I'm short on inspiration, it seems, for writing new things ... but these are the times when I work on the old ones :-)
Robertkc suggested, when I put the old, first orchestral version up on here, that I combine the Band-in-a-Box original version with the orchestral version (on the same track) and see what happens. The suggestion stayed with me, so here is orchestral version No. 2 ... with both BIAB AND other, orchestral instruments. Hope you like it? :-)
I can't open BIAB right now to refresh my memory on the exact instrumentation, but the style I used was "Scarce Dreamy Americana", at the tempo of 70 beats a minute, in the key of A - without any modifications to the BIAB instrumentation. To that, I added a small orchestra written in Sibelius - exported to MIDI and replaced with sounds from Native Instruments in Mixcraft Pro Studio 9, as well as Mixcraft's own sounds. A little reverb added in said Mixcraft Pro Studio 9 and it seemed ready :-)
Here are the lyrics:
AVE MARIA (orchestral version)
I look around me now And hear our children cry I see them hurting so And ask myself one question:
Why?
And prayers seem futile If we can't find a way To love one another The same way,
every day ... and so I pray ...
Holy Mother, hear our plight Holy Mother, stop the hate ...
They swim towards the shore To run away from bitter War
They get shot down in schools Because we love our tools More
Their cries we do not hear Because we do not want To see ...
But for a twist of Fate, Their parent could be you ... or me ...
Holy Mother, hear our plight Holy Mother, stop the hate ...
Ave Maria
[BRIDGE]
We're cutting down their trees So that they cannot Breathe
We drug kids with a pill Just to make them Sit still
And as they wilt away With every passing day Who cares?
We send our thoughts and prayers And carry on the same Nightmares ...
Holy Mother, hear our plight Holy Mother, stop the hate ...
__________________________
Thanks for listening and for any comments! Tomorrow, I intend to go on a binge of listening to songs on here ... I feel like I've missed out on too many! Thanks again :-)
Sounds nice, although the snare drum sounds more synthy than I would pick. And after the tubular bells kept repeating, I stopped listening to the music, and focused on counting the number of times they were hit.
This is really excellent work. Your vocal is perfectly paced and synched with the music—sits nicely in the mix for me. Love that hard rapid drum in the middle—adds drama and power to the tune. The musical mix is stellar. And those bells after “Avia Maria”—my word, wonderful (and if I have one suggestion it might be repeat “Ava Maria” again after repeating the “Holy Mother” lines at the end, and come in with those bells again). But brilliant, James, just as it is!
Scott: thank you. You always have a kind and constructive word to say about my songs - these words are noticed and very much appreciated.
David Cuny: haha. You're spot on, but I like the bells, even though they may drive some insane! lol. The snare drum synth was specifically chosen because it was the closest I could get to the sound of gunfire without actually putting on a gunfire sound.
First off, the style you used really captured my imagination. It was incredibly well suited to your presentation.
And your heartfelt and powerful words rang with authenticity. I sat here thinking about everything your said. Your recitative style of presentation was a perfect fit.
The orchestral elements really elevated the feeling.
Enjoyed it!
J&B
PS I looked up your previous version and noted how definitively you said it was the final version ... in 2018 Same for us as nearly every time I stick a fork in a production I end up going back at some point.
Noel: thanks! Yeah, I was in a furious mood when I wrote this one ... was watching the news and some things I was seeing did not agree with me too well, to say the least ... so I just sat down and started writing. At first, I was like: "you can't say that!", then I thought: "forget it, I'll just write" :-) Thanks for listening and for your comments!
Janice and Bud: yeah, I'm glad I'm not the only one who endlessly goes back to his songs, to fix what can and cannot be fixed, haha. Even so, 3 years must be a record? Either way, thank you so much for re-listening!!!
James, A full production this go round with the percussion providing a subtle but hypnotic backdrop to your powerful lyrics. An improvement to my ears ( perhaps the best of your spoken word songs), and so well worth the revisit.
User Video: Band-in-a-Box® + ChatGPT = Impressed the BOSS!
Since AI is now readily available online as a resource for many things, we recently put together and shared a video where we demonstrated how to create a song using Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V; we've also shared a Bob Doyle Media video, Convert MIDI Chords into AI Vocal Harmonies with ACE Studio and Band in A Box, showing how they utilize AI for their song projects. Now it's time to share Henry's video, Band-in-a-Box + ChatGPT = Impressed the BOSS!, where he demonstrates how to use ChatGPT and Band-in-a-Box to whip a song project together in only 3-4 hours.
Visit Henry Clarke's YouTube Channel, Henry Clarke - Senior Musicians Unite, to find a large collection of tutorials showing the viewer how to achieve amazing results using Band-in-a-Box®!
If you've reviewed our Support page, you've probably noticed the Videos page, which separates our Band-in-a-Box® tutorial videos by category: Overview, VST DAW Plugin, Setup, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and there's even an Archive category to go down memory lane... (You'll also find these videos on our YouTube Channel.)
Ci siamo dati da fare e abbiamo aggiunto oltre 50 nuove funzionalità e una straordinaria raccolta di nuovi contenuti, tra cui 222 RealTracks, nuovi RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 3, Playable RealDrums Set 2, due nuovi set di "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 e altro ancora!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 apporte plus de 50 fonctions nouvelles ainsi qu'une importante de contenus nouveaux à savoir : 222 RealTracks, des RealStyles nouveaux, des SuperTracks MIDI, des Etudes d'Instruments, des Prestations d'Artistes, des "Morceaux avec Choeurs", un Set 3 de Tracks Jouables, un Set 2 de RealDrums Jouables, deux nouveaux Sets de "RealDrums Stems", des Styles XPro PAK 6, des Xtra Styles PAK 17 et bien plus encore!
Video: Making a Song with Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V
Take your Band-in-a-Box® project to a whole new level when you incorporate ChatGPT and Synth V to add lyrics and vocals to your song!
We wanted to demonstrate how this is done with our video, where we show you how to go from nothing to a finished "radio ready" modern pop song by combining the features of Band-in-a-Box®, ChatGPT, and Synth V!
User Video: Convert MIDI Chords into AI Vocal Harmonies with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box®
The Bob Doyle Media YouTube channel is known for demonstrating how you can creatively incorporate AI into your projects - from your song projects to avatar building to face swapping, and more!
His latest video, Convert MIDI Chords into AI Vocal Harmonies with ACE Studio and Band-in-a-Box, he explains in detail how you can use the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box with ACE Studio. Follow along as he goes from "nothing" to "something" with his Band-in-a-Box MIDI Melodist track, using ACE Studio to turn it into a vocal track (or tracks, you'll see) by adding lyrics for those notes that will trigger some amazing AI vocals!
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Same for us as nearly every time I stick a fork in a production I end up going back at some point.
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