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Nothing Left

Like a leaf that keeps holding on
You won't let me go
But you know
Our time has come and gone (Time is gone)

Last night the swallows filled the sky (Last night / Filled the sky)
I saw them flying by, so high (Flying by / So high)
Heading somewhere past here (Somewhere / Past here)

Cold winds are blowing
You knew I'd be going
Nothing left between us anymore (Nothing left / No more)

      Nothing left for us to say
      It's all been said now
      Nothing left to say except goodbye
      Nothing we can do to stop our hearts from breaking
      It's time to fly

You know that I'll remember (I'll remember you)
Always remember
But now I've got to go out on my own (Go alone / All alone)
All alone
It's the end (End / It's the end)

I've loved these days we spent together (I've loved each day)
But nothing lasts forever (Forever)
Since love is gone
We can't hold on
Love is gone

Where it goes, I'll follow
Hoping in tomorrow
Hoping we'll find better days
Some way

(Chorus Repeats)

Instruments:
Bass, Electric, NashvilleRadioPopPushAB Ev 110
Bass, Electric FunkHalfNotePulseSync Ev16 100
Bass, Electric, ModernDiscoFunkAlex Ev 110
3646:Guitar, Nylon Fingerpicking IndieFolk16ths Ev16 100
3647:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking IndieFolk16ths ev16 100
Guitar, 12-String Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085
Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085
Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm FunkyFolk Ev16 110
913:Piano, Electric, Rhythm SmoothPoppy dry Ev16 090
Addictive Drums: Fairfax Vol. 2
SynthsizerV: Solaria AI, Eleanor Forte AI

Effects Chain:
Master Buss: Ozone Imager 2, Greg Wells MixCentric, Lurssen Mastering Console
Melody Vocals: Greg Wells VoiceCentric, LX480 Essential
Harmony Vocals: Greg Wells VoiceCentric, LX480 Essential
Guitars: EZ Mix (Acoustic Guitar)
Drums: CLA Drums
Guitar: EZ Mix (Acoustic Guitar)
Piano: Finisher Retro (Suitcase Panner), Trackspacer
Bass: EZ Mix (Bass4), ReaEQ (low pass, low shelf)


Short Blah
The mix (and some of the lyrics) is still a work in progress, and there are some "La la la"s that I should probably replace with real lyrics at some point.

Note: I slightly extended the ending.

Comments of all sorts are encouraged!

Longer Blah Blah Blahbitty Blah
The song is based on the demo style _KNACKS. What got my attention in the demo was the use of the VII7b5 and the III7 - chords I don't use that often. As usual, I rewrote the existing chords and put more major7th chords in the chorus.

I exported the tracks as well as a backing track, which I imported SynthesizerV, where I worked out a melody. I decided to use the Solaria voice, since I hadn't worked with it much.

It didn't take too long to come up with a melody, but I went back a rewrote the chorus to be a bit more "snappy" and more "chorus-y" than my usual chorus.

For the next couple weeks, I struggled to come up with some lyrics, with no success. I tried hanging a bunch of different lyrics on the melody, but none seemed like a good fit.

I finally settled for (yet another) breaking up and walking away song.

It was still a long slog - as I complained to my kids, I'm not sure why it's so much work to string a bunch of cliches together.

Usually, by the time I get done with the first verse, I have a fairly good idea what the song's key idea is, and can write the chorus to that. But in this case, I got all the verses done, and there didn't still didn't seem to be a strong idea that summed up the attitude of the song.

Which is - ironically enough - how I ended up with the chorus.

Once I got the lyrics worked out, I added the harmony. I wasn't entirely enthusiastic about actually doing the work, as I'd already lived with the song for much longer than I'd intended. Since there was still the mixing and sweetening to go - which would likely take another day or two - I figured now wasn't the time to skimp on effort.

But - as usual - I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. It's not really a duet, but I just thought the difference in timbres worked better than having two female voices.

It was pretty clear that some of the instruments were going to need to be replaced. The bass wasn't really adding to the song, so I replaced it with three different BiaB basses - one for the verse, bridge, and chorus.

I liked the drums that came with the style on the chorus, but I didn't think it fit well with the verses. I couldn't find a BiaB style, so I tried editing the track. That didn't work at all.

I tried out a couple of my UJAM drumkits, mostly looking for something a bit more "contemporary" sounding. I ended up using the MIDI from the Deep drumkit, but swapped the drum out for the Addictive Drum Fairfax Vol 2. kit. I edited them a bit, reducing the hihats. My son finessed the chorus.

I was going to add some drum fills, but I'm not sure they're needed. I miss the cymbal crashes, though, and will probably add them in.

I didn't do a whole lot of editing on the vocals this time around. I did tweak the lyrics and placement of the notes so it would flow a bit better. I managed to get the word "baby" removed from the lyric by holding a different syllable, so that's a win. I also took out "dear", despite some misgivings.

The song feels a bit short, but I don't think adding an instrumental or bridge is really necessary. There's no introduction or ending to the song, but I think it fits the theme to have it end the way it does. Feel free to disagree.

As noted above, feedback is welcome! Thanks for reading this far.

Really nice song, David. Very good lyrics and great harmony. Nice vocals all around.

Allan

super wow , this amazed me re the vocals.
us vocalists are gonna be redundant...lol.
great job on this.
your talent shines through in spades.

best.
om

Fantastic production... Love the kick & bass mix... Vocal counterpoint & harmony is really fine. It must have been a laborious process, but I'd say, well worth it... I'm very impressed.

The first singer enters astonishingly human, to the point of sounding like a distinctly flawed human singer (believe it or not I mean this in a good way)... but the second voice instantly cancels that, and it's total robot duet. I would either omit the second voice entirely or give the countermelody to an instrument, highlighting the main voice and its spiffily happy melody, which, IMO, deserves to be a solo.

You know the synth voices have come a long way when you forget that they are synth. I liked Ulysses better than this one, it had a classical crossover quality to it while Nothing Left is pure pop. But this is still good. I liked the quickening in the chorus, I could've stood to hear that chorus a third time.

You're still on an amazing path here, I'll certainly be following every step.

I hear it the opposite to Mark, I thought the voices becasue less artificial when they were together.
Excellent work the chorused Rhodes E Piano give it a very 80s feel.

Hi, Alan.

Thanks for the nice comments!

Hi, OM.

There are some great guitarist in BiaB, but I don't think we have to worry about guitarists being made redundant by the software.

But it sure makes it a lot easier for me when I want to go back and make any changes to the lyrics or music!

A couple of years ago I was bugging PG Music to add support for voice synthesis in BiaB. There's now an option to export lyrics in MusicXML format, but... I don't think anyone is using it.

Then again, with the advances is vocal synthesis, I suspect that the technology isn't that far away from being fairly common technology, so it may show up in BiaB sooner than later.

Thanks for stopping by to comment. I appreciate the positive comments!

Hi, bloc-head.

It's certainly less simple than singing, but it's not that difficult. The really hard part for me is coming up with lyrics!

I'm glad you enjoyed the song!

Hi, Mark.

That's the AI "auto-tune" feature at work. I sort of prefer the version that sounds like plain old "auto-tune", but adding imperfections helps sell the performance.


Well, the song wasn't originally conceived as a duet, so you've got a point.

However, I've become stupidly fond of this version, so... probably not going to happen.

Besides, I intentionally left the male vocal a bit bland, so not to eclipse the mail vocal.

However, I probably went too far with that, so - just for you - I've gone back and re-done the male vocal a bit. It's not a huge improvement, but it's just a bit better if you squint and apply a whole lot of confirmation bias.

What I will do is redo the vocals when a "real" English male vocal is available.

Thanks for listening and the critical feedback!

Hi, Rob.

I agree that the song is a bit short. One more round of the chorus is certainly not a bad idea.

This is a "pure pop" song, and it's not as polished as "Ulysses", either. Plus, I think "Ulysses" has more emotional weight. The "La las" really don't fit, and I'll have to replace them at some point. But the feel of the song is upbeat, which is in contrast with the material

Every song is a different animal, and I never know quite how they're going to turn out until they're done.


Yeah, this is pretty amazing stuff. Each iteration of the singers adds more features.

It's frustrating because there are things that the voices clearly can't do yet, but it's an amazing tool.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Hi, Ray.

In fairness to Mark, he was commenting on an earlier mix before I went back and adjusted them a bit.


That instrument keeps showing up in my songs, for obvious reasons. Plus, I've got a number of sampled Rhodes pianos. But so far I haven't had to use them, because the ones in BiaB have worked just fine.

Thanks for listening and commenting!

Hello David
You are the total high-tech musician here ;-)
How you do it is always a mystery to me
A duet with artificial singers
Incredible !!!
Especially because sometimes it really sounds absolutely realistic
In a few years you'll have to point out that the vocals are artificial
because you can't tell them apart from human ones...
Great performance David
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

Quite impressive, David! I especially like the female voice. I also like the way you intertwine the two vocal parts, I've heard you do that before and it's very effective.

Nice mix, I especially like the drum sound you have achieved, kick and snare sound great.

Good listen, enjoyed this one!

DCuny.
You have really piqued my interest in vocal AI tech.
i stupidly hadnt realised it had come so far.

Is there any chance you could do a mini teach-in on these
Pg forums how you use this tech with biab/rb etc ?

In my case i would like to use femme back up vocs carefully crafted ....
To be as natural as possible bcos i cant afford live femme session vocallists..
You are very adept at using the tech and i feel lots of pg users might become interested As this vocal tech developes further.

once again, well done.
Best
om

Man, that's really cool contrapuntal melodies. I like how it starts right out with vocal, and the way you build it to a boil. The vocals may seem "flawed" by many, but I think it's amazing technology and you use it so well. This is a good song. Very entertaining.

Hi, Andi.

It's funny, because when the singers are in your native language, I can hear all the little imperfections.

But for other languages, like Chinese or Japanese, I can't hear any of that, and some of the demos I hear are absolutely convincing.


There are a couple English demos (not by me) that are very good, to the point where I have difficulty telling that it's artificial. So I think you're right about that.


Thanks!

Hi, Dave.

Yes, the new Solaria voice is the first American English voice, and it's got some nice qualities to it.

The "male" voice is a tweaked female voice, and it's hitting some pretty low notes. So it's not especially natural, despite my attempts. There's an English male vocal coming out this quarter, so I'm looking forward to trying that out.

I didn't really think there was much room in the vocals for the kind of "intertwining" harmony part I added, and originally was just going to try to add some "Oooohs" and "Aaaaahs" from BiaB. But the results were disappointing, and stacking harmonies in SynthesizerV is a lot harder than working out a single countermelody by ear.

So I went with that instead, and I think it turned out nicely, especially since the song hadn't been planned for that.


Thanks! I picked up a couple Addictive Drums over Christmas, and this is one of them. It's also running through the CLA Drums VST, which is making the snare a lot more punchy.


Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

David,

An excellent listen. A good write.
("..not sure why it's so much work to string a bunch of cliches together." - HA! funny...)

The instrumentation is exceptional. Drums and Bass dominate with just the right amount of coloring from other instruments - the classic Pop formula, done to perfection!

The mix is solid.

You keep notching those singers higher with each new song. Impressive.

LOVE!!! the chorus!!!
...with one caveat.
The last line "leaves you hanging". It's too short.
I NEVER make songwriting suggestions to people (I view this forum to be about production, not songwriting)...BUT...
I wanted that last line to continue/extend...simply repeat it..
"It's time to fly... time to fly....fly...."
(and that last "fly" could be "echo-y")

COOL stuff. Well done.

fj

I was really waiting to hear your first work on Solaria. I had heard some examples and they sounded better than any other synthesized vocalist. So I was bit disappointed that I couldn't hear her singing alone all the time, but what I can hear, it is simply amazing, you have done very good work already with her (that vibrato is really sweet...).

Very catchy chorus, the drums are really nice there and the chord progression is to my taste, sounds bit like a Kylie duet. There is something going on the left channel I don't like, but otherwise everything works well.

Nice lyrics, the chorus part is really memorable and it keeps the hazy/dreamy verses together. BTW. Based on the lyrics, I was expecting to see swallows in the picture, not sparrows

Great work, I admire your detailed work. But more Solaria songs, please

Janne

So "AI autotune" is like MIDI humanization? This is interesting, what are the parameters of human imperfection you can fiddle with?


Of course! I was going to say, but after all that, they're all your children. In fact, I think I got that from you. =8^)


Hey, it sounds substantially better to me. Do I hear more vibrato there? I am honored to have possibly contributed in that small way, I enjoy this thing more each time I listen.

You can only keep track of so many things at a time!


I'll give it some thought. My workflow is:

• Generate the backing tracks in BiaB.
• Export a single backing track in SynthesizerV
• Create the melody in SynthesizerV
• Export the melody as a .wav file
• Create a mix in my DAW

When I go back into SynthesizerV to edit the vocals, I just re-render the vocals. Because it renders using the same .wav file name, it "magically" appears in my DAW with the new version. Your DAW may behave differently.

Like BiaB, SynthesizerV doesn't store the audio, so it regenerates the audio when it loads up. That can take a minute when working with a full song with multiple voices. So I generally leave SynthesizerV running so I can toggle over to it without any startup time delays.

SynthesizerV also works as a VSTi, but I believe it requires the full version. I find it easiest to work in the non-VSTi version, although I haven't really spent much time trying to get it to work. My DAW is already creaking with the number of VSTis that are loaded into projects, so I figure it's safer to split up the work.

You could also import a MIDI file of the melody created by BiaB if you wanted, but BiaB inserts small gaps between melody notes, and the MIDI import feature in SynthesizerV leaves something to be desired. The last time I tried it, a bunch of invisible (because they were so small) notes were created, and it was a real pain to delete them all... partly because they were invisible!

So I find it simpler to just build the melody in the full version of the program.


In the meantime, here is link to the tutorial videos put out by the company. Feel free to send me a text if you've got any questions. Their website is pretty awful and confusing.

The free version of the software supports two voices and one backing track, which is more than enough for most of my projects. The full version of the software has a lot of neat features, but I'd start with the free version to make sure the software does what you want.

There are also a number of free "Lite" versions of the voices, not all of which are listed on their website.


Thanks!

You're so clever with these synths, David.
Maybe the drums could be tamed a little but that's probably just my taste.

Vic

Hi, Marty.

That's one of the advantages of having a synthetic singer. I used to have to work the parts out using MIDI in my DAW, sing them with the MIDI, and then pitch correct them. Now I can just work out the parts, and skip the "learn and sing the parts" phase.


Thanks.

I have a tendency to write verses and choruses that sound similar, so I'm trying figure out how to write a "proper" chorus. That's one of my goals for this year.


As long as the vocal synthesis doesn't get in the way of enjoying the song, it's a success!

Hi, Vic.

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm going to try to get my son take a pass at the mix tomorrow. They are a bit loud, and it's sometimes hard to tell where the right balance is.

Hi, Janne.

All right, I'll see if I can put out a solo version so you can hear it without the harmony.

The original harmony was initially just going to be simple "Oooohs" and "Aaaaahs", but the backup singer decided to try stealing the spotlight.


Thanks! One of my daughters said it was the first song I did that actually sort of sounded like a real song, so I guess I did something right.


I'll have a closer listen to the left channel - I thought I heard something the last time I mixed it, but I stupidly put off looking at it more closely. It's likely to be one of the guitars that's mixed low, but still poking out in places it shouldn't.

Is there a particular place in the song you can point me to?


Ha! I figured I'd get called out on that because I was too lazy to check which birds were in the picture. Well done!

I picked the swallow because it appears in the story "The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde. In some ways, this song is the opposite of that story.


I'll see what I can do!

I'm hoping that Cangqiong gets the latest AI upgrade, because that's the voice I'm really looking forward to using. Plus, the English male voice, once it finally gets released.

Thanks for the feedback!

Hi, floyd jane.

Thanks! That (for me) is the most important bit, and I especially appreciate that coming from you.


Again, great to hear! I think I mentioned elsewhere that I'm going to see if I can be more "pop" this year, so it's good to know I've started right.


The female vocalist is the latest voice to be released. She's the first American English singer, and I think that comes through. Plus, the vocals are getting more natural with each release.

So I don't think I can take all the credit here... but I'll take a bit of credit, anyway.


I'm sure you're right.

When I put the song together (even before the lyrics), I had left off the introduction and the ending, figuring that I'd get around to them eventually.

I really liked the way the song just started out with a bang - not even a drum fill - so I left that "As Is".

But I was still puzzled as to what to do with the ending. As it is, there's no bridge or instrumental, and the song feels short.

But... I didn't think there was anything left to say, so I was sort of at a loss what to do. Repeating the chorus again felt a bit lazy.

When I just cut the song off, I thought that it worked within the context of the lyrics.

So I'm not deeply tied to this particular ending, and I suspect simply wanting to be done with this had more to do with that decision than anything else. So I'm certainly open to the idea of reworking the ending.


That sounds like a production suggestion to me, not a songwriting suggestion.

And songwriting suggestions are accepted, too. I have a habit of tweaking lyrics even after a song is posted (for example, I removed "dear", although I'm not sure it was an improvement). I'm usually too stubbornly wedded to my own ideas to accept lyric changes from other people, but it helps me understand what did or didn't work.


Thanks!

It's trained on the singer's singing, so the "auto-tune" actually applied pitch styling based on the original singer.

The only parameter that it modifies is pitch deviation. That makes sense, because other parameters would be really hard to extract.

The parameters are:

• Improvisation (Slider)
• Singing Style - Vibrato 1 (Slider)
• Singing Style - Vibrato 2 (Slider)
• Singing Style - Overshoot (Slider)
• Random Seed (Integer)
• Enable Pitch Correction (Toggle switch)

In true Dreamtonics fashion, what "Vibrato 1" and "Vibrato 2" mean is anyone's guess. There's no documentation on it.


I'll probably put out a solo version anyway.

The main issue was that I'd re-adjusted bits of the song with the expectation that the harmony was there, so I'd have to make some changes to the mix and singing before posting that.

Yes, there's more vibrato, as well as AI-generated "improvisation".

I also tweaked the vocal so on the lower notes it leans less to the "male" gender and added some more volume and tension, because it's weak down there.

I really hadn't intended it to be so up front as it currently is, but I tend to make do that with my counter-lines. One of these days I'll learn to do normal harmony, but it's much less fun.

I also modified the final cadence so, with the voices in unison at the end. I think it's a stronger sound than having them split on harmony.

And each time you listen, you've probably heard a slightly different version, as I've been making other small tweaks along the way.

Thanks!

Amazing tune. Really loved the vocal interplay. Can only imagine how much work that was. Well done.

My goodness David, you've got a lot going on in this! I absolutely love that mellow classic rock vibe going on in here! This is a lovely tune! Very nice with the vocals and that little rhythmic change up is very effective! I think this is my fav of yours! Thanks, Torrey

Quite a complex production.

I like the way it picks up the energy in spots.

You've really got those singers working for you.

well done!

moto

I think you do fantastic work and this one is no exception. The lyrics are great. The fact that it's AI singing them only makes the song more thrilling for me. Everything is well done. Too bad you can't do a video showing the girls from your stable singing the song. I think it would be a bit hit.

Cool song. If I had any critical comment it would be that I thought the drums were too busy on the hook and IMHO got in the way of the vocalist. However, you're doing an amazing job with Synths and AI !!

Thanks, Scott!

Hi, Torrey!

Thanks! I was trying to avoid the "classic rock" vibe by using some of the other elements, but I suspect it's just too deeply ingrained. Not that I'm complaining, mind you.

I'm happy to hear this venture into pop territory worked for you.

Thanks, Cap'n!

I appreciate the positive feedback!

Thanks, Sean.

But creating that "illusion of life" with vocals is enough for me.

I appreciate you stopping by to comment!

Thanks, Henry.

It's a valid criticism. I'd like to take another pass through the song later this week, and I'll add that to my "to do" list.

I'm glad you stopped by!

Lovely song David.
These artificial voices sound so great nowadays.
Nothing wrong with some La-la-la's every now and then.
We also used UJAM sometimes, such a pity they stopped.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Having recently finished the series Humans makes this all the more intriguing

And you are welcome as we, indeed, read to the end!

Irrespective of the vocal source we first want to mention that this is an excellent tune and the arrangement is high bar.
Loving those counterpoint lines.

Reading your list of tracks is a bit mind boggling. We could never imagine doing that and ending up with something that sounds this good ... and cohesive.

Excellent vocals and I (Bud) want to mention that "excellent" was the exact word used by Janice. Your command of the phrasing, the melody and the vibrato is amazing and something we would never take for granted.

We really hope you keep the "la la's" as they sound good and fit with the whole "nothing left to say" theme, as does the abrupt ending of the song. We also enjoyed the change to a "happy beat" (as Janice calls it) in the chorus.

Enjoyed this!

J&B

David,
this nearly escaped me. Sorry late for the party. Excellent fusion of talent & craftsmanship. Choruses are something special. They sounded very unusual and fresh. Mix is very clean and atmospherical.
I want to write a meaningful comment and I hope that you will not find it offensive. Seems that recent music that I have heard which deals with vocal synthesizers is aimed to make it as "human as possible" and that is understandable.... However this tune has very unusual form, and most likely it would be difficult to find a vocalist that can follow these fun choruses. I would try to do absolute opposite with them (choruses), making them sound... not human, but leaving phrasing intact. A layer of top FX . Robots and their metallo-archaic voices have their own charm and aesthetics within music world Nevertheless, fantastic effort! Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

Nice to see you progressing with SynthV---i haven't tried doing harmonies yet.. what do you think about the tool. how are you getting the notes into SynthV?

i just purchased the male voice -Keith an just posted my Linkin Park cover....

Hi, Rob and Anne-Marie.

Thanks for the nice words, and the comments on the "la la la"s. At this point, I think they're a permanent addition to the song.

I'm curious what "stopped" with UJAM. They're still in business. Maybe I just misunderstood your comment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks! I figured if anyone was going to wade through that, it was going to be you!


They're also a lot of fun to write, and a lot easier to have a program sing it than for me to do it.


Well, the trick is - as you're aware - it to have as little happening as possible at one time. Only one bass part is playing at a time; two of the guitars are panned to either side; some of those guitars only show up on the chorus, and so on.

I like to have a fair amount of change happen on the arrangement, and this is a pretty simple way to do it.


I appreciate that, especially coming from you two!


They're staying in - I never found something better to replace them with, and I didn't really try that hard.

I'd actually extended the ending a bit more than what it was before, based on a misunderstanding of what floyd jane had written, but it was something that I intended to do anyway.

I don't think I've ever really figured out how to write a "pop" song. After I wrote the first version of the chorus (which I thought was pretty good), I went back and completely rewrote it to be more upbeat and poppy. I think it was pretty successful, and I'll see if I can improve my writing in that general direction this year.

Thanks again!

Well, it's too late for this song, because I'm much to lazy to do an extensive makeover.

But there's definitely appeal to the idea of using robotic voices sung by actual robots (through vocoders), if only for the ironic value.

Plus, vocoders are cool anyway, and I'm not one to shy away from a '70s vibe in a song.

So it's something I'll keep in mind.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I create a backing track from BiaB, and import it into SynthesizerV. Then I create the notes in the Studio Pro Editor, using piano roll notation. I then export the results to my DAW.

If you create the melody in BiaB, you need to be aware that by default, BiaB inserts small rests between notes - even if those notes appear to be adjacent!

This really messes things up for Voice Synthesizers.

To turn this option off, you have to go to Preferences -> Notation -> More... and change Duration % from the default of 80% to 100%. You have to do this before you start entering in any MIDI notes!


I assume you mean the Kevin voice?

I've gone back with this song and replaced the male vocal with Kevin. But I haven't had a lot of time to work with the voice, so I'm still figuring out what it sounds like.

David I admire the work you do on vocaloid and this one has a pretty tone for the most part. On the other hand I know you can and I really miss hearing you sing.

Josie

Hi, Josie.

Thanks! I'll try to do some "real" vocals in the next song or so.

With Autotune being used for effect in modern music, these synth voices sound more human than some humans.

I really like the chorus. Stand out work.