Will Someone Tell Me Again Why We Should Not Use Band in a Box?

[fep]

Forgive me if this got covered but I was getting dizzy trying to keep up, my question is easy...for an old ludite with very low computer skills (or patience) and only wanting a rhythm track to practice against changes. Which would be easier for set up with say the changes to a standard. Just for practice not for performance. IRP or BIAB. Im lookling for painless input of mainly 2-5s just for running exercises.
Thanks

ireal is easier to use.

[AllanAllen]

iReal is very easy. I figured the basics out without watching any tutorials. There’s also a pack with like 1100 standards so you can just get that and play to those.

Totally worth $13.

[orri]

Forgive me if this got covered but I was getting dizzy trying to keep up, my question is easy...for an old ludite with very low computer skills (or patience) and only wanting a rhythm track to practice against changes. Which would be easier for set up with say the changes to a standard. Just for practice not for performance. IRP or BIAB. Im lookling for painless input of mainly 2-5s just for running exercises.
Thanks

BIAB is an absolute pain to both purchase and install. I'd strongly recommend against it for "old ludite with very low computer skills (or patience)".
(I very recently learnt the term "ludite" and the history behind it so I enjoy seeing it used)

If I just want to "blow" on a standard I usually open youtube and type the name of the standard and "backing track" or "sunnybass" into the search (you can attempt other search terms like "playalong").
You usually find something at least decent and sunnybass is a channel with double bass only backing tracks that I really enjoy.
But often you just get one tempo and one key, but for several standards you can find multiple tempos, keys and rhythmic styles. (youtube does have speed setting but I am not crazy fond of using it to control the tempo, but it can be useful).

Instead of typing the name of a standard you can try "blues", "minor blues", "jazz blues", "rhythm changes" or even "2 5 1 exercise" (which of course can mean a lot of different types of exercises).

If I want to want to practise something more specififc and focused, where I want to control the a specific tempo, timefeel, key, chord progression I use band in a box, but youtube does cover a lot of my needs.

[dconeill]

...for an old ludite with very low computer skills (or patience) and only wanting a rhythm track to practice against changes. Which would be easier for set up with say the changes to a standard. Just for practice not for performance. IRP or BIAB. Im lookling for painless input of mainly 2-5s just for running exercises.
Thanks

Maybe for "painless input of mainly 2-5s just for running exercises" you could use prerecorded backing tracks from Hal Leonard, Jamey Aebersold, or various other providers of such things. Just load the tracks in your computer and put the player on "repeat". Hard to get more painless than that.

For example, Hal Leonard's Jazz Play-Along volume 177, "The II-V-I Progression". They have a player that will allow you to adjust tempo, set up loops, and other useful practice parameters. And they have many volumes of backing tracks for standards, as well.

[jockster]

Maybe useful to someone...
You can use iRealPro on Windows by installing Windows Subsystem for Android. You have to purchase it again but still really useful

[jzucker]

because it just doesn't sound good. Do yourself a favor and buy the complete package of playalongs at Play Jazz Tracks

No comparison.

[Doug B]

More play along backing tracks from Ralph Platt.

[Alter]

Phil Wilkinsons tracks are great, he has a lot of them on his YouTube channel. The problem with stuff like ireal, band in a box etc, is that the groove and playing is not really as happening as real playing is. I prefer to just jam with CDs.

My favorite app to jam along is DrumGenius, pretty much the only one I use. I have a two track looper so my most practical solution is to just record some drums by putting my phone over the guitar pickup, then play a bass line with the guitar on the second looper channel. Instant playalong!

But most of the time I just have only the phone playing drumgenius. Was never into backing tracks much, as I've always jammed with albums, and I miss the feel when changing to a program, or even a backing track band..

[rpjazzguitar]

If you're not familiar with the phone app IRealPro, I would strongly recommend checking it out.

It gives you the ability to d/l most tunes you might ever play --- show you the chord chart. Then it allows you to set the key, tempo and rhythmic feel. You can tell it how many times to play thru the tune and whether to change tempo and/or key each chorus.

The background tracks have been criticized for not grooving as well as the live musicians who made Aebersold's tracks. But, that aside it's an amazing practice tool for $10 or $15.

And, then, on a gig when somebody calls something you don't know, you can bring up a chord chart in the correct key, whatever it is, in maybe 15 seconds. Everybody I know has it, at least for that.

[Doug B]

The only thing wrong with any of the phone apps is that the sound could be better. It helps to take the line out from the phone and plug it into your computer's audio interface. Still not perfect though.

[yebdox]

because it just doesn't sound good. Do yourself a favor and buy the complete package of playalongs at Play Jazz Tracks

No comparison.

Thanks, Jack, I know of Phil through studying with Rodney, but did not know these existed…. Looking forward to playing with these tracks….. demos sound great!

And FWIW, I spent WAYYYY too much time trying to come up with decent tracks on BIAB a few years ago…. Interface not at all intuitive and completely frustrating. For a short practice session on changes I’m trying to master, but don’t have a play along version of, iReal is just fine. AND. BIAB is never a bargain, no matter how many versions you are upgrading from.