My biab tips.
(note...you use these tips n info at your own risk.
i'm just trying to help some folks with added things i come across.)
Gonna use this thread for shareing ideas and tips n triks
as i come across em in biab.
(NOTE...I DONT PROFESS TO BE A BIAB EXPERT..
but i'm just shareing my adventure in biab land as it evolves which might help
other newbies too.)
(note1...for those wanting tips on puters/daws in general n powertraks
etc etc , my previous tips thread is
here>>>
http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=143573&an=0&page=2#Post143573note2...for those that dont know me , my gig/fun is writing songs
in lots of different genres, n singing in lotsa different styles
on my own songs n other folks when i get time.
(lol..i'll sing in any genre...
jazz/metal/rock/blues/rap/country..its all fun to me.)
let me say a few words also.
over the years many folks have made comments to me
that biab is "elevator music" or "for jazzers",
or "cheesy sounds" (in the midi era) or "ya cant rock out with it".
wrong on all accounts imho as ive discovered.
i can only conclude some folks arent organised properly.
sure midi will sound cheesy if ya useing junky on board
pc chip midi sounds instead of good sound sources.
also ive been rocking out like crazy with it.
so here we go on tips.
tip001. getting organised.
one of the first things ive done is set up a folder called biabsongs.
and within it a folder for each biab song i do.
then in my regular daw i use i will have a folder for each song similarly.
ive already done daw drops n it works great for transferring say
biab traks to say a daw for example.
in summary create the song skeleton in biab then drop or import the traks
into your daw of choice. ptw/reaper/rb etc etc,.
i sorta look at it like building a blinkin house.
ie song foundation then embellishments.
one thing that might be interesting to contemplate, and its something
i'm gonna get into more n try out is INSTEAD of trying to do ALL in
ONE BIAB song, you could have a number of bite sized chunks.
for example i just wrote a test likkle ditty song
in biab , sorta heavy thrash backing. but then before song starts
i wanted a melancholy piano on its lonesome as contrast.
so in this scenario how bout 2 biab song files.
ie.. sectioning up a song into maneagable parts.
one for the lonely piano start , n other song files for different parts of the song
INSTEAD OF ONE HUMUNGOUS biab song file.
for me, compartmentalising of this nature gives me control in case
i make a mistake. mebe others use other ideas.
but for me i'm tending to think of haveing for any song,
a biab song file for intro, another for verse, another for chorus,
another for special situations in a song or outtro etc etc.
INSTEAD OF ONE BIG CHORD SHEET where i might mess up.
in summary for me i'm really thinking how to organise myself.
and haveing several chord sheets for each song.
no big woof.
tip002. WATCH THE BPM.
the first thing that caught me out..lol...was i hAd a bpm
set in biab at 140 bpm , but forgot to set the daw for dropping traks into
at the same bpm..OOPS !!
so RULE...smacking meself round the head...DAW BPM = BIAB BPM.
now all is cool. so watch out for this one.
tip003. leave a few bars free in your daw at song begin.
before drops/imports
from biab...
just in case you decide "later" you want something before what you have already
dropped into the daw multitrack software.
tip004. if you get "tekkie" probs.
for me biab just worked easy as pie after an easy install.
no probs yet.
if however you get probs , and ive seen it time and
again with various daw music software, mostly its down to
often how your puter is set up //the sound devices you use//drivers etc etc.
my old my tips thread has lots of tips on this.
so dont wanna rehash oodles of tips.
ok ..so ya got a brilliant new i7 puter n ya got probs.
so you are fed up. its too simple to assume just cos ya spent large on a new puter
of this caliber all will be rosy. its how its configged
for studio use thats often the bottom line. includeing the sound device
choice and how its set up within music software.
in summary if ya got probs often its related to the learning curve of
understanding the new puter and/or the sound device and/or its set up
in music software etc..particularly for folks new to music makeing on a puter.
lappies particularly can be a pain in the rear for some folks.
important to set em up right.
tip 005. delving into the bb directory.
instead of useing the regular menus n pickers i'm
adopting an alternate method to digging beneath the
surface of biab.
heres what i'm doing.
within the BB dir are lots of different music files you can clik
on. and up will come biab with the song loaded.
so i'm working my way thru every single one.
listening to it , changeing it (BUT NOT APPLYING A HARD CHANGE
IN THE BB DIR), n generally seeing how far i can take things.
so i started on the 101 country riffs. cliking on each one n mucking around with
it. changeing the midi sounds n subbing real traks for example
and adding intros.
when i find something i like or regenerate i diddnt change any of the riffs in the
101 cg dir riffs. but remember my first tip ??
where i set up a dir called mybiabsongs ??
within that i set up a folder called myfavideas.
AND I'M SAVEING TO THAT. THUS I NEVER HARD MODIFY ANY SONG
//RIFF IN THE BB DIR.
tip 006. the 101 riffs dir.
i'm not really a country bloke.
(i'm more a rocker) but i had a blast today rigorously going thru all
the cg riffs, n altering em to something WAY WAY different.
(without changeing the riff in the 101 dir).
for example the midi elec geetar some might say is cheesy.
so change it !! muck around with it n have fun regenerating.
a NOTE.. if you notice the biab INTRO ICON.
if you clik this you get a dialog for generating intros,
before the riff. in the dialog notice you can choose pop
instead of jazz. also i was replaceing the riff with say a real trak sax or some
other instrument.
IN SUMMARY EXPERIMENT WITH THESE RIFFS.
i came up with lots of song intro ideas not related
even to CG by experimenting witn them.
ps..over the next few weeks as i get time i will be going thru all the bb dir's,
and any interesting tips will focus on what i find.
next up is the blues jams dir. so i'm gonna do things in order.
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