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Hi, all: Hope everyone had a good holiday and came well into the New Year! It was my turn to host Christmas this year, so I've been out of pocket a bit . . . seems like folks have been busy and I've got more catching up to do on the forum. Anyway, this is a BIAB version of a song I wrote a year or so ago. Not sure I'm totally done with it, but I'm also not sure what more I would do with it. Your feedback and suggestions are welcome and appreciated, as always. Hope it's worth the listen as it stands Here's the song:SO BREATHE Here are the lyrics:I should have known it long before from the quiet ways you seemed to hold your breath. I feel so bad it felt so wrong to share this secret you’ve so closely kept. Did you fear I would never love you as you are? Did you think I wouldn’t be the friend I was before? Well, relax—you know it now. So breathe. All the jests and droll asides— how you hid yourself behind your smiles. It makes me sad to realize I never really knew you all this while. Did I say something unforgiving or unfair to betray the trust I made you doubt was really there? Well it was, and it will always be. So breathe. I’m sorry I was blind, that I could never see . . . in the who I thought you were the who you’re meant to be. And I just want to let you know I’m so glad you’re finally free. Did you fear I wouldn’t love you as you are? Did you think I wouldn’t stand beside you all the more? Well, relax—just close your eyes. Sit back—your future’s open wide . . . So breathe. And here's the band:
Guitar: RT 1595 Guitar: RT 405 Synth Pop Believe 1543 Cello Background PopEven 2509 Strings: Celtic Air 2457 Piano: RT 1767 Bass: RT 2478
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Deej,
What's the almost sub sonic rumbling on the left during the intro and further on?
before your voice cam in it was quite distracting in head phones.
After your voice came in it was still there but largely redundant and it was masking some of the cello's bottom end too.
If it were in the centre of the stereo image it wouldn't feel so odd.
It's a lovely song and the room sounds good in it too.
The Celtic strings fit well - I was tooling around with them a couple of weeks back and found that a BIG, wide EQ bump at around 9Khz brings out the buried melodic lines in them.
The cello had a couple of phrases late in the piece that could've been nudged forward in time to really sit nicely with your vocal melody.
The lyrics are really good and I was impressed that, for the most part, the words relied on melody,metre and phrasing to carry them rather than rhyme.
Lovely stuff.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Hi, Ray:
Thanks for the prompt listen and feedback. You were a little too quick for me . . . as I listened after I posted the rumbling became more apparent to me on my headphones. It was the bass a bit too loud and bit too left. I've hopefully corrected a bit in the updated version. Appreciate the listen and as always the terrific comments. I'll see what I may be able to do with the cello--agree there some great little bits in that Real Track.
Regards,
Dave
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Deej,
An good write. An excellent vocal. Nice instrumentation.
A "personal preferences" regarding a few things...
The acoustic fingerpick guitar is fairly loud (in my opinion) calling attention to itself throughout the song. "Softening" it some would let the vocal really shine - that might be a couple of dB of volume, but also a bit more reverb and perhaps a dip in its EQ somewhere to give it a "rounder" sound (just ideas).
There were a couple of spots that the cello stabs(?) didn't quite sit comfortably (in relation to the vocal?).
This is really good stuff. I am enjoying your work, Your BIAB skills are shining more and more... Look forward to what you bring us in 2020...
fj
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A lot of songs with Breathe as their title exist but this holds its own with any of them. I liked the simplicity of the guitar, allowing your incredible voice to shine. The song certainly makes one want to know the secret, but of course, it doesn't matter. It's the freedom that's important. Another great one!
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
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Excellent vocal as usual! I like the stripped down approach too, works well.
Good song, enjoyed!
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Apprentice
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Very well produced - love this piece.
Thanks for posting the lyrics.
Thanks for sharing!
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Wow - what a tune! I love the vivid lyricism on this, it pairs perfectly with the instrumentation. I really enjoyed how stripped back it is, also. Definitely a fine example of less is more. Thanks for sharing 
Cheers,
Deryk
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A poignant song with lovely lyrics...
And I enjoyed listening to your voice as you delivered those lyrics.
Jim
†=☮&♥
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Lovely song. Super vocal and lyric. Guitar was very cool
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Really pretty song!! The sparse arrangement suits it very well, and the strings are lovely!! The one acoustic is a little boomy. Your vocal, as always, is excellent!!! Some great lyrics here too!! VERY nice!! Take care. Greg
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Floyd, TuneMonger, Blueattitude, Jim, Derek, Jim, Scott, and Greg:
Thanks to you all for stopping in and giving this one a spin. Still a work in progress perhaps, but I'm encouraged that it's somewhat on the right track. I've tweaked it a bit based on the feedback and can do more if need be. More specific responses to your comments follow:
Floyd: Great comments. I’ve turned down the fingerpick guitar a few decibels, added some reverb, and tried to soften a bit—though I tried not to overdo it on the first attempt. I can always dial it down more, but hopefully this is better.
As for the cello, I gave it another listen vs just the vocal track. It’s not perfect, but generally I’m OK with it. I tweaked the volume in spots though where it rubbed too much against the vocal—maybe that helps.
TuneMonger: Yes, the secret . . . I wrote the song with one in mind, but somewhat intentionally kept it silent here. As you note, it doesn’t much matter what it is. There are a lot of things we are afraid to share about ourselves for fear of what others will think, particularly those we care most about. I didn’t want to limit that sentiment by defining it. And I also thought singing it from the perspective of the person told the secret rather than from the person telling the secret might be interesting.
Blue, Jim and Deryk: Thanks much—glad you enjoyed!
Jim and Scott: Appreciate the kind words—thanks for tuning in.
Greg: Thanks for the listen. I’m guessing by “the one acoustic is a little boomy” you meant the fingerpick guitar as well. If so, hopefully I’ve mitigated that a bit, though can dial it back more if need be. If not, then perhaps you mean the cello? The bass? Not sure, but either can be tweaked if you think it needs to be. Appreciate always the listen and attentive feedback.
Regards to you all,
Deej
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Oh my word - wow.
a) heartbreaking;
b) one of your best.
You have a talent at creating music and melody that would not be out of place with ANY of the greats. And the lyrics, well ... as I wrote above, heartbreaking ... another one of your raw, sincere gifts to the world.
Many on here often (rightly) comment on technicalities, etc. This is too loud, this is too low, this could benefit with some EQ, etc. etc. etc. . I say "rightly" because we all want to improve, right? and therefore such comments are necessary to make our offerings even better. BUT: that said, I'm no good at those things, so I can't and won't comment thus. All I'll say is that, from a musical and lyrical perspective, you've hit the jackpot (so to speak) once again. It's an honour to listen to what you create.
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Hi deejay,
very nice. Great vocals and I think that 'modest' backing track was the perfect choice for this song. Loved the strings a lot.
Cheers,
Stefan
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Hello DJ,
That is a very nice, sensitive song you made. And, like anyone else wrote, your vocals are very very good. The time it took to finish the word Breath in the first chorus was breathtaking. I could only come halfway and get out of breath. And those high tones... Very nice.
and I still here some of Jim Croce in it, at least the sphere.
But, I agree with Floyd that the guitar attrackted to much attention in the beginning of the song. I read you adjusted it a bit, but it's the voice that needs all the attention in this song. Maybe 2 decibels less for the guitar? However, it still stays a very nice song, even if you don't want to follow my suggestion ;-)
Hans
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Deej,
Very nice tune and vocal delivery. I like the instrument choices & arrangement.
The only complaint, guitar (I assume nylon) is too "low frequency" for my taste. I would up EQ on, so it sounds a bit brighter. Enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing!
Misha.
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This reminded me of the British singers from the 60's. Nicely done.
In a few places, I thought the cello clashed with the other instruments on certain notes.
Good overall job on this. Enjoyable.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Deej,
I enjoyed the way you built vocal intensity through the song- holding back a little of your range and edge to make the ending all the more powerful.
The sparse arrangement works well and the chorus melody matches the lyric beautifully.
Very good as is!
Robert
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Like Robert we enjoyed the way you used your vocal as the build.
Also holding out the word "breathe" was very effective.
The sparse arrangement works nicely given that as mentioned your
vocal does most of the building.
And the lyric? Well, as we've come to expect from you...excellent!
J&B
PS If you can grab Waves CLA Unplugged for $29 or on sale sometimes
for half that I think you'd be amazed at what just the presets can do for
acoustic guitars and pianos. A big ole FWIW!
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.
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Coming in at the end of all those excellent comments I can only agree that this is an excellent song, with a superb vocal and lyric.
Great work.
Peter
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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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We're excited to bring you our latest Xtra Styles PAK installment—the all new Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher)!
Rejoice, one and all, for Xtra Styles PAK 21 for Band-in-a-Box® is here! We’re serving up 200 brand spankin’ new styles to delight your musical taste buds! The first three courses are the classics you’ve come to know and love, including offerings from the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, but, not to be outdone, this year’s fourth course is bro country! A wide ranging genre, you can find everything from hip-hop, uptempo outlaw country, hard hitting rock, funk, and even electronica, all with that familiar bro country flair. The dinner bell has been rung, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 21 today!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Energetic folk rock, raucous train beats, fast country boogies, acid jazz grooves, laid-back funky jams, a bevy of breezy jazz waltzes, calm electro funk, indie synth pop, industrial synth metal, and more bro country than could possibly fit in the back of a pickup truck!
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Video: Xtra Styles PAK 21 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 21 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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