Background: We watch Finding Your Roots on PBS from time to time and this was inspired by that program. The instrumental uses a minimum of BiaB (drums only) and I’m not sure how many chords it has. I’m thinking two. There is no chorus or bridge and my goal was to invoke a sense of ants marching in a line.
Technicals: 90 BPM and mixed in Studio One
BiaB: RealDrums in style:BluesRockFunky16ths^3-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Busy Snare, Ride
Me: Electric Bass Studio One Drum Sequencer (Hi Hat) Korg Keyboard 1. Flute 2. Nylon Guitar 3. Grand Piano 4. Synth 5. Bells 6. Choir Voices
Poem: Deoxyribonucleic acid, much better known as DNA Affects you as a person, every year and every day
In 1869 a Swiss doctor first isolated it from surgical bandages After deductive reasoning, much hard work and scientific practices
Then Watson, Crick, Gosling and Franklin came along in ‘51 Establishing microbiology with a Nobel Prize they had won
The double helix, so beautiful and unique Fundamental to life, so intelligent, so sleek
Common in every cell you will ever grow Hair and muscle and the blood that flows
Far more than just a polymer or chemistry on a shelf It’s smart enough to replicate and even repair itself
Not entirely perfect and it can make mistakes But it does its best on land in rivers, oceans and lakes
It wants to live and strives to survive Yet I wonder if it knows it’s alive
Some from your parents and relatives you never knew A family heritage and bio-chemical brew
Like a column of ants marching straight in a line DNA moves backward and forward thru space and time
We can trace it back thousands of years from a very small sample From people and reptiles and plants for example
Letters and words and finally your biography Much more elegant than simple photography
Tweaking it could cure cancer or cause great harm Let’s proceed carefully and not bet the farm
Is it thriving elsewhere in our galaxy we can’t yet say But if it is, I’d bet it’s made of T’s, C’s, G’s and A’s
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
I like the simplicity of your song, it's kind of mesmerizing.
After the math song, you could offer online courses to get people interested in science who wouldn't otherwise be interested.
The obvious chords for your song would be C, G, A, and T, but that last one is really hard to play. Most musicians don't even know it!
Hey BD, thanks for the listen and comment. I'm flattered by the online course idea but I'm having too much fun making music with BiaB. However, I do hope that somehow and by chance that somewhere young people will decide to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) as a career in large numbers. At least here in the States young folk (generally speaking) are not interested. The number of very large global problems continue to grow, including the potential for WWIII. We need a full pipeline of young, sharp minds to solve today's and tomorrow's problems.
And I like your sense of humor, that "T" chord might be a tad hard to play
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
"Marching Ants" is a term in Photoshop. hehe. Very cool, Steve. This tune develops much like I'd imagine a strand of DNA would, always building to that wonderful potential. Sounds like a factory of life, not the corporate kind; for them the music would be much faster. This tune very cool indeed!
Originally Posted By: B.D.Thomas
The obvious chords for your song would be C, G, A, and T, but that last one is really hard to play. Most musicians don't even know it!
HAHAHAHAHAHAH
Enjoy whatever happens! marty
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub Band in a Box, Reaper, Cakewalk, Ozone 12, EZDrummer
I like the constant drone you have happening underneath with the changing elements on top to keep things interesting.
Bass sounds great, and I like the melody on the flute.
Your poem would work well as a spoken word thing happening on top of the music I think.
I enjoy listening to your work, keep them coming!
Hey Dave, I really appreciate your kind comments. It's funny how you and others describe my work in terms that make total sense but that I don't realize while producing it. "Constant drone" is a good example. I just try to communicate musically in ways that make sense to me and hope that something I do might make sense to others.
Maybe Vic will volunteer to speak some of the poem . . . he has a great voice.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
A terrific bed of bass drums and that blowing synth. Everything on top belongs becasue the bed is well made. COOL.
Hey Ray, thanks so much for the listen and analysis. "Blowing synth" is another great descriptor. It's fun to think about all the struggles, triumpths, random happenings and ancestors that contributed to the DNA you now have.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
"Marching Ants" is a term in Photoshop. hehe. Very cool, Steve. This tune develops much like I'd imagine a strand of DNA would, always building to that wonderful potential. Sounds like a factory of life, not the corporate kind; for them the music would be much faster. This tune very cool indeed!
Originally Posted By: B.D.Thomas
The obvious chords for your song would be C, G, A, and T, but that last one is really hard to play. Most musicians don't even know it!
HAHAHAHAHAHAH
Hey Marty, I wasn't aware of the Photoshop connection, I'll have to look that up.
A developing strand of DNA is a wonderful thing indeed.
Thanks as always for your listen and articulate replies. You have a skill in descibing the works of others that I wish I had.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
I like the idea to combine science, poetry and music. This instrumental has organized structure and sounds organic. Clever usage of instruments, hypnotic bass and nice mood created with synths, the flute fits well. You surely have captured the marching ants. I like your beautiful and thought-provoking poem. "It wants to live and strives to survive/Yet I wonder if it knows it’s alive", very profound, I once read about DNA being a conscious living entity, but I haven't thought about its implications yet, maybe I'll write my own DNA song when I have figured it out
Bass Thumper. Tastefully, simplistic Cool idea and execution. I double Dave on: "Your poem would work well as a spoken word thing happening on top of the music"
Actually that what I was expecting to happen before I read Dave's comment. Good mix. Thank you for sharing.
It's quite a courageous choice to stick through the whole with only two chords, D and Gm. I listened to it until the end without getting tired of it. There are clever tricks here and there to keep the audience from getting bored. Enjoyed my listen a lot.
I like the idea to combine science, poetry and music. This instrumental has organized structure and sounds organic. Clever usage of instruments, hypnotic bass and nice mood created with synths, the flute fits well. You surely have captured the marching ants. I like your beautiful and thought-provoking poem. "It wants to live and strives to survive/Yet I wonder if it knows it’s alive", very profound, I once read about DNA being a conscious living entity, but I haven't thought about its implications yet, maybe I'll write my own DNA song when I have figured it out
Janne
Hey Jannne, many thanks for the listen and kind words.
I haven't heard about any theory that says DNA is conscious, I thought I conceived that idea (from an artistic/poetic perspective). Oh well, such is life
Hmmmm, here is an equation that you prompted: science + poetry + music = ? . . . . hopefuly not noise!
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
Bass Thumper. Tastefully, simplistic Cool idea and execution. I double Dave on: "Your poem would work well as a spoken word thing happening on top of the music"
Actually that what I was expecting to happen before I read Dave's comment. Good mix. Thank you for sharing.
Misha.
Thanks Rusty. I wish my DNA allowed me to have a pleasing voice --Thump
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
Steve, IMHO this is your best to date. Your ability to compose has risen extremely fast as you are composing some fantastic music lately which each song better than the previous song.
I love the groove and feel of this one..brilliant work! Super dynamics also.
You wrote "However, I do hope that somehow and by chance that somewhere young people will decide to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) as a career in large numbers. At least here in the States young folk (generally speaking) are not interested. The number of very large global problems continue to grow, including the potential for WWIII. We need a full pipeline of young, sharp minds to solve today's and tomorrow's problems.
And I like your sense of humor, that "T" chord might be a tad hard to play"
They are not required to take science or engineering and do not have to pass math. When I went to school many many years ago we had to take and pass some math and some science classes. If you failed you had to take it over again and pass in order to graduate. THAT is what is missing in our schools today.
Also a lot and thankfully not all of young people are not self starters and are lazy. They are used to getting trophies for just participating.
BTW, the T chord isn't that hard. All it takes is three bagpipe players all playing in different keys! Of course you never know what key a bagpipe is playing in in the first place - ducking and running for cover
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
I enjoyed the poem as well, although I'm sure you know that neither Gosling nor Franklin received a Nobel prize.
Thanks David, I sort of knew Gosling and Franklin didn't win the Nobel. Don't know the details but I understand it is/was a controversy.
I guess I took some artistic liberty in including them in the same phrase as Watson and Crick to at least show they participated. You are right.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
It's quite a courageous choice to stick through the whole with only two chords, D and Gm. I listened to it until the end without getting tired of it. There are clever tricks here and there to keep the audience from getting bored. Enjoyed my listen a lot.
Best regards.
Shigeki Adachi
Hey Shigeki, many thanks for the listen and comments.
I'm relatively new to music and until 10 minutes ago I didn't know the chords I played on the keyboard (Nylon Guitar). I just hunted and pecked until something sounded good to me. You can hear this most clearly in the intro after the flute.
Here is what I played. I looked up the chords from here
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
Steve, IMHO this is your best to date. Your ability to compose has risen extremely fast as you are composing some fantastic music lately which each song better than the previous song.
I love the groove and feel of this one..brilliant work! Super dynamics also.
You wrote "However, I do hope that somehow and by chance that somewhere young people will decide to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) as a career in large numbers. At least here in the States young folk (generally speaking) are not interested. The number of very large global problems continue to grow, including the potential for WWIII. We need a full pipeline of young, sharp minds to solve today's and tomorrow's problems.
And I like your sense of humor, that "T" chord might be a tad hard to play"
They are not required to take science or engineering and do not have to pass math. When I went to school many many years ago we had to take and pass some math and some science classes. If you failed you had to take it over again and pass in order to graduate. THAT is what is missing in our schools today.
Also a lot and thankfully not all of young people are not self starters and are lazy. They are used to getting trophies for just participating.
BTW, the T chord isn't that hard. All it takes is three bagpipe players all playing in different keys! Of course you never know what key a bagpipe is playing in in the first place - ducking and running for cover
Hey Mario, as usual you've given me much to respond to.
First, thanks so much for the listen and kind words. You may not know this but I have learned SO much just from listening to your compositions; not to mention your insights.
Second, You are spot on regarding US education. I too had to take and PASS mandatory courses in high school and college. If you flunked, you repeated, and if you don't repeat you didn't graduate. Pretty simple and appropriate but not so today.
The good news for us is that we have and can rely on technically educated and highly motivated young folk from other countries to design our next generation medical devices, transportation systems, weapons, etc. For example, with world events as they are we need smart "youngsters" to develop high-engery particle weapons capable of destroying ICBMs in their boost phase. This way Putin has got very little to threaten the world with. That said, we need hundreds and hundreds more engineers and scientists to enter the workforce every year than we currently have. Babyboomers are retiring left and right.
I happen to be born here but have worked with brilliant engineers and scientists from Israel, Russia, China, Hong Kong, Austraila, Germany, Bangledesh, India and elsewhere. And often their English is better that the "home-growns". Our K-12 system is amoung the worst worldwide but thankfully our College and University system is amoung the best. Go figure. 40 or so years ago, the crem de la crem would come here, get their college degrees and then go back home. Iran is a good example. I had many Iranian classmates in college, many if not all have gone back home with their degrees to support Iranian technology. The Iranian drones that are now killing Ukranians is only one result. Another is their nuclear program. But now, for a variety of reasons, more and more are choosing to stay here, plant roots and contribute to our tech economy. I just hope we can remain an attractive place for such people going forward. My primary doctor was not born here and he is top shelf and a hell of a nice guy.
Third, you gave me a good laugh about the 3 "deaf and blind" bagpipe players playing a T chord . . . Just a joke. For you bag players we love ya !
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
Really interesting listen . . . I wasn’t sure what to make of it as I began listening . . . and to be honest, three minutes in, I’m still not. But it is, as BD said above, mesmerizing . . . you just kind of keep listening to it. And the subtle changes in new introduced sounds keeps the listener intrigued to hear what comes next . . . or me at least. Not sure if it’s quite my thing ultimately, but I’m glad I listened to it. Very creative work!
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Introducing XPro Styles PAK 11 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
XPro Styles PAK 11 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 (and higher) is here with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 31 RealTracks/RealDrums!
Guess who’s back again? That’s right! It’s our XPro Styles PAK’s triumphant return with the 11th edition in this series! 100 new styles are coming your way spread across the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres. And this edition's wildcard genre explores the immense and far-reaching catalogue of electronic music! The included 31 RealTracks and RealDrums can be used with any Band-in-a-Box® 2026 (and higher) package.
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the XPro Styles PAKs 1-11 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2026 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Introducing Xtra Styles PAK 22 – Now Available for Mac Band-in-a-Box 2026 and Higher!
Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2026 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
It’s time to celebrate! Xtra Styles PAK 22 for Band-in-a-Box® is here, and we've got 200 brand-new styles coming your way!
No Xtra Styles PAK is complete without the classic rock & pop, jazz, and country volumes you know and love, and we’ve got plenty to share, with 150 styles spread across too many genres to list! Of course, it also wouldn’t be complete with our special wildcard volume to add a little spice and pizzazz to the mix. This year, because we loved it so much the first time, we’ve decided to make the second iteration of our SynthMaster volume, full of new sounds, interesting genres, and 50 engaging styles, all making use of the diverse SynthMaster plugin! Here you can find genres such as airy yacht rock, sultry electrotango, and even some synth soca funk. Don’t wait, pickup up Xtra Styles PAK 22 today!
In this PAK you can find: dulcet folk ballads, funky gospel country, Brazilian jazz fusion, upbeat 1980s pop, classic Americana, a plethora of breezy bossa novas, indie singer-songwriter, scintillating synthwave, exuberant electronica, and many, many more!
Special offers available until August 31st, 2026!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1-22 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 22 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 22 requires the 2026 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
zplane recently interviewed Peter Gannon, the founder and creator of Band-in-a-Box, about the software's early days, what sets it apart from AI, how zplane's audio algorithms are used in Band-in-a-Box, and more!
Special thanks to the team at zplane for their continued support.
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