PG Music - Support FAQ - Band-in-a-Box<sup>®</sup> 12 for Macintosh

Technical Support FAQ:
Band-in-a-Box^® 12 for Macintosh

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Last updated: Friday, 08 April 2022

Most Common Topics

No Sound / CoreMIDI Setup
Poor sound quality on Intel Macs with OS 10.4
How do I use Band-in-a-Box^® with other MIDI applications and software synthesizers?
I get a "Format Error", "unsupported archive version", "not supported on this architecture", or "compression error" message when I try to install a program or update that I downloaded.
When I launch the program I get the message "Some required files for Band-in-a-Box^® are missing or not found"
Is Band-in-a-Box^® compatible with the Intel Macs?
Can I use the Windows version of Band-in-a-Box^® and other Windows products on an Intel-based Mac?
Band-in-a-Box^® stopped working correctly after I installed an upgrade or update patch.
How do I install update patches for Band-in-a-Box^®?

All Topics

No Sound / CoreMIDI Setup
What is MIDI?
How do I enter notation in Band-in-a-Box^®?
How do I create a shortcut (alias) on my desktop to open Band-in-a-Box^®?
How do I change from 3/4 to 4/4 time in the middle of my song?
How do I create and use Band-in-a-Box^® Styles in 6/8,12/8,9/8 and 5/4 time signatures?
How do I add my personal styles to the Band-in-a-Box^® StylePicker list?
How can I make my song endings more natural? Can I hold the last chord in the song and have it fade out?
In the Select Soloist dialog, what do the brackets around some of the Soloists mean?
Is there a fermata (pause) capability or some way to simulate it?
How do I get Lyrics to line up in Band in a Box?
I'm trying to change an instrument (patch), but every time I press play, my instrument selection changes.
How do I display 'Swing' notation (triplets) and 'Even feel' notation (sixteenths) in the same song? How do I enter quarter note triplets?
How do I use tag endings?
Can I import and play MIDI files with Band-in-a-Box^®?
Who owns the songs that I create with Band-in-a-Box^®? Are the songs copyrighted?
How do I rest more than one bar at a time?
How do I create a backup of the MySetup.dk file?
How can I easily raise or lower the velocity (volume) of all notes in the melody track?
Can I enter a melody into Band-in-a-Box^® using the computer keyboard?
How can I combine multiple Band-in-a-Box^® songs to make a medley, or copy and paste part of one song into another?
I am having trouble recording into Band-in-a-Box^® with my Wind Controller.
What are the numbers for in the StyleMaker bars?
How do I get chords to sound on the off-beat, or create syncopation in my music?
Please explain the song structure in Band-in-a-Box^®.
How do I access higher bank patches in Band-in-a-Box^®? What are MSB and LSB?
How do I make a patch map for my synthesizer?
Can I export my song from Band-in-a-Box^® to another MIDI sequencer?
Can Band-in-a-Box^® input chords for my melody?
Why don't the Styles that I just installed appear in the StylePicker window?
How do I enter more than 2 chords per bar in Band-in-a-Box^®?
How do I enable and disable the lead-in bars or count-in?
Why do I hear the drums playing with a piano patch?
Why does Band-in-a-Box^® generate notes below low E (E2) on a bass?
I want to use 2/4 time in my bluegrass song, but it doesn't 'hold'.
How do I set the right key or visually transpose the music for my non-concert instrument?
Why does Band-in-a-Box^® keep looping 4 bars over and over?
How can I control Band in a Box from an external start switch?
Can I edit tracks other than the Melody and Soloist in Band-in-a-Box^®? Why do the notes I just edited disappear when I press play?
When I run Band-in-a-Box^® I get "zzjazz.sty not found" and other "file not found" error messages.
The option to turn on fretboard inlays on the guitar doesn't seem to work.
Are Mac and PC versions of Band-in-a-Box^® songs compatible?
How can I adjust the volume of individual harmony parts?
I accidentally deleted the BBM.LST file or messed it up. How can I fix it?
Why do the drums I record in my drum window sound like another musical instrument when I play them back?
How do I control the MIDI sounds I hear when I record or play live along with Band-in-a-Box^® from my MIDI keyboard?
Why aren't all of the styles in my BBM.LST file listed in the StylePicker?
Why am I unable to download updates and other files from your website?
The Notation Window doesn't display properly. How do I install the PG Music fonts?
When I try to launch Band-in-a-Box^® on OS 9, I get a message saying that "CarbonLib" cannot be found.
How do I install a Band-in-a-Box^® 12 upgrade over my existing version?
Can I disable the help boxes that pop up when I move my mouse over the screen?
Band-in-a-Box^® quits unexpectedly when I try to choose a style.
How can I return Band-in-a-Box^® for OS X to the factory settings?
How can I convert my Band-in-a-Box^® songs to audio files and burn a CD?
When I try to run Band-in-a-Box^® on a multi-user system, I get a "Disk Error" when opening or closing the application.
How do I repair my disk permissions on OS X?
I just upgraded to Band-in-a-Box^® 12 and I can't find the JK menu.
I get a "NilObject" error when trying to install Band-in-a-Box^® on OS X.
Why am I unable to open a .SITX file that I downloaded from your website?
I cannot get Band-in-a-Box^® installed on the Japanese version of Mac OS X.
Why does Band-in-a-Box^® "quit unexpectedly" as soon as I open it?
Explain the different file extensions that Band-in-a-Box^® uses for song files.
Can I have Band-in-a-Box^® boot up in a folder of my choice, rather than the 'Songs' folder?
Why do I get an ".ST2 not found" message when I try to generate a solo?
When I save my song as a MIDI file, the bass track is not written to the MIDI file.
The chord symbols in my song don't show up when I save the song as a MIDI file and import it into another program.
I am having trouble playing the video tutorials.
How can I clear the "Favorite Songs" and "Favorite Styles" windows?
Can I import my Band-in-a-Box^® song into GarageBand?
How do I use Band-in-a-Box^® with other MIDI applications and software synthesizers?
Error message when installing Band-in-a-Box^®: "You do not have enough access privileges to install PGInstallFontSuitcase".
Why does the Melodist generate notes outside the "Melody Note Range" specified in the Melodist editor?
How do I get a simple metronome or click track in Band-in-a-Box^®?
When I type a chord into the chord sheet, it automatically transposes my chord and displays a different chord than what I typed.
Where can I find a list of the chords that Band-in-a-Box^® recognizes?
I get a "Format Error", "unsupported archive version", "not supported on this architecture", or "compression error" message when I try to install a program or update that I downloaded.
When I launch the program I get the message "Some required files for BIAB are missing or not found"
When I try to launch the program, my computer starts Classic Mode or gives the error "Classic startup found no system folder on the boot volume".
When I try to install the program, I get a "Build Item Error", followed by the message "You do not have enough access privileges to install...".
Is Band-in-a-Box^® compatible with the Intel Macs?
Can I use the Windows version of Band-in-a-Box^® and other Windows products on an Intel-based Mac?
How do I use Native Instruments Bandstand with PG Music software?
When I try to open Band-in-a-Box^®, I get the message "You do not have permission to open the application Band-in-a-Box^®".
Band-in-a-Box^® stopped working correctly after I installed an upgrade or update patch.
My volume changes are not saving with my song.
How do I install update patches for Band-in-a-Box^®?
Poor sound quality on Intel Macs with OS 10.4

1. No Sound / CoreMIDI Setup

If you are using your computer's internal sounds, make sure that the volume is turned up and not muted. You can check this by going to the Apple menu | System Preferences | Sound.

Check your MIDI Driver Setup. In Band-in-a-Box^®, go to the MIDI menu and click on **Select MIDI Driver or QuickTime. You can choose either Quicktime or CoreMIDI as your MIDI Driver. If you are not sure which one to select or you are having trouble with your CoreMIDI setup, click the [MIDI Drivers Help] button. Here are the basic steps:

Select QuickTime if you want to use the internal Macintosh sounds (Quicktime Instruments).

Select CoreMIDI if you will be using an external synth or sound module with Band-in-a-Box^® (usually connected via a MIDI interface to your computer's USB port). Before using CoreMIDI, you need to install the OS X drivers for your MIDI interface. Once you have done this, open up the CoreMIDI Audio Setup dialog to configure your MIDI device connections. You can access this dialog from Band-in-a-Box^® by going to the MIDI menu and selecting CoreMIDI Audio MIDI Setup. You should see a picture of your MIDI interface if it is properly installed. Click on [Add Device] for each external synthesizer you wish to connect to the interface. Then, connect MIDI cables between the picture of your synth and the picture of MIDI interface by clicking on the little arrows below the picture and dragging.

In Band-in-a-Box^®, when you select CoreMIDI as your driver and press OK, the 'Select Ports/Instruments' dialog will open. You can also access this dialog by going the MIDI menu and selecting **CoreMIDI (Choose ports). Beside 'MIDI IN', select the MIDI interface port that you will be receiving MIDI on. Beside Bass, Drums, Guitar, etc..., select the MIDI interface port that you will be transmitting MIDI information on.

You can choose a different port for each Band-in-a-Box^® track to be sent to. This is useful if you have a multi-port interface and you want to send different tracks to different modules. However, most likely you just have one synthesizer that you will be using to play all of the tracks. In this case, select your MIDI interface output port beside Bass and click on [Set all ports to this].

You should also make sure your MIDI cables are connected correctly between your synthesizer and interface. MIDI cables are generally labelled IN and OUT. Make sure that:

MIDI OUT on the synth is connected to MIDI IN on interface.
MIDI OUT on the interface is connected to MIDI IN on the synth.

2. What is MIDI?

MIDI is an acronym for MusicalInstrument Digital Interface. The MIDI specification is maintained by the MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA). We havewritten a couple of short starter tutorials on MIDI:

There are many other MIDI tutorials on the internet, which you can find using any internet search engine.

3. How do I enter notation in Band-in-a-Box^®?

Band-in-a-Box^® offers one of the quickest methods of notation input. Remember though, it was never developed to be a dedicated notation software package, so some of the problems you may run into will have to do with that limitation. For typical leadsheets though, this notation is more than adequate.

First, you need to be in editable notation mode. Open the Notation Window, and press the [N] button once to toggle from regular notation mode to editable notation mode.

When inputting notation, all you do is place your mouse arrow where you want a note and press mouse button. This will place a dotted whole note at that position. If it is in the second half of the bar, you will get an automatic 1/2 note rest in the first half. You will still get a dotted whole note in the second half of the bar. Don't worry if the first note you enter isn't the type of note you want it to be. The next note you place will determine the value of the first. Remember that the subsequent note placed always determines the value of the previous note. If you want to shorten a previous note, you can select the rest box and place a rest between the notes at the value you want the previous note to be. Notes inserted between other notes will automatically set the value for the previous note as well.

While inserting a note on the staff, holding down the [Shift] key will make the note 1 half-step sharper. Holding down the [Ctrl] key will make the note 1 half-step flatter. Holding down the Command key forces the note to be a natural. To delete a note from the Notation, hold down the delete key and click on the note.

You can change the beat resolution (the number of intervals in one beat) using the 'Resolution' setting in the Notation Window. For example, if you set this to '3', you will be able to enter triplets. If you set it to '4', you will be able to enter sixteenths.

4. How do I create a shortcut (alias) on my desktop to open Band-in-a-Box^®?

Open the Band-in-a-Box^® Folder on your hard drive. Click on the file named 'Band-in-a-Box^®' to highlight it. Go to the File menu and select Make Alias. The alias should appear in the Band-in-a-Box^® Folder, and you can drag it to the desktop.

5. How do I change from 3/4 to 4/4 time in the middle of my song?

In order to do this, you should start out with a 4/4 style. Using the F5 key (Edit settings for current bar), you can switch between 3/4 and 4/4 at any point in your song. There are other ways to do this, but starting with a 4/4 style instead of a 3/4 style is easier, as dropping a beat is easier than creating one that doesn't exist.

6. How do I create and use Band-in-a-Box^® Styles in 6/8,12/8,9/8 and 5/4 time signatures?

Band-in-a-Box^®'s StyleMaker creates styles in 3/4 or 4/4 only. However, consider that 6/8, 9/8, & 12/8 styles are justvariations of 3/4 or 4/4 - you can make and use styles in these time signatures to get the same effect.

12/8: Band-in-a-Box^® considers 12/8 to be a variation of a 4/4 style (i.e. a 4/4 style with a triplet feel). To make a 12/8 style, just make a 4/4 style in a triplet feel. In other words, one bar of 12/8 is equivalent to one bar of 4/4 in a triplet feel. For an example, choose the "Country 12/8" style from the S menu.
6/8: This is similar to 12/8. Two bars of 6/8 make up one bar of 12/8, so 6/8 is done in 4/4 as well. Think of 6/8 as 2 beats of 4/4 in a triplet feel. For an example of this, go to the S menu, and select the "Irish" style. You can set the number of beats per bar to 2 in the Edit | Settings for Current Bar dialog (F5).
9/8: This is like a waltz (3/4) style in a triplet feel.
5/4, 6/4, 7/4 etc.: Songs in time signatures like 5/4 and 7/4 can be made. Just pick a base time signature of 3/4 or 4/4, then highlight the bars in your song and select the time signature of 5/4 or 7/4 using the Edit | Set Time Sig of Scrap menu item. Note that for time signatures higher than 4/4, each bar of 5/4 etc. will be spread over two or more bars in Band-in-a-Box^®. For example, 5/4 alternates between a bar of 3 and a bar of 2.

You can use the Search function in the StylePicker to find styles written for a specific compound time signature.
Note: Styles Set 38 for Band-in-a-Box^® ("About Time") has many excellent styles with unusual time signatures such as 5/4, 7/8, 11/8, 14/8, and 19/16. These styles have been written so that, for example, a bar of 5/4 occupies exactly one bar in Band-in-a-Box^®, rather than being spread out over two bars. Styles Set 38 requires Band-in-a-Box^® Version 11 or higher.

7. How do I add my personal styles to the Band-in-a-Box^® StylePicker list?

Band-in-a-Box^® styles need to be placed in the 'Styles' folder, within the 'Band-in-a-Box^® Folder' on your hard drive, so the program can find them. This does not automatically add them to the list of styles in the StylePicker window, however you can still access them by pressing the .STY button or F9 on your keyboard. If you get a "style not found" message when trying to play a song, this typically means that the style is not in the Styles folder. To add your styles to the list of styles in the StylePicker window, edit the BBM.LST file found in your Band-in-a-Box^® folder, and add your new styles group (~), and new style name and info (@). Our own styles installer does this automatically for PG Music Inc. styles. If you edit this file, be sure to make a backup of it, since it may be overwritten when you upgrade Band-in-a-Box^® or install a new Styles set.

More information about editing the BBM.LST file:

The Style List is built from a text file called BBM.LST. You should only have to edit this file if you need to change the list of styles, or add styles that you have created. This is the text file that defines the styles that appear in the StylePicker Dialog box in Band-in-a-Box^®. You can use a text editor such as TextEdit to edit this file and change the information, add/remove styles etc.

Any line beginning with a semicolon ";" is a comment.
Lines beginning with ~ indicate a new category like Jazz, Country, or Pop.
Lines beginning with @ are a description of a style in the format @ab^c*d,where:
- a = Style file name eg. zzjazzsw.sty (max. 8 characters + .sty )
- b = Long Style Name eg. Jazz Swing Style (max. 32 characters)
- c = Memo
- d = Examples of songs that can be played in this style. c and d combined can be max. 255 characters. For example, c could be 200 and d could be 50.

Each style description must be on one-line; carriage returns are not allowed in the middle of a style description. Once made, you add the new information to the StylePicker by choosing the Rebuild option inside the StylePicker dialog. This rebuilds the binary file BBM.LSB. You can list a style more than once, for example Pop Ballad might be listed under both the Jazz and Pop Ballad categories. You can make your own categories, like "My Favourites", and add existing styles to them.

Example excerpt from the BBM.LST file:

~Jazz
@ZZJazzSW.STY Jazz Swing Style^This is the "built-in jazz swing style"using bass, drums and piano. Bass plays half notes in 'a' section and walks in 'b' section.*Satin Doll, Sweet Georgia Brown.
@A.STY This is A^ How about this A style Useful for A songs.
@BluHill.sty Blueberry Hill Style^This is Blueberry Hill*Fats Domino songs.
@GARNER.STY Errol Garner Style^This is garner*I'll Remember april.
@GARNER2.STY Errol Garner Style #2^This style is in 2 feel for a and b*Sunny Side of The Street.

8. How can I make my song endings more natural? Can I hold the last chord in the song and have it fade out?

If you want to get a more natural ending on a song, such as a held or sustained chord, here is what to do:

Go to the bar that you want held (the last bar in your composition).
Press ALT-F5 (Edit | Chord Settings) and hold all instruments.
Decide how many bars you want the chord held/sustained for. Type in any chord other than the last held chord (it doesn't matter what chord you use, because it will be rested).
Press ALT-F5 again, and rest all instruments at this bar.
Mark this bar as the last bar in the song

NOTE - This does not work if you are using an automatic 2 bar ending. You can enable/disable the automatic 2 bar ending in the Song Settings dialog (Song | Additional Song Settings)

9. In the Select Soloist dialog, what do the bracketsaround some of the Soloists mean?

The Soloists in brackets are Soloists that are in a different feel than the style you are using. For example, when you're in a swing style, you would see some 'even feel' Soloists in brackets, because they wouldn't be the best Soloist to pick. If you do pick one of the Soloists in brackets, Band-in-a-Box^® will do its best to make it sound good. For example, if you pick an even feel soloist in a swing style, Band-in-a-Box^® will play it in a swing feel and make other 'humanizing' changes. NOTE: Some Soloists are set to "Auto-load" particular styles that they work best with - this is indicated in the Memo notes for the style.

10. Is there a fermata (pause) capability or some way to simulate it?

You can simulate a fermata by doing the following:

Put the cursor at the chord where you want the fermata and press CTRL-F5 (Edit | Chord Settings). Choose the "hold chord" option (all instruments).
With the cursor still on that chord, press F5 (Edit Settings for Current Bar) and set a % change in tempo to, for example, -15 or -20, etc., depending on the duration you want.
To play the original tempo again, move the cursor to the next bar, press F5 and choose an appropriate % change in tempo (15, 20, etc).

11. How do I get Lyrics to line up in Band in a Box?

Currently, only "line-based" lyrics are available in Band-in-a-Box^® for Macintosh. The lyric line used for line-based lyrics is only a space to put lyric text. It is in no way tied to notes. If you are having a problem with the way your lyrics are lining up, try going to the Print Options window and deselecting 'clef sign at every line and 'Key signature at every line'. This will stop the notation from getting pushed out of alignment with the lyrics. All bars but the first four should line up correctly after this.

12. I'm trying to change an instrument (patch), but every time I press play, my instrument selection changes.

The instruments that play in Band-in-a-Box^® are style specific. This means that the style selects the instruments you hear. When a user changes the instrument for a selected part, that part stays changed only until the song is stopped and played again. When playback is started, the style that you are using sends program change messages that set each track to the default patches for that style.

If you want the patches to stay as you selected them, you need to use File | Save Song with patches... to override the style settings. You can manually type in your instrument choices for the song (note that 0 just means "no change"), or press the [Fill w/ Patches] button to read in all of the current instrument selections. You need to do this after you change the patches to what you want, but before pressing Play again.

An alternative is to edit the style itself using the StyleMaker (User | Edit Existing User Style | [Patch]), and change the default instruments used by the style. By doing this you are changing the way the style will play every time it is selected. You should consider using 'Save As' in the StyleMaker to create a new version of the style before editing it - this way you don't have to worry about modifying the original style. Your new style won't automatically show up in the StylePicker window, but can be accessed using Command+U or User | Load Style from disk. If you want to add the new style to the StylePicker list, please see FAQ 7.

13. How do I display 'Swing' notation (triplets) and 'Even feel' notation (sixteenths) in the same song? How do I enter quarter note triplets?

You can switch between Swing and Even feel notation entry by setting the 'Resolution' to either 3 or 4 in the Notation Window Options dialog. For eighth note triplets, enter a note on three consecutive dotted lines. For quarter note triplets, enter a note on every second dotted line. Note that while your music will always *play* the way you input it, you may not always be able to get triplets to *display* exactly how you want.

14. How do I use tag endings?

In Band-in-a-Box^®, a tag is a group of bars played after the final chorus of a song. You can find tag settings under Edit | Additional Song Settings). Set the 'Tag exists' field to Yes and then choose the tag starting and ending bars. If you have "Generate 2 bar ending" selected, this will play automatically after the tag. Note that the tag will only work if there is more than one chorus.

15. Can I import and play MIDI files with Band-in-a-Box^®?

There are a couple of different things you can do.

You can use File | Import Chords from MIDI. Band-in-a-Box^® will interpret the chords from your MIDI file and write these in the Chord Sheet window, and will also import one or more instruments (usually the Melody and Solo) to the Melody and/or Soloist tracks. Once you do this, you have the chord symbols and Melody, and you can select a style that you want to use to create an accompaniment.
With any version of Band-in-a-Box^®, you can import any part of a MIDI file into the Melody track by using MEL | Import Melody from MIDI file. Usually this feature is used to import only the melody from a MIDI file. If you import more than one instrument to the Melody track this way, you will want to switch the Melody track to a multi-channel track by going to the MEL menu and selecting the 'Track type'. Here are the basic steps:
1. Choose MEL |Import Melody from MIDI file. If you wanted to import to the Soloist track, you would use SOL | Edit Soloist Track | Import Soloist Part from MIDI File
2. Select the MIDI file from the open dialog.
3. If you just want the Melody be sure to select only the channel the Melody is on for importing. Otherwise select all MIDI channels. Click [OK]
4. A dialog will appear informing you that the file has been imported.
5. If you imported more than just the melody, you probably will want to set the Melody track to multi-channel, otherwise everything will play using only one instrument. Click MEL | Track Type and set it to Multi-Channel
6. MUTE all Band-in-a-Box^® tracks except for the Melody by clickin on the [M] button, followed by the track. You can now play your MIDI file.

16. Who owns the songs that I create with Band-in-a-Box^®? Are the songs copyrighted?

The arrangements made by Band-in-a-Box^® are yours, and your songs may be used freely as long as they don't infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others.

17. How do I rest more than one bar at a time?

From the Chord entry grid:

Click on the bar you want to rest and press Option+Z.
Place the chord, select rest type, and the instruments needed to be rested. Click OK.
Highlight all the bars to be rested.
Go to Edit | Copy rests. Press OK.

18. How do I create a backup of the MySetup.dk file?

If you take a long time setting up a default setting for how Band in a Box starts up (MIDI channels, Patch Map, Drum Kit, Combos), it is probably a good idea to make a backup of this file. That way, if it gets overwritten or you return the program to factory settings, you will not need to reset everything again.

Set up your MIDI channels, patch map, drum kit, and combos/favourite instruments, the way you want.
Go to the MIDI menu | Save MIDI Setup/Drum Kit.
Type in a file name other than 'MySetup.dk'. For example, 'Start.dk'
If you ever return the program to factory settings and lose your settings, you can reload your settings by using MIDI | Load MIDI Setup/Drum Kit.

19. How can I easily raise or lower the velocity (volume) of all notes in the melody track?

Choose Mel | Adjust level of Melody, and choose how much you want to increase ALL note velocities on the melody track. You can choose 127, and all notes will be set to maximum velocity (127). For example three notes with velocities 30, 67, and 110 would all be set to 127(maximum). If you choose 10, 10 will be added to all velocities. For example, three notes with velocities 30, 67, and 110 would be set to 40, 77, and 120 respectively.

20. Can I enter a melody into Band-in-a-Box^® using the computer keyboard?

Here is a method that you can use to record a melody into Band-in-a-Box^® using the computer keyboard:

Go to the Play menu (Song menu on the Macintosh) and make sure 'Wizard Playalong Feature' is enabled.
Start recording.
Choose any key on your computer keyboard (N for example) and strike it in time with the notes of your melody. The idea here is not to get the note pitches right, just the durations.
When you have finished, keep the take. Next, put the Notation Window into editable notation mode. Go through the melody and drag the notes up or down using the mouse, to get the pitches right.

21. How can I combine multiple Band-in-a-Box^® songs to make a medley, or copy and paste part of one song into another?

There isn't a single feature in Band-in-a-Box^® that will do this automatically, however it can be done in steps. You need to copy the chords separately from the melody, solo, and lyrics.

You can copy the chords from one song to another by simply highlighting the chords in one song, selecting Edit | Copy, then opening the other song and selecting Edit | Paste. Adjust the number of bars per chorus accordingly in the destination song.

You could use the following method to copy the melody/solo/lyrics from one song to another. Say that "song 1" is the file you are copying from, and "song 2" is the file you are copying to (the destination file) and you want to copy the melody:

Open Song 1.
Determine how many bars from the start of the song the part is that you want to copy. If you have "Include 2 bar lead-in in MIDI file" checked in the Edit | Preferences dialog, add 2 bars to account for the lead-in.
Take note of how many bars you want to copy.
Mute all tracks except for the Melody track. To do this, click on the [M] button near the top left-hand side of the screen and click on Bass. Do the same for Piano, Drums, Strings, and Soloist.
Click the .MID button to save the song as a MIDI file. Save it to the clipboard.
Open Song 2 and determine how many bars from the start of the song you want to paste the section.
Go to Mel | Import Melody from clipboard. In the 'Import MIDI file - options' dialog, pay particular attention to the following settings:

-# bars to offset from start of MIDI file: The number of bars from the start of the song that you found in step 2.
-How many bars to import?: This is the number you found in step 3.
-# blank bars to insert at beginning: This is the number of bars you found in Step 6 plus 2 bars if there is a lead-in.
-'Merge with Existing Data on track': This should be checked unless you want to erase/overwrite any existing notation in the melody track of Song 2.
Press OK.

The other thing you may need to do is set up the part of your destination song that came from song 1 with the same style, patches, tempo, etc., as you had in song 1. The Edit | Bar Settings (F5) dialog will be useful for this.

22. I am having trouble recording into Band-in-a-Box^® with my Wind Controller.

When using a wind controller with a computer program, make sure to filter out most of the MIDI information that is sent from the controller. The default settings have an 'avalanche' of MIDI information, which can take up much of the CPU time reading it, or overwhelm the MIDI buffer. Other than that, you should be able to use it as a normal controller. There are Record Filter settings in Band-in-a-Box^® that can allow you to choose to ignore much of the MIDI information that gets sent.

23. What are the numbers for in the StyleMaker bars?

The numbers in the style editor have to do with what is referred to as weight, or percentage / randomness of time that this pattern will be played from 1 to 8. If it has a weight of 9, it will always get played if the mask criteria are satisfied. Band-in-a-Box^® uses these patterns to generate musical arrangements. Band-in-a-Box^® houses 1 and 2 bar patterns and 1 and 2 beat patterns in a style on an instrument-by-instrument and sub-style basis. How often each pattern will get played will be determined first by the number of chords in a bar then by the 1 - 9 value. A 2 bar pattern gets played if there is only 1 chord at the beginning of 2 bars. A 1 beat pattern is chosen if there are more than 2 chords close together in a given bar.

24. How do I get chords to sound on the off-beat, or create syncopation in my music?

This can be done by pushing the chords when you enter them into the Band-in-a-Box^® chordsheet. To push chords, enter one caret (^) to play the chord an eighth note early and two carets (^^) to play it sixteenth note early.

You are allowed to enter 4 chords per bar in Band-in-a-Box^®, that is, one on every beat in 4/4 time. If you were 'counting' the timing for the downbeats only, it would of course be 1 - 2 - 3 - 4. If you were counting the timing for the upbeats AND downbeats, it would be 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & (the "&" being the upbeat). You can enter a "^" (caret) sign before any of the chords in the 4 positions of the bar, and have that chord 'pushed', or played on the "&" count (that is, the upbeat). However, if you change the chord on the upbeat, it will play for a duration of a dotted quarter note. You cannot change it to something else on the NEXT downbeat. In other words it won't play an eighth note by itself.

Try this example: Open a new song and set the style to Country 4/4 (it's under the S menu). For the first bar of the song enter these 4 chords: C,C and C,^F (all 4 chords in the first bar, remember the caret before the F chord). In the second bar, enter F,F and F,F. Now use Ctrl-W to get to the notation display and press Play. Click on the B at the bottom right of the menu bar to display the Bass notes. You will see that there are 3 C notes, being 2 quarter notes, one eighth note and then a dotted quarter F note. The second bar has 4 quarter notes of F - the chord changes from C to F after counting 1 & 2 & 3 (that is, it changes on the & or the upbeat after the 3). Because you have used up the 4th beat in the first bar with your ^F designation, you cannot change the chord to anything else on beat 4

25. Please explain the song structure in Band-in-a-Box^®.

Band in a Box uses the Jazz convention that a "Chorus" is the whole song. This topic covers the terminology of:

Intro
Verse
Chorus
Bridge
Tag

You'll need to use the "Framing Controls" of Band-in-a-Box^®, where you set the chorus begin bar, the chorus end bar, and the number of choruses to repeat.

INTRO
How long an intro is, and what is included, is determined by what is in the 1st number box of the framing section of Band-in-a-Box^®. So if your first chorus starts at bar #17, you have from bar #1 to #16 (16 bars) to do what ever you want to with. You could create a standard intro, or with instruments coming on one at a time every 4 bars. You may place part markers, to go from lighter to heavier feels. You may include as many bars as you need to, but this section will only play once.

VERSE/CHORUS Section
"Chorus begins at bar #17" means that everything from bar 17 to the "Chorus ends at" bar (lets choose 48) will play or repeat as many times as you have indicated in "#choruses". In this section it is a good idea to make full use of the part markers, which will give your song a different feel, especially in the bridge.

BRIDGE
Contained within the main framing section of the song, the bridge is usually emphasized with the use of the "B" substyle. To make your song even more interesting, Band-in-a-Box^® allows you to do style changes at any bar. Experiment with two styles that are similar, and later with wildly different styles.

THE TAG
The tag can also be used similarly to the intro. You can make it as long as you like. It will fall outside of the "chorus begins at" and "chorus ends at" section, so it will only play once. It could consist of the chords for a bridge, a key change and chorus restatement, then a full ending. Note: A Tag will only be active if there is more than one chorus set to play.

THE 2 BAR ENDING
This automatic feature can be selected if you do not want to create your own ending with held bars/instruments and/or rests. It will add 2 bars, or start 2 bars early to end on the last designated bar if you choose.

26. How do I access higher bank patches in Band-in-a-Box^®? What are MSB and LSB?

There are 3 things that control which sound is played:

Patch or Program Change.
Bank MSB, or controller 0.
Bank LSB, or Controller 32.

Each of these can have a value from 0 to 127. When you are only interested in using the General MIDI instruments on your synth, you only need to worry about the Patch or Program Change. MSB and LSB can be left at 0. However, most synths have patches on higher banks beyond the General MIDI set of instruments, and if you want to access these sounds, you will need to use Bank changes.

At one time, no synthesizer had more than 128 sounds. As technology progressed, musicians demanded more sounds. The MIDI Association then developed a new MIDI command called the Bank Select Command. There are two controller messages in the Bank Select command:

Continuous Controller 0 (Most Significant Bit or MSB) messages are often abbreviated as CC in manuals (For example: CC0)
Continuous Controller 32 (Least Significant Bit or LSB) messages are often abbreviated as CC32 in manuals.

Two separate messages allows you to access up to 16,384 banks, of 128 patches each. This creates locations for 2,097,152 patches. Needless to say, we're not aware of any modules with over a couple of thousand patches (yet), let alone two million.

Some modules/synths require both controller 0 and controller 32 together and some require them one at a time. Refer to your manual for accessing patches on higher banks on your particular synth.

In your synth or module's manual, bank is usually listed first. In Roland manuals, it is in the CC00 (BANK) column. Place this value into the Bank Box. The second column in the table is usually the Program Change column. Also known as the GM or GS patch name, choose this patch number from the instrument pull-down menu. Don't worry if the General MIDI instrument name does not match the name of the patch you are trying to access. Just go by the number if it's not a General MIDI instrument you are trying to access. Controller Number 32 or LSB may be needed as well. Although it is not used very much in the Roland line of synths, it is used extensively in some other synths.

Once you have selected the patch (Instrument menu), Bank (MSB) and Bank (LSB), you should hear the higher bank instrument that you are trying to access.

If you are selecting patches from higher banks very much, you may want to learn about "patch maps". Patch maps allow you to choose any patch on your synth by name, using the 'Select Patch from Higher Bank' dialog (click the [+] button next to the instrument pull-down menu).

Note that if you change the default patches used by the style, you will probably need to use File | Save song with patches and harmony to prevent your chosen patches from reverting back to the defaults when you press Play.

27. How do I make a patch map for my synthesizer?

We include some patch maps (.pat files) with Band-in-a-Box^®. Other patch maps are available for download from our website at:https://www.pgmusic.com/support_miscellaneous.htm

If you cannot find a patch map for your synth, you may wish to create one. We have written a tutorial on patch map creation.

For more information on how to select patches on higher banks, click here.

28. Can I export my song from Band-in-a-Box^® to another MIDI sequencer?

Yes you can. You can create a standard MIDI file from your song, which can be imported into any other program that can read standard MIDI files. Click the .MID button on the main screen of Band-in-a-Box^®. This will give you the option to either save the file on disk (this could be anywhere on your hard drive, or a floppy disk) or to the clipboard. If you choose 'file on disk', this will bring up the'File Save' dialog. Choose the location you want the MIDI file saved to and then hit the save button.

29. Can Band-in-a-Box^® input chords for my melody?

Band-in-a-Box^® has a feature that will interpret chords from MIDI files. You could attempt to have Band-in-a-Box^® figure out chords for your melody using this feature. To do this, you would first mute all of the tracks except for the Melody track, press the .MID button and save the file to clipboard, then go to File | Import Chords from MIDI file | [Use Clipboard]. Unfortunately though, a single line melody isn't a very good candidate for this procedure. Band-in-a-Box^® needs to have a bit more information in the MIDI file, for example a bass track and some sort of chording track such as piano accompaniment.

One thing you could consider doing is adding some notes to your melody to give Band-in-a-Box^® something to work with. Go through your melody and add one or two notes below selected melody notes that you think "sound good" with your melody. After you have done this, save your song as a MIDI file and use File | Import chords from MIDI file as explained above.

30. Why don't the Styles that I just installed appear in the StylePicker window?

The bbm.lst file located in the root Band-in-a-Box^® folder defines most of the information in the StylePicker window. This file is updated when we release new Styles so that the StylePicker window will recognize them. Some of the information in the StylePicker window, such as Styles Set # and suggested tempo, is built into the program and requires the current version and latest update patch, although the styles will still work correctly without this information. First, try pressing the [Rebuild] button in the StylePicker window. If that doesn't work, follow the instructions below.

Before you install the Styles Set, it is best to make sure that you have your 'Band-in-a-Box^®™Folder' located at the root level of your hard drive. The styles are installed in this folder.
Download and install the latest update patch for your version, available from https://www.pgmusic.com/support_macintoshupdates.htm
Launch Band-in-a-Box^®, open the StylePicker window, and press the [Rebuild] button.
Look near the bottom of the StylePicker dialog and make sure that you are 'Showing All Styles'

If you are still having trouble, or the Style list doesn't seem to be correct, download the most recent bbm.lst file from our website and extract this into your BB folder: https://www.pgmusic.com/support_miscellaneous.htm

31. How do I enter more than 2 chords per bar in Band-in-a-Box^®?

You can enter a maximum of four chords per bar - two chords per "cell"(first or second half of a bar). To enter two chords in the first or second half of a bar, simply separate the chords by a comma when you type them in. For example, type: Cmaj , Gm >enter<

32. How do I enable and disable the lead-in bars or count-in?

This is set in Edit | Preferences. If you want to hear the count-in, make sure that "Allow Lead in Bars" is checked, along with "Play Lead In even if Intro Present," and "Audible lead in." Also, check that the volume is turned up (64 is the default). Uncheck these options if you don't want to hear the count-in.

33. Why do I hear the drums playing with a piano patch?

Check under the MIDI Menu | MIDI Settings and make sure that the drum channel corresponds to what your synth uses. You may need to check the documentation for your synth. You could also load a synth kit, if there is one for your particular synth, by going to MIDI | Load MIDI Setup/Drum Kit. When you select a synth from this menu and press [OK], Band-in-a-Box^® will load a .DK file that matches your synth. This file will set up the GM patches, drum kit, and channels to what they should be for that synth. While this is not normally necessary for most modern synths, it may be necessary for some older and non-General MIDI synths. Additional .DK files can be downloaded from our website at https://www.pgmusic.com/support_miscellaneous.htm

If you have a Yamaha synth, try going to MIDI | MIDI Settings and deselecting "Allow patch changes".

34. Why does Band-in-a-Box^® generate notes below low E (E2) on a bass?

You can set the lowest bass note in the Edit | Preferences(2) dialog. If you have set your lowest bass note to E2, which is the default setting, Band-in-a-Box^® will not play any bass notes below E2, with one exception: Band-in-a-Box^® occasionally produces a short low bass note (usually an octave below the root) to simulate a muted bass note on the third triplet of a walking bass line. These short notes don't get displayed in notation, but do get played.

35. I want to use 2/4 time in my bluegrass song, but it doesn't 'hold'.

We suggest you use 4/4 for that song. Bluegras1.STY is a 4/4 style, and Bluegrass music is in general 4/4. Almost any 2/4 song can be done in 4/4 and sound the same. (for example, Ragtime works as well in 2/4 as 4/4). The quality of the arrangement you get out of Band-in-a-Box^® will be way better, as will the solos it generates. If this song must use 2/4, just press F5 at bar 1, and type '2' beside '# beats per bar'. You'll see a little red square around the bar numbers after exiting to indicate that you've successfully changed settings at those bars. You could also use Edit | Set Time Sig of scrap (after highlighting the bars in your song).

36. How do I set the right key or visually transpose the music for my non-concert instrument?

The key transpose box on the main screen of Band-in-a-Box^® sets MIDI music you hear and the Notation key for viewing and printing at the same time. The 'Transpose' setting in the Notation Window Options dialog affects only the viewable and printable notes, while leaving the MIDI playback in the original key. This allows you to view proper notation for non-concert instruments, such as a tenor sax. Open the Notation Window and press the [OPT] button to open the Notation Window Options dialog. Beside 'Transpose', type in the number of semitones that you want the notation to be transposed. For example, if you have a trumpet, set it to +2.

37. Why does Band-in-a-Box^® keep looping 4 bars over and over?

Most likely, you have enabled the Loop Screen feature in the Notation Window. Open the Notation Window and un-check L.Scrn.

38. How can I control Band in a Box from an external start switch?

To cause Band-in-a-Box^® to wait to play until a MIDI key is received, go to Edit | Preferences and select 'Pause Play untill MIDI (or Key)'. This could be your computer keyboard, an external MIDI keyboard, or even a wind controller or guitar synth.

39. Can I edit tracks other than the Melody and Soloist in Band-in-a-Box^®? Why do the notes I just edited disappear when I press play?

The only tracks that are completely editable are the Soloist and Melody tracks. The reason is that the program automatically generates the accompaniment parts for you (Bass, Piano, Drums, Guitar, and Strings). For more advanced editing of the other tracks, we recommend exporting your Band-in-a-Box^® song as a MIDI file, then importing the file into a dedicated MIDI sequencer.

One way you could edit a particular part (for example bass) in Band-in-a-Box^®, would be to copy the part that you want to edit to the Soloist or Melody tracks, if one of those tracks is unused. You would then mute the original bass track or rest the bass throughout your song, and set the Melody or Soloist track to a bass instrument. To copy the track over, mute all of the tracks except the one you want to edit, save your song as a MIDI file, then import it into the Soloist or Melody tracks using the 'Import Melody/Soloist from MIDI File' command.

40. When I run Band-in-a-Box^® I get "zzjazz.sty not found" and other "file not found" error messages.

See FAQ topic 78.

41. The option to turn on fretboard inlays on the guitar doesn't seem to work.

The guitar inlays are only supposed to show if you disable "Show Aeolian Position" and "Show Phrygian Position" in the 'Guitar Settings' dialog.

42. Are Mac and PC versions of Band-in-a-Box^® songs compatible?

Yes, Band-in-a-Box^® songs are compatible between platforms, although you may have a problem if you try to use the newest styles with older versions of Band-in-a-Box^®. There have been changes made to the way Band-in-a-Box^® uses styles in the later releases. If both users are using the newest versions of Band-in-a-Box^® for each platform there shouldn't be a problem. The Mac user will need to make sure the Band-in-a-Box^® filename extension (mysong.xxx) uses capital letters, (e.g. mysong.MGU) in the name. Use a PC formatted disk, which can be read by both Mac and PC.

43. How can I adjust the volume of individual harmony parts?

In the 'Select Melody/Thru Harmony' dialog, select the harmony that you want to use and press the [Edit] button to open the 'Harmony Maker' dialog. This will allow you to edit the current harmony. You can adjust the Velocity boost ("V.Boost") for each voice. This allows you to increase or decrease the relative velocity (loudness) of each voice, to make the voice stand out more or less in the harmony.

44. I accidentally deleted the BBM.LST file or messed itup. How can I fix it?

We have the latest bbm.lst file available for download from our website:https://www.pgmusic.com/support_miscellaneous.htm

This file contains the styles descriptions for all of the latest styles from PG Music Inc. After you download the file, extract it into your main Band-in-a-Box^® folder. You should back up your previous version, especially if you have edited/added entries to the file.

45. Why do the drums I record in my drum window sound like another musical instrument when I play them back?

All recording in Band-in-a-Box^® is placed on the Melody (or Soloist) track. Even when instruments in the Drum window are played and recorded, they get placed on the Melody track. If you need to add drums this way to a Band-in-a-Box^® song, you need to change the channel on the Melody track to channel 10, the drum channel.

You can do this by going to the MIDI menu | MIDI Settings, and setting the Melody channel to 10. One alternative is, after recording the drums, swap the Melody and Soloist tracks and change the Soloist channel to 10. You can swap tracks by clicking on MEL | Swap Melody and Soloist. This way you can free up the Melody track for something else.

46. How do I control the MIDI sounds I hear when I record or play live along with Band-in-a-Box^® from my MIDI keyboard?

What you play on a MIDI keyboard gets routed back to your sound card/synth on the THRU track, using the channel and instrument selected for the THRU track in Band in a Box. What you record, you hear while recording on the instrument selected for the THRU track in Band-in-a-Box^®. When you play back what you have recorded, it gets played on the melody track. This is the track that affects which instrument you hear your tune in. If you add a Melody harmony, it will be triggered by the Melody track. If you add a Thru harmony, it will be triggered by what you play on your synth/keyboard on the THRU track channel/instrument.

47. Why aren't all of the styles in my BBM.LST file listed in the StylePicker?

BBM.LST contains a list of all possible styles, not just the ones that you have. If the style is found in the Band-in-a-Box^® folder, it will be listed in the StylePicker window. You may need to press the [Re-build] button in the StylePicker window if you have installed new styles.

48. Why am I unable to download updates and other files from your website?

If you are having trouble downloading a demo or product that you have purchased, please click here to read our Sales FAQ topic.

Band-in-a-Box^® for Macintosh update patches can be downloaded from here.
RealDrums and RealTracks for Macintosh updates can be downloaded from here.

Depending on your web browser and settings, the file may be automatically downloaded to a folder on your computer without prompting you for a location to save the file. The default for the Safari web browser is normally the 'Downloads' folder in your Home folder. For example, if your User account is 'MyUserName', then the download will be placed in \Users\MyUserName\Downloads. In Safari, you can change this setting if you want, by going to Safari | Preferences | General ('save downloaded files to'). In Firefox, the setting is in Firefox | Preferences ('Save files to').

If the download doesn't seem to work when you click on it, try control-clicking on the link and selecting 'download linked file' or 'download link to disk'. In Safari, go to the Window menu and click on Downloads to take a look at currently downloading files.

The updates are provided as .zip files. Mac OS 10.3 and later have the built-in ability to extract .zip files - you just need to double-click on them. If that is not working for you, control-click on the file, point to 'Open With', and select 'BOMArchive Helper' or 'Archive Utility'. Once extracted, the installer package should be found in the same location as the .zip file - double-click on this package and follow the on-screen instructions to install the update.

Additional tips for downloading can be found in our Sales FAQ topic, or contact us if you need further assistance.

49. The Notation Window doesn't display properly. How do I install the PG Music fonts?

The PG Music fonts should be installed automatically when you install Band-in-a-Box^®. If not, the notation window will appear garbled. To fix this problem:

Locate the file "PG Music Font Suitcase.sit" in the Band-in-a-Box^® Folder.
Double-click on this file to expand it.
Copy the expanded file (PG Music Font Suitcase) to the 'Library:Fonts' folder on your hard drive.

The Notation Window should now display properly. If not, try restarting your computer. If you are still having trouble, please read on.

More information about font installation on OS X

The 'PG Music Font Suitcase' should be located in one of the following font folders, depending on your preference. Double-click your OSX Startup Hard Drive Desktop Icon, to open a new Finder Window. For navigation convenience, set the new Finder Window's 'View' to 'As List'. Lets assume your Startup Drive is called 'Macintosh HD'. Substitute your own Startup Drive's name, if it is not 'Macintosh HD'.

'Macintosh HD:System Folder:Fonts:'The Classic font folder. Fonts in this folder can be scanned/used by either OSX or Classic OS 9.
'Macintosh HD:Library:Fonts:'The Local font folder. Fonts here can be accessed by any OSX user, but they are not recognized by Classic programs.
'Macintosh HD:Users:YourUserName:Library:Fonts:'The User font folder. Only one user can access fonts in this folder.
'Macintosh HD:System:Library:Fonts:'The System font folder. Apple recommends that you don't mess with the contents of this folder.

NOTE: After dragging 'PG Music Font Suitcase' to a Font folder, you may need to Restart the Mac before Band-in-a-Box^® can display the font. A restart is not always necessary, as it seems to vary depending on your system details.

NOTE: Unless you are logged in as an Administrator user, your Mac may not let you move the font anywhere except the User font folder.

NOTE: If you are logged in as an Administrator user and the Mac still forbids you from moving the font to your desired Fonts folder, it may help to Run 'Applications:Utilities:Disk Utility'. Select the Disk Utility function 'Repair Permissions'.

See FAQ 72 for more information on font installation.

50. When I try to launch Band-in-a-Box^® on OS 9, I get a message saying that "CarbonLib" cannot be found.

The complete error is: "The application Band-in-a-Box^® could not be opened because 'CarbonLib--LSFindApplicationForInfo' could not be found."

This is a result of trying to run the OS X version of Band-in-a-Box^® on OS 9. The application file that you use on OS 9 is called "Band-in-a-Box^® OS 9", not "Band-in-a-Box^®".

Note: Band-in-a-Box^® for OS 9 is version 11, and Band-in-a-Box^® for OS X is version 12.

51. How do I install a Band-in-a-Box^® 12 upgrade over my existing version?

Band-in-a-Box^® always installs to the "Band-in-a-Box^® ™ Folder" on the root level of your hard drive. Before installing Band-in-a-Box^® 12, just make sure that you have an existing folder on your hard drive named "Band-in-a-Box^® ™ Folder", which contains your previous version. Then, simply install Version 12 and you are ready to go. After you install Band-in-a-Box^®, you can move the Band-in-a-Box^® Folder to a different location on your hard drive if you wish.

52. Can I disable the help boxes that pop up when I move my mouse over the screen?

Yes, you can disable the fly-by help tags in the Edit | Preferences 2 dialog. There are also settings there to show more or less comprehensive hints, and to enable/disable hints in dialog boxes.

53. Band-in-a-Box^® quits unexpectedly when I try to choose a style.

Band-in-a-Box^® may quit unexpectedly when you press the [Style] button or click on the Style name in the Title window. This seems to occur on a small percentage of systems if the Dock is set to be on the left or right side of the computer screen. The Dock is the OS X toolbar containing the trash can and icons for frequently used applications. We haven't isolated the specific cause of this problem, but it can be resolved by setting the Dock to the bottom of the screen. To do this, go to the Apple menu | System Preferences, and click on [Dock]. Beside "Position on screen", select bottom, and press OK.

54. How can I return Band-in-a-Box^® for OS X to the factory settings?

Band-in-a-Box^® 12 for OS X uses the following files for configuration. If you want to restore Band-in-a-Box^® to the factory settings, you can delete or rename these files. The next time you launch Band-in-a-Box^® new configuration files will be created. This can help solve or troubleshoot odd and unexplainable problems you are having with the program. Important: You must have Band-in-a-Box^® closed when you do this.

We recommend renaming the files (rather than deleting them) or saving a copy of them somewhere else on your hard drive so that you have a backup of your old configuration. For example, you could rename MySetup.dk to MySetup.old. Later, if you find that you need to restore your previous settings, you can delete the new MySetup.dk file that Band-in-a-Box^® will have created, and rename MySetup.old to MySetup.dk.

MYSETUP.DK. This file contains the settings in the following dialogs:
MIDI | MIDI Settings (MIDI channels, patches, volumes, reverb, chorus, bank)
MIDI | Make General MIDI Patch Map
MIDI | Set Favourite Patches/Combos
MIDI | Edit Drum Kit
Band-in-a-Box^® Preferences_OSX. This file contains information about your selected MIDI driver and input/output ports.
Intrface_OSX.BBW. This file contains most of the other current settings, such as settings in the Edit | Preferences dialog, and your song and style favourite lists.

Note that the menu item MIDI | Return to Factory Settings accomplishes the same thing as deleting Band-in-a-Box^® Preferences_OSX. This may solve your problem but it isn't a complete reset.

55. How can I convert my Band-in-a-Box^® songs to audio files and burn a CD?

You cannot convert songs to audio files and burn CDs directly from Band-in-a-Box^®, however you can do it by first saving your Band-in-a-Box^® song as a MIDI file, and using a third party application to convert it to an audio (AIFF) file and burn a CD. One method of doing this is to use the application iTunes, which is included with most new Macs.

After you have finished composing your song in Band-in-a-Box^®, press the .MID button on the main Band-in-a-Box^® toolbar to save the song as a standard MIDI file. Save it as a 'File on Disk'.
Open iTunes, create a new playlist, and drag the MIDI file from the Finder to your iTunes playlist.
Control-click on the file you added and click on Convert Selection to AIFF.
Repeat the steps above to add each file that you wish to burn to CD to your iTunes playlist. When you are ready to burn the CD, go to the File menu in iTunes and select Burn Playlist to Disc.

Note 1: iTunes uses the Quicktime Instrument sounds when converting your file to AIFF.

Note 2: The 'convert to AIFF' feature seems to have been disabled/removed starting with iTunes Version 6. You can use Quicktime Pro to do the conversion (the Pro version of Quicktime must be purchased though), or you can use GarageBand as described below.

You can use GarageBand to convert your song to an audio file. This process uses the GarageBand software instruments, which are different than the Quicktime Instruments - many people prefer the GarageBand sounds, but this is personal preference. Here are the basic steps:

After you have finished composing your song in Band-in-a-Box^®, press the .MID button on the main Band-in-a-Box^® toolbar to save the song as a standard MIDI file. Save it as a 'File on Disk'.
Open iTunes and GarageBand.
Drag the MIDI file onto the GarageBand user interface (the main window).
Go to the Share menu and select Send song to iTunes.
Repeat this for as many songs as you want on your CD, then go to the File menu in iTunes and select Burn playlist to disc.

56. When I try to run Band-in-a-Box^® on a multi-user system, I get a "Disk Error" when opening or closing the application.

When you start or shut down Band-in-a-Box^®, you may get one or more of the following error messages:

"Disk Error... The file could not be read because of Unknown Error Problems."
"Disk Error... The file could not be read because of Duplicate file name problems."
"Cannot write Intrface.bbw configuration file to disk..."
"default.sol", "default.mel", or "default.har cannot be found"

Normally this occurs if you are not logged on as an administrator, and the Band-in-a-Box^® Folder permissions are not set correctly. Follow the instructions below to resolve this problem.

It is best if Band-in-a-Box^® is installed by an administrator user. It is also usually best to leave the 'Band-in-a-Box^® Folder' at the root level of the hard drive. After an administrator user installs Band-in-a-Box^®, the same administrator user should:

Select the 'Band-in-a-Box^® Folder' and press Cmd-I to open the 'Get Info' dialog (or go to the File menu and select Get Info).
Open the Ownership & Permissions section and click on the Lock icon so it looks 'unlocked'.
Set Owner Access to 'Read & Write'
Set Group Access to Read & Write'
Set Others to 'Read & Write'
Click [Apply to enclosed items]

This should give other users permission to all of the files in the Band-in-a-Box^® Folder, and allow Band-in-a-Box^® to access its settings files. If this doesn't solve the problem, try removing and reinstalling Band-in-a-Box^®, or deleting the following configuration files from the Band-in-a-Box^® Folder:

MYSETUP.DK
Band-in-a-Box^® Preferences_OSX
Interface_OSX.BBW

If you continue to experience problems, it may be a good idea to repair your disk permissions.

57. How do I repair my disk permissions on OS X?

The Repair Permissions utility corrects the ownership and permissions of certain files, and can fix odd system problems, such as programs quiting unexpectedly or not launching properly. To repair disk permissions:

Open the Applications | Utilities folder.
Double-click on the DISK UTILITY program.
In the left side of the window, click once on the name of your hard drive.
In the right side of the window, click the "First Aid" tab.
Click the [Repair Disk Permissions] button.

Wait until the repair is complete before quitting the Disk Utility. You can't shut down or restart while the Disk Utility is running, but you can run other programs.

58. I just upgraded to Band-in-a-Box^® 12 and I can't find the JK menu.

The JK menu was removed from version 12 to clean up the user interface, and because it is now redundant. The JK menu contained a list of the songs in the Songs folder. You can access this same list by pressing the [Song] button.

59. I get a "NilObject" error when trying to install Band-in-a-Box^® on OS X.

The complete error message is: "An exception of class NilObjectException was not handled. The application must shut down."

A few people have reported getting this error when trying to install Band-in-a-Box^® on OS X. You may be able to resolve this problem by simply restarting your computer. If the installer is still not working properly for you, use the file located in the 'Backup' folder on the Band-in-a-Box^® 12 CD. This is simply a stuffit file containing the entire Band-in-a-Box^® folder. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Band-in-a-Box^®, follow the instructions located in the backup folder. If you ordered this product directly from our online store using the download-only option, please contact us.

60. Why am I unable to open a .SITX file that I downloaded from your website?

If you are using an older version of Stuffit Expander, you may receive the following error message when you try to expand a .SITX file:

"The file does not appear to be compressed or encoded. It is advised that you obtain further information about the contents of this file from the sender or the provider of the file."

SITX compression requires StuffIt Version 7 or higher. This can be downloaded from https://www.stuffit.com, or use the Mac OS X Software Update utility, located in the OS X System Preferences panel.

61. I cannot get Band-in-a-Box^® installed on the Japanese version of Mac OS X.

Band-in-a-Box^® does not install properly on some Japanese enabled Macs. You may find that the installer creates a 'Band-in-a-Box^® Folder' and a 'Temp1' folder containing a few files, but fails to install any application files. You can resolve this problem by restarting your computer with English support enabled and reinstalling Band-in-a-Box^®. Once you have done this, you can reboot back into Japanese and Band-in-a-Box^® will work properly.

62. Why does Band-in-a-Box^® "quit unexpectedly" as soon as I open it?

Two possible reasons for this are:

If you are using "Jack" (a low-latency audio server) on your computer, make sure you have the latest version, as this may have fixed an incompatibility with Band-in-a-Box^®. If that doesn't solve the problem, you may need to uninstall Jack.
You may be running OS X 10.0 or 10.1. Most people have not been able to use Band-in-a-Box^® successfully these systems, as OS X CoreMIDI wasn't fully implemented until OS X 10.2 (Jaguar).

63. Explain the different file extensions that Band-in-a-Box^® uses for song files.

Band-in-a-Box^® song files end in a ?G? file extension.

If the song has a melody, the extension begins with an 'M'. If the song doesn't have a melody, it begins with an 'S'.
The second letter of the extension is always a G.
The third letter refers to the style that the song uses. 1-9 and A-N refer to the original "built-in" styles (for example, ZZJAZZ.STY, ZZWALTZ.STY) and U refers to a "User" style (actually, any other style).

Example 1: MySongTitle.MGU

The M tells us that the song has a melody.
The G is always present in song names telling us that it is a song.
The U tells us that the style is a user style.

Example 2: MySongTitle.SG1

The S tells us that the song doesn't have a melody.
The G is always present in song names telling us that it is a song.
The 1 indicates that the song uses Style #1, which is Jazz Swing (ZZJAZZ).

The song files are quite small. This means that you can store hundreds or thousands of songs without using up too much of your hard drive space.

64. Can I have Band-in-a-Box^® boot up in a folder of my choice, rather than the 'Songs' folder?

You can't have Band-in-a-Box^® automatically start up in a preferred folder. However, there is a quick way of getting to the folder you were in during your previous session. After Band-in-a-Box^® starts up, press Shift+F3 on your keyboard. This will open the Favourite Songs dialog, which shows the most recently loaded song files. Then, just press <enter> to open the last song you were working on.

65. Why do I get an ".ST2 not found" message when I try to generate a solo?

Band-in-a-Box^® may give you the following message when you attempt to generate a solo using the Soloist feature: "xxx.ST2 not found. Cannot write Solo. ST2 files are 'Soloist' files. They must reside in your (home directory)".

.ST2 files are Soloist databases. Each of the Soloists are set up to use one of the .ST2 files for solo generation, and if the .ST2 file is not present in the 'Soloist' folder within your Band-in-a-Box^® Folder, then Band-in-a-Box^® will give you the message above. The list of Soloists that you see in the 'Select Soloist' dialog is defined by the Default.SOL file (Default_OSX.SOL if you are running Version 12 on OS X). This file contains descriptions for all of the Soloists that are available for Band-in-a-Box^® at the time of the release of the version you have; it isn't necessarily a list of only the Soloists that you have.

Here are some specific reasons that Band-in-a-Box^® might be giving you the error message:

Band-in-a-Box^® Pro and regular upgrades only include a basic set of Soloist databases (Soloist set 1), while the Band-in-a-Box^® MegaPAK and MegaPAK upgrades include all Soloist databases that are currently available, with the exception of the Artist Soloist Series (Andy Laverne and Jeff Lorber Soloists). If you purchased the "Pro" package and you are trying to select a Soloist that is not included in the Pro, you will get an "ST2 not found" error.
Soloists sets can also be purchased individually. If you have purchased and installed an individual Soloist set and you get this error when trying to use one of the new Soloists, then you most likely didn't install the Soloist Set properly. Soloist Sets and other Band-in-a-Box^® add-ons automatically install to a 'Band-in-a-Box^® ™ Folder' at the root level of your hard drive. Before installing the Soloist Set, make sure that this is where your Band-in-a-Box^® Folder is located. If you prefer to have it somewhere else on your hard drive (for example, in the Applications folder), you can move it back there after you have installed the Soloist set.
There are some Soloists that have recently been upgraded to use a more advanced and realistic sounding Soloist database not available in the Pro version. If you get a message saying something like "Wynt.ST2 not found" when you try to select a Soloist that you think *used to be available to you* in a previous version, do the following to set the Soloist back to its default database:
1. In the 'Select Soloist' dialog, choose the Soloist of interest and press the [Edit Soloist Maker] button.
2. Underneath where it says 'Choose ST2 database', click the [Default] button.
3. Press OK. You should now be able to generate a Solo using this particular Soloist.
Note: You should make a backup of the default.SOL file after making edits in the Soloist Maker. That way, if you need to reinstall Band-in-a-Box^® at some point you won't lose all of your edits. If you are running Version 12 on OS X, the file is "Default_OSX.SOL".

66. When I save my song as a MIDI file, the bass track is not written to the MIDI file.

This may occur if you have "include 2 bar lead-in in MIDI file" unchecked in the Edit | Preferences dialog. To resolve the problem, download and install the latest update patch for Band-in-a-Box^® 12. Update patches are available from https://www.pgmusic.com/support_macintoshupdates.htm.

67. The chord symbols in my song don't show up when I save the song as a MIDI file and import it into another program.

The standard MIDI file specification doesn't include a universal way to embed this type of information, so the chord names are stored in the MIDI file from Band-in-a-Box^® as 'manufacturer specific' MIDI META-events. The chord symbols will show up in all PG Music Inc. programs that display notation. Note that if you load a .MID file that contains these META events into a non-PG Music Inc. program/sequencer, and re-save the file, the META event (i.e. Chords) will not be saved into the new file.

68. I am having trouble playing the video tutorials.

Symptoms:

Quicktime gives you an error message when you try to play the video
Quicktime opens and plays the file, but there is no sound.
Quicktime opens and plays the file, but there is no video.

If you downloaded one of the .AVI files from our website, you should be able to play the file with Quicktime. For most of our recent videos, we used the TechSmith Ensharpen video encoder. The EnSharpen Decoder must be installed on your computer to play the videos properly. This file is available for download from https://www.techsmith.com/codecs.asp .

You should also install this codec if you are having trouble playing the videos included on your Band-in-a-Box^® or Video Tutorial PAK CDs.

Note: Some of the videos on our website are only available in streaming format, and can only be played with Windows Media Player.

69. How can I clear the "Favorite Songs" and "Favorite Styles" windows?

There currently isn't a command in Band-in-a-Box^® to do this, but you can accomplish it by closing Band-in-a-Box^® and deleting the file Intrface_OSX.bbw from your Band-in-a-Box^® folder. This file contains the favourite song and style lists, as well as some other global Band-in-a-Box^® settings. You may want to keep a backup of the Intrface_OSX.bbw file in case you find that you need to restore your previous settings.

70. Can I import my Band-in-a-Box^® songs into GarageBand?

You can import your Band-in-a-Box^® compositions into GarageBand for fine-tuning, or to play them with the GarageBand software instruments. GarageBand Version 2 (and higher) support the direct import of MIDI files. Click on the .MID button to save your Band-in-a-Box^® song as a MIDI file, then open GarageBand and import the MIDI file by dragging it from the Finder into the GarageBand timeline. The MIDI file will appear in GarageBand with each instrument on a separate track. The tracks will play using the MIDI software instruments included with GarageBand. You can select a different instrument from the Track Info window (select the track and press Command+I).

Since GarageBand version 1 cannot import MIDI files directly, there are a few extra steps you need to go through to get your Band-in-a-Box^® song into GarageBand. These steps are described in our GarageBand tutorial.

71. How do I use Band-in-a-Box^® with other MIDI applications and software synthesizers?

After creating a song in Band-in-a-Box^®, you can save the song as a standard MIDI file by pressing the .MID button in the main Band-in-a-Box^® toolbar, then import the MIDI file into any application that can handle standard MIDI files. You may want to do this if you wish to fine-tune your song by editing the individual tracks in a MIDI sequencer, or if you have better MIDI sounds available in another application. For example, you can use the program GarageBand to play/edit your Band-in-a-Box^® songs. There is more information about this in FAQ 70.

You can also have Band-in-a-Box^® play directly through other MIDI programs and software synthesizers on your computer by using either the IAC (InterAppliCation) Bus, or the BIAB Virtual MIDI Output. You should be able to use this method to play your song through a DXi soft synth or AudioUnits hosted by another program. There is an example in the Band-in-a-Box^® help files that explains how to use a program called RAX to play Band-in-a-Box^® songs using AudioUnits. To find this section of the help file, go to the MIDI menu | Select MIDI Driver or Quicktime and click on the [MIDI Drivers Help] button.

The IAC bus and BIAB Virtual MIDI Output are used in the same way. We developed a BIAB Virtual MIDI cable for OS 10.2 (Jaguar) users, since OS 10.2 did not include the IAC Bus. Apple added the IAC bus starting with OS 10.3 (Panther); if you have OS 10.3 or higher, you should probably use the IAC Bus rather than the BIAB Virtual MIDI cable. Here are the basic steps:

If you will be using the IAC bus, you need to first make sure that it is enabled. In Band-in-a-Box^®, go to the MIDI menu and click on CoreMIDI Audio Midi Setup. You should see an IAC Bus icon there; double-click on it and make sure that the 'Device is online' box is checked. Close the CoreMIDI Audio MIDI Setup window and go back to Band-in-a-Box^®. If you did have to enable it, you should close and re-open Band-in-a-Box^®.
In Band-in-a-Box^®, go to MIDI | Select MIDI Driver or Quicktime. Select 'MacOSX CoreMIDI' and press OK. This should open the 'Choose Instruments/Ports' window.
The first pull-down menu at the top of this window is the input port. The following pull-down menus (Bass, Piano, Drums etc) are the outputs. The reason that each instrument has its own menu is that you can send different instruments to different ports. Click on the Bass pull-down. If you have OS 10.3 or higher, choose 'IAC Bus'. If you have OS 10.2, choose 'BIAB Virtual MIDI Output'. Click on 'Set all ports to this', and press OK.
The next thing you need to do is open the third party MIDI application that you want to pipe Band-in-a-Box^® through. You need to figure out how to get that program to accept the IAC bus (or BIAB Virtual MIDI) as MIDI input. You may also need to make other settings changes, depending on the application. You will need to consult the documentation for the program to learn how to do this.

72. Error message when installing Band-in-a-Box^®: "You do not have enough access privileges to install PGInstallFontSuitcase".

There are two main things that happen when you install Band-in-a-Box^®. First, Band-in-a-Box^® itself is installed. Band-in-a-Box^® is always installed to the "Band-in-a-Box^®™ Folder" at the root level of your hard drive. All of the Band-in-a-Box^® files, except for the fonts, are installed in the Band-in-a-Box^®™ Folder. Second, the PG Music Font Suitcase is installed. The fonts will be installed in one of a couple of different locations, depending on your computer setup. First, the installer tries to put the fonts in 'Macintosh HD:System Folder:Fonts'. Fonts in this folder can be scanned/used by either OSX or Classic OS 9. If it is not possible for the fonts to be installed in that folder (for example, your computer may not have Classic installed at all), the installer tries to put the fonts in 'Macintosh HD:Library:Fonts'. Fonts here can be accessed by any OSX user, but they are not recognized by Classic programs.

If you get an error indicating that font installation failed, the installer was most likely unable to place the fonts in either the System Folder or Library folder. This may be because you are not logged in as an administrator (unless you are logged in as an Administrator user, your Mac may not let you modify the contents of any fonts folder except the User fonts folder), or because there is something wrong with the permission settings on your computer.

First, you should open Band-in-a-Box^® and look at the Notation Window - this will allow you to confirm if the fonts are installed or not. If the Notation Window looks like gibberish, the fonts are not properly installed. If it looks ok, then you don't need to do anything else.

If the fonts are not installed, you should be able to resolve the problem by doing one of the following:

Manually copy the PG Music Font Suitcase from the installed Band-in-a-Box^® Folder to one of the Font locations on your hard drive. See FAQ 49 for an explanation of the various font folders on your computer.
Log onto the computer as an administrator and reinstall Band-in-a-Box^®.
Repair damaged permission settings on your computer. See FAQ 57 for instructions on how to do this.

73. Why does the Melodist generate notes outside the "Melody Note Range" specified in the Melodist editor?

Band-in-a-Box^® will use notes outside of the specified range (within about an octave) so that a more natural melody line can be created. The intention is not to get Band-in-a-Box^® to stick precisely to the specified range. If you want, you can manually edit any of the notes that are created by the Melodist.

74. How do I get a simple metronome or click track in Band-in-a-Box^®?

Go to Edit | Preferences to access the count-in and metronome settings. If you want a metronome during recording, select the appropriate box. If you want to record melodies without any accompaniment, you can use one of the blank styles: BLANK.STY (even 4/4), BLANK34.STY (even 3/4), BLANKSW.STY (swing 4/4), or BLANK3SW.STY (swing 3/4).

Alternatively, download this "click-track" style. This style has a rim shot on each beat with beat one accented, and no guitar, bass, strings, or piano. You should place this style in the Styles folder in your Band-in-a-Box^® Folder, and it can be accessed by pressing F9 (Load User Style).

75. When I type a chord into the chord sheet, it automatically transposes my chord and displays a different chord than what I typed.

If, for example, you type Cmaj7 and Band-in-a-Box^® inserts an Emaj7 chord instead, this means you have the 'visual transpose' set to something other than 0. This setting is usually used for non-concert instruments. You can correct the problem by going to the Notation Window Options dialog and setting 'transpose' to 0.

76. Where can I find a list of the chords that Band-in-a-Box^® recognizes?

To find the chord list in Band-in-a-Box^® 12 for OS X, go to the Help menu and click on 'View Band-in-a-Box^® Manual'. This will bring up a PDF version of the complete Band-in-a-Box^® User's Guide. Go to the end of Chapter 14 (Reference), or do a search for 'chord list'. This list can be printed out for reference. If your PDF manual does not include a chord list, it is possible you have an early version of the manual. You may contact us for an updated PDF manual. Alternatively, click here to see an online chord list. If you obtain a newer .PDF manual, save it in the Band-in-a-Box^®™ Folder on your hard drive with the name MacBIABManual.pdf, replacing the existing file there. It will then be accessible from the Help menu in Band-in-a-Box^®.

77. I get a "Format Error", "unsupported archive version", "not supported on this architecture", or "compression error" message when I try to install a program or update that I downloaded.

These errors usually occur when expanding .sitx files using Stuffit Expander, and most of our newer files are downloaded in .zip format. However, if you do have this problem...

You need to download the latest version of Stuffit Expander for your operating system, available from https://www.stuffit.com. This is a free update. The exact version you need to download depends on which exact OS you have. For example, Stuffit Expander 8.0.2 is the latest version compatible with OSX 10.2, while there are more recent versions of Stuffit available for OSX 10.3 and higher.

Once you have downloaded and installed the latest version of Stuffit for your system, extract the .SITX file that you downloaded again and it should work. If you are still unable to unstuff the file, please contact us.

78. When I launch the program I get the message "Some required files for Band-in-a-Box^® are missing or not found"

This error occurs when (for whatever reason) there are files missing from the folder that the Band-in-a-Box^® application file is located in. By default, all Band-in-a-Box^® files, including the application file "Band-in-a-Box^®" are installed to the "Band-in-a-Box^®™ Folder" at the root or main level of the volume you select during installation. This is the Mac Hard Drive by default. Band-in-a-Box^® is completely self-contained within its folder, with the exception of the PG Music fonts, which are installed to the appropriate font folders. Here are some possible reasons for a missing file error to occur when you try to open Band-in-a-Box^®:

You may have moved the Band-in-a-Box^® application file from your Band-in-a-Box^® Folder to another location on your hard drive (say, to the desktop). If your goal was to make an alias (shortcut) on your desktop to open the program, copy the Band-in-a-Box^® application file back to the Band-in-a-Box^®™ Folder, select this file, go to the File menu, and select 'Make Alias' - then drag the alias to the desktop.
You may have somehow deleted/removed some files from the Band-in-a-Box^® Folder. In this case, the Band-in-a-Box^® application is still located in the correct folder, but there are important files missing. You can reinstall Band-in-a-Box^® to resolve this problem.
This error may also happen after installing a Band-in-a-Box^® update. After you originally installed Band-in-a-Box^®, you may have moved the entire Band-in-a-Box^® Folder to a different location on your Hard Drive. For example, perhaps you moved it to the Applications folder. When you installed the update, it would have been installed the main level of your hard drive. In this case, you would then have two Band-in-a-Box^® folders - your original Band-in-a-Box^® Folder in Hard Drive | Applications, and an incomplete Band-in-a-Box^® folder (containing only the update patch files) on the Hard Drive. Since the updates don't install all of the files that Band-in-a-Box^® requires to run properly, you would get a 'missing files' error when you try to open the program from the incomplete folder, or the program just wouldn't work properly. To resolve the problem, you can delete the incomplete folder, copy your original Band-in-a-Box^® Folder to the Hard Drive, then reinstall the update.
One other related possibility is that when you ran the update patch installer, you didn't select the correct volume. Run the installer again, and when it gets to the point where you select your destination volume, take note of which volume is selected by default. Normally this would be the Hard Drive, however, if you don't have permission to install to the Hard Drive for some reason (perhaps you have a limited account), then it will show up as "locked" and will point by default to your Home folder (your user folder). If you had your original Band-in-a-Box^® Folder located on the Hard Drive, and installed the update to your Home folder, then you would get the 'missing files' error when trying to run the program from your Home folder. To resolve this problem, simply make sure that your Band-in-a-Box^®™ Folder is already located wherever you are installing the update to.
One last possibility is that you are using a case-sensitive filesystem on Leopard (or *possibly* another operating system). If this is the case, you would have likely selected case-sensitive HFS+ as the filesystem when you installed Leopard. You can check this by clicking on your HD and selecting the Get Info menu item. One solution is to reinstall your OS using a typical (case-insensitive) filesystem. Another possible solution is to rename the following files in your Band-in-a-Box^® folder to all lower case or all upper case (try one or the other):

chordsub_osx.bin
default.git
default.har
default.mel
default_osx.sol
bbm.lst

79. When I try to launch the program, my computer starts Classic Mode or gives the error "Classic startup found no system folder on the boot volume".

You are most likely trying to launch the OS 9 version of Band-in-a-Box^®. In the Band-in-a-Box^® Folder on your hard drive, you will find the application file 'Band-in-a-Box^® OS9', and another application file called 'Band-in-a-Box^®'. If you have OS X, double-click on 'Band-in-a-Box^®' to start the program - this is the OS X version. 'Band-in-a-Box^® OS9' is included so that people who have OS 9 or earlier can still use Band-in-a-Box^®. If you are trying to install a Band-in-a-Box^® add-on and your computer is trying to start Classic Mode, you most likely have an older installer for that add-on. If your computer does have Classic mode, you can procceed with the installation and the files will be installed properly. You will still be able to use the add-on with OS X version of Band-in-a-Box^®.

80. When I try to install the program, I get a "Build Item Error", followed by the message "You do not have enough access privileges to install...".

This can sometimes happen if the name of your hard drive has diacritical marks (accents) or special characters in it. To resolve the problem, rename your hard drive so it doesn't have accents, or reboot your computer in English mode to perform the installation. The latest installers available for Band-in-a-Box^® should not have this problem.

81. Is Band-in-a-Box^® compatible with the Intel Macs?

Band-in-a-Box^® 12 for OS X runs well on Intel-based Macs with OS X 10.2‐10.6 using Quicktime or CoreMIDI. If you will be using an external MIDI device, you will need to install Intel Mac compatible drivers for your MIDI interface. Check on the manufacturer's website for the drivers. We don't have a Universal version of Band-in-a-Box^® at the current time, however Version 12 runs well under Rosetta. Rosetta translates PowerPC based applications such as Band-in-a-Box^® to work on the Intel-based Mac. This happens automatically; there is nothing special you need to know or do to run Band-in-a-Box^®.

Note: Band-in-a-Box^® 11 and earlier, and other Classic OS 9 applications, do not work on the Intel Macs.

82. Can I use the Windows version of Band-in-a-Box^® and other Windows products on an Intel-based Mac?

We tested Band-in-a-Box^® 2006 for Windows on an Intel-based iMac (512 MB RAM, 2.0 GHz processor) that had Windows XP Home Service Pack 2 installed on an NTFS formatted partition. We also tested many other PG Music products, including PowerTracks Pro Audio 10, the Video Guitar Lesson series, GuitarStar, Master Class programs such as the Jazz Guitar Master Class, Multimedia Performance programs such as the Bach Chorales and Rock Guitarist, Master Solo products such as the Master Jazz Guitar Solos, and NoteMatch. In addition, we tested the use of the Roland VSC-3, Roland VSC-DXi, and Coyote ForteDXi software synths with Band-in-a-Box^® and PowerTracks Pro Audio, and tested MIDI recording and playback through an external (hardware) MIDI device.

We did not encounter any problems with any of the programs that we tested. There were no problems with playback, and all of the features that we tested worked exactly as they do on a PC with Windows XP. In fact, in some cases we experienced better performance on the Intel Mac than on a PC with similar specs.

83. How do I use Native Instruments Bandstand with PG Music software?

Please click here to read our Bandstand tutorial, which explains how to use Bandstand with Band-in-a-Box^® and PowerTracks Pro Audio, and provides some troubleshooting tips.

84. When I try to open Band-in-a-Box^®, I get the message "You do not have permission to open the application Band-in-a-Box^®".

You are probably trying to run Band-in-a-Box^® on a non-administrator account that has restrictions on which programs you can use. Someone with an administrator account on your computer will need to change this by modifying your account restrictions. Here are the basic steps:

Go to the Apple menu | System Preferences | Accounts.
Choose the account that you want to modify and click 'Parental Controls'.
Click the [Configure] button beside 'Finder and System'.
Click the [Locate] button and find the Band-in-a-Box^® application on your Hard Drive. Band-in-a-Box^® will show up in the 'Others' category.

85. Band-in-a-Box^® stopped working correctly after I installed an upgrade or update patch.

Please see FAQ topic 78 for the solution to this problem.

86. My volume changes are not saving with my song.

If you want your volume changes to be permanently saved with your song, save your song using File | Save Song with Patches, and make sure that the volume box is checked.

If this doesn't work, and you are finding that the volume levels keep reverting to their original values each time you press Play, the style may have embedded volume changes. You can fix this by editing the style:

Go to User | Edit Existing User Style
Click the [Patch] button, then click [Set Patches]
Uncheck "OK to Allow Volume Changes".
Save the style and exit the StyleMaker.

87. How do I install update patches for Band-in-a-Box^®?

Update patches can be downloaded from https://www.pgmusic.com/support_macintoshupdates.htm. First, you should make sure that your 'Band-in-a-Box^® Folder' is located on the root level of your hard drive. Updates are always installed to this folder. Then, make sure Band-in-a-Box^® is closed, double-click on the file you downloaded to run the installer, and follow the prompts.

After installing the patch, launch Band-in-a-Box^® and go to the Band-in-a-Box^® menu | About Band-in-a-Box^® to make sure that the update was installed correctly.

88. Poor sound quality on Intel Macs with OS 10.4

If you are experiencing poor sound quality and audio drop-outs, and are using an Intel based Mac (as opposed to PowerPC based) with OS 10.4, this problem may be caused by a particular version of "Airport". If you weren't having any problem before, it's likely that you installed an update to your version of Airport. The problem happens with some other real-time applications as well.

If this is what the problem is, you can resolve it by either reverting to a previous version of Airport, or disabling it while using Band-in-a-Box^®. To disable it, go to the System Preferences | Network. Airport should be listed as an option there, with a button to disable it.

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29 Cadillac Ave Victoria BC Canada V8Z 1T3

Sales: 800-268-6272, 250-475-2874,+ 800-4746-8742*
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Tech Support: Live Chat, support@pgmusic.com

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April 12, 2024 Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today! Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio... April 09, 2024 The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here! The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available! Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and...

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Technical Support FAQ: Band-in-a-Box® 12 for Macintosh

Most Common Topics

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1. No Sound / CoreMIDI Setup

2. What is MIDI?

3. How do I enter notation in Band-in-a-Box®?

4. How do I create a shortcut (alias) on my desktop to open Band-in-a-Box®?

5. How do I change from 3/4 to 4/4 time in the middle of my song?

6. How do I create and use Band-in-a-Box® Styles in 6/8,12/8,9/8 and 5/4 time signatures?

7. How do I add my personal styles to the Band-in-a-Box® StylePicker list?