Dear Forum Friends,
I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for all the great music you've been posting. I've been listening and enjoying the wide array of styles.
Here's my first song of the year. It's called "Keep an Eye on the Sun."

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=13074545
sounclick.com/dcspacedog (link no longer valid)

In February 2015, I was invited to watch the launch of the Deep Space Climate Observer (DSCOVR) spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, FL, USA because of the small role I had in formulating the mission. The spacecraft has two missions: 1. to monitor the solar wind to allow scientist to provide warnings of impending magnetic storms on earth and 2. to observe the Earth, measure climate change, and provide unparalleled inspiration view of our beautiful blue marble, Spaceship Earth. I was truly moved by the experience.

For more information about DSCOVR and its unusual history, check out these two articles.

"SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launches the DSCOVR spacecraft"
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/02/spacex-falcon-9-dscovr-mission/

"Al Gore's Satellite"
http://www.airspacemag.com/space/al-gores-satellite-180952132/?no-ist=&page=1


Here BB/RB info:

I mixed four styles
Style is _FOLKRCK.STY (Folk-Rock Waltz Medium (150 RS))
Style is _RCKWLZM.STY (RockWaltz w/ Muted ElGtr(140 RS))
Style is HRPORK34.STY (Orchestral Waltz with Harp)
Style is ENLITEN.STY (Enlighten -Bright 6/8 UKPop)

RealTracks:
Bass 776/ 778
Guitars: 861, 859, and 898

It was also my first use of SampleTank. Very nice strings.

Enjoy
SpaceDog

Hi SD,

nice song. Especially like your harmonies.
Thanks for the interesting background
information.

Guenter

Just a super chorus! So full of awe and energy. and a good write all together!

Cool tune.... and topic. Kinda reminds me of Calypso in what it discusses but of course on a different topic.

I have seen several launches.... one was in Florida while we were there on vacation last summer.... and from my home here in NC when they launch from the Wapples Island launch site. Always an amazing and awe inspiring sight.

I hope that satellite is hardened for EMP and Carrington level events. It would be really ominous for that satellite to suddenly blink out....

That is a really nice song, nice singing and what a subject!

I shall read those articles later

thanks for sharing

Alyn

Yes I agree.
Thanks for posting Rob.

Very cool!! The musical feel is a great fit for the deep subject. Harmonies are very nice. This is my favorite of yours to date!! Take care. Greg

Awesome! And having been a space junky since
1957 I enjoyed the tune all the more. Thanks
for sharing.

J&B

SD, nice arrangement. Great storyline to the lyrics.
The use of a 6/8 time signature made it more interesting too.

Guenter,
Thanks. I appreciate your compliment on the harmonies. Background vocals are always difficult for me.

Lawrence,
Thanks for listening. I'm glad you liked it.

Herb,
Thanks. I was a big John Denver fan back in the day and still love his music. No doubt I was influenced by "Calypso" and "Flying for Me" when I wrote this song.
Cool that you can see to launched from Wallops Island from your home. I can see them from here in Maryland also.
You're right on the mark about the Carrington event. DSCOVR should be tough enough for that level event, but even if it isn't it would have done it job for us.

Alyn,
I appreciate your kind words. Thanks.

Rob,
I glad you liked it. I just had to look up CooloolaCove. I'll bet it's a beautiful place.

Greg,
Thanks. The subject is a bit different from what I've done in the past but I may be doing more like this one.

Janice and Bud,
Yep, I'm a real space geek too. I count myself very lucky to be able to work in the industry.

VideoTrack,
Thanks. I've been meaning to write something in 3/4 6/8 time for a while. I actually had trouble with BB in this regard. I also produce a score and lead sheet for my songs but I couldn't get BB to make the time signature 6/8. The music came out fine but the notation is weird as a result.

Hello SD,

This is a beautiful song!
I've been following NASA (and it's colleagues) since childhood.

Your song is musical stuff. And you have a talented voice.

Enjoyed!

Fred

Hi SpaceDog,

Very nice song.
The lyrics tell an important story.

George

SpaceDog,

I really like this song. Excellent harmonies and overall delivery.

Bob

SD,

A very good write. Your best. Nicely done

fj

Excellent song, harmony and delivery. One of my favorites of yours so far. Songwriters have been writing about spacecraft at least since the Ventures Telstar. You are likely one of the first with an actual connection to the subject.

An interesting observation to me with your chorus is your delivery, whether intentional or not, stylistically follows several songs from church hymnals. Brilliant idea if it was intentional and inspired if not....

The bottom line is this song is top notch in every facet.

Charlie

fascinating story behind the song! You must be very proud to have even a small role in such an amazing project!

I wish you had posted the lyrics.. the older I get the harder time I have differentiating words in a mix. But what I got sounded most impressive!

I liked the way you implemented the backing vocals... on my system, they compete with the main vocal, and could probably be scaled back a little to let the main vocal have "space" (pun intended)

I really enjoyed your vocals on this one, and the song in general was enjoyable! Good job!

Keep 'em coming!

Hi SD,

This is a cool subject to write a song about!
We especially like the harmonies. Like guitarhacker said, they remind us of John Denver and as far as we're concerned a bit like Bowie too!

Rob and Anne-Marie

Hi SD.

The backing to this track has a really haunting feel to it, which suits the song perfectly.

Great harmonies which give the song a big lift where they come in.

Great idea for the lyric.

Nicely done.

ROG.

Hi SD. I thought that was fabulous.
An epic feel and spacey too.
Particularly liked from the 3rd verse on.
Very strong. Cheers.

Fred,
Thanks for listening. I'm glad you liked it. I got the space bug as a kid in 60s growing up watching the NASA missions.

George,
I appreciate your comments. Thanks.

Bob,
Thanks for the compliment. I always watch for your postings.

Floyd,
Thanks. A couple of folks have liked this one the best yet. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

Charlie,
Funny you mentioned the song "Telstar" from the Ventures. Noy only do I remember that tune, I still play it from time to time. The sound of that reed organ lead really sounded like technology to me. I used a similar sound for my solo after the chorus.
About the Church Hymnal style, honestly, it was coincidental (perhaps subconcious).

Pat,
Thanks for your support and critique. You're right about the vocal. I'm tweaking the BVGs and balance and will repost in a few days.
I post the lyrics on my website, usually. I guess you'd have to got the Music page "Full song info."
Finally, I'm humbled and grateful to be part of such an important project.

Rob and Anne-Marie,
Thanks so much. I was channelling John Denver when I was recording (what a voice he had!). Bowie? Really? I'll have to listen again for that similarity.

ROG,
I really appreciate your kind comments. I've been studying and practicing hard to improve my writing performance skills.

RichMac,
Thanks. I was going for big epic sound. It supports the description of the launch in starting in the third verse.
BTW, a couple of my friends recently visited your beautiful country. It's on my bucket list too.


I love this global community!!

SD

"Telstar" has its own BIAB connection with Ventures guitarist Nokie Edwards being a lifelong friend with forum member Don Gaynor.

And, about the Church Hymnal style, after making that remark in my post, over in the Woodshedding Forum, there is a thread, HOW MUSIC WORKS WITH HOWARD GOODALL, that has a video lecture link I watched about how the Beatles saved classical music by Mr. Goodall. It is an interesting lecture on classical music's influence on the Beatles and the Beatles influence on classical music.

A major point Mr. Goodall makes regarding Beatle Paul McCartney's use of classical techniques although he had no classical training, was that he borrowed many of these classical techniques from church hymnals. So, there you go! You're in good company.

Coincidence by a rocket scientist? Maybe, maybe not. Above average songwriting? Absolutely...

Charlie,
Cool fact about Don Gaynor and Nokie Edwards. Strange how few degrees of separation we are from each other.
I'm going to check out Howard Goodall link. Never stop learning.
Thanks again for the compliment on the writing. My wife really helped improve the lyrics and suggested the BGV arrangement.

Finally, I reposted a new version of the song in which I tweaked the BGV a bit. Good feedback from the forum friends.

Cheers
SD

We recently saw the international space station fly overhead on an extremely clear night. Sure gets you thinking. A very nice song about a very big subject. Well sung. I enjoyed it a lot. Tom

+1 Enjoyed it SD.

Josie

Hi spacedog,

WOW!!!! This is very inspirational music. Your attention to melodic and orchestral development is fantastic. Such a great use of midi. I found it very easy to hear how an orchestra would sound playing this composition.

I thought that there are some very inspired lines/phrases in these lyrics. Those I admired most were...


... it must have taken quite a bit of thinking to come up with those. Well worth the effort, though.

I loved the 6/8 feel. I loved the uplifting feelings of awe and majesty that swept through me when you launched into the chorus and the finale. It really was like "lift off"!

All the best,
Noel

• latest song: Just A Little After Midnight

Excellent tune and interesting production to listen to. I really like the harp like arpeggio on the left channel and the harmonies. Lot of attention paid to the details. Thanks for sharing.

Jose,
Thanks for listening. I glad you liked it.

Noel,
Your kind comments really picked me up today. Thanks.
Thanks for the comments on the midi and orchestration. SampleTank has some nice sounds to work with.
Thanks so much for your thoughts on the lyrics. My wife takes my mediocre first cut at lrics and really takes them to a new level. That last line "In the darkest of storms just look towards the sun" was her's. Brilliant!
The 6/8 time just seemed appropriate but it was difficult to implement in BIAB. I had to put the notation in 3/4 and double-up each measure.

Jim,
Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you liked the harp arpeggio. I really like it too. It's midi rendered to audio.

Best wishes all

SpaceDog

How cool SpaceDog - I'll have to read up on these satellites - the most upsetting thing I've seen this year(well last year I guess) is that a large antarctic ice shelf is now sliding into the ocean. The most disturbing thing this year is that Florida and Wisconsin are trying to ban the phrase 'global warming'. Anyway enjoyed your song and your performance - thanks --Pete

Nice singing - your vocals are getting stronger.

The brass seemed a bit dry, but that's a matter of personal taste.