PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase (Christmas song) Fly, Angel, Fly

Hi,

It's been a while since I've posted a song. Unfortunately, this year has taken me away from music for a bit. Hopefully, that's all past now!

I wrote this song a few years ago. Just recently, I thought I'd revisit it and apply some of the song-writing and lyric-writing strategies that I've learnt during the years since I first put this together.

The song was written in BIAB. Additional RTs were added in Realband. The vocals and the final mix were compiled in Reaper. I also used iZotope Nectar and Ozone to polish the vocals and mix respectively.

• Link to audio
• Link to leadsheet (pdf)

Please feel free to be critical about any aspect of the song.

Thank you for listening.
Noel



ABOUT THE SONG'S CONSTRUCTION
After I posted this song, there were forum members who expressed an interest in knowing more about some construction aspects - lyics, arrangement, music, etc. I thought I'd post those answers in a separate document. Here's that document.

• Link to some notes about the song (pdf)

BIAB STUFF
1603: Bass, Electric, Pop16ths Ev 110
1610: Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm Pop16 Ev16 110
1607: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Pop16thsGritty Ev16 110
1606: Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Pop16ths Ev16 110
671: Organ, B3, Background Southern Ev 120
RealDrums: NashvilleEven16^6-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, HiHat Open

Noel,

A very well-written Christmas song! I could see this becoming a new classic. (Big Choir kind)... Seldom do you hear newly written Christmas songs that seem like they could "make it". This one has a chance... What an incredible thing THAT would be!

Nice use of a piano RT to give this real energy. The opening is quite nice - using just rhythm tracks to create an "opening feel" - did you have to "build" that? (I played it several times in a row, I liked it so much)

The piano interlude (solo/notes) going into the second verse... sweet - is that an additional RT? or did you play that?

And the piano chording going into the second chorus... did that "just happen" in the RT? or did you do something to make that happen????? (Super!!!)

The organ is a nice addition (RT?). And the bells (nice touch) where are they from?


Excellent mix. Solid, snappy drums. The bass is perfect. The piano centered (I believe) the way it should be (I think) - and loud and proud! Great vocal - sung like you mean it! I would have liked a "bigger reverb" for this particular song - but that is a personal preference.

A lot of care was taken in this production and mix - and it shows...

You need to take this recording to a church choir somewhere to record BIG, BIG background vocals!!! I hear it...I'm getting chills just considering that....

This is Top Notch.

(Great to see you "back"!!!)

floyd

Love this one Noel. Hope you are well. I still don't know how you people manage to hold on, being all the way on the bottom of the planet and all.


"A thousand angels were everywhere
The sound of Hallelujah echoed through the sky"

Very nice imagery.


Regards,

Bob

Nice work.... yup, I like it

YAYY! Noel is posting again! Great to see you back...especially with a Christmas song!

My first observation is about the confidence in your singing! When you first started posting several years ago, your singing was much more tentative... but this is strong, confident, and intonation is spot on... a remarkable voice! You are a guy who develops holistically. Some of us focus on one aspect of our delivery, but you have continually honed every aspect of your presentation... and you are SCARY good!

There are probably people who don't like Christmas carols in general, and specifically songs in which Jesus is mentioned.. but I'm not one of them. I totally buy into the theme you are developing here, and I appreciate that you haven't been intimidated out of writing it.

Knowing how much thought you put into your lyrics, I paid special attention to them... but I know there's no way I see all the subtle additions that you put in place for very specific reasons.. so I'm hoping you'll elaborate a little on your lyric writing decisions. The main thing I notice is your use of loose rhymes, which I suppose is done to keep a more natural choice of words (as opposed to forcing a better rhyme that ends up sounding contrived) Whether or not that was your intent, I did notice how easily the message flowed with common language.

What I listen for more than anything is the music. In my opinion, not all music that is theoretically correct sounds good. But as Floyd pointed out (and I agree) there are several things about this selection of real tracks that worked out a LOT better than one can expect from a simple generation of a set of chords. Either you got phenomenally lucky, or you put a lot of effort into finding snippets that really maximize the effect you're trying to get.

And then there are the tweaks.. it sounds to me as though there is good use of pushes throughout the song. One of the problems with automated compositions is the way all of the instruments uniformly follow the chord sheet. Pushes break that up and add what might be called "cadence dynamics" (I just made that up, so bear with me). Bottom line, you ended up with a very live sounding composition as a result of all the techniques you've used here.

Yeah, the bell... you GOTTA have a bell in a Christmas carol! But what's cool is that you have a good feel for "just enough". Each of the instruments flows in and out of the mix very transparently... I didn't consciously note that was happening. In fact, it's a challenge to use this many tracks without getting too busy, but you did an amazing job of keeping that quality of "just enough" at every point in the song.

The intro was also very nice.. it caught my attention right away and set my expectations for a very good listen

There's so much to say, but I may as well stop now that it's only three times too long. Four times too long is just unacceptable.

Thanks for coming back to please your friends with one more song! We've missed you!

Such an excellent write, arrangement and production. Everything fits in place. As Floyd states, a wonderful song that could become a classic in its on right and I think it would sound great done by a choir. Thanks for posting and Merry Christmas.

Charlie

Nice song Noel, well written with a nice melody line and great mix as well.

Pity we can't have a listen to your song as well in our local shopping malls. By Christmas time we'll be fed up listening to Lennon and Yono's War is over.

All the best Noel
Musiclover

Noel, Glad you're back around. This is a terrific write. Love the chord progression. Your voice is in excellent shape on this one. The arrangement is top shelf. The bells and the organ were great additions near the end. Clearly a lot of tweaking went on here and the end result is marvelous. I also would love to hear the big choir. It's not easy to write a memorable Christmas song, but you have done just that. Going back for another listen. All the best, Tom

Hi Noel,

Nice to have you back.

Guenter

Hi, Noel !:))


I am so glad for you
posting again Noel !:))
and what a song......!!!!
This is my favorite
Noelsong for now !

Take care Noel and have
yourself a Most Peaceful
and Comforting Christmas
as well as a Really Creative
Musicfilled Year 2015 !!!!

Cheers
Dani

Loved your song. Lyrics, singing, harmonies and playing were very well done. Piano was a very cool track...

Hello Noel96.

I like songs about Jesus so this impressed me.

The songs is well edited and balanced. One thing that does come across is the vocals didn't seem to blend in with the music as well as it possibly could? To me it needs a tad more reverb as it sounds "dry", just to seat the vocals back in the mix rather than sounding like karaoke (singing on top of the music). I find this a challenge when I make my songs - I don't think I've got it right on my latest song?

I liked the chorus harmony and the Christmas bells!

When I post my songs I'd like more honesty and critique so I can improve rather than lots of "likes" (which is obviously nice) so I hope you don't mind what I've posted. It's in the interest of positive feedback from my point of view of course. Unless you like the mix, then please ignore my comments

Great song.

Godbless
Paul

Hi Noel. All sounds thoroughly professional to me!
You certainly know what you're doing!
Christmas cheers.

Nice song Noel!! Haven't seen a post from you in a while, and I miss reading your thoughtful comments. This is a really cool Xmas song-I love the story and never tire of hearing it in a different way. Good to have you back. Great work. Particularly loved the vocals and mix on this one! Take care. Greg

Hi Noel!

Excellent song! WOW! That about says it all.

Josie

No-el, No-el,

Sounds good to me, I am not one for traditional Christmas songs but I can see the appeal of this one. My dear departed Dad would have LOVED this and joined in with his idea of harmony

I like the lead sheet in all your songs as I can read the notes whilst listening, it would be nice to have a left hand as well . I enjoy reading musical scores and getting the piece in my head

The Xmas song I have done this year is miles away from this traditional masterpiece!

Alyn

(Sorry for temporarily hijacking your thread Noel!)
this topic comes up now and then, and it has validity. So does the topic of kindness, and understanding that we are all at different stages in the learning process. By analogy, a 4th grader's composition shouldn't be graded by the same standards as a grad student's... but it SHOULD be graded appropriately for the student's stage of learning.

There have been several times when songs were posted with the verbal permission to offer comments, then the person got hurt feelings over some of the comments. As a general rule, honest comments on what we like about songs (while omitting honest comments about what we don't like) "sort of" fulfills the honesty requirement and the kindness requirement. This forum differs from most other song writer forums in that it is an exceptionally kind and affirming environment. I hope that never changes.

HOWEVER....

For those who want brutal honesty (and some folks do) the intro to their songs should specifically request that. Asking for honest comments is not the same thing. Saying that again for clarity:

Anybody who wants brutal honesty about their song should add this phrase in their song intro:
"PLEASE EVALUATE MY SONG WITH BRUTAL HONESTY" and you will get it. If you still want it the next time you present a song, say so again.

(We now return to the regularly scheduled program)

The ability to write a relatively new song that sounds
like a classic is, indeed, admirable.

"They were standing in the starlight
laughing and telling stories"

That line really stood out for us becauseI don't recall
any Christmas songs where the shepherds were given
this touch of simple humanity, i.e., laughing and
telling stories.

Your vocal is strong and sits so well in the mix. And the
mix....it's so easy to overlook a GOOD mix like this because
it's doing what it's supposed to do. Counter-intuitively
it seems only the not so good ones tend to jump out at you.
Everything sits where it should on the soundstage and
when things step to the front they do it gracefully.

This is a tune that I will definitely pass on to friends and
family over the next couple of weeks.

J&B

PS Dittos on floyd's notion of hearing this in a big choir context!

Hey floyd,

Thank you for taking time out to have a listen. As always, I appreciate your comments.

When I put the song together, I set out to create a choral sound just like you did when you re-invented "Wait And See" for me. I couldn't get it to work properly for me so, in the end, I settled for minimalistic on the choral front.

The organ is a Realtrack. I forgot to include it in the original list of tracks. I've fixed that up now. As for the bell, that's the VSC/DXi soft-synth playing a tubular bell note "A". Because I have a 32-bit system, I can still run this software.

Interestingly, I played around a good deal with reverb. I find it the most difficult effect to work with. Just before I rendered the song for uploading, I brought the reverb back a bit. You've now got me wondering if I should have left it. I'll pop back to the mix in a few days and see how it sounds.

Believe it or not, the intro 90% happened during one of the regenerations in BIAB. I saved the tracks as soon as I stumbled across it and then massaged it a bit for a better fit.

In relation to the piano fill leading into verse 2, it's actually a midi piano and the fill was devised by the midi soloist function. Because this is not a function that's talked about much these days, I thought I might write up how I used the midi soloist in detail so that others can try it out if they want. That information will soon be in a pdf that will be linked to the "About the song's construction" link in the original post.

Thanks heaps for all your ideas. You always make me smile as well as give me lots of good food for thought.

All the best,
Noel

P.S. You, Paul and Mario all suggested that reverb was too dry on the lead vocal. As a consequence, I've boosted it a smidgeon. I don't know if you'll notice the difference but now that I listen to it, it does sound better.

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the good wishes. We wear seat belts down here and that helps to keep us attached to good old Earth. But you're right, it's a risky business being part of the underworld

It's great to see you in the Users Showcase. I know there are a couple of your songs that I haven't yet heard. Rest assured that I'll be hunting through the older posts and finding them. It's very daunting to be so far behind!

I appreciate your positive comments regarding "Fly Angel Fly".

All the best,
Noel

Thanks, Herb. I appreciate your dropping and giving the song a test run.

Regards,
Noel

Hi Noel,

A great Christmas song!
Your vocals are very good, the piano is beautiful (we have used this one often).
As a whole... a top production!

Rob and Anne-Marie

Noel this is fantastic. I really liked the lyrics, vocals and backing tracks. The harmonies were excellent.

To really nit-pick I thought that the lead vocal was dry and could have used a little reverb. BUT that is just my personal preference and others may not agree.

Great song!

Hey Pat,

Thank you for dropping in and posting such a great reading post. The calibre of your posts is always outstanding. You have a very succinct way of politely saying exactly what you mean and doing so with an occasional touch of humour. That's a real skill. I'd love to be able to write like you!

You've asked many questions in your post (as did floyd). I promise I'll answer them! I'm currently constructing a pdf that will be available via the "About the song's construction" link. (It's an empty document at the moment, though.)

The reason I'm doing it this way is because I thought others might like to know the answers too, I'll explain a little more fully how I do things and how I use tools like BIAB's custom soloist, etc.

Please be patient

Thank you for taking time to listen to and to comment.

All the best,
Noel

P.S. I remember those early songs too! LOL! I used to hate singing and felt incredibly self-conscious. Then, one day, I just gave up worrying and adopted the attitude that I might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. It's mutton all the way with me now

Charlie,

Thank you for such generous comments. I really appreciate them. You brought a huge smile to my face. While I can hear this song sung by a choir, I can't really see it becoming a classic. Shepherds, angels, birth of Jesus, are very well used themes and I don't think I have anything present that makes my song stand out from the multitude. That doesn't matter, though, I just enjoy writing music! I'm so grateful for PG Music and BIAB/RB.

I wish you and yours a fantastic Christmas and New Year, too.

Take care,
Noel

Hi Musiclover,

Thanks for popping in and giving my song a listen. I'm very grateful for the positive comments. I laughed when I read the part about shopping malls and "War Is Over". Here in Melbourne / Australia, the experience is EXACTLY the same. Whenever I got to a shopping centre, that song is nearly always what greets my arrival! That being said, though, how amazing would it be to write something like that that keeps on coming back year after year.

Hope you have a great Christmas,
Noel

Hi Tom,

I'm glad you dropped in. Moreover, you brought a whole heap of uplifting comments with you! I think you're being overly generous but thanks for taking time to write them down. It made getting up in the morning worthwhile!

About the tweaking ... to be honest, I can't stop myself. The more I listen to the mix, the more I hear those bits where I haven't got things quite right. I probably spend way too long on massaging the mix! Oh well, I love every minute.

Once again, thank you.

All the best,
Noel

Noel,

I enjoy Christmas songs and enjoy your singing so this was a win-win for me! I love how much gusto you put into your singing voice.

Noel,

This is just great - love the song, vocal and mix. So good to hear you again.

Bob

Wow, back with a bang Noel! This has a very pro sound indeed, the engineering and mix is simply great. Well perfect to my ears. And the vocal sits just right. Spot on arrangement, and your vocal delivery is superb. All around full marks!

John

Noel,

So good to hear you back again, my friend! Like you, I have been out quite a bit this year. I hope you are able to be around more now. I always enjoy your posts. You are one of the more generous people in a sea of generous people around here.

I love this song. And I think you did a great job on the vocals. You just keep getting better. I agree with Floyd, this one would work well with a good church choir. Great song!

Steve

Hi Guenter,

Thank you for the welcome back. It's good to be back.

I appreciate your taking time out to have a listen to my song. It was interesting when I revisited it because the number of RTs has risen dramatically since I first wrote it. That gave me a whole heap of new sounds to play around with. BIAB is an incredible program!

All the best,
Noel

Hi Dani,

It's always great to see your name pop-up in a thread. The Users Showcase is definitely better off for having you as one of its regulars.

As I'm typing here, I'm trying to imagine Christmas in Finland. It must be very cold and very unlike the kind of Christmas that I'm used to.

Best wishes for a terrific Christmas,
Noel

Thanks Scott. I appreciate your passing through the thread. The piano RT is great. It's very energetic and would take a bit of stamina to maintain for 3 minutes!!! I'd love to know how to play like that.

Best wishes for a great Christmas,
Noel

Hi Paul,

First off, I'd like to say that I'm a great admirer of your creations. You have some excellent musical and technical skills that work in partnership to create some top class works. I'm a bit of a novice by comparison.

Thanks for taking time to provide honest feedback. I'm always happy to receive any critical thoughts - positive or negative. Your point about reverb was supported by floyd and MarioD. As a result, I went back and boosted it a couple of percent. It has made a difference. I find reverb a bit of a mine-field and that's why I always listen to advice from those who know how to use it properly!

I'm glad you liked the song

Best wishes for a joyful and thoughtful Christmas,
Noel

Hi Richard!

It's great to see you.

When I read the "You certainly know what you're doing!", I raised my eyebrows. Nothing could be further from the truth. I know that I know some stuff, but mostly what I do is trial and error; usually more error than anything else. One of these days I hope to be able to have a song fall into place in next to no time. For the time being, though, I'll just keep on learning and having fun!

Thanks for passing by!

Regards,
Noel

Hi Josie,

I apologise for taking so long to get back to you. Unfortunately, the BIAB (Windows) forum has been bursting with problems and questions and I find it very difficult to keep up with that forum and this forum.

Thank you for jumping in and listening. You made day!

All the best,
Noel

Hey Alyn,

It's always good to see you! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you.

Apart from people singing me my own personalised Christmas songs, I also get my presents wrapped in peronsalised paper I don't know what my mother was thinking when she called me Noel! LOL!

I'm not promising anything but next time I write the music to one of my songs, I see if I can work out some kind of accompaniment for the left hand. That should be fun!

Thanks for listening. I appreciate the feedback. Your dad sounds like quite a character.

Enjoy Christmas,
Noel

Hi Bud and Janice,

Thank you for your time and your thoughts. I ended up feeling very good for the rest of the day after reading your comments! I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to get back to you but, as I said to Sundance, with the release of 2015, the demand for help in BIAB (Windows) has been very time consuming.

Now I just have to work out how to get into your league. I imagine that that's going to be as difficult as swimming from my place to your place! Still .... nothing ventured, nothing gained (so someone wise was supposed to have once said).

I wish you both a wonderful Christmas,
Noel

Hi Rob and Anne-Marie,

Thank you! If I could get my productions to be 50% the quality of your productions, I'd be a very happy man. For the moment, though, I'll just have to keep plugging away and getting practise.

All the best for Christmas,
Noel

P.S. I love your "Wish You A Merry Christmas". Anne-Marie, you have flair for singing wonderful counterpoint harmony.

Noel,
Great storytelling !
I believed every word.
Powerful mix and voice, another song under the Christmas tree
Grtz
Fred

Hi Mario,

Thanks for jumping in and having a listen. It seems that you, floyd and Paul are in agreement regarding the reverb! I've modified it a tad as a result. I believe that the vocals do sit better now. I appreciate the suggestion.

All the best,
Noel

Hey Jim,

Firstly, I apologise for taking so long to say 'thank you'. With the release of 2015, I've found it quite challenging keeping up with the BIAB (Windows) forum as well as this one.

I'm really grateful for your comments and I appreciate your taking time to give the song a test drive.

All the best,
Noel

Noel....

I'm pleased that you tweaked the reverb a bit for 3 reasons.

1) it got me to listen one more time to your wonderful song.

2) I have reason to comment again.

3) it made an already terrific production/mix even better.

also... so I guess this is #4... it made me realize how much I like the line about the shepherds laughing... you made them seem "human", relevant and current... very cool...

floyd

Hey Bob,

I offer my apologies for taking so long to get back to you. Time is a scarce commodity for me at the moment and I have to share it around.

Thank you for taking time-out to have a listen. I appreciate your comments.

I hope you have a great Christmas,
Noel

John,

Well that made me smile!!! When it comes to the audio-engineering side of a song, you stand up there with the best in the forum. I am a huge admirer of your work. Listening to what you do, and then trying to work out how you do it, has inspired me greatly on a number occasions. That you for the positive comments!

My Christmas be special for you,
Noel

Everyone should also remember that Noel created this song while he was upside down!

Hi Steve,

Thank you for jumping in and listening. I also appreciated your kind comments. I'm nearly back to being dangerous now Things are coming together.

It's really good to see you posting a song, too. Your arrangements and their production are among my best sources of inspiration on this forum. Your work is incredible and it never ceases to impress me!

May you and your family have a blessed and joyful Christmas,
Noel.

P.S. My Texas accent is slipping back into Aussie twang. I'll have to practise some more!

Hi Fred,

Thanks for passing through the thread and stopping long enough to have a listen. I appreciate your comments.

All the best,
Noel

Hello Noel

I was afraid I offended you and others here, it just looked that way to me by what others posted after my post, that I backed off and felt that I put my foot in it! I'm glad it doesnt look that way now.

Thanks for the musical compliment but i too feel I'm starting out and a novice also. I have big aspirations but I'm aware they are bigger than I can deliver right now.

I've had a relisten to your song just now but I'm in the living room on a laptoop and the laptop speakers are tinny. Will have a relisten when I'm back on my PC again.

Godbless.
Paul

Hi Fred,

Thank you for the words of support. I appreciate your visiting the thread.

All the best,
Noel

Hey floyd,

I'm glad you popped back in too. I forgot to say "thank you" for the welcome back in my earlier post! I appreciated it.

All the best,
Noel

LOL!!

Thanks for listening again, Paul. Also, thanks again for your input on this song. It helped!

Much appreciated,
Noel

floyd and Pat,

I've finally finished the document that answered all your questions and requests for information.

Be warned it's seven pages long and covers many things about how I put the song together. Hope it is what you were after.

here's the link (it's the same link as my first post)

Best of everything to you both!
Noel

thanks Noel! It's very generous of you to take the time to prepare such useful information!

update:
I just got back from reading your document! That's awesome!! You teach for a living don't you? You are very good at presenting complex information in understandable terms!

My pleasure, Pat. I hope it gives you a useful insight into how I go about things.

May good things come your way,
Noel