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Text File | 1990-10-31 | 24.6 KB | 475 lines

ON LINE HELP FOR STYLE MAKER Use cursor keys or page Up/Down to move around This help is on a file called stylhelp.bb PRINTING OUT THIS MANUAL If you would like to print it out type: copy stylhelp.bb prn ( from the DOS prompt outside of the program) TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Overview of the Style Maker 2. Explanation of the Screen 3. Entering Drum Patterns 4. Entering Bass Patterns 5. Entering Piano Patterns 6. Playback of Patterns 7. Tutorial 8. Compiling the style ************************************************************ 1 . Overview of the style maker The Style Maker is a part of the Band-in-a-Box that lets you make up your own styles . Once made , the styles are saved to disk and are then ready to be used by the program for playing any song in the selected 'User style'.Styles end up as small files eg. 5K so 50-60 styles can be stored per 360K floppy disk. Note that styles ( with .STY extension ) are distinct from song files (.SG? extension ). The style maker has been designed to be as flexible as possible. a simple style would consist of 3 patterns ( 1 each bass , drums , and piano ) , but more complex and varying styles are created by using more patterns ( up to 600 may be entered ! ) . The Styles are made by entering drum ,bass and/or piano patterns in the desired style . Drum patterns: - are entered in step time from a typical drum programming screen (grid). - are always entered as 1 bar patterns ( longer patterns may be chained together using MASKS - decribed below ) Bass and piano patterns: - are played in real time from a Midi Keyboard - are played in always on a C7 chord ( C E G Bb ) - The Patterns for Bass and Piano are classified by the length of the pattern ie. the number of notes that the chord lasts without a change of chord . 4 bar ex. | F | Bb C7 | F6 | | chord duration 4 2 2 8 -Patterns may be entered for chord durations of 1,2,4, and 8 notes . The Band-in-a-Box program sorts out everything else about determining the length of the chord durations in the song and combining lengths for unusual lengths ( 3= 2+ 1 etc .) - The patterns are always recorded in 2 bar chunks , regardless of the chord duration . If a short chord duration is entered , the remainder of the pattern is ignored . - Patterns are also entered for the A and B substyles . - If more than 1 pattern is entered for a particular chord duration , the program will randomly pick between them. - When a pattern is picked may be further controlled by Masks- for example a pattern with a Mask of 2 would be played only on even #'d bars ( #'d from last part marker ) . - special notes called MACRO notes are available in bass and piano patterns . When the playback encounters the Macro notes , it will not play the note but rather will trigger a specific function , be it a bass walking note , or a ' jazz chord ' - see below for specifics. PLAYBACK OF PATTERNS IN THE STYLE MAKER is done from the main screen : - <F4> key plays pattern back exactly as played - <F8> key plays pattern back as Band-in-a-Box would ie . on a specific chord set by the user from a menu - any key stops playback of the pattern PATTERNS ARE ERASED BY ASSIGNING A WEIGHT OF ZERO TO THE PATTERN ************************************************************ 2 Explanation of the Screen The Style Maker consists of 2 screens: 1.Style Maker Screen 2.Drum Pattern screen 1. The Style Maker screen The Style Maker screen is full of numbers - mostly zeros . These numbers indicate whether or not a pattern has been recorded at the location - zero indicates no pattern and a number from 1-9 indicates that a pattern has been recorded with the actual value corresponding to the desired weight the pattern is to be given relative to other similar patterns. Patterns that you don't want to here very often in the style are given low weights, eg. 0 = no pattern recorded 1= pattern recorded 8 = pattern recorded The rows correspond to the type of pattern -the screen is divided into 1/3 drum/bass/piano -A and B refer to the 2 substyles available in the Band-in-a-Box program - the number following refers to the CHORD DURATION for the Pattern . This is important so will be described in detail here . Consider the following chord progression | F6 | | G7 | / / Am7 / | | Gm7 | C7 / / Gb9 | F6 Dm7 | Eb9 D9 C7sus| When Band-in-a-Box goes to play this back it will analyze the chord durations as follows the F6 chord lasts 8 notes G7 chord lasts 6 notes Am7 chord lasts 2 notes Gm7 chord lasts 4 notes C7 chord lasts 3 notes Gb9 chord lasts 1 notes F6 chord lasts 2 notes Dm7 chord lasts 2 notes Eb9 chord lasts 1 notes D9 chord lasts 1 notes C7sus chord lasts 2 notes - Because patterns are played very differently on chords lasting 1 note compared to those lasting 8 notes ( the 8 note pattern might rest for the first 4 notes ) the Style Maker gives you the option of entering specific patterns for each chord duration. Durations of 1,2 4 and 8 are allowed . If a duration of 3 is encountered it is broken up into 2 patterns ( 2+1 ) , and so on . so the row BASS B 4 Beat 5 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 would be for entering Bass patterns with Chord Durations of 4 in B substyle in the example above there are currently 3 patterns recorded with relative weights of 5,6 and 1. The pattern with a weight of 1 will only be chosen occasionally relative to the other 2. ************************************************************ 2 . The Drum Pattern Screen - this screen is used for step recording and playback of 1 bar patterns - patterns are recorded in timebase of 12 ( 4 beats * triplets) or 16 ( 4 beats * 16ths ) - NOTE : ALL USER STYLES ARE ENTERED IN 4/4 TIME The Band-in-a-Box Program is capable of playing back in any time signature ( via the F5 Key setting ) so user defined waltz styles would be made as 4/4 but played as 3/4 . ************************************************************ 3. Recording Drum Patterns -From the Main Style Maker screen , move the highlight square to over the Drum pattern you wish to record. -From the Main Style Maker Screen type 'R' to enter the Drum Sreen STEP time record screen - The Screen will now change to the Drum Pattern Entry screen . This has a grid with 4 beats across the top and 18 instruments down the side . - Your first decision is the timebase - either 12 for triplets ( 4 beats * triplets ) or 16 ( 4 beats * 16th notes ) - If you set timebase of 12 - the program will ignore the 4th column of each beat - in fact will skip over it when you move around the screen using cursor keys . - the idea is that you move around the grid and type velocities from 0 to 127 where you want a note to be played in the bar . Press <F4> for playback - this is pretty routine drum pattern programming so it may be intuitive to you . - Hot Keys are available to avoid cumbersome typing of velocities - in fact the bottom row of keyboard ie. zxcvbnm,./ are all hot keys from 0 to 127 Other Hot Keys are ENTER key : = Last Entry [ ] keys : +/- 5 to current entry - Every note can have an alternate note associated with it . -For example you might want a closed high hat 80% of time and open high hat 20% . This is accomplished by entering the closed high hat velocity - then typing F5 key to enter the Alternate screen - Set Alternate Play%=20 and Note#=4 (high hat ) - numbers are displayed on left of screen. -Other use would be a crash cymbal 20% of the time with nothing the other 80% . Enter the crash - then set Alternate %= 80 Alternate Note#=0 ( no note ) - When you're done with your pattern play it with F4 key now Save it and Exit by typing F10 Key You are now presented with the following options : This screen is also accessed directly from the main Style Maker screen by typing 'E' to Edit the settings. -RELATIVE WEIGHT : This was described above - it refers to how often you want to here this pattern relative to other patterns on the same row . Weights can be changed at any time - so don't worry - this is usually used to fine tune a style eg. " I wish it would play that stupid drum fill less often " - PLAYBACK BAR MASK: This # is usually left at 0 if set to 0:pattern played at any bar 0,1,2,3,4,5... 1:pattern played at odd # bars only 1,3,5,7,9,... 2:pattern played at even bars only 2,4,6,8,10... 3:pattern played on 3rd of 4 bar ( 3,7,11,15..) 4:pattern played on 4th of 4 ( 4,8,12,16,20...) 5:pattern played on 5th of 8 5,13,21... 6:pattern played on 6th of 8 6,14,22... 7:pattern played on 7th of 8 7,15,23... 8:pattern played on 8th of 8 8,16,24... The bar #s are measured relative to the last part marker. This Mask feature allows entry of multi bar patterns by setting mask = 1,2,3,4 etc. - ALLOW OTHER PATTERNS : If Set to Yes the Picker will include other patterns with a mask of zero as well as the present pattern.For example if you have a drum pattern to occur on every 4 bar , but not to be the ONLY pattern to be a candidate to be picked , you would set ALLOW OTHER PATTERNS=Yes. - LATE TRIPLETS : Most drum patterns are quantized , which sounds great , except for jazz . The third triplet in jazz swing is really between the 3rd triplet and the 4th sixteenth . This setting lets you set this "LATE TRIPLET" to be from 0 to 10 with a typically nice setting=6 - when you've exited the drum screen you're returned to the Style Maker screen . From the Style Maker screen you can directly Play the Drum Pattern - <F4> key and also Edit the settings above from the E-Edit Key in addition to re-entering the pattern by the R-Record Key . Drum Patterns may be copied by using the SCRAP <ALT C > copy the pattern to the scrap <ALT V > paste from the scrap ( the scrap also works for bass and piano ) ************************************************************ 4. RECORDING BASS PATTERNS - move the cursor to the bass area which is the middle of the screen . Decide on entering a pattern for 'A' substyle or 'B' substyle , then decide on the Chord Duration you're entering for - move the cursor to this row and then to an empty pattern ie with a Zero weight setting . If You have chosen a chord duration of 4 in B substyle you'll be using the row BASS B 4 beat . This pattern would get used a lot in the M.A.S.H theme ( mostly duration=4 ) | Dm7 | G7 | C6 | F6 | | Bb6 | E7 | Am7 | | Even though you'll be recording a 4 note pattern , like every other pattern you'll be recording 2 bars - 1bar of your pattern , the other bar blank - you'll wait out the 2nd bar until the program automatically shuts off record by presenting you with the Bass Options Menu . - Here's what you play for a Bass Pattern - Every pattern is entered on a C7 chord ( C E G Bb ) The Root is = Midi Note #48 (C) On A Korg M1 this is 12 semitones above the lowest note on the keyboard. - So all of your bass patterns should be centered around this C Note (#48) . Also don't go more than a fourth below this ( the G Note (#43)) or your patterns will sound too low when transposed. - Never enter a pattern for a chord other than C7 , The program will sort out how to play the other chords ( as you can here by pressing F8 key ) - When you press record the program will play a total of 4 bars then automatically stop, displaying the Bass Options Menu - the first 2 bars are a lead in - playing drums and piano patterns in the style that you're making - the last 2 bars are for you to record the bass pattern - if you interrupt the recording ( by pressing a key ) the take will be REJECTED. - If you make it to the end of the 2 bar recording , the Bass Options Menu will be displayed with the following Options -RELATIVE WEIGHT : This was described above - it refers to how often you want to here this pattern relative to other patterns on the same row . Weights can be changed at any time - so don't worry - this is usually used to fine tune a style - PLAYBACK BAR MASK: This # is usually left at 0 if set to 0:pattern played at any bar 0,1,2,3,4,5... 1:pattern played at odd # bars only 1,3,5,7,9,... 2:pattern played at even bars only 2,4,6,8,10... 3:pattern played on 3rd of 4 bar ( 3,7,11,15..) 4:pattern played on 4th of 4 ( 4,8,12,16,20...) 5:pattern played on 5th of 8 5,13,21... 6:pattern played on 6th of 8 6,14,22... 7:pattern played on 7th of 8 7,15,23... 8:pattern played on 8th of 8 8,16,24... The bar #s are measured relaitive to the last part marker. This Mask feature allows entry of multi bar patterns by setting mask = 1,2,3,4 etc. - ALLOW OTHER PATTERNS : If Set to Yes the Picker will include other patterns with a mask of zero as well as the present pattern.For example if you have a drum pattern to occur on every 4 bar , but not to be the ONLY pattern to be a candidate to be picked , you would set ALLOW OTHER PATTERNS=Yes. of less than 4 - for example for a chord duration of 2 to be picked only when on beat 3 set Beat Mask=3 ********* OK TO USE MACRO NOTES (BASS) - Macro Notes are an important feature which allow your patterns to access intelligence within the Band-in-a-Box program . A pattern recorded with Macro notes will sound a little strange when you're recording it , or playing it back as played with the F4 key , but will sound correct when played back with the F8 key ( and therefore OK in the style) The Following are the Bass Macros : Note # 72 (C) :Pop Walking Note(s) . -On playback <F8>, the Note#72 will be replaced by intelligent notes walking in a pop/country mode to the next chord. Maximum 4 walking notes per pattern Note # 76 (E) :Note a semitone below Root of Next Chord 77 (F) :Root Of Next Chord 78 (F#):Note a semitone ABOVE Root of Next Chord 79 (G) :Best Fifth ( A Fifth above or below the Root depending on how high the root is. Remember to get Bass Macros Working you must : - hit the right note # ( you may be out by an octave) - Set OK to use macros to Y.es ( can check this setting by pressing E.dit key. and - Playback the Pattern with F8 key ( the F4 key gives you an 'as played' playback with the strange sounding high macro notes Bass Patterns may be copied by using the SCRAP <ALT C > copy the pattern to the scrap <ALT V > paste from the scrap ( the scrap also works for drums and piano ) ***************************************************** 5. Entering Piano Patterns - see entering bass patterns for info on moving to the correct pattern - piano is bottom 3rd of screen - as with bass , the pattern is recorded as 2 bars , following the 2 bar lead in played by the bass/drums . - as long as you haven't interrupted playback by pressing a key the Piano Options Menu will be displayed with the following options : Playback Weight: ------ THESE OPTIONS ARE THE SAME PlayBack Bar Mask: | IDEA AS DESCRIBED FOR BASS ABOVE Playback Beat Mask: | Allow Other Patterns: ------ OK to use macros The Piano macros are similar in concept to the Bass Macros described above except that they trigger a piano chord when played back: The Piano Macros Are : Midi Note # 83 B Pop Chord Diatonic Below Midi Note # 84 C Pop Chord Midi Note # 85 C# Pop Chord Diatonic Above Midi Note # 88 E Jazz Chord Chromatic Below Midi Note # 89 F Jazz Chord Midi Note # 90 F# Jazz Chord Chromatic Above Midi Note # 93 A Next Chord ( Jazz ) OK to embellish pattern: Normally when entering piano patterns you would only use the notes C,E,G,Bb ( unless as passing notes ) Also the Left Hand extends from Note #36 to #48 ( the Left Hand does not participate in smooth voice leading or embellishment ) If You set ok to embellish the pattern , the chords will be randomly embellished IF you've set Jazz to Y.es at the top of the Style Maker screen.The embellishment works in a similar way to the Jazz embellishment in the Band-in-a-Box jazz style ie.intelligent in key you're in . Embellishment=0 no embellish =1 constant embellishment through the pattern =2 embellishment changes through the pattern Type of Voice Leading 0 = transpose only 1 = smooth for 4 note 2 = smooth for 3 note chords The easiest type of voice leading is transpose only If the notes C E G Bb were played as a C7 pattern the Band-in-a-Box would transpose that voicing to a F7 chord as F A C Eb which is fine but not very smooth A more pleasant setting would be=1 smooth for 4 note then the F7 would be voiced automatically as C Eb F A If you haven't entered 4 note chords ie. C E G Bb then set voicing =2 so Band-in-a-Box can voice these 3 note chords properly Transpose Root Pattern Y.es or N.o Used in conjunction with smooth voice leading - if set to yes then the tonal centre to decide which inversions of chord to use will be changed to the key of the song , and smooth voice leading will proceed from the new tonal center. If you had entered an arpeggio for Color My World as C E G Bb ( C7 ) this would be smooth voiced in the key of F as C E F A unless we set transpose root pattern to Y.es then will be voiced as F A C E Piano Patterns may be copied by using the SCRAP <ALT C > copy the pattern to the scrap <ALT V > paste from the scrap ( the scrap also works for drums and bass ) ******************************************************* 6. Playback of patterns F4 to playback pattern exactly as recorded F8 to playback pattern on certain chord 7. Tutorial ( No tutorial yet... but read info on recording bass/drum/piano patterns) 8.Compiling Style to disk At the end of your session , or to be safe you should save your style . This is done by F10 key . It is a good idea to give new names to the style each time you save it: MyPop1,MyPop2,MyPypop3 The styles are tiny (6k) and won't take up much space , so these types of backups will insure that you won't screw up a good style ) When you want to play a song in your style ( you must have exited the Style Maker ) use the F8 Key to Play In User Style , or F9 Key to Choose a User Style .If your style is on a different subdirectory you can hunt for it by using the last icon in the file list ( press Enter ). 9.Endings Ending Patterns work similar to Others except 1. Drum patterns are always 2 bars consisting of 2 one bar patterns with the second pattern being the one to the immediate right of the first one 2. Bass Patterns + Piano Patterns are always 2 bars and will correspond to the drum ending pattern ( ie. directly under it ) Therefore , you can have several different endings with weights attatched , Once an ending is picked , the drums/bass/piano will all be co-ordinated in playing patterns in the same columns. 3. The Ending will occur in a song on the Bar following the Chorus End . If there is no chord typed in this bar then no ending will occur. For example : A Song with no intro has Chorus From Bar 1-32 . In Bar 33 a Cmaj7 is typed This song will trigger the ending because the CMAJ7 is present in the bar following Bar 32 . ( These endings only work with the user defined StyleMaker styles , and not with prexisting BB styles)