My first actual music video using music I composed entirely in Band in a Box.
YouTube link:
A Song of FlightHere are the "liner notes":
This is a tribute to the ravens and California condors of the Grand Canyon, set to the music of a song I recently composed titled "A Song of Flight."
The music came into being one day while experimenting with basic, old-school chord progressions, in this case a I-IV-V-IV-I progression. The ending plagal cadence (IV-I) creates the sense of "going home" to the tonic (the I chord), but in a way that doesn't sound final. This lends the music to being looped indefinitely.
I brought this progression to life in Band-in-a-Box, typing in chords and later finding a pop/folk piano style that seemed to fit, reminiscent of folk songs from the 60s, especially with the addition of a tambourine. A steady rhythm from the tambourine and well-chosen melodic piano arpeggios yielded a driving yet meditative piece that had me listening over and over while working on my computer. The music began to remind me of birds in flight, swirling and circling overhead. Speaking of circles, I figured why not add some minor circle-of-fifth progressions as intervening bridge sections, to offset the brighter, major main section. The first vi-ii-V-IV-V section gives the sense of gliding downwards. The second iii-vi-ii-V section gives the sense of climbing ever higher, yet eventually wanting to go home, and voila! I had "A Song of Flight."
I later decided to try my hand at creating a video. For subject matter, I figured there was nothing better than the majestic, endangered California condors, and what better setting than the Grand Canyon, my favorite place in the whole world. A search for videos of these birds in flight yielded some clips from the National Park Service. As a bonus, I also found clips of swirling ravens chasing their shadows against the canyon walls. I spliced these clips together to fit the music.
Music Credits:
"A Song of Flight" composed and arranged by Bryan Flamig (2021).
Music generated via Band-in-a-Box software, using the piano style
of Miles Black.
Video Credits:
Clips arranged by Bryan Flamig (2021)
Compiled from National Park Service videos in the public domain.
Condor clips: Blum, Wells, and Wang
Raven clips: Rader Lane
Band in a Box Settings:
****** Song Summary *************
Title: Song of Flight
File:Song of Flight X.SGU
Key=A , Tempo 140, Length (m:s)=4:53
No intro. 56 bar chorus, from bar 1 to bar 56. Repeat x3 choruses
No Melody
No Soloist track.
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,
Style is _STORIES.STY (Stories Guitar n Piano Folk Pop)
RealTracks in style: 2527:Bass, Electric, PraiseBreakBasic Ev 140
RealTracks in style: 890:Piano, Acoustic, Solo-Accompaniment PopLite Ev 140
RealTracks in style: 2934:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm FolkySync8thsFintan Ev 140
RealTracks in style: 2934:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm FolkySync8thsFintan Ev 140
RealDrums [in style:TambourinePop8ths: a: Tambourine b: TambourinePop8ths
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