Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great software for musicians, June 19, 2005
This is a great piece of software if you play any kind of a musical instrument or are a vocalist and want to practice playing songs with a virtual band. You just type in the chords, select a style and tempo and the software comes up with an arrangement in that style. Depending on which style you pick there will be different instruments in the arrangement. There are around 200 built in styles in various genres such as jazz, latin, country, pop etc. The arrangements are surprisingly good, especially if you can send the midi to an external keyboard. The software was very easy to install on Windows XP.
I'm using it to work on practicing jazz standards on the piano but playing them the way I would in a band situation which is very different from the way I would play them solo. I have been able to quickly enter the chords of the song by typing in their names (eg Em7b5), pick a style and have band in a box come up with an arrangement. I then mute out the piano part and play along with the program to try out different ideas for comping. If I want to practice soloing I just mute out more instruments. I would expect that it would be equally useful for many other instruments. I also use it to print out fake book type lead sheets and have found the transpose feature to be very useful as it transposes the chord symbols along with the music.
Band in a Box allows you to record an audio or MIDI track on top of an arrangement so you can play back and see how you sound but it isn't a multitrack recorder, for that you would want to buy some different software. What it does best is to allow you to practice playing in a band without requiring the rest of the band to be there.
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's become my favorite piece of software, November 5, 2006
As an intermediate-level musician and songwriter with computer skills to match, I've found BIAB both easy to delve into and deep enough to grow into. My background is as a singer/songwriter uni-instrumentalist...I play, rather simply, the acoustic guitar. I also have a good understanding of computer recording. That said, here's my review:
You don't have to have a programmer's understanding of computer technology to install and operate the program. The user interface is quite intuitive and the manual written very clearly. I had the basic functions of the program figured out in one session, enough to satisfy. It IS a rather deep program, however, and I am sure I will continue to be able to explore and enjoy it's features for some time to come.
Musically, you don't have to be a composer to use it. If you have a basic understanding of chord progressions and know where to place them, you are ready for this. I've not found a chord or chord variant known to music that BIAB cannot handle. It will even suggest alternatives in a number of ways to turn your three chord basic structure into something fresher.
I've used it now to create completely new songs, as well as to provide accompaniment to songs I'd already written on acoustic guitar. For the price, I don't think this would be a bad piece of software at all for a beginner just learning music. Indeed, the musical lessons and games bundled with the basic software are great tools in and of themselves for entry and intermediate-level musicians. The real meat of the program, however, seems more geared to those with a little experience at least.
Essentially, BIAB makes a 'band' of usually five pieces...drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, and strings...with options for creating more solo lines in it's soloist, melodist, and harmony functions. It does this from a 'style' you select from the many that come bundled with the operating software or others you can create or purchase as add-ons, and from the chords you input.
Since it's midi, key and tempo changes are easy and natural sounding. And since it can save songs as both BIAB project files and stereo midi files, using it in conjunction with computer-based softsynths or outboard midi-capable devices such as keyboards and synth modules, will give you royalty free arrangements with sounds much beyond your soundcard's GM or GM2 sounds.
The ability to score parts and print or save to graphic is a just one of the many features that will help communicate with others or learn parts you can play yourself. Midi files also travel easily over the internet to musical partners around the world. I've done it.
BIAB also accepts midi and audio input/recording into your project, so you are able to play along with the basic band...even sing along. You do need a basic understanding of computer recording to accomplish this, but the interface and help files/manual are more than adequate for a beginner.
I found no real glitches in a pretty thorough workout, although there are natually areas where I think it could be improved. Be aware that the main window for BIAB is quite large and not everything fits even on a 17" monitor, but floating and docking windows, programmable by the user, make almost every function no more than two or three clicks away.
I could rave on...but let me end by just saying I love this program. It's breathed fresh life into songwriting and has become a partner in creativity with me, much as my guitar has been for years. There is no level of user from a beginner to advanced musician who couldn't get something valuable from using it. My advice to those purchasing the program for or as a beginner is go with the basics...they are plenty and more than enough. For those with more experience, get one of the bundles advertised on thier website and you'll appreciate the much larger variety in styles BIAB is capable of emulating. I didn't, and wish I had.
Happy music making.
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply Incredible, fantastic sofware for beginner and pro, October 22, 2005
Especially for the beginner, now you can have a rhythm section to back you up. You can change the key, follow the notes on screen, change tempo. And your accompaniment never tires, always is on the beat, and always in tune. This is extremely valuable for anyone learning jazz. This is probably the best single investment that a jazz student could make.
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