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Hi all, I thought I try my hand at writing a Gospel song with an old-time, up-tempo feel to it. This song is what my co-writer and I came up with. We had a lot of fun putting this one together and we'd really appreciate your thoughts on how it sounds and any ideas you might have. Feel The PowerHope you enjoy it  Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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I like it! Good guitar picking.
Don S.
Last edited by Curmudgeon; 03/07/10 02:34 PM.
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Good on ya, Noel - it worked well. Lyrics, tune, production.
Maybe consider making the second chorus a cappella then back in with full instrumentation for your exit.
Well done - Ian
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Noel,
that was totally cohesive... technically, nothing at all sounded misaligned, wrong, or in need of improvement in any way whatsoever. As an added bonus, I really enjoy hearing your Aussie accent... it makes all your songs instantly more appealing. I also have a special affection for any music that exalts Christianity, and old-time gospel is certainly in that genre.
Keep up the good work! I always enjoy hearing what you are working on! You are one of the more prolific contributors to the group, and so if much time passes without a song from you, I start to wonder if you're OK
;-)
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Hi Don, Thanks for taking time and listening I'd love to lay claim to the guitar picking but it's RTs all the way. There sure are some fine musicians in the Realtrack mix. Glad to hear the song worked for you. It was fun writing it. Take care, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Hey Ian, Thank you. I appreciate your comments as I always find your thoughts useful. I hadn't thought about using a capella. I find that quite an interesting idea and I'll have a play around with it because I really enjoy a capella music. My all-time favorite group in this genre is Tonic Sol-Fa. Below is a link to one of their songs. It's a pity they don't have too many on YouTube. Oklahoma Wind: Tonic Sol-Fa plus here's the lyrics. All the best with your songwriting Noel
Last edited by Noel96; 03/07/10 04:55 PM.
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Well done Noel, it had me taping my feet all the way through. If you don't mind me asking what style and what live drums you used?
Later,
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I'll give the link a listen later. In the meantime to give you the idea I had in mind here is a link to a song on my website. I use a cappella at the beginning and again near the end of At The Cafe Tonight. http://web.ncf.ca/ifraser/AtTheCafeTonight.htmlHopefully the link will work OK. Ian
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.
I'll say "Ditto" to all the positive comments - good writing, good energy, very nice harmonies. I would like to hear the lead vocal more out front. Try boosting the EQ around 8000hz or 12000hz. Maybe a little compression.
The guitar parts sound like they did not get to finish. Like you potted them down before the end of their phrase. I often find myself regenerating realtracks solos in a 1or 2 bar space, sometimes even less than a full bar, over and over until I get a solo that just fits the space I give it. Keep trying.
There is a very common chord change in gospel that goes from the IV major to the #iv diminished, then V7, then to the I. In C it would be
F/// | F#dim/// | G7/// | C///|
...there were a few spots in your melody that hinted at a chord change of this kind. Try it in BiaB and see if it does not fit.
.
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Hi Noel,
Quite uplifting. Ian gave you a good suggestion - this is done in southern Gospel style quite often.
Odd how different ears hear things. Where Flatfoot would eq and compress, I liked the vocal sound very much and the way it sat in the mix. Go figure.
Keep up the good work.
Josie
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Hi Danny C., Thank you for having a listen. I appreciate the feedback a great deal. After a while, I lose objectivity regarding my songs and I find other people's feedback very valuable to help me regain my perspective. These days I like to keep a hard-copy record of how I assemble songs. Below is that information. Hope it's useful for you Kind regards, Noel ASSEMBLING "Feel The Power"1. Band In A BoxThe music and lyrics were assembled using the MIDI. When the song was done, some Realtracks were employed. - Used MIDI style, Burkes.sty
- Replaced MIDI tracks with the following Realtracks: Bass – #538, Bass, Acoustic, Pop Swing 190; Guitar – #374, Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Hank Sw 190
- Realdrums – Country Swing
- Tempo 210
2. Realband- Soloist added: #818 – Guitar, Electric, Soloist CountryClassicSwing Sw 190
- TC Helicon was later applied to lead vocals that had been recorded in Sonar Home Studio (2 down, 2 up, medium sized choir).
- Vocal harmony was written to separate tracks and imported into Sonar for mixing
3. Sonar Home Studio- A soundfont was used with SFZ player for the MIDI organ track from BIAB
- Blockfish compressor was used on the vocals. (I've found this compressor simple yet effective; best of all, it's free.)
- To lightly compress the final mix, I used GranComp3.
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Hi Ian, Thank you for the link to "Cafe Tonight": it worked fine. I really like the relaxed folk'ish feel that your song has. The a capella intro was excellent and worked very well. Thanks for passing that on Take care, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Hi flatfoot, Thanks for the positive feedback. I'll definitely have a play around with EQ. At present, what you are hearing is my unaltered voice with just a hint of compression. Thanks for your thoughts about the guitar, too. I'll investigate that. The IV, IVdim, V7, I chord progression didn't even occur to me! I have no idea why I didn't think about that because it's one of the staples of my music diet! I appreciate your reminding me about this one. And you are totally right, it's a signature progression in this genre and my piece does have places where it could be used effectively. When are you posting your next song? I really like hearing your work Regards, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Hello Josie, Thank you giving my song a listen. I'll keep your comments about the vocals in mind while I play around with flatfoot's suggestions Differing opinions are always good food for thought! All the best, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Hi Pat, Thank you. I have a great deal of respect for your opinions. And you even enjoy listening to an Aussie accent - that's a plus I'm really looking forward to hearing your next songs. Those that you recently posted are excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed them. All the best, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Nice song. Well done. It really radiates positive vibes!
TC was a bit too obvious imho. Perhaps if you tried just 1 or 2 harmony voices the "tin can sound" is reduced enough so that it will blend in with the background.
Good song, well done.
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Hi Noel,
A very lively song with lots of energy to put over your message - well performed and sung. I thought your voice came over very well and I would not want to use any further eqing or compression.
I enjoyed your song Noel even though I am not into religion. I can imagine this going down well with young Christian gatherings.
I liked the guitar playing.
Jim
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Hey Mike, Thanks for listening and taking time to post comments. I appreciate the feedback. As I've mentioned before, I have a huge respect for your ability. I'm still playing around with the harmony because I know that I can make it bit better yet. One thing I've learned with writing songs is to let it all take its own time. Patience is important. I'm looking forward to hearing the next showcasing of your talent All the best, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Hello enjfb, Thank you I'm very appreciative that you took time out to have a listen and post me your thoughts here on the forums. I never used to see myself as a performer but these days I'm throwing caution to the wind. I really like the old style, up-tempo gospel songs. To me, they overflow with enthusiasm and energy and I think that gives them some appeal to Christians and non-Christians alike. I'm hoping to hear some more of your work in the near future. Those recent postings of yours were terrific Kind regards, Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Brimming with confidence on this one Noel in both the wrting and, in particular, your lead vox, which have really come on in leaps and bounds.
The song itself is very cohesive - well judged in terms of length and structure and the message is loud and clear.
A few small points you may care to look at:
For some reason your lead vox tracks seems to get quieter in the v after the solo.
"Rock" and "Gods" ? (that doesn't sound like something you picked up at those lyric writing workshops!). Would "stone' yield better rhyming options?
To carry on the gospel analogy, I remain a TC Helicon agnostic. To me, it always sounds kind of tinny and artificial.
The guitar solo - good in parts - still sounds cobbled together to me (showing the limits of the RealBand approach). So many of the phrases just seem to cut off abruptly - particularly in the first few bars of the solo 1:23 - 1:30- rather than flowing smoothly into the next phrase. But if I carry on in this vein, the PG MUsic moderators will come looking for me!
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