I take a three day break and, lo and behold, the board is chock-a-block full with new songs. Wow. Do you guys even breathe in between songs? ;-) haha. It's very much a compliment, of course - to be able to be so creative is one of the most precious gifts God can give, in my view.
Anyway! I'm a bit too busy to be too creative, but (in absentia of a new song) I've polished this old song from ages ago ... i.e. updated the video I made for it a while ago, re-mixed the voice with the backing track and, not least, changed the flute intermezzo with an organ ... I hope it works better. Anyway, if you've nothing better to do, perhaps you wish to have a look and a listen? Thanks!!!
A SIGN OF PEACE
It's been such a long time since I walked in here, this holy church I'm lost, if just a little, as the altar I approach ... "Oh Lord, I've let you down; but, at least, now that I'm here, Oh Lord, my precious guide ... please kindly hear my prayer.
Don't turn me away, oh Lord; in front of you I kneel, And ready, from my heart, to tell you how I feel;" The priest looks at me, thinking: "not seen you in a while" ... I look down for a moment, then at him, trying to smile.
The service has now started; I look, before I pray; The church fills up with people that come here every day; The candles burn up brightly, the stunning statues shine; I look down at the ground below and pray for what is mine.
"I know you're far away, and you did your best to help This beautiful, round world we call our Mother Earth; I know it's not your fault that we would rather fight; But I still pray to you; please don't be back too late."
"Around here, things are tough; the kids have nought to eat; The wife is working nine to nine and barely gets some sleep; My pain, you can ignore, for that's not relevant; This world is torn to pieces, though, isn't that important?"
***
"I'm sorry it's been so long, my time's been kind of full; I'm sorry - I've been selfish, but this world's e'er so cruel; The service's almost ended; I will now fall silent Please, Lord, do not cast on me judgement ...
But save us from ourselves, this much I beg you, please, And, with your hands outstretched, give us a sign of peace ... ... a sign of peace."
****** Song Summary ************* Title: A Sign of Peace - 10 March 2020 File:A Sign of Peace (2) - 11 March 2020.SGU Key=G , Tempo 80, Length (m:s)=5:30 No intro. 106 bar chorus, from bar 1 to bar 106. Repeat x1 chorus No Melody No Soloist track. Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0, Style is _FALTER.STY (Falter Picking Celtic Reel)
RealTracks in style: ~2474:Bass, Acoustic, Held Ev 085 RealTracks in style: 1837:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm PopModernGrooveHeld Ev16 075 RealTracks in style: 3544:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm SlowReelPicking Ev16 080 RealDrums [in style:ShakerSlow16ths [Multi]
*******************
Voice recorded in Audacity, mixed with the backing track in Mixcraft Pro Studio 9
If you have a link to the original version at all, it'd be lovely to compare the two! That said, you did a good job with the song, and I like that there's an emphasis on the vocals for this particular piece. Thanks for sharing.
You have a good signature sound (including your chord progressions). Cool tracks. They are a bit soft (low volume) compared to the vocal. The vocal could use some de-essing.
Thanks so much, everyone. I don't know where the link to the previous version is, at the moment, but you're absolutely right, Ember: it would be great to post the two together for people to compare! Just bear with me whilst I find it! haha.
Floyd, thank you. The voice recording is from a year ago, so yes, it needs working upon - but I'm glad you enjoyed the song anyway :-)
Gruverider and Ed: thank you. I fear you're far, far, far too generous, Ed, with your "timeless" comment, of course ... but I'm so happy it's had that effect on you! Thank you so much, you are ever so thoughtful, yourself, every time you comment on one of my songs. Thanks for understanding what I try to do! :-)
Again, thanks all for listening and for your kind comments!
Another quiet and intimate piece from you. It was like listening to a confessional with musical accompaniment. The music itself had a gentle, forward movement that rolled out at the speed of your pensive thoughts. I think you created a little world in this song that invited everyone to feel what you were feeling, and you succeeded, as far as I'm concerned.
"Music is what feelings sound like."-- borrowed from a Cakewalk Music Creator forum member, "Mamabear".
Sounds great James. I liked your vocal but the lyrics took it over the top for me, a great message.
"But save us from ourselves, this much I beg you, please, And, with your hands outstretched, give us a sign of peace ... ... a sign of peace" That is a great line.
To nitpick I think the backing tracks should be a tad louder and a little de-essing you the vocal would help.
Regardless this is a winner.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
bluage: what absolutely beautiful words! Thank you so much. That's exactly what I was aiming for, and I'm so glad that someone else resonated in this way with this track. Thank you for such thoughtful and kind comments!
MarioD: thank you, also! When I first wrote the lyrics, I worried about how I was going to fit them into a song, haha. But ... I'm glad you like it, it means that it seems to have worked :-)
I've put the de-esser on my new DAW at the maximum level, and I've made the backing tracks a little louder. Maybe this new version, below, is better? (I hope so, haha) :-)
THANK YOU so much for taking the time to listen and comment!
PS FWIW we typically post a song every 3-4 weeks -- so yes we do take a break between them
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos are here on our website.
Hi James i enjoyed my listen great job thanks for sharing eric
AMD (TM) 5950 4.9 GHz 16Core Processor 64 bit 32 bits of ram windows 10 pro 64 bit os. sound card Antelope ZenQ guitars Ibanez 2202a 1968 les Paul Custom and Cavin ae 185 Guitar boss Gt-100,GT1000 pedal Yamaha HS8 studio monitors
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Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
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We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
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XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
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Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
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