A little while back I posted an oblique reference to a new method away from arrangers.

Well it is really a "re-"discovery of BIAB. And in particular the Real Tracks...these are recorded live parts - guitars, drums, bass, solos etc etc played by real players and through the BIAB tech they can be adapted to songs you are playing.

Once your chord progressions (about 1-2 minutes for the average tune) are in you can then use it to generate your backing in ANY style you want.

You can even mix styles in the one song, mix time sigs in the one song vary tempos at any bar , there are just so many advantages over an arranger and for one that prefers the "combo" sound, rather than the usual "wall of sound" you get with arranger styles.

BIAB even re-generates a slightly different backing each time you press the play button, or if you find one that really appeals it can now "freeze" the arrangement so it plays back the same every time.

With the Conductor tool one can jump to any part, replay any part, jump to an ending etc etc in real time much the same as an arranger, except with the huge advantage of not needing to tie up one hand to generate chords.

TBH, I have owned BIAB for years and only ever "toyed" with it, but recently I thought I would splash out for the FULL package with all the real tracks...

The quality, not only of the recording, but the actual playing was astounding!! Forget having to add midi notes to complete c chord, BIAB realtracks can play any chord (legal that is) in full audio...Brilliant!

I have posted my first demos using it over on Soundcloud, one of my fav tunes Blue In Green and the wonderful Wayne Shorter tune Black Nile. The link for anyone interested is https://soundcloud.com/miden-entertainment

I will post some more including vocal tracks soon...

I am not making this post to engender debate over what is better or worse, so please no starting any arrangers are better because....types of posts. I am only making it to share what I have discovered, and to start sharing some tunes...

Dennis

PS: The tracks are recorded live in audio - no multi-tracking, no midi. I did use some gentle compression and mastering

Added Crystal Silence (Chick Corea)

miden ... that is some REALLY nice stuff ... thank you for sharing ...

Thanks Tony I just added a vocal track, New York State Of Mind - a bit of a different take on the song

D

Good job Miden. Liked it very much.
Deane

Nice, Dennis. Yep, there's a lot of different ways to skin a cat!

Something I noticed on Black Nile was you tending to play the LH chords pretty 'four square' rather than syncopating them in more sparingly. Perhaps it's a trend from much arranger use, where the damn machine needs to see the chords on the one to know what to play (one reason I love the CS!), but most jazzers would tend to not lead those as much. But a great song and rendition...

This is one thing I try really hard to do, not letting arranger use become part of my general playing style. They ARE great live tools, and great at making quick roughs to polish into great SMF's, but they do tend to force us into playing completely differently to regular keyboard players. Staying vigilant is the key!

I'd love to hear more... live band, arranger, SMF, I don't care!

It's all good!

Thanks guys...noted Diki and I do understand what you are saying...but it was in the way I wanted on this occasion.

D

PS: I might do an original song or two as well

Hi Dennis,
amazing how far BIAB has come. I'd been updating biab every couple of years or so, since about 1990 ?? when it first came out for the Atari. Only thing I ever used it for was to to convert the odd BIAB style across to my current keyboard of the day. Lets face it , the biab songs never sounded as good as a song on an arranger.
Then about 3 or 4 years ago, I bought a new more powerful laptop, so I decided to try the realtracks which I'd been discarding, because my old laptop hadn't been capable of running them properly. Wow, I was amazed, and they've only been getting better.
I think the fact that backing can't be played in realtime puts a lot of arranger keyboard players off. Basically what a great way of putting together a backing track , though.
Also the styles are different. Heavily into country, rock & jazz. Some of those guitar real tracks sound amazing.

A while back, I was fiddling round with doing a mix of arranger tracks mixed with BIAB tracks for a song ie record the backing track using the korg, and replacing the guitar tracks in the song with realtracks from biab. Even as good as some of the guitar mode tracks are in the PA3X, the Realtracks in BIAB sound better ( or , at least to me).
It was an interesting way of making an older converted style sound better. Some of the guitar tracks in early styles were pretty awful, especially when converted across to another keyboard.
Ok, so one has to sacrifice realtime style playing, but what's wrong with a backing track to play or sing along to.

Shouldn't really be a case of either /or, arrangers & biab compliment each other very well.

No problem Dennis. I am always a little gun shy making critiques here (some pretty thin skins, at times) but I hoped you would take it in the spirit offered.

While I like praise as much as the next guy, I usually find constructive criticism far more welcome, even if I don't take it!

I'd love to hear something original, too. I bet you will excel...

Thanks Diki, yep definitely taken in the spirit in which it was meant m8

I agree Rikki...and as I said the conductor tool sorta kinda gives you a quasi-arranger anyway...

I have only started at the tip of the 'berg when it comes to theses realtracks, and one can edit and create your own as well!! Very clever system.

Dennis