Band-in-a-Box Pro 2011 by PG Music Inc.

Band-in-a-Box 2011 for Windows is here with over 50 new features and enhancements. RealTracks sound more natural over a wider range of tempos, they're much smaller and you can even shrink the size of your existing RealTracks. An iPhone version of Band-in-a-Box is also available from the Apple App Store. It connects to your Windows desktop version of Band-in-a-Box 2011 and allows you to generate, play, and save songs on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

Band-in-a-Box automatically generates a complete professional-quality arrangement of piano, bass, drums, guitar, and strings or horns.

Band-in-a-Box 2011 for Windows New Features

• PG Music has made big improvements to the sounds of the RealTracks, so that they sound more natural over a much wider range of tempos with the élastique Pro V2 time stretching engine by zplane.development. These improvements are built-in, so there's nothing you need to do to get them working. Your existing songs will just “sound better” over a much wider range of tempos. Please watch the demo videos for audio examples of the improvements.
• RealTracks are now much smaller so that they now only take up 30% of the space that they used to. After you install the program, you can run the feature in the RealTracks Settings dialog (Preferences), which will shrink the size of your RealTracks folders.
• An iPhone version of Band-in-a-Box is now available from the Apple App Store. The Band-in-a-Box iPhone version works by connecting to your Windows desktop version of Band-in-a-Box 2011 and allows you to generate, play, and save songs on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. And your iPhone generated songs have the same high quality RealTracks sound.
• Change of RealTracks Styles at any Bar. With previous versions of Band-in-a-Box, you were limited to one RealTracks style per song. Now you can change styles with RealTracks at any bar. Just select the style in the Edit | Edit Settings for Current Bar dialog. For example, switch from Jazz Swing to Bossa style at any bar. MultiStyles (with up to 16 substyles) can now be made with RealTracks. Change of individual RealTracks instrument can be added to any track at any bar. You can insert a specific RealTracks instrument at any bar to create a customized performance.
• Soloist “Medleys,” where the RealTracks is made to switch instruments every “N” bars or every chorus. For example, you can add a Bluegrass Medley Soloist that switches between solos from Mandolin, Guitar, Banjo, and Fiddle every 4 bars. Or a Jazz Medley Soloist that switches between Alto Sax, Trumpet, Piano, and Guitar solos every chorus. Or insert “Silence” as one of the instruments, which allows you to play your own instrument. Use the preexisting Soloist Medleys that we make by simply choosing a RealTracks, or create a custom one yourself on any track.
• Multiple RealTracks at the same time on the same track. You can add up to 10 RealTracks to play simultaneously on the same track. This is useful if you want to generate a lot of RealTracks, the theoretical limit would be 7 tracks x 10 per track = 70 RealTracks instruments playing at the same time.
• Re-Generate part of a Soloist track, without erasing the existing part. This allows you to customize your Soloist track by regenerating parts of the solo with the same or different RealTracks. For example, generate a 4-bar clarinet solo at bar 9. Then generate an 8-bar flute solo at bar 49. The file plays back with both solos intact.
• Options to auto-replace MIDI styles with RealTracks styles. If you have made a lot of songs using older MIDI styles, and would prefer that they play with RealTracks, you can now do this easily by selecting the menu option Styles | Auto Replace MIDI styles with RealTracks. Then, if you have the needed RealTracks installed, your MIDI style will be intelligently replaced with a RealTracks style. There is also a manual option to do this on as-needed basis, disable the feature for a certain song, or to reverse it if you prefer the MIDI style.
• “Triple-Time” RealTracks have been added. These allow you to use fast waltz RealTracks as slow 4/4 RealTracks (with a 12/8 feel). We have made some new 12/8 RealStyles that use this feature.
• RealTracks can be made as Half-Time/Double-Time/Triple-Time, so it is easier to select them, and they show up in the RealTracks Picker with tempos indicating when they can be used. For example, Alto Sax, tempo 140 will also show up in the RealTracks picker as Alto Sax, tempo 70 [Double-Time] so you can easily choose it. Any RealTracks can be made as a “Bluesy” RealTracks by selecting this checkbox in the RealTracks Picker. “Bluesy” RealTracks will play more using blues scales (e.g. Bb note on a C chord).
• RealTracks sound more “musical” when stretched to extreme tempos. In addition to the major audio improvements when tempo is stretched by élastique Pro V2, the RealTracks soloists sound more musical when stretched to extreme tempos. This is because musicians tend to play more ahead/behind the beat at slower/faster tempos. This is a done automatically.

An iPhone version of Band-in-a-Box is now available, and works hand-in-hand with Band-in-a-Box or Windows.

• New “Practicing” Feature: Change tempo of all loaded songs by X. When this is set, song tempo will be increased (or decreased) by the specified amount, allowing you to “bump up” all of your tempos easily when practicing lots of songs, or in a jukebox mode.
• Option to change all songs in a folder to your Default Mix. This would insure that all of your songs have the same mix of Volume, Reverb, and Pan settings.
• MP4 and M4A files are now supported. MP4 and M4A files are the popular high-quality format used by Apple in iTunes. These MP4/M4A features require QuickTime for Windows to be installed from www.apple.com.
• Scales Wizard added. When students are practicing Jazz tunes, it is helpful to see the scales that are used for each chord. The Scale Wizard 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). Menu items on the Soloist menu allow you to generate scales for a certain song, or generate them for all loaded songs. View the scales in the notation or the on-screen guitar and piano.

101 New RealTracks

PG Music has added a huge number of new RealTracks (101), with great new Jazz, Pop, and Country Styles.

33 New Jazz RealTracks!

These include:

• Jazz Swing Piano comping and soloing with NY Jazz great Mike LeDonne.
• Vibes Swing/Bossa comping and soloing with Steve Nelson.
• Gypsy Jazz: John Jorgenson (guitar), Gonzalo Bergara (guitar), Tim Kliphuis (violin), Simon Planting (bass), and Rick Reed (drums).
• Smooth Jazz Piano Soloing from Jeff Lorber.
• Smooth Jazz Guitar with Dwight Sills.
• Swing Jazz Guitar with Oliver Gannon.

And existing Jazz RealTracks have been enhanced with more natural phrasing (more pushes), better playing over non-Jazz chords (triads), RealCharts notation for some Acoustic Bass parts, and options for “simpler” playing in some RealTracks.

35 New Pop/Rock/Folk RealTracks!

These include:

• Celtic (Irish) Jigs and Reels: Guitar, Piano, Bass, Bodhran (percussion).
• Reggae: Guitar, Organ, Bass, Drums.
• Calypso: Guitars (2), Accordion, Bass, Drums.
• Pop Waltz, Hard Rock Waltz, and more.
• Brent Mason Pop/Rock Guitar Soloing (3 styles).

33 New Country RealTracks!

These include:

• Praise and Worship: Styles: “Shining” and “Uplifting”–14 RealTracks (Piano, Synth, Bass, Guitar, Drums).
• Brent Mason Pop/Rock Guitar Soloing (4 styles).
• Tex Mex Styles: “2-beat” and “Country” (Accordion, Bass, Guitar, Drums).

Over 50 new features and enhancements.

Existing Jazz RealTracks are enhanced.

• Phrasing is improved, with more pushes to sound more natural.
• Playing over non-Jazz chords (triads) is improved.
• RealCharts notation, bass tab, and on-screen bass fretboard now displays for some of the Jazz Swing Acoustic Bass RealTracks.
• Some styles have better playing over m6 and 6th chords (e.g. the new Gypsy Jazz styles).
• Some RealTracks have a “simpler” variation with less complex playing (e.g. Acoustic Bass Jazz Swing).

StylePicker Enhancements

New StylePicker Filters show you only the styles that match your search terms. These help you to select the style that you want, by allowing you to specify:

• Even/Swing feel
• 8ths/16ths
• tempo range
• # of instruments
• specific instruments (e.g. styles with “Banjo”)
• specific RealTracks Artists
• RealDrums Artists
• Real styles or MIDI styles

For example, if you are searching for a Jazz Ballad style that is all RealTracks, has bass, drums, and guitar, works for a tempo of 60, with Swing 8ths you can set this filter and then only see styles that match these criteria, instead of a list of thousands of styles.

New StylePicker Columns added:

• # of instruments in style, e.g. 4.
• Whether any required RealTracks, RealDrums are not installed, e.g. NA.
• Whether a RealTracks substitute for a MIDI style is available, e.g. sub.
• Auto-Generated style memo added for each style. This lists names of all instruments, # of instruments, RealTracks/RealDrums used, whether any required RealTracks or RealDrums are missing, and more.