On 12/3/2020 11:43 PM, Cesar Pompeo wrote:

Dear all,
In my opinion, you may use Biab the way you want, but it can't do a job greater than a computer skill to help YOU do music.
To be sure you're doing the right thing, compare the time you spend on working at the computer to the time you're really playing. Forget the time spent on doing other jobs like making adjustments to Biab in order to get a better sound, you have only to answer two questions:
- How good do you do your job on playing?
- Are you ready to play with some other musicians and make it sounds a creation even if it's a standard played year after year by hundreds of musicians?
Someone told me not to send any kind of message at the time I'd be better sleeping. What's your impression about this?

[snip]


All valid points. Except the one about be better sleeping than sending any kind of message "at the time I'd be better sleeping."

Not all of us get good nights' sleep. I frequently wake up early and can't get back to sleep. Far too early to be playing my instruments because others in the house are still asleep. So that's a perfect time to be sending messages.

Or tweaking BIAB settings or song arrangements, using headphones.

Keeping our playing fresh is always an important and challenging thing to be doing. For many of us who use BIAB, we don't have groups of other musicians to play with. Me for example -- I teach private music lessons and repair woodwind and brass instruments to earn my living. Lessons must be taught when students are available which is from mid-afternoon into the later evening hours. And those evening hours are when other musicians who have 9-5 day jobs are available. Add to that the fact that there are not a lot of live music gigs around my area and thus the only combo playing I get is working with BIAB.

I also use BIAB a lot in my private lessons since the students I teach generally do not have jazz combos who play very well to play with. So creating BIAB backing tracks for them to play with and practice improvising with is very important.

With all of that, I need to spend a lot of time using BIAB and less time playing, since my livelihood depends on how good a private teacher I am.

The ultimate point is that there is no "one size fits all" in this wonderful musical life we're all trying to live, whether as professionals like Bob Norton, Jim Mings and some others, or as amateurs playing for our own enjoyment or entertaining small groups of our family and friends occasionally.


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*****
David H. Bailey
dhbailey52@comcast.net
http://www.davidbaileymusicstudio.com