biab mac manual

8/20/2019 BIAB Mac Manual

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VVeer r ssiioonn 22001122..55 f f oor r MMaacciinnttoosshh®

© Copyright PG Music Inc. 1989-2012. All rights reserved.


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PG Music Inc. License Agreement 2

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.

LICENSEA. 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 internationaltreaty 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.

Some programs such as Band-in-a-Box have a “Server” function (including BandInABoxServer.exe program) to connect to a“Client” (mobile client version of Band-in-a-Box on iPhone or other mobile device). You are only licensed to connect the Serverfunction (including BandInABoxServer.exe program) to Clients where you own or have properly licensed both the Client andServer software that is being connected, not to clients or Server software owned/licensed by third parties. The preceding alsoapplies to any other PG Music products (RealBand etc.) with a similar type of connection between a Server program and a Client.

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.

TRADEMARKSBand-in-a-Box®, CloudTracks®, GuitarStar®, JazzU®, PG Music®, PowerTracks Pro®, RealBand®, RealDrums®,RealStyles®, and RealTracks® are either the trademarks or 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 theUnited States and/or other countries. Apple®, the Apple logo, iPad™, iPhone®, iPod touch®, Leopard®, Macintosh®, Mac®,Panther®, Power Mac®, QuickTime®, Snow Leopard®, 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. Steinberg and ASIO aretrademarks of Steinberg Media Technologies AG. VST® is a registered trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies AG.AmpliTube® is a registered trademark of IK Multimedia Production srl. Other brands and their products are trademarks orregistered 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 ProAudio 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


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Table of Contents 3

Table of Contents

PG Music Inc. License Agreement ............................................................................................................ 2

Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 3

Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box!.................................................................................................. 12

What is Band-in-a-Box? ..........................................................................................................................................12 Band-in-a-Box is so easy to use! .........................................................................................................................12

System Requirements ..............................................................................................................................................13

Installation...............................................................................................................................................................13

Band-in-a-Box External USB Hard Drive...........................................................................................................14

Using the USB Hard Drive..................................................................................................................................14

Setup........................................................................................................................................................................14

MIDI and Audio Setup ........................................................................................................................................15

MIDI Drivers .......................................................................................................................................................16

And that’s not all... ..............................................................................................................................................17

Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial............................................................................................................... 18 Step 1 – Enter the Chords........................................................................................................................................18

Enter Chords Using the Computer Keyboard ......................................................................................................18

Enter Chords Using a MIDI Controller Keyboard...............................................................................................18

Enter Chords Using the Chord Builder................................................................................................................19

Import Chords from a MIDI File .........................................................................................................................19

Loading an existing Band-in-a-Box format song.................................................................................................20

Step 2 – Choose a Style ...........................................................................................................................................20

What’s a Style?....................................................................................................................................................20

Four Fast ways to Open a Style ...........................................................................................................................20

Step 3 – Play your song!..........................................................................................................................................22

Framing the Song.................................................................................................................................................22 Setting the Key ....................................................................................................................................................22

Setting the Tempo................................................................................................................................................22

Press Play.............................................................................................................................................................22

More fun with Band-in-a-Box .................................................................................................................................22

Add RealTracks and RealDrums .........................................................................................................................22

Chapter 3: Band-in-a-Box 2012.5 and 2012 for Macintosh................................................................... 23

Band-in-a-Box 2012.5 Features and Additions .......................................................................................................23

101 New RealTracks............................................................................................................................................23

The New Features Are….....................................................................................................................................24

New! 46 MIDI SuperTracks: ..............................................................................................................................29 Plus Important Features added in version 2012...................................................................................................30

QuickStart Tutorial: Using the New Features in Version 2012.5 ...........................................................................31

Using MIDI SuperTracks ....................................................................................................................................31

Selectable PPQ ....................................................................................................................................................32

New Chord Types ................................................................................................................................................33

Using Simple Variations......................................................................................................................................33

New Loops Features Added.................................................................................................................................34


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Table of Contents 4

Quick Select RealTracks Dialog..........................................................................................................................35

Band-in-a-Box 2012 Features and Additions ..........................................................................................................36

Summary of New Features and Additions ...........................................................................................................36

The New Features in Band-in-a-Box 2012 for Macintosh are.............................................................................37

QuickStart Tutorial: Using the New Features in Version 2012 ..............................................................................41

Loops Support......................................................................................................................................................41 Using Loops.........................................................................................................................................................41

MIDITracks .........................................................................................................................................................42

Simpler RealTracks Option .................................................................................................................................43

Direct Input Guitar Tracks...................................................................................................................................43

Band Button for RealCombos..............................................................................................................................44

Chapter 4: The Main Screen................................................................................................................... 45

Main Screen Overview ............................................................................................................................................45

Personalizing the Main Screen ............................................................................................................................45

Status Bar.................................................................................................................................................................46

Synth Window / Piano Keyboard ............................................................................................................................46

Synthesizer Window............................................................................................................................................46

Description of the Wizard....................................................................................................................................48

The Embellisher...................................................................................................................................................49

Toolbars...................................................................................................................................................................49

Title Window...........................................................................................................................................................52

Harmony Area .....................................................................................................................................................54

Chordsheet Area ......................................................................................................................................................54

Chord Entry .........................................................................................................................................................54

Chordsheet Editing Features................................................................................................................................56

Chapter 5: Playing Songs In Band-in-a-Box ......................................................................................... 57

Finding and Loading Songs.....................................................................................................................................57 Playing, Pausing, and Stopping Songs.....................................................................................................................60

Playing Songs ......................................................................................................................................................60

Pausing Songs......................................................................................................................................................60

Stopping Songs....................................................................................................................................................60

Lead-in Counts ....................................................................................................................................................61

Change the Style..................................................................................................................................................62

Add a MIDI SuperTrack......................................................................................................................................62

Part Markers ........................................................................................................................................................64

Change the Sound................................................................................................................................................65

Changing Volume, Panning, Reverb, Chorus, Bank................................................................................................66

Audio Reverb.......................................................................................................................................................66

Slide Tracks .........................................................................................................................................................67

Looping................................................................................................................................................................68

Mixer Window.........................................................................................................................................................68

Playing Along With Songs ......................................................................................................................................71

Play along with your MIDI Controller Keyboard................................................................................................71

The Wizard ..........................................................................................................................................................73


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Table of Contents 5

Output Chords to External Device.......................................................................................................................74

Add Real Instruments – RealTracks and RealDrums ..............................................................................................75

Generating RealTracks ........................................................................................................................................75

Generating RealDrums ........................................................................................................................................76

Audio Reverb.......................................................................................................................................................78

Freeze Tracks...........................................................................................................................................................79 Guitar Fretboard Window........................................................................................................................................80

Quick Tour of the Guitar Window.......................................................................................................................80

Automatic Settings for Guitar Display ................................................................................................................81

The JukeBox............................................................................................................................................................83

Overview of the Jukebox.....................................................................................................................................83

Jukebox Options ..................................................................................................................................................84

Chapter 6: Making Songs in Band-in-a-Box ......................................................................................... 86

Starting a New Song................................................................................................................................................86

Select the Key......................................................................................................................................................86

Setting Tempo......................................................................................................................................................86

Frame the song.....................................................................................................................................................87

Quick Song Settings ............................................................................................................................................87

The Chordsheet........................................................................................................................................................87

Entering Chords...................................................................................................................................................88

Previewing Chords ..............................................................................................................................................89

Support for Non-Standard Chord Display Types.................................................................................................89

MIDI Chord Recognition.....................................................................................................................................90

Chord Builder ......................................................................................................................................................90

Chord Wizards.........................................................................................................................................................91

MIDI file “Chord Wizard”...................................................................................................................................91

“Jazz Up” the Chords; “Jazz Down” the Chords. ................................................................................................92 Audio Chord Wizard (“Chords from MP4”) .......................................................................................................92

Chordsheet Editing ..................................................................................................................................................94

Chordsheet Context Menu...................................................................................................................................94

Copying and Pasting a Section of Chords............................................................................................................94

Copy Chords and/or Melody ...............................................................................................................................95

Copy Rests...........................................................................................................................................................95

Erase Chords........................................................................................................................................................95

Breaks: Rests, Shots, and Held Chords................................................................................................................96

Pushes..................................................................................................................................................................97

Applying Styles .....................................................................................................................................................101

Current Style Window.......................................................................................................................................101 Types of Styles ..................................................................................................................................................102

RealStyles and Styles with RealTracks..............................................................................................................102

Keeping RealTracks and RealDrums in Songs..................................................................................................103

MultiStyles ........................................................................................................................................................104

Band Button.......................................................................................................................................................104

The StylePicker......................................................................................................................................................106


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Table of Contents 6

StylePicker Filters..............................................................................................................................................106

Choosing Styles .................................................................................................................................................108

Support for Third Party Styles...........................................................................................................................110

Style Aliases ......................................................................................................................................................111

Add MIDI SuperTracks.........................................................................................................................................111

Using MIDI SuperTracks ..................................................................................................................................112 Using RealTracks in Songs....................................................................................................................................114

Quick Select.......................................................................................................................................................114

Assign RealTracks to Track Dialog...................................................................................................................114

Using RealDrums ..................................................................................................................................................117

RealDrums Picker..............................................................................................................................................118

MIDI Track Picker.................................................................................................................................................121

Add a Song Memo….............................................................................................................................................122

Song Settings .........................................................................................................................................................122

Main Settings.....................................................................................................................................................122

Additional Song Settings ...................................................................................................................................123

Song Intros, Choruses and Endings ...................................................................................................................126 Finishing the Song Arrangement ...........................................................................................................................127

Edit Bar Settings................................................................................................................................................127

Record a Melody ...............................................................................................................................................131

Harmonize the Melody......................................................................................................................................131

Play along with the Wizard................................................................................................................................132

Add a Solo .........................................................................................................................................................133

Add Loops .............................................................................................................................................................134

Using Loops.......................................................................................................................................................134

Loop Options.....................................................................................................................................................135

Automatic Songs - “The Melodist” .......................................................................................................................136 View and Print Notation........................................................................................................................................137

Adding Lyrics to your song...............................................................................................................................140

Saving Your Work.................................................................................................................................................140

Saving a Song....................................................................................................................................................140

Saving song with Patches… ..............................................................................................................................141

Saving a MIDI file.............................................................................................................................................142

Chapter 7: RealTracks and RealDrums .............................................................................................. 145

RealTracks.............................................................................................................................................................145

What are RealTracks?........................................................................................................................................145

RealTracks Dialogs............................................................................................................................................145

Using RealTracks ..............................................................................................................................................149 Using RealTracks in Songs – Quick Select .......................................................................................................149

Using RealTracks in Songs - Assign RealTracks to Track Dialog ....................................................................150

Using RealTracks in Styles................................................................................................................................154

RealStyles and Styles with RealTracks..............................................................................................................156

Using RealTracks in Solos.................................................................................................................................157

Saving Your RealTracks....................................................................................................................................160


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Table of Contents 7

Simple RealTracks.................................................................................................................................................160

Simpler Songs....................................................................................................................................................160

Simpler Tracks...................................................................................................................................................161

Simpler Styles....................................................................................................................................................161

RealDrums.............................................................................................................................................................161

How Do RealDrums Work?...............................................................................................................................161 Let’s Explore the Real Drums ...........................................................................................................................162

RealDrums Picker..............................................................................................................................................162

RealDrums style change at any bar (F5)............................................................................................................165

RealDrums Settings...........................................................................................................................................165

Audio Reverb.....................................................................................................................................................168

Chapter 8: Notation and Printing......................................................................................................... 169

Notation .................................................................................................................................................................169

Opening and Closing the Notation Window......................................................................................................169

Notation Window Toolbar .................................................................................................................................169

Exploring the Standard Notation .......................................................................................................................171

Notation Window Contextual Menu..................................................................................................................171

Notation Modes .................................................................................................................................................172

Notation Options................................................................................................................................................174

Convert Harmony Part to Notation track...........................................................................................................177

Printing..................................................................................................................................................................177

Lead Sheet Style Printing ..................................................................................................................................178

Print Options Dialog Box ..................................................................................................................................179

Chapter 9: Automatic Music Features................................................................................................. 181

Automatic Songs - “The Melodist” .......................................................................................................................181

Launching the Melodist .....................................................................................................................................181

Editing Melodists...............................................................................................................................................184 Using the Melodist.............................................................................................................................................185

Automatic Intros................................................................................................................................................185

Automatic Song Title Generation......................................................................................................................186

Automatic Solo Generation – “The Soloist”..........................................................................................................186

Select a Soloist...................................................................................................................................................186

Solo Modes........................................................................................................................................................188

Editing Soloists..................................................................................................................................................189

Tutorial: Using the Soloist Feature...................................................................................................................190

Automatic Guitar Chord Solos – “The Guitarist”..................................................................................................190

Generate a Guitar Chord Solo............................................................................................................................190

Select Guitarist Window....................................................................................................................................190

Playing the Guitar Chord Solo...........................................................................................................................192

Redo Part of the Solo.........................................................................................................................................193

Saving the Guitar Chord Solo............................................................................................................................193

Guitar Settings...................................................................................................................................................193

Editing Guitarists...............................................................................................................................................196

Melody Embellisher ..............................................................................................................................................196


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Table of Contents 8

Using the Embellisher........................................................................................................................................197

Embellisher Settings ..........................................................................................................................................198

The Reharmonist....................................................................................................................................................200

Generate Chords for a Melody...........................................................................................................................200

Chords for a Whole Song ..................................................................................................................................200

Reharmonize Part of a Song ..............................................................................................................................201 Chapter 10: Recording Tracks ............................................................................................................. 204

Overview ...........................................................................................................................................................204

Real Time Recording.............................................................................................................................................204

Step Edit Notes......................................................................................................................................................206

Entering Notes Manually in the Notation Window ...............................................................................................206

Recording with the Wizard Feature .......................................................................................................................207

Importing Pre-Recorded MIDI Data......................................................................................................................207

Record using The Melodist....................................................................................................................................208

Additional Options for Melody/Soloist Track .......................................................................................................208

Time Shift Melody.............................................................................................................................................208

Intelligent Humanize of Melody and Soloist track. ...........................................................................................208

Insert Beats/Delete Beats in Melody..................................................................................................................209

Additional Copy function for Chords/Melody...................................................................................................209

Chapter 11: Audio Features.................................................................................................................. 210

DAW Plug-In Mode ..............................................................................................................................................210

Plug-In Options..................................................................................................................................................211

Render MIDI Track to M4A or AIFF File.............................................................................................................212

Rendering Audio Files...........................................................................................................................................212

Direct-to-Disk Audio Rendering .......................................................................................................................212

File Menu Commands........................................................................................................................................213

Audio Reverb Control ...........................................................................................................................................214 Reverb Settings......................................................................................................................................................214

Reverb Parameters.............................................................................................................................................215

Saving Settings to Presets..................................................................................................................................215

Auto Reverb.......................................................................................................................................................216

Chapter 12: Wizards, Tutors, and Fun................................................................................................ 217

The Wizard............................................................................................................................................................217

Scales Wizard........................................................................................................................................................218

Audio Chord Wizard (“Chords from MP4”) .........................................................................................................219

Audio Chord Wizard Window...........................................................................................................................219

Primary Program Controls .................................................................................................................................219

Keyboard Shortcuts ...........................................................................................................................................220

Chordsheet Overview ........................................................................................................................................220

Note Bars ...........................................................................................................................................................222

Opening Files.....................................................................................................................................................222

Chord Detection.................................................................................................................................................223

Special Cases.....................................................................................................................................................224

Bad Initial Tempo Estimates .............................................................................................................................224


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Table of Contents 9

Odd Length Bars and Drastic Tempo Changes..................................................................................................226

Note Bars Display..............................................................................................................................................228

Display Controls ................................................................................................................................................228

MIDI File Chord Interpretation Wizard.................................................................................................................228

Presets for Chord Options..................................................................................................................................231

The Reharmonist....................................................................................................................................................235 Generate Chords for a Melody...........................................................................................................................235

Chords for a Whole Song ..................................................................................................................................235

Reharmonize Part of a Song ..............................................................................................................................236

Chord Breaks .........................................................................................................................................................237

The Guitarist ..........................................................................................................................................................237

Guitar Fretboard Window..................................................................................................................................237

Quick Tour of the Guitar Window.....................................................................................................................238

Automatic Settings for Guitar Display ..............................................................................................................238

Guitar Tutor...........................................................................................................................................................241

Using the Guitar Tutor.......................................................................................................................................241

Chord Substitution Wizard ....................................................................................................................................242 Chord Substitutions Dialog................................................................................................................................242

Auto-Chord Substitution Dialog........................................................................................................................243

Using the Chord Substitution Wizard................................................................................................................244

Chord Builder........................................................................................................................................................245

Animated Drum Kit ...............................................................................................................................................246

Drum Display ....................................................................................................................................................247

Multi-Note Drums Instruments..........................................................................................................................247

Computer “QWERTY” Drum Keys ..................................................................................................................248

Numeric Keypad Drum Keys ............................................................................................................................248

Drum Kit Main Window....................................................................................................................................248 Drum Transport Controls...................................................................................................................................248

Drum Window Settings .....................................................................................................................................248

Chapter 13: User Programmable Functions ....................................................................................... 250

The StyleMaker .....................................................................................................................................................250

Overview of the StyleMaker..............................................................................................................................250

Styles with RealTracks ......................................................................................................................................252

Soloists in Styles................................................................................................................................................253

MIDI Styles .......................................................................................................................................................254

Editing Existing Styles ......................................................................................................................................257

Creating New Styles ..........................................................................................................................................260

Custom Style Settings, RealDrums, and RealTracks.........................................................................................267 Importing Patterns into a Style ..........................................................................................................................271

Intelligent Guitar Styles.....................................................................................................................................272

The Harmony Maker .............................................................................................................................................273

The Soloist Maker .................................................................................................................................................277

10 easy steps to make a Soloist:.........................................................................................................................278

Custom RealTracks Soloist Medleys.................................................................................................................280


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Table of Contents 10

The Melodist Maker ..............................................................................................................................................281

Melodist Editor Dialog ......................................................................................................................................281

The Guitarist Maker...............................................................................................................................................285

Chapter 14: MIDI Setup ....................................................................................................................... 289

CoreMIDI and Apple DLS Synth Tutorial ............................................................................................................289

Selecting a MIDI Driver....................................................................................................................................289 Band-in-a-Box MIDI Port Selection for External Devices................................................................................291

Inter-Application Communication with IAC or Virtual Ports ...........................................................................292

MIDI Settings ........................................................................................................................................................293

Setting the Harmony Channels ..........................................................................................................................294

Chapter 15: Reference ........................................................................................................................... 296

Band-in-a-Box Menu.............................................................................................................................................296

Preferences Dialog (Preferences 1)....................................................................................................................296

More Preferences – Preferences 2 .....................................................................................................................300

Soloist Prefs…...................................................................................................................................................302

Reverb................................................................................................................................................................303

DAW Plug-In Mode ..........................................................................................................................................306

Plug-In Options..................................................................................................................................................307

File Menu...............................................................................................................................................................308

File utilities…....................................................................................................................................................309

Edit Menu..............................................................................................................................................................311

Song Menu.............................................................................................................................................................313

Styles Menu...........................................................................................................................................................318

User Menu .............................................................................................................................................................321

Melody Menu ........................................................................................................................................................323

Quantize Melody… ...........................................................................................................................................324

Embellish Melody Dialog…..............................................................................................................................325 Utilities ..............................................................................................................................................................326

Soloist Menu..........................................................................................................................................................328

Edit Soloist Track..............................................................................................................................................328

Utilities ..............................................................................................................................................................330

Harmony Menu......................................................................................................................................................332

MIDI Menu............................................................................................................................................................333

MIDI Settings....................................................................................................................................................333

Style Aliases ......................................................................................................................................................338

GS Menu................................................................................................................................................................340

Windows Menu......................................................................................................................................................342

Help Menu.............................................................................................................................................................343

Keystroke Commands – “Hot Keys”.....................................................................................................................343

Keystroke List....................................................................................................................................................343

Additional Hot Keys..........................................................................................................................................344

Quick Song Settings ..........................................................................................................................................345

Direction ............................................................................................................................................................345

During Playback ................................................................................................................................................345


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Table of Contents 11

Muting Parts ......................................................................................................................................................345

Selecting Parts ...................................................................................................................................................345

Chord List..............................................................................................................................................................346

Files and Folders....................................................................................................................................................347

Band-in-a-Box Folder........................................................................................................................................347

PG Music Inc........................................................................................................................................... 350 Appendix A: RealTracks Sets ............................................................................................................... 351

Appendix B: MIDI SuperTracks .......................................................................................................... 370

Index......................................................................................................................................................... 372

Registration Form................................................................................................................................... 380

How to Register .....................................................................................................................................................380


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Chapter 1: Welcome to Band-in-a-Box! 12

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

Congratulations on your purchase of Band-in-a-Box for Macintosh, 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 yourmultimedia computer.You can hear and play along to many song ideas and go from “nothing” to“something” in a very short period of time with Band-in-a-Box as your “ondemand” backup band.

Band-in-a-Box is so easy to use!

Just type in the chords for any song using standard chord symbols (like C, Fm7, or C13b9), choose the style you’dlike, and Band-in-a-Box does the rest, automatically generating a complete professional-quality arrangement of piano, bass, drums, guitar, and strings or horns in a wide variety of popular styles plus optional live audio trackswith RealDrums and RealTracks.

RealTracks 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, lastingfrom 1 to 8 bars at a time, playing along in perfect sync with the other Band-in-a-Box tracks. We have a hugelibrary of RealTracks available, including lots of Jazz, Rock, Blues, Country, Folk and Bluegrass styles.

Best of all, you use these instruments like regular styles. Many of them offer a “simpler” option that plays a less busy or embellished arrangement, and we include “Direct Input” (clean signal) guitar RealTracks so you cangenerate files with a clean guitar, and then, using your DAW (e.g. GarageBand), you can add custom amp and F/Xsettings using the AmpliTube CS guitar amp and effects simulator that is included.

The RealTracks sound more natural over a wide range of tempos with the élastique Pro V2 time stretching engine by zplane.development. This is built-in, so there’s nothing you need to do. Your songs will just “sound better” overa much wider range of keys and tempos.

By simply choosing a RealStyle, you will hear your new or existing songs played by real instruments, with adramatic improvement in sound and musicality. You can even have your old MIDI styles automatically replacedwith the equivalent RealStyle (if installed). And of course the number of RealTracks and RealStyles keeps growing.

Many of the RealTracks have RealCharts; this allows you to see notation and correct guitar fretboard display, agreat help for learning to play from the masters performing on the RealTracks.

MIDI SuperTracks combine the editing options of MIDI with the human element of RealTracks. Instead of MIDIstyles based on chord patterns, the MIDI SuperTracks are based on actual playing by studio musicians.

RealDrums replace the MIDI Drum track with actual recordings of top studio Jazz/Rock/Country drummers!Again, these are not “samples” of single drum hits; they are full recordings, lasting from 1 to 8 bars at a time, playing along in perfect sync with the other Band-in-a-Box tracks. Hundreds of RealDrums styles are available, andEZ selection of “DrumGrooves” lets you choose different grooves within drum styles.

For added versatility, you can add your own or 3rd party loops to any Band-in-a-Box track, or add your favoriteMIDITrack from any MIDI style to any track of your current song. The Mixer window allows you to quickly setvolumes, panning, reverb, tone and patches. The Mixer floats on top of the current window, so you can place itwherever it’s convenient to make quick and easy adjustments to your Band-in-a-Box track settings. It features a

unique “Combo” slider for making changes to all tracks at once.The amazing “Chords from MP4” feature (Audio Chord Wizard) automatically figures out the chords from anyAIFF, MP4, M4A, or other audio file, and displays them in Band-in-a-Box. Just load in any audio file and you’llinstantly see the chords in Band-in-a-Box. The Audio Wizard also figures out tempo, bar lines, key and fine-tuning from the audio file.

With the Direct Render to Disk feature, you can save your files directly as audio files (AIFF, M4A, WAV), for usein other programs (GarageBand, Cubase, etc.), or in Internet formats.

And much more …


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System Requirements

− Mac OS X 10.4 or later, Intel processor.

− Minimum 512 MB RAM

− Screen Resolution: 1024x768 or higher

− Hard Disk space: Minimum 400 MB for the main Band-in-a-Box program. More space is required forRealTracks, depending on which package you buy...

− RealTracks & RealDrums: ~100-400 MB per set

− Pro RealCombos: ~4 GB

− MegaPAK RealCombos: ~11 GB

− Full UltraPlusPAK/EverythingPAK when installed to internal hard drive: ~60 GB

− Hard drive versions of the EverythingPAK or UltraPlusPAK do not require any hard disk spacewhen run directly from the external hard drive they are shipped on. A USB port is required.

− Optical drive for the MegaPAK or Pro version shipped on disc.

InstallationBand-in-a-Box is available on discs (CD-R and DVD-ROM) and for Internet download. Premium versions are

optionally available pre-installed on an external hard drive. The hard drive version includes installation files thatcan also be installed to the Macintosh HD.

The Band-in-a-Box program installs by default to its own Band-in-a-Box folder inside the /Applications folder.Unless there is an important reason to install it to a different location, we suggest that you accept the defaultlocation.

The /Band-in-a-Box folder has a clean look with only one application file in the folder - Band-in-a-Box. The rest ofthe files are in subfolders.


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The folders include the Drums folder for RealDrums files and the RealTracks folder for RealTracks files. If eitherof these folders is moved or the files are installed in a custom location, the new location must be entered in theRealDrums Settings dialog or the RealTracks Settings dialog so that Band-in-a-Box knows where to find them.

The Preferences you set in the program are saved in the Preferences folder, and this folder also has a file namedIntrface_X86.BBW with all the program settings including MIDI and audio driver setup. If this file is removed tothe trash the program will open like a new installation the next time it runs. It will prompt for all of the initial setup

selections. This is useful as a “global reset” if there are system settings that have been changed by accident.Band-in-a-Box External USB Hard Drive

Band-in-a-Box, RealTracks, and RealDrums are pre-installed on the portable hard drive. You have three basicchoices for how to run Band-in-a-Box.

1. Run Band-in-a-Box directly from hard drive. You can run Band-in-a-Box directly from this hard drive, and not copy anything to your computer's internalhard drive. (0 GB disk space required.)To do this, first run the "Band-in-a-Box Setup" installer located on the root level of the hard drive. This willinstall the PG Music fonts on your computer, necessary for viewing the Notation Window. You don't need toselect the option to install BIAB to your internal hard drive.You can use Band-in-a-Box simply by double-clicking on the Band-in-a-Box application in the\Applications\Band-in-a-Box folder on this hard drive. You can make an alias for it (Command+L) or add it tothe dock if you wish.

2. Install only the Band-in-a-Box program to your computer. You can install Band-in-a-Box on your computer's hard drive, but leave the RealTracks and RealDrums on theUSB hard drive. (4 GB free disk space required.)To do this, run the "Band-in-a-Box Setup" installer located on the root level of the hard drive, and select theoption to install BIAB to your internal hard drive. Band-in-a-Box will be installed to the /Applications/Band-in-a-Box folder. Note that you will need to specify a custom location in the RealTracks and RealDrumsSettings dialogs within Band-in-a-Box - that is, point to the 'Drums' and 'RealTracks' folders in the Band-in-a-Box folder on the USB drive.This choice is useful because it allows you to keep a backup of the factory Band-in-a-Box program files on theUSB drive, but save space on your Macintosh hard drive by not copying the 'real files'.

3. Install the full program with RealTracks and RealDrums to your computer. You can install Band-in-a-Box, RealTracks, and RealDrums on your computer's hard drive, and leave the USB

hard drive entirely for backup. (About 80 GB free disk space required.)To do this, run the "Band-in-a-Box Setup" installer located on the root level of the hard drive, and select theoption to install BIAB to your internal hard drive. Band-in-a-Box will be installed to the /Applications/Band-in-a-Box folder, like option #2.You'll then need to copy the 'RealTracks' and 'Drums' folders manually from the USB drive. They aren'tinstalled automatically. Note that you only need to copy those two folders - 'Drums', and 'RealTracks' - nothingelse. The Band-in-a-Box Setup installer will have taken care of all the other files.

Note that copying the RealDrums and RealTracks to your Macintosh hard drive may take 60 minutes or longer to complete,depending on how fast your computer is, and requires over 80 GB of free hard disk space.

Using the USB Hard Drive

When you plug the hard drive into a USB port, it should be mounted on your desktop automatically. Beforedisconnecting the drive, make sure to “eject” it first. To do this, either drag the icon to the trash, or click on it and press Command+E.

The hard drive may have a “Y” cable with two USB connectors on one end. The large connector is the main dataconnector and needs to be plugged in. The smaller connector is for extra power, in case a single USB port on yourcomputer doesn't supply enough power for the drive. If you are having trouble with the drive, and you have anotherempty USB port, plug that second cable in.

SetupBand-in-a-Box automatically sets up to default settings that use the built-in Macintosh audio input and output, andthe Apple DLS Music Device as the General MIDI synthesizer. For many users, these settings do not need tochange.


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For users with more elaborate setups and additional outboard audio or MIDI equipment, Band-in-a-Box offers theability to customize both audio and MIDI settings through the Apple Audio MIDI Setup dialog and through its owndialogs.

MIDI and Audio Setup

The MIDI and audio settings for playing your music in Band-in-a-Box are made in the MIDI menu.

MIDI Settings

The first item in this menu is MIDI Settings, but they may not require any changes. We suggest that you start withthe default settings, and see the MIDI Setup section if you find that changes to MIDI channels, patches, volumelevels or effects levels are needed.

Apple Audio Devices and MIDI Studio Setup

The MIDI | CoreMIDI Audio MIDI Setup menu item opens the Apple Audio Devices and MIDI Studio dialogs,which control the system settings for audio and MIDI.

There are two separate windows for Audio Devices and MIDI Studio.

Each window has its own Apple Help topic, which opens by clicking on the [?] button.


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MIDI Drivers

Band-in-a-Box automatically detects the MIDI drivers installed in your system. The MIDI | **Select MIDI Driveror Apple DLS Synth menu command opens the MIDI Drivers dialog, which lists the drivers that have been detected.

Selecting “Apple DLS Synth” plays your MIDI tracks through the high quality built-in Apple DLS Music Device, orsoftware synthesizer. No special configuration should be necessary.

“MacOS X CoreMIDI” lets you configure a custom setup with other software synths or external MIDI devices.

The CoreMIDI and Apple DLS Synth chapter gives detailed instructions for your MIDI setup.

Click on [MIDI Drivers Help] to go to the tutorial.

Select Ports / Instruments

When Mac OS X CoreMIDI has been selected in the MIDI Drivers dialog ( MIDI | **Select MIDI Driver or Apple DLS Synth) the Select Ports/Instruments dialog opens for your assignments.

Click on the [CoreMIDI Help] button fordetailed instructions and see the tutorial inthe CoreMIDI and Apple DLS Synth chapter.


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When CoreMIDI has been selected as the MIDI driver the selections in the MIDI menu changes to provide access toCoreMIDI features.

CoreMIDI Audio MIDI Setup launches the Apple Audio MIDI Setup dialog.

**CoreMIDI (choose ports) opens the Select Ports/Instruments dialog.

**Select MIDI Driver or Apple DLS Synth returns to the MIDI Drivers dialog.

Just type in the chords for any song using standard chord symbols (like C, Fm7, or C13b9), choose the style you’dlike, and Band-in-a-Box does the rest, automatically generating a complete professional-quality arrangement of piano, bass, drums, guitar, and strings or horns in a wide variety of popular styles plus optional live audio trackswith 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 withnear-instantaneous feedback. Over the years, many powerful and practical features have been added to Band-in-a-Box, earning it a reputation as the “one music program you can’t do without.” In addition to its basic ability to“think” like a musician, the musical intelligence of Band-in-a-Box has grown to include improvisation,harmonization, and even songwriting! Its musical content embraces literally thousand of musical idioms and styles,all taken to new levels of quality and professionalism with the addition of RealDrums and RealTracks - liverecordings by top studio musicians that add the human element to Band-in-a-Box arrangements, bringing your workto life.

As well as essential features like on-screen notation and professional lead sheet printouts, Band-in-a-Box supportsyour music making with unique and powerful features of its own. The Audio Chord Wizard has the amazing abilityto analyze, extract, and show the chords from audio recordings on-screen for play along, and then write them to theBand-in-a-Box chordsheet. The MIDI Chord Wizard does the same thing for MIDI files. The DAW Plug-in Modemakes it easy to drag and drop tracks from Band-in-a-Box into your favorite sequencer (GarageBand, ProTools,Logic, Nuendo, Reaper and more).

Output your Band-in-a-Box songs in print or 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 quickly and easily render your song to popular audioformats for burning to CD or uploading to the Internet.

There are many, many more features for song creation, practice, study, and fun waiting for you in the one-and-onlyBand-in-a-Box.

Let’s get started!


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Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial 18

Chapter 2: QuickStart Tutorial

Creating music with Band-in-a-Box is as easy as 1-2-3! In this tutorial, you’ll see just how easy it is to get Band-in-a-Box making music for you.

Step 1 – Enter the ChordsThere are numerous ways of entering chords into Band-in-a-Box. We’ll discuss five fast ways of entering chords:

1. Using the Computer Keyboard

2. Playing directly on a MIDI Controller Keyboard

3. Using the Chord Builder

4. Importing Chords from a MIDI file

5. Loading an Existing Band-in-a-Box Format Song

On the main screen of the program, you’ll see an area called the Chordsheet.

Each of the numbered cells on the Chordsheet represents a bar. In this example, you can see that there is an F6chord in the first bar of this song. Similarly, one row down, you can see an F6 chord in bar 5, and later in the song,a G7 in bar 7.

Notice the box in the first half of bar 1. This is the highlight cell, and it represents the bar you are currently workingon. You can move the highlight cell around using the cursor keys, or select a specific bar using the mouse.

Enter Chords Using the Computer Keyboard

To enter a specific chord, move the highlight cell to where you want to place the chord. For example, if you wantedto add (or change) a chord in bar 20, you would highlight bar 20 on the Chordsheet. Next, type in your chords. Ifyou want an F7 at bar 2, type F and 7 on your keyboard and press Return. Notice that when you use the Return key, the highlight cell moves to the second half of the bar. You could then enter another chord at beat 3. Chords arecommonly typed using standard chord symbols (like C or Fm7 or Bb7 or Bb13#9/E), but you can enter them in anyof the supported chord symbol display formats like Roman Numerals, Nashville Notation, and Solfeggio.

Enter Chords Using a MIDI Controller KeyboardIf you have a MIDI controller keyboard, you can use it to enter chords into Band-in-a-Box. First, you must makesure that your cables are properly connected and you have the correct input drivers selected.

If you play a chord on your MIDI keyboard, and then press Ctrl+Enter, the chord will be entered into theChordsheet at the current highlight cell position.


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Enter Chords Using the Chord Builder

Press the Chord Builder button to open the Chord Builder dialog with a list of chord roots andextensions.

Chord Builder Dialog

To enter a chord at the current bar, select the chord root from the left pane, and then the extension on the right pane.Pressing [Enter Chord ___] enters the chord and advances the highlight cell to the next half bar.

Import Chords from a MIDI File

Band-in-a-Box can import chords from an existing MIDI file with the Chord Wizard.Choose File | Import Chords from MIDI File on the File menu, or use the keystrokes Ctrl+Option+I, to open theChord Wizard dialog.

When the Chord Wizard dialog opens, press the [Open (Change)…] button to choose the MIDI file that you wantBand-in-a-Box to interpret the chords from.

To help Band-in-a-Box interpret the chords better, you can choose a preset for the song. Choose from among suchgenres as Pop, Rock, or Jazz Standard.


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Loading an existing Band-in-a-Box format song

Press the [Song] button. The first time you use this button, Band-in-a-Box will offer to build a songlist for you. We’ve included many demo songs for you to use, and they are listed in the song list.

You could also load a pre-existing song by using the File | Open song… menu item, or by pressing the F3 functionkey, which will launch the familiar Macintosh file dialog. Note that most songs will automatically load a “Style,”which we’ll learn about in the next section.

Going to the next step …

Now that you have chords on your chordsheet, you are ready to move on to Step 2 – Choosing a Style.

Step 2 – Choose a StyleBand-in-a-Box creates backing arrangements based on the chords you type in, applied to a particular Style.

What’s a Style?

A style is a set of rules that determine how Band-in-a-Box creates music using your chords. By adjusting the rules,we have created hundreds of styles that are appropriate for everything from Country to Bebop. Some style exampleswould be Jazz Swing, Blues Shuffle, Hip Hop, Country 4/4, Pop Ballad, Waltz and Medium Rock to name just afew. If you don’t find a pre-made style that suits your tastes, create one from scratch using the StyleMaker. Makingcustom styles with the StyleMaker is explained in detail in the full documentation.

Four Fast ways to Open a StyleMethod 1: From Disk

To open a user style from disk, you can use the menu command User | Load Style From Disk or type Command+U.You will be presented with the Open Style dialog from which you can select a specific style from the Styles folder.

Method 2: The StylePicker

You can use the StylePicker window to select your style. Select the [Style] button above theChordsheet to open the Select Style window.

Note: The first time you use the StylePicker there will be a short delay while it builds the list of styles.


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Selecting a Style using the StylePicker.

This window shows styles listed by categories. RealStyles are styles entirely made with RealTracks andRealDrums. Styles with RealTracks use a combination of RealTracks and MIDI instruments. MultiStyles are styleswith more variations than the standard “a” and “b” substyles.

There is an easy search feature on themain StylePicker window.

You can type a search term in the Filter, press Enter, and the styles are filtered. Or you can select a Set or genrefrom the left pane of the StylePicker.

Choose the specific style on the right pane. There are memos and examples for each of the styles. Styles with asimilar feel and tempo range to the current selection (prototype) are marked with an (*) asterisk. These styles are possible substitutes for the prototype. Styles marked with a (^) caret symbol are similar in feel but have a differenttempo range.

With “Preview on Double Click” selected, you can hear your currentsong played with a style by double-clicking the style name in the list.

You can also audition styles by playing the Song Demo or the WebDemo for the highlighted style in the list. The Web Demo might be a

better example since it uses all of the correct RealTracks, including any that might be missing from your system.

The style of your song can be changed at any bar by pressing the F5 key to launch the Edit Bar Settings dialog.

Method 3: Recently Played Styles and Favorites

Styles that you’ve used previously show up in the Recently Played Styles dialog. Choose this from the menu User | Load Favorite Styles… or click on the [F] button to the left of the [Style] StylePicker button. You can either choosefrom recently played styles or go to your saved list of Favorites. You can add to or edit the Favorites list.

Method 4: Quick Pick

You can choose from among the 24 “built-in” styles. This list provides

a quick way to choose from among the most popular music genres.


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Step 3 – Play your song! Now that we’ve entered chords on the Chordsheet and chosen a style, it�

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