Background My experimentations continue. In this one I explore the arpeggiator. What I have found is that some “happy accidents” that I could never have planned can happen when manual playing and an arpeggiator interact.
Some will not like this song because of its length, that’s OK. But I find it almost impossible to cram a complete musical thought within a 2 minute timespan. FWIW this started its life more than 6 minutes long but I was able to reduce it some. Some of my favorite instrumentals written and performed by pros exceed 15 minutes.
Comments always welcome.
Technicals 90 BPM Mixed in Studio One
BIAB RealTracks in style: 912:Piano, Electric, Rhythm SmoothPoppy Ev16 090 RealTracks in style: 1236:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm SmoothJazzPoppy Ev16 090 RealDrums in style:SmoothJazzPoppy-4-XStHiHt,SnrHHt [Multi]
Me Electric Bass Korg Drum Pattern (Intro) Korg Vintage Saw (Manually Played and Arpeggiator) Korg Noize Dark (Manually Played) Korg Acoustic Piano (Manually Played and Arpeggiator) Korg Electra 368 (Arpeggiator) Korg FM Vamp Pad (Manual Played)
Poem Of Anisoptera, dragonfly what an interesting creature you are I have observed you up close and admired you from far
With 3000 known species and more to discover You fly forward, backward, straight up and down and have been known to hover
Today your wingspan is but a few inches; between 2 and 5 And that is plenty for you to survive
But the fossil record shows your ancestors too could compete And their wingspans were much larger, up to 2 feet
With such a large dragonfly on the prowl day and night They must have filled early man with fear and fright
Were you food for us or were we food for you? Or could it be possible that both were true?
Two compound eyes, four wings and six legs Your larvae can swim quite well and develop from eggs
You are a hunter who catches insects mid-flight Most of your head is eye so you have excellent sight
Arial acrobatics consume energy as you chase your prey But not a problem as you can consume hundreds of mosquitos each day
Dozens of you may gather to feed in swarms Thru the branches, thickets, meadows and thorns
One species can migrate clear across the Indian Ocean 11,000 miles of fantastic locomotion
Engineers are working hard to copy your skills They want a robot to fly undetected thru valleys and over hills
So the next time you see one sitting in the sun or flying close by Consider all that is the magnificent dragonfly
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2025 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.
BT...this is really cool...it's great background for contemplation and relaxation...the longer the better with this type of piece...I enjoyed every moment...thanks for posting!
www.soundclick.com/firesong BiaB 2024, Steinberg Cubase Pro 13, Wavelab 11.2, SpetraLayers Pro 10, Audacity, Steinberg UR44 Interface, Yamaha Genos, Roland FP60 and FP10, Windows 10
You are who you are because you do what you do because of what you believe.
I like this kind of electronic music and enjoyed the listen a lot.
I have no problem listening to this stuff even if the song lasted 15 minutes. However, it is a great challenge for the composer to captivate the listener for such a long time, especially in a time when the average listener's attention span tends to zero.
I think you did a good job, even with the original 6 minutes I would have listened to the end!
there is a 'feeling' evoked by this song i'm haveing difficulty describing....except to say loved the 'soundscape' of the piece.
ok i got it...when i was a kid i spent lots of time in africa..and your song made me think of africa. i'll share something with you mate. at night we used to sleep on the flat roof under mosquito nets and we could hear often the distant music of african villages. it reminds me of that time.
this is a very subtle great song which drew me in.
GREAT JOB MATE.
om
Last edited by justanoldmuso; 03/16/2301:47 PM.
my songs....mixed for good earbuds...(fyi..my vocs on all songs..) https://soundcloud.com/alfsongs (90 songs created useing bb/rb) (lots of tips of mine in pg tips forum.)
Nice one Steve,Mix wise I'd suggest lifting the bass/kick drum to about the same level as the bass. Speaking of bass...REALLY good. I can hear a faint but lovely melody from chords of the piano. I can also imagine this lifting into an Osibisa style groove. Nice one.
Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
Nothing wrong with a long instrumental just so long as there is enough movement and variation to keep the listener engaged, and you proved that you have the knack for doing that with your last few uploads.
BT...this is really cool...it's great background for contemplation and relaxation...the longer the better with this type of piece...I enjoyed every moment...thanks for posting!
fs, thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you're not put off by a 5 minute song.
And contemplation is good
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2025 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 this kind of electronic music and enjoyed the listen a lot.
I have no problem listening to this stuff even if the song lasted 15 minutes. However, it is a great challenge for the composer to captivate the listener for such a long time, especially in a time when the average listener's attention span tends to zero.
I think you did a good job, even with the original 6 minutes I would have listened to the end!
Hey BD, thanks so much for the listen. I'm glad your attention span is not tending to zero
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2025 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.
there is a 'feeling' evoked by this song i'm haveing difficulty describing....except to say loved the 'soundscape' of the piece.
ok i got it...when i was a kid i spent lots of time in africa..and your song made me think of africa. i'll share something with you mate. at night we used to sleep on the flat roof under mosquito nets and we could hear often the distant music of african villages. it reminds me of that time.
this is a very subtle great song which drew me in.
GREAT JOB MATE.
om
Hey om, so glad you enjoyed this, I worked on it for awhile.
Africa!!?? Wow, you must have so many awesome menories. I've never visited that continent.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2025 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.
Nice one Steve,Mix wise I'd suggest lifting the bass/kick drum to about the same level as the bass. Speaking of bass...REALLY good. I can hear a faint but lovely melody from chords of the piano. I can also imagine this lifting into an Osibisa style groove. Nice one.
Hey Ray, I always appreciate your insightful analyses. I'm glad you enjoyed this. The kick is embeded in the Korg drum track so I could raise it a bit. Good point.
I had to look up Osibisa: Osibisa are a Ghanaian-British Afro-rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London based Caribbean musicians. I need to explore them a bit.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2025 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.
Nothing wrong with a long instrumental just so long as there is enough movement and variation to keep the listener engaged, and you proved that you have the knack for doing that with your last few uploads.
Really well done, enjoyed.
Hey Dave, thanks so much for kind review. And I totally agree about keeping the movement moving. I try to do just that.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2025 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.
Instrumentals are normally not my cup of tea but I found this riveting and also quite hypnotic.
I enjoyed it very much - thanks.
Best Regards Nigel
Much appreciated Nigel. So glad you enjoyed it.
Isn't music wonderful? I find it so neat how we can communicate musically to one another.
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2025 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.
4:45 is nothing. I want the 6-minute version for the whole thought. Man, I remember first CD player in car. It would always start the last song played at the beginning. I was only 15 minutes from work, and often listened to he same Jaco or Dead song for weeks.
Back to your thoughts... All of that thinking into 2 chords. WOW. This is more meditative, allowing all other thoughts to rest while the truth is revealed. I'm on my second listen (what a rebel, huh?), and already forget what I wanted to say. The truth is this is very entertaining AND relaxing. Many would call this one a simple bass track, but they obviously never tried it. Most of the pros will say that keeping it straight is the hardest part, and you have mastered it here. Well done.
Nothing but good stuff to say. A very pleasent sound indeed. Well done my friend.
BIAB – 2025, Reaper (current), i7-12700F Processor, 32GB DDR4-3200MHz RAM, Motu Audio Express 6x6 - My SoundCloud (Tip: No need to create a SC account to hear music - just hit ESC ).
Mesmerizing in an uplifting mellow manner. How's that for alliterations?
Odonatas are our fav insects and we thoroughly enjoy watching them. So it was quite easy to get lost in this well done composition ... listening and reading.
Well done!
J&B
PS Bud had a bicycle once for which the model name was odonata.
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos are here on our website.
Steve, you have come a very long way in a very short period of time. You know that I love this genre and you did it perfectly....brilliant Super bass part. Outstanding instrumentation and mix. This is your best to date IMHO.
I got banned from Weight Watchers for dropping a bag of M&Ms on the floor. It was the best game of Hungry Hippos I've ever seen!
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
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We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
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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.
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Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins
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