I don't consider myself a musician like all the fine guitarists here on the forum. I seem to be more of a home studio IT geek.
I kept the song fairly simple composition-wise and left out Joanne's bridge section for the guitar solo.
Since this is my first song, I'm welcome to any nitpick on how I put it together or how I could improve the next time around. I could have added more variety with the different instruments coming in and out.
VIDEO COMING IN A FEW DAYS WITH RECORDING AND DAW SHOTS
BIAB -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key=C, Tempo 120, Length (m:s)=3:24 2 bar intro, 96 bar chorus, from bar 3 to bar 98. Repeat x1 chorus Style is _CRUNCHY.STY (Crunchy Heavy 8ths Rock)
RealTracks in style: 1008:Bass, Electric, ElecRock Ev 120 RealTracks in style: 650:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopRockBritHeavy Ev 120 (B:power) RealTracks in style: 697:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ElecRockDirty Ev 120 RealTracks in song: 2688:Guitar, Electric, Soloist RockBrentSimple Ev 120 - MY MAN BRENT MASON!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KEYS - Xpand!2 - The Classic B Organ BASS GUITAR - Added SansAmp PSA-1 to the RealTracks Bass to add a little high freq fuzz GUITAR "The Paradox of You" Chorus Riff - Fender Mexi Strat to Positive Grid BIAS AMP - British Lead 800 AMP DRUMS - Superior Drummer 3 - Metal/Heavy Rock Punch Kit ENDING RECORD SPINDOWN - Izotope Vinyl Ozone 8 Mastered
VOCAL LESSON LEARNED - Did not practice singing much before recording and did not feel out my range. Some of the low notes in the verses were hard to hit, G2 and A2. I kind of sound like Mongo from Shrek as a result, lots of moaning and robotic. I had already committed my audio tracks to Pro Tools so I couldn't just up the key in BIAB. Found later that C3 to C4 is more in my comfort range. There's a few timing issues on vocals as well. My next song should be much better in this area.
Joanne Cooper - Lyrics INTRO - 8 bars
VERSE 1 - 16 bars (C)Listening to (F)the pouring rain (C)I know the (G)sun will come (C)Light from dark (Em)dry from wet (F)When winter-(C)time is done
(C)I see my-(F)self as the earth (C)And you the (G)vast blue sky (C)Sometimes I (Em)keep you grounded (F)And you just (C)let me fly
CHORUS - 16 bars (C)I love it when (Dm)we talk (F)I love the si-(G)lence too (C)Love the yin and (F)yang of life (G)The paradox (C)of you
(C)I love it when (Dm)we talk (F)I love the si-(G)lence too (C)Love the yin and (F)yang of life (G)The paradox (C)of you
VERSE 2 - 16 bars (C)You are my (F)harmony (C)The balance (G)that I find (C)Through the windows (Em)of my days (F)In corners (C)of my mind
(C)Sometimes you (F)are the roots (C)Growing (G)in the night (C)Sometimes I (Em)am the leaves (F)Bathing (C)in your light
CHORUS - 16 bars (C)I love it when (Dm)we talk (F)I love the si-(G)lence too (C)Love the yin and (F)yang of life (G)The paradox (C)of you
(C)I love it when (Dm)we talk (F)I love the si-(G)lence too (C)Love the yin and (F)yang of life (G)The paradox (C)of you
SOLO - 8 bars - NO BRIDGE
CHORUS - 16 bars (C)I love it when (Dm)we talk (F)I love the si-(G)lence too (C)Love the yin and (F)yang of life (G)The paradox (C)of you
(C)I love it when (Dm)we talk (F)I love the si-(G)lence too (C)Love the yin and (F)yang of life (G)The paradox (C)of you
Now I can finally listen to all the versions of this song and review!
Congratulations on your first post!!! That's a huge accomplishment.
Right from that "I'm gonna make you sit up and pay attention" intro, I knew that I was in for treat and you delivered! I love the groove and I love what you've done with Joanne's lyrics. The effort that you've put into this was well worth it! Kudos to you.
Welcome to the forum! I think this was a great venture out into the ocean to swim around with the rest of us. Glad you decided to dive in!
I think this was a lot of fun! Given your range (you are a baritone) you will feel really comfortable in Bb I bet. Give that a whirl some time for grins. That and Eb and are F are great baritone keys.
All in all I was just tickled pink to see you join in the fun and say Hurrah!! Well done man!
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
Right from that "I'm gonna make you sit up and pay attention" intro, I knew that I was in for treat and you delivered! I love the groove and I love what you've done with Joanne's lyrics.
Thanks sir! It was definitely fun playing with those Brent Mason solos. Wish I had those chops!
Originally Posted By: David Snyder
I think this was a lot of fun! Given your range (you are a baritone) you will feel really comfortable in Bb I bet. Give that a whirl some time for grins. That and Eb and are F are great baritone keys.
Thanks for the tips on keys! I hope to have a more natural voice on the next go 'round when I'm not trying to reach so low.
Great to hear your first post! Sounding pretty danged good to me! An ear-catcher from the start. Looking forward to more form you - terrific first post! I really enjoyed my listen!
The backing tracks are well mixed. Nice balance between guitar/bass/drums.
It reminded me of early Green Day. A very appropriate vehicle for the lyric. The genre makes the too-low-to-sing-vocal "work".
Cool ending.
(For a track like this - heavy instruments - you can run the instrument mix through a good pitch shifter and bring it up a note or two in order to do a vocal when it's just a bit too low to sing to. Just a thought if you run into this in the future).
First post of your song and everyone agree's is a 10! Had you waited for one more posting it could have gone to 11.
Seriously Steve, great job! I think you're like me in that you have SO much going on, that it can make it hard to really work on a full song. Getting it to the point of posting, it's probably not going to happen. To date, I've managed to pull it off twice. So, I get it.
I really like you version for many reasons. When you originally posted you were thinking of doing a rock version, I was excited. That we both ended the song with a tape/record stop effect is pretty crazy.
I'm with FJ that the range of the song actually does fit with the genre. Had it been higher, it may have actually been too "pretty." That added grunge in your vocal tone may have worked to your advantage!
Anyway, I'm rambling. I'm just excited you participated, that this was your first song on here, and you did such a great job. Be proud of all of these! Well done!
On a side note, you are a drummer? Or...am I remembering that wrong? If you are, you did a GREAT job with the drums. If you're not, you did an AMAZING job with the drums.
Last edited by HearToLearn; 01/27/1803:00 AM.
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
Now does your "making of" video include drone footage? You have your first song out of the way. Now keep working at it.
I'll put some drone footage in just for you! Glad it's out of the way. I won't mention any other works in progress until I finish them.
Originally Posted By: RichMac
Thoroughly enjoyed your song. Lively backing and the ending caught me by surprise.
Thanks for listening sir.
Originally Posted By: BlueAttitude
Nice to hear a song from you! Pretty good first time post IMHO. Cool idea for the ending.
Thanks for the listen. I figure I can only better from here.
Originally Posted By: JoanneCooper
Well done on your very first song. I am privileged to have been part of it. May there be many many more now!
Thanks Joanne... and for the lyrics too! Not sure about 'many' more. But I'll start on another soon.
Originally Posted By: Al-David
Great to hear your first post! Sounding pretty danged good to me! I really enjoyed my listen!
Thanks Al. Appreciate the encouragement!
Originally Posted By: floyd jane
You did a terrific job on this. The backing tracks are well mixed. Nice balance between guitar/bass/drums. It reminded me of early Green Day. The genre makes the too-low-to-sing-vocal "work". (For a track like this - heavy instruments - you can run the instrument mix through a good pitch shifter and bring it up a note or two in order to do a vocal when it's just a bit too low to sing to.).
I listened to Green Day a lot on their first couple of albums. Thanks for the tips as well! Always love advice I can learn from others.
Originally Posted By: Scott C
Excellent first post Steve. Great start. This was a very cool version. Loved the guitar. Super vocal.
Thanks for the feedback! Means a lot with someone with your talent.
First post of your song and everyone agree's is a 10! Had you waited for one more posting it could have gone to 11.
Love me some Spinal Tap!
Originally Posted By: HearToLearn
Seriously Steve, great job! I think you're like me in that you have SO much going on, that it can make it hard to really work on a full song. Getting it to the point of posting, it's probably not going to happen. To date, I've managed to pull it off twice. So, I get it.
Completely understood on that one. If I could only retire! At least 10 years before I can do that.
Originally Posted By: HearToLearn
I'm with FJ that the range of the song actually does fit with the genre. Had it been higher, it may have actually been too "pretty." That added grunge in your vocal tone may have worked to your advantage!
I still had a hard time on those verse notes though. If the verse was in the range of the chorus and the chorus a little higher, I think I would have pulled it off just a little better.
Originally Posted By: HearToLearn
On a side note, you are a drummer? Or...am I remembering that wrong? If you are, you did a GREAT job with the drums. If you're not, you did an AMAZING job with the drums.
I play a mean bass/snare combo on my keyboard but that's the extent. I'm mostly of a piano/keys background. Superior Drummer 3 is just so easy to use and has it's own built in mixer for each drum piece. It also has a nice drag and drop for placing in the drum parts for verse/chorus/fills, etc. I will be using the tool more productively on future tracks!
For the first time out of the gate Steve you did very well! Sounds like you have a really good grasp of panning concepts/mixing, doubling vocals etc! It sounded like the vocals could come up a bit in places but that's a minor thing. I have no doubt you will be producing some interesting stuff soon! Keep on rockin' Thanks, Torrey
Steve, Congratulations on completing your first song here! I enjoyed your almost-grunge interpretation of the lyrics and the mix sounds good. Now you`re out of the gate, we expect more!
Great to hear your first post! Welcome to the forum. As others said, this is definitely a great start. Your sound making of guitar/bass/drums is really wonderful.
As David said, I also think you are a baritone. So, I think that your vocal glows more if you sing this in F major key instead of C major. Looking forward to more form you. Enjoyed my listen a lot.
This song reminds me of Weezer, such a nice song with a good pop melody and strong guitar wall. This version was really worth the wait, I hope to hear the next one soon
Steve, So there you are! Good job on the mix and production. A good rock version of JoAnne's fine lyric. Killer ending! Already on the lookout for your next one, Tom
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Few things are certain in life: death, taxes, and a brand spankin’ new XPro Styles PAK! In this, the 10th edition of our XPro Styles PAK series, we’ve got 100 styles coming your way! We have the classic 25 styles each from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, and rounding out this volume's wildcard slot is 25 styles in the Praise & Worship genre! A wide spanning genre, you can find everything from rock, folk, country, and more underneath its umbrella. The included 28 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Here’s just a small sampling of what you can look forward to in XPro Styles PAK 10: Soft indie folk worship songs, bumpin’ country boogies, gospel praise breaks, hard rockin’ pop, funky disco grooves, smooth Latin jazz pop, bossa nova fusion, western swing, alternative hip-hop, cool country funk, and much more!
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