Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
G
GodAtum Offline OP
Newbie
OP Offline
Newbie
G
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
Hi, I tried to find more info about this but can't. I generate a lyrical melody in Synth V. I want to know how well BIAB does when I import that MIDI file and get BIAB to generate a musical track. Some video demos of the procedure would be great too. Kinda opposite of this excellent video.

Last edited by GodAtum; 08/08/24 06:11 AM.
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,489
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 10,489
To the best of my knowledge, Band-in-a-Box can not automatically generate the backing tracks to support a melody.

The user would need to select a style, use the default style tempo or figure out the best tempo, use the default key signature or select another key and then enter the song chords.

A user without any musical theory knowledge can use style defaults, the chord builder feature to aid in selecting chords and their ears to come up with backing tracks that will support a melody generated by Synth V. Band-in-a-Box can help a user with no or limited music knowledge understand music better. More music knowledge will help a user obtain more sophisticated backing tracks easier.


Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (1124) RB (1) Ultra+ PAK
DAWs: Cakewalk by BandLab (CbB) - Standalone: Zoom MRS-8
Laptop: i3 Win 10, 8GB ram 500GB HDD
Desktop: i7 Win 11, 12GB ram 256GB SSD, 4 TB HDD
Music at: https://fogle622.wix.com/fogle622-audio-home
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
G
GodAtum Offline OP
Newbie
OP Offline
Newbie
G
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
Thanks for the reply. I have a style, tempo, key signature and chords. It seems BIAB offers import of a LyricLab file which contains the lyrics and chords (see video). Unfortunately I use HookPad, so will have to manually enter everything. I hope BIAB consider adding support for HookPad and Synth V.

Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Originally Posted by GodAtum
...
I hope BIAB consider adding support for HookPad and Synth V.

That's a worthwhile request to make in the Wish List section:
https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=9&page=1


BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,520
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,520
I need to find it, but I thought BIAB does have a feature that can make something given only a melody.


BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
There is an option to interpret chords from a MIDI file, but I'm fairly sure that it requires multiple parts (bass, guitar, piano, melody etc) and therefore I'm not sure if a single note melody could be used successfully.

File > Import Chords > Import Chords from MIDI file (MIDI Chord Wizard)

From the integrated help:
"Import Chords from MIDI File (MIDI Chord Wizard)

Many people who play music by ear think of songs in terms of "Chords and Melody." However many MIDI files lack chord symbols, so they become difficult to learn without the user having to figure out the chords in a time consuming process. Now you can open any MIDI file in Band-in-a-Box, and Band-in-a-Box will automatically figure out the chords of the song for you. It automatically analyzes the MIDI file, figures out where the bass, piano, melody and other tracks are, and then figures out the chord changes for the song. The chords are written onto the Band-in-a-Box Chord Sheet like any other song. This allows you to quickly learn how to play a song from a MIDI file - just read it into Band-in-a-Box and you'll see the chord symbols, and then learn the Melody! You can also read tracks into the Melody and Soloist tracks."


BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
G
GodAtum Offline OP
Newbie
OP Offline
Newbie
G
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
So from what I can find online:

  1. Import Melody from MIDI file from Synth V
  2. Enter the key, tempo and chords manually
  3. Select a style and generate the music


I'm guessing BIAB is not intelligent enough to match the generated music with the imported melody MIDI file? The 2 will just sound awful?

Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Originally Posted by GodAtum
So from what I can find online:
  1. Import Melody from MIDI file from Synth V
  2. Enter the key, tempo and chords manually
  3. Select a style and generate the music

I'm guessing BIAB is not intelligent enough to match the generated music with the imported melody MIDI file? The 2 will just sound awful?

If the melody has some form of accompaniment, such as a bass line together with some other instruments, then BIAB can work out the appropriate chords. If the melody only consists of single notes, any matching chords could be interpreted in many different ways. Even an accomplished musician / song writer could determine multiple different chord sequences, none of which may be correct.

It's not related to 'intelligence', it's related to having adequate material to work from.

I doubt anything would sound 'awful', it may just not sound right. I'm guessing that you are not very experienced with music, especially music theory.

What does your Synth V Melody consist of?


BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
G
GodAtum Offline OP
Newbie
OP Offline
Newbie
G
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
Originally Posted by AudioTrack
Originally Posted by GodAtum
So from what I can find online:
  1. Import Melody from MIDI file from Synth V
  2. Enter the key, tempo and chords manually
  3. Select a style and generate the music

I'm guessing BIAB is not intelligent enough to match the generated music with the imported melody MIDI file? The 2 will just sound awful?

If the melody has some form of accompaniment, such as a bass line together with some other instruments, then BIAB can work out the appropriate chords. If the melody only consists of single notes, any matching chords could be interpreted in many different ways. Even an accomplished musician / song writer could determine multiple different chord sequences, none of which may be correct.

It's not related to 'intelligence', it's related to having adequate material to work from.

I doubt anything would sound 'awful', it may just not sound right. I'm guessing that you are not very experienced with music, especially music theory.

What does your Synth V Melody consist of?

Yes I'm new to music theory and making music. The Synth V file is like the one shown in this video, it's a MIDI file with single notes.

According to the video, it looks like the only way is to get BIAB to generate the whole song and then import the melody MIDI into Synth V. Then try and make lyrics to fit that melody.

Last edited by GodAtum; 08/09/24 01:11 PM.
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Originally Posted by GodAtum
Yes I'm new to music theory and making music. The Synth V file is like the one shown in this video, it's a MIDI file with single notes.

According to the video, it looks like the only way is to get BIAB to generate the whole song and then import the melody MIDI into Synth V. Then try and make lyrics to fit that melody.
I watched the video. It started off with the chords and structure of a song, then added the melody and lyrics. BIAB cannot make a song from a single melody line. It was never designed to do that. In fact, I don't know of any product that could successfully achieve that. Others may know more.

You could give a single note melody line to 5 different composers and ask them to put chords to the song. I guarantee you that you would get 5 completely different results.


BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Thinking further, why not just ask ChatGPT to generate the chords as well as the melody, then just enter those chords into BIAB and import the melody?


BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 19,673
I found this elsewhere, and haven't tried it, but this sounded more like what you are looking for:

"There's also this: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/songsmith-2/

which uses a BIAB engine to generate accompaniment to a melody line (Songsmith analyzes an audio melody...for example, you can hum a melody into it...and it generates a chord progression based on that melody, using a handful of BIAB styles to play back the accompaniment). The project never went very far and it doesn't actually do a very good job of generating musical chord progressions.."


BIAB & RB2025 Win.(Audiophile), Sonar Platinum, Cakewalk by Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M Monitors, Pioneer Active Monitors, AKG K271 Studio H'phones
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,401
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,401
BIAB can generate chords from a melody using the Reharmonist feature (Edit | Chords | Chord Reharmonization).

Before I can say anything further about it, though, I need to find out more and work out how to use it effectively. I have not used this feature ever. Technically, it's possible to export the SynthV melody as MIDI and then load that into BIAB. Once the MIDI is loaded, selecting Reharmonist will generate chords based on the MIDI melody. I have a few SynthV vocal melodies so I'll try using these over the next couple of days, and I'll let you know what kind of results I get.

--Noel


MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2024
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,520
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 26,520
Thank you for finding that, Noel. That’s what I recalled, but like you I never tried using it.


BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6; Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus Studio 192, Presonus Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
G
GodAtum Offline OP
Newbie
OP Offline
Newbie
G
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
Originally Posted by Noel96
BIAB can generate chords from a melody using the Reharmonist feature (Edit | Chords | Chord Reharmonization).

Before I can say anything further about it, though, I need to find out more and work out how to use it effectively. I have not used this feature ever. Technically, it's possible to export the SynthV melody as MIDI and then load that into BIAB. Once the MIDI is loaded, selecting Reharmonist will generate chords based on the MIDI melody. I have a few SynthV vocal melodies so I'll try using these over the next couple of days, and I'll let you know what kind of results I get.

--Noel

very interesting, I look forward to your findings.

Last edited by GodAtum; 09/02/24 09:43 AM.
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,401
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,401
As promised, I have tried Reharmonization on a few of my SynthV vocals (exported as MIDI from SynthV). I have also used a number of different styles in both Jazz and Pop genres to see how that affects the chords added to the chordsheet.

Firstly, pop-based styles give less embellished chords than the jazz-based styles. This is what I anticipated.

From my perspective, the generated chord progressions had limited usability. The process certainly gave me ideas about potential chords that never occurred to me when I wrote the songs. This was good. Used in conjunction with the Chord Substitution process, I was able to find some additional interesting progressions. I could also choose to work on the whole song at once or sections by setting the number of bars I wanted to reharmonize.

For me, the process was not a 'one-stop shop'. At most, it gave me ideas to try out and to consider. Selecting chords for a vocal line still required my manual input to get a harmony that was most comfortable.

Last edited by Noel96; 09/10/24 03:23 AM.

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2024
Pre-Sales FAQ
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
G
GodAtum Offline OP
Newbie
OP Offline
Newbie
G
Joined: Jun 2024
Posts: 11
Originally Posted by Noel96
As promised, I have tried Reharmonization on a few of my SynthV vocals (exported as MIDI from SynthV). I have also used a number of different styles in both Jazz and Pop genres to see how that affects the chords added to the chordsheet.

Firstly, pop-based styles give less embellished chords than the jazz-based styles. This is what I anticipated.

From my perspective, the generated chord progressions had limited usability. The process certainly gave me ideas about potential chords that never occurred to me when I wrote the songs. This was good. Used in conjunction with the Chord Substitution process, I was able to find some additional interesting progressions. I could also choose to work on the whole song at once or sections by setting the number of bars I wanted to reharmonize.

For me, the process was not a 'one-stop shop'. At most, it gave me ideas to try out and to consider. Selecting chords for a vocal line still required my manual input to get a harmony that most comfortable.

Thank you for the info, that's really useful.

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
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 in the Tracks window that shows the current location across all tracks, and more.

Discover everything included in this free update and download it now at https://www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1124

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 make the most of this new tool.

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Windows®: Boot Camp: The AI Lyrics Generator video.

Check out the forum post for more information.

Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Windows®: Using VST3 Plugins

Band-in-a-Box 2025® for Windows® now includes support for VST3 plugins, bringing even more creative possibilities to your music production. Join Simon as he guides you through the process in this easy-to-follow demonstration!

Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Windows®: Using VST3 Plugins

Join the conversation on our forum.

Video: Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows: Using The BB Stem Splitter!

In this video, Tobin provides a crash course on using the new BB Stem Splitter feature included in Band-in-a-Box 2025® for Windows®. During this process he also uses the Audio Chord Wizard (ACW) and the new Equalize Tempo feature.

Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Windows®: Using the BB Stem Splitter

Check out the forum post for some optional Tips & Tricks!

Congrats to Misha (Rustyspoon)…downloaded/installed a full Audiophile 2025!

Breaking News!

We’re thrilled to announce that Rustyspoon has made PG history as the very first person to successfully complete the download and install of the full Band-in-a-Box 2025 Windows Audiophile Edition (with FLAC files)—a whopping 610GB of data!

A big shoutout to Rustyspoon for stepping up to be our test "elf!"

Thank you for your support, Rustyspoon!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows Videos

With the launch of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Windows, we're adding new videos to our YouTube channel. We'll also share them here once they are published so you can easily find all the Band-in-a-Box® 2025 and new Add-on videos in one place!

Whether it's a summary of the new features, demonstrations of the 202 new RealTracks, new XPro Styles PAK 8, or Xtra Styles PAKs 18, information on the 2025 49-PAK, or detailed tutorials for other Band-in-a-Box® 2025 features, we have you covered!

Reference this forum post for One-Stop Shopping of our Band-in-a-Box® 2025 Videos - we will be updating this post as more videos are added!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Windows is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!

Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 with savings of up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special—available until December 31, 2024! Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.

2025 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK
with some incredible Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Windows 2025 packages, but for even more Add-ons (including 20 Unreleased RealTracks!) upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49. You can see the full lists of items in each package, and listen to demos here.

If you have any questions, feel free to connect with us directly—we’re here to help!

Forum Statistics
Forums65
Topics83,469
Posts758,244
Members39,126
Most Online3,932
Nov 19th, 2024
Newest Members
noahproph, Javiatrix, Moonbeam9067, Improv, Bertche
39,125 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
jpettit 257
Noel96 151
Rob Helms 147
DrDan 142
MarioD 134
Jim Fogle 129
DC Ron 121
Today's Birthdays
GMORR
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5