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Hey All, This is my third song creating the music tracks using Real Band, I am really having fun experimenting with all it has to offer. Now that I think I got it the way I want it to sound, I am hoping for some constructive comments from you all, as I value your ideas. This is a traditional song called “angels watching over me” – which I wanted something whimsical, BUT a country sound to it. I am also doing the backing vocals. I always struggle with that, as I tend to always hear the lead and always have to do alot of re-takes to sing the right notes...  Let me know what you think! Here is the link to the song: www.dannyriddle.com/AngelsWatchingOverMe-VOCAL.MP3THANKS! Danny www.DannyRiddle.com
Last edited by DRiddle; 03/14/09 08:29 PM.
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Hi Danny, WOW!!! That song sounds like it's out of a recording studio. A very professional effort. You've got a great voice. Please treat the below comments as "ideas" because what you have is really good. The below thoughts are how I heard the work on that important first occasion. (Cn = nth chorus, Vn = nth verse) - Intro: Excellent stuff
- C1: Excellent, well balanced
- V1: Excellent, well balanced
- C2: I really love the harmonica though I'd soften it a little as occasionally it sounds in the foreground rather than background. Have you tried compression to even the sound out a little? The volume of the harmonica drew my hearing to that instrument rather than keeping me focused on the vocals. This acted to reduce the power of the vocals.
- V2: I'd soften the banjo a little (or maybe adjust compression so that peaks are less noticeable).
- C3: The fiddle seems a little loud to my hearing because of the octave it's placed in; I'd try reducing it by 0.5 - 1.0 dB.
- C4 & C5 - A very uplifting sound that really got my foot tapping. There's a great deal happening and my ear was not quite sure what to listen to. To me, it sounded like Banjo, Fiddle, Harmonica, and Vocals were all in the foreground and fighting for attention. I'd experiment with reducing the banjo so that it was more aligned with the background rather than foreground. This should help to make the vocals a little clearer. Rightly or wrongly, the principle that I use is that the foreground is reserved for either vocals or solo instrument (just one) and everything else serves to highlight and focus the listener's attention to what's in the foreground. That being said, though, I'm still a novice in this area
- General Groove/Feel: Brilliant. 10/10
I hope I haven't come across as being super-critical because what you have is excellent. As mentioned, the above impressions are from my first listen. I always put a lot of faith in that first listen because that's the time I hear a song without any preconceived notions. Congratulations on a great job. Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Hey Noel, Never feel like you are being super-critical, it's all about sharing and learning. I am a novice too and you are pointing me in the right direction, my problem is that when I hear that harmonica/fiddle or banjo and I like what it is playing, I have a tendacy to say to myself that I want that to be heard, and I raise it up a few notches... thanks for your constructive pointers - I will remix this later this week and repost it... AGAIN THANKS! Danny www.DannyRiddle.com
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Danny, For what it's worth, here's a technique that I use that seems to give me some results. Between now and working on a song "later in the week", - I don't listen to your song at all. After a couple of days' break, I find that my head has cleared of the sounds and I hear it with new ears.
- I get myself into a good, comfortable, stereo position.
- I close my eyes and let myself relax into the music.
- I have a notepad handy on which to make notes.
- I play the song and when I hear something that doesn't quite work, I write one or two word comments to remind me about things to adjust after the listening has finished. I try not to write too much, though, because that distracts me from the primary task of listening.
The notes that I make on this first time through after a break are the most beneficial to my song's production. I don't let re-listening change my impression about what I heard that first time. I've found that re-listening often clouds the judgment because the brain starts to get used to the sounds. I'm looking forward to hearing your next version! Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Cool. I liked the harmonica as well. Love those real tracks.
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Danny. I, too, was impressed. I'm with Noel on adjustments. I use a slightly different technique. The parts where I'm singing I lower everything except bass guitar, snare and bass drum in just those instances. In that way everything has the fullness but not fighting. If a lead instrument comes in I raise its volume and then dance the music the same way, but not quite as much. Just a little. I do a lot of karaoke on Sing Snap and I've been paying attention to how the best music sounds and that's what I've found it to be. I just let it play the first time before I start singing so I know how the background singers are going to come in and how I can fit my own singing style into their music. Sometimes I listen a bunch. Sometimes I don't, and you can tell when I don't.  Good on ya Mate. This is a fine tune. I think I saw The Lord up there clapping his hands to it. 
Russ Anyday above ground is a good day Computer is Hp Pavillion Vision 6 Ghz quad core AMD processor 8 Gig memory 1 TB hard drive 6 GB hard drive Windows 7 Premium Loose nut behind the keyboard 
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Overall excellent effort. I tend to have the same mixing issues on my own stuff. Whatever part I'm working on at the time seems to be the most important and I either use too much of it or make it too loud etc. Then after a day or so of not hearing the song I listen again and go "sheesh, what was I thinking"? I still tend to do battle with the same issues today, but maybe a little less so.
I applaud your music ministry and pray that God blesses you in that effort.
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Danny, this is an excellent song. The lyrics, vox and production were right one. I personally was not put off by the backing track. I thought everything was fine.
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Thanks Noel, russ, tourcher and marioD for the good ideas for for listening to the song, I have not been able to log in the past few days, BUT I did remix the music a bit with Noels great ideas. Let me know if this sounds better to the ear It is in the same spot: www.dannyriddle.com/AngelsWatchingOverMe-VOCAL.MP3Thanks again for listening and for guiding me along in this new adventure let me know how this one sounds (music). Keep the music alive! Danny
Last edited by DRiddle; 03/18/09 09:09 PM.
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Hi Danny, Your latest version of the song was brilliant I was with you all the way. Nothing distracted me. By the 3rd chorus, I noticed that my foot was tapping and my head was swaying from side to side in time. You've developed a good emotional contour in your production of the song. When chorus 5 came in, I felt really uplifted. I don't know if you can hear the difference, but that little extra effort you put in was well worth it (in my opinion). 10/10 in all aspects Regards, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Great remake Danny.......the key modulations, always help to keep the momentum going especially in a live situation. I should do more of that myself on my faster songs. Check your Private Msgs.
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I liked the first one as it was, but I love the second one!
Very inspiring, foot tapping here on my end!
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