The Learning Zone

Type in the chords for any song using standard chord symbols (like C, Fm7, or C13b9), choose the style you'd like, and Band-in-a-Box® does the rest, automatically generating a complete professional quality arrangement of piano, bass, drums, guitar, and strings or horns in a wide variety of popular styles; plus optional live audio tracks with RealDrums and RealTracks!

What are RealTracks?

RealTracks are audio instruments that replace the MIDI track with actual recordings of top studio Jazz, Rock and Country musicians! They're not "samples" of single instrument hits; they are full recordings, lasting from 1 to 8 bars at a time, playing along in perfect sync with the other Band-in-a-Box tracks. Many of the RealTracks have RealCharts; this allows you to see notation and correct guitar fretboard display, a great help for learning to play from the masters performing on the RealTracks.

What are RealDrums?

RealDrums replace the MIDI Drum track with actual recordings of top studio Jazz, Rock and 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. As well as incredible drum sounds, you'll hear the exact rhythms played by the drummer, including features seldom heard in MIDI such as subtle drum rolls, variations in ride cymbal taps, and complex fills.

Band-in-a-Box isn't just for Jazz Musicians - there are thousands of popular music styles available, including Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop, Blues, Celtic, Praise & Worship, Reggae, and more!

Tutorials & Lessons

If you would like to post a tutorial, please contact us at marketing@pgmusic.com

An invaluable practicing and educational tool!

Improve your improvisational skills with your own backup band! Import standard MIDI files, WAV, AIFF, MP3, M4A, or other audio formats, and internet formats… Band-in-a-Box can analyze these files and display the chord progression on screen! This is a great way to get anyone to practice their instrument, especially guitar and piano students, as they can pull up the chords from any of their favorite songs!

A few tools to help you practice and teach with Band-in-a-Box...

Notation

The notation feature in Band-in-a-Box makes it possible to follow the music onscreen as it plays, but it also does much more. As the notation plays, the notes that are sounding are highlighted in red - this helps with sight reading or following the music. You'll see notation for the Bass, Drums, Guitar, Piano, Strings, Melody and Soloist track. Many of the RealTracks have RealCharts that display the notation for that "Real" instrument - a great help for learning to play from the masters performing on the RealTracks. Print the notation out for further study.

Notation window, showing Soloist track.

Chords

In Band-in-a-Box, you can view chords for any song and enter and edit chords. Enter chords using your computer keyboard, or enter them using a MIDI Keyboard. Band-in-a-Box also has a Chord Builder, with a list of chord roots and extensions - simply select a root and extension and you'll be able to hear the chord as you enter it!

Use the Chord Builder to audition chords.

Chord Wizards

Band-in-a-Box Chord Wizards automatically interpret chords from songs and write them to the chord sheet. The MIDI Chord Wizard interprets and imports chords from MIDI files, and the Audio Chord Wizard analyzes audio files (MP3, MP4, M4A, WAV, AIFF, etc), interprets the chords, and imports them into Band-in-a-Box. Use this feature to help motivate students by providing chords to their favorite songs.

Import audio files into Audio Chord Wizard.

The Guitar Fretboard

This is a great feature for all guitar and bass players! The onscreen fretboard displays any Band-in-a-Box track for guitar, bass, banjo and more. Practice your fingering and follow the song simply by watching the highlighted notes on the guitar fretboard and more!

Guitar Fretboard Window, showing step-advance.

Printing

You can print out the notation to your song - most songs will fit on 1 page. You can easily make and printout a custom fake book of all of your music lesson songs, and you can easily transpose parts to print out for trumpet, saxophone, etc. The printout includes title, bar numbers, composer, style, and copyright information. Create a song with your students in Band-in-a-Box, provide the printout of that song, and they'll be playing their own original tune in no time!

Previewing a leadsheet.

Scales Wizard

When students are practicing Jazz tunes, it is helpful to see the scales that are used for each chord. The Scale Wizard in Band-in-a-Box allows you to easily generate these scales, which appear as notation on the Soloist track. Options include Instrument Range, Patch Selection, Jazzy Mode (will use Lydian dominant scales for some 7th chords), and Diatonic Mode (keeps scales relative to the song key).

Scale Wizard is found under the Soloist menu.

Chord Substitution Wizard

Reharmonizing a song with the Chord Substitution Wizard is a fun and educational way to perform or practice a familiar song in a brand new way. This feature is very easy to use; simply highlight an area of chords and select "Chord Substitution." The possible chord substitutions are instantly displayed for you. For example, if you had chords such as "Dm7 G7 Cmaj7," a list of substitutions including the tritone substitution "Dm7 Db7b5 Cmaj7" would be offered to you for use in your song. There are also helpful comments associated with each substitution, showing you why a given substitution might work in each case (e.g., is the melody compatible with the substitution, etc.); or you can enable the "Auto-Substitution" feature and then the substitutions will be selected according to the general preset preferences.

Chord Substitution window

The Jukebox

The Jukebox will load and play an entire folder of songs, which will play continuously, one after the other. The Jukebox will continue to play while you move to other programs, so you can use the Jukebox to provide background music! The Jukebox is great for teaching, as it keeps the rhythm going, preparing any student for a fast-paced live performance!

Jukebox plays all songs in a selected folder.

...and that's just the beginning!

There are a number of features that music educators and students will find useful. Learn more:  Windows  |  Mac

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PG Music Inc.
29 Cadillac Ave Victoria BC Canada V8Z 1T3

Sales: 800-268-6272, 250-475-2874,+ 800-4746-8742*
* Outside USA & Canada where International Freephone service is available. Access Codes

Tech Support: Live Chat, support@pgmusic.com

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News and Notes
December 20, 2024 Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Windows® Today! If you’ve already purchased Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Windows®, great news—a new update is now available! This update introduces a handy new feature: a vertical cursor... December 18, 2024 Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Windows®: Boot Camp: The AI Lyrics Generator With Band-in-a-Box 2025® for Windows®, we've introduced an exciting new feature: the AI Lyrics Generator! In this video, Tobin guides you step-by-step on how to...
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