Totally OT, but my child’s clarinet teacher today said “he’s doing great at improvisation, but if he keeps playing with CDs he’ll just play variations on the solos. You should get Band in a Box. It will allow him to create segments of songs in different styles with bass, guitar and drums, and he can loop it to practice over and over.”

Anyone have any experience with Band in a Box? I’m looking at the cheapest version for Mac (2017 for $100). Better (cheaper) alternatives?