Technique issues like switching strings or playing a single note on a string (instead of two or three) might affect your time feel. So, if the half-note tempo is listed as 120 bpm, the quarter-note tempo would be twice that, or 240 bpm.) (A note about tempo markings: Usually the tempo is listed at a quarter-note level, but with the metronome on beats 2 and 4, it's marked as a half-note. Practice with your metronome as if it's a snare, where the click is on 2 and 4. Remember that in most styles of music, the snare drum is on beats 2 and 4 of the measure. Practicing with the metronome on all four beats of the measure is a very common way to practice scales and chord progressions.
The first three examples are designed to eliminate your reliance on the first beat of the measure. A better groove, and a better ability to subdivide the beat, will lead to better phrasing and more control of what you want to play. To develop your own pocket, you will need two things: your guitar and a metronome. These players don't realize what is happening. If somebody's fills are all wonky and don't land right, that usually means they are not subdividing and are just stuffing notes into the measure haphazardly. If your quarter-note pulse is uneven, you can't lock in with what the band is doing because the time keeps moving. So, what is bad time? It's when people rush and speed up the tempo or drag and slow the tempo down in an unmusical way. If you can get around the clunkier aspects of the interface, BIAB is one of the most useful tools for inquisitive musicians out there. It was a great help to send the videos to bandmates who don’t have BIAB to play along with. Another fun feature was the ability to export animated videos of the chord chart synced up with the audio. However, I found that nearly all of the examples I’d use had some form of real audio accompaniment. Not all styles have RealTrack capabilities, and that’s where the MIDI-sounding tracks come in. (Head over to the online version to hear an example.) Within a few minutes of starting up the program, I had a useful backing track in a driving bluegrass style featuring some of Nashville’s finest playing some killer rhythm parts and fills. In my band, we are working up a version of the Band’s “Ophelia,” which has a rather tricky solo section. But the centerpiece of BIAB is the ability to type in any chords you want and have the program craft a stylistically appropriate accompaniment using audio recorded by real musicians (called RealTracks). Like previous versions, the program is deep, capable, and comes with plenty of documentation.
The latest version of PG Music’s well known Band-in-a-Box software is a great tool- not only for practicing, but also transcription and composition.