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This project started with an AI concept. I reworked the music and the lyrics, editing the content significantly. I used Band in A Box for all the tracks except one, and Synth V Solaria on the vocals. This was kind of a self indulgent project...longer than it should be, and a few other things.... another song about missing home and reminiscing about the old times. I think I figured out a few things on this for some future projects.... we'll see. I was planning to play the guitars and the bass as well as the piano but in the end, decided to simply spend the time on the piano track which had me second guessing myself up to and including this version. Getting the piano to sound right and fit.... I think I got a few more grey hairs as a result. Oh yeah... microchords were used in quite a few places. They were very useful for a few things. The Band Bass: 2915 Drums: Pop rock 8ths Guitar 1 Only at the very beginning: 2911 Guitar 2 finger picking: 365 Fiddle: 1787 Dobro: 2040 Steel BG: 2883 Steel solo: 2001 B3: 689 Vocals: Solaria Synth V Piano: Waves Rhapsody Grand: Played by (me) Herb Hartley GONE Gone but not forgotten Footsteps echo on wooden boards on the porch The grass grows tall where I was born Whispered goodbyes in my Momma's embrace Memories linger of when I left this place Shutters closed on windows that don't open any more crooked numbers still hang on the porch Faded curtains and the creek in the woods The smell of fresh cut hay in the air Gone but not forgotten this land of mine Tales of dusty fields lost in time Old songs and laughter follow me still From the house to the old cotton mill The river flows gently carrying me away Dreams once nurtured here seem to have lost their way Through the hills and the valleys to find my own way home It's all changed now, and I'm on my own Gone but not forgotten this land of mine Tales of dusty fields lost in time Old songs and laughter follow me still From the house to the old cotton mill Solo Chorus Hope you enjoy this. Comments are welcome
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Herb,
This sounds excellent. Love the song and production. Solaria almost has a Carrie Underwood feel to her voice here.
Great choice of instruments and I really like the piano track.
Bob
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Very relaxing easy listening country. The instrumentation is excellent and I like the solo. I'm usually not keen on SynthV vocals, but it works nicely in this song, particularly double-tracked.
Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.
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Cool song. Kind of has a Grand Ole Opry sound from back in the day.
I would love to see you be able to pitch this one to Dolly Parton.
Better yet, I'd like to see you play this on a stage all by yourself at Dollywood. And I would love to be there to see it.
If that happened I think my life would be fulfilled as a human being and I could just move on to meet my maker.
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Enjoyed the listen. Are the vocals "double-tracked" in the DAW or within Synth V (a copy of the vocal on another track with slight adjustments so it sounds distintively different and not just louder)?
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CLASSIC. I knew that from about 4 seconds into the song. The lyrics are a class apart. The melody writing is out of this world. The chord progression and arrangement are incredible, from the technical as well as the musical perspective. Even the vocaloid singers sound human. Well done, sir. NAILED it. Love it. I know it's a female voice song, but I would love to hear Willie Nelson sing this - I think it'd fit him like a glove  And that's a huge, huge compliment, in my book, to YOUR musicianship and lyric writing. I will end by saying this: one of my favourite songs to grace this forum. Yes, I think it's that good. Bravo.
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Herb,
This sounds excellent. Love the song and production. Solaria almost has a Carrie Underwood feel to her voice here.
Great choice of instruments and I really like the piano track.
Bob Thanks Bob. I got a JM vibe in a few places from Sol's vocal .... Those upward slides and singing behind the best ever so slightly to give it a lazy feel. I've been refreshing my long lost piano skills and I've been enjoying playing the piano as a result.. Thanks for listening.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Very relaxing easy listening country. The instrumentation is excellent and I like the solo. I'm usually not keen on SynthV vocals, but it works nicely in this song, particularly double-tracked. Thanks. I think it needs a bit of adjusting in a few places but I'll get it done later. Thanks for the comments
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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I think it's a beautiful song and your effort was definitely worth it. Don't worry about the piano, it sounds good and certainly supports the song well, I would even put it more in the foreground in some places. Enjoyed my listen ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/images/icons/default/thumbs_up.gif)
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Cool song. Kind of has a Grand Ole Opry sound from back in the day.
I would love to see you be able to pitch this one to Dolly Parton.
Better yet, I'd like to see you play this on a stage all by yourself at Dollywood. And I would love to be there to see it.
If that happened I think my life would be fulfilled as a human being and I could just move on to meet my maker. This was, as mentioned in the OP, a little bit of self indulgence. It's obviously the album cut as opposed to the radio cut. Who is this Dolly of which you speak? Ahhh, no matter. Glad you listened and commented.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Enjoyed the listen. Are the vocals "double-tracked" in the DAW or within Synth V (a copy of the vocal on another track with slight adjustments so it sounds distintively different and not just louder)? To answer your question.... Neither. That is essentially an effect plugin on the vocal called Trivox. It's a real time, intelligent harmony plug that can produce up to 3 unique harmonies. You can adjust the pitch and levels and it tracks the key so you don't get wonky notes and fully automated. I've been using Trivox for a while. It's pretty decent for the very subtle harmony to add fatness to the main vox without a lot of work or obviousness. It does have certain limitations. But overall, not too shabby for what it does.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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I really like the lyrics!
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Herb,
That is a great sounding country song! Your work with the synth voice is super! I agree about the Carrie Underwood comparison! Your piano playing is sounding pretty darn good btw!
Thanks, TB
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Herb, classic country at it absolute best
This reminded me of Sammi Smith.
Outstanding synth vocal and arrangement
Loved that backing band and mix
Fantastic piano!
Loved it
OK, a random thought;
Why does toilet paper need a commercial? Who's not buying it?
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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When I see that you've posted, I'm usually hoping for a rocker, but this song was very, very sweet on the ears. It all came together really well, and the result stayed with me for quite a while. In fact, I listened, had dinner, then came back and listened again. It was that good. Great job with this!
Windows 11, Intel Core I5 10400, 16 gig ram, Scarlett 2i2, Sony Acid Music Studio 10, BIAB 2020 UltraPlus Pak
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Herb,
I like it a lot. Has a late 70s to mid 80s sound to my ears. I agree with the several comments about this being a good fit for Carrie Underwood. But the first thought I had was Alison Krause. She occasionally does a straight country song. But, what do I know - just an old fart who still enjoys music - making and listening.
Great lyric and nice work with Synth vocal. That's a nice plug in for the vocal harmonies. Sounds terrific.
Take care,
Alan
BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaks*Win11*32GB DDR5*Rhyzen 9745x*AT 2035 Mic*Peavey Nashville 112 Amp*Ibanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops
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Herb, cool tune. Nicely programmed vocals and the band, including the piano, sound great. The instrumental breaks really flow well, too. You describe a lot of work, but this sounds quite effortless, and quite beautiful. Well done!
DC Ron
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Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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CLASSIC. I knew that from about 4 seconds into the song. The lyrics are a class apart. The melody writing is out of this world. The chord progression and arrangement are incredible, from the technical as well as the musical perspective. Even the vocaloid singers sound human. Well done, sir. NAILED it. Love it. I know it's a female voice song, but I would love to hear Willie Nelson sing this - I think it'd fit him like a glove And that's a huge, huge compliment, in my book, to YOUR musicianship and lyric writing. I will end by saying this: one of my favourite songs to grace this forum. Yes, I think it's that good. Bravo. Do you work for my PR firm? If not, I need to on-board you immediately. Thank you for the very complimentary words.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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I think it's a beautiful song and your effort was definitely worth it. Don't worry about the piano, it sounds good and certainly supports the song well, I would even put it more in the foreground in some places. Enjoyed my listen Thanks BD. I have remixed this with tweaks to this or that a few times since posting. I'm still not completely content with the mix but it's gonna stay like this for now. Mostly for instrument fill and solo leveling. Getting a good sounding piano tone has been one of the more difficult things. I know what a good piano sounds like and I fear that I'm going to have to just break down and spend the money on either a solid sounding hardware synth keyboard or a top quality synth. Thanks for your advice
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Thanks BD. I have remixed this with tweaks to this or that a few times since posting. I'm still not completely content with the mix but it's gonna stay like this for now. Mostly for instrument fill and solo leveling. Getting a good sounding piano tone has been one of the more difficult things. I know what a good piano sounds like and I fear that I'm going to have to just break down and spend the money on either a solid sounding hardware synth keyboard or a top quality synth.
Thanks for your advice My take on this: Get a decent MIDI keyboard (weighted or unweighted, it's up to you), Native Instruments "Kontakt" and a piano library of your choice. There are even some free ones that are usable. You don't have to sell your house to get a good piano sound.
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