Hey ya'll. We wrote this last summer. Drums Nash Ev 8, Bass 519, Guitars 850,405 Piano 811. These RTs were chosen to give it an airy summer night feel. The lyrics/melody are finished. However, we appreciate the listen and any comments you may have.

Moonlight Dances In Her Eyes ©2010 Josie Beck, Charlene Grant All Rights Reserved.

If you'd like a copy of the lyrics send me a pm. Thank you for listening.

Josie,

Very nice song. I really like how the piano RT is working in this song.
Also an excellent mix. It sounds (to me anyway) like your mixing skills are growing There's this nice sheen to the overall mix that I haven't really noticed with some of your other songs. Nice separation on the instruments and I think a nice balance overall. Good Job!

Greg

Hi Josie,

What a great song!

When I was listening, the first thought that jumped into my mind was, "Wow! Josie and Charlene have created an exceptionally radio-friendly song with this one". The writing is excellent, your singing is superb and the production is brilliant. I've got to say that there are some very creative lines in the lyrics. You've worked the hook skillfully and with great verse development. I was there in the song; all the way.

I'm going to be humming this all day now!

All the best,
Noel

Hey Josie, excellent song! Great lyrics and melody - also love your voice. Really, really well done. The mix is great also - perfect blend with your vocal.

Bob

Hi Josie, it’s all been said already; great song, super mix and outstanding vocals.

My only question is how come you haven’t been signed yet? You are pro all the way!

Hi Greg,

This is the first song I dragged/dropped the tracks from RB into Tracktion. It's different (Tracktion) but I'm experimenting. I also love that piano track. The song needed something and finally I tried the piano. I'm glad you liked it too.

Thank you so much!

Hi Noel,

I'm glad we got you humming. Charlene and I put so much effort into this - it's really great when it works.

Now you've got me grinning.

Thank you!

Hi Bob,

It's weird, maybe I shouldn't admit it but this is the scratch vocal. I always do a scratch vox to build tracks around. I was going to do it over and I sent it to a friend to see what he thought of the piano track. He's like - why on earth would you redo that - so I didn't.

Thank you so much!

Hi Mario,

You are making me blush. I guess when they yelled ticket I thought they said picket and missed the train. Seriously, what a sweet thing to say.
I'd be happy if I could get a cut and one day produce sell my own cd. Meanwhile BIAB/RB has given me back the joy of creating music - it's just so much fun.

Thank you!

Josie,

The vocals are really shining in this one. The mix was great too. This one is ready for some air time - wonderful job !

Hey Powderman,

Thank you so much!

Nice one Josie! As usual from you, the song structure and lyrics work well. And yes- this mix is definitely demostrating improvements! All the various ingrediants are sounding more 'important' now- very good. Are you using a harmonizer for backing vocals? There's one part that's an extremely high register, so I sure hope it's a harmonizer! LOL! That one very high part could possibly be eliminated- if you can do that. I suppose you can choose how many parts with a harmonizer right? It kinda sounds cool at first, and then it really smacks harmonizer. If you can drop that super high part, I'm not sure if I would have even noticed it was a harmonizer in the first place. You have it working pretty darn well. The lead vocal is ok. The best you can do? Well...being straight with you- I think you have a better one in there. I always marvel at your visual lyrics and how they paint a picture in the mind. Some of them I can't make out though. Second verse maybe? I'll have to listen again- I listened around 3am this morning, after a gig. Hell gig too! Anyway, I've been in the same spot many times with a scratch lead vocal and I've convinced myself and taken other peoples word for it that it's ok and down the line, I always wished I would have not been lazy [my typical reason in this situation] and did a keeper vocal, beyond a scratch. Before this one goes to bed, you should do another take and see what happens. I think you have a better one in there. But keep this takes spirit- it does have very good feeling.

I like all your songs Josie. All of them are well written. And the mixes are getting stronger. Look out- a force to be reckoned with!

Dan

On my system, the lead vocal was too far forward. I kept reaching for the mixer to trn it down to hear how the backing tracks fit.

Hi Dan,

Hell gig - LOL.

Guilty on both counts - lazy and harmonizer. Actually I love that thing because it's so much fun. Sometimes I sing a harmony part into the harmonizer to see what it'll do. It's also great behind a live part to fatten it up. I'm a convert who used to be a such a total purist when it came to harmonies it's amazing I bought one.

I appreciate your thoughts and suggestions. I will keep it in mind when I get back to this - right now I need a break from it to work on something else.

Thank you so much for the encouragement too. It means alot. Inch by inch...

Hi PRearden,

This is a first for me and I don't mean that in a bad way. Usually I get - turn up the vocal.

In country vocals tend to be mixed a bit louder and the bass softer - I like just the opposite so I try to check myself but I might have over compensated.

Thanks for listening and commenting.

We have a new country station here and they're playing 10,000 commercial free songs- equals a month. Anyway, I find it and I'm listening to country again a bit. There were many current songs I haven't heard yet. The vocal was so out front on most of them, I was pretty blown away. I mean, the music bed was just kinda there in the background....kinda. I was really amazed by that. Some of it is border line accapella! Even though I write country primarily, I had to back away from listening to country radio. The music makes my blood boil. It's just awful now- almost all of it. And this in-your-face vocal mixing really kills it too.

I didn't get put off by the level of your vocal Josie. There's SO much more damage that can be done to that end! LOL! That's a tough balance and a choice really. When you shop tunes, some want the vocal out front more, some don't care, and everything in between. My style is that I tend to mix the lead vocal into the mix a bit. I used to be an out-fronter though. Over time I settled into a more seated level. The level is fine on this one for me. I'd surely rather have the lead be a touch loud than too soft, which can really bring a track down.

Yes- inch by inch. Mixing is an infinite learning process, so we have many, many inches to go!

Dan

A very professinal piece all round. The song is beautifully written - loved the chord progression, especially in the chorus. Instrumentation, vocals, mixing, all spot on. Perfect start to my day, thank you Josie!

John

Hi Josie,

Excellent! What can I say. I love the song. I think the vocals sound good. I think you have a winner here!

Steve

This is one classy song!
About as good as it gets...
Love the vocals. Actually... loved everything about it.

You can surely be proud of this.

Mick

Hey, Josie:

Just finally caught up with this one... wow, better than ever. Listened to it three times, and it's dang-near perfect.

I have no quibble with the vocal, even as a "scratch," and the harmonies are sweet -- laid back and well-suited.

The only minor change I might consider is that some of the RealTracks instrumentation gets a little "busy" here and there, and distracts a bit from the vocal. I do this all the time myself, because the RT are so good, but I am trying to go back and fade some of the riffs and fills in and out, and change instrumentation altogether in different sections, for variety.

Wonderful song, though, and I agree... pretty much "radio-ready."

Hey Dan,

The other day I was listening to a country song and I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. The bass was practically mia. Also weird and this has been going on for quite a while now - they make different mixes of the same country song for different "charts". Country gets one and A/C gets another. So when you hear a "crossover" you're not even hearing the same mix cross over. I like some of the country songs today but the sound not so much on a lot of them.

Thanks for the reassurance on the vox level.

Skyline John,
I'm so glad you like it. I love the way you arrange your songs. Thank you so much.

Steve,
You are also one of my fav arrangers. Thank you so much for the thumbs up.

Mick,
Wow, I'm humbled and thrilled. Anybody reading this who doesn't know, Mick played with the greats - he oozes soul. Thank you so much.

Brad,
I know what you mean. It's easy to get busy with all the tempting choices in the RTs. I start with lots of sounds and then cut, cut, cut - could probably cut more. I'm paying more attention to that. Thank you so much.

It's a great feeling this song is resonating with so many of you. I'm also happy so many of ya'll like the vocal. To me, it's all about getting the "feel". Sometimes you get lucky and it happens sooner than later when there's no real pressure cause it's just a "scratch" - maybe a head trip kind of thing.

Hi, Josie.

Thanks for posting! It's a strong song that stands up well to multiple plays. First, the positive:

• You've got a good, memorable chorus.
  
• You have a nice voice, and it sounds great here.
  
• Good mix! That is, my first listen yesterday was in a very noisy room (bathwater running, kids playing video games), but playing in a quiet room gives the same impression.
  
• Just about the time I started thinking "a bit of harmony would be nice here..." the harmony kicked in.
  
• The instrumentation is good and (mostly) unobtrusive. I really like the piano, and how it's used.

Less positive (and very subjective):

• My first impression of the melody was that it's sort of generic, with that "back and forth" feel as you bounce between chords. It's not that it's bad or wrong, it just seems unmemorable and not at the level of the chorus.
  
• That "twangy" electric guitar seems to stick out of the mix. But I don't know the genre very well, so it might be appropriate.
  
• In the chorus, each held note seems to have a lot of vibrato. Perhaps it's because of the harmony?

Anyway, I enjoyed listening.

Hey David,

Thanks for listening. I appreciate your thoughts - pro and con. I must admit that I got a chuckle out of the twangy guitar - twang is a country thang. LOL. But I know what you mean too much twang isn't necessarily my thang either.

My friend, i totally don't mean this in a bad way, so please don't take it wrong - but I've noticed you focus on this in many of your comments on other's songs as well so I'm going to say this as my opinion from one trained singer to another. Somebody, I'm guessing a voice teacher, has got you way to hung up on vibrato. To me it's just another singing tool with fast, slow, more, less, held, not held - all kinds of ways to use it depending on the singer and the song. Beyond classic chorale and training no hard rules apply in most genres - it's just a choice like cream in coffee or spice in chili.

Thank you so much for your perspective. I'm glad you enjoyed the song. Oh yeah, and thanks again for the tip on that thread about mixing on the reaper forum - it was great - one of the best discussions on mixing I've ever read.

Quote:

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Somebody, I'm guessing a voice teacher, has got you way to hung up on vibrato.

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No, the only one to blame here is me.

Thanks for your gracious hint - I'll try to be bite my tongue about this in the future.

And I'm glad you enjoyed the mixing thread!