Hi Jim,

Thank you for passing through the thread. It's always good to see you!

Originally Posted By: JimFogle

I am one that can believes accents enhance a song because lyrics and phrasing are chosen with the accent in mind. In the same vein Scottish, Irish or Cockney songs have a different feel to them. One of the things that made a Herman's Hermit song distinctive from the other British Invasion bands was the singer's, Peter Noone, accent.

I hadn't thought about this before until you mentioned it. But you're right! Accents really can make a difference. The first one that came to mind after reading the above was Julie Andrews. I cannot imagine how her songs would sound without her British accent. Then it occurred to me that Maurice Chavlier and Charles Aznavour (Yesterday When I Was Young) really made the most of their French accents.

Originally Posted By: JimFogle

The flute ... demonstrates just how much the melodist can assist with adding one layer of polish to a song.

I agree. BIAB has many midi-based music creation tools that can be used very effectively for songwriting. The Melodist is one of these. I've found it very valuable when I'm trying to think of melodies and counter-melodies. To be honest, I don't know where I'd be without BIAB and all it can do!

Originally Posted By: JimFogle

There are two places in the song where the sound level takes a dramatic drop. The first time is the bar or two where the into music pauses and your voice starts to come in. The second time is when the flute solo is ending and your voice comes in. While I'm reasonably sure the sound level drops are not caused by compression breathing the effect is similar. Surprisingly, the drops are pretty easy to spot in the SoundCloud waveform of the song.

I know what sections you mean. I don't think that I have them correct yet (they've caused me a great deal of thought). The volume drops occur at the beginning of each verse. I needed to do something because the verses are sung with piano, bass and drums, and the vocal's volume is throttled way back. So that this could stand out, I needed to create some quietness before the vocals started so that they sat comfortably on the ear. Because the sound immediately before each verse is full orchestration, the initial couple of syllables of each verse were lost, and the fit of the arrangement felt uncomfortable, when I went straight to the verses without somehow preparing the ear for what was about to happen (hence the volume drop). This is a region of the arrangement that I'm still working on.

Thanks for all your feedback! I always appreciate your opinions and insights.

All the best,
Noel



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