Nice song! I was very surprised at the natural vocals like a real human singer and also your terrific manipulation. Synthesizer V-Kevin's strength is amazing. Enjoyed my listen a lot.
Best regards.
Shigeki Adachi
Hi, Shigeki.
Thanks, I always appreciate hearing from you!
Have you had a chance to try SynthV out? I'm curious because there are a number of Japanese voices, and they sound quite good to me.
Then again, you always end up getting a real singer to do your vocals, which is always the best option!
Vocally and harmoniously you have really excelled. What a great delivery from a vocalid. Well ahead of any possible expectations.
Well done!
Thanks! The latest iteration of the voices is impressive. Not quite human, but even nicer to work with than before. I've gone back and updated a number of my songs, and figure I'll keep doing that as time goes on.
And eventually, I might replace them with actual singers.
I appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment!
Without any hint of exaggeration, I want to say that this is extraordinary listening.
You really have a flair for creating thoughtful and enjoyable arrangements that mesmerize me.
Just what I like to hear - thanks!
Originally Posted By: Noel96
I loved the harmony and the counterpoint. I'm a huge fan of counterpoint. It occupied quite a bit of my time back in the 1990s as I worked my way through Palestrina and Fux in an effort to better understand Bach. Later, when I moved on to 4-part harmony in the classical style, I found the understanding that I gained from learning counterpoint was invaluable. All the rules and patterns in 4-part harmony are mostly a consequence of contrapuntal techniques.
Alfred Mann's translation of Fux's Gradus Ad Parnassus was a joy to read. The rules create a somewhat artificial style, but from a pedantic perspective, it's brilliant.
I read through it back in the '90s, but my keyboard technique was quite poor, so I had difficulty playing the examples. (Full Disclosure: my keyboard technique is still pretty terrible).
If you want an accurate representation of Palestrina's style, I highly recommend Knud Jeppesen's Counterpoint: The Polyphonic Vocal Style of the Sixteenth Century. I made a number of attempts to learn the text, but really should have spent more time actually listening to Palestrina first. It's quite like trying to learn how jazz or rock sounds by reading about it.
I found Kent Kennan's Counterpoint - Based on Eighteenth-Century Practice to be perhaps the best book on Bach's actual style.
But all that feels like long ago and far away.
Pretty much all I remember is Contrary motion sounds most like counterpoint and Parallel motion with perfect consonances doesn't sound like counterpoint.
Quote:
At the moment, I'm sitting here trying to work out why the 2-part harmony on "thing" (in "anything" at 1:42) doesn't quite sit comfortably for me. It's at times like this that I wished I had perfect pitch. Alas, I do not. I can't quite work out how your two voices travel to what sounds like an E-B vocal harmony at the cadence. Questions that are appearing in my mind right now are... Do the voices cross over and what was the upper voice becomes the lower voice? Is the E-B interval approached in similar motion? If it's any use to you, I find that in 2-part movement, perfect 5ths usually sound best when approached in contrary motion.
Your hearing is accurate! I think there are two main problems with the cadence.
First, there's a voice crossing. Even worse, it's a voice exchange, where the voices are on thirds (F#/A) and swap parts, and then move by contrary motion into a perfect fifth. See the attached file - the green notes are the melody, the red lines are the counter line.
The motivation is probably obvious: I wanted to keep the counterline out of the low muddy register, because the vocal was already going pretty low.
Second, the synthetic voices on those open fifths are bit harsh and mechanical. So even though the notes are right, they sound off.
But it was a better option than what I had before, so I went with it. I should probably revisit it at some point, but who knows?
Quote:
Anyway, that's all beside the point. When I listened to your song, you made think all about this stuff that I haven't thought about for a couple of decades. That's a great thing Thank you for that!
Glad to hear it! What's really nice about artificial voices is I can finally do the sort of thing that I had been only reading about 30 years ago. And it's fun!
Quote:
What stood out to me most in this production was your prosody. Your ability to align musical stress with syllabic stress is fantastic. I suspect that one of the reasons that Kevin sounds so brilliant in this presentation is because of your skills in the prosody arena.
I think this is the result of writing the music first - the phrasing has to match the notes. There's some wiggle room, of course, and I'll rewrite the notes if needed.
So the musical phrasing leads to equivalent language stresses.
The problem of the process is the amount of time it takes to find a phrase that fits into that spot.
On the other hand, it's much better than dealing with a completely blank page. And it forces me to run through multiple iterations of an idea, which helps get the creaky gears of my lazy brain moving.
Quote:
Also, I really loved reading your "Blah Blah Blah" section! It really was excellent background information and gave me huge insights into your creative process. You know, I've never once written a song that started with a chorus. I often don't have a title, either. For some reason, I always begin with a verse. Often, the first verse I write turns out to be verse 2. For me, verse 2 is usually a little bit more philosophical and usually has less imagery than verse 1. This is probably why I favor the AABA format when song writing.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who uses this process!
I think my imagination is just rusty, so it takes time to discover who the singer is, and what they're about. As you mentioned, imagery is important and good to place in the initial verse. It's a bit ironic to use spoken language to trigger visuals, but "show, don't tell" seems to work for songs as well as films.
Quote:
Anyway, thank you for a terrific musical journey. And thank you for mentioning me a couple of times. Believe it or not, you've inspired me to get back into creating songs more often. I seem to have drifted out of songwriting over the last couple of years.
Well, you've done the same!
It's interesting that on a forum filled with songwriters, there aren't as many who talk about process. And that's understandable, because the process can be super-dry as it's mostly "I had a basic idea, and then kept writing and re-writing until I had a song."
And for those who don't have to over-analyze things and the words just come, that's great. But that hasn't been the case for me for a long time.
I assume everyone else is writing songs instead of long posts.
"I'm just trying to figure this songwriting thing out" LOL! David, I think you are on the top of that "thing". Sweet composition and arrangement. Cool vocals and harmonies of the robo boy. Really well made all around. You are getting better and better at this. Thank you for sharing.
"I'm just trying to figure this songwriting thing out" LOL! David, I think you are on the top of that "thing". Sweet composition and arrangement. Cool vocals and harmonies of the robo boy. Really well made all around. You are getting better and better at this. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Misha.
I guess my mistake is that I keep thinking it'll get easier, or faster, or... I don't know.
But I'm learning to let go of that and accept the process. As long as a song comes out of the process, it's a win, right?
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 Mac Special Offers Extended Until May 31st!
Good news- we've extended our Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® special offers until May 31, 2026!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 is packed with major new features, enhancements, and an incredible lineup of new content! The program now sports a sleek, modern GUI redesign across the entire interface, including updated toolbars, refreshed windows, smoother workflows, a new dark mode option, and more. The brand-new side toolbar provides quicker access to key windows, while the new Multi-View feature lets you arrange multiple windows as layered panels without overlap, creating a flexible, clutter-free workspace. We have an amazing new “AI-Notes” feature. This transcribes polyphonic audio into MIDI so you can view it in notation or play it back as MIDI. You can transcribe an entire track (all pitched instruments and drums) or focus on individual parts like drums, bass, guitars/piano, or vocals. There's an amazing collection of new content too, including 202 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 5, two RealDrums Stems sets, and much more!
There are over 100 new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®.
When you order purchase Band-in-a-Box® 2026 before 11:59 PM PDT on May 31st, you'll also receive a Free Bonus PAK packed with exciting new add-ons.
Check out the Band-in-a-Box® for Mac packages page to find the best package for you.
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
If you have any questions about which package is the best option for you, just let us know. We're here to help!
202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
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