Need A Special Kind Of Software

[Richard Damron]

Although I've used Band In A Box for a dozen years with reasonable results, I've also been frustrated with having to contend with someone else's conception of an arrangement or presentation. Gotta break out of this rut once and for all.

I'm sufficiently well-versed in theory and harmony such that I can arrange instruments to suit MY ear. If I hear a short drum fill or bass line then, dammit, I want to hear it and not just wish it were there. If I hear an extended chord in a particular voicing then I'm frustrated that it SHOULD be there but isn't. Etc., etc., etc.

What I really desire is a combination software such that I can arrange to my heart's content and then have the software drive a sound source. The software, itself, could have "canned" tracks which are readily editable in a simple fashion. No jumping through hoops in order to alter one note. BIAB is frustrating in this regard.

Although I'm able to fumble my way through most keys on a keyboard, I do not want to have to lay down a track in real time ala Midi. Further, I'm too old to lock myself into a 3-year steep learning curve which, in itself, carries it's own set of frustrations even though some sort of learning curve is inevitable.

Surely, a form of the program loosely described exists yet it is extrememly difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the nuances of a particular product just by perusing a website. The attributes of a particular program seem to be written by someone who is intimately familiar with its' contents and ASSUMES that all readers will have the same extended cognition. Whatever happened to good old-fashioned, simple English?

I'd really appreciate someone steering me - even roughly - in the right direction. I want to hear what I want to hear and when I want to hear it.

Am I asking too much? Does such an animal even exist?

Please help me out, folks.

Richard

[Brad Bechtel]

Garageband would seem to fit the bill if you're using an Apple product.

[Gary Shepherd]

Something like Sonar XL. You can import tracks (MIDI or wav) from Band In A Box, and play yourself the other parts that BIAB doesn't create to your liking.