PG Music has announced the release of Band-in-a-Box 2009 for the Mac, a new version of its “intelligent music accompaniment” software for Mac OS X. It’s priced from $129 to $549 depending on features.

Many parents would agree it’s hard to call the first few notes a child makes on a rented band instrument “music,” but it’s a necessary step toward eventually learning how to play. “The first sounds on ...