Originally Posted By: David Snyder

Hey Man,

I think there is some really cool stuff going on here.

As the leader of a songwriting organization's NC chapter, I have an idea:

I think you should try an alternate version. Don't even think about this one--just say it is done, as part of this experiment. BUT, go into BIAB and type in praise and worship and look at styles that have "power push" drums. Try just the 4/4 time signature, don't use this bridge, and give yourself 3:15 or 3:20 max. Only use your best lines. Don't do 2 verses to get to the chorus, get there fast, and limit it to V PC, C, x2 a new 4 bar bridge and Chorus out. In the pre chorus, start building the energy, so when you hit the Em (which is functioning like a V) we can really feel it. Make sure to hit the green button on the chord sheet in BIAB so we get a real dramatic chorus drum feel and uplift.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this version, but try a faster, "push" version that keeps the momentum driving hard, and does it in half the time.

Again, don't throw this one away, just experiment with a whole different take and see what you come up with, just for fun.

Also, when you are in the P&W section, check out the chord progressions in some of the demos.

You could simplify it a bit I think to make a version that has more sing along potential in the chorus.

If you are in BIAB, try going to edit menu (top of GUI), song form, and reduce duration of chords by one half. Try singing along with two chords per measure instead of one. I think you will have fun.

Does that make sense?

I am just suggesting this is an experiment if you feel like tinkering.

But again, there is some really nice stuff going on here. I love the idea.

Thanks for joining the discussion, David, and thanks for your suggestions. I don't fully understand what you're asking me to do because I've only been using BiaB since Jan. 2019, so I'm not a "power user" like you are. But I will tell you that I've already used MuseScore to create a new lead sheet of my song "Eternity" with only two verses and one final chorus (the short one) at 120 bpm and at 124 bpm. This reduced the total length of my song to around 3:30. I also increased the bridge tempo by 4 bpm and cut the intro in half in order to shave a few more seconds from the length. Now that I have a lead sheet "template" to use as my reference, I can delete all of the extra bars in BiaB so that it will match my lead sheet rather than starting over with a fresh XML file import. Once I do this, I can begin to experiment with P&W various styles, as you suggested. However, because I don't fully understand a few of your suggestions, perhaps you would be interested in tinkering with this song yourself in BiaB if I send you a copy of the SGU file and the vocal track. If you're interested, let me know. In the meantime, I'll start tinkering with it myself. Thanks again!

Tom Levan (pronounced La-VAN)
BiaB 2024 Win UltraPAK Build 1109, Xtra Style PAKs 1-11, RB 2024, Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, Intel Q9650 3 GHz, 16 GB RAM, 500 GB SSD & 2 TB HDD, Tracktion 6 & 7 (freebies), Cakewalk, Audacity, MuseScore 2.1 & 3.4, Synthesizer V