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#881957 03/12/26 08:57 AM
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Why do sometimes songs come so easily and other times they fight you all the way to the finish line? In between hockey game periods I play my acoustic guitar. During the first intermission of the latest game I strummed some chords, hummed a melody, and thought this could be a song so I grabbed my Tascam DR-05 and recorded it. During the second intermission I put the chords into BiaB, picked a style then transferred the song into my DAW. After the game was over I choose my patches and added the melody. The next day I added my guitar parts and mixed the song. Total time about two hours. Why can't they all be this simple?

BiaB style - Gladden MIDI Smooth Soul Ballard
Tempo - 60 BPM
I deleted the guitar and string tracks
Bass - Ample Bass - P-Bass
Piano - EZKeys2 - Session Grand - Basic
Drums - SSD-5 - Sound Designer - Modern Legion
Utility 2 - (Custom MIDI Style 49 Strings - BE - LHEV8 (AB) string track) - Kontakt - Amadeus - Full String Emsemble.

I am playing my Danelectric 12 string and my nylon string guitar and via my breath and keyboard controllers the flute.

As always all comments are welcomed.


Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
MarioD #881966 03/12/26 11:03 AM
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So TRUE, right?

Cool thematic flow, a fun listen. Great playing on all instruments. The nylon string really cuts through the mix well, and I love the lines you're playing. Those strings provide an unexpected lift when they come in, too. The fade ending is nice as well.

I used a DR-05 to capture my stray musical ideas for years. The sound quality is often sufficient to drop right into a recording, too. A nifty tool. These days I'm using my phone, which is more limited but minimally sufficient for the stray idea capture...


DC Ron
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Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
MarioD #881968 03/12/26 11:27 AM
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I don't know if I'd noticed it before in your other songs, but the drum sound is perfectly rendered and the mixing is top-notch. Great work again, Mario!
Laurent

MarioD #881975 03/12/26 01:31 PM
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Hi Mario!
Why … let a good hockey match get in the way of a good composition? Or is it vice versa? Anyway, your works always remind me of something I learned in high school music when we were studying classical music - I think the second movement of an overture is about ‘development’ (if I remember correctly) of the introduced idea - and you do development so well - turning that initial idea into variations. A very relaxing listen!
Andrew

Last edited by Andrew Dee; 03/12/26 01:32 PM. Reason: Grammar
MarioD #881980 03/12/26 03:46 PM
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Mario,

Love the intro! Great guitars and that flute is amazing. Awesome mix - you get the best sounds.

And yes, the sometimes the best ones come through easily.

Bob

MarioD #881996 03/12/26 10:55 PM
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Hi Mario

Why indeed. That’s a lovely listen, the flute and nylon guitar work so well together. Really enjoyed it. Kind regards.

MarioD #882010 03/13/26 05:05 AM
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Hi Mario,

This is great, amazing that it only took you a couple of hours actually. Love the melody you are playing on the flute! Haunting! Nice work on the guitars also, and great drum sound.

Nicely done, a good listen.

MarioD #882033 03/13/26 07:11 AM
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Hi Mario,

This track feels like the swell of the sea. And every now and then a bigger wave in between.
I think the flute and the orchestral part capture this image beautifully. And when a big wave arrives, it is accompanied by the increasingly powerful drums and cymbals.

I was completely captivated while listening to this truly beautiful track, which was created at a furious pace nonetheless; just two hours! Well done, Mario! But, to call this "Why"? I would be really glad it was there so quickly. Actually, you should call it "That's Why"!

Hans


Hans Berkhout
(Birchwood)
https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130
DC Ron #882036 03/13/26 07:20 AM
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Originally Posted by DC Ron
So TRUE, right?

Cool thematic flow, a fun listen. Great playing on all instruments. The nylon string really cuts through the mix well, and I love the lines you're playing. Those strings provide an unexpected lift when they come in, too. The fade ending is nice as well.

I used a DR-05 to capture my stray musical ideas for years. The sound quality is often sufficient to drop right into a recording, too. A nifty tool. These days I'm using my phone, which is more limited but minimally sufficient for the stray idea capture...

Thanx Ron for this very nice review. Sometimes the quick and dirty songs are the best. I have taken songs and/or tracks from the DR-05 and put them into my DAW also.


Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
laurent4114 #882037 03/13/26 07:21 AM
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Originally Posted by laurent4114
I don't know if I'd noticed it before in your other songs, but the drum sound is perfectly rendered and the mixing is top-notch. Great work again, Mario!
Laurent

Thanx Laurent. IIRC this is the first song where the drums were so prominent.


Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Andrew Dee #882038 03/13/26 07:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Andrew Dee
Hi Mario!
Why … let a good hockey match get in the way of a good composition? Or is it vice versa? Anyway, your works always remind me of something I learned in high school music when we were studying classical music - I think the second movement of an overture is about ‘development’ (if I remember correctly) of the introduced idea - and you do development so well - turning that initial idea into variations. A very relaxing listen!
Andrew

Thanx so much Andrew. I try to keep repeating some of my instrumental leads so the song doesn't sound like a jumbled mess so I'm glad you noticed that.


Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
rsdean #882039 03/13/26 07:27 AM
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Originally Posted by rsdean
Mario,

Love the intro! Great guitars and that flute is amazing. Awesome mix - you get the best sounds.

And yes, the sometimes the best ones come through easily.

Bob

Thanx so much Bob. I have been using MIDI since the late 1980s. Thus I have collected a ton of MIDI sound sources. Sometimes adding the very old sounds to the new sounds brings out nuances that you can't get with using them alone.


Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
K-Dub Ya #882040 03/13/26 07:28 AM
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Originally Posted by K-Dub Ya
Hi Mario

Why indeed. That’s a lovely listen, the flute and nylon guitar work so well together. Really enjoyed it. Kind regards.

Thanx Lee, I'm glad you liked it.


Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
BlueAttitude #882041 03/13/26 07:31 AM
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Originally Posted by BlueAttitude
Hi Mario,

This is great, amazing that it only took you a couple of hours actually. Love the melody you are playing on the flute! Haunting! Nice work on the guitars also, and great drum sound.

Nicely done, a good listen.

Thanx Dave. Rarely do any of my songs come this fast! I'm glad you liked it.


Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
Birchwood #882042 03/13/26 07:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Birchwood
Hi Mario,

This track feels like the swell of the sea. And every now and then a bigger wave in between.
I think the flute and the orchestral part capture this image beautifully. And when a big wave arrives, it is accompanied by the increasingly powerful drums and cymbals.

I was completely captivated while listening to this truly beautiful track, which was created at a furious pace nonetheless; just two hours! Well done, Mario! But, to call this "Why"? I would be really glad it was there so quickly. Actually, you should call it "That's Why"!

Hans

Hans, your thoughts of the sea and waves does fit this song to a tee. "That's Why" would have been a good title. Thanx for taking the time to listen and comment on my song, I appreciate it.


Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
MarioD #882070 03/13/26 01:19 PM
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Some pretty super sweet sounds there Mario!

Very relaxing like all of your songs are.

They really help me to chill out and that's a very helpful thing!!

Have a great weekend.

David Snyder #882089 03/13/26 05:03 PM
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Originally Posted by David Snyder
Some pretty super sweet sounds there Mario!

Very relaxing like all of your songs are.

They really help me to chill out and that's a very helpful thing!!

Have a great weekend.

Thanx so much David. I'm glad I was able to help you chill out. Now if only I could chill out!


Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
1- Be old
2- Sit in a chair

64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
MarioD #882098 03/13/26 08:07 PM
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Hi Mario. This is great. I particularly liked the way you incorporated the piano in the middle section. Are you using the midi from the BiaB style or is it EZ Keys patterns? More importantly, did your team win? I sure hope it wasn't US over Canada at the Olympics 😊.
Mick

MarioD #882107 03/14/26 03:02 AM
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The Mario performed pars are the best of this but it all works very well indeed.


Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
MarioD #882125 03/14/26 06:09 AM
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The reason is probably that sometimes we try too hard and feel that we have to get a song out at all costs.
I'm having a similar problem with my current effort. It's borderline whether I continue or send it to recycling.

Nice relaxing tune you have created, Mario. Your signature.

Vic

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