Band in a Box?

[PaulT]

Opinions and advice concerning Band in a Box.

I've listened to some home recordings that used Band in a Box for the backing tracks. It sounded like fun product. I'm curious and interested.

I want something fun and easy, repeat, easy, to use at home. At this point, I'm primarily interested in backing tracks for basic Big Band standards (The Nearness of You, I'm Getting Sentimental Over You) and not overly complicated jazz and blues tunes with some improv (New Orleans style/Tuba Skinny).

I am a very, very basic (simple) computer and recording person (and have no idea what MIDI is). I just want to push a button, turn a few dials, and have fun with my trombone in my den. I don't mind the price of Band in the Box if it delivers pretty good backing tracks and has a simple menu and is easy to use. So if it delivers a decent experience, I am not concerned if it perhaps costs $50 more than it should.

But, if it is complicated, has a messy menu, and offers little that I can't get online for free, or if there is another product that is simpler to use, less expensive, and is just as good or nearly as good, that would be good to know.

I don't need or want 10,000 customizable options. I want uncomplicated fun. I'm old and lazy.

Thoughts, opinions, advice?

[BGuttman]

We have one guy on this forum, Graham Martin (in Brisbane, Australia) who has been pushing BIAB since the Online Trombone Journal Forum days.

He has a large library of backing tracks and will share them at the drop of a query.

I hope he posts here.

[sacfxdx]

Band in a box (BIAB) has many different features that can make it appear complicated. Check out all the features at https://www.pgmusic.com/. You can still get going quickly to make music. Changing tempo can really be useful if you are not up to speed (pun intended). Play along books are fun too but you have limited control over the music.

I know there are more experienced BIAB users here. I am sure they will respond. I use it and like it. It is fun.

[PaulT]

Alternatively, is there a way (magic box?) to change the key and tempo of a backing track taken off of YouTube?

For example, I can find lots of backing tracks for "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You", but none are where I want them to be (is F the original key?)I like to play it in Ab (first measure starts on top staff G and ends on three-line above staff G). I could play it lower or higher I suppose (not a lot higher), but I really like it in Ab and that's where I want to play it. And that's the case with a lot of other tunes I like to play as well (I like to play "The Nearness of You" in Bb).

[BGuttman]

There are two versions of IGSOY. One is in D (2 sharps) and one is in Bb (2 flats). The Stock arrangement actually has parts in both keys. I suspect Dorsey used one as the intro and one as the closer. D version goes to C# and Bb version goes to A. My Fake Book version was in Eb.

As I understand it, BIAB allows you to change the key of the backgrounds. Again, I'll let those in the know reply.

[tjonz]

If anyone has any experience with or information about BIAB running on a new M1-based Mac under Apple's Rosetta x86 emulator, I'd be most interested to hear a report.

[Grah]

Sorry I missed this post but back in November, through to now, I have had some medical problems that did not leave me much time for the Internet.

Band-in-a-Box is my favorite software. And yes, you can change the key very easily. It just needs you to type the new key over the top of the old one and push the 'Generate and Play' button.

And in response to Bruce's comment: Yes, I do have huge collection of Band-in-a-Box files and am happy to share them with fellow BiaB users. There are also a huge number of BiaB files available for free on the internet. My tunes are nearly all jazz style. But changing the style is pretty easy also.

This is the PG Music website for Band-in-a-Box:

https://www.pgmusic.com/about.htm

As I have said many times, I sometimes wish that some of the musicians I play with could swing as much as Band-in-a-Box does! I use Lead Sheets created in Band-in-a-Box for all of the different instruments in the two Traditional jazz bands I lead. In their key!

[ArbanRubank]

Opinions and advice concerning Band in a Box.

I've listened to some home recordings that used Band in a Box for the backing tracks. It sounded like fun product. I'm curious and interested.

I want something fun and easy, repeat, easy, to use at home. At this point, I'm primarily interested in backing tracks for basic Big Band standards (The Nearness of You, I'm Getting Sentimental Over You) and not overly complicated jazz and blues tunes with some improv (New Orleans style/Tuba Skinny).

I am a very, very basic (simple) computer and recording person (and have no idea what MIDI is). I just want to push a button, turn a few dials, and have fun with my trombone in my den. I don't mind the price of Band in the Box if it delivers pretty good backing tracks and has a simple menu and is easy to use. So if it delivers a decent experience, I am not concerned if it perhaps costs $50 more than it should.

But, if it is complicated, has a messy menu, and offers little that I can't get online for free, or if there is another product that is simpler to use, less expensive, and is just as good or nearly as good, that would be good to know.

I don't need or want 10,000 customizable options. I want uncomplicated fun. I'm old and lazy.

Thoughts, opinions, advice?

Quite honestly, given the limitations you have expressed, I don't really believe BiaB is for you. For a beginner at it, the learning curve is akin to Excel or Paint Shoppe Pro. If I could sit down with you, I could cut through it for you and show you in about 3 minutes how to get it going. But for you to start cold, unassisted would be - - difficult, I believe. However, there are YouTube tutorials, so it's not impossible.

And I wouldn't recommend using the BiaB accompaniments that can be found on the Internet for the following reasons:

1) You don't know what, if anything, might be imbedded in those files

2) They are someone else's idea of how a song backing should sound

3) The backings have often had the original chord progression modified. I like original source material if at all possible

4) There may be midi and/or wave files associated with the songs and you will have to know how to get rid of them

5) They are arrangements from young iterations of BiaB that used midi files. True, some of them are quite good, but I believe the majority of them sound dated

6) Very often, you will find repeats, codas, lyrics, etc in the backings. I never use them. I like my backings unfolded so I can very easily make changes to them. Again, you will have to learn how to either deal with them or just go along with them.

I have done over 400 BiaB backings for my own personal use, so I can cobble one up in about 5 minutes. Once you know how to navigate BiaB, it's easy. But you have to ride that computer-thing learning curve to get there and you expressed that you would rather not have to do that.

[ArbanRubank]

HOWEVER!!!

If you could somehow manage to get out of your own way on this and commit to a learning curve, then - for the intimate & personal setting you described, I sincerely can not think of a better package! What I love about BiaB (among many things), is the small combo effect I can achieve that allows me to play at home as though I was in a small, quiet piano bar or someone's parlor. And yet, I could fire it up at a family back-yard barbeque as well. It's really quite versatile, once you get the hang of it.

If you want, we could PM back 'n forth through that learning curve.

[MagnumH]

For a simpler approach, I would definitely suggest iReal Pro if you have a compatible device.
There's nowhere near as much customization involved - just pick your chord sequence (or enter your own, but that's normally not necessary) and hit play. You can change keys, tempo and backing style, and pick how many times you'd like it to repeat, and it will auto-generate a backing for you. There are a lot of tunes available on their forums as well, accessible through the app. The backings are really a fine quality, and it's quick and easy to get straight to playing.

[ArbanRubank]

Nice! Isn't this a subscription service? If so, it could be well worth it, for as you stated.

[Conn100HGuy]

I got iReal Pro about 5 years ago for ten bucks (android version). There's a free jazz standards download with 1300 tunes including IGSOY. It should keep you busy for the next few years!

[ArbanRubank]

If that is the database I recently got my hands on - YEA - it's superb!

[MagnumH]

No subscription necessary for iReal Pro, it's just somewhere in the $10-$20 depending on your device!

You can also edit instrumentation a little bit (swap electric bass for acoustic bass, or tuba; swap guitar for piano (and control whether they play extended chords or not); swap drums for metronome; etc.) as well as the volume for each instrument, which is great if you want to practice playing bass lines to chord sequences or something like that. The only thing it really doesn't have is a melody instrument - it's purely for backing tracks. It's real purpose is to create and collect chord charts in Real Book form for people to use on gigs, but all the added playback is an excellent bonus feature.

[baileyman]

I've got BIAB. Whenever I look at it my eyes glaze over, the profusion of switches knobs sliders settings, etc. So far a plain old analog metronome is doing the duty.

[keybone]

I have been thinking that I would like to do a one man show as a vocalist, pianist and trombone player. I have iRealPro and it is a great, but limited program. Certainly, it is worth MUCH MORE than the $13 I paid for it! Band-in-a Box might be the way to go. I would like to be able switch keys within a tune if possible. I like to play standards, a few '60's '70's tunes and some Country.

When I go to the Band-in-a Box website, there are several levels at various prices - Pro, MegaPack, UltraPack, Audiophile, etc. I am looking to play piano on a verse and have the virtual pianist take over while I pick up a trombone. Or, simply have a guitar (which does not interfere with the piano) background throughout a piece. For those of you who know, what level would be best for that kind of a setup?

[ArbanRubank]

I have the UltraPAK. I haven't hardly scratched the surface, although there probably is a lot I will never want to use. You could start on the Pro and upgrade if it isn't enough. It can take QUITE a while to download some of the large bundles and you may have to run the whole thing off an external hard-drive anyway, so I would have them send it on a hard drive. After you buy it, you can always go to your account and download it if something happens to the hard drive.

Also know that you will need either a print out of your chart or use another monitor. If you use another monitor, you can change the key on your chart as easily as you can in the BiaB backing. But it does get a little tricky in BiaB if you have a key change in the middle of the chart and you want to modulate the chart to a different key to start out with.

There is a way to notate in BiaB, but I never was able to get the hang of it. Theoretically, BiaB could then show you the chords as they play as well as the melody line for you to play. Good luck with that. Some people swear by it, while I swear at it.

If you are adept enough, I suppose you could launch your software notation program to show your chart and then launch BiaB to play, toggling back to the chart window while BiaB plays through - all on the same monitor. I've never tried it and it might be tricky to get both to show the right way in their respective windows. Even to attempt this, I would have to give every backing at least a 4-bar intro.

Best thing of all is to find someone local who uses the system and watch it in action. Then you will know. But of all the bands I have played in for the past five years, I have yet to find anyone using it. They all look at me like I was from Mars.

Edit: It might be a good idea to give PG Music a call. Tell them what you intend to use it for and maybe they can steer you to the right level.