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Again, looking to try a new genre with this one. The musical backdrop started out in b-i-a-b (7.0) and was then imported into PTPA, 11.0 (4), where I re-recorded everything apart from the drum track. It was only after I had composed the whole piece that I realised where I had heard the chord progression before! Ah well, at least it was ‘borrowed’ subconsciously and not deliberately lifted! The melody and bridge sections are, however, to the best of my knowledge, totally original. Used Audacity at the end to make the final MP3 file. This game is harder than it looks – in terms of both composition and delivery. Any comments welcome as ever. Thanks for taking the time to listen Marc
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Hi marc, This is excellent! Really excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the way you wove the words, music, and instrumentals together - musicianship plus in my book. Also, I liked the quasi-electronica sound that you have happening. It suited the whole package. Kudos to you  Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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interesting composition, Marc! I liked the breaks and the Euro accordion sound. I listened all the way through, and I don't usually do that unless the song holds my attention.
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Very cool arrangement nice job. It has a Zappa Feel to it.
Love getting back into biab in 2024
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Great Marc,
New terrain and I love t. It has something familiar in it, but I can't exactly recall...
Anyway: I hope you'll be making more songs in this genre!
Cheers,
Superbron
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Well that was the best three and a half minutes I've spent on here in a while! Have to agree with ol' Nolly 96 up there - this is excellent.Love it! It has a feel reminiscent of an old 70's favourite of mine called Lines by The Planets. I think it's mainly the keyboard / accordian thingy, whatever that is. The similarity ends there however - I think this is a cool song and I shall be playing it lots! Good luck with it. Martin
Music is what our feelings sound like.
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Thanks so much for these kind comments. They made my day.
Yes Pat particularly at the moment you have to support anything with a Euro sound. We're in big trouble!
JC - I don't know too much about Zappa I'm afraid to say other than his reputation as half-genius half madman. I will check out more of his stuff and will take that as a compliment.
SuperBron, Martin, I could tell you the track I now think is similar but at the risk of losing credibility as an original composer. I guess this chord sequence is in fact not that original. As Martin points out, it does occur in 'Lines' (a tune I do remember if a little vaguely).
Anyway, glad you enjoyed it and thanks again for listening
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marc,
There's nothing wrong if chord progressions are recycled. While that means that the harmony is not original, it does not mean that your song is uncreative nor unoriginal. There are an awful lot of 3- and 4-chord songs out there that share EXACTLY the same harmony yet each sounds unique.
Personally, I find that starting with an existing chord progression and tweaking it to suit often saves me a whole heap of time when it comes to composing. I am a great supporter of the automatic chord wizard in BIAB/RB.
Regards,
Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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I meant nothing detrimental when I mentioned the "Lines" comparison. It was just vaguely similar that's all. Your song stands on it's own for me. I've written over 200 songs and I'd be very surprised if there's an original chord progression to found in any of them!! I can remember way back when, learning my first four chords on guitar. They were G Em C D. Instantly I could play probably fifty classic songs from Love Hurts to Every Breath You Take without even changing the order!! Like Noel says, it's what you do with them. Martin
Music is what our feelings sound like.
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Hey Marc, I didn't hear anything overtly identifiable that gives away your subconscious inspiration. Not that I'm a big fan of this genre but I respect some of it. The story kept my interest. Also liked the way you used very melodic instrument arranging for balance and adding relief to the rhythmic vocal. Cool ending too. My only suggestion would be (if you should do another one in this genre) that you emphasize the beat just a tad more and also add a recurring melodic vocal phrase to further counterbalance the rhythmic vocal as that seems to be quite popular in this type of music. Would also lengthen the time a bit too. Just a thought. Nicely done!
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Pretty cool, I like that bass riff and the flute sounds really good. The overly rhythmic vocal line doesn't do a whole for me, but that is just a style preference. You may want to post the lyrics and I would consider titling your thread with the song title "Ribbon of Black" instead of the song's length. That never made much sense to me.
You have pretty smooth composition skills!
Kevin
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Josie Kevin - nice to hear from you.
You're right Josie- that would be a valuable addition (the melodic vocal line, that is). I'll have to see what I can come up with.
IF you want more of it, then it can't have been all that bad!!
Kevin, thanks for the compliment, which I can say - in all honesty - is fully returned.
YEs, my vox on this one are probably too 'mechancial'. A bit metronomic, in fact. The trick is, I think, to have a looser, more colourful delivery but get back to the beat at the key points.
BUt you live and learn. This is a first time attempt for me, so if I ever have another try I'll know which areas to correct.
Marc
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As promised, you’ll find the video version (i.e. with readable lyrics) of this tune here And, if you have not already done so and you have a YouTube account, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel
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I can't say anything bad about a song that ends with bongos.
-- David Cuny My virtual singer development blogVocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?BiaB 2025 | Windows 11 | Reaper | Way too many VSTis.
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Thanks David.
One of my golden rules - even if all the rest is useless, work hard on the last few seconds.
Leaves them with a good impression!!
Thanks for listening to the end!
Regards,
Marc
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