Band-In-A-Box Alternatives

nine9nine · 07-16-2012, 06:17 PM

Hi, guys. I've been trying to find an alternative to the software "Band-In-A-Box" and haven't gotten any to work. I found these two programs: LinuxBand - http://linuxband.org/ and MMA - http://www.mellowood.ca/mma/ However, I have been unable to get either one to work. Judging by the screenshots, LinuxBand is what I'm looking for, but I can't seem to get it to work, even though I installed it correctly. Has anybody got this to work, or know of a similar kind of software?

corp769 · 07-16-2012, 06:34 PM

Could you share with us what happened, and what problems you have encountered? We can definitely help you out.

nine9nine · 07-17-2012, 09:15 AM

With LinuxBand, lacking anything in the application list, I ran the command "linuxband" and got:

Code:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/bin/linuxband", line 77, in <module>
    main()
  File "/usr/local/bin/linuxband", line 66, in main
    from linuxband.gui.gui import Gui
  File "/usr/local/share/linuxband/linuxband/gui/gui.py", line 20, in <module>
    import gtk.glade
ImportError: No module named glade

I know that LinuxBand is a GUI, since that's what the screenshots on the website show.

unSpawn · 07-17-2012, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nine9nine

import gtk.glade
ImportError: No module named glade[/CODE]

Install the "pygtk" package?

nine9nine · 07-17-2012, 08:03 PM

Did that. Now I get

Code:

(linuxband:11369): libglade-WARNING **: could not find a parent that handles internal children for `vbox'
21:02:47 ERROR __load_grooves_from_cache Unable to load grooves from cache '/home/colin/.linuxband/grooves.cache'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/share/linuxband/linuxband/mma/grooves.py", line 142, in __load_grooves_from_cache
    infile = file(fname, 'r')
IOError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: '/home/colin/.linuxband/grooves.cache'
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/bin/linuxband", line 77, in <module>
    main()
  File "/usr/local/bin/linuxband", line 67, in main
    Gui()
  File "/usr/local/share/linuxband/linuxband/gui/gui.py", line 512, in __init__
    grooves.load_grooves(True)
  File "/usr/local/share/linuxband/linuxband/mma/grooves.py", line 41, in load_grooves
    self.__grooves_model, grooves_list = self.__load_grooves()
  File "/usr/local/share/linuxband/linuxband/mma/grooves.py", line 90, in __load_grooves
    self.__do_load_grooves(grooves_list, self.__config.get_mma_grooves_path())
  File "/usr/local/share/linuxband/linuxband/mma/grooves.py", line 115, in __do_load_grooves
    grooves_list.append([gname, doc, gdesc, author, time, full_name])
UnboundLocalError: local variable 'doc' referenced before assignment

unSpawn · 07-18-2012, 09:44 AM

So it can't read the /home/colin/.linuxband/grooves.cache file. I don't know if it should reside in /home/colin/.linuxband/ on installation. Best ask the developer(s) showing them the complete error message.

flatko · 10-06-2012, 02:09 PM

I have a solution - I installed python-glade2 (Ubuntu 12.04), and the mma deb file from the original website and Linuxband works, with only few warnings.
It plays as MIDI info, so you need QSynth with the default Fluid soundfont, and have MIDI mode set to "seq" in Qjackctl in order to connect Linuxband to QSynth (the connection is available in the MIDI tab)
There is no button for swing mode, so you have to go to "mma edit" and change the line "Swing mode" manually everytime.

Despite all the difficulties, I find Linuxband very useful for practicing improvisation.