User Guide

Chapter 5: Guided Tour of Band-in-a-Box
65
Frame the song
Here we have selected bar one to be the first bar of the chorus and bar 32 to be the
last. The chorus will repeat three times before proceeding to the two bar ending.
Set the Tempo
Let’s set the tempo to 160 beats per minute. The tempo is displayed in the song title window with
a default setting of 120 beats per minute.
Click with the mouse to adjust the tempo in increments of 5 beats per minute. Clicking on the top of the numbers
increases the tempo setting, clicking on the bottom decreases it. The tempo can also be typed into the Main Settings
dialog, which opens from the menu Song | Title/Key/Tempo/Embel…, or with the keystrokes Command+K. You
can click 4 times on the metronome in this dialog to set your tempo.
Tap the Tempo
Not sure of the tempo for your song? Tap it in real time on either the [-] key or the [=] key on your computer
keyboard. Four taps on the minus key sets the tempo, four taps on the equal key sets the tempo and starts the song
playing.
Finishing the Song Arrangement
Use the powerful musical intelligence of features like the Harmonies and the Soloist to add the final touches to your
song. The Edit Bar Settings dialog (Alt+B or F5) lets you fine-tune your arrangement by changing styles,
RealDrums styles, patches, harmonies, tempo (absolute or relative), and meter anywhere in the song. Changes can
be applied to all choruses or just to a selected chorus.
Record a Melody
Band-in-a-Box has 2 built-in MIDI sequencer tracks, Melody and Soloist, so you can record and edit your own
melodies or solos. These tracks are recorded from a MIDI keyboard (or other MIDI controller) connected to Band-
in-a-Box by your MIDI driver.