Open Specialopens a submenu with more options for opening songs.

Open Next Song and Open Previous Song will open the next/previous song in alphabetical order.  If the song loaded has a file name of “Paul,” choosing load-next-file will find the next file in alphabetical order after Paul, maybe it would be “Peter.”  Shift+F8 and Ctrl+Shift+F8 are the hot keys for this.

Open (Using Standard Dialog) uses the standard Windows® dialog.

Open Filtered by Style loads only song in current style.

Open with Melodies lists only song files that have melodies (*.mg?).

Open Favorite Songs opens the dialog that shows the last 150 songs played.

Favorite Folders… opens a list of recently used folders for quick access.

Open Karaoke (KAR) File opens Karaoke files directly in Band-in-a-Box, displaying the lyrics and chord symbols for the song.

Open Song by Title opens the SongPicker, which shows information for up to 60,000 songs. It has many filter features for finding songs. You can also search songs that have similar chord progressions or melody fragments.

Open MIDI file loads a MIDI file into Band-in-a-Box and the MIDI file will play with the chords intelligently interpreted on-screen.  MIDI files read in Section Markers and show them as part markers.

Open MusicXML File imports a MusicXML file (*.musicxml, *.XML, *.MXL) from your notation programs such as Finale, Sibelius, and Guitar Pro to Band-in-a-Box.

Open ABC Notation Music File imports an ABC notation file.

Open Audio (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV, CDA) will open an audio file in WAV, MP3, Windows® Media Player (WMA, WMV) or CD Audio (CDA) format.  Play back at 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8 speed for transcribing or analyzing.

Find File finds a Band-in-a-Box song (or any file that Band-in-a-Box can open), including filtering by words found in the file name or any text in the file.

Launch Audio Chord Wizard… (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV, CDA) will open the Audio Chord Wizard to analyze chords in an existing Band-in-a-Box song (that has a WAV file on the audio track).

Save Song with Patches & Harmony: All settings are normally saved with Band-in-a-Box files.  If you would like to save certain patches with a song, then type in the number of the patch (instrument) that you would like.  Leave the other instruments at zero (0) for No Patch Change.  Remember that - as with all other Band-in-a-Box functions - you use the General MIDI number for the instrument, regardless of the synth you are using.  You can also freeze selected tracks in this dialog.

Save Song as MIDI File saves the song as a Standard MIDI file.  You can save in Type 1 (multi-tracks) or Type 0 (single track) files.  Karaoke MIDI files are also supported.

Save Song as MusicXML File: Band-in-a-Box supports MusicXML so you can easily export your Band-in-a-Box songs into notation programs such as Finale, Sibelius, and Guitar Pro, while still retaining the chords from the Band-in-a-Box song.

Save Song as ABC Notation File allows you to save the song as an ABC notation file.  ABC notation is the simple text-based notation system used by musicians worldwide to store chords, melody, and lyrics of songs.  You can find out more information about the songs and ABC notation at abcnotation.com.

Save Song to Favorite Folder allows you to save the song in one of your favorite folders.

Save Song(s) to Text on clipboard or file(s): Chords and other data in the current song can be copied as a simple text format, and then be pasted into another song in Band-in-a-Box or a text file in a program like Notepad.  You can also copy chords and other data in all songs in the selected folder to the clipboard, or you can save them as individual text files or a single text file.

Save Song as wav/wma/mp3/mp4/m4a renders the song in the audio format you choose and saves it to the specified location.

Email song file(s) as attachment(s) allows you to email a song (.MGU or .SGU), style (.STY and .STX) or rendered audio file (m4a, wma, wav, mp3) as attachments.

Import Melody from MIDI File allows you to import MIDI data from a file (*.MID) into the Melody track.

Import Melody from Clipboard allows you to import MIDI data that has been pasted into the clipboard (e.g., from a sequencer such as PowerTracks) into the Melody track.

Import Soloist Part from MIDI File allows you to import MIDI data from a file (*.MID) into the Soloist track.

Import Soloist Part from Clipboard allows you to import MIDI data that has been pasted into the clipboard (e.g., from a sequencer such as PowerTracks) into the Soloist track.

Import MusicXML File allows you to import a MusicXML file (*.musicxml, *.XML, *.MXL), to the current song. In the dialog that opens after choosing a MusicXML file, select a track that you want to import. If you want to change the destination track, right-click on a track and select Destination Track. Then, in the area below the track selection, select items that you want to import from the MusicXML file. If you do not want all the tracks to be merged into the Melody track, disable the “Load all XML tracks to Melody” option. The “# Bars in XML file to Skip” setting allows you to load the MusicXML file from a certain bar. For example, a setting of 4 will load the MusicXML file from bar 5. When you are ready, press [OK], and the MusicXML file will be imported to the current song.

Import Audio (WAV, WMA, MP3, WMV) allows you to import an audio file into your Band-in-a-Box song.  A Mono or Stereo audio file can be imported to the Audio track, optionally merging or replacing any existing Audio track.

Import Chords from PG Music MIDI file will read in the chord symbols from PG Music MIDI files made by programs like Band-in-a-Box or PowerTracks Pro Audio.  Note that it won’t read in the chords from a MIDI file that doesn’t have special chord symbols typed in to it, i.e., it doesn’t interpret chords.  If you want to interpret chords from any MIDI file, use the File | Import | Import Chords from MIDI File option instead.

Import Chords from PG Music MIDI file on CLIPBOARD: Chords from most PG Music programs can be copied to the clipboard and imported with this command.

Import Chords from MIDI File uses the MIDI File Chord Wizard to interpret chords from any MIDI file, and also import tracks to the Melody and Soloist tracks.

Import MGU Song imports part or all of an existing Band-in-a-Box song to your current song, with options to specify source and destination range, type of information to import (chords, melody, lyrics, etc.), and more.

Load a User Style from disk: Styles can be selected and loaded with Long File Name dialogs.

Select Favorite Styles opens the Favorite Styles dialog, which contains a list of the most recent 150 styles used.  Since these are ordered based upon how often they are used, we call this the “favorite styles” list.  Since you can also store user-definable favorite lists, we also refer to them as Set Lists.

Load Previous Style / Load Next Style: These functions, like the Load Next Song function, load in the previous (or next) style in alphabetical order of the file name. .

Find a RealTracks Replacement for current MIDI style will find the best RealTracks replacement for your current MIDI style and ask if you want to use it.

Load Style demo for current style loads the demo song for the currently loaded style.  This feature is also available with a click on the name of the style on the main screen.  The menu that displays will include the option to “Load Song Demo” for the current style.

Style is Enabled: When this is disabled, the name of the style will have an X at the beginning, which indicates a disabled style.  The disabled style won’t sound or write any data to the MIDI file.  The most common use for disabling a style is when a MIDI file is loaded to the Melody track.  Then the style won’t sound and conflict with the full arrangement on the Melody track.

OK to load style with songs allows you to keep a style in memory.  This way, all subsequent songs that are loaded will not change the style (even if they have a different associated style), so you can easily play songs in the same style.  If you’ve found a new favorite style, you can try it out in all kinds of songs without having to reload the style each time. For example, let’s say we’ve discovered the GARNER style, and want to try it out on many different songs.  Select File | Load Style Special | OK to load styles with songsto ensure the item is NOT checked.  Then when you load a song the saved style associated with the song doesn’t load and the song will play in GARNER.STY.  You can over-ride this style by loading in another style using the [Style] button or the File | Load Style Special menu.  The new style loaded will stay in until you choose another one, or until you turn off the forced styles option and load a song that uses a different style.

Style Aliases: You can create an alias so that when Band-in-a-Box looks for a style, it will load its alias instead, so when you have found a new favorite style just change the alias and you don’t have to change all of your songs.

Restore Style Prior to Style Alias reverts to the original MIDI style after you have used a RealTracks replacement.  It also turns off the style alias feature for the song.

Auto-Replace MIDI styles with RealTracks styles when songs loaded: 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 File | Load Style Special | Auto-Replace MIDI styles with RealTracks styles when songs loaded.  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.

Suggest RealTracks style replacements when songs are loaded: This feature is the manual option for Auto-Replace MIDI styles.  It suggests RealTracks style replacements but doesn’t automatically load them.  That is done manually from the RealTracks toolbar button menu.  It is disabled when “Auto-Replace” is checked.

New - Make A New Style allows you to begin to create a new style, using the StyleMaker feature.  See online Tutorial #6: StyleMaker - Making a New Style.

Edit a Style allows you to edit an existing style (*.STY) from disk.  The resulting style can then be saved with the same name or a different name.  This function uses the StyleMaker.  See online Tutorial #5: StyleMaker – Editing Styles.

Edit Current Style allows you to quickly get into the StyleMaker to edit the current style.  The current style is the style that is displayed in the Style Box on the main screen.  Usually, you would use Ctrl+Shift+F9 to do this quickly. 

Save Current Song (except muted instruments) as a Style saves the style that is in use to the C:\bb\Styles folder with the parts that are currently selected.  If, for example, a MIDI style has had RealTracks added, the RealTracks will be saved with the style and the style name will get an = sign prefix.  So, if you were to add an acoustic bass RealTracks to the ZZJAZZ style and save it with this feature, the name would change to =ZZJAZZ.STY.  It also saves MIDI SuperTracks and Hi-Q instruments (or other TGS files), and automatically calculates dB offsets based on volume, taking existing offsets into account. Press the[Rebuild] button in the StylePicker and the new style name will be added to the list of Other Styles.

Make a Hybrid Style: The “Hybrid Styles” feature allows you to play and create a style that has instruments from up to five different styles!  You can, for example, play a song with a Reggae bass, Rock drums, Salsa piano, or any combination of up to five styles that you want.

Style Wizard (Auto-Create Style from MIDI file) launches the Style Creation Wizard, which automatically converts a MIDI file (.MID) to a Band-in-a-Box Style (.STY).  Simply open a MIDI file, select your options, and press “Save-As Style.”

Change Directory (Path) opens the Browse Folder window where a new directory can be selected.

Run Explorer in Current Directory launches Explorer.  Pressing Ctrl+Alt+F3 is the usual way to get to this item and will quickly open Explorer.  Once Explorer is open, you could double-click on a song or style to load it in. (Assuming that there is a file association for Band-in-a-Box songs and styles made in Explorer.)

Run Explorer (choose folder) opens a Browse for Folder dialog where you can choose a folder.

Auto-rename song files to Long File Names will rename all song files in the current directory to long file names, using the song title as the name.

Rename Any File on disk… or Rename CURRENT song filename allows you to rename files.

Delete File from disk deletes a song file without exiting the program

“Nuke It!” (Delete CURRENT song file from list) deletes the current song.

Associate File types (songs, styles) with Windows… / Remove File Associations (songs, styles) with Windows… will associate (or remove associations for) the file types for Band-in-a-Box songs and styles in Explorer.  Once set, this means that you can double-click on a song or style in Explorer and Band-in-a-Box will open with that song or style.

Batch create MIDI files convert an entire folder of BB songs to MIDI files.  You can choose the file names to be based either on the original file name or song title name.  This feature is also accessed with the [Batch mode…] button in the MIDI file dialog.

Change all songs in current folder to a specific TEMPO will set all the songs in the folder to the tempo you enter, but it is NOT UNDOABLE.  (Tempos can be reset individually.)

Change all songs in current folder to a specific STYLE name is also NOT UNDOABLE.

Change all song in current folder to default Mix applies the default mix as set in the Master right-click context menu.  This is not undoable.

Copy From…To… / Copy Rests: One of the best ways to copy chords is the Copy From… To… command, or pressing Alt+C, which launches the Copy Chords and/or melody dialog.  The Copy Rest command will similarly bring up the Copy Rests dialog to allow copying of rests.  These dialogs allow you to specify the number of bars to copy, the location to copy to, and the option to copy the Chords, Melody, Soloist, and/or Lyrics.

Copy/Move Tracks allows copying or moving data (audio and/or MIDI) from one track to another.

Copy Song(s) to Text on clipboard or file(s) allows you to select the items to include when you copy the chords in the song. It also allows you to copy or save all songs in a specific folder to the clipboard or save them as text file(s).

Song Form Dialog (arrange song like AABACAA) allows you to define sections of a song (A, B, C, etc.), and then rearrange the song by typing the form you want (e.g., AABABAACA)

Settings (for This Song) opens the Song Settings dialog for settings such as endings, tags, style variations, pushes, rests, and chord embellishments to make your song interesting and varied. The dialog can also be accessed by pressing the [Song Settings] button on the main screen. 

Repeats/codas/1st-2nd endings: You can add repeats and endings so that the Lead Sheet window will display and print using 1st /2nd endings.

Intro Bars - Auto Generate (or Remove) will launch the Generate Intro dialog where you can specify the characteristics of the intro you wish to generate.  For more information on this feature please refer to the Automatic Intro section.

Reduce (durations of chords by 1/2) cuts chord durations by 50% (e.g., 4beats>>2beats; 2beats>>1beat).

Expand (durations of chords by 2) doubles the durations of chords (e.g., 1beat>>2beats; 2beats>>4beats).

Unfold (convert to 1 BIG chorus): Choose this command to unfold a multi-chorus song into one BIG chorus.  When selected, Band-in-a-Box will display all choruses and verses of a song without loops or repeats.  It is useful, for instance, when you have a song with 3 choruses and want to convert it to a single large chorus, or to customize a song with the “Edit Settings for Current Bar” feature to change meter, tempo, patches, styles, and/or harmonies and generate a MIDI file for export.

Fold (convert 1 chorus to multiple) converts a song with a single big chorus to multiple smaller choruses based on the information you enter in the Fold Song dialog (chorus begins, chorus ends, tag etc.). If you have imported a MIDI file, you might have a file that is 96 bars long, but really consists of 3 choruses of 32 bars each.  You can convert this to a 32-bar song by using the Edit | Fold song option, including inserting tag endings, and 2-bar endings.

Transpose From ... To ... launches the Transpose dialog for transposing a particular section of the song.  The bar values can be typed in manually or you can transpose a portion of a song by highlighting the region you wish to have transposed, selecting this menu item, and typing in the new key you wish to transpose to.

Transpose DOWN 1 semitone or Transpose UP 1 semitone transposes the entire song.  This can be done while the song is playing.  Band-in-a-Box will pause briefly, and then resume playing in the new key at the same place in the song.

Transpose # of semitones opens a dialog where you can type in the number of semitones to transpose the song.

Enter Lyrics at current bar opens the Lyric entry box at the current location of the timeline or highlight cell.

Big Lyrics Window opens the Big Lyrics window for viewing lyrics and, optionally, chord symbols.

Lyric Document Window displays a full screen of formatted lyrics.  Easily copy and paste lyrics to and from your favorite word processor.  The lyrics will then display in the Big Lyrics window.

Copy Lyrics to Clipboard allows you to copy a song’s lyrics (and/or the chords) to the standard Windows® clipboard.  By pasting this data into a word processor, you can print out the lyrics in the font of your choice.  The dialog has options to allow copying of note-based and/or line-based lyrics.  With either option you can choose to include the chord symbols, have double or single line spacing, and make margin settings.

Copy 1st chorus Lyrics to whole song copies the note-based lyrics for the first chorus to the rest of the song.

Convert Note-Based Lyrics to Bar Lyrics converts the note-based lyrics to bar-based lyrics.

Erase Bar-Based Lyrics erases bar-based lyrics.

Erase Note-Based Lyrics erases only the note-based lyrics.

Kill Lyrics Choruses: Select from a list box to kill lyrics in the selected chorus.

Move Lyric ahead to time line / Move Lyric back to time line: If you have a note-based lyric that you want to time shift ahead or back, you can click on the time line at the destination that you want, and then choose this item.  You can also shift lyric times using the Lyric Event list.

Timeshift Lyrics (ticks) / Insert Beat(s) in Lyrics / Delete Beat(s) from Lyrics: These are functions that apply to the entire lyric track.  They are useful when you’re inserting bars or beats into the song and need to move the lyrics around to keep them in sync.

Edit Lyrics as Event List opens the Edit Lyrics dialog with Edit, Insert, Append, and Delete functions.

Vocal Synth - Auto Mode (Generate Vocal Audio from Lyrics & Melody): Your Melody or Soloist track with lyrics can be rendered to a vocal audio track by sending it to the 3rd party vocal synthesizer Sinsy.  Choose the language, Japanese or English, and one of the female or male vocalists.  You can adjust the gender of the voice in a range from -0.8 to +0.8.  Higher values are more masculine.  If your track does not include lyrics you can enter a syllable to use for notes with no lyrics.
With the “Auto” command your song will be sent automatically to the song server and returned as an audio file on the Audio track.  This may take a few minutes.  When the vocal synth has been generated, the Import Audio File dialog opens.  Press [OK] to import it to the Audio track.

Vocal Synth - Manual Mode (Generate Vocal Audio from Lyrics & Melody): With this command, Band-in-a-Box will generate a file named Sound.XML and save it in C:\bb\Data\SRequest.  Use your browser to navigate to www.sinsy.jp and upload the xml file.  A file named sound.wav will be returned and loaded into the Audio track of your song.

Chord Substitution Dialog (choose your own) allows you to see a list of possible chord substitutions for the current chord progression.  You can also access it from a right-click on the Chord Sheet, and by pressing the Chord Substitution button.

Auto-Generate Chord Substitutions will automatically pick chord substitutions for all or part of the song.

Chord Reharmonist Dialog (choose your own) shows you the current bar in the song with a list of suggested chord progressions for the current melody, based on the melody and genre that you choose.

Auto-Generate Chord Reharmonization generates an entirely new chord progression for a complete song or a portion of a song.  Selecting this menu option opens the Reharmonist dialog.

‘Jazz Up’ The chords will “Jazz Up” the chords by changing chords like C and Cmaj to 7th and 6th chords.  Song embellishment will be turned on for the song.  Select the type of 7ths from the list box, and then click on the [OK – Jazz UP] button.

’Jazz Down’ The chords will “Jazz Down” the chords by changing chords with 7ths (e.g. C7) to triads (e.g. C) and 9ths and 13ths to 7th chords.  Song embellishment is turned off.  Press [OK – Jazz Down] to proceed.

Search/Replace Chords will search and replace chords, including support for asterisks (*) as wildcards.

If you choose MOST settings, the patch map and drum kit will be left intact, and not reset.
If you choose ALL settings, all settings will be reset to factory. If “Preserve location of RealTracks and RealDrums folders” is checked, the folder locations will be remembered even after you reset to factory settings or erase the intrface.bbw configuration file.

Save Default Configuration (Mysetup.DK file) will rewrite the Band-in-a-Box configuration file (Mymysetup.DK) with your current settings.  This file contains:
- MIDI Channels/Patches/Volumes/Reverb/Chorus/Bank
- Patch Map
- Favorite Patches, Favorite Combos settings
- Drum Kit

Save / Load alternate Drum/Patch File .DK allows you to save different custom drum kits or load preset or custom kits.

Display General MIDI Patch Numbers opens the General MIDI Patch List for reference.

Send a SysEx file (*.SYX) is a command that sends SysEx information to your MIDI device.
Whether you want to load different patches (or ones you have “tweaked” with a patch editor/librarian such as the SC-Pro Editor/Librarian) into your MIDI device or whether you have a synth that requires a SysEx to set it to a certain mode, you can easily send SysEx files with a configurable delay (the default is 100 ms).
If you would like to send a SysEx file to your MIDI device automatically at the start of each session, you need to make a file called STARTUP.SYX, and put it in the C:\bb directory.  Then, each time the program is started, it will send the appropriate SysEx commands contained in this file to your MIDI device.
If you need to send a SysEx file at any time during a session, choose the Options | MIDI Patch Maps, etc. | Send a Sys-Ex File (*.SYX)option.  This launches a window from which you can choose a file to send.  Since some MIDI devices require a delay time between parts of a SysEx message, there is a default delay value of 100 ms between each part of the message.
If you need to change the default delay, go to the Options | MIDI Patch Maps, etc. | Make an Advanced Patch map menu item and enter the Sys-Ex Delay to a value in milliseconds (ms).  If it is set to 0 ms, the program will revert to the default of 100ms.  The smallest delay setting is 1(ms).

Choose Patch from General MIDI Patches allows you to select a patch for the currently selected instrument from an organized list of GM patches.

Choose Patch from Higher Bank allows you to select a patch using the advanced search and higher bank/patch support capabilities.

Make an Advanced Patch map: Patch maps contain information for mapping the patches and drum notes to your synthesizer as well as Velocity offset, Octave offset, bank Controller 0 setting, bank Controller 32 setting, etc.  There are also advanced options like sending a SysEx file by loading the .DK file.

Edit these settings in the Options | MIDI Patch Maps, etc. submenu by choosing Make an Advanced Patch map.

These options are useful either if you have a newer synthesizer that supports bank changes and has nice patches in higher banks or if you have an older synth that requires custom mapping of sounds.  To access these features, enable the “Enable Advanced Settings” option.  Then, type in the values you would like to change.  Say, for example, you have some great string sounds on your synth on Bank 4, Controller 32.  With this feature you can save them as part of your Band-in-a-Box setup by clicking the [Save] button.  This will append your MYSETUP.DK file to include all of the patches you like to use, regardless of where they are on your synth.

Some basic soundcards don’t have volume responsive drums.  The result of this limitation can be rather unpleasant, since the drums might be too loud and there is no way of lowering the volume.  Band-in-a-Box overcomes this so that you can boost or reduce the velocity of the drums on virtually any sound source.

To adjust the drum velocity, access Options | MIDI Patch Maps, etc. | Make an Advanced Patch map and tick the option to “Enable Advanced Settings.”  Then, enter a Number from -127 (quietest) to +127 (loudest) in the “Drum Velocity Boost” box.

Whether you want to load different patches (or ones you have “tweaked” with a patch editor/librarian such as the SC-Pro Editor/Librarian) into your MIDI device or whether you have a synth that requires a SysEx to set it to a certain mode, you can easily send SysEx files with a configurable delay (the default is 100 ms).

If you would like to send a SysEx file to your MIDI device automatically at the start of each session, you need to make a file called STARTUP.SYX, and put it in the C:\bb directory.  Then, each time the program is started, it will send the appropriate SysEx commands contained in this file to your MIDI device.

If you need to send a SysEx file at any time during a session, choose the Options | MIDI Patch Maps, etc. | Send a Sys-Ex File (*.SYX) option.

This launches a window from which you can choose a file to send.  Since some MIDI devices require a delay time between parts of a SysEx message, there is a default delay value of 100 ms between each part of the message.

If you need to change the default delay, go to the Options | MIDI Patch Maps, etc. | Make an Advanced Patch map menu item and enter the Sys-Ex Delay to a value in milliseconds (ms).  If it is set to 0 ms, the program will revert to the default of 100ms.  The smallest delay setting is 1(ms).

GM Settings, etc.

Master Tuning allows you to master tune your sound card or sound module.  This is useful if you’re playing along with an instrument or recording that can’t easily be re-tuned like an acoustic piano.  A setting of 0 is the default A = 440.

Master (Combo) Volume Adjust

Set Panning to MONO sets the panning of your Band-in-a-Box parts (Bass, Drums, Piano, etc.) to mono.

Set Panning Mode to Stereo sets the panning of your Band-in-a-Box parts (Bass, Drums, Piano, etc.) to a typical stereo setup, which is saved with the preferences.

Run Other Programs

Convert Patch list from PowerTracks or Cakewalk will let you convert a PowerTracks Pro Audio .INI file or a Cakewalk .INS file to a Band-in-a-Box .PAT file.

Keystroke Shortcuts - You can open the dialogs with keystrokes by typing the underlined letter shown on the tabs.  For example, you can open the “Arrange” Prefs tab by the keystrokes.
- Ctrl+E to open the Preferences dialog, then
- A to open the Arrangement Options dialog.
OK to Save/Load Reverb, Vol etc. w/Songs - Select this checkbox if you wish to embed Reverb, Volume, Pan, Chorus, and Bank information with songs for later recall, or if you wish to enable any such embedded information with songs that are loaded.  The last settings that are in effect on the main screen instrument panel when you save the song will be recorded.  Individual settings can be enabled/disabled in the File | Save Special | Save Song w/Patches and Harmony menu item.
OK to Prompt to Reduce/Expand Song - If a style is changed with a different feel (16th notes instead of 8th notes), Band-in-a-Box will automatically offer to expand or reduce the duration of the chords and change the tempo to accommodate the new style.
StylePicker defaults to current style - Since the StylePicker can now default to the current style, this option is available.  If you want the StylePicker to stay at the style that you left it, de-select this item.
OK to “beep” with messages - Now that people have their sound cards hooked up to big speaker systems, a simple “beep” issued by Windows® when an incorrect key is pressed can seem loud enough to “wake your neighbors.”  Setting the “silent beep” option allows Band-in-a-Box to visually flash the window title bar to get your attention, instead of generating an audible “beep.”
Always save songs with “U” extension - Older Band-in-a-Box songs had additional extensions for last letter (1-9, A-O) to indicate style type.  Setting this will resave those old songs with a “U” extension, MGU or SGU (if no melody is present).
At program bootup… - When the new session starts, Band-in-a-Box can automatically open the song or style that was used in the last session.
Boot up in directory of the last session - On program boot up, the current directory will get set to the last directory used in the previous session.
Show Custom Track Labels and Descriptions - If this option is enabled, the Track buttons at the top of the main screen and the track labels on the Mixer will display custom track labels and descriptions that you have customized.
Auto-Generate Track Labels - If this option is enabled, the Track buttons at the top of the main screen and the track labels on the Mixer will display auto-generated labels.  For example, if the track contains Banjo, then the label will show “Banjo” instead of the default track labels (Bass, Piano, Drums, Guitar, Strings, Melody, and Soloist).  Also, the track buttons in various windows (Notation, Lead Sheet, Guitar, Piano, etc.) will display initials of auto-generated labels.  For example, [H] will show for a track that plays Harmonica.
When opening BB song, open MP3/WMA file same name - If MySong.MGU is loaded, and a same named audio file (MySong.WMA, MySong.MP3, MySong.WAV, etc.) is present, Band-in-a-Box will open the audio file to the audio track.  This allows third parties to make audio files with chords in them, by making a MySong.MGU and MySong.MP3 pair of files, which will load into Band-in-a-Box yet will have the audio compressed to take up little disk space.
Number of levels of Undo for the Edit | Undo command can be as high as 999.  The default is 99.
Automatically check for updates every __ days - If this is enabled, the program will automatically check for new updates.  This will occur as often as you choose.  A setting of 0 days will check every time you run the program.
Enter Key Advances Highlight Bar - The Enter key advances the highlight bar on the Chord Sheet.  This speeds up the entry of songs for people who prefer to use the Enter key.  When you enter a chord on the chord worksheet, press the Enter key to place your chord in the highlighted cell.  The highlighted region will then move automatically to the next cell.  The right arrow key can also be used to move the highlight cell.
SPACEBAR Key - There are three options for spacebar operation.
- Enters no chord (deletes current chord)
- Plays from current position (Ctrl + Space from start)
- Plays from start (Ctrl + Space from current pos.
The default setting is to play from current position and stop the song.
Simulate NUMPAD keys (for notebook users) - Notebook users often don’t have a number pad so they can’t use the Band-in-a-Box looping features (Ctrl+NUMPAD 1-6 keys).  With this option the regular numbers can be used to trigger the looping feature.  For example, pressing Ctrl+2 will start playback of looped choruses.
Pause Play until MIDI or Key received - This allows playback to be started by a MIDI note received at the MIDI In port, or by pressing a key on the computer keyboard.  Band-in-a-Box generates its arrangement, and then “stands by” for your start command.
Move current cell when playback stops - If this is enabled, the current cell will move to the last played bar when playback stops.
Text Hints - Choose to enable or disable the fly-by text hints, the comprehensive program hints, and/or the dialog box hints.  Set the time delay in ms before the hint pops up, and the length of time it will display.
Allow multiple instances of Band-in-a-Box to be running allows you to have more than one copy of Band-in-a-Box open at a time.
Allow Fast Bootups - Normally, this option should be enabled.  This should only be disabled if you are having some problem with bootup.
Write a detailed log of bootup times (used for troubleshooting) - This will be used as a diagnostic tool only.  When this option is enabled, you will get a message on bootup, which displays a detailed description of times for bootup.
Preferences Buttons - Most program settings and options can be accessed from the rows of buttons at the top of the Preferences dialog.

MIDI Options

The [MIDI options] button in the Preferences dialog opens the MIDI Options dialog.

Send GM Mode On at startup / Send XG Mode On at startup: You can elect to have Band-in-a-Box automatically send a GM or XG Mode On command every time the program is started.  Toggle this option ON if you have a GM or XG unit to ensure that it is always set to the appropriate mode.
Local ON (Ext. Keyboard): If you are hearing the information played on your keyboard played twice (an echo effect) then set Local ON to “No.”  If you can’t hear what you are playing at all, set Local ON to “Yes.”
Turn External Keyboard’s Local On at end of session: If you have set the Keyboard Local to Off (usually to eliminate MIDI echo) this setting turns it back on at the end of your Band-in-a-Box session.
Zero the ModWheel Controller when stop pressed: If you use Garritan synths, don’t enable this option, because Garritan uses Modulation Wheel for Volume.  If you have a MIDI keyboard, and use Modulation Wheel, you might set this.
MIDI Thru: Set to “No” if you don’t want the information played on your MIDI keyboard to be sent through Band-in-a-Box to the output driver.
Controllers Thru: Guitar synthesizers and wind controllers contain large amounts of additional MIDI data which may not be required for Band-in-a-Box and may only serve to hinder the system performance of your computer.  To prevent this information from being sent Thru, set this option to “No.”
Use Thru Channel: and-in-a-Box uses the Thru channel as a part, just like the Bass/Drums/Piano, etc.  The Thru Channel is re-channeled to the Thru channel as assigned in the MIDI settings dialog.  If you would prefer to set the Thru channel yourself from your MIDI controller, set this to “No.”
Boost THRU Velocity by: When playing along on a keyboard to the Band-in-a-Box “band,” if the sound of your keyboard is too quiet and increasing the THRU Volume doesn’t help enough, use this option to boost the THRU velocity and make your THRU playing louder. 
Output Sync/Start info: Syncs Band-in-a-Box with an external sequencer.
Send Extra Note Offs: Leave this option to “No” unless you are having trouble with “Stuck Notes” when you press [Stop].  If you set this option to “Yes” the program will send a “global sweep” of all notes off in addition to the selected notes off that are playing when you press the [Stop] button.
Allow Any Patch Changes: Set to “No” to disable All Patch changes. 
Song Patch Changes: Songs can be saved with patch changes.  If you want to prevent specific instruments loading for a given song, set this option to “No.”
Style Patch Changes: Styles contain patch change information for the instruments that were used when the Style was created.  To use your own instrument selection, not the original instruments, change this setting to “No.”
Drum Patch Changes: To disable patch changes in Drums, set to NO.
Drum Bank Changes: This should usually be left unchecked since most synths don’t use bank changes on drums.  But, if you require drum bank changes then select this option.
Allow Volume Changes: To prevent any volume changes set to “No.”
Style Volume Changes: To stop embedded style volume changes set to “No.”
Style Panning, Reverb, Tone Changes: If set, styles are allowed to set panning, reverb, and tone if they are set that way in the style.

MIDI Settings

The [Channels] button button in the Preferences dialog opens the MIDI Settings dialog. 

MIDI Channels: Range 0 to 16.  If set to 0 the part will be Off/Disabled, which is not the same as muted.
Octave: Adjusts the octave of the part.  Range (-2 to +2).  Usually set to 0.  (Bass is usually set to -1 for most General MIDI (GM) instruments.)
Patch: Range 0 to 128.  These are General MIDI patch numbers.
Volume: Range 0 to 127.  Average volume setting is = 90.  This can also be set from the main screen.
Note: Only General MIDI, XG, and GS instruments respond to Reverb, Chorus, and Bank changes.
Reverb: Range 0 to 127.  Default setting = 40.
Chorus: Range of 0 to 127.  Default setting = 0.
Panning: Panning refers to the stereo placement (i.e. Left to Right) of a given part’s sound.  The range of this parameter is -63 to +63.  A setting of 0 is centered in the middle of the stereo field.
Bank0 and LSB(32): Many General MIDI instruments have extra instruments available on higher banks.  Usually set to 0.  Other settings are multiples of 8 (0, 8, 16 etc.).
These can use either Controller 0 (Bank 0), which is also known as MSB for Most Significant Byte, or Controller 32, also called LSB for Least Significant Byte, or combinations of the two controllers.

Harmony Channels and Settings

The [Harmony] button in the Preferences dialog opens the Harmony Channels and Settings dialog where settings for the harmonies are made.

OK to Load Harmonies with Songs: If set to YES, the harmony settings for each song will be loaded and saved with each song.  If set to NO, the harmony setting won’t be saved or leaded with the songs.  If you are using a certain harmony, you should set this setting to NO, otherwise you have to keep re-selecting the harmony when you load in new songs.
Change Harmony with New Chords: Example: If a harmony is played on bar 1 on a C chord, and then the note is held as the chord changes to a Fm7 chord, (if this setting is set to YES) the harmony notes will change so that they will be still be playing chord tones.  If they don’t the harmony sounds dissonant.  Leave this setting to YES, unless you have a specific reason to disable it.  The harmony is changed by moving the voices to the nearest chord tone.
Overall Harmony Volume Adjust: Sets a level for the overall harmony in a range of -128 to 128, with 0 leaving the settings as programmed in the Harmony file.
Harmony Channels: Band-in-a-Box already uses 7 channels (Bass, Drums, Piano, Guitar, Strings, Melody and Thru channels).  Adding these 4 harmony channels produces potentially 11 channels of information.

General MIDI Patch Map

The [Patch Map] button in the Preferences dialog opens the General MIDI Patch Edit dialog, where you can make a customized General MIDI patch map. 

Type in the patch number that your synth uses for each instrument listed.  For example, if your sound source has its Acoustic Piano at patch location 41, select the box to the left of Acoustic Piano and type 41.  Do the same for all of the instruments in the General MIDI patch list.  If your synth doesn’t have an exact match, use a close sounding patch that it does have.  Once you have made a patch map in this way, whenever Band-in-a-Box encounters Acoustic Piano (which is General MIDI instrument #1), it will look up this Patch Map Location and then send out Patch 41 to your synth/sound module.

Drum Kit Definition

The [Drum Kit] button in the Preferences dialog opens the Drum Kit Definition dialog. If you have been unable to find a preset drum map that matches your synth’s drum notes, then you may need to type in the drum notes that your sound source uses.  To do this, you need to hook your MIDI controller up to play the drum sounds from the keyboard.  Play up and down the keyboard to hear all the drum sounds.

Type the MIDI note numbers for the various instruments as you find them on your drum machine or keyboard.  Press the [Save] button to save the kit as MYSETUP.DK.  If you are making a kit to save under a different name then save the kit under Options | MIDI Patch Maps, etc. | Save Alternate Patch/Drum Kit.

Customize the Relative Volumes of the Drum Kit Instruments.
Perhaps when you listen to Band-in-a-Box, you feel that the crash cymbal is too loud or the kick drum is too quiet.

The [Set Drum Volumes] button allows you to make the crash cymbal 10% quieter, boost the kick-drum by 15%, and turn off the “tambourine” entirely.  Changes apply to any song when this feature is enabled, and playback and written MIDI files will reflect the changes.

The default settings are to change the volumes by 0 %, which would leave them as they are.  If there were a drum note with a velocity of 50, it would be affected as follows:
+40% would change it from 50 to 50+(40%x50)=70
-40% would change it from 50 to 50-(40%x50)=30
The current settings for your drum velocities are saved in the intrface.bbw configuration file.

Favorite Instruments

The [Fav. Patch] button in the Preferences dialog opens the Favorite Instruments dialog.

For each of the Band-in-a-Box parts you can assign up to 10 “favorite” General MIDI instruments.

The [Patch List] button displays the General MIDI Patch List of instrument names and patch numbers.

The [Combos] button opens the Favorite Combos dialog.

The Favorite Combos dialog allows you to save up to 10 of your favorite instrument combos.  For example, you could setup Combo #1 to be an Acoustic Jazz combo which would send out patches like Acoustic Bass, Acoustic Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Flute, etc.  After you finish typing in the instrument patch numbers select the [Save] button.

Play (and Generate): This generates a new arrangement and plays the song.

Play with no Generation: This plays the song without generating a new arrangement.

Generate (even if tracks are frozen): When you do this, the song will regenerate, the tracks will get rewritten, and the song will stay frozen.  So, if you’re freezing songs to get the instant playback with RealTracks but get tired of the “same-old” frozen arrangement, just press Shift+Play, generate a new arrangement, and press Save.  Then the new “fresh-frozen” arrangement will play instantly, even with many RealTracks.

Play from Bar…: Choose a chorus and bar to play from in the current arrangement.  Parts are not regenerated.  Use this command during playback to jump to any bar in the song.

Play from Current Position: When the song is stopped this command starts playback again at the bar with the highlight cell.

Go (Open and Play): This launches an Open File dialog for selection of any song in any directory.  The selected song loads and plays automatically in Band-in-a-Box.

Import Melody from MIDI File allows you to import MIDI data from a file (*.MID) into the Melody track.

Import Melody from Clipboard allows you to import MIDI data that has been pasted into the clipboard (e.g., from a sequencer such as PowerTracks).

Record Melody launches the Record Melody dialog to record a MIDI melody.

Record Melody from Bar # starts recording at the current location of the highlight cell after playing a two bar lead-in.

Step Edit Melody allows you to enter/edit a melody in step time from the Notation window.  This uses an event list.

Quantize, Time Adjust

Transposeshows a submenu with functions for transposing the Melody track.

Form

Adjust Level of melody allows you to increase or decrease the volume (velocity) of the Melody track without affecting the other tracks.

Copy to Soloist Track copies the entire contents of the Melody track to the Soloist track.  Useful for a temporary holding area for your Melody or bouncing tracks.

Move to Soloist Track copies the entire contents of the Melody track to the Soloist track and erases the original data from the Melody track, preparing it for a new track or data.

Swap Melody and Soloist Track performs a “double copy/move” so that the data that was in the Melody track gets transferred to the Soloist track and vice versa.  This is also known as track bouncing.

Convert Harmony to Melody Track… converts a single line Melody track to include the current harmony selection.

Remove Harmony (or guitar solo) from Melody Track removes a harmony from a track, providing that the harmony was put there by Band-in-a-Box in the first place using the Convert Harmony to Melody Track command.

Generate Guitar Chord Solo opens the Guitar feature dialog for generating a guitar chord solo.

Auto-Rechannel to Guitar Display converts channels on a track to channels 11 to 16.  Channels 11 to 16 are used by Band-in-a-Box to indicate strings 1 to 6 of a guitar.  It uses the current position marker on the guitar for this command.  A popup question will ask if you want to include events that are already on the guitar channels.

Rechannel to Specific Guitar Fret Position over Range changes the fret position over the selected range.

Map Melody track to C7 chord is a useful tool when making styles.

Change Pitch Bend Rangelets you set the range in semitones.

Insert Guitar Bend events when pitch bend found will insert controllers so the guitar will display bends.

Piano Hand-Splitmanually splits a piano part on a Melody or Soloist track using the intelligent hand-splitting routines.  The left/right hands display in red/blue on the big piano, and on bass/treble clefs on the notation.  Import a piano MIDI file to the Melody track to get a split-hands display and printout.

Adjust Legato/Staccato by… allows you to increase legato of the Melody track by N ticks, avoiding the next note by M ticks, or reduce the length of notes by N ticks, preserving a minimum of M ticks duration of notes.  To increase legato of the notes, enter a positive number in the first dialog.  The duration of notes in the track will be increased by this number of ticks.   Then, in the next dialog, specify the number of ticks to avoid next note. To reduce the length of notes, enter a negative number in the first dialog.  The duration of notes in the track will be decreased by this number of ticks.  Then, in the next dialog, specify the minimum duration of notes.

Adjust Channels by will adjust all MIDI channels by the number value entered.

Remove extra Sustain Pedals (MIDI Controller 64) will remove Sustain Pedals from the track.

Embellish Melody during playback launches the Embellisher dialog.  This optionally embellishes the Melody during playback.

Embellish Melody Dialogallows you to customize the settings of the Embellisher, choose an embellisher type from presets, and make a particular Embellishment permanent.

Start a Soloists File allows you to make and edit Soloist styles saved under the filename of your choice.  See Soloist Edit dialog for additional details on importing/exporting/saving Soloists.

Edit a Soloists file opens an Open File dialog where you can select any Soloist file (*.SOL) to edit.  To edit the soloist you are using, use the Edit Current Soloist File command. If you want to make your own soloists or modify an existing Soloist, use the Soloist Maker (edit) module.  The Soloist Maker allows you to define the parameters essential to a soloist’s playing, such as instrument range (i.e. tenor saxophone), extra legato playing, playing more on top of the beat, playing straighter 8th notes than usual swing 8th notes.  In addition, you can set phrasing options, such as how long the phrase should be, and how much “space” to leave between phrases.  You can also set how “outside” the playing should be.

Edit Current Soloists File opens the Select Soloist dialog with the currently installed Soloists file.

Refresh Soloist allows the Soloist full access to all solo ideas contained in its database.  Use to refresh after several Soloists have been made.

OK to Load Soloists w/Songs: Enable this option if you want Soloists to be automatically loaded with a song that was saved with Soloist information.

Allow Soloist Harmony (on THRU Harmony) : Enable this option to permit the Soloist to utilize the Harmony features.  This will allow the Soloist to make a harmonized solo with the harmony of your choice.  See the Select Soloist dialog for additional details.

Import to Soloist Part from MIDI File allows you to import MIDI data from a file (*.MID) into the Soloist track.

Import to Soloist Part from Clipboard allows you to import MIDI data that has been pasted into the clipboard (e.g., from a sequencer such as PowerTracks).

Record to Soloist Part allows you to record MIDI to the Soloist track..

Record to Soloist Part from…starts recording at the current location of the highlight cell after playing a 2-bar lead-in.

Step Edit Soloist allows you to enter/edit a soloist in step time from the Notation window.  This uses an event list.

Quantize, Time Adjust

Transpose shows a submenu with options for transposing the Soloist track.

Form

Adjust Level of Soloist Part allows you to increase or decrease the volume (velocity) of the Soloist track without affecting the other tracks.

Copy to Melody Track copies the entire contents of the Soloist track to the Melody Track.  This is useful for a temporary holding area for your soloist or for bouncing tracks.

Move to Melody Track copies the entire contents of the Soloist track and erases the original data from the Soloist track, preparing it for a new track or data.

Swap Melody and Soloist Track performs a “double copy/move” so that the data that was in the Soloist track gets transferred to the Melody track and vice versa.  This is also known as track bouncing.

Convert Harmony to Soloist Track… converts a single line Soloist track to include the current harmony selection.

Remove Harmony (or guitar solo) from Soloist Track removes a harmony from a track, providing that the harmony was put there by Band-in-a-Box in the first place using the Convert Harmony to Soloist Track command.

Generate Guitar Chord Solo opens the Guitar feature dialog for generating a guitar chord solo.

Auto-Rechannel to Guitar Display converts channels on a track to channels 11 to 16.  Channels 11 to 16 are used by Band-in-a-Box to indicate strings 1 to 6 of a guitar.  It uses the current position marker on the guitar for this command.  A popup question will ask if you want to include events that are already on the guitar channels.

Rechannel to Specific Guitar Fret Position over Range changes the fret position over the selected range.

Piano Hand-Split manually splits a piano part on a Melody or Soloist track using the intelligent hand-splitting routines.  The left/right hands display in red/blue on the big piano, and on bass/treble clefs on the notation.  Import a piano MIDI file to the Soloist track to get a split-hands display and printout.

Adjust Legato/Staccato by… allows you to increase legato of the Soloist track by N ticks, avoiding the next note by M ticks, or reduce the length of notes by N ticks, preserving a minimum of M ticks duration of notes.  To increase legato of the notes, enter a positive number in the first dialog.  The duration of notes in the track will be increased by this number of ticks.   Then, in the next dialog, specify the number of ticks to avoid next note. To reduce the length of notes, enter a negative number in the first dialog.  The duration of notes in the track will be decreased by this number of ticks.  Then, in the next dialog, specify the minimum duration of notes.

Adjust Channels by will adjust all MIDI channels by the number value entered.

Copy 1st chorus to whole song copies the first chorus of audio to the rest of the song.

Kill entire Audio is used to erase the Audio Track.

Erase Audio Choruses will erase the First Chorus, Middle Choruses, or the Last Chorus as chosen from a list box.

Erase Region of Audio will erase a specified region of bars/beats of audio.

Adjust volume level of audio track changes the volume of the Audio track itself.  It uses a sophisticated peak-limiting algorithm to ensure that increases in the volume do not result in clipping of the sound, which would be heard as a loud distortion.  It accepts units of decibels (dB).  Zero means no change in the level, whereas +6 would be a doubling of the sound, and –6 halves the sound level.

Timeshift Audio (ms) is used to time shift the whole Audio track a certain number of milliseconds.  Normally you wouldn’t have to time shift a track at all.  There are settings in the Audio Settings dialog that can adjust for synchronization differences between your sound card and MIDI devices (for example, the VSC has a 430ms latency).  But the time shift audio command can be useful in special cases.

Insert silence in audio track lets you insert silence of the specified length at the specified location.  For example, if you decide to add an extra 2 bars to the intro in Band-in-a-Box, and you’ve already recorded an audio, you should insert 2 bars (8 beats in a 4/4 time signature) into the Audio track as well.

Delete region of audio track will delete a region of audio, eliminating the created gap.

Convert Channels (mono/stereo) allows you to convert the Audio track from stereo to mono, or vice versa.  There is an option to choose the percentage of each channel.

Start a New Harmonies File: This allows you to make and edit Harmony styles saved under your own filename.

Edit a Harmonies File: This allows you to edit a Harmony file that is in the C:\bb\Data directory.

Edit Current Harmonies File: This allows you to edit the Harmony file that is currently loaded on your system.

OK to Load Harmonies with Songs: Enable this menu item if you want to load any harmony settings that were saved/embedded in a given song.

Save Harmony with this song: Enable this menu item to allow Band-in-a-Box to embed the harmony settings for the current song so that they may be recalled automatically at a later time.

Change Harmony with new chord: Enable this menu item to allow the program to vary the harmony characteristics (i.e. inversions) each time a new chord is encountered in the song.

Allow Melody Harmony: Enable this menu item to allow harmonies on the Melody MIDI channels.

Allow Thru Harmony: Enable this menu item to allow harmonies on the Thru MIDI channels.

Allow Soloist Harmony (on THRU Harmony): Enable this menu item to allow the Thru MIDI channels to utilize the harmony features for the Soloist track.

Use Passing Harmonies for THRU: When playing along on a MIDI keyboard (or the Wizard) using a Thru harmony, you can use passing harmonies.  For example, on a C7 chord, with an Ab note, the harmony might be a B diminished chord, which is a passing harmony.

Only THRU Harmonize if note held down = 36 (C3): By setting this option you can specify to only harmonize the note if a certain note is held down.  (The default note is a C two octaves below middle C.)

Notation (or Chord) Window toggles between the Notation and the Chord Sheet views.

Movable Notation Window opens a movable and resizable Notation window.

Notation/Edit/Note roll mode moves the notation window through its various entry modes.

Note Insert mode: Toggling this to “on” allows you to insert notes graphically with your mouse or keyboard on the notation window.

Mono Entry Mode: Toggle this “on” if you are inserting single notes (not chords) on the notation window.

Clean Display Mode: Toggle this “on” if you want notes displayed on your notation window in a quantized view (does not affect song playback).

Event List Editor: You can edit events including all MIDI events and lyric events using the Event List Editor.  You can edit the Melody, Soloist, Lyrics, or StyleMaker patterns using this event list.  The information in the Event List is color coded by channels for multi-channel Melody and Soloist tracks.
The event list can also be launched from the Notation window by pressing the event list button (#).

Play Previous Screen backs the song up four bars.

Play Next Screen moves the song to the next four bars.

Instrument Displayed: Since there is not enough room on the screen to display the notation for all instruments, only one is displayed at a time.  You can choose which one you want to display from this menu option or with the instrument buttons on the Notation window.

Switch to Next Track / Switch to Previous Track select tracks from left to right..

Big Lyrics Window launches a window that displays lyrics in a Karaoke format.

Lyric Document Window displays a full screen of formatted lyrics.  You can easily copy and paste lyrics to and from your favorite word processor.  The lyrics will also display in the Big Lyrics window.

Show Karaoke Windowand load Karaoke MP3/CDGfiles to see scrolling Karaoke lyrics in the CDG window.

Vocal Wizard selects and transposes the song to the best key for the singer’s vocal range.

Audio Edit Window allows you to edit audio data, using copy, cut, and paste.  You can zoom the audio in to the sample level so that you can see the actual sine waves present.

Moveable Audio Edit Window opens the regular Audio Edit window but lets you reposition it on the screen.

Piano Roll Window launches the Piano Roll window where you can edit the Melody or Soloist track in a traditional piano roll format.

Moveable Piano Roll Window opens the regular Piano Roll window, but lets you move and reposition it on the screen.

Chord Builder allows you to build up chords using mouse clicks.

Play Current Chord plays the current chord on the Chord Sheet.  It is most commonly accessed by pressing Shift+Enter on the Chord Sheet.

Display Program Manual will open a .pdf file of the full Band-in-a-Box manual in Acrobat Reader.  Follow the bookmarks to find specific topics.

Display Program UPGRADE Manual will open a .pdf of the upgrade manual for this particular version of Band-in-a-Box, which may include new documentation not yet added to the full manual.  The upgrade manual is often a more convenient way to reference the new features in Band-in-a-Box without looking through the full manual.

Display Log Text file of Yellow/Green Messages: The yellow/green flash messages with time and date are saved in a file called C:\bb\Data\Logs\FlashMessageLog.txt.  You can open this file inside the program at any time by choosing this menu command.

Install Coyote WaveTable Synth runs the setup program for the Coyote WT 1.0 software synthesizer. 

Write BandInABoxRequest file creates a file that you can email to support@pgmusic.com if you have a problem activating the program.

Run Cleanup routine: The Band-in-a-Box folder (usually C:\bb) has become full of lots of files over the years.  Up to 10,000 files are present in the folder on a full install of the UltraPAK.  This menu command will run a utility app C:\bb\Data\BB_cleanup.exe, which will unclutter the folder and move files to various subfolders.  (Note: This utility will run automatically during the Band-in-a-Box program installation, so normally you don’t need to run this manually.)

Run Download/Install Manager now: The Download and Install Manager can be used to download and install all of the files in any product that you order at www.pgmusic.com, with one click. .

begin<Enter>

Sets the beginning of the chorus to the current bar

chorusend<Enter>

Sets the end of the chorus to the current bar

end<Enter>

Sets the end of the song to the current bar

tkc<Enter>

Sets key signature to c, tkbb would set it to bb

trc<Enter>

Transposes song to key of C

t125<Enter>

Sets tempo to 125

S<Enter>

Launches the StylePicker window

Alt+2

Mute all tracks.

Alt+3

Mute the Bass track.

Alt+4

Mute the Piano track.

Alt+5

Mute the Drums track.

Alt+6

Mute the Guitar track.

Alt+7

Mute the Strings track.

Alt+8

Mute the Melody track.

Alt+9

Mute the Soloist track.

Alt+0

Mute the Thru track.

Alt+2 then Alt+3

Solo the Bass track.

Alt+2 then Alt+4

Solo the Piano track.

Alt+2 then Alt+5

Solo the Drums track.

Alt+2 then Alt+6

Solo the Guitar track.

Alt+2 then Alt+7

Solo the Strings track.

Alt+2 then Alt+8

Solo the Melody track.

Alt+2 then Alt+9

Solo the Soloist track.

Alt+2 then Alt+0

Solo the Thru track.

Ctrl+3

Selects the Basstrack.

Ctrl+4

Selects the Pianotrack.

Ctrl+5

Selects the Drums track.

Ctrl+6

Selects the Guitar track.

Ctrl+7

Selects the Strings track.

Ctrl+8

Selects the Melody track.

Ctrl+9

Selects the Soloist track.

Ctrl+Shift+Q / W

Decrease/increase current track’s volume by 5.

Ctrl+Shift+E / R

Decrease/increase current track’s panning by 5.

Ctrl+Shift+T / Y

Decrease/increase current track’s reverb by 5.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R

Set current track’s volume.

Ctrl+Alt+A

Decrease master volume by 5.

Ctrl+Alt+S

Increase master volume by 5.

Ctrl+Alt+D

Set master volume.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Q

Reduce all tracks’ volumes by 5.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+W

Increase all tracks’ volumes by 5.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+E

Set all tracks’ volumes.

/ <Enter>

Feature Browser.

Ctrl+T

Display Notation screen or Chord Sheet in full screen.

Ctrl+W

Toggle Notation and Chord Sheet windows.

Ctrl+O

Movable Notation window.

Alt+W

Lead Sheet window.

Ctrl+P

Print Lead Sheet

Ctrl+~

Conductor window.

Ctrl+Shift+A

Audio Edit window.

Ctrl+Shift+D

Drum Kit window.

Ctrl+Shift+G

Guitar window.

Ctrl+Shift+J

Ear training window.

Ctrl+Shift+L

Big Lyrics window.

Ctrl+Shift+M

Mixer Window

Ctrl+Shift+N

Big Piano window.

Ctrl+Shift+S

Plug-in mode for DAW.

Alt+Shift+L

Practice window.

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L

Lyric Document window.

ss4<Enter> or F3 or Alt+Shift+F3

Open song.

ss7<Enter> or Ctrl+Shift+F8

Open previous song (in alphabetical order).

ss8<Enter> or Shift+F8

Open next song (in alphabetical order).

ss1<Enter> or ss<Enter> or Ctrl+F3

Open song using the Song Picker window.

ss2<Enter> or Shift+F3

Open song from favorite songs list.

ss3<Enter> or Shift+F3

Open song from recently played songs list.

ss6<Enter> or Alt+Shift+F

Open song from favorite folders.

Alt+F3

Open song with melodies.

ss9<Enter>

Open MIDI file.

ss13<Enter>

Open Karaoke file.

ss10<Enter>

Open audio file.

ss11<Enter>

Find Song

ss12<Enter> or s9<Enter>

Open song demo for the current style.

s6<Enter> or F9

Open style.

s7<Enter> or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F8

Open previous style (in alphabetical order).

s8<Enter> or Alt+Shift+F8

Open next style (in alphabetical order).

s<Enter> or s1<Enter> or Ctrl+F9

Open style using the StylePicker.

s4<Enter> or Shift+F9

Open style from recently played styles list.

s5<Enter> or Shift+F9

Open style from favorite styles list.

s2<Enter>

Show the Best RealStyles list.

s3<Enter>

Open the Song Titles Brower.

s10<Enter>

Play audio demo for the current style.

rt<Enter> or rt1<Enter>

Select RealTracks in the RealTracks Picker.

rt2<Enter>

RealTracks Settings.

rt3<Enter>

Select Best All RealTracks.

rt4<Enter>

Select Best Chording RealTracks.

rt5<Enter>

Select Best Soloist RealTracks.

rd<Enter> or rd1<Enter>

Select RealDrums in the RealDrums Picker.

rd3<Enter>

Select RealDrums in the RealDrums QuickList.

Ctrl+Shift+F6

Enable/Disable RealDrums

rd2<Enter>

RealDrums Settings.

rl<Enter>

Select Loop.

F2 or Ctrl+S

Save song.

Alt+F2

Save song with patches.

Alt+Shift+S

Save song to favorite folder.

F4

Play song with generation.

Ctrl+A

Play song with no generation.

Ctrl+F

Play song from any bar.

Ctrl+G

Play song from current bar.

F10

Play and loop the highlighted area.

Ctrl+H

Pause/Resume playing song.

Spacebar or Esc

Stop playing song.

Ctrl+R

Record MIDI.

Ctrl+Alt+R

Record MIDI from any bar.

NUMPAD 1

Toggle looping on/off.

NUMPAD 2

Open Loop Section Settings dialog.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 1

Play with last chorus looped.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 2

Play with middle choruses looped.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 3

Play with middle and last choruses looped.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 4

Jump to last chorus.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 5

Jump to ending.

Ctrl+NUMPAD 7

Loop Notation screen.

NUMPAD [DEL]

Advances the notation, lead sheet, and guitar window by one chord (group of notes).

NUMPAD [INS]

Backs up the notation, lead sheet, and guitar window by one chord.

Ctrl+C

Copy.

Ctrl+X

Cut.

Ctrl+V

Paste.

Ctrl+Z

Undo.

Shift+Ctrl+Z

Redo.

Alt+C

Copy From ... To…

Alt+K

Erase From ... To…

Ctrl+Shift+V

Paste text to Song(s).

F5

Edit current bar options.

Alt+F5

Edit current chord options.

m<Enter>

Set MicroChords.

Ctrl+Alt+T

Set tempo.

Ctrl =

Set to normal speed.

Ctrl -

Set to half speed.

t<Enter>

Track Settings

Ctrl+N

Song Settings.

Ctrl+Shift+B

Chord Builder.

Shift+Enter

Play current chord

Ctrl+Alt+I

Import chords from MIDI file.

Alt+Shift+T

Auto-generate a title.

Ctrl+Alt+1

Transpose Melody track one octave down

Ctrl+Alt+2

Transpose Melody track one octave up

Ctrl+Alt+3

Transpose Soloist track one octave down

Ctrl+Alt+4

Transpose Soloist track one octave up

Ctrl+Alt+5

Transpose song 1 semitone down.

Ctrl+Alt+6

Transpose song 1 semitone up.

Ctrl+Alt+7

Transpose setting dialog.

Shift+F5

Select Melodist.

Shift+F4

Select Soloist.

Shift+F7

Refresh Melodist or Soloist.

Alt+F10

Select Melody harmony.

Alt+F11

Select Thru harmony.

Ctrl+F10

Select favorite Melody harmony.

Ctrl+F11

Select favorite Thru harmony.

Shift+F10

Allow Melody harmony.

Shift+F11

Allow Thru Harmony.

Ctrl+Alt+E

Toggle Melody Embellisher.

Ctrl+Alt+L

Melody Embellisher dialog.

Alt+F9

Open Style Maker to edit any style.

Ctrl+Shift+F9

Open StyleMaker to edit current style.

F1, Shift+F1, Ctrl+F1

Help.

F2

Save style.

Alt+F2

Save style as ...

R or F3

Record pattern.

<Spacebar> or F4

Play pattern.

F8

Play pattern on chord.

F10

Edit pattern options.

F6 or Shift+F6

Change instrument.

Cursor Keys

Move around screen.

Alt+F4

Quit the StyleMaker.

F5

[Drum Pattern Editor] Drum alternate notes.

ZXCVBNM,. /(bottom row)

[Drum Pattern Editor] Drum note entry.

F6

[Drum Pattern Editor] Time base.

F10 or Alt+F4

[Drum Pattern Editor] Exit.

Ctrl+Alt+Q

Send GM mode on message.

Ctrl+E

Preferences dialog.

F12

Panic! All notes off.

F1

Help.

Ctrl+F1

Help – Topic Search.

Shift+F1

Help – How To.

Alt+F4

Quit the program.