Powerful Accompaniment and Composition Tool
Powerful Accompaniment and Composition Tool. Experience streamlined musical accompaniment and song creation with PG Music Band-in-a-Box 2019.
Experience streamlined musical accompaniment and song creation with PG Music Band-in-a-Box 2019. Create realistic backing tracks with MIDI-like control of pre-recorded audio. Just type in chords, choose a style, and the software does the rest. Band-in-a-Box 2019 brings over 64 features and enhancements, including modern 64-bit architecture and a VST plug-in for your DAW. Beyond that, redesigned interface elements and intuitive search enhancements make using BIAB 2019 a breeze. Create your next opus with PG Music Band-in-a-Box 2019.
202 new RealTracks for inspired song creation
PG Music Band-in-a-Box 2019 contains 202 new RealTracks. Add 60 jazz, blues, funk, and Latin RealTracks to your arrangements. Embellish your songs with fusion-inspired drums and percussion. Create interesting compositions with Brazilian and other Latin American styles. You also get a Mexican Bajo Sexto, funky guitars and drums, harmonica, djembe, horns, and more. 68 pop, rock, and world RealTracks include a multitude of guitar textures, such as a “cinematic” guitar, 6- and 12-string folk styles, pedal steel, and more. Acoustic songwriter styles provide the perfect backdrop for your lyrical poetry. Explore current trends with modern pop and dance tracks. Expand your sound with 72 country, Americana, and Celtic RealTracks, including a blistering-fast chicken pickin’ section. Build interesting arrangements with acoustic bass and electric guitar tracks, along with vintage electric pianos, and fiddles. Punctuate your grooves with harmonica styles and Celtic pianos and harps. And everything is performed by top-shelf musicians like Johnny Hiland, Brent Mason, Alex Acuna, LD Miller, Eddy Dunlap, and more.
Loads of new features and enhancements
Band-in-a-Box 2019 includes over 64 features and additions — at Sweetwater, we’ve found it to be the most powerful version yet. First and foremost, BIAB is now a modern 64-bit app and includes a plug-in that you can use in any VST-compatible DAW. Use any GM soundfont or DLS file, including those larger than 2GB, with the included VSTSynthFont64 soft synth. Find songs with ease with a redesigned SongPicker. Plow through the RealTracks Picker, RealDrums Picker, Best RealTracks, and MIDI SuperTracks Picker with advanced search filters. Locate and create styles faster and easier, thanks to StylePicker and StyleMaker enhancements. Benefit from drum notation support and independent loudness control over each RealTrack in a medley. Audio Harmonies enhancements deliver sophisticated harmonies with passing tones, while the Melodist uses RealTracks styles instead of MIDI styles to generate songs. You’ll also enjoy more extreme transpositions on some RealTracks. Beyond that, PG Music added 300 more songs to the Song Titles Browser and includes notation enhancements and hotkeys.
PG Music Band-in-a-Box MegaPAK 2019 Includes:
- Band-in-a-Box 2019
- RealBand 2019
- Mega RealCombos: Over 500 RealTracks in 300 Bands
- 74 MIDI SuperTracks
- Over 2,000 MIDI Styles
- Over 300 MIDI Soloists
- Over 200 MIDI Melodists
- 63 Artist Performances
- Over 1,000 Loops
PG Music Band-in-a-Box 2019 Features:
- NEW Over 202 RealTracks played by top-shelf musicians
- NEW 40 unreleased video RealTracks display actual footage of the musician playing along with your song
- NEW 64-bit architecture accommodates the latest audio drivers and plug-ins
- NEW Runs as a plug-in in any VST-compatible DAW
- NEW VSTSynthFont64 soft synth works with any GM soundfont or DLS file
- NEW Redesigned SongPicker finds songs with ease
- NEW Advanced search filters for RealTracks Picker, RealDrums Picker, Best RealTracks, and MIDI NEW SuperTracks Picker
- NEW StylePicker and StyleMaker enhancements make locating and creating styles faster and easier
- NEW Drum notation support
- NEW Independent loudness control over each RealTrack in a medley
- NEW Audio Harmonies enhancements deliver sophisticated harmonies with passing tones
- NEW Melodist uses RealTracks styles instead of MIDI styles to generate songs
- NEW More extreme transpositions on some RealTracks
- NEW 300 more songs in the Song Titles Browser
- NEW Includes notation enhancements and hotkeys
- Plogue Sforzando SFZ Synth produces captivating sounds via SFZ or Hi-Q formats
- Enhanced Chord Builder features a 'Chord Theory' section for exploring chord progressions
- High-quality Elastique 3.2.9 time-stretching and pitch-shifting algorithm
- 12-key 'Woodshedding' RealTracks accelerate your learning
- UserTracks include half/double/triple time, rests, 3/4 time, and more
- Natural Arrangements provides freedom to choose different chord extensions
- Layers provide optional rows of information above each bar
- Import Audio feature for easy track building
- Soloing and rhythm playing that are influenced by the key signature as well as the chords
- Integrated support for the Fretlight LED guitar learning system
- Option for a 'Simpler' arrangement on some RealTracks, which avoid embellishments
- Feature for fills, turnarounds, post fills and odd/even bars to be at the right place
The electronic download of the Windows-compatible eMedia Music Band-in-a-Box 2019 Pro is automatic accompaniment and music creating software designed to provide a virtual backing band for songwriters, musicians, and composers. It can generate rhythm tracks, chords, melodies, and solos in a variety of musical genres, from jazz to dubstep. Band-in-a-Box 2019 includes 64-bit and 32-bit application versions and can operate as a standalone app or as a VST plug-in within your DAW.
Band-in-a-Box 2019 provides expanded tracks of performances by noted studio musicians and a plethora of MIDI loops and phrases to inspire and enhance creativity. VST and Audio Units plug-in support, Hi-Q MIDI instruments, the included AmpliTube guitar amp simulator, and harmony generators allow you to create complex arrangements. The process of learning songs is simplified, due to the Audio Chord Wizard, which detects the harmonies, tempo, and key of imported audio. Songs can be rendered as audio or sheet music, making collaboration and sharing easy. In addition to the supporting Video RealTracks, compound time signatures, audio tuning, and ABC notation, the 2019 version of Band-in-a-Box includes the VSTSynthFont64 General MIDI synth, a redesigned SongPicker, StyleMaker improvements, MIDI drums notation, and much more.
32-/64-Bit Support
Band-in-a-Box 2019 is now a 64-bit application. It can use the latest audio drivers and plug-ins that are designed for the 64-bit audio engine on your Windows operating system. A 32-bit version of Band-in-a-Box is included for compatibility with legacy systems. The 64-bit version is named bbw64.exe, while the 32-bit version is named bbw.exe. You can tell which version you are running by the startup screen, or via the About Band-in-a-Box dialog (Help menu >> About Band-in-a-Box).
Band-in-a-Box VST DAW Plug-In
The Band-in-a-Box VST DAW plug-in is separate from the Band-in-a-Box application; it works directly inside your DAW (Ableton Live, Reaper, Pro Tools, Studio One, etc.). The plug-in uses the Band-in-a-Box content present in your bb folder to generate audio or MIDI tracks that you can drag and drop from the plug-in into your DAW.
Includes VSTSynthFont64
The 64-bit version of Band-in-a-Box uses the VSTSynthFont64 as the General MIDI (GM) synth. It hooks up to Band-in-a-Box automatically on startup and may be manually configured or changed to a different synth via the Band-in-a-Box menus (Options > MIDI/Audio Driver Setup > VSTi/DXi Synth Settings). You can use any GM soundfont or DLS file with the 64-bit version of Band-in-a-Box.
Redesigned SongPicker
- The completely redesigned window shows information for up to 50,000 songs.
- The song list build is more efficient. Approximately 150 songs get added per second.
- A progress bar will appear if the song list build takes longer than three seconds.
- You can see the chord progression for the selected song in the list, and even copy and paste it to a text file.
- Filter the song list by subfolders, genre, feel, time signature, style, songs with melody, soloist, lyrics, key signature, tempo range, and the year-of-file dates.
- Search songs that have similar chord progressions and/or melody fragments.
Advanced Search Filter
A useful filter button has been added in RealTracks Picker, RealDrums Picker, Best RealTracks, and MIDI SuperTracks Picker dialogs. It allows you to quickly filter the list by many elements including type (soloist/background/chording), feel (even/swing, 8th/16th), time signature, artists, and more.
StylePicker Enhancements
- If the style list needs rebuilding, it tells you within the StylePicker instead of showing a message that requires a response.
- The rebuild is 75% faster than before, taking just one-fourth of the time.
- While the style list is being rebuilt, you can see the progress inside the StylePicker.
- The style list can be filtered by specific RealTracks / RealDrums / MIDI SuperTracks or RealTracks / MIDI SuperTracks in a certain number range.
- You can filter the style list by a specific Xtra Styles PAK.
- The dialog to select an Xtra Styles PAK has a button that links to the PG Music website, where information about Xtra Styles PAKs can be seen.
- The StylePicker can list all styles (including N/A styles) in the default display.
- The Set number display is improved and now includes sort-by-type and Xtra styles.
Drum Notation Support
All the MIDI Drums have drum notation, which can be viewed from the Notation window and entered on the Melody/Soloist track.
RealDrums Transcription
The RealChart feature offers transcription for RealDrums.
Enhanced Loudness Control
You can now control the loudness of each RealTrack in the medley.
StyleMaker Improvements
- The new MIDI velocity offset allows you to make styles with altered loudness for MIDI tracks.
- Styles can be saved with information like a memo, examples, genres, and more, which will be displayed in the StylePicker.
- You can import information from another style. This is useful when you are making a similar style.
- A style can have up to 70 RealTracks because the StyleMaker now supports the RealTracks multi/medley feature, which allows a single track to have up to ten simultaneous RealTracks playing.
Enhanced Audio Harmonies
The feature now uses BB-Harmony engine when you select the N voices above and M voices below.
Enhanced Song Titles Browser
- Band-in-a-Box 2019 features 300 more song titles—bringing the total to over 10,600—including requests from users.
- The chord density filter is available, and is displayed in the memo.
- The chord complexity filter is available.
RealStyles-Based Melodist
The Melodist now uses RealTracks styles instead of MIDI styles to generate songs.
Extreme Transpositions
All the Low Man and Reamped 12-key metal/thrash electric guitar RealTracks now support extreme transpositions.
Notation Enhancements
- The right-click menu in the Editable or Staff Roll mode Notation window now has an option to change the current beat resolution.
- Clicking close to a stave line will put a note on the stave line instead of between stave lines.
- In the Notation Windows Options dialog, the clefs split point asterisk indicates that C5 is middle C.
- The clefs split point can be set by the spin controls.
- You can quickly enter forced accidentals from the right-click menu.
- A new track type (Drums) is available for the Melody and Soloist tracks.
- Holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the zoom in/out buttons results in fine incremental adjustments in size.
- The new N mode for keystroke notation entry lets you enter a melody entirely using keystrokes. The keystrokes are: N to enter a note; up/down cursor to change its pitch; and left/right cursor to move the timeline.
- A new button in the Print Options dialog lets you quickly print a chords-only fake sheet. You can also access this from the right-click menu on the chord sheet.
- You can now edit any track in the Event List Editor. When the dialog opens, it will show you the MIDI data in the current notation track.
- Pressing the spacebar plays the song from the current time location rather than from the current bar.
Additional Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts have been added for typing/clearing a time signature in the current bar, loading styles and songs, accessing RealTracks and RealDrums, and opening the Pick a Loop dialog.
Video Tracks and Export
Video RealTracks work like RealTracks with videos of the musician's performance. Export your song as a high-resolution MP3, or export the Notation Window to video synchronized with the audio track playback.
Expanded Audio Functions
- Audio driver with ultra-low latency enables recording free of delay.
- The Audio Harmonies feature includes Audio Transcription, which converts a monophonic audio track to notation.
- The Fix Tuning feature allows you to correct an out-of-tune audio recording.
Advanced Time Signatures
Band-in-a-Box supports standard time signatures such as 4/4 and 3/4, plus compound time signatures such as 12/8, 6/8, and 9/8.
ABC Notation Files
Open or save as ABC notation files, which are common song files on the Internet with chords and melody.
Customizable Appearance
Toolbar skins and other customization features enable you to personalize your software. Choose between three modes for the toolbar. It can be smaller, with a tabbed interface, or taller, like the old toolbar. There is also a DAW toolbar mode, ideal for file drag-and-drop operations.
SFZ Support
Support for SFZ files is provided, allowing use of custom virtual instruments.
Chord Theory
The Chord Builder includes the Chord Theory section, which displays and suggests popular chords for the current key. Diatonic chords are displayed on the top row, while additional chords are displayed in lower rows.
RealDrums Enhancements
RealDrums offers selectable half, double, and triple-time modes. Multiple drum tracks are supported with Multi-Drums and Single Drums features. Multi-Drums allow multiple drum parts, loops, and RealDrums on a single track. Single Drums feature a single percussion instrument.
12-Key RealTracks
There are RealTracks recorded and meticulously notated in all 12 keys, rather than the five keys used in many older versions.
Hi-Q Guitar RealCharts
Hi-Q notation offers graphical markings for bends, slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs.
Song Titles Browser Window
The Song Titles Browser window allows you to efficiently find content, filtered according to artist, tempo, key, feel, and more. Over 8000 song titles are available.
VST Sync
Tempo sync for VST plug-ins is supported, which is especially useful for virtual drummer programs and sequencers.
RealTracks Enhancements
The sound quality of tempo stretching and transposition operations have been improved, and 202 new RealTracks have been added.
UserTracks Enhancements
UserTracks support the 3/4 waltz time signature, rests, and multiple timebases (normal, half-time, double-time, or triple time).
Notation Enhancements
Guitar tab/notation features bends, slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs. A rapid-entry mode allows faster note creation for piano and guitar. XML import/export integration has been improved.
Natural Arrangements
Band-in-a-Box can reinterpret complex chord extensions. This can be set globally, per song, or per track.
Audio Editing Enhancements
The new Edit menu provides access to helpful functions including silence, amplify, normalize, fade in, fade out, transpose, and scan for frequency. The option to automatically crossfade regions makes creating smooth transitions much faster.
StylePicker Enhancements
The StylePicker features include keyboard shortcut access, scrolling, volume, and User Categories.
Loop Enhancements
Loops follow rests and can be set to a non-standard timebase (half-time, double-time, or triple-time). Also, loops can be used with drums on the same track.
Miscellaneous Enhancements
Tap tempo supports improved accuracy when you tap more than four times. The mixer offers a double-click option for returning parameters to their default values.
Hi-Q Instruments
These MIDI sounds have been programmed to make MIDI tracks (both regular and MIDI SuperTracks) sound better. You can audition and choose a Hi-Q patch for any track by holding down the control key, clicking on the track, then choosing Select Hi-Q MIDI Patch.
Plug-Ins Options Dialogue
This feature includes an option to scan for VST plug-ins while booting up and provides options for how plug-in windows are opened, closed, and arranged on the screen. Plug-ins that are essential to Band-in-a-Box (for instance, the Apple DLS Music Device or Sforzando) are scanned regardless of the Scan for VST Plugins on Bootup or Scan for AU Plugins on Bootup settings.
AmpliTube Included
This well-renowned VST guitar amp simulator can be used effectively with the Direct Input RealTracks.
Sforzando Included
Sforzando, an SFZ sample player made by Plogue, has been customized for Band-in-a-Box, and is used to play the Hi-Q instrument sounds.
Enhanced Chord Sheet
- Layers have been added. Layers are optional rows of information shown above each bar.
- The Bar Lyrics layer is for all editable bar-based lyrics (up to 255 characters per bar) loaded and saved with the song.
- The Section Text layer is for any editable text (up to 255 characters per bar) loaded and saved with the song.
- The Section Text and Bar Lyrics layers will attempt to intelligently separate your lyrics into different bars.
- You have the option to automatically open or close the Bar Lyrics/Section Text layers when opening songs.
- The Bar Settings layer shows information about any changes that occur for that bar (tempo changes, key changes, etc.).
- The Additional Chord Display allows you to see the root notes of chords in four kinds of notation, including Roman Numeral, Nashville Notation, Solfeggio Notation, and Fixed Do (Italy/Europe).
- All layers can be customized as to font and color.
- Mouse-over indication shows the bar or cell over which you are hovering your mouse.
- The Display Options dialog has been added to customize Chord Sheet display.
- Colors for all elements on the Chord Sheet can be customized.
- Part markers can have a gradient look.
- You have the option to see borders around part markers.
- You can choose how often bar numbers should appear: never, always, only at part markers, or only at new rows.
- A vertical line can be drawn next to each bar number.
- Substyle colors can be used for optional bar lines, bar numbers, and section letters.
- There is an option to gray-out bars after the end of the song.
- 9sus chords can be displayed as 11 chords.
- The Display 2 as sus2, and Display sus as sus4 settings now show suspended chords more explicitly: Sus implies Sus4, while 2 implies sus2; still, you can see the full extension name if you desire to.
- The chords beyond the time signature will be grayed out.
- The superscript option shows chord extensions with smaller raised font.
- You can adjust the chord font size as a percentage.
- The number of columns can be customized. Previously, there were always 4 columns.
- When a song is loaded, the number of rows can be automatically set depending on the number of bars in the song.
- A new part marker can start a new line.
- Space between columns or rows is selectable.
- All the settings and colors can be saved and loaded as a .csc file.
- You can enter Bar Lyrics (bar-based lyrics) on the Chord Sheet.
Fake Sheet Mode
Fake Sheet mode allows display of repeats, 1st/2nd endings, DS/DC al Coda, and more. You can add your own repeats and endings by control-clicking on the Chord Sheet, Notation, or Lead Sheet window and selecting the Repeats/Codas/1st-2nd Endings option in the context menu. An auto-detect feature that analyzes the song and adds repeats and endings for you.
Redesigned StylePicker
- The window is sizable by dragging the corner.
- The font size for the styles list is selectable.
- The styles list can be easily sorted by clicking on a column name.
- There is a button to quickly set a style in the list as your favorite.
- Quick filter: Type a text and/or select a category, time signature, feel, tempo, etc., and you will immediately see the filtered list.
- There is an automatic intelligent sorting of best style for the current song.
- 4-bar preview allows you to hear the first four bars of the current song using the selected style.
- There are buttons to find all style files and rebuild the list.
- The style list can be exported to a spreadsheet.
- The StylePicker Options dialog has been added for additional display options for the StylePicker.
Intelligent Style Suggestion
Type a familiar song title, and the StylePicker will list styles whose genre, feel, and tempo are similar to that song.
Vocal Synth Generation
Band-in-a-Box includes built-in support for the Sinsy online vocal synth.
Music XML
You can open a MusicXML file from notation programs such as Finale, Sibelius, and Guitar Pro.
Guitar Capo Support
Guitar capo support is provided in the onscreen Guitar window and the Notation window. You can set a capo value whereby a capo gets drawn and a guitar display reflects the capo setting. The tablature in the Notation Window will adjust the fret numbers based on the capo setting in the transpose menu.
Spreadsheet Compatibility
Lists in various dialogs can be copied to a spreadsheet. This includes the StylePicker, the RealTracks Picker, and the RealDrums Picker dialogs.
Improved Melody Functions
Legato: You can increase legato of the notes in the Melody or the Soloist track by a selectable number of ticks, or avoid next note by degrees of ticks as well. The Staccato Melody function reduces the length of notes by a selectable number of ticks, and preserves a minimum number of ticks for the duration of the notes.
Miscellaneous Features
- The Lead Sheet Window can display Bar Lyrics.
- Log of flash messages have been enhanced with an ability to record more message types.
- Changing a dB value in the StyleMaker for a track with loops is now an option.
- A No Loop button has been added to the Loops dialog.
- Options (no transpose, no slash chords) have been added to RealTracks.
- A new mode has been added to the Woodshed feature: When the tempo reaches max, it stays there.
- Option for relative note says b3, b5, b7—instead of 3b, 5b, 7b.
- Clicking on a piano on the Mixer adds a note to the notation at the current time in Editable mode.
- New UserTracks templates have been added to the Band-in-a Box/RealTracks/UserTracks/UserTracks Templates folder (and also in the Band-in-a-Box/data/TemplatesForUserTracks folder).
- The style demos have been redone with even volumes. Previously, the demos varied in volume from MIDI to RealTracks.
- RealTracks pushes happen a little later, sounding more musical, and the timing is tempo dependent.
- 1000 loops have been improved to sound better with styles.
- Stereo UserTracks are supported.
Automatic Music Accompaniment
Type in the chords over which you'd like to solo, choose the genre of music you want to explore, and you're good to go for a realistic accompaniment experience in the comfort of your own private space.
Automatic Solo and Melody Generating
Further your accompaniment skills by automatically generating melodies and solos to which you may react in a chordal, harmonic fashion, thus improving your composition skills. You can also study these solos if you choose, seeing how a computer algorithm might handle rhythm changes and other assorted standards.
Real Recordings from Real Studio Pros
Utilizing Band-in-a-Box's RealTracks and RealDrums, you can import the actual, recorded playing of a multitude of studio musicians.
Scores of Suitable Styles for Soloing
Band-in-a-Box provides RealCombos—preset arrangements of RealTracks playing in a wide array of genres. You can select from jazz, blues, funk, rock, pop, country, folk, and more. Now you can get that samba to feel just right as you blast your trumpet, or you can swing along to the jazz comping of some serious hepcats.
Hybrid Styles
In addition to utilizing preset RealCombos, you can mix and match instruments from up to five bands to create your own genre. Save the combo afterwards as your own preset for easy access in the future.
Automatic Vocal Harmonies
If you sport the ability to record your own vocals, simply import any such voice part, select this feature, choose a style of harmony, and Band-in-a-Box will create up to four harmonies in seconds flat utilizing the TC-Helicon Vocal Technologies engine. Furthermore, using the Melody Track feature, you can tune your original lead vocal part, should you be off-key for any reason.
Rendering and Export Options
Print or save the song as sheet music. Export audio tracks for use on the Internet or in another program. AIFF, M4A, and WAV audio formats are all supported.
VST & AU Support
Utilize third-party plug-ins and software-instruments with VST and AU support. Furthermore, each track allows you to use multiple instruments in order to layer sounds.
Other Notable Features
- User interface with time-saving features, including a display window for piano notation / guitar tablature
- Import audio files and record audio tracks
- Over 300 RealTracks instruments
- Over 750 MIDI Styles
- 54 MIDI SuperTracks
- Over 150 MIDI Soloists
- Over 100 individual MIDI Melodists
- 21 Nature Sounds and Percussion Loops
- 22 different Artist Performances
- Over 1000 dubstep, modern, and Top 40 loops
- Over 340 hours of studio recordings