Hi

I'm looking for a way to make play-along for arrangements.
These arrangements are sometimes simple (i.e. just a drum track) and sometimes more complex (i.e. horn fills, breaks, etc).

I would like to be able to easily change the tempo so that I can rehearse slowly at first, then speed it up.

I'm thinking maybe a MIDI sequencer? But which one?
Or another solution?

Thanks for any insight

If you can get by with basic piano, drum, and bass check out the irealB app for ipad. Cheap and easy for practice.

Riddler, in the ABF, does this all the time. You can listen to some of his stuff in the ABF recitals to see what he does, and then pm him if you like it. It's very nice jazz.

Cathy

Thanks, but, to clarify...

I'm not looking for generic backing tracks. I want to make my own, each tune is different. For example a tune might have :

(count-in)
First bar: drums hit on one, piano plays a figure for 3 beats (that would be me)

next bar drums hit on 2 and 4 while piano plays a precise rhythmic figure

then 7 bars of bass & drums

then 8th bar: drums hit on 1, then and of 2, while I have to do something....

(Hope I'm clear)

The idea is that I would enter all that rhythmic stuff into the app, then play along and fill the holes slowly at first then faster, so that I can get it perfectly right.

maybe use something like finale for entering notes, than export file to MIDI and play using some sequencer, which may also employ some VST pulg-ins for different sounds. But I never tried to play whole big band using VST

Yup, I was more or less thinking along those lines, and looking for recommendations for a good sequencer. (What's VST?)

you are describing band in a box.
you enter the form, the changes, intros, fill.
Then it magically plugs in bit and pieces of real musicians playing and it sounds awesome.

like this for example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOMppFRokfw

Thanks, but... on the example you give, there's a rhythm section playing all through the tune (I didn't hear any user-entered fills in there).

What I need to do is this: suppose I have to play this tune on piano with a band:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shjJ3BDKhHI

The intro (first 25 seconds) is tricky. So I would enter the drums, the clarinet and vibes, exactly as played, with their little rhythmic figures, and play my part over that.

From what I've seen of BIAB I don't believe this can be done. BIAB would just play walking bass and a swing drum rhythm over the whole thing, which is not what I'm looking for.

I believe Band In A Box would do what you are looking for.

You can mute tracks you do not want to play, and have instrument parts stop/start at any bar you wish. It also has the practice features. Expensive .... but only if you buy all the real tracks, which apparently you do not want or need.
Very helpful forum too.

There's also something called Sontrix that you could look at.
http://www.chordwizard.com/video_cwsg.aspx?vid=cwsPromo