you could make an alternate style that used
JazzBrushes_120_Style.wav called JazzBrushesAlternate. The text file would have to reside in
C:\bb\Drums\JazzBrushesAlternate\JazzBrushesAlternate_120_Style.txt, but the first line would still be
“wavename=JazzBrushes_120_Style.wav”.
ForceWavTempo=x
This is only used if the tempo of the style in question is different from the tempo that is in the filename of the wave
file being used. These are called “reduced” or “expanded” styles, and will be discussed further below.
TimeSig=3
This would be used if you are making a waltz style. The line can simply be omitted when making 4:4 styles.
OFFSET=x
Often a drummer will hit a drum or cymbal slightly before a beat so that the actual peak of the sound occurs on the
beat itself. The offset determines how many ticks (1 beat =120 ticks) before the downbeat a bar of drums will be
taken from the style wave file, which is intended to compensate for any occurrence of this early playing on the drum
track. It is important to note that iv a bar is taken 10 ticks early from the style wave file, it is also placed 10 ticks
early on the Band-in-a-Box drum track, so there will be no shifting of the actual groove.
If no offset amount is entered, the program defaults to an offset of 0.
To determine a good offset amount for a particular wave file, you can use an audio editor (such as Powertracks Pro
Audio) to zoom in on the downbeats of all (or a sampling) of the bars. You can then measure the number of ticks
between the start of the drum hits and the actual bar line. The highest example would be entered as the offset
amount.
In example 2, the beginning of the drum hit at bar 15 occurs at 14:04:118, or 2 ticks before the downbeat of bar 15.
If all other bars were similar, you would enter an offset of –2.

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Example 2: The left edge of the highlighted area represents the beginning of the drum hit that occurs at bar 15, and
the right edge of the highlighted area represents the actual downbeat of bar 15.
dbadjust=x
If a value is entered here, when the RealDrums track is played in Band-in-a-Box, the volume will be raised (or
lowered if a negative value is entered) by the amount entered. This is used to balance the RealDrums against the
other DXi instruments. This amount can be fine-tuned once the style is completed and it is possible to test it in
Band-in-a-Box.
If no dbadjust amount is entered, the program defaults to an adjust of 0.
dbadjustA=x
dbadjustB=y
You can adjust the volume of the A section and B section patterns separately in the same manner as “dbadjust”
using “dbadjustA=“ and “dbadjustB=“. The final volume of the parts will be based on the “dbadjust” amount added
to the adjust for the substyle in question. For example, let’s assume these values were entered:
Dbadjust=-5
DbadjustA=-2
DbadjustB=3
The total volume adjust for the A section would be (-5)+(-2)= -7. The total volume adjust for the B section would
be (-5)+3= -2.
Note: The dbadjustA and dbadjustB features have not yet been implemented as of Band-in-a-Box version 2007 build 227,
but are planned to be added in a future release. However, these lines of text can be added without causing any problems in
the style, they will simply have no effect until the feature is implemented.

MultibarPatternPercent=x
When Band-in-a-Box is choosing a RealDrums pattern (see “patterns” below) for a particular bar in a song, it
randomly selects from all possible patterns that fit based on their relative weight. If, however, a percentage is
entered here, then before this step it determines whether the current bar will be use a multi-bar pattern based on the
percentage. If this occurs, Band-in-a-Box eliminates all 1-bar patterns as possibilities for the current bar of music.
For example, if “MultibarPatternPercent=20” is entered, then every time Band-in-a-Box searches for a pattern, there

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is a 20% chance that it will eliminate 1-bar patterns as possibilities. If “MultibarPatternPercent=80” is entered, then
every time there will be an 80% chance that 1-bar patterns will be eliminated as possibilities. If such an instance
occurs, but no multi-bar patterns will fit in the Band-in-a-Box bar in question, a 1-bar pattern will be allowed.
If no amount is entered here, then Band-in-a-Box simply always picks between all possible patterns based on their
relative weights.
PushAmount8=x
PushAmount16=x
When pushes are entered in Band-in-a-Box (with either “^” for an 8th note push or “^^” for a 16th note push, entered
before a chord”), the RealDrums mix single drum hits with the bars of regular playing to emphasize the push. These
settings determine how many ticks prior to a beat the pushes are played.
Mathematically, since 1 quarter-note is 120 ticks, in a straight 8th style the 8th-note will be 60 ticks and the 16th-note
will be 30 ticks, and in a swing 8th style the 8th-note will be 40 ticks. However, since drummers (thankfully!) do not
play mathematically, these numbers will vary based on their individual style, and the amount of “swing” in their
playing. A good amount to enter for these values can be determined by closely examining the drummers playing in
an audio editor and measuring the number of ticks between a few 8th-notes prior to beats.
In this straight-8ths style (example 3), this eighth note played prior to the downbeat of bar 6 is played at 5:04:058, or
62 ticks before the downbeat. The rest of the file could be examined in a similar fashion (or random samplings), but
based on this example you would enter PushAmount8=62.

Example 3: The left edge of the highlighted area represents the eighth note before the downbeat of bar 6, and the
right edge of the highlighted area represents the downbeat of bar 6.
If no amount is entered for these values, Band-in-a-Box determines the amount based on whether or not the Band-ina-Box style being used is a swing or straight 8th style.
ASubstyleAllowed=NO
BSubstyleAllowed=NO
Using either one of these lines blocks all patterns for the specified substyle, and then uses the patterns of the
remaining substyle for the entire song, regardless of the substyle selected in Band-in-a-Box.
This can be useful for altering an existing style. For example, if you have a style made that uses brushes at the A
section and sticks at the B section, but you want to change it so that it only uses sticks, you can enter the line
“AsubstyleAllowed=NO” into the text file. All of the B section patterns will be used for both A section parts and B
section parts in Band-in-a-Box. This is also a useful tool in making “Alternate” styles (see “Alternate Styles and
Expanded/Reduced Styles” below).

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It is important, however, to not enter both of these lines. If you do this, Band-in-a-Box will not be able to find any
patterns at all, and you will get an error message.
MSSlide=x
This shifts the entire drum part either forwards or backwards by x number of milliseconds in relation to the MIDI
parts. A negative amount will make it play slightly before the MIDI parts, while a positive amount will make it play
slightly after the MIDI parts. This can be used to make slight changes to the overall feel of the drummer. Entering a
negative amount will simulate a drummer playing slightly ahead of the beat, while entering a positive amount will
simulate a drummer playing slightly behind the beat. Either scenario can be musically effective in it’s own way.
Note: The MSSlide feature has not yet been implemented as of Band-in-a-Box version 2007 build 227, but is planned to be
added in a future release. However, this line of text can be added without causing any problems in the style, it will simply
have no effect until the feature is implemented.

Pattern Definition
All patterns are defined in the text file using lines of text containing seven elements, with each of the seven elements
separated by a comma. The seven elements are: 1) the text “pattern”, 2) type of pattern, 3) section definition (A, B
or all), 4) weight (how often the pattern will be played), 5) Mask (restrictions on where the pattern can be played), 6)
duration of the pattern in bars, 7) the location of the pattern in the style wave file.
Here are some examples of defined patterns:
pattern,Normal,A,2,1,2,75
pattern,Fill,A,1,0,1,58
pattern,PostFill,B,8,0,8,3
pattern,Ending,0,6,0,2,114
pattern,Count-in,0,5,0,2,-1
As you can see, each example here starts with the text “pattern”. This simply lets Band-in-a-Box know that the line
contains information regarding drum parts that will be inserted into the RealDrums track. The next element is the
type of pattern, and here we have examples of “normal”, “fill”, “PostFill”, “Ending” and “Count-in” types of
patterns. The next element is the section definition, and we have examples of “A” section patterns, “B” section
patterns and “0” patterns, for which sections are not applicable. The next element is the weight. In these examples
we have weights of 2, 1, 8, 6 and 5. The higher the weight, the more frequently the pattern will be chosen. The next
element is the mask. There are examples here of “0” masks, which impose no additional restrictions on where the
pattern can be played and a “1” mask, which does impose certain restrictions. The next element is the duration in
bars, and we have examples here of patterns that last 1, 2 or 8 bars long. The final element is the location of the
pattern in the style wave file. These numbers represent bars, however you’ll notice that one of the examples has a
location of –1. This is because Band-in-a-Box uses a –1 based numbering system for bars of music in a song, which
will be explained in more detail below.
The six elements that come after the text “pattern” are explained here in further detail:
1. Type of pattern
There are 5 different types of patterns, “Fill”, “PostFill”, “PreFill”, “Normal”, “Ending” and “Count-in”.
Fills
Fills always occur in the bar immediately prior to part markers. In Band-in-a-Box songs, part markers (A
or B) are used to delineate musical phrases. Since drum fills are also used to conclude musical phrases,
drum fills always occur in the last bar before a part marker. Unlike other patterns, fills can only be 1 bar
long.
Here are some examples of Fill patterns defined:
• pattern,Fill,A,1,0,1,8
• pattern,Fill,B,6,0,1,32
• pattern,Fill,B,5,0,1,58
PostFills

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As the name implies, PostFills bars occur after Fills. That means that PostFill bars always occur in bars in
which there are part markers. Typically, PostFill bars are generally bars that have a cymbal crash on the
downbeat, which is intended as a completion to the fill that occurred in the previous bar. PostFills can be
any number of bars long.
Here are some examples of PostFill patterns defined:
• pattern,PostFill,A,8,0,8,1
• pattern,PostFill,A,5,0,1,9
• pattern,PostFill,B,4,0,2,17
PreFills
PreFill bars occur immediately before Fills. PreFills are not essential for a style to work, but can be useful
in situations where a drummer begins an elaborate fill a bar early. When Band-in-a-Box picks patterns for
bars that precede fills, it picks from among the pool of normal and prefill patterns. PreFills can either be 1
or 2 bars long. Prefills can be 1 or 2 bars long, with the 2-bar prefill containing the actual fill as well.
Here are some examples of PreFill patterns defined:
• pattern,PreFill,A,4,0,2,7
• pattern,PreFill,B,7,0,1,57
Normal patterns
Normal patterns generally make up the bulk of a Band-in-a-Box song. Any bar that is not immediately
before or after a part marker, and is not a count-in or ending, will be taken from the pool of normal
patterns.

Example 4: All of the highlighted bars in this example are “normal” bars.
Here are some examples of Normal patterns defined:
• pattern,Normal,A,2,0,1,3
• pattern,Normal,A,5,3,2,11
• pattern,Normal,B,5,1,2,75
• pattern,Normal,B,2,5,2,64
Endings
Endings are always 2 bars long, and generally have characteristics of fills for the first bar, but then end with
a drum hit on the 2nd bar, sometimes with a cymbal on the downbeat, but also often with a particular
rhythmic figure. You should check the ending in the Band-in-a-Box style that you will be using the
RealDrum style with to see what kind of rhythm should be used in the drums to match up. Endings can
only be 2 bars long, and you need to have at least one ending defined for a style to work.

Example 5: The two highlighted bars show where an ending is played in Band-in-a-Box.
Count-ins
Count-ins are always 2 bars long, and always occur at the beginning of a song (unless the count-in is
disabled in settings). Count-ins are usually sidestick tapping “one… two… one, two, three, four”, but you
can put anything in these two bars. You can have a person actually counting in, or you can have 2 bars of
drum fills as your count-in, etc.
2. Section Definition
Band-in-a-Box styles and RealDrums styles have two “subsections”, an ‘A’ subsection and a ‘B’ subsection. When
defining patterns, you need to specify whether the pattern is intended to be played during ‘A’ section or the ‘B’
section. For patterns to which the section is not applicable, you can fill this space with a “0”. These include the
count-in and the ending. You can make an exception for the ending, if you want to specifically designate an ending

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to occur only when the preceding bar is ‘A’ or ‘B’. Instead of “0”, you would enter “Aending” or “Bending”. Just
remember that if you do this, you need to cover both eventualities. If you enter a “0” ending, this on it’s own covers
both cases.
Here are some examples of ‘A’ patterns:
• pattern,Fill,A,1,0,1,8
• pattern,PostFill,A,8,0,8,1
• pattern,PostFill,A,5,0,1,9
• pattern,PreFill,A,4,0,2,7
• pattern,Normal,A,2,0,1,3
• pattern,Normal,A,5,3,2,11
Here are some examples of ‘B’ patterns:
• pattern,Fill,B,6,0,1,32
• pattern,Fill,B,5,0,1,58
• pattern,PostFill,B,4,0,2,17
• pattern,PreFill,B,7,0,1,57
• pattern,Normal,B,5,1,2,75
• pattern,Normal,B,2,5,2,64
Here are some examples of ‘0’ patterns:
• pattern,Count-in,0,5,0,2,-1
• pattern,ending,0,1,0,1,33
Here are some examples of special-case endings:
• pattern,ending,Aending,5,0,2,37
• pattern,ending,Bending,5,0,2,77
3. Weight
Every time that Band-in-a-Box needs to find a RealDrums pattern to insert into a Band-in-a-Box bar, it first finds all
possible patterns that would fit (based on the type of pattern, the section definition, the mask and the length), and
then it picks randomly from those patterns based on the weight assigned.
The weight is a number between 1 and 8 (there are special cases where you can use 0 or 9 which we will examine at
the end of this section). When Band-in-a-Box has amassed the list of possible patterns, it then adds up the weights
of all of these patterns, and then the chances that each pattern will be selected is based upon a percentage determined
by the weight of the pattern divided by the total.
For example, if Band-in-a-Box is finding a “normal” pattern for bar 3 of the song, and it has determined that these
four patterns are the only possibilities:
• pattern,Normal,A,5,1,4,11
• pattern,Normal,A,1,0,2,17
• pattern,Normal,A,7,3,2,13
• pattern,Normal,A,2,1,1,20
The first thing it would do would be to add up all of the weights. In this case, 5+1+7+2=15. The chance that each
pattern will be picked in this instance is determined by its own weight divided into the sum. Here then, are the
chances for each pattern to be picked in this instance:
• pattern,Normal,A,5,1,4,11: 5/15=0.333 or 33%
• pattern,Normal,A,1,0,2,17: 1/15=0.066 or 7%
• pattern,Normal,A,7,3,2,13: 7/15=0.466 or 47%
• pattern,Normal,A,2,1,1,20: 2/15=0.133 or 13%
When 9 is entered as a weight, the program treats it slightly differently. A 9 weight means that any possible patterns
that have a weight of 8 or less are completely eliminated as possibilities.
With the previous example, if you changed the weight of the first two patterns to 9, but left the last two as 7 & 2,
then the last two would be eliminated as possibilities, and the percentages would change to:
• pattern,Normal,A,9,1,4,11: 50%
• pattern,Normal,A,9,0,2,17: 50%

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•
•

pattern,Normal,A,7,3,2,13: 0%
pattern,Normal,A,2,1,1,20: 0%

It is therefore important that you are very careful when using a weight of 9. It is usually used in conjunction with a
mask (masks will be explained in greater detail below). For example, if you had a mask that stated that a normal
pattern could only be played 7 bars after a part marker, if you then gave it a weight of 9, any time Band-in-a-Box
needed to find a pattern 7 bars after a part marker it would always use that pattern. However, it would not affect any
other bars.
The other special case is a 0 weight. This is only used for fills. When Band-in-a-Box finds possible patterns, if a
particular pattern is going to end where a fill is required due to the part-marker placement, then the pattern will only
be included as a possibility if that bar in the style wave file has been designated as a fill at some point in the text file.
Likewise, a pattern that ends with a fill will not be considered a possibility if the fill doesn’t match up in the Bandin-a-Box song.
For example, let’s say that Band-in-a-Box is searching for a pattern to place at bar 5, where bar 6 will need to be a
fill:

Example 6: Pattern needed for bar 5.
It will be looking for a normal pattern, and it can use a normal pattern that is 1 or 2 bars long. However, if it picks a
2 bar pattern, it needs to make sure that in the style wave file, the second bar is designated as a fill.
Let’s assume that this pattern is entered in the text file:
• Normal,A,5,0,2,15
This is a 2-bar normal pattern beginning on bar 15 of the style wave file. This pattern could only be picked in this
instance if there was another line somewhere in the text file defining bar 16 of the style wave file as a fill:
• Fill,A,5,0,1,16
However, it may be that this fill would not work well as a stand-alone bar (perhaps there is a cymbal decay that
crosses over bars 15 & 16 that you do not wish to break up – see “Duration” for more information on this). In this
case, you would still want to define the bar as a Fill, so that multi-bar patterns ending in this fill would be used at the
right place, but you would never want the fill to be picked on it’s own. In this case, you could give it a weight of 0:
• Fill,A,0,0,1,16
4. Mask
A Mask can be used to specify that a pattern should only be used a certain number of bars after a part marker. It
only applies to Normal patterns, and all other patterns should be given a weight of 0 (0 means no mask).
Here is a list of the possible masks, and what effect they will have:
• 0 – No mask: This pattern can be used anywhere
• 1 – Odd bars only: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, etc. bars after a part marker
• 2 – Even bars only: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, etc. bars after a part marker
• 3 – 3, 7, 11, 15, etc. bars after a part marker
• 4 – 4, 8, 12, 16, etc. bars after a part marker
• 5 – 5, 13, 21, etc. bars after a part marker
• 6 – 6, 14, 22, etc. bars after a part marker
• 7 – 7, 15, 23, etc. bars after a part marker
• 8 – 8, 16, 24, etc. bars after a part marker
• etc.
Many drum beats use 2-bar rhythms that then repeat, so it’s very common for the “1” and “2” masks to be used. If
you have assigned a “1” mask to several Normal patterns, and a “2” mask to several others, you will always be sure
that the 2-bar grouping remains consistent. Just remember that you have to make sure that there are enough patterns

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to cover all possibilities. If you have only patterns with “1” masks, and no patterns with “2” masks, then Band-in-aBox will not be able to find any patterns for even bars. The safest thing to do is to use a mask of “0”, but this may
not be the most musical approach. A mask of 4 is often used for more subtle fills that would highlight 4 bar phrases.
Masks higher than 8 are not commonly used, as it would mean that the pattern would be played very rarely.

Example 7: Normal pattern needed for bar 13.
In example 7, if Band-in-a-Box is trying to find a normal pattern for bar 13, it will look for patterns with a mask of
0, 1 (because it is an even number of bars from the part marker) or 5. If it were trying to find a normal pattern for
bar 14, it would look for patterns with a mask of 0, 2, or 6.
5. Duration
PostFill and Normal patterns can be any number of bars long, however there is a practical range that is commonly
used. Other patterns are restricted to a certain number or range of bars. Here is a list of the pattern types, and the
ranges of durations:
Fills – 1 bar long only
PostFills - 1 bar or higher, generally no higher than 8 bars
PreFills – 1 or 2 bars long only
Normal – 1 bar or higher, generally no higher than 8 bars
Endings – 2 bars long only
Count-ins – 2 bars long only
The difference between favouring short patterns and long patterns is a balance between consistency and variation.
Long patterns may sound more consistent, because you will be hearing large portions of raw audio, exactly as the
drummer played it. On the other hand, with short patterns, there will be more variety in the phrases, because there
will be many more possible combinations when single bars are mixed and matched together. Many people will
favour a combination of long and short patterns. Also, while it is possible to have very long patterns, it is important
to remember that patterns will not cross part markers, so if you designate 16 bar patterns, but in your Band-in-a-Box
songs you have part markers every 8 bars, those 16 bar patterns will never be played.

Example 8: Normal pattern needed for bar 5.
In example 8, if Band-in-a-Box is trying to find a Normal pattern for bar 5, it can pick a 1, 2, or 3 bar pattern, or a 4
bar pattern that ends with a fill. It can not pick a pattern that is more than 4 bars long.
Another thing to keep in mind is that for any given bar in the style wave file, you can have as many different
patterns defined as you like. So, for example, you can define a 1 bar pattern that starts at bar 5, you can then also
define a 2 bar pattern that starts at bar 5, a 4 bar pattern, 8, etc.
In deciding what lengths of phrases will work well, an important thing to consider is whether or not certain bar lines
make good cut-off points. For example, let’s assume that in a style wave file, at the 4th beat of bar 15 there is a crash
cymbal that decays into bar 16, but fades out before the end of bar 16. Bar 15 would likely not be very good as a 1
bar pattern, because you would have situations where bar 15 would be used, and would then go directly to a
different random bar that likely does not have a cymbal decay, so you would hear an abrupt cut-off which would
greatly reduce the musicality of the drum part. In situations like these, you would then make sure that other patterns
did not end with bar 15 as well. For example, a pattern at bar 14 would not be good as a 2 bar pattern, because it
would cut off in the same place, but it would be good as a 3 bar pattern. Conversely, bar 16 would not likely make a
good pattern at all, because it will start with a cymbal decay that had no start to it. This doesn’t mean that bar 16
will never be used, it will just never be the start of a pattern.

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A good rule to follow is to try and have at least one 1-bar PostFill, Normal, and Fill patterns for each subsection, just
to make sure that all possible circumstances will be covered. Once you have that, you can determine what other
patterns will work well based on the phrasing of the drummer.
6. Location
The final element in pattern definition is the location of the pattern in the style wave file. This number represents
the bar number in the wave file, but it is important to remember that this is a –1 based numbering system. The first
two bars of the wave file are reserved for the count-in, which are considered to be bars –1 and 0. The drumming
starts at the third actual bar of the wave file, but is referred to as bar 1. So, if you are viewing bars in an audio
editor, remember that when you reference these bars in your text file, you need to subtract 2 before you enter them
in the patterns.
If this is confusing to you, there are two ways you can simplify this. Some audio editors allow you to designate bar
“1” at any point in a wave file. Simply go to bar 3 and designate that as bar 1. Then, any bar number you see will
directly match what needs to be entered into the text file. The other thing you can do is that while you are actually
working on the style, you can cut the 2 count-in bars, which will shift the rest of the track back by 2 bars, and any
bars you see will be the same bar numbers you need to enter into the text file. Once you have finished the text file,
you can then paste the count-in back in to the beginning of the file.

Shots Definition
In Band-in-a-Box, shots and holds are entered by putting either 2 or 3 periods after a chord (2 periods for a shot, 3
for a hold). With RealDrums, when a shot or hold is entered, the drums stop for the duration of the chord, and a
single drum hit is played in place of the drum beat. Pushes are entered by typing either 1 or 2 caret symbols (“^”)
before the chord in question (1 caret for an 8th-note push, and 2 carets for a 16th-note push). With RealDrums, when
a push is entered, the regular drum beat continues throughout, but a single drum hit is added to the mix to emphasize
the push.

Example 9: Bar 1 shows a shot, bar 3 shows a hold, bar 4 shows an 8th-note push, and bar 7 shows a 16th-note push.
The single drum hits are generally recorded at the end of the wave file, after the main drum groove, but they do not
have to be.
Like patterns, shots are also defined in the text file using lines of text containing several elements: 1) the text
“shot”, 2) type of shot (0 for shot or hold, 1 for pushes), 3) the bar number of the shot in the style wave file, 4) the
number of ticks (1 beat = 120 ticks) before or after the bar number the shot occurs, 5) the duration of the shot in
ticks, 6) weight, 7) volume of the shot
Here are some examples of defined shots:
Shot,1,82,-2,455,1,100
Shot,0,83,5,360,1,90
Shot,1,171,240,200,1,80
The six elements that come after the text “shot” are explained here in further detail:
1. Type of shot
The type of shot needs to be either 0 or 1. If 0 is entered, the shot will be used when chords are entered with two
periods (shot) or three periods (hold). If 1 is entered, the shot will be used when chords are entered with two or
three carets before them (8th & 16th note pushes).
2. Bar number in style wave file
Like with patterns, you need to remember that RealDrums styles use –1 based numbering, so you need to subtract 2
from the bar number as you see it in your audio editor. More than one shot can be played in a single bar, and you
would use the tick adjust amount to distinguish between the two.

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3. Tick adjust
The shots do not necessarily have to occur at the bar lines, and the tick adjust can be used to tell Band-in-a-Box
exactly where the shot starts. Simply measure the number of ticks from the downbeat of the bar number entered to
the start of the shot, and that is the number that should be entered here. If the shot starts before the bar number that
was entered, a negative number should be entered here.
For example, if a shot is recorded at bar 82, but on closer examination it appears that the shot was played two ticks
early, it would be entered as such:
• Shot,1,82,-2,455,1,100
In another example (see example 10 below), a shot is played at the third beat of bar 171. In this case you need to use
the tick adjust to indicate that it a full two beats after bar 171. Since one beat is 120 ticks, two beats would be 240
ticks, and it would therefore be entered as such:
• Shot,1,171,240,200,1,80

Example 10: Here the shot begins at bar 171 (173-2), at the third beat, or 240 ticks into the bar.
4. Duration
Unlike patterns, which use numbers of bars for durations, the shots use ticks for durations. So, for example, if a shot
lasts for three beats, you would enter 360 (3 beats * 120 ticks per beat).
Here is an example of a shot that lasts for three beats:
• Shot,0,83,5,360,1,90
For the best effect, the sound of the shots should decay naturally, and the entire length of the shot including the
decay should be entered in the text file. This is especially important when all other instruments are silent, and all
you hear is the decaying sound of the drum hit.
5. Weight
The weight for shots works exactly the same as the weight for patterns, except that there is no need for the use of 0
or 9 weights. This number should be between 1 and 8, with higher numbers representing a greater chance that the
shot will be selected each time.
6. Volume
The volume of the shots is represented by a number between 1 and 127. If 90 is entered, the volume will not be
adjusted at all. If a number between 1 and 89 is entered, the volume will be lowered accordingly, and if a number
between 91 and 127 is entered, the volume will be raised accordingly. It is generally easiest to test the volume
amounts once the style has been completed.

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Additional Entries in the Text File
Bars Blocked
During the testing of your style, you may come across instances where a particular bar from the style wave file
simply does not sound good going into another specific bar from the style wave file. When this happens, you can
enter a “BarsBlocked” line into your text file to ensure that these bars are never played back-to-back.
When “BarsBlocked” is typed into the text file, followed by bar numbers separated by commas, Band-in-a-Box
takes the first number, and all of the bar numbers that follow are “blocked” from ever following the initial number.
So, for example, if this line is entered:
• BarsBlocked,24,35,41
then bar 24 can never be followed by bars 35 or 41.
However, when using this feature you need to be very careful that you are not creating situations where Band-in-aBox will not be able to find a possible match for a bar. When you block a bar, you need to make sure that there are
patterns defined starting on other bars that would also work.
Comments
When you create your style, you may want to add comments into the text file as reference points, or as reminders
about certain aspects of the style. This can be done in two ways: 1) semicolon comments 2)Pascal-style comments
If you type a semicolon into the text file, whether it’s at the beginning of a line, or at the end of a pattern definition,
and text that is typed after the semicolon is ignored, which allows you to type comments. For example:
• ;this entire line will be ignored by Band-in-a-Box
• pattern,normal,A,5,0,4,15;this text will also be ignored by Band-in-a-Box
Pascal-style comments are comments that are enclosed by { and } characters. Any text enclosed by these characters
will also be ignored by Band-in-a-Box. Unlike the semicolons, these comments can occur in the middle of a pattern
definition, and the line can continue after the comment. For example:
• {this entire line will be ignored by Band-in-a-Box}
• pattern,normal,{this text will be ignored}A,5,0,4,15

Alternate Styles & Expanded/Reduced Styles
Alternate Styles
It is possible for a wave file to be used for more than one style. For example, you may want to duplicate a style, but
omit certain fills, or assign different weights to certain patterns.
In this case, you still need to create a new RealDrums style group by creating a new sub-directory in the “Drums”
folder, and the text file for the style needs to be present. The only difference is that in the text file you would have
the name of the wave file you are using, and that name will be different from the text file name.
For example, if you have a “MyFunkyStyle” style at 90 bpm, these files would be present:
C:\BB\Drums\MyFunkyStyle\MyFunkyStyle_090_Style.txt
C:\BB\Drums\MyFunkyStyle\MyFunkyStyle_090_Style.wav
To make an alternate style, you could create this file:
C:\BB\Drums\MyFunkyStyleALT\MyFunkyStyleALT_090_Style.txt
The first line of this text file would be:
wavename=MyFunkyStyle_090_Style.wav
Expanded/Reduced Styles
Often you will find examples of drum grooves where the pulse can be treated as 8th notes or 16th notes. For
example, different musicians may disagree on whether a groove is 90 bpm with a 16th note pulse, or 180 bpm with
an 8th note pulse. In Band-in-a-Box, some styles are treated as 8th note styles and others are treated as 16th note
styles, and you may find examples where a drum beat that is intended for 8th note styles may work equally well on
16th note styles at half the tempo. In these cases, you can create two separate styles that both point to the same wave
file, and treat it as two different tempos. The same method as described in “Alternate Styles” above could be used,

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with one addition. For the style in which the tempo is different in the text file then it is in the wave file filename,
you would need to add the “ForceWavTempo=“ line to the text file.
For example, if you have a “MyFunkyStyle_90” Style, the following files would be present:
C:\BB\Drums\MyFunkyStyle\MyFunkyStyle_090_Style.txt
C:\BB\Drums\MyFunkyStyle\MyFunkyStyle_090_Style.wav
For an expanded style, you could create this file:
C:\BB\Drums\MyFunkyStyleEXP\MyFunkyStyleEXP_180_Style.txt
The first line of this text file would be:
wavename=MyFunkyStyle_090_Style.wav
And an additional line would be needed:
ForceWavTempo=180
There some additional points in making expanded and reduced styles. First of all there is the issue of bars correctly
matching up. If the number of bars in a particular group of bars in the higher tempo version are an odd number, this
can throw off the slower tempo version. For example, if your high tempo version has an A Postfill, an A Normal,
and an A Fill, then a B Post, this will mean that in the slower tempo version, the A Postfill and A Normal will
become a single PostFill bar, which is fine, but the A Fill and the B Post will also become a single bar, which will
not work. This could then mess up everything that came after. It would have been better if the high tempo version
had an A Postfill, an A Normal, another A normal, then the A Fill, and then the B Post. For this reason, if you know
a drum part is going to be used at two tempos, it is quite a bit easier to record or piece together the drum part with
the slow tempo version in mind first, and this can then be expanded.
The other things you need to take into account are the count-in and endings. The count-in will be different for the
two tempos, so it’s best to record two completely different count-ins. The alternate one can be pasted onto the end
of the file if necessary. For endings, it’s also good to simply record two versions of them, which also can be at the
end of your file.

Testing Your RealDrums Style
Once you have made your RealDrums style (or, depending on the level of completion, even during the making of it)
you can listen to it and test it in Band-in-a-Box. If your text file is named with the convention detailed in the
introduction, and is located in the correct directory, it should automatically appear in Band-in-a-Box. The easiest
way to select your RealDrums style is to enter the RealDrums Settings Dialog in Band-in-a-Box (Opt. | Preferences
| RealDrums), or simply pressing the RealDrums toolbar button). Make sure RealDrums are enabled, and then put a
checkmark beside “For this song only, use this RealDrums style.” If you then click on the RD button, a list of all
available RealDrums should appear, and your style should be among them. When you exit this dialog and play your
song, you should be hearing your RealDrums style.
You can make and save changes to the text file, and when you press play again in Band-in-a-Box, any changes in the
text file will take effect. If, however, you make any changes to the wave file, the wave file needs to be reloaded for
the changes to take effect. To do this, simply select a song that uses different RealDrums, press play. Then stop and
reload the song you were working on.
Adjusting volume levels
If the balance between the RealDrums and the MIDI instruments needs to be adjusted, you can do this by simply
adjusting the dbadjust= setting in your text file, saving it, and pressing play again in Band-in-a-Box. You can
continue to do this until you have found a good balance.
For the volume levels of the shots and pushes, the best way to test this is by testing one at a time. If you have more
than one shot or push, you can “comment-out” all but one, then you will always be hearing only that shot or push.
For example, let’s assume you have three shots entered:
• Shot,0,82,120,547,1,110
• Shot,0,83,188,1151,1,90
• Shot,0,85,380,1058,3,90
To test the first one, add a semicolon to the beginning of the 2nd and 3rd lines:
• Shot,0,82,120,547,1,110

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•
•

;Shot,0,83,188,1151,1,90
;Shot,0,85,380,1058,3,90

Band-in-a-Box will therefore ignore those lines, and you will only hear the first shot. You can then adjust the
volume level until you have it right, then do the same with the second shot, etc.
Developer Mode
It is also extremely useful when testing RealDrums styles to use “Developer mode.” This is a checkbox in the
RealDrums settings. When it is turned on, Band-in-a-Box does two things. First of all it spell-checks your text file
when you play a song. If it finds an error, it reports the error to you before beginning the song. When Developer
mode is off, if there are typos in the text file, the entire pattern definition is simply ignored. For example, if you
misspell “pattern” as “pattrn”, you will see an error message when you start that will tell you the typo as well as the
line number where you can find it in the text file. When you press OK, the song resumes.
The other thing that developer mode does is generate a “DrumAudioResults.txt” text file every time you press play.
This text file tells you exactly what patterns from your text file were picked for every Band-in-a-Box bar. The file
also has other global and statistical information. This information can be extremely valuable as you fine-tune your
style.
DrumAudioResults.txt file
The first information that the DrumAudioResults.txt file gives you is global information about the style and song. It
tells you the wave file that was used, the song tempo, the total number of bars, and the total number of times you’ve
played the song in the current session.
The next information it displays is a separate line for every bar of the song. The first item for every bar is the actual
bar number in the song, but the type of information that is displayed after that depends on whether the bar represents
the start of a pattern, or a subsequent bar in a multi-bar pattern.
Here is an example of a bar where a pattern begins:
• Bar# 12,relbar=4, MaxBars=5, Chose pat#21, line #26
Normal,a sub.,mask=2,dur#bars=2, wrote 2,WavBar=14, Candidates=11 ,time=0:26
Here is an example of a bar where a pattern is continuing:
• Bar #13 WavBar=15 ,time=0:28
For bars where patterns begin, here are the items that follow the bar number:
1. relbar=x
This number represents the number of bars since the last part marker. This number therefore determines whether or
not Normal patterns with masks assigned can be used. For example, if relbar=4, a normal pattern with a mask of 0,
2 or 4 could be chosen, but patterns with masks of 1, 3, 5, 6, etc. could not be chosen.
2. MaxBars=x
This number represents the number of bars to the next part marker. Since patterns can not cross part markers, any
patterns that have a duration greater than the MaxBars= amount can not be chosen.
3. Chose pat#x, line #y
This is the actual pattern selected, shown in two different ways so that it’s easy to identify in the text file. If you
count down from the first pattern in the text file, pat#x will show you how many patterns to count to find the one
that was used, and does not take the global info at the beginning of the file into account. Line #y shows you the
actual line of the text file, which would include lines for the global settings and any comment lines. If your text
editor has line numbers, this is the easiest way to find the pattern that was chosen.
4. Type, subsection, and mask
The next information is the type (Normal, PostFill, etc.), subsection (A or B) and mask of the pattern chosen.
5. dur#bars=x, wrote y
The dur#bars= amount tells you the number of bars in the pattern, and the “wrote y” amount tells you the actual
amount of bars written. In most cases, this number should be the same, because Band-in-a-Box will always try and
keep the defined patterns intact. Sometimes, however, multi-bar patterns may need to be cut short, for example if it
needs a 1 bar pattern but you have only designated 2 bar patterns.

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6. WavBar=x
This tells you the bar of the actual style wave file that was used for the current Band-in-a-Box bar. Remember that
this is using –1 based numbering.
7. Candidates=x
This tells you how many possible patterns there were for Band-in-a-Box to choose from for the current bar. If there
were 3 or less possible candidates, this line appears instead as “FEWCandidates=“. This lets you know that perhaps
there are not enough of a certain type of pattern. As long as there is at least 1, you will not get any actual errors, but
for the sake of variety, the more possibilities the better. If there are no possible candidates, you will get an error
message “******* Unable to pick a drum audio bar for bar #x”. In this case, you need to examine your text file to
see why this is occurring. It could be because there are simply not enough patterns defined, but it could also be
because of the overuse of the “barblocked” feature.
8. time=
This tells you the time in minutes and seconds where the bar is located. This is useful if you have rendered a file,
and you are listening to the rendered audio file for problems.
For bars where patterns are continuing, the only items shown are “WavBar=x” and “time=“. The one exception is
where Fills are concerned, in which case you may see one of two messages tagged on to the end of the line. “BB
song has fill, WAV is at end of multi bar pattern. WAV file has a fill also” means that a Fill was designated in the
text file, and the current pattern is ending with that Fill. The other message you may see is “*** BB song has no fill,
but WAV has a fill ***(Could be Error2 if mask0)” This means that Band-in-a-Box has recognized that a bar that is
designated as a Fill occurred within the pattern, but not at a place where a Fill is required. Fills often sound good 4
bars into phrases, even if no fill has been designated, so in these cases, this could be fine. If, however, the Fill
sounds out-of-place, you made need to examine this further in your text file.
At the end of the DrumAudioResults.txt file there is statistical information about the song you just played. Because
of the random nature of styles, this information will likely be different every time you play the same song, however
you may see some patterns develop that can help you fine tune your style.
The total bars will always be the same for the same song, but the number of patterns written will be different
depending on how many short or long patterns were randomly selected. The average bars per pattern gives you an
overview of the length of patterns selected. Long patterns are desirable because they generally sound more
consistent, while short patterns are desirable because they lend themselves to greater variation. It’s therefore good
to get a balance between the two, and a good average is between 2 and 4 bars.
It’s also good to have a high average candidates amount, as this is also a sign that your style will have good
variation. If any Band-in-a-Box bars had 3 or less patterns to choose from, they were flagged as “FEWCandidates”,
and the total number is listed at the bottom. This lets you know if you need to define more patterns.
“MultiBarPatternPercent=“ simply lets you know the setting you have entered in your text file.

Using your RealDrums style in Band-in-a-Box
As we have shown above, you can select your RealDrums style for a particular song in the RealDrums Settings. It is
also possible to assign your RealDrums style to a particular Band-in-a-Box style. This is done in the StyleMaker. If
you have either a new or existing Band-in-a-Box style open in the StyleMaker, simply select “Style| Misc. Settings”
or press ctrl-. This opens the Misc Style Settings dialog. At the bottom of this is the RealDrums Settings.

Example 11: RealDrums settings in the StyleMaker.
You can enable “Style uses RealDrums” in order to designate a RealDrums style. If your style is in the correct
directory, it should appear when you press the “RD” button. You can then select your RealDrums style, and
whenever the current style is played, it will use your RealDrums style (provided that RealDrums are enabled).
There are also additional volume controls here. If you have your dB setting exactly where you want it in your style

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file, but with this particular Band-in-a-Box style you want it a bit higher or lower, you can enter a setting here.
There are also fields for adjusting the ‘A’ or ‘B’ subsection volumes only.
You can also remove the check mark from either “Allow ‘a’ substyle RealDrums” or “Allow ‘b’ substyle
RealDrums”, which means that for this style, the one with the checkmark remaining will be used for the entire song,
regardless of what substyle is currently called for in the song.

The Harmony Maker
The Harmony Maker allows you to create or edit your own or existing harmonies. This can be used in the program
to harmonize melodies or for live playing on the Thru channel. Sophisticated options control usage of passing
harmonies (diatonic, dominant approach and chromatic), drop octave voicings (e.g., drop 2), octave doubling, patch
selection, and more.
You'll see the voices down the left side of the dialog box.

Each harmony can use up to 3 channels.
Harmony Channel A, B, and C. If your harmony only has one instrument, then you will use Channel A for all the
voices. If your harmony uses Flute and Bass, then you could use Flute on Channel A and Bass on Channel B.

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Tip: When you want to hear the harmony as you are developing it, have a song with a melody playing before you enter the
Harmony Maker. After you have made changes to the harmony, hear the changes by pressing the [Update] button.

Settings For Each Voice

Chan. A 1-instrument harmony will use Channel A only. Additional instruments can use Channel B and C.
Tip: These channels are set to numbers in the Harmony Channels Dialog box, accessible by selecting the [Harmony] button
under the Opt | MIDI Channels, options… menu.

Octave This allows the harmony to “drop-down” or “go up” by a number of octaves. This octave change will only
happen in a certain range, as chosen in the LOW, HIGH settings.
Tip: There is also an Overall Harmony Octave setting that changes the octave of the entire harmony setting (accessible by
pressing the [More] button).

O. Double (Octave Double) This setting lets you double any voice. Usually you want to do this by doubling an
octave below (i.e. octave = -1), but you can set the octave from -2 to +2. The doubling will always be on the same
channel, if you want a different instrument to double the voice, and then use the Melody Doubling Voices.
V. Boost (Velocity Boost) This allows you to increase or decrease the velocity (loudness) of each voice, to make the
voice stand out more or less in the harmony. Default = 0.
The Patches setting at the bottom allows you to assign a patch to the harmony.
If you set “No patch,” the harmony won't change the patch. This is a useful
setting for making a generic harmony that doesn't change the
patch of the Melody or Thru channel, for example.
Changes that you make to the harmony settings won't take effect until you press the [Update] button.
You may Copy a Harmony to the clipboard, and then move to a new harmony and
Paste the harmony to the new location.
Because the harmony is saved automatically for you, you won’t need to ever press
these buttons.
All of the 256 harmonies are saved in a single .har file called DEFAULT.HAR. If you have run out of harmonies,
you can start a new harmony file by pressing the [Save As] button. For example, if you make a 3rd party disk of
add-on harmonies, save it as your name MYNAME.HAR. Then you can load in your bank of harmonies (from the
Harmonies | Edit a Harmonies File) without disrupting the existing DEFAULT.HAR file.
Each .har file has 256 harmonies, so you probably need only 1 DEFAULT.HAR for
all your harmonies. However, if you've made a great harmony and want to
give it to a friend, you can export a single harmony as an .h1 file. Your friend can then import this harmony into
their own .har file.
The best way to develop a harmony is to hear it as it’s playing. The preferred way to
do this is to have a song playing that has a melody in it. Any changes to the harmony
will be heard on the melody as soon as you press the [Update] button.
You can also play along as the song is playing, and hear the new harmony on the Thru channel.
If you don't want to have a song playing, and want to hear the harmony, then set the [Test Chord] to a certain chord.
If set to CMAJ7, then you can play on the MIDI keyboard (with no song playing) and hear your harmony. This
allows you to examine exactly what notes the program is using to make your harmony.

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Additional Harmony Options

Press the [More…] button to launch the
Additional Harmony Options dialog.

Use Close Harmony
This only applies to 2 and 3 part harmonies.
If set to = 0 it will use only close harmonies, mainly 3rds for 2 part harmonies.
If set to = 1 it will use mostly 3rds, with some 6ths for 2 part harmonies.
If set to = 99 it will use mostly 6ths, with some 3rds for 2 part harmonies.
If set to = 100 it will use only wide harmonies, mainly 6ths for 2 part harmonies.
If set to > 2 < 98 it will vary between close and open harmonies.
Use Passing Chords (melody)
DEFAULT = 100 %
Band-in-a-Box will sort out when to use passing harmonies, based on factors like the duration of the note, the next
note, the chord tone, the velocity, previous notes, and other factors. You can visually see when the harmony is using
a passing chord. The harmony display is usually blue, but when there is a passing chord, it displays as RED. If you
don’t want passing chords set this value to 0.
Lowest Harmony Note
You can set a lowest note for the harmony to play. When the melody is low, harmonies begin to sound “muddy,” so
you can avoid the harmony being played below a certain note.
Overall Harmony Octave
This sets the overall octave of the harmony. For example, in the 5-part Trumpets harmony the harmony is always be
played an octave higher than the recorded melody. This is because the 5-part harmony is spread over 2 octaves.
No Harmony if duration less than nn milliseconds
You can specify a harmony to only occur for notes longer than a given duration. If every note is harmonized
unrealistic harmonies result, since a piano player doesn't harmonize notes of a short duration. You can specify a
harmony to only occur for notes longer than a given duration. Notes shorter than that will not be harmonized. There
are also options for how the program “fixes” the harmony when chord changes occur during a sustained note
harmony.
OK to make new harmony with new chord
Most harmonies have a feature that changes the pitch of the harmony voices under the Melody note when the chord
changes if the underlying voice wouldn't be a chord tone. For some harmonies it would be unrealistic for the
instruments to change the inner voicings in this manner. Deselect this option and the voices that conflict with the
new chord stop playing instead of changing to new notes.

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Use Guitar Harmony Voicings
Harmony Maker will use real guitar chord voicings that display correctly on the guitar fretboard. Selecting this
checkbox means that guitar chord voicings will be used, instead of any other voicings specified in the Harmony
Maker. Check out Harmony #32 (J Pass) for an example of this
Use voicings in 4ths
Modern Jazz harmonies often voice chords in 4ths. For example, a C
chord with C melody might be voiced C, G, D, A, E. You can select 4ths
voicings easily in Band-in-a-Box to harmonize the Melody, Soloist, or
Thru parts using 3, 4, or 5 part voicings in 4ths. We’ve added presets for
these harmonies, so you can easily select them. Use these sophisticated
4ths harmonies on your existing melodies to create a new sound.

Tip: To quickly hear what some of the 4ths harmonies, sound like, look in the c:\bb\ Tutorial - BB 2005 demos folder for
pre-made songs with 4ths harmonies.

To use the harmonies with any song, choose harmonies in the range 213 to 219. Each of these is a harmony using
4ths. For example, Harmony 218 uses 4 trombones in 4ths.
To make your own harmony using 4ths for the harmonies, enter the Harmony Maker, press the [More] button, and
select the “Use Voicing in 4ths” checkbox.
Then the harmonies will be voiced in 4ths. You can make a 2, 3, 4, or 5 part harmony (+
melody doubling, + low root note).

The Soloist Maker
This module allows you to define your own soloists. For example, let's say you want to create a soloist in a style
similar to John Coltrane - the legendary jazz saxophonist. The Soloist Maker allows you to define the parameters
essential to the particular soloist's playing, such as instrument range (i.e. tenor saxophone), extra legato playing,
playing more on top of the beat than most Jazz musicians, and playing straighter 8th notes than usual swing 8th
notes.
In addition, you can set phrasing options, such as how long the phrase should be, and how much “space” to leave
between phrases. You can also set how “outside” the playing should be. (For Coltrane it would be set to
maximum!)
Access the Soloist Maker by pressing the Soloist Maker [Edit] button within the Select
Soloist dialog.
Tip: To share Soloists with your friends, use the [Export] button to save your Soloist to a disk, and use the [Import] button
to bring in a soloist from a disk. You can save your soloist to another Soloist file (*.s1) by pressing the [Save As] button.

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Insert the title of your ‘soloist’ in the Title box, and any memo note you wish to add. (The Num field will be filled
in for you.)

There are several databases of Solo ideas to choose from. Select the database (*.ST2 or ST3)
appropriate for the type of song the Soloist will be playing over (e.g., J_SWING.ST2 for Jazz Swing
songs) by pressing the [*.ST2] button.
Note: If you have an .ST3 database available for the style of soloing you want to generate, you can still choose the .ST2,
and the program will automatically substitute the appropriate .ST3 file if, (a) it is available and, (b) you have selected the
“Use Large Soloist files” checkbox in the “Select Soloist” dialog.

Press the [Choose] button in the Soloist Editor to select the instrument the Soloist should play
(i.e. Tenor Saxophone).

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You may also select an instrument from the “Patch Change” window, but selecting an instrument with the [Choose]
button also fills in the specific note range for that instrument.
If you wish to have a harmonized solo, select the
harmony type by clicking on the Harmony box
and choosing from the drop-down list.
To Modify (if required) the “Phrase Length,” “Space Length,” and “Outside Range” parameters, simply click in the
box you wish to change and type-in the new number.
For example, change the “Legato Boost %” to 10 %. This will add 10% to the duration of the notes.
Adjust the lateness by -5 to have the Soloist play the notes more “on the beat” than other Jazz soloists. Adjust the
8th Note spacing by -5 to have your Soloist play 8th notes in a more even feel than other jazz soloists.
“Change Instrument” allows you to quickly set how the Soloing will “take turns” with other instruments. Use this
option to change instruments every chorus, every 4, 8, 16 bars, etc. Press the [Set..] button to choose the instruments
you would like to change to, including the appropriate note rang for each instrument.
The Sub-Soloist checkboxes are for use ONLY with add-on hybrid soloists such as the ones found on the
SOLOISTPAK for Band-in-a-Box. These checkboxes can be used to “sub” a different instrument and playing style
in a Soloist which contains more than one playing style, such as BG_BAND.ST2 found on Soloist Disk Set #5. For
more information on additional Soloist Disk Sets and the additional features available with them, contact PG Music.
Use the [Import] button to bring a soloist in from a disk, and use the [Export] button to
save your Soloist to a disk to share Soloists with your friends.
[Import] button to bring a soloist in from a disk.
You can also save your soloist to another Soloist file (*.s1) by pressing the [Save As] button
Press the [OK] button when you are satisfied with your choices.
You can control the maximum number of notes per
quarter note that the Soloist will use.

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For example, you can set a “Rock Guitar” Soloist to use nothing shorter than 16th notes. This would produce less
“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 sight-reading or student study.
10 easy steps to make a Soloist
1. Bring up the Soloist window by pressing the [Soloist] Button.
2. Select a blank spot in your list of soloists and press the [Edit] button.
3. Insert the title of your soloist and any memo note you wish to add. The Num field will be filled in for you. Call
this one Bebop Saxophone. The memo might say, “extra legato, straighter 8th notes, on top of the beat.”
4. Choose the type of soloist (i.e. swing 8th notes, straight 8th notes, 16th notes, etc.) This should be set to Swing
8ths.
5. Press the [Choose] button to select the instrument the soloist should play (i.e. Tenor Saxophone).
Tip: You may also select an instrument from the Patch Change window, but selecting an instrument with the [Choose]
button will also fill in the note range information specific to that instrument. You'll notice that the correct range for tenor
saxophone has been filled in to the Note Range settings.

6.
7.

Modify (if required) the phrase length, space length, and outside range parameters.
Change the Legato Boost to 10 %. This will add 10% to the duration of the notes. Press the [Help] button in
the Soloist Editor window if you require additional details.
8. Adjust the Lateness by -5. This will play the notes more “on the beat” than other Jazz soloists.
9. Adjust the 8th Note Spacing by -5. This will play the 8th notes in a more even feel than other Jazz soloists.
10. Press [OK], and you're done. Then, give the program a few moments to load its “knowledge base” of solo ideas
and new parameters, and a few moments more to analyze the chords. Playback will begin automatically as soon
as the Soloist has performed the operations mentioned above.
Custom Solo Generation
It is possible to generate and regenerate parts of the solo, so that you can redo any part of the solo that you don't
like! This dialog allows you to set the range that you'd like for the solo:
This button in the Select Soloist Dialog launches the Generate Solo for a Specific Range of Bars
dialog.

Tip: You can have these values preset to the values you'd like by first selecting the range of bars that you'd like from the
Spreadsheet screen, and then clicking on the [Soloist] button.

OK to solo for an extra beat
Usually, Soloists end a little after a bar's end – they play a couple of extra notes, spilling over to the next bar.
Selecting this option the gives Band-in-a-Box soloist this ability also.
Overwrite existing solo in range
If you want to “overdub” a solo and have multiple solo tracks going at once, deselect this checkbox, and avoid
getting a little messy.
Generate Solo Now
Once you press this button, the portion of the solo that you have selected will be generated. The song will start
playing two bars before the new part, so you can quickly hear the new solo. Remember that the custom solo

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generation can be used with different soloists, so you can use a “tenor sax jazz” soloist for a few bars, and then
insert a custom “bluegrass banjo” soloist for four bars and so on.
Tip: Band-in-a-Box even solos over the “slash chords.” The Band-in-a-Box Soloist feature analyzes slash chords like C/Bb
to determine the best scale type to use (e.g. Bb Lydian). There's nothing you need to do, as this happens automatically!

The Melodist Maker
In addition to the Melodists supplied with the program, this module lets you define or edit your own Melodists. You
can choose the parameters to control the type of chords, melody and intro to be generated, as well as a number of
settings controlling song form, theme continuity, endings type, anticipations, feel, style, harmony, soloist, patch
changes and more.
Press the Melodist Maker [Edit] button from the Select Melodist dialog to launch the
Melodist Editor.

Num
The Num selection box allows you to select the Melodist that you'd like to edit.
The top area of the Melodist Maker screen also allows you to set the Title of the Melodist and supply a Memo.
Choose ST2 Database
Select the associated ST2 database for the Melodist. Some ST2 Melodist databases are MEL1.ST2=Jazz Swing (8th
notes), MELPOP1.ST2 (Pop Ballads, 16th notes), MELWLZ1.ST2 (Waltzes, 8th notes), and MELROK1.ST2 (Rock,
8th notes).
Tip: Soloist databases also have extensions of ST2, but they are not compatible with Melodists. Melodist databases are
easily identified, they all begin with MEL.

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The Patch Change area allows you to select an
instrument and Harmony, and to set Change
Instrument setting for when you would like to
change to a new Melody patch (e.g. Each Chorus).

In the Change Style to .. window you can choose a
style for the Melodist, and specify the feel for the
style in the .STY is box.

Legato Boost % changes the legato (length) of the
notes generated. Instruments like Saxophone have
longer legato phrasing.

Increase lateness by (/120ppq) refers to how much after the beat the notes are played. This is normally left at zero
for Melodists.
Increase 8th note spacing by (/120ppq) is usually left at zero (0). If set to a nonzero value, the 8th notes will be
farther apart (based on units of 120 PPQ).
The rest of the settings in the Melodist Maker allow you to select options that control what type of melody will be
generated.
Unique Themes
This is normally left at 100%. But if you want to force the Melodist to stick with the same theme throughout the
song, set this to a lower value (say 80%). It shouldn't be set much lower than 80. Default = 100.
Unusual Placed Phrasing
The Melodist tries to make phrases that are appropriate for the position in the song. For example, the first 2 bars of
the melody are appropriate for “opening phrases.” But if you want to experiment with phrases that don't follow
these rules, set the Unusual Placed Phrasing to a value higher than 0%. Default = 0.
Simple 1st and 2nd Endings
This setting only applies to Melodists that are using the Jazz Swing (MEL1.ST2) or Waltz (MELWLZ1.ST2)
databases. This determines the % of time that endings of the A sections (in AABA forms) will be simple endings (1
or 2 notes) instead of complete phrases. Usually AABA tunes end with simple phrases at the end of the A section,
so this option is normally left at 80% or higher. Default = 80%.
Choose Unusual Chord Progressions
If set to a value other than zero, the Melodist will generate atypical chord progressions. For example, instead of a
Dm7 | G7 | Cmaj7, the Melodist might generate Dm7 | Db7 | Cmaj7 Am7. Default = 0.
Force Long Phrases
This determines the % of time that the Melodist will try to generate long phrases (4 bars or more). The downside to
setting it higher than 20 will be a loss of uniqueness in the phrases generated. The setting shouldn't be set much
higher than 20. Default = 20.
Mix Minor and Major Chord Progressions
Typical major key chord progressions have progressions like (in the key of C) Dm7 | G7 | Cmaj7, whereas in the key
of Am, they would be |Bm7b5| E7 |Am6. This setting determines how much the two types of progressions should be
mixed in a single song. Default = 0.
Chord Substitutions Throughout the Form
Normally an AABA song has identical chords for each A section. If this setting is greater than zero, the Melodist
will generate chord substitutions throughout the various A sections, while preserving the identical melodies!
Default = 0.

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Number of Variations to Choose From
As the Melodist is determining what type of phrase to generate, it will narrow the possibilities to the number of
variations set in this variable. Setting a higher number results in more interesting melodies, but the chord
progressions are more unusual. Default = 15.
Tempo Range / Auto Tempo
The Tempo Range setting determines the tempo range that the tune will be created with (it will be a random tempo
in the range). The Auto Tempo setting must be set on the Melodist Selection screen for the tempo range to work.
Default from 110 to 180 bpm.

Transpose A2 Section
In songs with an AABA form, it is common for the second “A” section to be transposed. For example, the first “A”
section might be in the key of Eb, and the second would be transposed up to the key of Gb. Melodists store these
settings, and some Melodists are set to transpose the A2 sections. This setting determines the % chance that the
song will be generated with a transpose. The transpose will be usually 2, 3 or 4 semitones. The song will only get
transposed if the A2 transpose setting isn't set to “none” on the Melodist selection screen. Default = 30.
Anticipations in Phrases
Melodic phrases often begin a little before the beat. This is referred to as anticipation. This setting determines what
% of the phrases will be anticipated. Default = 20.
Always Use this Soloist
Since Melodists can also generate Solos, a specific Soloist can be set in this setting. If set to “0 - no Soloist” the
program will intelligently make a selection from all of the Soloists in the list.
Melodists can be copied and pasted to make new Melodists that are variations of each
other.
You can export (save) and import (load) individual as Melodists.M1 files. This would
be useful if you wanted to send a Melodist to a friend, for example.
The entire Melodist file, with up to 256 Melodists, can be saved to a .MEL file. The usual file
is DEFAULT.MEL.
The DEFAULT.MEL file is saved every time the OK button is pressed, so you don't need to explicitly save this file
by the [Save As] button unless you want to save alternate .MEL files and go beyond 256 Melodists.

The Guitarist Maker
Band-in-a-Box will intelligently arrange any melody to a guitar chord solo by inserting real guitar voicings
throughout the piece. There are many preloaded Guitarists to choose from, or you can customize existing Guitarists’
settings or make your own Guitarists from scratch in the Guitarist Maker.
The Guitarist Maker is accessed from the Guitarist window. Click on the [Ch
Sol…] button to open the Generate Guitar Chord Solo dialog, and then press
the Guitarist Maker [Edit…] button to launch the Guitarist Editor.
Num

Select the Guitarist from this field.

Title

Title the Guitarist.

Memo

This field allows a 100-character memo about the Guitarist.

Guitar Patch

Select the guitar patch in this field.

Frets To Move

If set to zero, the guitar chord solo will be limited to chords that can be played
within the current position. If set to 5 (for example), the chords will be limited
to chords that can be played within the current position and up to 5 frets away
from the current position.

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Force Open Position
This option forces all of the guitar voicings to the open position. The exception is when the Melody notes are so
high that they can't be played using open position voicings. If the Melody is in a high range, and you want a “forced
open position” you should likely transpose the Melody to a lower octave prior to generating the solo.
The settings for Note Duration thresholds to get a chord refer to how long a note must be before a chord will be
generated. (Quarter note = 120 ticks.)

Looking at the settings above these would be interpreted as follows:
- If a note occurs and it is the “First Note of a New Chord” and the note is not followed by another note for at
least 50 ticks (120 ticks = 1 quarter note), then a chord will get voiced 90% of the time.
- If a note occurs (not the first note of a chord), that is on “Beat 1 of a bar,” and the note is not followed by
another note for at least 50 ticks (120 ticks = 1 quarter note) then a chord will get voiced 90% of the time.

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Similar interpretations for notes occurring on “Beat 2, 3 and 4.” You can see that the threshold is higher for
notes on beat 2 and 4, which is how a guitar player makes chord solos.
“Passing notes” are defined as short duration notes that aren't on the beat, and are followed by a note that is on
the beat. In this example, passing notes will never be voiced as chords since the tick threshold is set to zero.
A further threshold is applied to the possibility
that a note is voiced to a chord. These are
defined as durations in milliseconds. In the
settings shown, if the note occurs less than
100ms (Time to Previous Note) after the
previous note, the

note will not be voiced as a chord. If the note is followed by another note within 80ms (Time to the next note), the
note will not be voiced as a chord.
Strumming Settings
If the Guitar Chord is all played at the same time, it will sound as if it was plucked. Guitar playing is more typically
a strum.
Speed of the strum

If the setting is 80ms, then the guitar chord will be “strummed” over a period of 80milliseconds.
Delay start time of strum by %
If the Delay start time is left at zero, the strum will end at the original time of the melody note. If you set it to 50%
delay, the strum will be in its midpoint at the original start time of the Melody note, while if it's set to 100%, the
strum won't start till the time of the original note. The most musical setting is about 50% delay. A delay of 0% also
sounds good, and has the added advantage that it doesn't shift the actual time of the Melody note (relevant if you
keep regenerating the solo on the Melody track).
Plucked / Strummed
Pressing these buttons will set the settings to preset values.
Chord Types to Include
You can decide which types of chords should be included
in the chord solo.

Best Chords
Good chords
Advanced chords
Unusual chords

The most commonly played chords by pro guitarists.
Popular alternate chords.
Chords that are difficult to play, advanced voicings.
Voicings that should be avoided in most cases but have some uses.

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Chords that require the index finger to be played in a Barre position.
Barre chords
If set to Never, no chords that require and open string will be played.
Include Open Strings
(Never/ Sometimes/ Favor) If set to Favor, it will play open strings whenever possible.
Sometimes is a “middle ground” setting.
Include Chords with this # of Notes
You can select the # of notes for chords to be included in the chord solo. In the example above, chords with 2-6
notes will be included.
Embellish Chords
Embellish how often: Allows you to specify the frequency of embellishment.
Embellishment type: Allows setting of the types of embellishments to do.

Pop Guitarists should be set to use 9ths only. This will change C7 chords to C9 and Cm7 to Cm9.
The “7ths/9ths” setting should be used for Jazz. This adds the embellishments of C to Cmaj7 and Cm to Cm7.
The “7/9/11/13” embellishment should be used for “Advanced Jazz” Guitarists add 11ths and 13ths voicings.

If you make changes to the Guitarist settings, you need to manually save them by pressing the [Save
As] button and then finding the \bb home directory and saving the file as DEFAULT.GIT.

Individual Guitarists can be copied, pasted, exported, or imported to/from disk.

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Chapter 12: Tutors, Wizards, and Practice Aids
Audio Chord Wizard (“Chords from MP3”)
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 an audio file and
you’ll instantly see the chords. Using the Audio Chord Wizard is a great way to learn and practice popular songs as
you play along and see the chords.

Chord Sheet Overview
There’s 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.
For this discussion, open up c:\bb\Tutorial BB2007\Frontier.MP3.
You will now see the song, and the Chord Sheet window in the Audio Chord Wizard is visible.
Play the song.
When a new bar starts, hit the Enter key (or F8). This is called “tapping in a
bar line.”
The first time you do that, the program will consider that point to be “bar 1.” Tap in a few more bar lines.
Click on the chord sheet, and the music will jump to that location.
Now, let’s define some sections in the song.
If a bar begins a new section, click on the bar # on the chord sheet, or press the P key to put in a part marker.
Pressing P again will change the part marker, and then turn it off.

Now the song is divided into sections, with space between each section, and each section starting on a new line.
If we want to renumber the bars, right click on the waveform timeline at the place that you would like to be bar 1,
and choose “Set Bar One.”

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To change the # of bars per row, or rows per screen, right click on the chord sheet.

The +/- buttons at the bottom right also change the row height.

The Audio Chord Wizard is a great way to learn the chords of songs. And now that you can add section markers
and divide the song logically into sections, it is also a great way to learn the “form” of the song, an essential part of
learning popular songs.
As well as the chords of the song, the Audio Chord Wizard also figures out,
- the tempo of the file,
- bar lines throughout the song,
- fine tuning detection (e.g. 5 cents sharp from A440),
Note: Audio Chord Wizard estimates the chord progression of an audio file. It is NOT an Audio-to-MIDI transcriber, which
would be a much more elaborate program.

Opening Files
To open your audio file in the Audio Chord Wizard you can click on its toolbar button or use the File
menu command to Open Audio w/Chords.
Use the Launch Audio Chord Wizard command if you already have a file with audio loaded in Band-in-a-Box.

When you select a file to open you will see a series of Progress messages.

The Audio Chord Wizard first opens the audio file and makes initial calculations, finding audio beats and
estimating a tempo map, and then displays your audio file.

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Audio Chord Wizard Window

Primary Program Controls
Toggle Play/Pause (Space bar or Play/Pause key).
Stop play, rewind to start with Esc key.
Moves nearest bar line to current play position. F8 or Enter keysalso set bar lines.
Song time signature, 2/4 to 12/8 supported.
Average tempo, right-click for options.
Song key signature.

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Use to correct pitch of song if necessary.
Exit and send chords to Band-in-a-Box.
Exit without sending chords to Band-in-a-Box.

Chord Detection
Chord Detection accuracy depends on the accuracy of the bar lines. If bar lines are not well-aligned then the Chord
Detection can be expected to be rather poor. It is quick and easy to align the bar lines on most songs, once you get
the hang of it.
The first task is to locate the beginning of Bar One. Since an audio file could have an arbitrary amount of silence at
the beginning of the song, and many songs begin with a pickup partial bar, ACW cannot easily guess the first bar
without a hint from you.
The shortcut keys and mouse playback controls make it easy to find Bar One. Tap the space bar to begin play,
watch the Location Cursor, and listen for the downbeat. If the Location Cursor passes the downbeat and you were
not completely certain of the location, you can tap the W key to rewind to the song beginning and replay the first
part of the song, to audition the downbeat as many times as necessary to make sure of its location.
You can also single-click in the Chords panel to jump the playback position. If the rhythm is unusually complicated
near the downbeat, you could repeatedly click just a little before the suspected Bar One location, to zero-in on the
exact downbeat.
In the following example song, we have discovered the downbeat of Bar One, so we Right Click on that location to
Set Bar One.
Now the Bar One bar line is red (shown below). The
red Triangle bar indicator indicates that we have edited
that bar line. The Red Triangles are called Good Bar
Lines (GBL's). The green Triangle bar indicators are
bar lines which ACW has automatically inferred from
its automatic tempo detection PLUS your edited Good
Bar Lines. We call the green automatic bar lines
Inferred Bar Lines (IBL's).
On this example song, the initial automatic tempo
detection did a pretty good job. Simply setting Bar
One has caused the first four bars to be properly
aligned to the music. On some songs, Set Bar One is
the only action necessary to get good bar alignment for
the ENTIRE tune.

As playback continues in this example (below), we notice that ACW has made its first error approaching Bar 5.
Audio Chord Wizard has estimated the tempo of Bar 4 too slow. But that is easy to fix. If you prefer real-time
control, just tap F8 or the Enter key where the downbeat should actually be.
If you prefer stopped-time editing, you can either mouse-drag Bar 5 to its desired position, or drag the Playback
Location Cursor to the desired position and then tap F8 or the Enter key.

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When satisfied with the Bar lines and Chords, click the [OK] button to return the Chords and Tempo Map to Bandin-a-Box.

Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts make it easier to navigate the song and tap in barlines without having to work the mouse with
start/stop/scroll actions.
Play/Pause- SPACE BAR, or MultiMedia keyboard PLAY/PAUSE key or (certain keyboards) PLAY key
Stop- ESC key, or PAUSE key, or MultiMedia keyboard STOP key
Tap Barline- F8, or ENTER key
Jump To Song Start- W key, or HOME key
Jump To Song End- END key
Jump Forward One Bar- RIGHT ARROW key
Jump Back One Bar- LEFT ARROW key
Jump Forward Four Bars- PAGE DOWN key, or DOWN ARROW key, or MultiMedia keyboard NEXT TRACK
key
Jump Back Four Bars- PAGE UP key, or UP ARROW key, or Multimedia keyboard PREVIOUS TRACK key

Special Cases
Time Signature:
If a song is not in the default 4/4 time signature, set the Time Signature very early before you do anything else.

Bad Initial Tempo Estimates
Double/Half Tempo:

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Sometimes Audio Chord Wizard will guess double or half of the tempo you might prefer.
Slightly Wrong:
Sometimes syncopated songs can have musical anticipations which make ACW guess a tempo slightly too fast or
slightly too slow.
Completely, Horribly Wrong:
Some songs have rhythms difficult for a computer to understand. Sometimes a song's rhythmic beats are spaced in
such a way that a song with a perfect Tempo of 120, might mathematically BETTER fit the audio beats at some
simple (but wrong) related ratio such as 80, 100, 160, or 180 BPM.
If the initial Tempo Estimate is pretty good, the Tap Bar line function will be the easiest way to fix such errors,
requiring only a few keyboard taps during playback.
But if the initial tempo estimate happens to be horribly wrong, it helps to make the initial tempo “in the ballpark”
BEFORE you tap a few F8's to make it completely right.

Right-click the Avg Tempo control for some easy automatic fixes.
Note: If you want to use the Avg Tempo Menu functions, use the menu very soon after you have opened a song, before
you have done much bar editing. If you invoke the Avg Tempo Menu functions after you have laboriously edited a lot of bar
lines, the automatic nature of these functions can ruin your previous editing.

In some cases, there is a good reason to initially set the tempo artificially slow by using the “Find Best Half Tempo”
function.
For example, if the initial tempo estimate is considerably faster than the tempo that you want to tap in, the Tap Bar
line function can mistakenly think that you want a very fast tempo, which fills the remainder of the song with
unwanted fast-tempo bars. In that case, if you initially set the tempo very slow, ACW will be unlikely to
misinterpret your Tap Bar Lines.
Set Key Signature
Once the chords look reasonable, for instance if your song looks like it is probably in the key of F, set the Key
Signature control to F for better chord spelling. This only affects the cosmetic display of notes and chords (flats and
sharps). The Key Signature control does not currently affect the basic accuracy of Chord Detection.
Adjust Fine-Tuning
If a song is significantly mis-tuned from concert pitch, the notes are “in the cracks,” which makes Chord Detection
less accurate.
If your Chords look reasonable, there is no need to bother with Tuning. Most songs are recorded pretty close to
Concert Pitch.
But if you see numerous Chord errors, it may help to adjust the Fine Tuning control.
If you are playing along with a song on your keyboard, you might decide to make an ear-estimate of how far out-oftune is the song:
For instance, you could adjust the fine-tuning control on your keyboard until your keyboard matches the song's pitch
(according to your ear). Then you could look at your keyboard's tuning readout, and adjust ACW's Fine Tune
Control to match. Either click-drag ACW's Fine Tune control (like a slider control), or right-click the Fine Tune
control then type in a number.
The Fine Tune Control currently does not change the pitch of playback (though that would be an excellent future
feature). Currently ACW's Fine Tune control only improves Chord Detection on mis-tuned songs.

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The Fine Tune control is calibrated in cents, 1/100th of a semitone. Therefore, if a song is perfectly in the key of C,
but if you set Fine Tune to +100 Cents, ACW would display chords in the key of B. Similarly, if you set Fine Tune
to -100 Cents, it would display that song's chords in the key of C#.
That simple use of the Fine Tune control is just a backwards way to transpose the Chords. But if you set Fine-Tune
somewhere in the middle, ACW looks for notes that are somewhere “in the cracks” between the piano keys. For
instance, if your song SHOULD be in the key of C, but it was unfortunately recorded 50 Cents sharp-There could be many reasons that a song was recorded off Concert Pitch. Maybe the recording studio had a broken
tape recorder. Perhaps the Piano Tuner was smoking Crack, or the singer couldn't quite hit the highest note. Maybe
the vinyl record cutter was off-speed, or some Record Executive decided that the song was 10 seconds too long for
airplay, and instructed the Mastering Engineer to speed it up a little bit. In such cases ACW can get confused, misidentifying some pitches too high and other pitches too low, detecting nonsense Chords.
So if your favorite song was unfortunately recorded 50 Cents sharp, you can set the Fine-Tune control to +50 Cents
so that ACW will properly display in the 'original' key.
Auto Estimate Tuning
ACW can automatically estimate the tuning, which helps in some cases. Since the
estimation is math-intensive, ACW only analyzes one bar of music at a time.
Right-click somewhere inside a bar and pick the Estimate Tuning function.
After the process is finished, up pops the results dialog.
As advised in the dialog, results can be improved by carefully picking the bar.
Bars with relatively long notes are easier to analyze, compared to bars containing
flashy fast melodies.
It can be useful to spot-check a few bars. If several spot-checks give similar
answers (within a few cents), you have good confidence that the results are
actually meaningful, not being randomly affected by out-of-tune melodies or loud
drums.
However, if the first estimate reads +43 and the next measurement reads -12, then
it probably means that your song is not a good candidate for automatic Tuning
Estimation.

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Odd Length Bars and Drastic Tempo Changes
If a 4/4 song contains occasional bars of 3/4, 5/4, or whatever, or if there are sections where the music has an
extreme ritard or accelerando, sometimes you can just Tap Bar Lines to adjust it.
But it is sometimes more convenient to manually add or delete bar lines. The following example song has an overall
Time Signature of 4/4, but Bar 9 should have a time signature of 2/4. If you simply Tap Bar Line on 9:3 to shorten
the bar, then ACW will mistakenly decide that you wish to make all the following bar lines double-tempo 4/4.

Solution
First, Right-Click on the beat 9:3, and Insert a bar line.

Now a
new barline is added, and three new GBL bar lines are flagged red.

Right-Click on the new shortened Bar 9 and set the Time Signature to 2/4.

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Change Bar 10 to its desired duration. Hover the mouse over the red triangle marker at Bar 11, and the mouse cursor
becomes a drag cursor. Click and drag the barline to the location marked 11:3

Now we have edited bar 9 to have its proper 2/4 Time Signature and preserved the song tempo on both sides of the
2/4 bar.

Notes Display
The Notes Display looks like a MIDI Piano Roll, but it is not exactly the same as a MIDI Piano Roll. Audio Chord
wizard detects the strongest frequencies found in each eighth-note time slot, and displays them in the Notes Display.
Sometimes the displayed frequencies REALLY ARE instrument notes played in the audio file. But they could be
spurious information, such as the accidental loudest frequency of a drum beat. A midrange frequency note-bar
might be showing the sum of harmonics from several instruments, each instrument's harmonics contributing to the
strength of that frequency.
The Notes Display information is real and useful, but try not to assume that every displayed note-bar is a real note in
the audio.

Display Controls
Horizontal Scroll Bar

Scroll forward/back in the wave file.
Plus/Minus Zoom Buttons
Zoom the display to show more or less detail.

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Audio Chord Wizard Utilities Dialog

The Audio Chord Wizard Utilities dialog box can be launched at any time from the menu item (File- Audio Chord
Wizard Utilities, or Audio – Audio Chord Wizard Utilities).
It is also launched automatically after returning from the Audio Chord Wizard

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.

If you agree with the analysis, you can accept the chord signature recommended for the song, by pressing the “Set
the song key signature to …” button.

Make a Tempo Map

After an audio song (MP3/WAVV/WMA) has been loaded into the AudioChordWizard, there will be bar lines
assigned automatically by ACW, and perhaps modified by you. If you would like Band-in-a-Box song file to follow
these bar lines, so that the BB file will play in sync with the audio file, press the “MAKE A TEMPO MAP” button.

You will then see red boxes on the BB chord sheet, indicating tempo changes and the presence of a tempo map.

Press “Erase Tempo Map” to remove the Tempo map, and the ‘red boxes’ will disappear around the bar lines.
Note: You can always get the tempo map back, by pressing “Make a tempo map” at any time.

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This erases the audio track from BB. If you have loaded in an MP3 file, the audio track isn’t the MP3 file, it is the
WAV file copy that BB has made of it. So you wouldn’t be erasing your MP3 file! Note that you also have to SAVE
the BB file to have the erasure be complete.

If you enable the MIDI style, you’ll be hearing the audio file as well as the BB MIDI style. Otherwise you can mute
the BB style by disabling it here.

You can revisit the Audio Chord Wizard by pressing this button (this can also be done from the Audio menu).
Revisiting the AudioChordWizard is useful to refine the bar lines.
Tip: How to preserve chords if you revisit the AudioChordWizard

If you do revisit the AudioChordWizard, and want to preserve the chords that you may have edited, first select all of
the chords, and choose Edit-Copy, and then, after the AudioChordWizard, choose Edit-Paste. Otherwise the
AudioChordWizard might re-interpret your chords!

The Help button launched the help file (BBW.CHM file) with a topic describing the dialog, and the
AudioChordWizard.

The “Manual” button launches a PDF manual of the Audio Chord Wizard with latest features described. This
manual is in BB AudioChordWizard folder.

MIDI File Chord Interpretation Wizard
Many MIDI files lack chord symbols, making them difficult to play along with by ear. Now you can open up any
MIDI file in Band-in-a-Box, and Band-in-a-Box will automatically figure out the chords of the song for you. The
chords are written onto the Band-in-a-Box chord sheet like any other song. You can also read tracks into the
Melody and Soloist tracks.

Importing Chords
You can import the chords from a MIDI file. To do this, first blank the chord sheet by choosing File | New. Then
select the menu item File | Import Chords from MIDI file to launch the Interpret Chords from MIDI file dialog.

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Press the [Open (Change)…] Button to select the MIDI file that you'd like to import.
Once you've selected the file, you can press the [INTERPRET CHORDS
NOW] button.
When you do that, the chords will be interpreted from the MIDI file, and written onto the chord sheet. Prior to
pressing the [INTERPRET CHORDS NOW] button, you might want to make some custom settings.
When you load in the MIDI file, Band-in-a-Box interprets many things
from the MIDI file for you automatically. Normally you'd want this to happen, but if you'd prefer to make the
settings yourself, you can set the Auto Interpret settings from MIDI file to false.
Once you have loaded in the MIDI file, and assuming that you have the “Auto Interpret” set to true, you'll see that
the dialog displays the settings that the Chord Wizard has found for the key signature, and channels used for the
song.
Let's work with an example song called Violet Song.MID. This should be included in your c:\bb directory.
- Start with a blank worksheet by choosing File | New.
- Choose the MIDI File chord Wizard dialog by choosing File | Import Chords from MIDI file.
Press the [Open (Change)…] button to select the MIDI file, and then choose the file that
you'd like to import. In this case it is “c:\bb\Violet Song.MID.”
Once you load in the MIDI file, you'll see that the Chord Wizard has analyzed it and made these determinations.

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It has automatically determined that the “Violet Song.MID” file
- has 2 bars of lead-in.
- has 103 bars of chords.
- is in the key of F with a 4/4 time
signature, and a tempo of 120.
- has the Bass Part on channel 2.
- has the chording (comping) parts on
Channels 3, 6 and 7.
- has the Melody on Channel 4.
- has no other parts like the Melody
to put on the Soloist track.
Now, after loading in the MIDI files, you'd normally have a look at these settings above, to see if they seem
reasonable for your MIDI file. If not, you can change the settings. For example, if you knew that the Melody
channel was on channel 3, you could override the Chord Wizard settings.

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Once you have done that, you should choose one of the Presets, to quickly put the settings to the type of song that
we are trying to interpret.
Chord Options
When you choose one of these presets, it makes a number of settings in the Chord Options section of the dialog.
You can override them in this dialog.
Chord Resolution
This is the minimum number of beats for a chord. For example, if you set it to “2 beats” then the Chord Wizard will
never attempt to come up with different chords that are only a beat apart. If you have a song that has a short section
that does include chords every beat, you can redo that section of the song with a “1 beat” resolution. (Default = 2
beats)
Include Slash Chords
If set, the Chord Wizard will include “slash chords” like F7/A or Cm/G.
Bass Part Type
You can set this to “Root,” “Root-3-5,” or “Walking Bass.” If you choose “Root,” the chord Wizard will assume
that any bass note is the root of the chord. Choosing “Root-3-5” will cause the Chord Wizard to assume that the
bass pattern is mainly on the root, 3rd and 5th of the chord. If you choose “Walking bass,” it will assume that the
bass notes can be changing and can include many notes beside the root. Setting the Walking bass line will likely
result in fewer chords overall than setting the “Root only” option.

Allow Suspended (Sus) Chords

The setting for “Allow Sus chords” determines if chords like Csus or Bbsus7 will be included. The “Allow 7th
chords” specifies if 7th chords like C7 or Bbm7 would be allowed. Simple Rock songs might not have 7th chords or
Sus chords. Allowing chords with no thirds should be set in a hard rock song, or similar song with “power chords”
that might not contain the 3rd of the chords.

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Delay Lowest Bass Note
Usually a bass player plays the root of the chord at or near the time when the chord
changes. But in solo piano playing or some bass styles, the bass doesn't state the root until later on, and this setting
should be set to “delayed” in a solo piano style of this type.
Primary Style
Set the primary style of the song to Jazz or Pop
using the Lead Sheet Method combo box.
Using the Chord Options Presets to quickly make settings
For the song “Violet Song.MID,” we know that this is a Jazz Swing type of song, so we
press the Preset Called “Jazz Standard.” By doing this, we see that the chord options
have then been set to Chord Resolution of 2 beats, no slash chords, walking bass, sus chords, 7th chords, and Jazz
lead sheet. These settings look OK for our Jazz song, if we wanted to customize it (e.g., to allow slash chords) we
could do it at this point.
So, to recap, using the Chord Wizard is a 3-step process.
1.

We've loaded in the song “Violet Song.MID.”

Pressing the preset button called [Jazz Standard], we then looked at the Chord Options
settings for the various channels and they looked OK, so we didn't make any changes.

We then press [INTERPRET CHORDS NOW] – this gets the
Chord Wizard to interpret the chords, and write them onto the Chord Sheet.

Once we've pressed the [Interpret Chords Now] button, we can see the results, by looking at the chord sheet. Here
are the chords that were interpreted.

So that we can see how well the Chord Wizard did, we can compare it to the “correct chords” of the song, input by a
musician listening to the song.

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As you can see, by comparing the two sets of chords, the Chord Wizard got almost all of the chords correct in this
example. The Chord Wizard purposely avoids chords like “C13.” It will put a simpler “C7” instead, since this is
more like a typical lead sheet.
If you've read in the entire MIDI file, you have 103 bars of chords on the Chord Sheet. This actually contains 3
choruses of the song. You might want to reduce that to a single chorus by setting the chorus end of the song to bar
36 and then erasing the excess bars (after bar 36) by choosing Edit | Erase.
Examining the song that has been interpreted by the Chord Wizard.
You'll notice that the title (Violet Song), key (F), and tempo (120) have been set to the values found in the file. Part
markers are not set; the Chord Wizard doesn't try to guess where part markers might be occurring. You need to put
the part markers in yourself. You also need to choose the style to use (a Jazz Swing style in this case). If you
examine the Melody track (by opening the Notation window and right clicking on some notes or pressing the Event
List (#) button), you'll notice that the Melody track contains notes from Channel 4, which is what we specified in the
Chord Wizard dialog.

Importing Part of a MIDI file or re-doing a section of the Chord Sheet)

(Normally we'd want to import an entire MIDI file worth of chords. But if you only want to import some bars, you
can deselect the “Import Complete song” checkbox, and then specify where to start in the MIDI file (i.e. the number
of lead-in bars in MIDI file) and what bar to start at in Band-in-a-Box (Insert to BB starting at bar #) and the number
of bars to import (How Many Bars to import?).
For example, using the song “Violet Song.MID,” we could redo a section of the song using different settings. (For
example, a chord resolution of 1 beat instead of 2 beats.) If we were unhappy with the results at bar 7 and 8, we
could redo this by making the settings as follows:

Other Settings for the Chord Wizard
Band-in-a-Box and PowerTracks Pro Audio songs contain special
events that write the exact chord names into the MIDI file. So if the Chord Wizard sees these events, it will use
them instead of interpreting the chords, since they are likely to be completely accurate. If you'd prefer to ignore
these chord events, set the “OK to use PG Music Chord names from MIDI File” to false.
The setting for “Write Chord Summary Notes to Soloist Track” is only
used for diagnostic or special purposes. When set, the Soloist track will contain a special track that has a chord
written every 2 beats (or whatever the setting for chord resolution is) that contains every note found for the chord.
This shows you the type of logic that the Chord Wizard is basing its decisions on. If you encounter a song that gives
incorrect results for the chords, you can try this setting and then examine the Soloist track to see the actual notes of
the chords. Chord-stepping through the track (using [Ins] and [Del] on the Numpad) allows you to quickly hear the
chords.

You can optionally include controllers, pitch bend, patch changes, and lyrics from the MIDI file.

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Practice Window
The 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.
To launch the Practice Window, press the [P] practice button on the toolbar, or choose Window | Practice
Window (hot keys Alt+Shift+L).
There are several purposes for the Practice Window.
Quick access to your favorite/preferred “practice” folders, so that you can setup
load in songs without having to navigate dialogs.
One-click access to many of the education-related features of Band-in-a-Box (play along soloing, Ear Training,
games).

Handy buttons for on-screen transposition for non-concert instruments.

One button access to many of the Band-in-a-Box add-ons “101 Riffs” series and “Master Solos.”

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One button access to many other PG Music educational programs and lessons.
Most of these items are “add-on” products, available separately, and are not
included in the Band-in-a-Box program. If you have these items installed to your
hard drive, the Practice Window will find them if they are installed them to the
default directories, and if not, you will be able to point the program to the location
of the program, which will be remembered in future sessions.
For items that you don’t have, you can choose to display or not display them onscreen using the “Show add ons if N/A (not available)” setting.
More information about all of the add-on programs can be found at www.pgmusic.com/practice.htm
Making and Using Practice Folders
If you are preparing for a performance or a jam session with friends, you likely have a list of songs that you are
working on. Let’s say they are in a folder called “c:\Bob’s Tunes”
Click on the Folder icon. You’ll then see a menu that lists a Manage Folders submenu, allowing you to
create/remove Practice Folders.
This is list of all Practice Folders defined (there likely won’t be
any to start with, so you can add them using the Manage Folders
menu command). Add a folder that you use frequently to this
list.

Note: Practice Folders are limited to 200 songs, because they display on a menu for quick access. So don’t use this
feature for folders with hundreds of songs, use the Song List dialog for that.

After the list of Practice Folders, you see a list of “Favorite Folders” – these are the
folders that you have visited recently.
Once you have selected a folder, you then press the [Songs] button, and you’ll see a
pop-up menu of the file names for that folder, with the current song having a check
mark. Load in a song by choosing the menu item.

Ear Training Tutor
Ear training is an important exercise for all musicians. Now you can practice your ear training with help from Bandin-a-Box. In addition to the common interval exercises (perfect 4th, minor 2nd, etc.), learning to “play-by-ear” for

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Jazz and Pop music is further enhanced by ear training exercises to recognize common chord types (e.g., Major,
Minor, Dominant, etc.).

For example, Band-in-a-Box will play a chord and you will have to identify the correct root and chord type. Your
score can be tracked, allowing you to monitor your progress. Clicking on the various chord types lets you instantly
hear the differences between various chords. Other options include “types of roots and chords to use,” and “voicing
types” (open, closed, etc.) – allowing you to customize the ear training exercises for beginner through to advanced.
Interval recognition is also customizable from beginner to advanced, with such options as instrument type, octave
range, up/down intervals and more.

1.
2.

Click the on-screen ear training button, or press Ctrl+Shift+J, or go to Window | Ear Training Window to
launch the Ear Training Window. There are 2 modules in the Ear Training Window:
The Interval Tutor plays note intervals for you to identify.
The Chord Tutor plays chords (root + extension) for you to identify.

Interval Tutor
Click on the [Interval Tutor] button to launch the Interval Tutor module.
Click on the intervals to hear them. For example, click on “Minor 3” to hear a minor 3rd interval.
Set the interval types to guess. Pressing the [Easy] button will set it to the easiest (within one octave, second note is
always higher, etc.).

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Start the game by pressing the [Guess Interval] button.
You can control the starting note and the second note in the dialog.

Once the game starts, click on the interval that you think is being played.

Chord Tutor
Click on the [Chord Tutor] button to enter the Chord Tutor module.

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Press the [Play Tonic] button to familiarize yourself with the root note of the scale as a
reference point.
Click on any of the other note names to hear that root.
Click on any of the chord extensions to hear that sound.

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Guessing the root
You can test yourself on roots only or root AND extension. Press “Guess a New
Root” and you'll hear a root played.
Press this button to hear the root-to-guess replayed. If you need help, press
[Play Tonic – C] to hear the root again.
When you think you know the root, press the root name on the list of note
names at the left.
If you guess incorrectly, you'll see a message that says “Wrong Root.” You'll
then hear the note that you guessed playing, followed by the root-to-guess
note again.
If you guess correctly, you'll see a confirmation of that, and can play again.
Press the [Stop] button to stop the game.
Guessing the Root and the Extensions
The Guess a New Chord game works in the same way as the Root game, except that
here you are guessing chord extensions. The root is always the same,
whatever the setting is at the left. Click on the extension to guess, and [Replay Chord] button to hear the chord
again.

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In this mode, you need to guess both the Root and the Extension. You can guess
them in any order.
Click on the root, and when you get it correct you can move on to the extension.
Types of Roots to Include
For the Roots, you can choose which types of roots to include. This can be any of the 12 semitones, or just the scale
tones, or just the 1-4-5 of the scale.
Extension to Include
For the extensions, you can include all of the extensions listed in the dialog, or just the subset that are common
extensions.
Types of Voicings to Include
The chord extension will be played using the voicing type that you specify in the voicing types combo box. These
can be open, closed, or root position voicings. This setting also applies to the voicing used when you are previewing
a chord.
Show notes on piano during guessing
If you were an advanced musician, seeing the notes on the piano during the guessing game would be “cheating,”
since you'd probably quickly recognize the chord. However, a beginner might benefit from seeing the notes played
on the piano screen. If this “show notes on piano during guessing” option is selected, these chords will play on the
small piano located on the main program screen.

The score is displayed on the window. You can reset these results to zero by pressing the [Reset] button.

Ear Training Games
Learning is best when it’s fun, so we’ve included these exciting games in the Band-in-a-Box Ear Training module
for fun times in “the woodshed.”

The programs are available via buttons in the ear training dialog, or by dedicated buttons on the toolbar.

Pitch Invasion
Pitch Invasion helps to develop perfect pitch as you shoot down “alien” notes invading from above. You
hear the note sound and click on the on-screen piano/MIDI or QWERTY keyboard to shoot it down.

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For Pitch Invasion, choose a level that will specify the # of note types that will be invading. The LEVEL determines
the speed of the notes.
To shoot the aliens, click on the on-screen keyboard, MIDI keyboard or QWERTY keys.

The program settings allow you to customize the game.

Press the HELP button for more information.

Music Replay
Music Replay develops your pitch, rhythm, and melody recognition by replaying what the program plays,
in note, rhythm, or melodic modes.

For Music Replay, choose the MODE of the game.
There are three modes:
1. Note Replay
2. Rhythm Replay
3. Melody Replay

Set the Level to make the game harder.

Press the HELP button for more information.

Vocal Wizard
The “Vocal Wizard” displays the best song keys for your vocal range!
This feature helps you choose the best song key for your vocal range. Open the Vocal Wizard, enter your vocal type
(baritone, tenor, etc.), or choose a custom range. Then the wizard analyzes the song and recommends the best keys

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for that song. Options available to “include/exclude falsetto range,” “restrict choices to these keys […],” and
“transpose now.”
Before we enter the Vocal Wizard, we’re going to load in the song Old Folks at Home (present in the c:\bb\Tutorial
- BB 2005 folder). The song Old Folks at Home is in the key of F, we’ll use the Vocal Wizard to find the best key
for a baritone.
To enter the Vocal Wizard, choose the menu item Window | Vocal Wizard, or press the Vocal Wizard
button on the toolbar. This launches the Vocal Wizard.
Here’s the dialog that you see when you enter the Vocal Wizard.

You can see from the screenshot that the Vocal Wizard has picked the key of D (colored green) as the best key for
the song, using the baritone vocal range. Other recommended keys are colored yellow. Un-recommended keys are
colored grey, and include the current key of the song (F).
Let’s explore the areas of the Vocal Wizard screen.
There are 4 areas that require your input.
1.

Entering your Vocal Range.

Here you enter your “comfortable” vocal range, from lowest note to highest note. If you can sing falsetto,
you can also enter the highest falsetto note, and the % of falsetto notes that would be acceptable as falsetto
notes.
You can also select a preset (like Baritone Male or Contralto Female). Or you can select one of 8 “User
Preset slots” to enter and save a custom range (if you press the [Save & Name User Preset] button)

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Selecting the keys that would be “allowable.”

Most musicians have favorite keys, so this area allows selection of keys that would be acceptable for the
Vocal Wizard to choose. For example, if we choose “Jazz” keys, we’ll see that the Vocal Wizard now
recommends the key of C instead of D.
Setting the range of the song to analyze (usually the whole song). Normally you’d want to analyze the
whole song, but this allows you to select a partial range.

Selecting the track to analyze. You’d usually pick the Melody track, but can also choose the Soloist track.

You can then analyze the Melody by pressing the [Analyze] button.
Most functions automatically re-analyze the song, but pressing the [Analyze] button
forces a re- analysis of the song. This displays the analysis of the song.
1. A purple area describes the current range of the song, low note to high note, and compares it to your vocal range.

2. The radio buttons show each of the 12 semitone keys, and show a score for each key. The lowest score is the
best. Keys are also colored – green (best key), yellow (good key), and grey (bad key for the song).

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In the example Old Folks at Home, you can see that D is the best key (“green”), but any of the keys from G to Db
are also good keys in the selected vocal range.
The area in black at the bottom gives an analysis of the vocal range if the song was transposed to the chosen key.

Now that the Vocal Wizard has told us the best key for this song, we can either close the dialog, or transpose it now
to the recommended key (or any other key that we have selected with the radio buttons.
The Vocal Wizard can also work in an automatic mode, transposing a song to the best key as soon as it is loaded,
without having to visit the Vocal Wizard dialog. This is done by checking the “Auto-transpose” checkbox. By
doing this, you can insure that any song you load will be in the best key for your vocalist! And if the key isn’t
deemed to be ideal, just visit the Vocal Wizard to see an analysis of the ranges to pick an alternate key.

Reharmonist (Chords for a Melody)
Generate Chords for a Melody
Generate chords for a melody, or an improved chord progression for a melody, with the “Reharmonist”
feature. This feature generates a chord progression in the chosen genre, based only on the melody.
The idea of the Reharmonist is to generate a completely new chord progression for a melody, in a genre that you
choose (Jazz, Country, etc.). This ignores any existing chords in the song.
There are 2 separate windows for the Reharmonist feature.
1. Reharmonize entire song with a new chord progression.
-or –
2. See a list of possible reharmonizations for a given area of a song.
Generate a New Progression
To generate an entirely new chord progression for a complete song or a portion of a song:
Press the Reharmonist button (or menu option Window | Auto-Generate Chord Reharmonization).
You will then see the Select Re-Harmonist dialog.

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The first thing you should do is set the “Genre” for the reharmonization. For example, if you want “Jazz Swing”
genre, choose that in the genre drop down.

You’ll then get typical Jazz chords.
Verify that the key is correct. Band-in-a-Box analyzes the melody, and gives its best guess as to the best key for the
song. If it is different than the current key, Band-in-a-Box will suggest the new key, and you can press the button to
set the key to the new key.

Set the region of the song that you want reaharmonized. Usually this will be the “Whole Song.”

Press [OK-Reharmonize]. You’ll now get a brand new chord progression for the melody.

See a List of Possible Reharmonizations
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 brand new progressions for tunes without chords.
To do this, choose Window | Chord Reharmonist Dialog (choose your own). This shows you the current bar in the
song (for example, bar 7). It shows a list of suggested chord progressions for the current melody, based on the
melody and genre that you choose.

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Choose a chord progression, and press [Do-Reharmonize NOW]
and the program will insert that progression.
The progressions are sorted in alphabetical order, or from “best to worst” depending
on this setting.

Chord Substitution Wizard
Reharmonizing a song with the Chord Substitution Wizard is a fun and educational way to perform or practice a
familiar song in a brand new way. For example, if you had chords such as “Dm7 G7 Cmaj7,” a list of substitutions
including the tritone substitution “Dm7 Db7b5 Cmaj7” would be offered to you for use in your song.
There are 2 ways to get chord substitutions
1. Let Band-in-a-Box show you a list of possible substitutions to pick from yourself by accessing Window | Chord
Substitution Dialog menu item.
2. Let Band-in-a-Box pick them automatically by accessing Window | Auto-Generate Chord Substitutions menu
item.

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Chord Substitution Dialog

This dialog depends on what chords were present at the bar that was currently highlighted. This bar number is
shown in the dialog and may be changed.
In the example shown, the chord was an F7 chord, so the substitutions shown are for an F7 chord. The substitutions
shown may work for up to 4 bars, depending on the substitution. In the examples above, the substitutions work for 2
bars.
Jazz Substitutions / Pop/ Country
You can control what types of substitutions to see by using these checkboxes. Some substitutions include more
chords than the original, and some simplify the progression, and these can be viewed using the checkboxes. You
can elect to exclude substitutions that have a chord on each beat.
Types of Subs. to include
This combo box will filter the substitutions to include only the best substitutions or all of them.
Recompile
The [Recompile] button is only used if you have edited the CHORDSUB.TXT file to add your own substitutions.
This recompiles the file and takes about 1 to 2 minutes.
Do Substitution NOW
Press this button once you see a substitution that you like so that you can enter it onto the worksheet directly.
Double clicking on the substitution line will also accomplish the same. You can then move the current bar to the
next part of the song that you need a substitution for and repeat the process.
Restore / Restore ALL
You can UNDO the substitution by pressing the [Restore] button, or the [All] button to UNDO all substitutions.

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Auto Chord Substitutions
You can quickly auto-generate substitutions for an entire song, or portion of a song using the auto-substitution
dialog, which is accessed with the menu command Window | Auto Generate Chord Substitutions.
For example, we can generate substitutions for the !Freddie.MGU song. Here is the original chord progression.

By using the auto-substitution dialog, we can generate substitutions for the whole song, and we get this result:

You can see that Band-in-a-Box chose the substitutions for about 70% of the chords in the song (that's what we told
it to do in the dialog). It began by replacing the F6 chord with an Fmaj7 Gm7 Abdim Am7 progression. Some of
the substitutions chosen are even more advanced than that (replacing two bars of Bbmaj7 with Bb6 Ebmaj7 Dm7
Gm7 | Bbmaj7 Cm7 Dbdim Dm7 for example).
Here are the settings in the auto-substitution dialog that produced this result:

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If you'd like Band-in-a-Box to only generate chords for a certain range of bars, you should highlight that range of
bars in the chord sheet first, and then launch the dialog. The Range will then be set to “Part of Song” and the “Bar”
and “# bars” settings will also be set. You can override these settings with manual settings, if necessary.

Chord Builder
You can right-click on any chord to instantly hear how it sounds, or use the Chord Builder feature to audition
different chords until you find the one that sounds best to you. In other words, you can enter chords “by ear” without having to know the actual chord names or any music theory. This feature also illustrates the differences
between various chord types.
Launch the Builder by pressing the Builder button, or right clicking on the chord sheet and pressing the
Builder button, or by choosing the User | Chord Builder menu option to open the Chord Builder dialog.
The Chord Builder is designed so it fits entirely above the Chorsdheet. This means that it can be left open as you
work entering chords into Band-in-a-Box. Remember that you can also play chords in from the MIDI keyboard by
pressing Ctrl+Enter after you've played a chord.

You can click on the root of the chord in the “Root” group, and the Extension (Maj7 etc.), and also an alternate
“slash-note” root. For example, to make the chord F9/A, you would click on the “F” root, the “9” extension, and the
Slash Root of /A. As you click on them, you'll hear the bass note played on the Bass part, and the extension played
on the Piano track.
If you are happy with the sound of the chord, you can press the [Enter Chord] button to enter the chord at the bar and
beat specified. If you would like the chord to be inserted automatically when you click on the note/extension names,
select the “Enter chord when clicked” option. This will advance the Bar/Beat position. You can change the
Bar/Beat settings to move to a different bar.

Rhythm Guitar Chord Tutor
Use the Guitar Tutor to analyze any song. This feature will show the chords that are playing on the virtual guitar
fretboard, in your choice of a Jazz, Pop, or Folk perspective. The Guitar Tutor is a fun way to learn about new
guitar chords while playing along with your favorite Band-in-a-Box tune.
The Rhythm Guitar Chord Tutor is most useful on styles that aren't guitar styles, because the guitar styles already
have a guitar part that you can learn from. Using the tutor, you can see (and optionally hear) guitar chords played on
the guitar fretboard. This teaches you how to play the chords on guitar.
To turn the Rhythm Guitar Chord Tutor on, launch the Guitar window and press the [Tutor]
button.
Enable Chord Tutor Display
This setting silently displays the chords on the guitar fretboard.
The Display Chords EARLY by (120/PPQ) is an “anticipate” mode that plays the next chord X beats in advance,
allowing time for the user to prepare. If set to 120, the tutor chords will appear a full beat early.
Play Chords through MIDI
To hear the chords, select the “Play Chords through MIDI” checkbox.

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Tip: The Tutor uses the MIDI THRU part to playback on. You can control volume, panning, etc. by using the THRU
settings on the main Band-in-a-Box screen.

Guitar Patch
You can select the patch to use directly from the Tutor dialog.
Type of chords to display
The tutor will display Jazz, Pop, and Folk voicings in easy, medium, and advanced forms. The advanced forms use
inversions, and changing patterns of chords, while the easier ones just stick to the common “campfire” chords.
Half Note (sax) chords use the advanced Jazz Guitar “highest-4-strings-comping mode.” This usually plays on the 4
highest strings, and it plays several chords over a single chord. For example, for 2 bars of Cmaj7 it might play
Cmaj7-Dm7-Ebdim-Em7 all played as half notes.

There are also tutors for the alternate tunings like DADGAD, Open G, etc. They can be selected from this dropdown list.

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Show muted high note of 3 note comping
One of the tutors uses 3 note Jazz voicings to simulate the famous Big Band chord guitar comping styles. If you use
this, you'll only see 3 notes in the chords of course. Since it sometimes helps to see the entire 4 chord voicing in this
case, there is the option to show the muted note as well.
Note: This applies to the guitar tutor. There is also the option to show this for the guitar styles. This option is present in the
Guitar Options dialog.

Copy to melody track / Copy to Soloist track
Pressing either one of these buttons will send the chord to the appropriate track.
The Guitar Tutor stays enabled until you change the Guitar track to another track (for example, to change it to the
Bass track). You can easily re-enable it by clicking on the [Tutor] button again.

Chord “Breaks”
This feature is great for practicing tempo control.
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, as indicated by whether the band comes back in time with you or not.
Once set, this feature works automatically with all songs until you turn it off.
To access the Chord Breaks feature, press the [Chord Breaks] button from the
Practice Window and then select “Insert Breaks.” (It can also be launched from
[Pref] [Arrange] Arrangement Options).
You then choose how many bars the program should play, and how
many bars the program should not play.
This setting remains in effect for all songs. Turn it off if you want to
resume normal playing of songs.

MIDI File to Style Wizard
Making styles with the Style Wizard is a process involving:
− Loading a MIDI file into the Style Wizard.
− Listening to the MIDI file by muting channels to identify parts.
− Picking the channels to use for the BB Parts.
− Picking the snapshot bars for the “a” and “b” substyle.
− Pressing the [Generate NEW style…] button.
This section will discuss the various items in the Style Wizard dialog and the Style Wizard Additional Settings.
The Style Wizard is used to generate a Band-in-a-Box Style from a MIDI file. The Style Wizard does this by
analyzing the file and creating patterns emulating the notes and rhythms for the style. First off, you'd need to get a
MIDI file to use.
Important: You should use a MIDI file that you have composed and arranged – if not, you need to first get permission of
the composer and arranger before making a style from the MIDI file.

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Press the [Open] button and load in the file c:\bb\violet.MID. The Style Wizard then does the
following automatically:
The chords for the MIDI file are interpreted and written on the Chord Sheet.
The “part markers” for the file are displayed on the Chord Sheet. For Violet.MID, the Style Wizard has found the
correct part markers – by looking for drum fills and other signs of a part change – and has assigned substyle “a”
to all of them. We'll change some of them to “b” later.
The channels used in the MIDI file
are displayed in the dialog,
with the patches used and # of
notes played on each channel.
(For Violet.MID you can see
that channels 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and
10 are used.)
The Style Wizard analyzes the
parts and guesses at which
Band-in-a-Box part - Bass,
Piano, Drums, Guitar, or
Strings to use for each track.
Band-in-a-Box has correctly
assigned 5 instruments – not
assigning a part to the
Melody.
The Style Wizard suggests which
bars (“snapshots”) to include in
the style. The suggested bars
are bars with all of the “BB
Part” instruments.

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In the Snapshots area of the Style Wizard:
-

Enter “1-20” for the bars for the “A” Substyle.

Enter “21-28, 37-68” for the “B” Substyle.

Enter “12, 20” for the “A” Drum Fills.

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Mute the Melody (Alt+9 or right-click on the Melody part at the top of the screen). The next thing is the Enable the
Style, by choosing Style | Style is Enabled so that this item has a checkbox.
Auto Endings for Styles without Endings
If you‘ve made a style, and haven’t included an ending, a 2-bar ending can be generated automatically, based on the
style. This makes it easier to make complete styles using the Style Wizard.
To hear an example, load in the song c:\bb\Tutorial – BB 2005\No Ending.MGU. This song uses
NOENDING.STY, a style that doesn’t have an ending. An ending will be generated automatically for this style.
So we've made our first style! In summary, making styles with the Style Wizard is a process involving:
6. Loading a MIDI file into the Style Wizard.
7. Listening to the MIDI file by muting channels to identify parts.
8. Picking the channels to use for the BB Parts.
9. Picking the snapshot bars for the “a” and “b” substyle.
10. Pressing the [Generate NEW style…] button.

Advanced Settings and Preferences
Click on the [More] button to open the Style Wizard Advanced Settings and Preferences.

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Drums (“voicings”): Whether the patterns will use live or grid style
patterns. Default mode is “auto,” which normally uses live patterns, but
you can force it to use live or grid style patterns. Live patterns have
higher resolution and can use more instruments, so in general are the
better choice.
Bass (“voicings”) determine if the bass part will use All notes / Scale
tones only / Root 3rd, 5th,7th / Root, 3rd, 5th / Root and 5th / or just the
Root. The default is “Auto-select” which usually allows all 12 semitones.

Piano, Guitar, and Strings Voicings determine how the Piano patterns will
be voiced. The choices are Auto, Include Full Voicings, Tritones only
(3rd/7ths), Power Chords (Root/5th), Chord Mask Half Octave, and
Chord Mask Full Octave.
The auto-setting usually uses the “Include full voicings.” If the part uses
2-note chords, you should over-ride this setting to “use tritones” so that
the most important notes of the chord (the tritone)
will get included. 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). Set the voicings to use “ChordMask Full Octave”
or “ChordMask Half Octave.”
You wouldn’t make a Style Wizard style from scratch using chord masks,
because there need to be generic patterns in the style. So you do it as a
2-stage process. First time, make the style using generic patterns (e.g. Voicing type “Auto”) and then change
voicings to Chord Mask, and add those to the style. As with other Style Wizard features, it is important that the
chords and part markers on the chord sheet be very accurate. So if they aren’t, you should fix them before
generating a style.
The Emb. (embellish) checkbox determines if the patterns for Piano, Guitar, and Strings will be
embellished. If embellish is selected on a chord like D7 (in the key of C) 13ths, 9ths, and #11 notes might be added
to embellish the chord. A Jazz piano style would likely use this.
The “Include Empty patterns Threshold” setting defaults to None. Possible settings are None / 2
beat / 1 bar / 2 bars. If set to none, the instrument will always play in the style, if set to “1 bar” there
will be “spaces of silence” up to 1 bar long (perhaps longer if chained together) in the style for that
instrument. So if an instrument is used sparsely in a style, set this setting to something higher than
none.

The Velocity Adjust will make an instrument louder or softer in the style.

Preferences
Preferences affect the style itself.

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Save settings with songs
The song will be saved as an MGX file, since the Melody track type is Multichannel and contains the MIDI file. If
you select this, the Style Wizard settings are all saved with the MGX file.
Leave StyleMaker open after creating style
If set, after generating the style, the StyleMaker is left open for you to examine/edit the style directly.
Auto-interpret MIDI file. (Default = Yes)
When set, the Style Creation Wizard will set the channels, BB Parts, and snapshots for you. Normally this setting
should be left on.
Delete existing patterns (when adding to the style). (Default = No)
If this option is set when you create style patterns to add to an existing style, the entire instrument will first be erased
in the style for any instrument used in the new style. When you generate a style by adding to an existing style, the
StyleMaker is then opened up, allowing you to pick a new name for the style (so you don't overwrite the existing
style).
# columns to leave unused in the style. (Default = 0)
If set to zero (the default), the Style Creation Wizard can create the biggest style possible – filling up the rows
completely with patterns. But if you set this to a non-zero value it will limit the # of patterns that can be made.
Since there are 30 rows in the StyleMaker, you can set this setting from 0 to 29.
Generate new pattern after # duplicates
The Style Creation Wizard won't insert patterns unless they are unique compared to the ones already entered. But
(with this setting at the default of 8), after 8 duplicates of the same pattern, a 2nd pattern will get entered that is a
duplicate of another pattern. Setting this to zero would mean that every pattern would get entered (regardless of
whether it was unique); setting it to a high number like 200 would mean that only truly unique patterns are entered.
To maintain the correct balance in the style, since the maximum weight of a pattern in the StyleMaker is 8, this
setting should be left at 8 in most situations. If your style is “filling up” all of the available columns, then set this to
a higher number.

Repeats and Endings Wizard
Tutorial
For this tutorial, we’ll be using demos from the “Tutorial– Repeats and Endings” folder.

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Load in the Song “Miles1 Tutorial (no repeats yet)” from the Tutorial – Repeats and Endings folder. You’ll
notice that this is a 1-32 bar form. There are no repeats and endings entered for this song. We’ll be adding them
now.
First of all, when you load in a song, you’ll notice some new “Form Marker” features that happen for any Band-in-aBox song.

Repeat symbols are drawn at the beginning and end of the entire form (bars 1, 32 in this song) and “end” is written
on bar 33, which is the ending.
Bars past the end of the song are colored gray.
These form markers are present for every song, unless you disable them by Preferences | Display. These are not the
type of repeats/endings we’re referring to here however. The repeats/endings we are talking about now occur during
the form, and are the 1st/2nd endings, DS al Coda and other repeat types that you see on a typical lead sheet.
So, in our song “Miles1 Tutorial (no repeats yet),” we can have a look at it and see if there are any repeats/endings.
It appears from looking at the chord sheet that this 32 bar form consists of two 16 bar sections, with a 1st ending at
bar 9, and a 2nd ending at bar 25.
So now we’d like Band-in-a-Box to display it like that, with the first and second ending markings.
Since we want to insert the 1st/2nd ending on bar 9, we right click on the chord sheet on bar 9, and select
Repeats/Codas/1st-2nd Endings.

We then see the Edit Repeats and Endings dialog.

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Click on the 1st/2nd endings radio button, and enter the following.
- Repeat begins at bar 1.
- 1st ending begins at bar 9.
- 1st ending lasts for 8 bars.
- Type of Repeat/Ending = 1st/2nd endings.
By entering this data we’ve defined the complete 1st and 2nd ending. If the 1st ending begins at bar 9 and lasts for 8
bars, the 2nd ending must begin at bar 17+8=25 (there’s an 8 bar repeated section from bar 1 to 8).
Now, this was a pre-existing song, and it already has all of the bars laid out. So we
make sure that we don’t select the “Generate (insert) new bars” checkbox.
Click on [OK-Make Repeat], and the repeat gets made, and the chord sheet redraws with the
1st/2ndrepeat showing.
Make sure you have Fake Sheet mode selected on the chord sheet.

As you can see there is a 1st ending at bar 9. At bar 16 there is a repeat symbol, indicating that the form goes back
to bar 1 for 8 bars, and then will go to the bar after bar 16 for the 2nd ending. The 2nd ending is marked there. The
bar # is 25, because the bars are numbered in linear fashion, and it is the 25th bar of the song as it would be played.
Then the song goes to the end which is bar 32.
Now we can see a LINEAR view of the same song, similar to the way it was before we put the 1st/2nd
endings on it. To do this, deselect the Fake Sheet checkbox on the main page. You’ll then see the song like this.

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This shows all of the 32 bars, including the bars that are part of the repeat – these are highlighted in gray. Exposing
these bars shows the linear view of the song, the way the song would be played. It also allows you to enter custom
information for any of the bars, including the bars in the “gray area.” For example, if you wanted the chord at bar
21 to be an Em9 instead of an Em7, just type it in, even though it’s in the repeated section leading to the 2nd ending.
You can toggle between the 2 views for the traditional lead sheet view with the Fake Sheet mode, and the “normal”
(linear) view with Fake Sheet mode OFF.
The List of Repeats/Endings allows
you to manage the repeats/endings that
have been entered.
Delete/ Append/ Insert a repeat or
ending using this list, which opens with
the [Edit List] button in the Edit
Repeats and Endings dialog.

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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 the file name or any text in the file.
Example uses:
You can:
- Get a listing of all BB songs on your PC with the word “Blues” in the title.
- Get a listing of all BB 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 BB 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 songs that Band-in-a-Box offers
that match your find term.

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Roland VSC3 Virtual Sound Canvas

An important part of Band-in-a-Box is the band that you actually hear. This is determined by the MIDI driver that
you use for output. The Roland Virtual Sound Canvas (VSC) is a top-quality software synthesizer.
You should install both the Roland VSC and VSC DXi, which are separate installations from the Band-in-a-Box
program. When you install the VSC, you'll see a “Roland VSC” MIDI Output driver listed in the Band-in-a-Box
MIDI Driver Setup dialog (Opt. | MIDI driver setup...).
Use the Roland VSC3 with Band-in-a-Box and any other MIDI program
that supports MIDI Drivers (almost all of them do). To use the Roland
VSC3 for your output sounds, choose Opt. | MIDI driver setup... and select
the “Roland VSC” as the MIDI Output Driver.
The VSC3 has a latency of 430ms, which means that it takes 430
milliseconds for the VSC3 to produce the sound after instructed to do so by
Band-in-a-Box. Set the latency to 430ms in the MIDI Driver setup
dialog. Band-in-a-Box will
likely do this for you.
To use the superior quality of the Roland VSC DXi synthesizer, check the “Use DXi Synth” box
in the MIDI Driver setup dialog and then select the VSC DXi under the Synth tab in the DirectX Plugins window.
The latency for the VSC DXi is set automatically by Band-in-a-Box.
In addition to using the Roland VSC DXi for output, it is the default choice for direct rendering of Band-in-a-Box
songs to audio wave files.

TranzPort Support - Wireless Remote Control
®

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 Sonar , Logic , and many others.
Note: the TranzPort is sold separately by PG Music Inc. www.pgmusic.com

Using TranzPort with Band-in-a-Box.
First, you need to purchase a TranzPort unit, and install it.

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Now, make sure that the TranzPort is installed and working. You can determine that it is installed and working by
running Band-in-a-Box, and looking at the list of MIDI Drivers (Options-MIDI Drivers). If “TranzPort” appears on
the list of MIDI-IN and MIDI-OUT drivers, then the TranzPort is installed correctly.
Important: DO NOT SELECT the TranzPort drivers, since it is not a sound module. Band-in-a-Box will automatically find
the TranzPort unit to send/ receive data.

To start using the TranzPort
- While Band-in-a-Box is running, “wake up” the TranzPort by pressing a key on the TranzPort (STOP key for
example).
- The TranzPort display will show
“Title of BB song”
For example, the screen might say
- “My Tune”
- 120 Mel v 122 p1 Acoustic Piano
- Track < and Track> buttons change the current track Bass/Drums/Piano/Guitar/Strings/Melody/Soloist/Thru
Controlling Patches/Tempo/Volume
- The WHEEL changes the tempo.
- Shift-WHEEL changes the volume of the ALL TRACKS.
- [Prev] [WHEEL] changes the volume of the current track.
- [ADD] [WHEEL] changes the patch of the current track using Favorite Patches.
- [NEXT] [WHEEL] changes the patch of the current track, cycling through all patches.
- MUTE AND SOLO mutes or solos the current track.
- [SHIFT] MUTE, will mute/un-mute ALL tracks.
Loading Songs
- [IN] button opens the “Favorite Songs” dialog. The LCD screen of the TranzPort displays the current song, and
the WHEEL cycles through the various songs. When you’ve found the song that you want, press PLAY to load
and play the song (or “Solo” to function like the OK button in the Favorite Songs dialog, note if “Play song
when chosen” is set or not in that dialog). Press UNDO to cancel the dialog.
- [OUT] button functions in a similar manner, except it uses the Song List dialog.
- [Shift]- [IN] loads the previous song in alphabetical order, by filename, in the same folder.
- [Shift]- [OUT loads the next song in alphabetical order, by filename, in the same folder.
Playing Songs
- PLAY button plays the song.
- [RED button beside play] pauses the song.
- STOP button stops the song.
- [<<] and [>>] buttons jump to the previous or next section of the song. You can define custom sections of the
song (using the Conductor in Band-in-a-Box), but if you haven’t, the sections default to lead-in, intro, first
chorus, middle chorus, last chorus, ending.
- LOOP button will loop the current section
- SHIFT LOOP button loops 4 bars
- UNDO is panic button (turn MIDI notes off)
Playback Display
During playback, you will see the chords (and/or lyrics) to the song, scrolling along in time to the music. For
example, you might see this…
*5| D

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7| G

| Gm

The * marks the current bar (bar 5), which is a D chord. The screen always scrolls to show you 2 bars ahead of the
current time.
TranzPort Dialog
There is a TranzPort Settings dialog inside Band-in-a-Box with additional settings.

If you are a non-concert instrument player, you can set the transpose display in Pref | TranzPort. For example, an
Alto sax player would press the “Eb Alto” button, and then the TranzPort display would show chords transposed to
his key. This feature is useful if you have a friend over for a jam session. One of you can look at the PC screen, and
the other can look at the TranzPort, and they can be in different keys for non-concert instruments!
If you want lyrics to display on the TranzPort during playback, set these options in Pref | TranzPort.

[REC] has no action.
[PUNCH] has no action
[Footswitch] has no action

Guitar Tuner
The Guitar Tuner is optimized for guitar and bass, though it may be useful with other instruments. Connect an
electric guitar or bass to your computer’s sound card Line-In, or tune an acoustic instrument using a microphone
connected to the sound card Mic input. Play a pitch and the tuner will auto-range to determine the nearest note, and
display the intonation of your instrument.
Press the on-screen [Tuner] button or select the GM | Guitar Tuner menu item to launch the Tuner
Window.

Tip: There are detailed Guitar Tuner instructions in the online Help topic Connecting an Instrument.

The Guitar Tuner must be able to receive audio from your instrument via the line-in or microphone input of your
sound card. Please make sure that either the Microphone In or Line-In is enabled in the Recording Properties of the
Windows Mixer (or the appropriate Mixer application for your sound card).

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Master Tuning
This function allows you to tune your sound card or module to another instrument, as well as adding a testing
function to see if your sound card supports Master Tuning. This is useful if you're playing along with an instrument
or recording that can't easily be re-tuned like an acoustic piano. A setting of 0 is the default A = 440.
Select the GM | Master Tuning menu item to launch the Master Tune dialog.

Tip: Not all sound cards/modules support the Master Tuning feature. To see if your sound card supports Master Tuning,
press the [TEST] button in the dialog shown above.

Dynamic 3D Drum Kit Window
This sizeable drum window is an animated 3D display of a complete MIDI drum kit with all 61drum sounds
displayed on their respective instruments. Watch the drums being played or play-along/record by using QWERTY
keys or a mouse.

To launch the Drums window, click the Drums button in the View Panel. You can do several things with
the Drums Window:
Watch the Drum part being played on the Drums window in real time.
Play along with the drums in real time by mouse clicking on the drum instruments, or using the QWERTY keys.
The computer keyboard, the piano key number, and sound names can all (optionally) be made visible on the
hint line by moving your mouse cursor over a given instrument.
Record a drum part into Band-in-a-Box.

Drum Display
All the General MIDI percussion instruments are shown. Some percussion instruments are triggered by multiple
MIDI notes. When a sound is controlled by more than one MIDI note, a percussion instrument will show different
behavior in response to the different notes. For instance, the Hi-Hat responds differently to Close Hat, Pedal Hat,
and Open Hat MIDI notes.
The Drum Kit window can be resized to tile or fit with other windows of interest, or the drums can be moved offscreen. The window looks best if your computer display is in High Color (16 bit) or True Color (32 bit) video
mode.

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The onscreen instruments may be played by mouse clicking or by pressing the appropriate computer keys. There is
an option to display all the QWERTY names on the drums at the same time, so that you can see what keys to hit
without having to mouse over the instrument. When playing by mouse click or computer keys, the Shift key can be
used to switch the velocity between two user-specified levels (i.e. loud=100 and soft=50).
The drums that you play show up in green; the computer played drums are red.
The multi-note instruments send different MIDI notes to your sound source, depending on where you “click” on the
instrument. For instance, the Kick Drum can send three different notes: Ac. Bass Drum (MIDI note 35), Bass Drum
1 (MIDI note 36), and Square Kick (MIDI Note 32).
Tip: The hint line at the top of the window describes the current control under the mouse cursor. Use the hint line to learn
the mouse-responsive areas of each drum instrument.

Control Buttons:
-

Record: Puts Band-in-a-Box in Record mode so drums can be recorded.
Play: Starts song playback.
Rewind: Stop and return to song start.
Stop: Stops song playback.
Size Buttons 1/1 - 1/2 - 1/4: Clicking on these buttons changes the size of the drums window to full size, half
size, or quarter-size. (You can also resize the drums window to any size by dragging a window border.)
Settings: Adjusts program behavior. See settings window section below.
Help: To launch the drum Help File, press F1.

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Computer “QWERTY” Keys

Numeric keypad
Press computer keys to play drums.
Drums are grouped on the computer keyboard by category. The kick, snare, and hihat sounds are on the lowest keyboard row. The lower-middle row contains toms
and cymbals. The upper-middle row contains Latin drums, and the top row
contains Latin hand percussion. The Numpad keys contain the rest of the Latin
hand percussion plus the electronic tones.

Multi - Note Instruments
Kick Drum - Ac. Bass Drum, Bass Drum 1, Square Kick
Snare - Acoustic Snare, Side Stick
Hi-Hat - Closed, Pedal, Open
Floor Tom - Low, High
Electronic Pad - Multi-zoned for Hi-Q, Slap, Electric Snare
High Conga - Mute, Open
Surdo - Mute, Open
Cuica - Mute, Open
Metronome - Bell, Click
Whistle - Long, Short
Triangle - Mute, Open
Guiro - Long, Short
Scratch - Push, Pull

Settings Dialog
Press the Settings button (to the left of Rewind button), to adjust the various Drum Kit Settings.

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Drum window is always on top
Use this checkbox to keep the Drums window on top of other program windows.
Note Velocity
When playing drums with a mouse or computer keys, the shift key toggles between two levels of note velocity. The
two velocity levels can be set any way desired. For instance, if you want the shift key to send quieter notes you can
set the shift velocity lower than the non-shift velocity.
Randomize
Use this checkbox to enable the program to send random velocity levels when playing the drums. This is handy
when using non- velocity sensitive devices. “Range” controls the amount of velocity randomization. Usually a
small range works best, around 10% to 30%. For example, if velocity is set to 127, and the random range is set to
20%, notes would randomly vary between a maximum velocity of 127 and a minimum velocity of 102.
Instrument Hints
Customize the appearance of the Hint line.
- Show Note Name
- Show MIDI Note Number
- Show Computer Key
Show
“Show All Instruments” shows all instruments in the drum window.
“Show Used Instruments” displays the basic trap kit, but does not display any extra instruments unless they are used
in a song.
The drum window is cleared each time Play or Stop is pressed.

MIDI Monitor
MIDI Monitor displays a listing of data received from computer MIDI Input and/or Band-in-a-Box output, useful for
educational or diagnostic purposes.
The MIDI Monitor opens with the [MIDI] button on the main screen toolbar, or with the menu
command Window | MIDI Monitor.

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The MIDI Monitor main window.
Tip: To display the data received from the computer MIDI Input, the MIDI THRU option must be enabled in Band-in-a-Box.

The MIDI Monitor has options for 1-based patch numbering and patch name display. Quick View Filter presets
(such as “Notes Only,” “Controllers Only,” “Program Changes Only,” “Programs including Bank Changes”).

MIDI Monitor- Main Window
MIDI Display Controls
Event

The current event number since the display was last cleared.

Clear

Clears MIDI Display, Event counter, and Channel Activity panel.

Save Text

Save a tab-delimited text file of the data in the MIDI display. The file can be opened with a word
processor or spreadsheet program, for printing or further study. Various Save Text options can be
adjusted in the Settings window.

Settings

Open the Settings dialog, to adjust display behavior. The display can be modified to suit the task at
hand.

Filter

Open the Filter dialog, where receive settings can be adjusted.

Sequencer Control
The [Play], [Rewind], and [Stop] buttons control song playback without the need to return to the main Band-in-aBox screen.
Timer
A millisecond timer useful for viewing timing relationships between messages.
To use Band-in-a-Box to measure in milliseconds- set Band-in-a-Box PPQN to 480, and Band-in-a-Box tempo to
125 BPM. With this special resolution and tempo, tick values in the Event List window will correspond to
milliseconds.

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Current Time - The millisecond count since the timer was last started. Click anywhere in the Timer area to clear
the Current time, setting it to zero.
Channel Activity Panel
This panel has an array of “LEDs” to show which channels are active.
MIDI Display Area
The MIDI Display area at the bottom of the main window, displays the data generated by Band-in-a-Box and/or data
received at the computer MIDI input. Each row is a single MIDI event.
Event number, starting from when the display was last cleared.
Evt #
Time (mS) The time in milliseconds of the event, from when the timer was last cleared.
Int means the event was generated by Band-in-a-Box, and Ext means the event was generated by an
Source
external MIDI Device attached to the computer MIDI In port.
The raw bytes representing each MIDI message. Most MIDI Message types contain three bytes, but
Raw
some messages contain one or two bytes. Sysex messages can contain an arbitrary number of bytes.
This field is blank in the case of Sysex messages. With Sysex messages, up to 16 “Raw” bytes are
displayed in the Data fields. Long SysEx messages are displayed on multiple lines, 16 bytes per line.
Text name of the Event type.
Status
MIDI channel of the Event. This field is blank for System messages (values from $F0 to $FF).
Chan
System messages do not have an associated channel.
Text name for the meaning of the first data byte of the MIDI message. For some messages such as
Data 1
Pitch Bend or Song Position Pointer, the value of both data bytes 1 and 2 are calculated and displayed
in Data 1.
Text name for the second data byte of a MIDI Message.
Data 2
Note: Some MIDI messages, such as Program Change or Channel Pressure, have only a single Data byte, and the Data 2
field will be blank. Also, some MIDI Messages have no data bytes, in which case both Data fields will be blank.

Display Filter
The Display Filter dialog allows you to select what MIDI events will be recognized by the MIDI
Monitor program.

MIDI Monitor – Display Filter dialog.

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Tip: Virtually any combination of display events can be selected in the filter. It is therefore possible to select combinations
that do not display any MIDI events at all. The MIDI Monitor will warn you about the more obvious “nil” combinations, but if
you find that you are not receiving what you expected, carefully re-examine these filter settings.

Sound Blaster Support
There is direct support for the Sound Blaster series of sound cards. This includes a built-in AWE Editor, allowing
you to edit the synthesizer sounds on the AWE 32/64 series and to directly load Sound Fonts. There are also onscreen buttons to launch the Sound Blaster applets that control the MIDI Synthesizer (AWE Control) and Mixer on
the Sound Blaster card.
Press the [SB] button at the right of the main screen toolbar, or select GM | Run Other Program to run the
AWE 32 Applet.
Example: Install the GS Sound Font on the Sound Blaster. This will install the “Drum Brushes” sounds that Bandin-a-Box styles use on some Jazz Styles. Once you launch this applet, click on the Synthesizer Panel, and then
select GS from the Available Synths, and press the [Apply] button.
Tip: If pressing these buttons doesn't result in the AWE Control Panel or the Mixer being launched, it means that either
you don't have a SB card capable of loading Sound Fonts (e.g. a SB16/128 has no Sound Font capability) or there is an
error in the text file c:\windows\sbwin.ini

AWE 32/64 editor
Edit Sound Blaster AWE 32/64 synthesizer sounds directly using this built in editor. Save/Load files with new
sounds. The AWE Editor is a patch editor for the Creative AWE32 and AWE64 sound cards’ EMU 8000
synthesizer chip. AWE Editor also works with the Creative Sound Blaster Live sound card.

Event List Editor
You can edit events including all MIDI events and lyric events using the Event List Editor. It can be launched in
several ways.
- In the Melody menu, choose Edit Melody Track | Step Edit Melody.
- In the Soloist menu, choose Edit Soloist Track | Step Edit Soloist Part.
- In the Notation menu, choose Event List Editor…
or in the Notation window by pressing the event list button (#).
Different colors are used for different event types in the event list, to visually distinguish notes, patch changes, etc.
The Event list for the notation colors the events differently as follows:
- Notes starting near the beat boundary are dark pink.
- Notes starting on the off-beat are light pink.
- Patch changes are cyan.
- Controller changes are yellow.
- Pitch Bends are grey.
The Event List Editor allows you to modify, insert, and delete notes:
- Double-click on an event to edit it (or press the [Edit] button.)
- [Insert] puts an event before the current event.
- [Append] puts an event at the end of the track.
- [Delete] removes an event.
- [Update] redraws the notation screen.
- [Edit Lyrics] – [Edit Soloist] – [Edit Melody] selects which track to edit.

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Event List Filter
There is a filter for the Event List Editor, allowing you to, for example, quickly spot all patch changes. For
example, to examine all of the patch changes on the Melody track.
Choose “Use Event Filter,” and then press the [Filter…] button.
In the Event List Filter select the type of information you want to display. In
this case, it is program changes (patches) only.

The track will then display with the program changes only.

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PG Vinyl DirectX Plug-In
Remove clicks and pops from your old vinyl record collection with the new PG Vinyl plug-in. If you no longer
have a phono preamp, just attach your turntable to your mixer console. PG Vinyl can provide RIAA equalization for
better tone. PG Vinyl can reduce broadband noise, and remove clicks on digital audio tracks.
Though PG Vinyl was not designed as a distortion remover, in some cases it can reduce clipping distortion on digital
audio tracks which were recorded too loud.

PG Vinyl Tool Features
Enable Plug-in Checkbox
Toggle the checkbox to compare the original recording to the plug-in output. This helps avoid excessive settings.
PG Vinyl Tool uses look-ahead buffering, so if you bypass the plug-in, the output will “jump in time.” This is
expected, because there is some added delay when PG Vinyl Tool is enabled.
RIAA EQ Checkbox
If you recorded from a stereo tuner or other gadget with a phono input jack, DO NOT enable the RIAA EQ section.
The RIAA EQ option is for folks who do not have a turntable preamp, having recorded with an ordinary mixer.
RIAA EQ was designed to overcome the shortcomings of vinyl. RIAA pre-emphasis is applied when vinyl discs are
mastered. High frequencies get boosted, and low frequencies get cut. This makes high frequencies compete better

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against the inevitable vinyl pops, clicks, and surface noise. Pre-emphasis also prevents low frequency signals from
bouncing the stylus out of the groove.
When you play a record, the preamp's RIAA de-emphasis will reverse the EQ. High frequencies are cut, and low
frequencies are boosted. If you do not apply RIAA de-emphasis, either with a phono preamp or in the software,
vinyl will sound too bright and shallow.
HF Boost
If you recorded the disc with a mixer which has high-impedance inputs (preferably 1 MegOhm or better), set HF
Boost to zero, for “pure” RIAA de-emphasis.
Most audio mixer instrument/line inputs have impedance in the 10 KOhm to 100 KOhm range. A turntable's
magnetic cartridge will be “loaded” by the lower-than-expected mixer impedance. This won't damage the turntable,
but will affect the frequency balance. A 10 KOhm mixer input could cut the highs quite a bit, and even a 100 KOhm
mixer input could cut the highs a perceptible amount.
There is no way to predict the characteristics of your turntable cartridge and the input impedance of your mixer.
Adjust HF Boost by ear until the frequency balance sounds right. You may not get the frequency response as
precisely as the mastering engineer intended, but if you are happy with the result, who cares?
Some PG Vinyl Tool options can cut highs. If a record is damaged so much that subsequent PG Vinyl Tools cut
high frequencies along with the noise, you could increase the HF Boost by ear, to make up the loss.
Rumble Filter Checkbox
Cheap or worn-out turntable platters can make subsonic vibrations. Slightly warped records can also make
undesirable low-frequency noise. Use the Rumble Filter to block unwanted low frequencies.
The Rumble Filter is a 24 dB per Octave Butterworth High Pass filter, which attenuates undesirable low frequencies.
In most situations, it will do no harm to always enable the Rumble Filter.
Rumble Filter Frequency
At the default of 40 Hz, signals below 40 Hz are attenuated, and signals above 40 Hz are unaffected.
Vinyl mastering engineers typically avoided frequencies lower than 40 Hz. It is difficult to make vinyl cleanly
reproduce very low frequencies. Also, most consumers, even audiophiles with expensive stereos, did not have
speakers capable of reproducing lower than 40 Hz.
Unless you are dubbing classical organ records, it is doubtful that there is anything of interest below 30 or 40 Hz.
While adjusting PG Vinyl Tool, you can experimentally toggle the Rumble Filter on/off to make sure the filter is not
removing important audio features.
DeCrackle Checkbox
Enable the DeCrackle section. PG Vinyl Tool defines crackle as high frequency defects in the range of 2000 Hz to
20,000 Hz.
A single microscopic speck of dust, or a tiny static discharge, can cause an isolated “tick” which is too short to be
considered a “click.” The DeCrackle section removes these isolated ticks. Crackle is a cluster of high-frequency
ticks. If there are multiple close-spaced ticks, the ticks are perceived as a crackling sound.
First disable the DeClick Checkbox, and adjust DeCrackle. On a clean record in good condition, DeCrackle may be
the only necessary section. Normally you would only enable the DeClick section if DeCrackle can't adequately
clean up the mess.
DeCrackle Amount
This adjusts the sensitivity of what PG Vinyl Tool considers to be a tick/crackle. At zero, nothing is removed. As
the DeCrackle Amount is increased, PG Vinyl Tool will mute additional “tick suspects.” If the control is set too
extreme, PG Vinyl Tool will partially mute musical features, such as hand percussion or high-hat notes. Only set
the control high enough to remove ticks and crackles. If longer clicks remain, enable the DeClick section for
additional cleaning.
DeCrackle Activity
This displays the percentage of audio which is muted. Except for very worn records, adjust the DeCrackle Amount
so that the DeCrackle Activity reads no higher than a few percent. On very good discs, one might get “perfect”

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results with less than one percent of DeCrackle Activity. Strive to mute only the minimum necessary to clean your
record.
NOTE: If DeCrackle is set outrageously high, the DeCrackle Activity reading can exceed 100 percent. This is not a bug.
The DeCrackle section does three processing passes in progressively lower frequency bands. It might happen that the first
pass will “heal” a click, but subsequent bands will “heal” the left-over residue of that click.
Sometimes a bad click might be repaired in multiple processing stages, until the defect can no longer be detected. With
absurdly high DeCrackle settings, the DeCrackle Activity can exceed 100 percent, because several stages incrementally
repair the same bad clicks.

DeCrackle Fill Gaps
When a tick is detected, it is smoothly “snipped out” of the high-frequencies, without affecting the lower
frequencies. High-frequency ticks last less than one millisecond. Each muted section is very short, only a few
samples.
If Fill Gaps is set to zero, this tiny high-frequency-muted region is replaced by nothing. It behaves like a very brief
high-frequency dropout. On a clean record, occasional muted ticks are never noticed. But on a dirty scratched disc,
if many snips are made, it will sound like a reduction in high frequencies.
As you increase the Fill Gaps knob, PG Vinyl Tool will extrapolate the signal in the vicinity of the click,
synthesizing a “guess” at what the signal might have been in the tiny muted region. If you set Fill Gaps to 100, it
will insert this extrapolated guess at the same level as the original signal. This allows many ticks to be snipped from
a dirty record, without reducing the high frequency content.
One might encounter a badly damaged record where the audio is so damaged that the guesses are not good enough.
In these problem cases, try setting Fill Gaps to 70, or 50, filling the gaps with lower-amplitude guesses, which may
sound less obnoxious.
Set Fill Gaps to 100, unless it sounds bad.
DeClick Checkbox
Enable the DeClick section. PG Vinyl Tool defines clicks as midrange frequency defects, in the range of 500 Hz to
2000 Hz.
DeClick Amount
Adjust the sensitivity of what PG Vinyl Tool considers to be a click. At zero, nothing is removed. As the DeClick
Amount is increased, PG Vinyl Tool will mute more “click suspects.” If the control is set too high, it can partially
mute musical features, like snare drum hits. Adjust this control only high enough to remove clicks.
Note: A long-duration defect (longer than a couple of milliseconds) might sound like a click or pop until the high and mid
frequency defects have been fixed. On long-duration defects, the left-over defect might sound like a “thump.”

DeClick Activity
This displays the percentage of audio which is being muted. Except for very worn records, it is advisable to adjust
the DeClick Amount so that the DeClick Activity reads no higher than a few percent. On very good discs, one
might get “perfect” results with much less than one percent of DeClick Activity. Strive to mute only the minimum
necessary to clean your record.
NOTE: If DeClick is set outrageously high, the DeClick Activity reading can exceed 100 percent. This is not a bug. The
DeClick section makes two processing passes, in different frequency bands. It can happen that the first pass will “heal” a
bad click, but the next pass will “heal” the left-over residue of the click.
Sometimes a bad click will be repaired in multiple processing stages, until the defect can no longer be detected as a tick or
click. With absurdly high DeClick settings, the DeClick Activity can exceed 100 percent, because both stages incrementally
repair the same bad clicks.

DeClick Fill Gaps
When a click is detected, it is smoothly “snipped out” of the midrange spectrum, without affecting the lowerfrequencies at that point. A typical click might last 0.5 to 2 milliseconds. Each muted section is very short.
If Fill Gaps is set to zero, this small muted region is replaced by nothing. It behaves like a very brief mid-frequency
dropout. On a clean record, occasional muted clicks are never noticed. But on a dirty scratched disc, if many snips
are made, it can sound like a reduction in high and mid frequencies.

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As you increase the Fill Gaps knob, PG Vinyl Tool extrapolates the midrange signal in the vicinity of the click,
synthesizing a guess of what the signal might have been in the tiny muted region. If you set Fill Gaps to 100, it will
insert this extrapolated guess at the same level as the original signal. This allows many clicks to be snipped from a
dirty record, without reducing the mid-frequency content.
On many recordings, the extrapolated guesses are quite good. Frequent clicks can often be removed without audible
side-effects.
One might encounter a badly damaged record where the audio is so damaged that the guesses are not good enough
to be completely transparent.
In these problem cases, you could try setting Fill Gaps to 70, or 50, filling the gaps with lower-amplitude guesses,
which may sound less obnoxious.
Set Fill Gaps to 100, unless it sounds bad.
Smoothing
Some badly damaged records (particularly worn-out 45's and 78's) have high frequency noise approaching “crackle
on steroids.” The surface noise sounds like bacon frying. Crackle atop crackle, atop even more crackle.
The Smoothing section could be useful with severe surface noise. The Smoothing section is a very gentle Gaussian
low pass filter with 6 selectable intensities.
Gaussian low pass filters are “about as good as it gets” for attenuating random noise while having minimal effect on
music transients.
However, a Gaussian filter is still a low pass filter. All low pass filters reduce high frequencies along with surface
noise. You should only enable the Smoothing section if it is necessary for a badly damaged record. Experiment
with the Smoothing Level to find an acceptable tradeoff between reduction in surface noise versus reduction of
musical high frequencies.
DeNoise Checkbox
PG Vinyl Tool DeNoise is a “hiss gate.” It gradually attenuates quiet High Frequencies below the Denoise
Threshold. Think of it as a sliding high frequency dynamics expander.
Many vinyl discs were made from reel-to-reel tape masters. The best quality reel-to-reel tape recorders of
yesteryear had more hiss than modern digital recorders. A vinyl disc in excellent condition could contain an
accurate copy of the original tape hiss. In some cases, carefully adjusted DeNoise may give a perceived
improvement over the original noise level.
DeNoising may also be beneficial on low level disc surface noise (slightly worn discs). If you have low level
“frying bacon” surface noise, DeNoise might work better than Smoothing.
With loud “frying bacon” surface noise, you could try a judicious combination of Smoothing and DeNoise.
DeNoise Amount
This control sets the DeNoise threshold, in dB.
For instance, if you set it to -40 dB, high frequencies louder than -40 dB are passed unaltered. High frequencies
quieter than -46 dB are completely silenced. Levels between -40 and -46 dB are gradually faded down to complete
silence.
If the audio level at 8000 Hz happens to be below threshold, but the audio level at 4000 Hz happens to be above
threshold, the 8000 Hz signal would be muted but the 4000 Hz signal would pass un-altered. This is “Multi Band
Single-Ended Noise Reduction.”
The DeNoise section can slide the filter all the way down to 500 Hz; so on “silent” sections of a record, the DeNoise
silence can be pretty silent.
Carefully adjust the Denoise Amount so that desirable high frequencies in the music are minimally affected, but hiss
in the quiet sections of the music is removed. Even a 1 dB difference can be easy to hear when tweaking the
Denoise Amount. Many high fidelity vinyl records didn't have much information higher than 10 KHz (another
common mastering decision in the good old days). On many records, frequencies above 10 KHz can be squelched
most of the time without noticeably affecting the sound.
A suggestion for tweaking the DeNoise Amount; first increase the setting until the music is obviously losing high
frequencies. Then gradually reduce the level until the music is unaffected. This can ensure that any noise below the

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minimum music level is exterminated. Be sure to check the DeNoise Amount against the quietest parts of the
recording, because the quiet locations are most likely to be affected if the DeNoise Amount has been set too high.
Conclusion
PG Vinyl Tool offers many tools which can clean vinyl records.
But there is a limit what can be done for severely damaged discs (without investing in very expensive tools). On
very damaged records, you may be forced to decide between a “natural” sound which contains a few residual
defects, versus a more heavily processed sound which has collected new annoying artifacts to replace the old
annoying defects.

PG RTA DirectX Plug-In
The PG RTA Real Time Analyzer plug-in displays a third-octave frequency graph of a single track or the entire mix,
to find proper equalization settings.
The PG Real Time Analyzer is ONLY a frequency measurement tool. PG RTA never modifies the audio.

Control Descriptions
Enable Plug-in Checkbox
Toggle the checkbox to turn the RTA ON or OFF.
PG RTA only does processing when:
1.

The plug-in is enabled.

The plug-in is visible.

If PG RTA is not enabled or it is not visible, it does not add to the computer load during playback.
It does no harm to leave several instances of the plug-in assigned to various Tracks, Aux Returns, or Masters.
When you don’t have the plug-in visible on-screen, it will not load down the computer.
Frequency Resolution
The Octave button displays ten bands, representing the level of each octave in the audio. The Third-Octave button
displays 28 bands, representing the level of each third of an octave in the audio.
There may be situations where it is more useful to have a 'general' overview at octave resolution, but the main
reason you might prefer Octave resolution is to reduce the CPU load. Compared to third-octave resolution, Octave
resolution only presents one third of the computer load.

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Channel View
Channel View is only meaningful when metering a stereo track, or Aux/Master inserts (which are almost always
stereo). The Channel View setting has no effect on a mono track.
If metering a stereo insert, select the Left+Right button to view the summed frequency response of both the Left and
Right channels. Select the Left or Right buttons to view only one of the channels.

Zoom In/Out (Adjust the vertical amplitude resolution in dB.)
If a track has wide dynamics, zoom out to see all the bands without scrolling. If zoomed out too far, it can be
difficult to visually judge frequency levels. All the bands may appear about the same level.
Zoom In to see the best amplitude resolution. For instance, in the screenshot above, the display was zoomed to 3 dB
per ruler line, which emphasizes the differences between loud and quiet frequency bands.

View Range Scroll
Adjust the Scrollbar to center the display to taste. When zoomed-in on a quiet track (as in the screenshot above),
you would scroll down to get a good view of the frequency distribution.

PG Vocal Remover Plug-In
The PG Vocal Remover plug-in can reduce the level of lead vocals on many
recordings. You can fine-tune the vocal removal frequency range, and
optionally reduce the level of residual vocal reverb.
PG Vocal Remover exploits a common mixing technique; the lead vocal is
often center-panned (i.e., the left and right stereo channels have identical vocal
loudness). Typically the bass and kick drum is centered, and often snare drum
is centered. However, most accompaniment instrumental tracks and backup
harmony vocals are side-panned (louder on one side than the other).
On typical recordings, we can subtract one stereo channel from the other,
which removes “common mode” lead vocal, but leaves side-panned
accompaniment tracks relatively unaffected.

Operation
Enable Plug-in Checkbox
Toggle the checkbox to compare the sound with/without the Vocal Remover activated.
Balance Slider
Fine-tune with the Balance slider. The center position is typically as good as it gets, but some recordings have
accidentally mismatched Left-Right balance. This is common with vinyl or cassette recordings, or CD-reissues of
Oldies. You may get improved vocal cancellation by twiddling the Pan slider to find a “sweet spot.”
Lo Limit and Hi Limit Sliders
Adjust these sliders to fit the nature of the vocal. The default settings are fine for many tunes. Frequencies below
the Lo Limit and above the Hi Limit are not processed, preserving fidelity except in the vocal midrange. Set the Lo
Limit slider just low enough to attenuate low vocal notes. Set the Hi Limit slider just high enough to attenuate high
vocal harmonics.
Obviously the best settings are different for a Baritone, Tenor, Alto, or Soprano voice. They are best set by ear.
Some sopranos have warm low tone, but some Baritones have very bright tone, so the mid-frequency vocal range
may be wider than expected.
Reduce Reverb Checkbox
Toggle the checkbox to compare with/without Reverb Reduction.
Reduce Reverb Amount Slider
Reverb Reduction behaves like a dynamics compressor, but the loudness of the center channel affects the loudness
of the side channels. Move the slider to the right to increase the effect. The effect compares the relative level

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between center and side channels, so no processing takes place unless there is a significant difference between the
loudness of the center versus side channels.
Vocal is not the only sound which can trigger the compressor. Any loud midrange center instrument could trigger
the compressor, so if you crank the Amount too high, snare drum or other loud center instruments may unpleasantly
“pump” the side channels.
Reduce Reverb Attack Slider
Works like a compressor Attack control. Move the slider to the left for faster response to sudden increase in
loudness (when the vocalist starts a phrase). Move to the right for a slower response to sudden increase in loudness.
Reduce Reverb Release Slider
Works like a compressor Release control. Move to the left for faster recovery after the loudness diminishes (when
the vocalist ends a phrase). Move right for slower recovery.
Adjusting Reverb Reduction
Experiment to get a feel for what works. There may be some songs where the reverb can't be improved, and in those
cases just disable the Reduce Reverb Checkbox.
Some vocals have short pre-delay and reverb tails. Short attack and release would make sense.
Some songs (especially ballads) have loud “balloon” reverb tails with long pre-delay. Since the reverb comes in
after the vocal phrase begins, and lasts a long time after the vocal phrase ends, longer attack and release would make
sense. Adjust the Attack so that the compression kicks in about the same time as the pre-delay reverb, and adjust the
release long enough to hold back the reverb after a vocal line is finished.
Don't expect miracles. You can reduce the reverb level, but will rarely completely eliminate vocal reverb.
Judiciously use just enough compression to avoid ruining the overall fidelity.
Compare the dry sound against the processed sound. The maximum vocal reduction setting could be extreme
enough to ruin the instrumental quality. Sometimes it is better to allow some vocal leakage to achieve the bestsounding instrumental quality. Is it better to allow some low voice leakage to improve the bass response? Is it
better to allow some high voice leakage to improve the cymbals and acoustic guitar?
After the PG Vocal Remover is adjusted as good as it gets, try inserting an Equalizer plug-in downstream. Notch
some frequencies to improve the effect.
If the output amplitude is inconsistent, try inserting a compressor or peak limiter plug-in downstream.

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Chapter 14: Reference
Band-in-a-Box Menu Descriptions
This chapter gives line-by-line descriptions for all Band-in-a-Box menus.

File Menu

New is used to blank the chord sheet and start a new song.
Open 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.
Open MIDI file loads a MIDI file into Band-in-a-Box and the MIDI file will play with the chords intelligently
interpreted on-screen. MIDI files read in Section Markers and show them as part markers.
Open Audio (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV, CDA) will open an audio file in WAV, MP3, Windows Media Player
(WMA, WMV) or CD Audio (CDA) format. Play back at 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8 speed for transcribing or analyzing.
Find File finds a Band-in-a-Box song (or any file that Band-in-a-Box can open), including filtering by words found
in the file name or any text in the file.
Open Audio w/Chords (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV, CDA) command will open a WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV, or
CD Audio file and also figure out the chords and bar lines.

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Launch Audio Chord Wizard… (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV, CDA) will open the Audio Chord Wizard to
analyze chords in an existing Band-in-a-Box song (that has a WAV file on the audio track).
Audio Chord Wizard Utilities opens a dialog with handy options to
- Make/Remove tempo map in Band-in-a-Box
- Remove audio file from song.
- Auto-set Key signature, with button present in the Audio Chord Wizard.
- Enable/disable the BB MIDI style.
Import Chords from MIDI File uses the MIDI File Chord Wizard to interpret chords from any MIDI file, and also
import tracks to the Melody and Soloist tracks.
Open Karaoke (KAR) File opens Karaoke files directly in Band-in-a-Box, displaying the lyrics and chord symbols
for the song.
Import MGU Song imports 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.
Medley Maker opens the Medley Maker, allowing you automatically make a medley of Band-in-a-Box songs.
Open Special opens a submenu with more options for opening songs.

Open (Using Custom Dialog) uses the custom dialog that allows long-file-names, font selection, and even
remembers its settings (unlike the standard windows 95/98 dialogs).
Open Using Standard Dialog uses the standard windows 95/98 dialog.
Open with Melodies lists only song files that have melodies (*.mg?).
Open Song by Title allows selection of songs by displaying the full title of the song (not 8 character file name).
A search function allows you to search the title list for a word or phrase to quickly find a title. For example, type
in “Oldfolks” and the search will find the song title “Old Folks at Home,” as well as any other songs with
“Oldfolks” in the title.
Open Favorite Songs opens the dialog that shows the last 150 songs played.
Open Filtered by Style loads only song in current style.
Open Next Song and Open Previous Song will open the next/previous song in alphabetical order. If the song
loaded has a file name of “Paul,” choosing load-next-file will find the next file in alphabetical order after Paul,
maybe it would be “Peter.” Shift+F8 and Ctrl+Shift+F8 are the hot keys for this.
Import Chords from PG Music MIDI file will read in the chord symbols from PG Music MIDI files made by
programs like Band-in-a-Box or PowerTracks Pro Audio. Note that it won’t read in the chords from a MIDI file
that doesn't have special chord symbols typed in to it, i.e., it doesn't interpret chords.
If you want to interpret chords from any midi file, use the File | Import Chords From MIDI File option instead.
Tip: If you're working with a lot of Band-in-a-Box songs doing editing etc., remember the “Open Next Song” commands –
they will save you a lot of time!

Save song saves current song under original title.
Save song As... is to save songs (*.?G?).
Save Song with Patches & Harmony. If you would like to save certain patches with a song, then type in the
number of the patch (instrument) that you would like. Leave the other instruments at zero (0) for No Patch change.
Remember that - as with all other Band-in-a-Box functions - you use the General MIDI number for the instrument,
regardless of the synth you are using.
Favorite Folders… opens a list of recently used folders for quick access.

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File utilities… opens a sub-directory of file utilities.

Change Directory (Path) opens the Browse Folder window where a new directory can be selected.
Run Explorer in Current Directory launches Explorer. Pressing Ctrl+Shift+F3 is the usual way to get to this
item, and will quickly open Explorer. Once Explorer is open, you could double click on a song or style to load
it in. (Assuming that there is a file association for Band-in-a-Box songs and styles made in Explorer.)
Auto-rename song files to Long File Names will rename all song files in the current directory to long file
names, using the song title as the name.
Rename Any File on disk… or Rename CURRENT song filename allows you to rename files.
Delete File from disk deletes a song file without exiting the program
“Nuke It!” (Delete CURRENT song file from list).. deletes the current song.
Associate File types (songs, styles) with Windows… / Remove File Associations (songs, styles) with
Windows… will associate (or remove associations for) the file types for Band-in-a-Box songs and styles in
Explorer. Once set, this means that you can double click on a song or style in Explorer and Band-in-a-Box will
open up with that song or style.
Batch create MIDI files convert an entire folder of BB songs to MIDI files. You can choose the file names to
be based either on the original file name or song title name. This feature is also accessed with the [Batch
mode…] button in the MIDI file dialog.
Make Standard MIDI File makes a standard midi file. You can save in Type 1 (multi-tracks) or Type 0 (single
track) files. Karaoke MIDI files are also supported.
To save a MIDI file as a Type 0, 1, or Karaoke file, press the MIDI file button, and choose the desired
MIDI file type.

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There is also an option to save Drums on separate tracks. This is a special type 1 MIDI file with each individual
drum instrument - such as kick drum, snare, and hi-hat - on its own separate track. When you load this type of MIDI
file into a sequencer, like PowerTracks Pro Audio, it’s easy to fine-tune the level of each percussion instrument in
the drum kit.
This button saves a MIDI File to Disk. You can then load the MIDI File into your
sequencer for further editing.
This button copies the MIDI File to the Windows Clipboard. Then you can clipboardpaste Band-in-a-Box MIDI data to PowerTracks Pro Audio, Cakewalk, etc.
The [Options] button opens the MIDI file options dialog box to control how the Melody,
Solo, and Harmony are written to a MIDI file.
Normally the MIDI file would get made for the whole song, but if you want to specify a
range press this button.
The “Batch create MIDI files” function allows you to generate multiple MIDI files in
one step, one MIDI file for each Band-in-a-Box song in a folder.
Print Song - Chords/Melody opens the Print Options dialog.
Print Multiple Songs… prints all songs, or just selected songs, in a song directory.
Make Song Titles allows you to assign long, full titles to song filenames.
Load User Style allows you to choose a user style. (See Selecting Styles.)
Exit to exit completely from the Band-in-a-Box program.
The last five files opened are listed at the bottom of the menu, numbered 0 through 4.

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Edit Menu

Edit | Undo and Edit | Redo allow you to undo or redo most operations.
Edit | Cut functions like a delete command to remove bars from a song.
Edit | Copy and Edit | Paste are to copy chords. Copying a section of chords can be done in the same manner as
copying text in a Windows word processor.
Note: If you select (highlight) a region by dragging the mouse and then choose one of the Edit menu commands the dialog
box will automatically adjust to the correct values, based on the region that you've highlighted.

Copying Chords to the Windows Clipboard
Select the region to copy.
Place the mouse cursor at the bar to begin the selection. Then, holding down the left mouse button, drag the mouse
over the region. As you do this you will see that the region will be inverted (i.e. looks dark).
When you have selected the desired region of chords to copy, release the mouse button.
Copy the selected region to the clipboard with the on-screen copy button, the keystrokes Ctrl+C, or
select the Edit |Copy menu item.

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Pasting Chords from the Windows Clipboard
Assuming you have already copied some chords to the clipboard, you are then ready to paste
the copied chords into another part of your chord sheet.
Move the highlight cell to the bar to begin the paste of chords.
Copy the chords at the highlighted bar with the on-screen paste, the keystrokes Ctrl+V, or choose
the Edit | Paste menu item.
Tip: The copied section remains in the clipboard and can be used repeatedly. If your song is in the form verse-versebridge-verse, you can simply copy the first verse to the clipboard, and then paste in the other verses. The clipboard
contents remain even if you load in a new song, so you can copy and paste between songs.

Copy From…To… / Copy Rests / Erase From… To…
One of the best ways to copy chords is the Copy From… To… command in the Edit menu, or pressing Alt+C, which
launches the Copy Chords and/or melody dialog. The Edit | Copy Rest command will similarly bring up the Copy
Rests dialog to allow copying of rests. The Edit | Erase From… To… command launches the Erase Chords and/or
melody dialog. These dialogs allow you to specify the number of bars to copy or erase, the location to copy to, and
the option to copy or erase the Chords, Melody, Soloist, and/or Lyrics.

The Copy/Move Tracks command in the Edit menu opens the Track-to-Track Copy/Move/Delete dialog, which
allows copying from one track to another.

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Inside the dialog, you should choose the “Source Track” and the destination track to Copy/Move selected
channels to.
Source track can be any of the Band-in-a-Box tracks – Bass, Drums, Piano, Guitar, Strings, Melody, or Soloist.
The track to “Copy/Move selected channels to ->“ can be Melody or Soloist (since these are the only tracks that are
editable in Band-in-a-Box).
For copying from Melody or Soloist track, you can also specify which channels to include in the copy, or delete or
move certain channels.
There is also an option to “merge with existing data…” on the destination track.
Intro Bars - Auto Generate (or Remove)
This command will launch the Generate Intro dialog where you can specify the characteristics of the intro you wish
to generate. For more information on this feature please refer to the Automatic Intro section.
Insert Bar(s) inserts a certain # of bars into the chord sheet.
Delete Bar(s) removes a certain # of bars from the chord sheet.
Nudge Chords/Melody feature allows moving a range of chords by any number of bars and beats.

Repeats/codas/1st-2nd endings
You can add repeats and endings so that the Lead Sheet window will display and print using 1st /2nd endings. You
can add your own repeats and endings by choosing this menu command to open the Edit Repeats and Endings
dialog.

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Reduce (durations of chords by 1/2) cuts chord durations by 50% (e.g., 4beats>>2beats; 2beats>>1beat).
Expand (durations of chords by 2) doubles the durations of chords (e.g., 1beat>>2beats; 2beats>>4beats).
Unfold (convert to 1 BIG chorus)
Choose this command to unfold a multi-chorus song into one BIG chorus. When selected, Band-in-a-Box will
display all choruses and verses of a song without loops or repeats. It is useful, for instance, when you have a song
with 3 choruses and want to convert it to a single large chorus, or to customize a song with the “Edit Settings for
Current Bar” feature to change meter, tempo, patches, styles, and/or harmonies and generate a MIDI file for export.
becomes...
Fold (convert 1 chorus to multiple) converts a song with a single big chorus to multiple smaller choruses based on
the information you enter in the Fold Song dialog (chorus begins, chorus ends, tag etc.).

If you have imported a MIDI file, you might have a file that is 96 bars long, but really consists of 3 choruses of 32
bars each. You can convert this to a 32-bar song by using the Edit | Fold song option, including inserting tag
endings, and 2-bar endings.
becomes

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Set Time Signature (range of bars)
In Edit | Set Time Signature (range of bars) you can assign a specific time signature at any bar and apply it to a
range of bars, as often as you want. For example, to have one 5/4 bar, bar 13, select this menu item, and toggle the
5/4 button. Then, type in the bar beginning (13) and number of bars (1) in the space provided.

Time signature changes are printed on the Notation and Lead Sheet.

Transpose
This menu command opens a submenu with both manual and
automated options for transposing the complete song or selected
parts of the song.

Transpose From .. To .. launches the Transpose dialog for
transposing a particular section of the song. The bar values
can be typed in manually or you can transpose a portion of a
song by highlighting the region you wish to have transposed,
selecting this menu item, and typing in the new key you wish
to transpose to.

Transpose DOWN or UP 1 semitone transposes the entire song. This can be done while the song is playing. Bandin-a-Box will pause briefly, and then resume playing in the new key at the same place in the song.
Transpose # of semitones opens a dialog where you can type in the number of semitones to transpose the song.

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Song Memo…
A song memo of up to 2000 characters may be added. When a song has a memo associated with it the
word Memo highlights in pink.
Clicking on the [Memo] button launches the Song Memo dialog, where you can type or edit a memo about the song
and select an “Auto-open” option that will show the memo each time the song is loaded.
The Song Memo has an option to close automatically during playback. When this option is set, the Memo button
will close when play is pressed, and not reopen when stop is pressed. This setting, in combination with the “Autoopen” setting, ensures that the memo opens when the song opens, but closes during playback.
The Song memo has 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, like
substyle patch changes or harmonies.

Auto-Generate Song Title allows you to generate a title for a song. There is also a button on the main screen for
this.
‘Jazz Up’ The chords
This Edit menu command will “Jazz Up” the chords by changing chords like C and Cmaj to 7th and 6th chords. Song
embellishment will be turned on for the song. Select the type of 7ths from the list box, and then click on the [OK –
Jazz UP] button.
‘Jazz Down’ The chords
This will “Jazz Down” the chords by changing chords with 7ths (e.g. C7) to triads (e.g. C) and 9ths and 13ths to 7th
chords. Song embellishment is turned off. Press [OK – Jazz Down] to proceed.
Search/Replace Chords will search and replace chords, including support for asterisks (*) as wildcards.

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Also a “simplify Jazz chords” option will simplify chords like C13#11#5 to simply C9.
Chord Settings…
This launches the Chord Options dialog box, where you can put in rests and pushes. You can launch the Preview,
Chord Builder, or Chord-Substitution Functions from this window.
The Chord Options dialog box can also be opened with the chord options button, with the keystrokes
Alt+F5 or with a right mouse button click on the chord sheet.
Settings for Current Bar…
This command opens the Edit Settings for Current Bar dialog where you can change meter, tempo, volume,
patches, styles, RealDrums styles, and/or harmonies at the current bar. This dialog is covered in detail elsewhere in
this manual and in the online Help. You can specify the changes to happen for every chorus and/or a specific
chorus.
Settings (for This Song)…
The Song Settings dialog can also be accessed by pressing the [S] settings button on the main screen under
the song title. These settings are fully explained in the PowerGuide chapter.

Styles Menu

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StyleMaker
This opens a submenu with three StyleMaker options.

New - Make A New Style
This function allows you to begin to create a new style, using the StyleMaker feature. See online Tutorial #6:
StyleMaker - Making a New Style.
Edit a Style
This allows you to edit an existing style (*.STY) from disk. The resulting style can then be saved with the same
name or a different name. This function uses the StyleMaker. See online Tutorial #5: StyleMaker – Editing Styles.
Edit Current Style
This allows you to quickly get into the StyleMaker to edit the current style. The current style is the style that is
displayed in the Style Box on the main screen.
Usually you would use Ctrl+F9 to do this quickly. See online Tutorial #5: StyleMaker – Editing Styles.
Make a Hybrid Style
The “Hybrid Styles” feature allows you to play and create a style that has instruments from up to five different
styles! You can, for example, play a song with a Reggae bass, Rock drums, Salsa piano, or any combination of up
to five styles that you want.
Style Wizard (Auto-Create Style from MIDI file)
Launches the Style Creation Wizard, which automatically converts a MIDI file (.MID) to a Band-in-a-Box Style
(.STY). Simply open a MIDI file, select your options, and press “Save-As Style.”
Style is Enabled
This item will Enable or Disable the style. When disabled, the name of the style will have an X at the beginning,
which indicates a disabled style. The disabled style won't sound or write any data to the MIDI file. The most
common use for disabling a style is when a MIDI file is loaded to the Melody track. Then the style won't sound and
conflict with the full arrangement on the Melody track.
OK to load style with songs
This allows you to keep a style in memory. This way, all subsequent songs that are loaded will not change the style
(even if they have a different associated style), so you can easily play songs in the same style. If you've found a new
favorite style, you can try it out in all kinds of songs without having to reload the style each time.
For example, let’s say we’ve discovered the GARNER style, and want to try it out on many different songs.
Select Styles | OK to load styles with songs to ensure the item is NOT checked.
Then when you load a song the saved style associated with the song doesn’t load and the song will play in
GARNER.STY.
You can over-ride this style by loading in another style using the [STY] button or the Styles menu. The new style
loaded will stay in until you choose another one, or until you turn off the forced styles option and load a song that
uses a different style.
Open a User Style from disk…
Styles can be selected and loaded with Long File Name dialogs.
Browse Styles with info…
Opens the StylePicker window with complete style information.
Select Favorite Styles…
Opens the Favorite Styles dialog, which contains a list of the most recent 150 styles used. Since these are ordered
based upon how often they are used, we call this the “favorite styles” list. Since you can also store user-definable
favorite lists, we also refer to them as Set Lists.
Load Style demo for current style loads the demo song for the currently loaded style. This feature is also available
with a click on the name of the style on the main screen. The menu that displays will include the option to “Load
Song Demo” for the current style.

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Load Previous Style, Load Next Style.
This function, like the Load Next Song function, loads in the previous (or next) style in alphabetical order of the file
name. These functions are in the Styles menu, and accessible with the hot keys Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F8 (or
Alt+Shift+F8).
Style Aliases
You can create an alias so that when Band-in-a-Box looks for a style, it will load its alias instead, so when you have
found a new favorite style just change the alias and you don’t have to change all of your songs.

To create a new alias, click on an empty spot in the Alias list, or click on the alias you wish to edit if you wish
to change an existing alias.
Press the [Choose] button below the Original Style box and select the style you wish to be replaced.
Press the [Choose] button below the Substitution box and select the replacement style (alias).
If you want to type in a style name use the [Custom] button.

When you have successfully made an alias, you will notice that there will be a small arrow in the Styles box on the
main screen indicating that you have an alias loaded.
Tip: You can temporarily totally disable the Alias feature by disabling the Allow Any Style Aliases checkbox found in the
dialog. You can also have confirmation of alias substitutions by enabling the Confirm Substitution checkbox.

Choose from 24 “Built-in” Styles
Use this list as a convenient way to make a quick pick from the list of 24 original Band-in-a-Box styles. Once you
load a style, the song will be played back using your chosen style and you can change the style any time.

Opt. Menu

MIDI/Audio Driver setup…
Select MIDI Input and MIDI Output drivers and choose a Synthesizer / Sound Card patch map. Select the [Run
Driver Wizard] button for help with your selection. Click on the [Audio Settings] button if you need to set up audio
drivers, such as ASIO drivers. This topic is discussed in detail in the MIDI and Audio Setup instructions.
Use/Set ALTERNATE MIDI output driver for session
The Opt. menu item Use/Set Alternate MIDI Driver for session, allows you to set a temporary MIDI Driver for a
session, useful when your main MIDI Driver is “in-use” by another application.

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Return to Factory Settings
Choosing this command will reset all settings to the default at the time of shipping. Return to Factory Settings also
offers to nuke the drum kit and MIDI Driver choice, making the return to factory settings complete.
If you choose MOST settings,
the patch map and drum kit
will be left intact, and not
reset.
If you choose ALL settings, all
settings will be reset to
factory.

What add-ons do I have?…
An intelligent dialog, also accessible from the Help menu that will search your directory to tell you which add-ons
you have and which you don’t.
Utilities

Edit Chord Shortcuts file (shortcut.txt)… / Refresh Chord Shortcuts…
If you have found a chord that Band-in-a-Box doesn't recognize, you can add your own shortcuts in a text file that
you make yourself called c:\bb\shortcut.txt and Band-in-a-Box will allow you to type in that chord in the future.
Click on this menu command to open or create your own chord shortcuts file. Make sure to save the file after
editing. Changes won’t take effect until you choose Edit | Refresh Chord Shortcuts…
The text file \bb\shortcut.txt allows you to add new chord shortcuts. If you find a chord that Band-in-a-Box won't
accept, like Csus2 when it expects C2 instead, you can enter this on a single line (without the quotes) “Csus2@C2.”
Then Band-in-a-Box will enter the chord C2 whenever you type in Csus 2. You can also use it for shortcuts. For
example, if you entered j@maj7 Band-in-a-Box would let you type Cj for CMaj7. See the file c:\bb\pgshortc.txt for
examples of shortcuts.
Note: The shortcut.txt file doesn't ship with Band-in-a-Box or it would overwrite your file! The file c:\bb\pgshortc.txt should
be used only by PG Music Inc. for shortcuts supplied with Band-in-a-Box.

Save Default Configuration (Mysetup.DK file)
This will rewrite the Band-in-a-Box configuration file mysetup.dk with your current settings. This file contains:
- MIDI Channels/Patches/Volumes/Reverb/Chorus/Bank
- Patch Map
- Favorite Patches, Favorite Combos settings
- Drum Kit
Save / Load alternate Drum/Patch File .DK
Allows you to save different custom drum kits or load preset or custom kits.

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Display General MIDI Patch Numbers
This opens the General MIDI Patch List for reference.
Send a SysEx file (*.SYX) is a command that sends SysEx information to your MIDI device.
Whether you want to load different patches (or ones you have “tweaked” with a patch editor/librarian such as the
SC-Pro Editor/Librarian) into your MIDI device or whether you have a synth that requires a SysEx to set it to a
certain mode, you can easily send SysEx files with a configurable delay (the default is 100 ms).
If you would like to send a SysEx file to your MIDI device automatically at the start of each session, you need to
make a file called STARTUP.SYX, and put it in your c:\bb directory. Then, each time the program is started, it will
send the appropriate SysEx commands contained in this file to your MIDI device.
If you need to send a SysEx file at any time during a session, choose the Opt. | Utilities | Send a Sys-Ex File (*.SYX)
option. This launches a window from which you can choose a file to send. Since some MIDI devices require a
delay time between parts of a SysEx message, there is a default delay value of 100 ms between each part of the
message.
If you need to change the default delay, go to the Options | Utilities | Make an Advanced Patch map menu item and
enter the Sys-Ex Delay to a value in milliseconds (ms). If it is set to 0 ms, the program will revert to the default of
100ms. The smallest delay setting is 1(ms).
Technical Notes:
SysEx files are files that can be made with programs such as PG Music's PowerTracks Pro Audio or SC-Pro
Editor/Librarian. They begin with a F0(hex) byte and end with a F7 byte.
Examples where you might want to use a SysEx file with Band-in-a-Box are:
- Employing a custom setting or patch you have made with the SC-Pro Editor /Librarian.
- Sending a General MIDI mode ON message automatically when Band-in-a-Box boots up.
Choose Patch from General MIDI Patches... allows you to select a patch for the currently selected instrument
from an organized list of GM patches.
Choose Patch from Higher Bank... allows you to select a patch using the advanced search and higher bank/patch
support capabilities.
Make an Advanced Patch map
Patch maps contain information for mapping the patches and drum notes to your synthesizer as well as Velocity
offset, Octave offset, bank Controller 0 setting, bank Controller 32 setting, etc. There are also advanced options like
sending a SysEx file by loading the .DK file.
Edit these settings in the Opt. | Utilities submenu by choosing Make an Advanced Patch map.
These options are useful either if you have a newer synthesizer that supports bank changes and has nice patches in
higher banks or if you have an older synth that requires custom mapping of sounds. To access these features tick the
Enable Advanced Settings checkbox. Then, type in the values you would like to change. Say, for example, you
have some great string sounds on your synth on Bank 4, Controller 32. With this feature you can save them as part
of your Band-in-a-Box setup by clicking the [Save] button. This will append your MYSETUP.DK file to include all
of the patches you like to use, regardless of where they are on your synth.

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Some basic soundcards don't have volume responsive drums. The result of this limitation can be rather unpleasant,
since the drums might be too loud and there is no way of lowering the volume. Band-in-a-Box overcomes this so
that you can boost or reduce the velocity of the drums on virtually any sound source.
To adjust the drum velocity, access Opt | Utilities | Make an Advanced Patch map and tick the option to “Enable
Advanced Settings.” Then, enter a Number from -127 (quietest) to +127 (loudest) in the “Drum Velocity Boost”
box.
Whether you want to load different patches (or ones you have “tweaked” with a patch editor/librarian such as the
SC-Pro Editor/Librarian) into your MIDI device or whether you have a synth that requires a SysEx to set it to a
certain mode, you can easily send SysEx files with a configurable delay (the default is 100 ms).
If you would like to send a SysEx file to your MIDI device automatically at the start of each session, you need to
make a file called STARTUP.SYX, and put it in your c:\bb directory. Then, each time the program is started, it will
send the appropriate SysEx commands contained in this file to your MIDI device.
If you need to send a SysEx file at any time during a session, choose the Opt. | Utilities | Send a Sys-Ex File
(*.SYX) option. This launches a window from which you can choose a file to send. Since some MIDI devices
require a delay time between parts of a SysEx message, there is a default delay value of 100 ms between each part of
the message.
If you need to change the default delay, go to the Options | Utilities | Make an Advanced Patch map menu item and
enter the Sys-Ex Delay to a value in milliseconds (ms). If it is set to 0 ms, the program will revert to the default of
100ms. The smallest delay setting is 1(ms).

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Language Selection
This item in the Opt. menu allows you to change
language from English to another language for
display. If there are other languages supported by
your version of Band-in-a-Box, then they will be
displayed in this dialog box. International language
versions are available for download from www.bandin-a-box.com.

Preferences…

The Preferences dialog box allows you to set various settings that are saved in the Band-in-a-Box for Windows
configuration file called INTRFACE.BBW. You can open the dialogs with keystrokes by typing the underlined
letter shown on the tabs. For example, you can open the “Arrange” Prefs tab by the keystrokes
- Ctrl+E to open the Prefs dialog, then
- A to open the Arrangement Options.
Note: Items that were previously found in the Preferences (2) dialog are now included in the Preferences dialog (Opt. |
Preferences). Other Preferences (2) settings are now found in dialogs such as the MIDI Options Dialog, Arrangement
Options Dialog, and Display Options Dialog.

Environment Options
OK to Save/Load Reverb, Vol etc. w/Songs
Select this checkbox in the Preferences dialog if you wish to embed Reverb, Volume, Pan, Chorus, and Bank
information with songs for later recall, or if you wish to enable any such embedded information with songs that are

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loaded. The last settings that are in effect on the main screen instrument panel when you save the song will be
recorded. Individual settings can be enabled/disabled in the File | Save Song w/Patches and Harmony menu item.
OK to Prompt to Reduce/Expand Song
If a style is changed with a different feel (16th notes instead of 8th notes), Band-in-a-Box will automatically offer to
expand or reduce the duration of the chords, and change the tempo to accommodate the new style.
StylePicker defaults to current style
Since the StylePicker can now default to the current style, this option is available. If you want the StylePicker to
stay at the style that you left it, de-select this item
Use custom filename dialog
When selected, the [Open] button, or the menu command File | Open, or the F3 key will launch the custom Open
File dialog. The custom Open File dialog has several advantages over the traditional Windows dialogs:
- The window is much bigger than the traditional one, allowing more room.
- There is a selectable font size and typeface.
- You can adjust the widths of the various columns.
- The Window remembers your settings.
- There are tabs at the top that allow sorting by name, date etc.
OK to “beep” with messages
Now that people have their sound cards hooked up to big speaker systems, a simple “beep” issued by Windows
when an incorrect key is pressed can seem loud enough to “wake your neighbors.” Setting the “silent beep” option
allows Band-in-a-Box to visually flash the window title bar to get your attention, instead of generating an audible
“beep.”
Always save songs with “U” extension
Older Band-in-a-Box songs had additional extensions for last letter (1-9, A-O) to indicate style type. Setting this
will resave those old songs with a “U” extension, MGU or SGU (if no melody is present).
At program boot up…
On session start, you can elect to automatically load the last song or style that was used. Or not.
Boot up in directory of the last session
On program boot up, the current directory will get set to the last directory used in the previous session.
Reduce other part volumes when clicking past 127
If this is checked, on the main Band-in-a-Box screen when the volume of a part is at maximum (127) further
increases will decrease the volume of all other parts.
When opening BB song, open MP3/WMA file same name
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.
Keystroke Options
Enter Key Advances Highlight Bar
The Enter key advances the highlight bar on the chord sheet. This speeds up the entry of songs for people who
prefer to use the Enter key. When you enter a chord on the chord worksheet, press the Enter key to place your
chord in the highlighted cell. The highlighted region will then move automatically to the next cell. The right arrow
key can also be used to move the highlight cell.
SPACEBAR Key
There are three options for spacebar operation.
- Enters no chord (deletes current chord)
- Plays from current position (Ctrl – Space from start)
- Plays from start (Ctrl – Space from current pos.)
Simulate NUMPAD keys (for notebook users)
Notebook users often don't have a number pad so they can't use the Band-in-a-Box looping features
(Ctrl+NUMPAD 1-6 keys). With this option the regular numbers can be used to trigger the looping feature. For
example, pressing Ctrl+2 will start playback of looped choruses.
Pause Play until MIDI or Key received
This allows playback to be started by a MIDI note received at the MIDI In port, or by pressing a key on the
computer keyboard. Band-in-a-Box generates its arrangement, and then “stands by” for your start command.

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Text Hints
Choose to enable or disable the fly-by text hints, the comprehensive program hints, and/or the dialog box hints. Set
the time delay in ms before the hint pops up, and the length of time it will display.

Preferences Buttons
Most program settings and options can be accessed from the rows of buttons at the top of the Preferences dialog.

Display Options
Windows Themes
Band-in-a-Box supports for Windows “Themes.” It will use the current them that you have selected in Windows
Control Panel to use for windows and dialogs.
The [Display] button opens the Display Options dialog.

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Toolbars
Toolbar mode settings are for the main toolbar. The Normal mode shows toolbar icons with text labels. Options
are Text only, Icons only, or No toolbar.
Show on-screen piano shows or hides the on-screen piano.
Floating Toolbars Always Show Text toggles floating toolbar text off or on.
Song Title area font allows the selection of any installed font the song title.
Chord Sheet
Enable display of Repeats/Endings allows repeats signs and 1st/2nd ending markers to be shown on the chord sheet.
Display bars higher than end of song in gray will “gray out” the bars on the chord sheet after the end of the song.
Show chords with push/rest characters
The push character is the caret symbol (^). So a C chord with a push is displayed as ^C. The rest character is a
period (.) so a C chord with a rest is displayed as C. (C period). If you prefer to not see these characters displayed,
then set this to false. These characters won’t show up on the printout regardless of this setting.
Show chords with pushes/rests in color
If set to YES, pushes are displayed in GREEN and rests are displayed in RED. This only applies to the Chord Sheet,
not the notation.
Chord display
Use this setting to change the chord display from normal to Roman Numeral, Nashville, Solfeggio, or Fixed Do.
Display ‘C9sus’ as ‘C11’
This option allows display of “9sus” chords as “11” (e.g., Bb11 instead of Bb9sus). This only affects how the chord
is displayed, not how it is stored. And you can type either C11 or C9sus to enter the same chord.
For Roman Numerals of Chords in minor keys, use relative major
For minor keys, base roman numerals on the relative major. For example in key of Am, Am is either the Im chord
or the VIm chord.
Chord Sheet Font
You can choose the font to use for the chord sheet.
If you choose a Custom font, you can choose the size as well. If you choose one of the preset
fonts, the size is set automatically to fit into the height of the chord sheet row.
If you click on the [Jazz Symbols] button then “Jazz Chord Symbols” will be selected and you
will see shorthand Jazz chord symbols on the chord sheet.
The Default font button selects Comic Sans MS as the chord sheet font.
To revert to the classic style that used a small System font and lots of rows, you can choose that as the type of font
“Small font (system).”
Number of rows
The number of rows displayed on the chord sheet screen can be selected manually to best match your screen size
and resolution. There is also an option to make this adjustment automatically.
If “Auto-adjust # rows” is set, when songs are loaded the number of rows will change depending on the number of
bars in the song, and the number of rows will vary within the supplied “Range:” of rows.
New line for every section (part marker)
When “New line for every section (part marker)” is set, most part markers will start a new line on the chord sheet.
This makes the sections more readable. It can be disabled for a song using Edit | Settings (for This Song).
Extra line space between sections (pixels =) is the amount of space to add on a new line when there is a part
marker.
Transpose
This will visually transpose the chord sheet and notation display by a number of semi-tones for concert or nonconcert instruments, either by typing in a number or choosing a preset.

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Arrangement Options
The [Arrange] button opens the Arrangement Options dialog.

Boost Velocity of pushes by
The pushes in Band-in-a-Box are the chords that get played before the beat. Typically pushes are played a little
louder than other patterns. You can leave this setting at 0, or set it to between 0 and 10.
Boost shots by
Shots can be accented with this setting.
Boost ‘Holds’ by
Use this setting to boost the velocity of held chords.
Allow Any Rests
You can disable the rests feature. You might want to do this if you’ve got a song with a lot of rests in it, and are
then having difficulty recording a melody because you don’t hear the drums providing the beat (due to the drums
resting). If so, you can temporarily disable the rests so that you can record and listen to the drums.
Allow Any Pushes
If for some reason you don't want a style or a song to have pushes, you can set this to no.
Allow Style Pushes
If for some reason you don't want a style to have pushes, you can set this to no.
OK To Load Style With Songs
This loads the style that is saved with the Band-in-a-Box song. Set it to NO if you don’t want the saved styles to
load, perhaps to audition a new style with several different songs.
Concert Pitch Adjust
This is useful for non-concert instruments such as Saxophone or Trumpet. The output is transposed so that you see
the music in one key, and it plays in another.
Trumpet players and other Bb instruments should set Concert Pitch Adjust to –2.
Alto Sax and other Eb instruments should set Concert Pitch adjust to +3.
Note: This concert pitch adjust setting is an old one. It is preferable that you use the Notation-Transpose Option instead.

Allow Any Endings
You can disable the endings from all the songs by using this setting.

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Lowest Bass Note
Styles will normally play bass notes (down to the low E) if the pattern won't go below a low E note. This happens
with all styles automatically, but there is also an option to set the lowest note that the bass can go real low (so you
can get a low C if you want to!).
Prevent “too low” guitar notes
For styles using a guitar patch on the Guitar, Piano, or Strings part this will prevent any note from being lower than
the low E on a guitar.
Allow late notes in pattern, just before chord change
Styles will normally play notes near the end of a pattern, before a chord change. Sometimes this makes the style
sound “too busy.” If you set this to, say 70%, then 30% of the time, the note at the end of the pattern will play
quieter, typically at half the volume.
Drum Brushes
Most GM modules have brushes available on patch 41 on the drums. On some Sound Blasters you need to load a
GS sound font for this to occur, and you need to use the Sound Blaster software to do this (AWE Control Panel). On
the Yamaha XG, you likely need to send a “GS mode on” message from the GM menu in Band-in-a-Box. But if
your module just doesn't have brushes available, then you can set this option, and the style will remap the notes to
different drum instruments that don't have brushes.
First bar of first chorus of song gets a drum cymbal crash
If selected, the first bar of the song (following the intro) might get a cymbal crash. Usually this is left unselected,
since most drummers wouldn’t play a crash cymbal on bar 1 of the song.
Normalize MIDI velocities to
If performing live, or at a jam session, it helps to have the volume of all of the songs be similar. With the
“Normalize MIDI velocities” feature, you can level the volumes to a setting you enter. For example, you can set all
volumes to be 70 and the program will make each song play within those levels.
When you have set the normalize to “on” the title window at the top
of the screen reports that Normalization is set to 70, and that the
velocity of the currently playing song has been increased from 49 to 70.
Including Melody, Soloist
The normalization will affect bass, drums, piano, guitar and strings. If you select the “Including Melody, Soloist”
option, the normalization will also affect the Melody and Soloist parts.
When a song is loaded, but the required style is not found
In this group of settings you can control the behavior of the program when a required style is not found. Text files
like c:\bb\A_PGMUSIC.NA list the substitute styles to use.
You can make your own *.NA file, but call it something like MYSTYLES.NA. Don’t edit the A_PGMUSIC.NA
file.
OK to substitute with a similar style
If set, this will enable the substitution of styles using the c:\bb\A_PGMUSIC.NA text file and any other *.NA files
supplied by third-party styles developers.
If nothing similar found, use this style
This is the style that will be substituted if no better substitute is found in the A_PGMUSIC.NA text file or any other
*.NA files.
Message if no style or substitution found
If no substitute style is found, what type of message (if any) should be displayed?
Message if substitution style found
When a substitute style is found, what type of message (if any) should be displayed?
Insert Breaks (silence) in arrangement

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This feature is great for practicing tempo control. 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. Once set, this feature works automatically with all
songs until you turn it off.

Count-in and Metronome Options
This Preferences button opens the Count-in and Metronome Options dialog.

Drum Lead-in options
Allow Lead-In Bars
People who use Band-in-a-Box for soloing practice will likely turn the lead-in off to allow endless looping
uninterrupted by the lead-in count. To eliminate the lead-in count, select Allow Lead-In Bars to = NO, this will start
the song from bar 1 with no lead in.
1 bar lead-in
If this is set, the count-in will be a single bar instead of 2 bars.
Play Lead-In Even If Intro Present
If a song has an intro, it’s usually not necessary to play the 2 bar lead-in count. There's a new option to always
OMIT the lead-in if an intro is present.
Lead-in type
This can be drum patterns instead of “1-2-1234.” You can specify to play two bars of drum patterns 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’re playing with Band-in-a-Box live on a “dance floor,” this setting will avoid “dead air”
between songs, and keep the drumbeat going. Includes options to have “a” or “b” drum fills or patterns play for the
two bars.
Audible Lead-In/Volume
Enables audible count-in. If you would like the lead-in bars to be played, but just want the drum lead-in quieter (or
silent) set the Drum Volume to = 0 (for silent).

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Instrument/ Pattern
You can select any drum instrument for the count in. You can choose different count-in rhythms, e.g., tap on 2 and
4 instead of 1-2-3-4. There's a new “smart lead-in” option to silence the drum count-in if a melody lead-in has
begun.
Smart Lead-in
A smart lead-in avoids playing the count-in drum sound during a Melody pickup.
Lead-in drum count if drums muted/disabled
Previously, when the drum track was muted (or disabled in a song), the count-in drum click wouldn't play. This
option can play the drum count-in in all circumstances. Drummers who play along with BB by muting the drum
track should find this feature useful. To set this option, choose Opt. | Preferences and set “Lead-in drum count if
drums muted or disabled” to true (default is true).
Metronome Options
Visible Metronome
You can display a visible metronome on-screen during the entire song (or just the lead-in). Choose the screen
position (top-right or center), and the size (up to near full screen size). Also choose the visual metronome pattern
(1234, 1-3, 1---, or –2-4). Seeing a metronome on-screen is a great way for a student to learn to keep on the beat,
and with a settable size, students can view this from across the room.
Audible Metronome
The three settings for the audible metronome are None, During Record, or During Record and Play.

MIDI File Options
The Preferences [MIDI File] button opens the MIDI file options dialog.
Include Patch Changes in MIDI files will include the patch (instrument) changes.
Include Part Marker text markers will write descriptive text markers to the MIDI file, such as “bar 23, part A.”
Text markers are also read in from MIDI files, and displayed as Section Markers on the Notation.
Include 2 bar lead-in in MIDI file is selected if you don't want to create a MIDI file containing the first 2 bars of
the 1—2—1-2-3-4 count-in. If there is a Melody pickup, then the 2 bar lead-in will remain in the file.
Write Lyrics in General MIDI or PG Music format
The GM specification has agreed upon specific requirements for writing lyrics in MIDI files, which are now
supported, so that lyrics that you save in Band-in-a-Box should show up identically in other MIDI programs. To set
this option, choose either General MIDI format or PG Music format. We recommend the GM format.
Write Section Text as Text Events
Your section text can be included in the MIDI file as text events.
Include Volume/Reverb/Chorus/Panning
This will include the volume, reverb, chorus, and panning settings that you have made in the Band-in-a-Box synth
window in your MIDI file.
Include Forced Channel Meta Event
This will include the forced channel META event. It is recognized by PowerTracks Pro Audio and other PG Music
Inc. programs only.
Include Guitar Position Controller
This will insert a controller 84 which PG Music uses to indicate the fret position. Since some synths also use this for
Portamento Control, you should use this setting with caution.
Write Soloist Part On Channel 5
Normally the program writes the Soloist part on channel 8. Since that could also mean the left hand of a piano track
using the convention of channel 8/9 for piano, this option allows you to write it on channel 5 instead.

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Write Harmony To MIDI File
If set to YES, the harmony will be written to the MIDI file. If not, just the melody will be written to the MIDI file.
MIDI File Harmony on separate tracks
If set to YES, the harmony will be written to the MIDI file on separate tracks for each voice. You could use this to
print out individual parts to your printer for example.
Write Guitar part on 6 channels
If set to YES, the styles that are Intelligent Guitar Styles will result in a MIDI file that has the Guitar part written on
6 channels (11-16). Then, when you read it in PowerTracks, or another sequencer that uses the convention of 11-16
for guitar strings, the guitar part will display correctly.
For partial range MIDI files, chop of sustaining notes at end
If you have made a MIDI file for part of the song this setting controls whether the notes will sustain at the end of the
range in the MIDI file or be cut off.
If song has RealDrums
- Also generate MIDI drums in the MIDI file - If your song uses RealDrums for the drum track you may want to
uncheck this option.
- Also generate RealDrums in xxxx_RealDrums.WAV file - saves RealDrums audio track as a separate wave file
so it can be imported into another program for editing.

MIDI Driver Setup
The [MIDI Driver] button launches the MIDI Driver Setup.
MIDI Input Driver
Select the Driver that you would like to use for input from a MIDI keyboard. If you don't have a MIDI keyboard,
you can select .

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MIDI Output Driver
Select a Driver For MIDI Output. This also includes Sound Card output (like Sound Blaster).
Perhaps the easiest way to configure Band-in-a-Box is to press the [Run Driver
Wizard..] button. This launches the MIDI Output Driver Wizard.
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.

Synthesizer / Sound Card
Every sound card or General MIDI sound module can chose “General MIDI Instrument Miscellaneous.” Only older
non-GM external modules require a custom patch. Selecting the type of synth allows Band-in-a-Box to
automatically load in the appropriate Drum/Patch kit file (*.DK). If you leave this as it will
automatically default to the General MIDI patch list.
Get Patch/Drum Kit Info
This contains information on setting up custom patch/drum kits.
Use DXi Synth
Check the Use DXi Synth checkbox to enable DXi playback.
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.
Route MIDI Thru to MIDI Driver
If this is unchecked, MIDI Thru (live playing) will be routed to the DXi synth rather than the MIDI Thru drive while
the song is playing. (Applies with MME audio drivers only.)
DXi Synth Settings

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To select the DXi synthesizer, click the [DXi Synth Settings] button, which will open the DirectX Plugins window.
Select your DXi synth and apply real time DirectX effects.
Driver Latency
Software synths (like the Roland VSC) have a specific timing issue associated with them; “latency.” This means
that it takes about 430ms from the time Band-in-a-Box sends the MIDI information to the Virtual Synthesizer to
generate and hear the sound. To keep everything (i.e. the notation display, etc.) “in sync,” you should set this
latency option. In most cases, Band-in-a-Box will prompt you to do this. If you are using a regular sound card or
MIDI module you should not encounter any latency, so you should set the latency option to zero (0) if it's not
already set this way.
Latency is set automatically for DXi/VSTi software synths. Click [Latency Adjust] to manually offset the latency of
your driver with the Soft Synth Latency Adjust routine.
GM2 support
The type of GM2 support is set here. 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 Canvases (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: Most sound cards (Sound Blasters etc.) don't have GM2 support yet, so just support the 128
sounds. Band-in-a-Box will use the closest instrument in these cases.
The [Audio Settings] button opens the Audio Settings dialog to set up audio drivers.

MIDI Options
This Preferences button opens the MIDI Options dialog.
Send GM Mode On at startup / Send XG Mode On at startup
You can elect to have Band-in-a-Box automatically send a GM or XG Mode On command every time the program is
started. Toggle this option ON if you have a GM or XG unit to ensure that it is always set to the appropriate mode.
Local ON (Ext. Keyboard): If you are hearing the information played on your keyboard played twice (an echo
effect) then set Local ON to “No.” If you can't hear what you are playing at all, set Local ON to “Yes.”
Turn External Keyboard’s Local On at end of session
If you have set the Keyboard Local to Off (usually to eliminate MIDI echo) this setting turns it back on at the end of
your Band-in-a-Box session.
MIDI Thru: Set to “No” if you don't want the information played on your MIDI keyboard to be sent through Bandin-a-Box to the output driver.
Controllers Thru: Guitar synthesizers and wind controllers contain large amounts of additional MIDI data which
may not be required for Band-in-a-Box and may only serve to hinder the system performance of your computer. To
prevent this information from being sent Thru, set this option to “No.”
Use Thru Channel: Band-in-a-Box uses the Thru channel as a part, just like the Bass/Drums/Piano, etc. The Thru
Channel is re-channeled to the Thru channel as assigned in the MIDI settings dialog. If you would prefer to set the
Thru channel yourself from your MIDI controller, set this to “No.”

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Boost THRU Velocity by
When playing along on a keyboard to the Band-in-a-Box “band,” if the sound of your keyboard is too quiet and
increasing the THRU Volume doesn't help enough, use this option to boost the THRU velocity and make your
THRU playing louder.
Output Sync/Start info: Syncs Band-in-a-Box with an external sequencer.
Send Extra Note Offs: Leave this option set to “No” unless you are having trouble with “Stuck Notes” when you
press [Stop]. If you set this option to “Yes” the program will send a “global sweep” of all notes off in addition to
the selected notes off that are playing when you press the [Stop] button.
Allow Any Patch Changes: Set to “No” to disable All Patch changes.
Song Patch Changes: Songs can be saved with patch changes. If you want to prevent specific instruments loading
for a given song, set this option to “No.”
Style Patch Changes: Styles contain patch change information for the instruments that were used when the Style
was created. To use your own instrument selection, not the original instruments, change this setting to “No.”
Drum Patch Changes: To disable patch changes in Drums, set to NO.
Drum Bank Changes: This should usually be left unchecked since most synths don’t use bank changes on drums.
But, if you require drum bank changes then select this option.
Allow Volume Changes: To prevent any volume changes set to “No.”
Style Volume Changes: To stop embedded style volume changes set to “No.”

MIDI Settings
The [Channels] button opens the MIDI Settings dialog.

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MIDI Channels: Range 0 to 16. If set to 0 the part will be Off/Disabled, which is not the same as muted.
Octave: Adjusts the octave of the part. Range (-2 to +2). Usually set to 0. (Bass is usually set to -1 for most
General MIDI (GM) instruments.)
Patch: Range 0 to 128. These are General MIDI patch numbers.
Volume: Range 0 to 127. Average volume setting is = 90. This can also be set from the main screen.
Note: Only General MIDI, XG, and GS instruments respond to Reverb, Chorus, and Bank changes.

Reverb: Range 0 to 127. Default setting = 40.
Chorus: Range of 0 to 127. Default setting = 0.
Panning: Panning refers to the stereo placement (i.e. Left to Right) of a given part's sound. The range of this
parameter is -63 to +63. A setting of 0 is centered in the middle of the stereo field.
Bank0 and LSB(32): Many General MIDI instruments have extra instruments available on higher banks. Usually
set to 0. Other settings are multiples of 8 (0, 8, 16 etc.).
These can use either Controller 0 (Bank 0), which is also know as MSB for Most Significant Byte, or Controller 32,
also called LSB for Least Significant Byte, or combinations of the two controllers.

Harmony
The [Harmony] button opens the Harmony Channels and Settings dialog where settings for the
harmonies are made.
Harmony Settings
OK to Load Harmonies With Songs
If set to YES, the harmony settings for each song will be loaded and saved with each song. If set to NO, the
harmony setting won’t be saved or leaded with the songs. If you are using a certain harmony, you should set this
setting to NO, otherwise you’ll have to keep re-selecting the harmony when you load in new songs.
Change Harmony With New Chords
Example: If a harmony is played on bar 1 on a C chord, and then the note is held as the chord changes to a Fm7
chord, (if this setting is set to YES) the harmony notes will change so that they will be still be playing chord tones.

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If they don’t the harmony sounds dissonant. Leave this setting to YES, unless you have a specific reason to disable
it. The harmony is changed by moving the voices to the nearest chord tone.
Overall Harmony Volume Adjust
Sets a level for the overall harmony in a range of -128 to 128, with 0 leaving the settings as programmed in the
Harmony file.

Harmony Channels
Band-in-a-Box already uses 7 channels (Bass, Drums, Piano, Guitar, Strings, Melody and Thru channels). Adding
these 4 harmony channels produces potentially 11 channels of information.

Soloist
The [Soloist] button launches the More Soloist & Melodist Settings dialog.

Set “Use MIDI Volume for Soloing Wizard” to true if you want MIDI velocity information sent to the Soloing
Wizard. If you have a velocity sensitive MIDI device attached to your computer and you want to control the
dynamics of the Soloist, you should enable this feature.

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Set the “Trigger Playback Early” to true to enable song playback to start before the Soloist has actually completed
composing a solo. Otherwise, Band-in-a-Box will completely compose a solo before song playback begins.
Soloist – Prefer Long Phrases
Set this checkbox to “True” (enabled) if you would like the Soloist to use the longest musical phrases it “knows.”
This setting is normally used in conjunction with the Use Large Soloist files setting.
Note: This option may also increase Soloist creation times. Disable this feature if you are using a slower or low-memory
equipped computer.

Soloist/Melody Velocity Adjust
This box allows you to quickly boost or reduce the volume of the Soloist part relative to the other instrument parts.
For a realistic mix the soloist instrument is set slightly louder than the other instruments/parts in a song. The default
is 5.
Improved solo (but slower creation)
- Use large soloist files (ST3) uses larger databases with improved phrases when checked.
- Create Long Phrases, when set to “True” (enabled) instructs the Soloist to use the longest musical phrases it
“knows.” Normally used in conjunction with the “Use large soloist files” setting.

Colors
The [Colors] button in the Preferences dialog opens the Color Selection dialog.
You can choose from several color sets using the 256-color palette in Windows. Choose from pre-made color
schemes or make your own. This is like changing the Windows color scheme in the control panel.
To select a pre-made color scheme, press the [Import..] button and choose from the list of schemes. Select [OK] to
make the changes permanent. Use the [Export..] button to save and share your customized color schemes.
To make your own color scheme, click on the name of the element you wish to change (Chord Area, List Box, etc.),
then click on the [Choose…] button to bring up the Windows Color palette and click on the color you desire. Or
you can enter the appropriate Red, Green, and Blue values in the boxes provided.

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Patch Map
This opens the General MIDI Patch Edit dialog, where you can make a customized General
MIDI patch map.

Type in the patch number that your synth uses for each instrument listed. For example, if your sound source has its
Acoustic Piano at patch location 41select the box to the left of Acoustic Piano and type 41. Do the same for all of
the instruments in the General MIDI patch list. If your synth doesn't have an exact match, use a close sounding
patch that it does have. Once you have made a patch map in this way, whenever Band-in-a-Box encounters
Acoustic Piano (which is General MIDI instrument #1), it will look up this Patch Map Location and then send out
Patch 41 to your synth/sound module.

Drum Kit
If you have been unable to find a preset drum map that matches your synth's drum notes, then you
may need to type in the drum notes that your sound source uses. To do this, you need to hook your MIDI controller
up to play the drum sounds from the keyboard. Play up and down the keyboard to hear all the drum sounds.
Here's a way to figure out where the MIDI note numbers are on your synth.
We took this screen shot while playing MIDI note 36 on a MIDI controller. If you have MIDI In hooked up, you
can play various “C” notes until it matches the location shown (below the word Bass). Then you can mark that note
on your controller as note 36. The notes are then numbered (chromatically) 36, 37(C#), 38(D) etc. (Some people
call note 36 C3; others call it C2.) This is note 36 (C3) played on a MIDI controller.

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Type the MIDI note numbers for the various instruments as you find them on your drum machine or keyboard.
Press the [Save] button to save the kit as MYSETUP.DK. If you are making a kit to save under a different name
then save the kit under Opt. | Utilities | Save Alternate Patch/Drum Kit.
Customize the Relative Volumes of the Drum Kit Instruments.
Perhaps when you listen to Band-in-a-Box you feel that the crash cymbal is too loud or
the kick drum is too quiet.
The [Set Drum Volumes] button allows you to make the crash cymbal 10% quieter, boost the kick-drum by 15%,
and turn off the “tambourine” entirely. Changes apply to any song when this feature is enabled, and playback and
written MIDI files will reflect the changes.

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The default settings are to change the volumes by 0 %, which would leave them as they are. If there were a drum
note with a velocity of 50, it would be affected as follows:
+40% would change it from 50 to 50+(40%x50)=70
-40% would change it from 50 to 50-(40%x50)=30
The current settings for your drum velocities are saved in the intrface.bbw configuration file.

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Favorite Instruments
This button opens the Favorite Instruments dialog.

For each of the Band-in-a-Box parts you can assign up to 10 “favorite” General MIDI instruments.
Note: If you use a custom patch map it will convert your synth’s non-GM patch numbers, always enter GM patch numbers
for the favorite instruments.

The [Patch List] button displays the General MIDI Patch List of instrument names
and patch numbers.
The [Combos] button opens the Favorite Combos dialog.

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The Favorite Combos dialog box allows you to save up to 10 of your favorite instrument combos. For example,
you could setup Combo #1 to be an Acoustic Jazz combo which would send out patches like Acoustic Bass,
Acoustic Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Flute, etc. After you have finished typing in the instrument patch numbers select
the [Save] button.

Output Chords on Channel
The Preferences [OutputCh.] button opens the Output Chords on Channel dialog. Some
external music hardware devices require chords played in root position to drive them in real
time.
An example of this is the TCHelicon Voice Live, which lets
you sing into a microphone and
harmonize your voice according to
the chords that are input to the
device.
Band-in-a-Box has the capability
of outputting a separate channel
with the chords in root position to
support such external devices
automatically.

Transpose
The Preferences [Transpose] button opens the Settings for transposing songs when loaded or
“Do it Now” dialog.

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When playing along on your MIDI keyboard, you can set the Thru transpose to transpose semitones or octaves. You
can define a “favorite key” and Band-in-a-Box will optionally transpose any and all loaded songs to that key. This
is a great feature for practicing in a certain key.
You can also set the THRU transpose to the favorite key to transpose the THRU part so that you can always play
along in your favorite key (regardless of the actual key of the song). To activate this feature by key strokes press
Ctrl+Shift+K.
To practice a song in different keys, have it transpose by a specified number of semitones each chorus, or let Bandin-a-Box transpose it a random number of semitones for more of a challenge.
This launches the Vocal Wizard, which shows the best keys given a singer’s vocal range.
When “Auto-transpose to best VOCAL key when a song is loaded” is checked the song will automatically
transposed to the best key for a vocalist, depending on the settings in the Vocal Wizard.
If you have an external keyboard, enable the “Use Wizard for Thru part” option and also the Wizard checkbox on
the main screen. Band-in-a-Box will make sure you never hit a wrong note when playing live!

Record Filter
The Preferences [Rec. Filter] button opens the Record Filter dialog.
Record Filter supports all MIDI
controllers and sustain pedal. You
can record any type of MIDI
information to the melody or soloist
tracks by using the Record Filter
feature to select which types to
include.
With this window you can choose
what types of MIDI information
Band-in-a-Box will record.

Notation
The [Notation] button opens the Notation Window Options. If the Notation window is not
open the program will launch it.

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These settings are described in the Notation chapter and in the online Help.

Lead Sheet Options
The [Lead sheet] button opens the Lead Sheet Options dialog. If the Lead Sheet window is not
open the program will open it.

These settings are described in the Notation chapter and in the online Help.

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Audio Settings
The Preferences [Audio] button opens the Audio Settings dialog.

Audio Driver Type
You’ll see the following options for Audio Driver Type: MME or ASIO.
MME is the default audio driver type that is used in Windows. 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: Most low-end 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.

ASIO Audio Driver
When you select ASIO the ASIO Audio Drivers dialog will open.
This ASIO driver dialog lets you choose an ASIO driver. You can arrive at this dialog in 3 different ways:
1) If you haven’t used ASIO drivers, but Band-in-a-Box detected them, and you answered “Yes” when Bandin-a-Box asked if you want to use an ASIO driver.
2) If, within the Audio Preferences, 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 Preferences.
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.

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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.
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.
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.

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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.
Show Warning for Untested Soundcard Formats can be unchecked if you do not want to see the warning
message for ASIO drivers that have not been tested in Band-in-a-Box.
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 allowed by your sound card’s ASIO driver. Band-in-aBox 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.
MME Audio Drivers
If your PC has multiple sound cards, the [Audio Drivers] button lets you choose which one to use. Most people
have a single sound card, so don’t require this feature. But if you have added an audio device (such as a USB Audio
Adapter), you would have multiple audio devices, and are now able to choose which one to use.
Choose MME as the “Audio Driver Type” and click on the [Audio Drivers] button
to select which audio driver to use. This launches the Audio Drivers dialog.

The DMA Size and DMA Offset settings are set automatically by the auto-testing of the sound card. This test can
be repeated by pressing the [Get from sound card…] button. The default value for all of these settings is 0 (zero).
You can override these settings if required, but it is usually not necessary.
The Offset in mS is not a setting that gets set automatically. It defaults to zero. This allows you to adjust the timing
that the sound card plays audio in relation to MIDI. Normally you'd leave this at zero, but if you need to fine tune
the synchronization of audio to MIDI you could try changing this setting.
Audio Latency in mS
DirectX audio plug-ins and DXi synthesizer plug-ins can have playback latency (the delay between when a note is
played, and when it is heard). Adjust “Audio Latency in mS” to fine-tune for your computer. If you have a fast
computer and excellent sound card, the audio latency can be adjusted rather low. However, if you hear audio
dropouts, you can set the latency as high as 2000 milliseconds.

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Audio Track Type for THIS song
You can choose between mono and stereo for the audio track. Tracks can be edited in either format, and converted
from stereo to mono or vice versa.

You can change a project from mono to stereo at any time. For example, if you have already recorded a mono track,
changing the setting will convert the track to stereo for you.
Note: The built-in audio plug-ins work for either mono or stereo tracks.

Preferred default track type for new songs.
This setting (mono/stereo) sets the default recording type for new songs that you record. For example, if you have a
stereo microphone, you should likely record in stereo.
When opening songs, show message if WAV file not found
A Band-in-a-Box song called “My Song.MGU” will have the associated wave file called “My Song.wav.” If Bandin-a-Box loads this song file and it can't find its associated file, it will put up a message to that effect. If the warning
message is distracting, and for some reason you don't have the wave files that were recorded with the songs then you
can disable that message with this option box (disable).
Peak Limit Enable
Check the “Peak Limit Enable” checkbox to restrict excessive levels from being recorded (Filter).
Mixer requires keystrokes to open Record Panel (Windows 95 only)
If you are running Windows 95, check this box to allow access to the Record Panel from Band-in-a-Box. Do not
check if using Windows 98 or greater.
Use Realtime DX Audio Plugins
The advantage of real time processing is that you can set effects today, and if you decide you don’t like the effects
tomorrow, the settings can be easily changed, since the real time effects did not permanently affect your audio track
on the hard disk. Check “Use Realtime DX Audio Plugins” in the Preferences [Audio] settings to enable real time
DirectX audio plug-ins.

Guitar Settings
The Preferences [Guitar] button opens the Guitar Settings dialog.

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The Guitar Settings dialog allows you the ability to adjust various parameters on the virtual guitar fretboard so that
music can be displayed effectively (and easily) on this window, regardless of the original instrument intended for the
track data. It also offers the ability to enter notation using the virtual guitar and play back track data in specific
fretboard positions for educational and sight-reading purposes.
Click on the [Help] button for detailed online descriptions.

Big Piano Settings
This Preferences button opens the Big Piano Settings dialog.

This dialog allows you to set various options on the Big Piano.
- You can set a specific range for the Big Piano, a starting note and a number of octaves, by over-riding the
“auto” settings.
- “Show out-of-range notes” ensures that all notes will be displayed.
- If the “Send Notes to Notation Window” checkbox is enabled, clicking a virtual key on the big piano will insert
a note to the notation track. (Note: The Notation window must be opened and set to editable notation mode.)
- If “Note Guides” is selected guide notes will be shown on the keyboard. The guide notes can be scale tones,
chord tones, or roots only.
- Note Names and Note Colors can be used as in the Notation settings.
- There is an option to Show Out-of-Scale notes in Yellow.
- The size of the piano keyboard can be entered in pixels, or set with the preset buttons, or set by dragging the
bottom border of the window.

Lyric Window Options
The [BigLyrics] button opens the Lyric Window Options.

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Individual color elements can be picked, or
choose one of the presets.
Display Chord Symbols will interleave the
chord symbols with the lyrics.
Show chord symbols above the lyrics will
show the chords on a separate line.
With the Scroll lyrics a page at a time option
selected the Big Lyrics scroll a page at a time.
When the lyric cursor reaches the next-to-last
line of the lyrics it will scroll to the top of the
page, allowing uninterrupted reading of lyrics.
Auto-open lyrics window for songs with lyrics
automatically opens the Big Lyrics window
when a song with lyrics is opened in Band-in-aBox.

Karaoke CDG Window Settings
To open a Karaoke CDG file use File | Open, and find a WAV, MP3, or WMA file that has a same named CDG file
in the same folder. With “Load CDG file when opening audio file” selected the Karaoke window will open and
display the lyrics.
You can choose to have a background to the window, either a moving one, or fixed picture. These pictures are in
the c:\bb\KaraokeBMP folder, and you can add your own BMP or JPG image to that folder.

Print Options
The [Print] button opens the Print Options dialog.

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These options are described in the Notation chapter and in the online Help.

Overrides
Global Song overrides allow you to set the overall song looping (always OFF, always ON, or as
set in the song).

For example, if you want every song loaded to have looping set to on, then set “Always set loop to ON.”

But if you are going out on a playing job, and don’t want any songs to loop, then set it to “Always set loop to OFF.”

If you want the settings to work the same way they did in previous versions, use the “As set in the song” setting, or
press the DEFAULTS button.

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RealDrums
The RealDrums button opens the RealDrums Settings dialog.
Select the “Enable RealDrums” checkbox to hear RealDrums.
Tip: Try turning off the RealDrums by de-selecting “Enable RealDrums.” You can do this even while the song is playing.
When you do, you will then hear the MIDI drums – this is a good A/B comparison test to hear the differences.

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There are several ways to hear RealDrums with your Band-in-a-Box songs.
Styles (.STY) can have RealDrums (e.g. “–ZZJAZZ.STY”). This is in the StyleMaker’s Misc. Style
Settings dialog.

We provide many styles that already have RealDrums. These styles can be identified by the style name beginning
with a minus sign. For example “-ZZJAZZ.STY” is a version of the ZZJAZZ.STY that uses RealDrums.
You can set the RealDrum style inside the StyleMaker, by pressing the MISC button, and then typing the
name of the RealDrum style.
The StylePicker has a special category that lists a lot of RealDrum styles that are included with the
program.
RealDrums can be substituted for MIDI drums on existing styles.

This will substitute RealDrums for MIDI styles. You can change the setting from 1 to 5. If set to 1, almost all MIDI
drums will get substituted by RealDrums. If set to 5, only RealDrum styles that match the style perfectly will get
substituted.
Technical note: The text file a_pgmusic.ds provided by PG Music controls this, and users can make other files MySubs.ds if
they make their own RealDrums styles.

Songs can have RealDrums added to them.

To do this, set the desired style in this dialog, or the “File-Save With Patches etc.” dialog. This will let the current
song use the specific RealDrums style.

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When “Enable RealDrum changes at any bar” is checked the RealDrum style can be changed at any bar by choosing
a new style in the Edit Settings for Bar dialog (F5 function key).

The RealTracks Settings dialog lets you control the RealTracks.

Enable RealTracks turns the RealTracks feature on or off. If turned off, Band-in-a-Box will not generate any
RealTracks.
Global Volume Adjust adjusts the volume of any RealTracks part by a dB (decibel) amount.
This setting is also available in the StyleMaker’s More Settings dialog, which is
accessed with the [More] button in the Misc. Style Settings dialog.
Custom RealTracks folder lets you choose a folder other than c:\bb\RealTracks as the location for the RealTracks.
If you choose a custome folder, make sure that all of the files and folders for RealTracks reside in the folder you
have chosen.
This sets RealTracks settings back to default values.
This updates any new settings that you have made in the dialog. Most changes will
take effect the next time you press [Play].
The RealTracks files come compressed as WMA files. On installation, they are
decompressed to WAV files. You can press the [Install] button to find out if all styles
have been installed. It will issue a message if all is OK.
Tranzport
TranzPort is a wireless hardware device that provides remote control for Band-in-a-Box. The
TranzPort unit is sold separately.
First, make sure that the TranzPort is installed and working. This can be determined by running Band-in-a-Box, and
looking at the list of MIDI Drivers (Opt. | MIDI/Audio driver setup). If “TranzPort” appears on the list of MIDI-IN
and MIDI-OUT drivers, then the TranzPort is installed correctly.
Enable TranzPort support for Band-in-a-Box in the Tranzport Settings dialog.

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If you want lyrics to display on the TranzPort during playback, set these options.
Players of non-concert pitched instruments can use “Transpose the display.” For example, an Alto sax player would
press the “Eb Alto” button, and then the TranzPort display would show chords transposed to his key.
Practice
The Practice Window allows convenient “1-click” access to many Band-in-a-Box features that
help you with practicing.

There are several purposes for the Practice Window.
Quick access to your favorite/preferred “practice” folders, so that you can
setup load in songs without having to navigate dialogs.
One-click access to many of the educationrelated features of Band-in-a-Box (play
along soloing, Ear Training, games).

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Handy buttons for on-screen transposition
for non-concert instruments.

One button access to many of the Band-ina-Box add-ons “101 Riffs” series and
“Master Solos.”
N/A indicates other Band-in-a-Box add-ons
that are available, but not installed on your
computer.

One button access to many other PG Music educational programs and lessons.

This button opens a page with more
information about each of the stand-alone programs and add-ons
referred to in this dialog. Internet access is required.

Most of these items are “add-on” products,
available separately, and are not included in
the Band-in-a-Box program. If you have
these items installed to your hard drive, the
Practice Window will find them if they are
installed them to the default directories, and if
not, you will be able to point the program to
the location of the program, which will be
remembered in future sessions.

PowerTracks Pro Audio is PG Music’s multitrack digital audio and MIDI
sequencer. Many people import their Band-in-a-Box songs into PowerTracks
and work on them further in that program.
For items that you don’t have, you can choose to display or not display them onscreen using the “Show add-ons if N/A (not available)” setting.
Press this button if you have just installed an add-on or a program. This will
allow you to access it from the Practice Window.

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Play Menu

Note: Most commands in the Play menu are performed by onscreen buttons, or by the keystrokes listed to the right of the
menu command.

Play
Stop Playback

Hold (pause)

Replay

Play (loop) Highlited
Section
Play From Bar…

Play From Current
Position
Go (Open and Play)

Step Advance submenu

Generates a new arrangement and plays the song.
Stops playback. To resume either use the Play From Current Position command
or the [From] button the play from the start of the current bar, or use the [Play] or
Replay [+] buttons to play from the start of the song.
Pauses the song. Repeating this command resumes play from the exact location
where the song was paused.
Plays the current arrangement from the start without regenerating the parts. Edits
to accompaniment parts are kept.
Drag the mouse cursor to select a region of bars in the chord sheet and then use
this command to play the selected region as a loop.
Choose a chorus and bar to play from in the current arrangement. Parts are not
regenerated. Use this command during playback to jump to any bar in the song.
When the song is stopped this command starts playback again at the bar with the
highlight cell.
Launches an Open File dialog for selection of any song in any directory. The
selected song loads and plays automatically in Band-in-a-Box.
When a song is paused these commands can be used to navigate step-by-step
through the currently selected track. For example, if the current track is set to the
Melody track using the row of buttons on the Notation window, Lead Sheet
window, or Guitar window; pressing the advance buttons will display the next
note or chord of the melody on the piano display, guitar display, lead sheet and
notation. This is a great way to study the notes being played, and to navigate
around the track.

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Slide Tracks

This allows you to move any of the Bass, Drums, Piano, Guitar, Strings or
Melody track ahead or behind by a certain amount. You could, for example, slide
the Bass track so it plays a little ahead of the rest of the band. This has the effect
of making the bass player “drive the band,” and is useful in Jazz styles to make
the music sound more exciting.

Looping

You can loop any section of the song. The program will then start playback at
the first loop point and play the looped section until stop is pressed or looping is
turned off.
- Looping of a section of the song is enabled by the “LoopSec” checkbox, with the
Loop section Enabled command, or with the keystroke NUMPAD 1.
- Open up the Loop Section Settings dialog with the menu command, by clicking
the Loop button in the toolbar, or pressing NUMPAD 2. The Loop settings
dialog will then display; see its online Help for detailed instructions.
The remaining commands in this submenu are also found in the Loop Section
Settings dialog.
Tempo

Juke Box Play
Previous Juke Box Song /
Next JukeBox song
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feature

466

- When a new song is started the tempo is set based on Style. This is the tempo that is
embedded in the style file. It can be reset to any tempo.
- You can quickly enter a specific tempo for a song with the Set Tempo… command
(hot key is Ctrl+Alt+T), or by clicking on the tempo. A dialog opens up where you
can type in a tempo.
- You can quickly change to different speeds with the menu commands or hot keys.
For example, choosing Half Speed (or the hot keys Ctrl -) will change the playback
speed to half, and Normal Speed (Ctrl =) will revert to normal speed.
- Load an audio file and use the tempo feature to play it at reduced speed without
changing the pitch, a big help for analyzing and transcribing songs.
- Opens the Options for Juke Box dialog to select and play a jukebox list.
- Navigate back and forth in a juke box set list.
-

The Wizard is a play along feature that allows you to use the QWERTY keyboard
or your connected MIDI keyboard to play along with Band-in-a-Box. The

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Wizard uses “Smart”
notes

Panic!
Panic should also Reset
DXi synth

Wizard is only active during playback.
Toggle this on so the Wizard will only play notes based on the chord/key of the
song. Toggle “Smart” notes OFF (unchecked) to have the Wizard provide you
access to the chromatic scale.
Select this if your MIDI notes are stuck ON and it’s driving you crazy!
When selected hung DXi/VSTi notes are also cleared by the Panic feature.

Lyrics Menu

Enter Lyrics at current bar
-

Opens the Lyric entry box at the current location of the timeline or highlight cell.

Big Lyrics Window
-

Opens the Big Lyrics window for viewing lyrics and, optionally, chord symbols.

Lyric Document Window
-

Displays a full screen of formatted lyrics. Easily copy and paste lyrics to and from your favorite word
processor.

Copy Lyrics to Clipboard
-

This function allows you to copy a song's lyrics (and/or the chords) to the Standard Windows Clipboard. By
pasting this data into a word processor, you can print out the lyrics in the font of your choice. The dialog has
options to allow copying of note-based and/or line-based lyrics. With either option you can choose to include
the chord symbols, have double or single line spacing, and make margin settings.

Copy 1st chorus Lyrics to whole song
-

Copies the note-based lyrics for the first chorus to the rest of the song.

Erase all Lyrics
-

Erases note-based and line-based Lyrics.

Erase Note Lyrics only
-

Erases only the note-based lyrics.

Kill Lyrics Choruses

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Select from a list box to kill lyrics in the selected chorus.

Move Lyric ahead to time line
Move Lyric back to time line
-

If you have a note-based lyric that you want to time shift ahead or back, you can click on the time line at the
destination that you want, and then choose this item. You can also shift lyric times using the Lyric Event list.

Timeshift Lyrics (ticks)
Insert Beat(s) in Lyrics
Delete Beat(s) from Lyrics
-

These are functions that apply to the entire lyric track. They are useful when you're inserting bars or beats into
the song and need to move the lyrics around to keep them in sync.

Edit Lyrics as Event List
Opens the Edit Lyrics dialog with Edit, Insert, Append, and Delete functions.
Line-based Lyrics opens a special submenu for line based lyrics. These are lyrics that are entered line by line as
text. They are not directly linked to the corresponding melody notes. To enter line-based lyrics in the Notation
window, either press Ctrl+L or open up the Notation window.

Copy Line Lyrics to Note Lyrics converts line-based lyrics to note based lyrics. It is imprecise, because the linebased lyrics don't correspond to individual notes. But you can edit the positions of the note-based lyrics using the
event list or the Move Lyric back/ahead to time line functions discussed above.
Move Line lyrics to Note Lyrics works like the Copy Line Lyrics to Note Lyrics function, except it erases the Linebased lyrics.
Auto-Update all songs in folder to Note-based Lyrics will update an entire folder worth of songs, copying the
Line Lyrics to Note Lyrics. Only Note-based lyrics get displayed in the Big Lyrics Dialog, so this feature will allow
you to see these lyrics in the Big Lyrics window.
Move Lyrics Up or down row(s)… moves a line of line-based lyrics up/down a number of rows.
Erase Line-based Lyrics only erases only the line-based lyrics, preserving the note-based lyrics.

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Melody Menu

Track Type
Normally you'd leave the track type set to Single. But you can set it to:
- Multi (16) -Channel – All channels get preserved, and outputted on
the channels, this would be useful for importing an entire MIDI file,
and playing it from the Melody channel (using a silent style).
- Guitar – Channels 11 to 16 will display on the guitar as strings 11 to
16, TAB will show, the notation will be up an octave, and the MIDI
file will contain the channels preserved.
- Piano – In this mode, channels 8 and 9 are treated as the left and
right hand of a piano part.
-

Selecting any one of Bass, Ukulele, Mandolin, Banjo (5-string), or
Violin will display the correct tablature in the Notation window and
the correct fretboard in the Guitar window.

Set the track to match any of the 11 alternate guitar tunings, such as
DADGAD, Open G, or Double Drop D, supported by Band-in-aBox. Then you’ll see the correct notes on the guitar fretboard, in the
notation and tablature.

Melodist – Generate Melody and Chords launches the Melodist feature.
Melody Maker submenu items allow you to edit Melodist files using the Melody Maker.

Embellish Melody during playback launches the Embellisher dialog. This optionally embellishes the Melody
during playback.
Embellish Melody Dialog allows you to customize the settings of the Embellisher, choose an embellisher type from
presets, and make a particular Embellishment permanent.
Mute Melody during Middle Choruses to allow for soloing.

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Sequencer Window for multi-Channel Melody
There are 2 tracks in Band-in-a-Box to add your own recordings. These are the Melody and Soloist tracks.
Normally you would want a single part on each of them. But, since MIDI information can have separate channels, it
is possible to store 16 separate parts on each of the Melody and Soloist parts.
When the Melody or Soloist track has been set to “Multi (16)-Channel” we refer to this as “Sequencer Mode.”
Selecting this command will then launch the Sequencer Window. Then you can customize which channels will
play and display.

In the example picture, we have set Channel 2 (Bass) and Channel 4 (Trumpet) to show on the notation, and have set
all of the channels to play (to hear them).

For a specific channel, (e.g. channel 3: piano), we see the following information.
Channel 3: Acoustic Piano (this is the patch name found on the track).
844
There are 842 events in the track, usually every note is an event.
We have customized the piano track so that it can be heard (Play=True), but not seen in notation (Show=False).
There is a small button at the right of the track line that allows you to delete/
rechannel or merge the channel with another channel.
You can increase or decrease the velocity of the track and move it to the Soloist
track.
You can also change the patch
(instrument) for that track by using the instrument patch combo box.
So now that we’ve customized the display, we are seeing the bass and trumpet on the notation, and hearing the entire
track.

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Edit Melody Track submenu

Import Melody from MIDI File allows you to import MIDI data from a file (*.MID) into the Melody track.
Import Melody from Clipboard allows you to import MIDI data that has been pasted into the clipboard (e.g., from
a sequencer such as PowerTracks).
Record Melody launches the Record Melody dialog to record a MIDI melody.
Record melody From any bar starts recording at the current location of the highlight cell after playing a two bar
lead-in.
Step Edit Melody allows you to enter/edit a melody in step time from the Notation window. This uses an event list.
Quantize Melody opens the Quantize Melody Options dialog. The Humanize Melody… feature is an advanced
version of this function.

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Resolution. Choose the division you would like the
track quantized to. Choosing 16 will Quantize to
16th notes.

Starting at Bar# and Chorus #. Quantization will
begin at the place you select and applied for the
number of bars.
% strength. Choose 100% if you want the notes
quantized exactly to the division. Otherwise, the
notes will be moved the % toward the target
quantization.
Quantize Start Times. By default, this option is set
to “Yes.” If you don't want the beginnings of the
notes quantized, set it to “No.”
Quantize Durations. This quantizes the END of the
notes. By default, this is set to “Off.”

Humanize with Straight Feel / Humanize with Swing Feel
Band-in-a-Box uses intelligent humanization routines, which can humanize a melody from one feel to another, from
one tempo to another, and vary the amount of swing in 8th notes (but not randomly). The results are very musical
with natural sounding MIDI melodies.
Humanize Melody
Opens the Melody: Quantize to New Tempo or Feel dialog. The humanize effect is broken down into 5 main
categories: Tempo, Lateness, 8th Note Spacing, Legato, and Feel.

Transpose Melody only… allows you to transpose the melody track without affecting the other tracks in the song.
Copy 1st chorus to whole song stretches the melody track out over the entire song (i.e. first, last, and middle
choruses).
Kill entire melody erases the melody track and any data that was contained therein.
Kill Melody Choruses eliminates the Melody from the First Chorus, Middle Choruses, or Last Chorus as selected
from a list box.

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Adjust Level of melody allows you to increase or decrease the volume (velocity) of the Melody track without
affecting the other tracks.
Timeshift Melody (ticks) allows you to move the Melody forwards or backwards in small increments relative to the
rest of the song tracks. (Measured in ticks or parts per quarter, PPQ.)
Insert Beat(s) in Melody allows you to insert a blank beat or beats into the song relative to the current time
signature.
Delete Beat(s) from Melody allows you to delete a beat or beats from the song relative to the current time
signature.
Copy to Soloist Track copies the entire contents of the Melody track to the Soloist Track. Useful for a temporary
holding area for your Melody or bouncing tracks.
Move to Soloist Track copies the entire contents of the Melody track and erases the original data from the Melody
track, preparing it for a new track or data.
Swap Melody and Soloist Track performs a “double copy/move” so that the data that was in the Melody track gets
transferred to the Soloist track and visa versa. This is also known as track bouncing.
Map Melody track to C7 chord is a useful tool when making styles.
Convert Harmony to Melody Track… converts a single line Melody track to include the current harmony
selection.
Remove Harmony (or guitar solo) from Melody Track removes a harmony from a track, providing that the
harmony was put there by Band-in-a-Box in the first place using the Convert Harmony to Melody Track command.
Generate Guitar Chord Solo opens the Guitar feature dialog for generating a guitar chord solo.
Rechannel to Guitar Display converts channels on a track to channels 11 to 16. Channels 11 to 16 are used by
Band-in-a-Box to indicate strings 1 to 6 of a guitar. It uses the current position marker on the guitar for this
command.
Utilities
There is a Utilities submenu that has utility functions to convert the pitch bend range of a track, insert pitch bend
note events, transpose, and transform melodies.

Eliminate Note Overlap – Preserve Double Stops / Eliminate Note Overlap – Remove Double Stops opens a
Choose Range dialog to select the range of bars where note overlap will be eliminated while double stops are either
preserved or eliminated.
Loosen up Start Times is a dedicated function to vary the start times of notes on the Melody or Soloist tracks, with
options for what notes to affect (harmony, chords) and amount of variance.

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Change Pitch Bend Range… lets you set the range in semitones.
Insert Guitar Bend events when pitch bend found… will insert controllers so the guitar will display bends.
Transpose One Octave DOWN / Transpose One Octave UP transposes the Melody part one octave in either
direction. This is often useful if the Melody instrument has been changed. Transposing can be done while the song
plays.
Piano Hand-Split manually splits a piano part on a Melody or Soloist track using the intelligent hand-splitting
routines. The left/right hands display in red/blue on the big piano, and on bass/treble clefs on the notation. Import a
piano MIDI file to the Melody track to get a split-hands display and printout.
Transform Waltz Melody & Soloist to 4/4
If you have a song with a 3/4 time signature, you can 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 uses intelligent algorithms to transform the melody to the new
time signature.
Transform 4/4 Melody & Soloist to Waltz
You can 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. It’s fun and
educational to hear and play familiar songs in a Waltz feel.

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Soloist Menu

Track Type
Normally you'd leave the track type set to Single. But you can set it to:
-

Multi (16) -Channel – All channels get preserved, and outputted on
the channels, this would be useful for importing an entire MIDI file,
and playing it from the Melody channel (using a silent style).
Guitar – Channels 11 to 16 will display on the guitar as strings 11 to
16, TAB will show, the notation will be up an octave, and the MIDI
file will contain the channels preserved.
Piano – In this mode, channels 8 and 9 are treated as the left and
right hand of a piano part.

Selecting any one of Bass, Ukulele, Mandolin, Banjo, or Violin will
display the correct tablature in the Notation window and the correct
fretboard in the Guitar window.

Set the track to match any of the 11 alternate guitar tunings, such as
DADGAD, Open G, or Double Drop D that are supported by Bandin-a-Box. Then you’ll see the correct notes on the guitar fretboard,
in the notation and tablature.

Generate and play a Solo...
Opens the Select Soloist dialog where a preset Soloist style can be selected or your own Soloist can be defined.
Soloist Maker submenu

Start a Soloists File allows you to make and edit Soloist styles saved under the filename of your choice. See
Soloist Edit dialog for additional details on importing/exporting/saving Soloists.
Edit a Soloists file opens an Open File dialog where you can select any Soloist file (*.SOL) to edit. To edit the
soloist you are using, use the Edit Current Soloist File command.
If you want to make your own soloists or modify an existing Soloist, use the Soloist Maker (edit) module. The
Soloist Maker allows you to define the parameters essential to a soloist's playing, such as instrument range (i.e. tenor

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saxophone), extra legato playing, playing more on top of the beat, playing straighter 8th notes than usual swing 8th
notes. In addition, you can set phrasing options, such as how long the phrase should be, and how much “space” to
leave between phrases. You can also set how “outside” the playing should be.
Edit Current Soloists File opens the Select Soloist dialog with the currently installed Soloists file.
Refresh Soloist allows the Soloist full access to all solo ideas contained in its database. Use to refresh after several
Soloists have been made.
OK to Load Soloists w/Songs. Enable this option if you want Soloists to be automatically loaded with a song that
was saved with Soloist information.
Allow Soloist Harmony (on THRU Harmony). Enable this option to permit the Soloist to utilize the Harmony
features. This will allow the Soloist to make a harmonized solo with the harmony of your choice. See the Select
Soloist dialog for additional details.
Sequencer Window for multi-Channel Soloist
There are two tracks in Band-in-a-Box to add your own recordings. These are the Melody and Soloist tracks.
Normally you would want a single part on each of them. But, since MIDI information can have separate channels, it
is possible to store 16 separate parts on each of the Melody and Soloist parts.
When the Melody or Soloist track has been set to “Multi (16)-Channel” we refer to this as “Sequencer Mode.”
Selecting this command will then launch the Sequencer Window. Then you can customize which channels will
play and display.

In the example picture, we have set Channel 2 (Bass) and Channel 4 (Trumpet) to show on the notation, and have set
all of the channels to play (to hear them).

For a specific channel, (e.g. channel 3: piano), we see the following information.
Channel 3: Acoustic Piano (this is the patch name found on the track).
842
There are 842 events in the track, usually every note is an event.

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We have customized the piano track so that it can be heard (Play=True), but not seen in notation (Show=False).
There is a small button at the right of the track line that allows you to delete/
rechannel or merge the channel with another channel.
You can increase or decrease the velocity of the track and move it to the
Melody track.
You can also change the patch (instrument) for that track by using the
instrument patch combo box.

So now that we’ve customized the display, we are seeing the bass and trumpet on the notation, and hearing the entire
track.
Edit Soloist Track is a submenu of editing options.

Import to Soloist Part from MIDI File allows you to import MIDI data from a file (*.MID) into the Soloist track.
Import to Soloist Part from Clipboard allows you to import MIDI data that has been pasted into the clipboard
(e.g., from a sequencer such as PowerTracks).
Record To Soloist Part in the Soloist | Edit Soloist Track submenu records a MIDI part to the Soloist track instead
of recording to the Melody track, so you can record a second Melody track.
Record to Soloist Part From… starts recording at the current location of the highlight cell after playing a two bar
lead-in.
Step Edit Soloist allows you to enter/edit a soloist in step time from the Notation window. This uses an event list.

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Quantize Soloist opens the Quantize Soloist Options dialog. The Humanize Soloist Part… feature is an advanced
version of this function.
Humanize Soloist Part w/Straight Feel / …/Swing Feel. Band-in-a-Box uses intelligent humanization routines,
which can humanize a Soloist from one feel to another, from one tempo to another, and vary the amount of swing in
8th notes (but not randomly). The results are very musical, with natural sounding MIDI solos.
Humanize Soloist Part… opens the Soloist: Quantize to New Tempo or Feel dialog. The humanize effect is
broken down into 5 main categories: Tempo, Lateness, 8th Note Spacing, Legato, and Feel.
Transpose Soloist Part allows you to transpose the Soloist track without affecting the other tracks in the song.
Copy 1st chorus to whole song stretches the Soloist track out over the entire song (i.e. first, last, and middle
choruses).
Kill entire Soloist Part erases the Soloist track and any data that was contained therein.
Kill Soloist Choruses eliminates the Soloist from the First Chorus, Middle Choruses, or Last Chorus as selected
from a list box.
Adjust Level of Soloist Part allows you to increase or decrease the volume (velocity) of the Soloist track without
affecting the other tracks.
Timeshift Soloist Part (ticks) allows you to move the Soloist forward or backwards in small increments relative to
the rest of the song tracks. (Measured in ticks or parts per quarter, PPQ.)
Insert Beat(s) in Soloist Part allows you to insert a blank beat or beats into the song relative to the current time
signature.
Delete Beat(s) from Soloist Part allows you to delete a beat or beats from the song relative to the current time
signature.
Copy to Melody Track in the Soloist | Edit Soloist Track submenu copies the entire contents of the Soloist track to
the Melody Track. Useful for a temporary holding area for your soloist or for bouncing tracks.
Move to Melody Track copies the entire contents of the Soloist track and erases the original data from the Soloist
track, preparing it for a new track or data.
Swap Melody and Soloist Track performs a “double copy/move” so that the data that was in the Soloist track gets
transferred to the Melody track and vice versa. This is also known as track bouncing.
Convert Harmony to Soloist Track… converts a single line Soloist track to include the current harmony selection.
Remove Harmony (or guitar solo) from Soloist Track removes a harmony from a track, providing that the
harmony was put there by Band-in-a-Box in the first place using the Convert Harmony to Soloist Track command.
Generate Guitar Chord Solo opens the Guitar feature dialog for generating a guitar chord solo.
Rechannel to Guitar Display converts channels on a track to channels 11 to 16. Channels 11 to 16 are used by
Band-in-a-Box to indicate strings 1 to 6 of a guitar. It uses the current position marker on the guitar for this
command.

Utilities
There is a Utilities submenu that has utility functions to convert the pitch bend range of a track, or to insert pitch
bend note events.

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Loosen up Start times Loosen up Start Times is a dedicated function to vary the start times of notes on the
Melody or Soloist tracks, with options for what notes to affect (harmony, chords, and amount of variance).

Transpose One Octave DOWN / Transpose One Octave UP transposes the Soloist part one octave in either
direction. This is often useful if the Soloist instrument has been changed. Transposing can be done while the song
plays.
Piano Hand-Split manually splits a piano part on a Melody or Soloist track using the intelligent hand-splitting
routines. The left/right hands display in red/blue on the big piano, and on bass/treble clefs on the notation. Import a
piano MIDI file to the Soloist track to get a split-hands display and printout.

Audio Menu

The Record Audio function is used to Record Audio using a microphone plugged into your sound card or a guitar
(or mixer) plugged into the line-in on your sound card. This launches the Record Audio Dialog and the Record
Audio – Keep Take dialog.

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The next two items, Record Audio and MIDI (Melody) and Record Audio and MIDI (Soloist) refer to the
situation where you want to simultaneously record an audio track (vocals etc.) as well as a MIDI piano part. You
can record the MIDI to the Melody or Soloist track.
The Plugin menu command refers to running a plug-in audio effect. This
applies an audio effect such as Reverb or Chorus to the already recorded
audio part.
Band-in-a-Box comes with a large selection of high quality audio effects
built-in, such as Compressor, Gate, Distortion, Reverb, Echo, Chorus,
Flanger, Ring Mod, Tremolo, Tone Control, Graphic EQ, Parametric EQ,
Gain Change, De-Ess, Auto-Wah, Pitch Shift, Exciter, Enhancer and Hum
Filter. DirectX plug-ins from PG Music and other makers are also
supported.
The plug-ins are fully documented in the online Help.

Edit Audio submenu

Copy 1st chorus to whole song copies the first chorus of audio to the rest of the song.
The Kill entire Audio menu item is used to erase the Audio Track.
Erase Audio Choruses will erase the First Chorus, Middle Choruses, or the Last Chorus as chosen from a list box.
Erase Region of Audio will erase a specified region of bars/beats of audio.
Adjust Output Level of Audio (Quick) uses the Windows mixer to adjust the output level of the audio track. You
can also use the Windows mixer directly by pressing the yellow speaker icon.
Adjust level of region of .WAV file (permanent)… changes the volume of the audio track itself. It uses a
sophisticated peak-limiting algorithm to ensure that increases in the volume do not result in clipping of the sound,
which would be heard as a loud distortion. It accepts units of decibels (dB). Zero means no change in the level,
whereas +6 would be a doubling of the sound, and –6 halves the sound level.
Timeshift Audio (ms)… is used to time shift the whole audio track a certain number of milliseconds. Normally you
wouldn't have to time shift a track at all. There are settings in the Audio-Options Dialog (see below) that can adjust
for synchronization differences between your sound card and MIDI devices (for example, the VSC has a 430ms
latency). But the time shift audio command can be useful in special cases.
Tip: 1000ms = 1 second. Positive values move the audio track ahead, negative values move it back.

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Insert Beat(s) in Audio and Delete Beat(s) from Audio are used to insert, silence, or remove parts of the audio
track. You can specify the region to use. For example, if you decide to add an extra 2 bars to the intro in Band-in-aBox, and you've already recorded an audio track, you should insert 2 bars (8 beats in a 4/4 time signature) into the
audio track as well.
Mute Audio is a toggle switch to mute and unmute the audio track.
Render MIDI to Stereo .WAV file etc… This command launches the dialog that allows you to Render (convert)
the Band-in-a-Box song (with or without an audio track) to a stereo .WAV file.
Burn an Audio CD (using CD-R, CDRW Drive) takes you to the Render to Audio File dialog where you can
launch the built-in MiniBurn program with the [‘Burn’ to Audio CD] button.
Playback Mixer / Playback VU Meter takes you directly to the Windows Playback control to adjust volumes on
your sound card. Note that not all sound devices have VU meters.
Recording Mixer / Recording VU Meter takes you directly to the Windows Recording control to adjust volumes
on your sound card. Note that not all sound devices have VU meters.
Export Audio to Sequencer… gives instructions on how easy it is to use your Band-in-a-Box wave file in any
audio sequencer, like PowerTracks Pro Audio.
Import Audio (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV) will open an audio file in WAV, MP3, Windows Media Player, or CD
Audio format.
Launch Audio Chord Wizard will open the Audio Chord Wizard to analyze chords in an existing Band-in-a-Box
song (that has a WAV file on the audio track).

Audio Chord Wizard Utilities opens a dialog with handy options to
- Make/Remove tempo map in Band-in-a-Box
- Remove audio file from song.
- Auto-set Key signature, with button present in the Audio Chord Wizard.
- Enable/disable the BB MIDI style.

Audio Window launches the audio edit window where the wave file can be viewed and edited.

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Audio Harmonies & Pitch Tracking opens the Generate Audio Harmonies dialog. There are three uses of the
Audio Harmonies in Band-in-a-Box, namely:
- Pitch tracking (fixing) of the melody.
- Harmonizing your voice using Band-in-a-Box harmonies (when a MIDI melody is present).
- Harmonizing your voice to the chords of the song (when no MIDI melody is present).
DXi Synth Settings opens the DirectX Plugins dialog to the Synth Track where you can select a DXi synth and
apply real time effects to its audio output.
Realtime DX Audio Settings opens the DirectX Plugins dialog to the Audio Track where you can apply real time
effects to the Band-in-a-Box audio track.
Audio Drivers/Settings opens the Audio Settings dialog where you can set up audio drivers, for example, select
ASIO drivers if you have them on your system.
Set Audio Master (Base) Tempo is used to insure that tempo stretches are based on correct master tempo.

GM Menu
The GM functions work on MIDI sound devices that
support the GM (General MIDI) standard, which includes
most newer MIDI Keyboards and sound cards.
The GS functions work on instruments that support the
Roland GS specification. This includes the Roland Sound
Canvas, SCC1, and JV-30.
The XG functions work on instruments that support the
Yamaha XG specification.

Roland GS submenu

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Reset Roland GS (Quick) and Reset GS (all ID’s) reset the module to factory settings.
Set Reverb Type or Set Chorus Type (GS Module): Roland GS instruments allow different type of reverb and
chorus settings. These settings boxes allow you to select them.
Assign Part/Channel etc. for GS Module The GS Part settings are for GS compatible synthesizers only. These
synthesizers have 16 parts. The default is for part 1 to be channel 1, part 2 channel 2 etc., but you can change a part
to another channel. This allows you to use the same channel for 2 parts, so that you hear a layer of 2 instruments
playing the same part.
Send MIDI Message submenu

Send General MIDI mode ON, & BB Patches sends a General MIDI mode ON message to the external MIDI
device and the sends the startup Band-in-a-Box patch changes.
Send General MIDI mode ON (no patches) sets the external module to General MIDI mode. This command will
ensure that the module is ready to accept GM-specific MIDI data such as Bank, Controller, and Patch information.
Send GS Mode On Message (Roland) / Send XG Mode On Message (Yamaha): Since the inception of the GM
(General MIDI) standard, there have been two major subsets/extensions of this standard; GS (Roland) and XG
(Yamaha). Therefore, in addition to the GM Mode-on menu item feature there are additional commands to send a
GS mode ON or a XG mode ON message at any time by accessing the GM menu.
Auto-Send GM Mode On at startup sends a “General MIDI mode on” message when the program boots up.
Auto-Send GS Mode On at startup sends a Roland GS system on message when the Band-in-a-Box program
boots up.
Auto-Send XG Mode On at startup sends a Yamaha XG system on message when the Band-in-a-Box program
boots up.
Turn Local OFF / ON (external MIDI keyboard)
“Local” refers to music 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.
When program quits, turn Local ON automatically turns the external MIDI keyboard back on at the end of the
Band-in-a-Box session.
Master Tuning… allows you to master tune your sound card or sound module. This is useful if you're playing
along with an instrument or recording that can't easily be re-tuned like an acoustic piano. A setting of 0 is the
default A = 440.
Note: Not all sound cards/ modules support Master Tuning. To see if your sound card supports Master Tuning, press the
[Test..] button.

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Master (Combo) Volume Adjust submenu

Master Volume uses MIDI messages instead of GS/GM SysEx should be set by all users except if you have a
Roland GS synth, Roland Sound Canvas, or Roland VSC. If set, the Combo settings will allow Master Volume and
other MIDI settings to work. This submenu allows you to set whether to use Roland - GS or General MIDI for
Master Volume messages. Unless you have a Roland you should select General MIDI.
If you want to “turn it all up or down,” this can be done quickly with menu commands or hot keys to set the Master
Volume. There are also hot keys that control the overall volume by reducing (or increasing) volumes on all parts by
5 to simulate a Master Volume effect (especially useful for sound cards that don't support Master Volume changes).
These items also have hot keys as listed on the menu (Ctrl+Alt+Shift Q, W, and E). Commands and hot keys are
also provided to change the volume of the current part only.
Set Panning to MONO sets the panning of your Band-in-a-Box parts (Bass, Drums, Piano, etc.) to mono.
Set Panning Mode to Stereo sets the panning of your Band-in-a-Box parts (Bass, Drums, Piano, etc.) to a typical
stereo setup, which is saved with the preferences.
Run Other Program submenu

Sound card Volume / Playback VU Meter launches the Windows mixer to adjust volumes on your sound card
with the Playback panel.
Sound card Recording / Recording VU Meter launches the Windows Mixer to adjust volumes on your sound card
with the Recording panel.
Note: This uses the c:\windows\sndvol32.exe Mixer program. You may need to have the Windows 98 version of this
program for the Recording Panel to open properly. If you don't, you'd see the “Volume Control” panel and will have to
manually set it to the Recording Panel (by choosing Options | Properties | Recording).

SoundBlaster AWE Control Panel applies only to users with a SoundBlaster. This function launches the “AWE
Control” application.
SoundBlaster Mixer is also for Sound Blaster users only, and launches the mixer for volumes.
Run Windows Control Panel… runs the Windows Control Panel, which lets you examine MIDI and Audio
settings in the Multimedia, Add New Hardware, and System panels.

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Run Other Application… and Choose [Other Application…] allows you to specify and run any other application
(mixer application, PowerTracks etc.).
Run DLL or &EXE plugin… and Choose DLL or EXE PlugIn… allows you to run a plug-in that has been made
specifically for a PG Music product.
Convert Patch list from PowerTracks or Cakewalk…
This will let you convert a PowerTracks Pro Audio .INI file or a Cakewalk .INS file to a Band-in-a-Box .PAT file.

Harmony Menu

Melody Harmony (select)…
This option brings up the complete Harmony styles list, and allows you to choose one for the current Melody track.
Thru Harmony (select)…
This option brings up the complete Harmony styles list, and allows you to choose one for the current Thru track.
Favorite Melody Harmonies
This option brings up your favorite 50 Harmony styles (based on recent usage) and allows you to choose one to use
on the Melody track.
Favorite Thru Harmonies
This option brings up your favorite 50 Harmony styles (based on recent usage) and allows you to choose one to use
on the Thru track.
Start a New Harmonies File
Allows you to make and edit Harmony styles saved under your own filename.
Edit a Harmonies File
Allows you to edit a Harmony file that is in your \bb directory.
Edit Current Harmonies File
Allows you to edit the Harmony file that is currently loaded on your system.
OK to Load Harmonies With Songs
Toggle this option “On” if you want to load any harmony settings that were saved/embedded in a given song.

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Save Harmony with this song
Toggle this option “On” to allow Band-in-a-Box to embed the harmony settings for the current song so that they
may be recalled automatically at a later time.
Change Harmony with new chord
Toggle this option “On” to allow the program to vary the harmony characteristics (i.e. inversions) each time a new
chord is encountered in the song.
Allow Melody Harmony
Toggle this option “On” to allow harmonies on the Melody MIDI channels.
Allow Thru Harmony
Toggle this option “On” to allow harmonies on the Thru MIDI channels.
Allow Soloist Harmony (on THRU Harmony)
Toggle this option “On” to allow the Thru MIDI channels to utilize the harmony features for the Soloist track.
Convert Harmony to Melody Track…
Converts a single line Melody track to include the current harmony selection, with options to convert the whole song
or specify a range of bars, to eliminate note overlaps, and loosen note start times.
Convert Harmony to Soloist Track…
This converts a single line Soloist track to include the current harmony selection (On the Thru harmony), with
options to convert the whole song or specify a range of bars, to eliminate note overlaps, and loosen note start times.
Use Passing Harmonies for THRU
When playing along on a MIDI keyboard (or the Wizard) using a Thru harmony, you can use passing harmonies.
For example, on a C7 chord, with an Ab note, the harmony might be a B diminished chord, which is a passing
harmony.
Only THRU Harmonize if note held down = 36 (C3)
By setting this option you can specify to only harmonize the note if a certain note is held down. (The default note is
a C two octaves below middle C.)
Real Time Harmonies
This feature allows you to play harmonies in real time. Use this with your MIDI keyboard (while Band-in-a-Box is
stopped). Hold a chord down with the left hand and play notes with the right hand. The notes will be harmonized
according to the chord that you're playing in the left hand.
Audio Harmonies & Pitch Tracking
You can apply a harmony to the audio part – allowing you to automatically create up to 4 part vocal harmonies from
your singing. The Choir Effect can create up to sixteen voices.
Band-in-a-Box generates the harmonies using the world-leading TC-Helicon Vocal Technologies engine. Once you
have recorded a vocal part into Band-in-a-Box, you can use this feature in many ways, including:
- Pitch tracking (fixing) of the melody.
- Harmonizing your voice using Band-in-a-Box harmonies (when a MIDI melody is present).
- Harmonizing your voice to the chords of the song (when no MIDI melody is present), including unison voices.

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Notation Menu

Notation/edit/note roll mode moves the notation window through its various entry modes.
Print... brings up the print dialog box.
Note Insert mode
Toggling this to “on” allows you to insert notes graphically with your mouse or keyboard on the notation window.
Mono Entry Mode
Toggle this “on” if you are inserting single notes (not chords) on the notation window.
Clean Display Mode
Toggle this “on” if you want notes displayed on your notation window in a quantized view (does not affect song
playback).
Event List Editor
This opens the Event List window. You can edit events including all MIDI events and lyric events using the Event
List Editor. You can edit the Melody, Soloist, Lyrics, or StyleMaker patterns using this event list. The information
in the Event List is color coded by channels for multi-channel Melody and Soloist tracks.
The event list can also be launched from the Notation window by pressing the event list button (#).
Play Previous Screen
Backs the song up four bars.
Play Next Screen
Moves the song to the next four bars.
Instrument Displayed
Since there is not enough room on the screen to display the notation for all instruments, only one is displayed at a
time. You can choose which one you want to display from this menu option or with the instrument buttons on the
Notation window.
Switch to Next Track / Switch to Previous Track
Select parts from left to right in the Instrument row buttons.

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Window Menu

Notation (or chords) Window toggles between the notation and the chord sheet views.
Movable Notation Window opens a movable and resizable notation window.
Lead Sheet Window launches the lead sheet notation.
Big Lyrics Window launches a window that displays lyrics in a Karaoke format.
Lyric Document Window displays a full screen of formatted lyrics. Easily copy and paste lyrics to and from your
favorite word processor.
Show Karaoke Window and load Karaoke MP3/CDG files to see scrolling Karaoke lyrics in the CDG window.
Big Piano Window launches a window that displays a Big Piano.
Drum Kit Window launches the animated Drum Kit. Once launched, press [Help] to get more information about
the Drum Kit.
Guitar Window launches an on-screen Guitar.
The Audio Edit Window allows you to edit audio data, using copy, cut, and paste. You can zoom the audio in to
the sample level so that you can see the actual sine waves present.

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Moveable Audio Edit Window opens the regular Audio Edit Window but lets you reposition it on the screen.
Piano Roll Window launches the Piano Roll window where you can edit the Melody or Soloist track in a traditional
piano roll format.
Moveable Piano Roll Window opens the regular Piano Roll window, but lets you move and reposition it on the
screen.
Put Notation/Chords on Top moves the notation window to the top of the main screen and moves the piano roll at
the bottom of the main screen.
The MIDI Monitor, Guitar Tuner, and AWE Editor items launch the selected module. Each one has extensive
help available inside the module. There are also buttons available for these items.
Chord Substitution Dialog (choose your own)
This allows you to see a list of possible chord substitutions for the current chord progression. You can also access it
from a right mouse click on the chord sheet, and by pressing the Chord Substitution button.
Auto-Generate Chord Substitutions…
This will automatically pick chord substitutions for all or part of the song.
Chord Reharmonist Dialog (choose your own) shows you the current bar in the song with a list of suggested
chord progressions for the current melody, based on the melody and genre that you choose.
Auto-Generate Chord Reharmonization generates an entirely new chord progression for a complete song or a
portion of a song. Selecting this menu option opens the Reharmonist dialog.
Generate Soundtrack launches the SoundTrack feature, which 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 Audio), or MP3 file.
Ear Training Window
You can practice your ear training with help from Band-in-a-Box. In addition to the common interval exercises
(perfect 4th, minor 2nd, etc.), learning to play-by-ear for Jazz and Pop music is further enhanced by ear training
exercises to recognize common chord types (e.g., Major, Minor, Dominant, etc.)
You’ll also see buttons that launch musical games for fun while you train your ear.
Pitch Invasion helps to develop perfect pitch as you shoot down “alien” notes
invading from above (you hear the note sound, and click on the on-screen
Piano, MIDI or QWERTY keyboard to shoot them down).
Music Replay develops your pitch, rhythm, and melody recognition by replaying what
the program plays in note, rhythm, or melodic modes.
Vocal Wizard selects and transposes the song to the best key for the singer’s vocal range.
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.

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Chord Builder submenu

Chord Builder… Allows you to build up chords using mouse clicks.
Play Current Chord Sheet Chord This function plays the current chord on the chord sheet. It is most commonly
accessed by pressing Shift+Enter on the chord sheet.
MIDI Chord Detection…
This Window menu command brings up a submenu for entering chords from a keyboard.

Select MIDI Chord Detection… and play any chord on your MIDI keyboard. Band-in-a-Box will then provide you
with up to 4 interpretations of the chord you played, with its best suggestion at the top and alternates below.

Choose the chord you want to have pasted into your song by clicking the appropriate [Enter] button beside the chord
name. You can insert up to two chords per bar in this fashion, and move backwards and forwards in a song with the
[<] [>] buttons in the top right section of the dialog.
Tip: You can also insert chords this way without opening up this dialog. Just press Ctrl+Enter keys at any time to insert the
last chord that you've played on your MIDI keyboard onto the worksheet.

Conductor Window
As the song is playing, many “single key” hot keys are available to control the playback and looping of the song.
For example, pressing the “4” key will insure that the middle chorus is the next one played, and pressing the “S” key
will insure that the middle section is looped. This would be useful to extend a song that has the last chorus playing.
Custom loop points can also be set for each song.
These settings are ideal for live performance, or “jam sessions” where you aren’t entering new Band-in-a-Box
songs, but want full control of the playback. These loops happen seamlessly at the end of the chorus, so are suitable
for the “dance floor.” In addition, you can control Band-in-a-Box from a standard MIDI keyboard, pressing MIDI
keys corresponds to program functions. For example, load the next song, play/pause/tempo adjust/change thru
patch/jump to middle choruses/open the notation or lead sheet window – all from your MIDI keyboard!

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Help Menu

Index
Lists all of the Help topics. Type in a keyword under the “Index” tab to go to the topic you want.
Topic Search

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Opens the Help file where you can search the Table of Contents or the Index, or use the Search feature to find your
topic.
Using help
Has Windows tips for using Help files.
How to…
Opens a categorized list of topics. It’s a fast way to find out about a particular feature or operation.
Basics
Goes directly to the “Basics” introduction to Band-in-a-Box.
Tutorials
Provide detailed, step-by-step instructions for Band-in-a-Box.
Show help hints

Band-in-a-Box has comprehensive fly-by hints that appear when you move over an item. These include hints for the
dialog boxes and various windows. You can set the hints to display none, basic, or detailed information.
Update, Add/On and other Product info
Other Band-in-a-Box add-ons, PG Music Inc. products, and contact information.
ReadMe (for Latest info not in manual) documents the latest features, plus an archive of earlier updates.
Newest Features describes the new features in the current version.
Tip of the Day
Power user tips. This feature can be set to run automatically when Band-in-a-Box opens. If you want to add your
own tips, you can edit the BBW.TIP file. Just put a tip on a single line (no carriage return till the end of the tip).
Tips are limited to 255 characters per tip. Band-in-a-Box automatically compiles the BBW.TIP file at startup of the
program to a binary file called BBW.TPB.
What add-ons do I have?…
One of the greatest strengths of Band-in-a-Box is the ability to add-on and enhance the program through add-on
Styles, Soloist, and Melodist disks. The “What Add-ons” feature in the Help menu scans your computer's Band-ina-Box directory and displays what add-ons are and aren't found. To see the latest add-ons click on the
[www.pgmusic.com/addons.htm] button to go directly to the add-ons page on the PG Music Inc. web site.
Display Program Manual
This opens a .pdf file of the full Band-in-a-Box manual in Acrobat Reader. Follow the bookmarks to find specific
topics.
Display Program UPGRADE Manual
This will open a .pdf of the upgrade manual for this particular version of Band-in-a-Box, which may include new
documentation not yet added to the full manual. The upgrade manual is often a more convenient way to reference
the new features in Band-in-a-Box without looking through the full manual.
Web www.pgmusic.com
Links to some important pages on the PG Music Inc. web site. Selecting one of these topics will automatically
launch your Web Browser, and direct you to the PG Music web site.

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About Band-in-a-Box launches a dialog with key information such as the version number you are running and
computer system information.

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493

Keystroke Commands - Hot Keys
It’s often faster to use keystrokes instead of using the mouse. For example, there are keystroke “hot keys” to mute
instruments or to adjust volume, panning, reverb, chorus, or bank of instruments.

Muting Parts
Alt+3

Mutes the Bass

Alt+4

Mutes the Piano

Alt+5

Mutes the Drums

Alt+6

Mutes the Guitar

Alt+7

Mutes the Soloist

Alt+8

Mutes the Strings

Alt+9

Mutes the Melody

Selecting Parts
Ctrl+3

Selects the Bass

Ctrl+4

Selects the Piano

Ctrl+5

Selects the Drums

Ctrl+6

Selects the Guitar

Ctrl+7

Selects the Soloist

Ctrl+8

Selects the Strings

Ctrl+9

Selects the Melody

Instrument Part Settings
Hold down Ctrl+Shift and the letter to change these instrument settings.
Q,W

Decrease/Increase Volume

E,R

Decrease/Increase Panning

T,Y

Decrease/Increase Reverb

U,I

Decrease/Increase Chorus

O,P

Decrease/Increase Bank

Use Ctrl+Shift together with the 1-9 and 0 keys on the keyboard to select Favorite Instruments. For example, let’s
change the Piano part to Rhodes Piano.
1.

Press Ctrl+4 to select the Piano part.

Press Ctrl+Shift+2 to select the Favorite #2. That is Rhodes Piano.

Use Ctrl+Shift and the [-] and [=] keys to decrease/increase the patch by 1.

Volume Settings
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R

Set current part’s volume.

Ctrl+Alt+A

Decrease master volume by 5.

Ctrl+Alt+S

Increase master volume by 5.

Ctrl+Alt+D

Set master volume.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift Q

Reduce all part volumes by 5.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift W

Increase all part volumes by 5.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift E

Set all part volumes.

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Looping / Song Navigation Keystrokes
NUMPAD 1

Toggle looping on/off.

NUMPAD 2

Open Loop Section Settings dialog.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 1

Play with last chorus looped.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 2

Play with middle choruses looped.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 3

Play with middle and last choruses looped.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 4

Jump to last chorus.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 5

Jump to ending.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 7

Loop Notation screen.

NUMPAD [DEL]

Advances the notation, lead sheet, and guitar window by one chord (group of notes).

NUMPAD [INS]

Backs up the notation, lead sheet, and guitar window by one chord.

Transpose Settings
Ctrl+Alt+1

Transpose Melody down one octave

Ctrl+Alt+2

Transpose Melody up one octave

Ctrl+Alt+3

Transpose Soloist down one octave

Ctrl+Alt+4

Transpose Soloist up one octave

Ctrl+Alt+5

Transpose down 1 semitone.

Ctrl+Alt+6

Transpose up 1 semitone.

Ctrl+Alt+7

Transpose setting dialog.

Custom File Open Dialog
Ctrl+Shift+F3

Load song with custom file dialog.

Alt+F

In custom file dialog - Favorite Folders.

Alt+N

In custom file dialog - Font selection.

Alt+S

In custom file dialog - Search dialog.

Windows
Ctrl+W

Toggle Notation and Chord Sheet windows.

Ctrl+O

Movable Notation window.

Alt+W

Lead Sheet window.

Ctrl+T

Put Notation/Chords at top of screen.

Ctrl+Shift+A

Audio Edit window.

Ctrl+Shift+D

Drum Kit window.

Ctrl+Shift+G

Guitar window.

Ctrl+Shift+J

Ear training window.

Ctrl+Shift+L

Big Lyrics window.

Ctrl+Shift+N

Big Piano window.

StyleMaker Hot Keys
F1, Shift+F1, Ctrl+F1

Help

Save style

Alt+F2

Save style as ...

R or F3

Record pattern

or F4

Play pattern

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495

Play pattern on chord

F10

Edit pattern options

F6 or Shift+F6

Change instrument

Cursor Keys

Move around screen

Alt+F4

Quit the StyleMaker

StyleMaker Drum Screen Hot Keys
F5

Drum alternate notes

Bottom row (ZXCVBNM,. /)

Drum note entry

Time base

F10 or Alt+F4

Exit

Additional Keystrokes
There are additional keystrokes available, listed on the pull down menus beside the function. Hot keys may access
any function on the pull-down menu by pressing the Alt key and the first letter of the Menu followed by the
underlined letter of the command. For example, Alt+F+O would access File | Open.
Note: It is necessary to tap the spacebar twice on the main screen to start playback because entering chords can include a
single spacebar. In the StyleMaker, you start songs by hitting the spacebar once. In the Opt. | Preferences menus, there
are other ways that the SPACEBAR can be set to work.

Playing songs.

Spacebar twice or F4

Stopping songs.

Spacebar or Esc

Help.

F1, Shift+F1, Ctrl+F1

Record (melody or pattern).

Record from any bar.

Jukebox start/stop.

Save song.

Save song with patches.

Alt+F2

Load song.

Load song using favorite song list.

Shift+F3

Load song using titles window.

Ctrl+F3

Load songs with melodies.

Alt+F3

Load song with standard long file dialog.

Alt+Shift+F3

Load next file (alphabetical by file name).

Shift+F8

Load previous (alphabetical by file name).

Ctrl+Shift+F8

Load next style. (in alphabetical order).

Alt+Shift+F8

Load previous style. (in alphabetical order).

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F8

Enable/disable style.

Alt+S then E

Launch MIDI File to Style Wizard.

Alt+S then W

Load songs in current style.

Choose a user style.

Open StylePicker.

Ctrl+F9

Select favorite styles.

Shift+F9

Edit user style.

Alt+F9

Edit current style.

Ctrl+Shift+F9

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Select Melody Harmony

Alt+F10

Favorite Melody Harmonies

Ctrl+F10

Allow Melody Harmony

Shift+F10

Select Thru Harmony

Alt+F11

Favorite Thru Harmonies

Ctrl+F11

Allow Thru Harmony

Shift+F11

Turn song Embellisher on/off.

Ctrl+Alt+E

Import chords from MIDI file.

Ctrl+Alt+I

Send GM mode on message.

Ctrl+Alt+Q

Set tempo.

Ctrl+Alt+T

Open the Preferences dialog.

Ctrl+E

Open the Song Settings dialog.

Ctrl+N

Launch Chord Builder.

Ctrl+Shift+B

Edit current bar options.

Save MIDI file.

Quit the program.

Alt+F4

Chord List
Commonly used chords are displayed here in bold type.
These chords are displayed in a list in the Chord Builder Dialog, accessible from the User Menu or by right clicking
on the chord sheet.
Major Chords
C, Cmaj, C6, Cmaj7, Cmaj9, Cmaj13, C69, Cmaj7#5, C5b, Caug, C+, Cmaj9#11, Cmaj13#11
Minor Chords
Cm, Cm6, Cm7, Cm9, Cm11, Cm13, Cmaug, Cm#5, CmMaj7
(half diminished)
Cm7b5,
Diminished
Cdim
Dominant 7th Chords
C7, 7+, C9+, C13+, C13, C7b13, C7#11, C13#11, C7#11b13, C9,
C9b13, C9#11, C13#11, C9#11b13, C7b9, C13b9, C7b9b13, C7b9#11,
C13b9#11, C7b9#11b13, C7#9, C13#9, C7#9b13, C9#11, C13#9#11, C7#9#11b13
C7b5, C13b5, C7b5b13, C9b5, C9b5b13, C7b5b9, C13b5b9, C7b5b9b13,
C7b5#9, C13b5#9, C7b5#9b13, C7#5, C13#5, C7#5#11, C13#5#11, C9#5,
C9#5#11, C7#5b9, C13#5b9, C7#5b9#11, C13#5b9#11, C7#5#9, C13#5#9#11,
C7#5#9#11, C13#5#9#11
Sustained 4 Chords
Csus, C7sus, C9sus,
C13sus, C7susb13, C7sus#11, C13sus#11, C7sus#11b13, C9susb13, C9sus#11, C13sus#11, C9sus#11b13, C7susb9,
C13susb9, C7susb9b13, C7susb9#11,
C13susb9#11, C7susb9#11b13, C7sus#9, C13sus#9, C7sus#9b13, C9sus#11, C13sus#9#11, C7sus#9#11b13,

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C7susb5, C13susb5, C7susb5b13, C9susb5, C9susb5b13, C7susb5b9,
C13susb5b9, C7susb5b9b13, C7susb5#9, C13susb5#9, C7susb5#9b13,
C7sus#5, C13sus#5, C7sus#5#11, C13sus#5#11, C9sus#5, C9sus#5#11, C7sus#5b9, C13sus#5b9, C7sus#5b9#11,
C13sus#5b9#11, C7sus#5#9, C13sus#5#9#11, C7sus#5#9#11, C13sus#5#9#11,
Notes:
-

It is not necessary to type upper or lower case. The program will sort this out for you.

Any chord may be entered with an alternate root (“Slash Chord”) e.g.: C7/E = C7 with E bass.

Separate chords with commas to enter 2 chords in a 2 beat cell, e.g., Dm,G7

Tricky Chords:
C5b This is “C flat 5.” It is spelled this way to avoid confusion.
C2, C5, C4, C69, C7alt, Cm7#5
You can type C-7 for Cm7 (i.e. use the minus sign) or C7-9 for C7b9.
Shortcut Chords:
If you enter a lot of songs, you'll appreciate these shortcut keys.
J = Maj7
H = m7b5

(H stands for Half diminished)

D = dim
S = Sus
Example: To type CMaj7, just type CJ (it will be entered as CMaj7)
Add your own chord shortcuts.
Have you found a chord that Band-in-a-Box doesn't recognize? If so, add it to your chord shortcuts file, and Bandin-a-Box will allow you to type in that chord in the future. This also lets you define chord “shortcuts,” one-letter
abbreviations for longer chord names (“J” for “Maj7” etc.). If you find a chord that Band-in-a-Box won't accept like
Csus2, when it expects C2 instead you can enter this on a single line (without the quotes) “Csus2@C2.” Then
Band-in-a-Box will enter the chord C2 if you type in Csus 2.
The text file c:\bb\Shortcut.txt allows you to add new chord shortcuts. Note that this file doesn't ship with Band-ina-Box (or it would overwrite your file!). The file \bb\pgshortc.txt for shortcuts supplied by PG Music. You can add
your own shortcuts in a text file you make yourself and name \bb\shortcut.txt.

Band-in-a-Box files
Essential Program Files
Band-in-a-Box for Windows requires the following files to operate.
BBWDLL16.DLL

DLL handling playback.

BBW.EXE

Executable file.

BBW.LST

This is the text file for the Style List information.

BBWRES.DLL

DLL required for some graphics.

CPALETTE.DLL

Required DLL.

DEFAULT.HAR

These are the default Harmonies.

DEFAULT.GIT

The default Guitarists.

DEFAULT.MEL

The default Melodists.

DEFAULT.SOL

The default Soloists.

GP5.DLL

Required DLL.

PGCHORDS.TTF

PG Music chord font.

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PGJAZZ_.TTF

PG Music Jazz font.

PGMUS.TTF

PG Music notation font.

PGTEXT.TTF

PG Music text font.

ZZ*.STY

Band-in-a-Box needs Style Files for the built-in Styles.

A_PGMUSIC.DS

Lists the RealDrums styles to use.

Transferring Files Among Computer Platforms (IBM to Mac)
Many of the Band-in-a-Box song/style and patch map files are directly compatible. Any Macintosh file
automatically gets a 128-byte header added on to it by the Macintosh system.
If transferring the files by modem, make sure the Macintosh modem software strips off the header off the files.
Other than that, the files are identical.
Note: Atari files are the same format as IBM files; no conversion is needed.

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PG Music Inc.

Band-in-a-Box

is protected by copyright and is the property of
PG Music Inc. and its licensors.
Copyright © 1989-2008 PG Music Inc.
All rights reserved.
PG MUSIC INC.
29 Cadillac Avenue
Victoria, BC V8Z 1T3
Canada
Contacts:
E-mail: info@pgmusic.com
Phone: toll free in the United States and Canada
1-800-268-6272, 1-888-PG-MUSIC (746-8742),
Or 1-250-475-2874 (tolls apply)
Universal International Freephone Service:
Outside of the United States and Canada (where available).
+ 800-4PGMUSIC (800-4746-8742)
Fax: toll free in the United States and Canada
1-877-475-1444,
Or 1-250-475-2937 (tolls apply)
Technical Support:
Phone: toll free in the United States and Canada
1-866-9TECHPG (866-983-2474),
Or 1-250-475-2708 (tolls apply)
E-mail: support@pgmusic.com
Live Internet Chat: www.pgmusic.com
Be sure to visit the FAQ pages at www.pgmusic.com for information about known troubleshooting issues as well as the
latest technical support bulletins.

500

PG Music Inc.

Index
1st/2nd Endings, 392, 393, 394

more features, 103, 356

A2 Transpose, 217

notes display, 363

Alias substitutions, 427

settings, 355

Alternate Guitar Tunings, 87

special cases, 359

Guitar Tutor, 89

drastic tempo changes, 362

selecting, 88

odd length bars, 362

ASIO, 14

zoom, 363

control panel, 15, 454

Audio Features

driver dialog, 14, 453

Applying Plugins, 265

resampler, 15, 454

Audio Harmonies, 104

audible drum count-in, 438

harmonize to chords, 262

Audio, 252, 258

harmonize to MIDI, 259

Burn to CD, 108

melody pitch tracking, 261

compressing WAV, 280

Audio Harmony Pitch Styles, 261, 263

effects, 265

Audio Menu, 479

enhancements, 258

Edit Audio, 480

harmonies, 259

plug-ins, 480

import wave, 64, 252

Audio Playback, 253

label, 252

Audio Rendering

non-destructive editing, 258

batch convert, 276

offset, 254

direct to MP3, 277

other audio programs, 280

Auto Song Memo, 50, 424

other formats, 280

Auto-endings, 319, 390

playing audio file, 257

Automatic Intro, 219

plug-ins, 265

Automatic Song Titles, 219

punch-in, 256

Band-in-a-Box 2008, 23

Rendering, 279

Banks

settings dialog, 252

higher, 42

stereo, 456

Big Lyrics window

TC-Helicon, 259

chords above, 202

VU meters, 255

options, 202

Audio Chord Wizard, 355

Big Piano Window, 90

chord detection, 358

Breaks, 151

chord sheet, 355

Burn CD, 108

chords from MP3, 102, 355

controls, 357

Finalized, 281

errors, 358

CD Burner, 108

fine tuning, 360

Changing Directories, 46

key signature, 360

Channels

Index

501

Setting, 443

Conductor window, 168

Chord

customize sections, 170

Copy and Paste, 127

MIDI keys, 169

Entry, 113

mode, 171

Extensions, 374, 375

patch changes, 169

Outputting to external device, 164

QWERTY keys, 169

preview, 117

uses, 171

shortcuts, 51, 498

Convert patch lists

Tutor, 374

Cakewalk to BB, 125

Chord Breaks, 387

PowerTracks to BB, 124

Chord Builder, 385

enter chords, 385

custom file selection, 112

Chord Entry, 51

Descriptive hints, 110

Chord List, 497

Digitech Vocalist, 163

Chord Substitution

DirectX Plug-Ins

example, 384

PG Real Time Analyzer, 412

Chord Wizard

Display Options, 40

3-steps, 369

Drum

chord options, 368

Fills, 51, 119, 152

import bars, 370

Window, 403

interpret chords dialog, 366

Drums

tutorial, 366

count-in, 438

Chordal Harmony, 262

DXi, 9

Chords

select synth, 10

copy and paste, 96

Ear Training Tutor, 372

delete, 116

Ear-training games, 376

entering, 17

Editable Notation

fold, 422

Window, 175

nudge, 118

Embellisher, 64, 101, 237

search/replace, 118

button, 234

Chordsheet, 17, 51

disable, 234

chord entry, 51

enable, 234

Chorus

memo, 237

Begin & End, 49

settings, 235

Chorus Control, 49

settings dialog, 235

Clefs, 206

Embellishment

Clipboard, 127, 244, 420

Song, 156

Coda, 393

External Devices, 163

Color Schemes

Factory reset, 428

Changing, 41, 445

Fake Sheet, 195

Combos

Fake Sheet Mode, 394

Favorite, 449

502

Fakebook, 204, 205

Index

Favorite

Guitar Tutor
alternate tunings, 386

Combos, 449
Styles, 146, 149

chord tutor, 385

Favorite song folders, 112

Guitar Window Toolbar, 90

Favorite Songs, 93

Guitarist

File Associations, 111

Dialog, 231

file selection

Harmonize to Chords, 262
Harmonize to MIDI Melody, 259

no extension, 112
Files

Harmony, 43, 66

essential, 498

creating, 342

transferring to Mac, 499

octave
doubling, 342

filter styles, 141
Find File, 396

selecting, 43

Forced Rests, 177

test chord, 343

form markers, 393

velocity boost, 343

Fourths Harmonies, 345

Harmony Menu, 485

General MIDI 2, 125

Held chords
options, 151

Global overrides, 113, 459
GM Menu, 482

Help Menu, 491

Master Volume Adjust, 484

show hints, 492
Humanize

Roland GS, 482
run other program, 484

Melody and Solo, 246

Send MIDI message, 483

Hybrid Styles, 314

GM2, 125

Import song, 244

bank settings, 126

Installation, 8

patches, 126

Instrument Panel, 42

Roland VSC3, 125

Intelligent Guitar
Parts, 302

settings, 13, 125
GM2 button, 126

Style, 303

Graphics File, 209

Interval Tutor, 373

Guitar

Intros, 98

Controller, 441

Inversions, 303

enhancements, 87

Jazz Chord Symbol Graphics, 185

Macros, 304

chordsheet, 185

pitch bends on fretboard, 87

lead sheet, 185

Styles, 302

notation, 185
Jukebox, 92, 166

Comping, 386

options, 91, 165

Guitar Macros
strummed chords, 305

K Quick Copy, 128
Karaoke MP3/CDG, 203

Guitar Style
options, 305

Key Signature, 49

override, 305

Keyboard

Index

503

display, 42

settings, 61, 121

Keystroke List, 494

Looping

Kill

keystroke commands, 122

Intro, 218

Screen, 174

Melodist, 218

Song, 50

Soloist, 218

looping status, 122

Latency

Lyrics, 201

soft synth adjust, 12

document window, 202

understanding latency, 16

Event List, 199

Lead sheet

line-based lyrics, 468

Options, 193

Menu, 198, 200

Lead Sheet, 206

Notebased Lyrics, 199

Fake Sheet Mode, 195

Lyrics enhancements

memo, 196

Karaoke file lyrics, 203

show title, 193

MIDI file lyrics, 203

text block, 197

multiple lines, 82

Lead sheet options

Lyrics Menu, 200, 467

convert harmony, 194

line-based lyrics, 201, 468

Harmony display, 194

Lyrics options, 202

Lead Sheet options

Main Chordsheet

Harmony volume, 195

font size, 40

print harmony, 198

number of rows, 40

License, 2

select font, 40

Linear View, 394

Main screen

load next style, 97, 138, 427

new menu items, 102

load previous style, 97, 138, 427

Main Screen

colors, 41

Songs, 20

layout, 39

Styles, 146, 149

options, 39

Local OFF, 483

overview, 39

Local ON, 483

status messages, 41

long file names, 112

Master Tuning, 400

Loop button, 121

Master Volume, 484

Loop Button, 61

Medley Maker, 61, 164, 214

Loop Keystroke Commands, 122

how to, 165, 214

Loop region, 52, 121

open, 61, 164, 214

Loop Section, 60

Melodies

button, 61, 121

Recording, 238

checkbox, 61, 121

Melodist, 215

enable, 61, 121

64 Bar Form, 217

looping status, 122

A2 Transpose, 217

Presets, 121

Allow Style Changes, 217

504

Index

Auto-Tempo, 217

MIDI drivers

genres, 94, 216

wizard, 9

Go To #, 218

MIDI drivers, 8

Insert Bass Pedals, 217

MIDI File

Jukebox, 218

Karaoke, 160

Kill Intro, 218

MIDI File Chord Wizard, 365

Kill Melody, 218

MIDI File to Style Wizard, 387

Kill Soloist, 218

MIDI Keyboard Wizard, 58, 240

Memo, 218

MIDI normalize, 60, 167, 436

Number of Choruses, 217

Minimize Rests, 177

Replace Thru Form, 217

MultiStyles

Solo in Middle Choruses, 217

+ styles, 139

Song Form, 217

in songs, 59, 140

Tempo, 217

making, 139

Write To Track, 218

Music Replay, 377

Melodist Maker, 349

Mute All, 60, 127

choose unusual chord progressions, 350

New features

Melody

embellisher selective humanize, 235

edit track, 246, 406

New Features, 23

Melody Embellisher

Not’n Menu, 487

selective humanization, 64

Notation

Melody Menu

channel numbers, 184

Quantize Melody Options, 471

courtesy brackets, 177

track type, 469

editable, 175

Utilities, 473

enhancements, 81, 192

Melody Pitch Tracking, 261

event list filter, 247, 407

Memo, 50

highlighting, 81

Metronome

insert bends, 178

visual metronome, 120

lyric breaks, 199

MGU files, 157

Lyrics, 198

MIDI

multi-color event list, 247, 406

Channels

Options, 182

Setting, 443

rests, 177

Files, 177

Roman Numeral, 117

Standard, 244

scrub mode, 191

Keyboard, 490

section text, 190

Local On, 441

settings, 187

Note Offs, 442

staff roll, 181

Sync, 442

standard, 174

Thru, 386

Style button, 208

Controllers, 441

time signature changes, 134, 423

Setting, 441

title font, 184, 185

Index

505

toolbar buttons, 173

graphic event panel, 75, 251

Transposing, 186

horizontal scroll bar, 80

Note

insert events, 78, 250

duration, 177

keyboard pitch panel, 74

edit, 180

note editing, 77

mouse edit, 181

note panel, 74, 249

Names, 184

note selection, 74, 249

Offs, 442

note time ruler, 76

Nudge, 118

right-click contextual menu, 78

Octave, 343, 443

track selection, 74

Overdubbing, 238

vertical scroll bar, 80

Panic Button, 46

window, 73, 249

Panning, 443

zoom button, 80

Parameters, 246

Pitch Invasion, 376

Song, 158

Pitch Styles, 261, 263

Part Markers, 51, 119, 152

presets, 264

drum fills, 153

Pixel, 209

Part Settings, 42

Play Menu, 465

Patch list converter

looping, 466

Cakewalk to BB, 125

step advance, 465

PowerTracks to BB, 124

tempo, 466

Patches

PowerTracks, 303

Allowing, 442

Practice Window, 371

Patents, 2

chord breaks, 387

PG Music Inc., 500

launching, 371, 463

PG RTA plug-in, 412

practice folders, 372

PG Vinyl plug-in, 408

Preferences

PG Vocal Remover

Arrangement Options, 435

operating principle, 413

Audio Settings, 453

reverb reduction, 413

Big Piano Settings, 457

PG Vocal Remover plug-in, 413

buttons, 433

Piano Hand-Split, 188

Color Selection, 445

manual, 230

Count-in and Metronome Options, 437

Piano roll

Display Options, 433

enhancements, 74, 80

Drum Kit, 446

eraser tool, 77, 251

Favorite Instruments, 449

graphic editing modes, 78, 250

General MIDI Patch Edit, 446

Piano Roll

Guitar Settings, 456

chord ruler, 76

Harmony Channels and Settings, 443

delete events, 78, 251

keystroke options, 432

edit events, 78, 250

Lead Sheet Options, 452

event selection, 75, 251

Lyric Window Options, 457

506

Index

MIDI Driver Setup, 439

settings dialog, 273

MIDI File Options, 438

using in solos, 273

MIDI Options, 441

using in styles, 272

MIDI Settings, 442

Recording

More Soloist and Melodist Settings, 444

manual note entry, 239

Notation Window Options, 451

Melodies, 238

Output Chords on Channel, 450

real time, 238

Practice Window, 463

Wizard, 240

Print Options, 458

ReFresh Soloist, 228

RealDrums, 460

Registration Form, 511

Record Filter, 451

Reharmonist, 380

text hints, 432

new progression, 380

Transpose THRU Part, 450

reharmonizing, 381

TranzPort, 462

Reharmonizing, 382

Print voice, 198

Render Audio

Printing

batch convert, 276

Chords Only, 210

direct to MP3, 277

graphics file, 209

Repeats and Endings, 392

Lead Sheets, 204

edit, 393

Notation, 204

Reset to factory, 428

printer setup, 208

Resolution, 176

range, 207

Rests, 177

Pushes, 152

right-mouse menus, 56
Roland

Keystrokes, 152
Quantize, 246

RA Series, 163

QuickStart, 17

Roland VSC
install, 397

QuickStart, 31
QWERTY, 402

Roman Numeral Notation, 117

Randomization, 246

Root, 375

RealDrums

Sample level, 258

edit text, 326

Saving Song with Patches, 157

how to hear, 62, 147

Scale tones, 376

recording wave, 323

Select region, 116, 180, 258

style changes, 135

Sequencer, 241

style template, 323

button, 94, 241

testing user style, 326

custom channels, 85, 198, 242

tutorial, 3, 322

multi-channel, 85, 94, 198, 241

RealTracks, 269

recording, 243

3 ways to use, 64, 269

Sequencers, 303

in Band-in-a-Box, 64, 270

Settings

more, 274

Song, 158

saving, 274

Setup, 8

Index

507

Shots

Part Markers, 51, 119, 152

options, 151

Patches

Soft Synth latency adjust, 12

Allowing, 442

Solo One Instrument, 60, 127

Saving With, 158

Soloist

pause, 119

Custom Solo Generation, 348

play, 119

Editor, 226, 228

playing, 22

Exporting, 345

save MIDI file, 159

filter, 222

save with patches, 157

genres, 222

saving, 106

Maker, 226, 228

Settings, 136, 137, 154

melody influence, 225

stop, 119

Mode, 223

Substyles

ReFresh, 228

Changing, 152

Slash Chords, 349

Tempo

Style, 222

Change at bar, 135

Technical Notes, 227

Time Signatures, 134

trade bars, 224

Song Memo, 50, 424

velocities, 224

SongPicker

Soloist Maker, 345

enhancements, 53

10 steps, 348

SoundBlaster

phrasing, 345

AWE32 Editor, 406

Soloist Menu, 475

Soundcards, 400

Edit Soloist Track, 477

SoundTrack Generator, 219

Soloist Maker, 475

generate song, 220

track type, 475

how to use, 220

Utilities, 478

premade songs, 220

Soloist note density, 230, 348

Spacing, 246

Song

Staccato, 187

automatic intro, 219

Staff Roll Notation

automatic title, 219

Window, 181

Chorus

Standard Notation Window, 174

Begin and end, 50

Status Messages, 41

drum fills, 153

Staves, 207

Embellishment, 156

Stereo WAV, 280

Entering, 17

Stuck Note, 46

framing, 98

Style

Intros, 98

Aliases, 149

Loading, 20

load demo song, 138, 426

Looping, 50

Variations, 155

Memo, 50

Style Wizard, 321, 391

new, 95

508

BB parts, 318, 388

Index

part markers, 318, 388

choir mode, 263

snapshots, 318, 388, 389

unison, 262

tutorial, 317, 388

TC-Helicon Harmony, 260

StyleMaker

dry voice, 260

assignments, 309

level, 260

bass patterns, 293

octave, 260

drum patterns, 289

preview, 261

hot keys, 495

voices, 260

hybrid styles, 314

Technical Support, 500

making RealDrums, 322

Tempo

overview, 285

Change at bar, 135

patterns

Tempo Control, 49

editing, 312

Thru

erasing, 288

Setting, 441

recording, 294

Thru velocity boost, 57, 442

velocity adjust, 312

Ticks, 245

Patterns

Time line, 240

Sliding, 317

Time Signature, 130, 134, 423

piano, guitar, string patterns, 300

Timeshift, 246

toolbar, 288

Title Window, 48

StylePicker, 140

chorus settings, 49

prototype, 140, 142

key signature, 49

style log, 313

loop section, 44

StylePicker Editor

song title, 49

add new style, 143

tempo setting, 49

rebuild list, 145

Titles

Styles

automatic, 219

choosing, 20

Toolbars

disable, 150, 426

dockable, 46

enable, 150, 426

floating, 46

favorites, 149

main, 44

filter, 141

Trademarks, 2

load next, 97, 138, 427

Transport Controls, 45

load previous, 97, 138, 427

TranzPort

Substitutions, 383

controls, 398

SubStyles

dialog, 399

Changing, 152

using, 397

Sync, 442

TranzPort®, 397

Synth Window, 42, 59

Tutorial

System Requirements, 8

repeats and endings, 392

Tag Settings, 156

Tutorials

TC-Helicon harmonies

Index

509

main screen, 34

Volume

menus, 34

Allowing Changes, 442

QuickStart, 31

Changes, 126

RealDrums, 31

Setting, 443

understanding latency, 16

VST

unmute drum count-in, 438

add plug-ins, 10

Velocity Lines, 186

control panel, 10

visual metronome, 438

select, 10

Vocal Wizard, 377

Window Menu, 488

auto-transpose, 380

Chord Builder, 490

key, 379

Windows Media/WMA, 281

range of song, 379

Wizard, 44

transpose, 380

MIDI keyboard, 58, 68, 240

vocal range, 378

Worksheet, 51

Voicings, 303, 386

510

Zoom, 258

Index

PG Music Registration Form
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How To Register
Mail to PG Music Inc., 29 Cadillac Avenue, Victoria, BC V8Z 1T3, Canada
Fax to 1-250-475-2937 or toll-free to 1-877-475-1444.
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Operating system: Windows 9x, XP; Macintosh OS X Panther) __________________________________
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Pg Music Band In A Box 2008 5 Windows Instruction Manual

Band in a Box - 2008.5 (Windows) - Instruction Manual BB_2008.5_en Free User Guide for Band in a Box Software, Manual

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