Paradise

Update: I went back and re-did some of the trumpet parts, and replaced the third verse with an acoustic guitar solo.



This song has been sitting on my hard drive for a while. I wasn't making any progress on the lyrics, and the melody was out of my vocal range, so I finally decided to do it as an instrumental.

I should probably go back and edit in a few more spots for the trumpet to breath. The EWI takes a lot less breath than the trumpet!

The core was built around BiaB tracks, and then I sort of went overboard with the Native Instruments Session Guitars. I also doubled the drum track with EZ Drummer because I wanted some fills, and I liked the handclaps and tambourine.

To make things more interesting, the verses are in C major, and the chorus is in D major.

I was going for a '70s sort of feel with this - thus the overly long guitar solo at the beginning and the handclaps in the chorus. I should probably trim this a bit, but what the heck - you can suffer through a song that's a minute too long.

The mix can probably do with more tweaking, but I figured it was "good enough", since it had been sitting around for so long.

Sorry, I didn't really keep track of which RealTracks were used on this.

As usual, comments of all sorts are welcome!

Instruments
Lead Guitars: Renegade Electric, Renegade Acoustic (Indiginus)
Lead Trumpet: The Trumpet (SampleModeling)
Electric Pianos: Band in a Box
Bass: Band in a Box
Drums: Band in a Box, EZ Drummer (Toontrack)
Guitars: Electric Sunburst, Strummed Acoustic, and Strummed Acoustic 2 (Native Instruments)
Strings: Amadeus Symphonic Orchestra (Sonic Scores)

Plugins: EZ Mix, Lurssen Mastering Console, Ozone Imager

I think it flowed smoothly and sounded fine - except for the solo drum fill at 1.07 and the toms at 1.27 - they both sounded odd but maybe because the 1st was so naked & the 2nd was a little loud/panned almost to the edge.
The pause & restart at 2.8ish did interrupt the flow a little.
tThe melody is cool - you really should work on the lyrics and get someone to sing.

I think this is definitely crying out for lyrics and a female singer !.

I was writing lyrics as I was listening to this.

Go for it !.

Thanks

David,

That Amy...she knows what she is talking about!

A very nice instrumental. Everything falls into place nicely. The mix is good.

A very pleasant melody.

Somewhere along the way, I began to feel that the trumpet needed to "give it a rest". Literally. The phrasing of the melody (trumpet) is so continuous through the entire piece. It would be nice if some of the phrasing were shorter...perhaps with a change up of cadence now and again. (a long paragraph for a small nit. Isn't that always the case?)

Enjoyed the listen.

fj

Thanks, rayc.

I'll have a listen to those bits again and see what I can do.

Glad it triggered something for you. The "lyric writing" portion of my brain seems to have taken the year off, but if anything clicks, I'll be sure to post it.

Thanks for listening!

I dunno... she seems to say that about everyone.


I've got the bad habit of filling up every bit of space with the melody, and I started out with the intent of doing the opposite.

And it doesn't help that the tune is longish in the first place.

Thanks for the feedback - I'll see if I can make some fixes to it tonight.

Dave, that trumpet sounds great! I see that you have the same problem that I do in that with the EWI you can play longer without taking a breath than you can on a real trumpet. I usually have to edit my horn and woodwind takes to shorten some notes for a breather!

Other than that nitpick everything else was fine. The backing tracks were spot on.

I like this as an instrumental. Others do/may not agree.

I listen first and then read others comments. I found myself amazed at how good the trumpet sounded and it never occurred to me that the playing was too continuous. I realize folks are right but I sure did enjoy it anyway. Very nice sound to this!

Hi David, nice tune, melody and playing simply beautiful. That trumpet sampling is great!
Thanks

Mike B.

"...I should probably go back and edit in a few more spots for the trumpet to breath.."

"There's a bit of a clash at the transition between the two, especially around 2:54, but I'm too lazy to finesse it right now."

"I should probably trim this a bit..."

"The mix can probably do with more tweaking..."

Hey, man, what are you trying to do -- persuade us not to like your song ??? Well, t'aint gonna work on me, because I think your composition IS very 70ish, simply lovely in its gentle, yet forward-moving orchestration, and pleasantly nostalgic because it has that 'travelin' down the road feel' that I believe was a characteristic and familiar stylistic trait of so many 70's pop songs.

That trumpet solo has got to be THE most 'realistic' virtual instrument I've ever listened to !!! If you had not indicated that it was a virtual instrument, I would not have guessed that it was. Also, it possessed a performance style that was suggestive of Herb Alpert.

It's a mind-stilling, meditative piece of musical mood-making, Mr. Cuny, as good for the soul as it is for the ears.

LOREN (a.k.a. 'bluage')

Hi David,

I really like this! I could see it with vocals, but also works well as an instrumental. I didn't hear your original mix, but I really liked that acoustic guitar solo.

I was reading the comments as I listened, it also didn't occur to me that the trumpet player was playing phrases that were too long, maybe because I don't know much about wind instruments. But doesn't Kenny G do that circular breathing thing so he can do really long phrases?

Enjoyed the listen!

I enjoyed my listen Nice and easy to take, and it flows naturally. I thought the mix was well done too - I can imagine a suitable singer doing some further justice to it too.

Thanks for sharing!

I did say it was a SMALL nit, after all...



Came back for another listen. And to say that I neglected to tell you how impressive your trumpet is! That acoustic guitar thing is really cool, too...

Your work is impressively detailed.

So there.

David, this is great! I really liked the change from C to D. It works big time. All the instruments sound fantastic. I really enjoyed this a lot! Tom

Wow... beautiful instrumental.

Thoroughly enjoyed that. Pleasant and soothing.

Nice job. Glad you pulled this one off the HD.

Lovely song David. Very nice listen. Well done

Hi, Mario.

Yep! I didn't notice at first, but then I noticed I was sort of holding my breath as I was listening to it play back, waiting for a spot to breathe.

Ooops.

Thanks for listening and the feedback.

Thanks for listening and the encouragment!

Thanks, Mike!

I wish my actual trumpet playing was that good, but the SampleModeling trumpet on the EWI is the next best thing.

Thanks, Loren!


Only suggestive in that it was a trumpet. But thanks!

The playability of these virtual instruments is impressive. Plus, it's a lot quieter than an actual trumpet.


I'm glad you enjoyed this listen!

Thanks, I appreciate that!


Yeah, I was actually at a Kenny G concert where he was doing that. I didn't think it was a thing with the trumpet, but the internet proves me wrong again.

I'm glad you enjoyed the song.

Hi, Deryk.

Thanks for listening and the feedback!

Yes, but you were right. And it gave me the motivation to make the changes, which I think are for the better.


Thanks, I appreciate that!

The SampleModeling horns are a lot of fun to play - the "just work", and sound wonderful. I can't take any credit for that.

I could probably go back and rework the beginning trumpet parts quite a bit, but I think it's time to leave it alone and move on.

I wasn't really sure the acoustic guitar would be a good match with the trumpet. I initially thought of using a violin or flute, but I think the acoustic guitar worked surprisingly well. And it gave me a chance to learn that instrument it a bit better.

Hi, Tom.

Thanks! I figured I'd try something a bit different from my usual chord changes, and I was pleased with how it turned out.


Glad to hear it!

Thanks! Me too!

Thanks, Scott!

Hi David
Listening to this as a guitarist, I really enjoyed this. It would have great possibilities as a guitar instro.
It is probably a little over-long for that at the moment. I'd make one of later Bridges an acoustic bridge playing the bridge melody and trim down the last verse. But that's just me.
As it stands I think it's pretty good and a darned good listen. Not being a midi sort of person, I wouldn't have known the trumpet wasn't real.
Ian

David,
A thoroughly enjoyable, beautifully arranged instrumental.
Your works always offer an interesting contrast to us all-RT guys- the guitars in particular here sound different/good and I can only wish I had the skills to make a trumpet play a flowing melody line like that.
HQ all the way from composition to production!

Robert

This instrumental is lovely, and I especially love the trumpet! Thanks for sharing.

David,
Nice upbeat tune. Arrangement rocks! Trumpets are a bit too pronounced for my taste, a bit too "on top", but I like what you did with acoustic guitar, it sounds and seats perfectly. Overall, very cool piece!
Thank you for sharing!

Misha.

Hi, Ian.

Nope, you're absolutely right. I had created a trimmed-down version of the backing tracks, but for no compellingly good reason decided to use the long version instead.

As for the trumpet, I think playing it on a breath controller really helps lift it to the next level. Plus, the instrument is very responsive.

Thanks for the kind words!

Hi, Robert.

So do I! My actual trumpet skills are more than a bit lacking.

Fortunately, if you can play a recorder, you can play an wind controller. And the software that's available now is amazingly responsive. So the real credit goes to the software engineers.

Thanks for listening and the positive comments!

Thanks, Ember!

"It's a mind-stilling, meditative piece of musical mood-making, Mr. Cuny, as good for the soul as it is for the ears."

What Blueage said. Yeah!

No doubt it would work with a vocal but as an instrumental it has a cinematic feel to it...something the film libraries would like
as it sets up so much possible imagery, etc.

Really nice performances and BiaB tracks also.

How you do all this is way above our production pay grade but we certainly do enjoy it!

Like the key modulation also.

Excellent and thanks for removing it from HD purgatory

J&B

David

Impressive! Excellent use of various sources to produce a cohesive whole.

Extremely well done.

Peter

David, I really enjoy listening to a good instrumental, and - well - this is definitely one.

Strong trumpet part, delivered together with a great vibe throughout the entire song.

The key change for the chorus worked really well, giving added direction.

Most enjoyable.

Really engaging melody and the trumpet suits very well to represent it. Nice chording - especially when a major chord is changed to its minor version (reminds me of some Alan Parsons song). The arrangement is great, the instruments give relaxing paradise feeling somewhere on the Caribbean seas. The bass has nice presence

Janne

Meditative and makes me smile. Enjoyed the listen.

You certainly like how to meld musical pieces together to make a song...
And how you present the background material you used to put your tune together...
It easy to see you put a lot of energy & thought into your work...
Thanks for sharing your creation with me...
I enjoyed listening

Hi David,

This is a fine listen!

The trumpet is superb. It reminded me of the trumpet sound in "Il Silenzio" - such a smooth and relaxing tone and you have achieved the same ambience.

Your orchestration is excellent. I always admire how you manage to accomplish what you do. The overall mix you have created warms the heart and comforts the mind. You have definitely achieved a 70s vibe. That said, though, this music stands outside of time.

I enjoyed it.

All the best,
Noel

Hi, Misha.

Yeah, I really struggled with the trumpet - too far back, too up front... I finally got tired of mixing and figured it was good enough.

The acoustic guitar was even more of a puzzle - I wanted it to be clear, but not so loud that it didn't sit in the mix.

As usual, most of the solution was to take out the tracks in the background that were competing with it.

Thanks for listening!

Hi, J&B.

Thanks for stopping by to comment! I really liked that backing track, but had given up on being able to use it with anything.

That should - but probably won't - teach me to polish up a track before making sure it's in a singable range.

I'm glad you enjoyed the listen. Goodness knows I've certainly enjoyed the songs that you've done and sung on.

Hi, Peter.

Thanks!

Thanks for listening, and taking the time to say nice things! I appreciate it.

Hi, Janne.

I'm a huge Alan Parson fan, so I'll take that as a compliment.

I was aiming for a sort of wistful mood with the song, with a touch of melancholy. This the minor shift.

Unfortunately, there's bit of a gap between a plan and the final product.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks, Mark!

Hi, Jim.

I'm glad it all came together as well.

Thanks for the positive feedback!

Hi, Noel.

Thanks! If I were even a little bit modest, I'd be blushing at your superlatives.

Thanks!

Hi Dave,

that is just beautiful, so well arraged. I really could imagine that it would work very well with some vocals. But it's also just as great as an instrumental. Very nice.

Take care,

Stefan

David,

William Rayer here. How would you like me to record a real trumpet for you on this track. Though this trumpet sample is very good, It doesn't sound real to me. Just a thought, I would gladly do this.

Sure! What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Message me and we can work out the details of how format you need, etc..

And feel free to improve the part as you see fit.