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The Lonely One #863245 Yesterday at 12:01 AM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California dcuny OP Veteran
OP dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California	The Lonely One what do I say when my world's gone grey? what do i do now? i look back and see how it used to be our summer of merry-go-rounds just you and me in the shade of the tree watching the sun going down i don't know, please tell me where to go now it don't seem that better days are coming back again when all of the leaves and dreams scatter away the days grow short and i am helpless as a rabbit on the run my world is small and sad i'm the lonely one what do i say when you're far away leaving me empty and down why can't you see it's killing me knowing you don't want me round? didn't you see when you set me free i'd fallen and crashed to the ground i don't know, please tell me where to go now my broken heart and fallen tears won't bring you back again i prayed its not true but you will never return shadows grow long and cold i'm feeling like my life has come undone my world is small and sad i'm the lonely one my world is small and sad because that i'm the only one Tracks FX Lead Vocal: GW VoiceCentric (Natural Lead), Al Schmitt (Modern Vocal) Backing Vocals: Vocal Rider, Curves AQ Stereo, Al Schmitt (Modern Vocal) Backing Vocal FX: Abbey Road Plates (Warm Vocal), ReaEQ (low shelf) Bass: EZMix3 (Californian 1x15 Bass), Curves AQ Stereo (Bass Guitar), Curves Equator Stereo Electric Piano: TrackSpacer (ducking lead vocals), Finisher Retro (CEO Chorus), ReaEQ (Notch) String Quartet: Curves AQ Stereo (Strings [Ensemble]), Curves Equator Stereo, TrackSpacer (ducking lead vocal), UADx SoundCity Studios (Ballad Strings) Oboe: UADx SoundCity Studios (Toronto Strings) Guitars: No effects, because I forgot about them! BiaB Instruments 1827:Bass, Electric, PopModernGrooveA-B Ev16 075 1728:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm PopBalladJohn Ev 085 1680:Guitar, 12-String Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085 2051:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Ev 085 ~365:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085 2916:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm CountryFolk8thsBrent Ev 085 2916:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm CountryFolk8thsBrent Ev 085 ~2503:Piano, Acoustic, HeldChords 085 Electric Piano: Who knows? There's a track, but Other Instruments Lead Vocal: SynthesizerV (An Xiao) Backing Vocals: SynthesizerV (Liam, Qing Su 2) Drums: EZDrummer3 (Singer-Songwriter [The Acoustic Indie Kit]) Sine Player: Berlin Woodwinds (Oboe) Short Version It's another song. Feel free to comment if you want. Feel free to skip the "Long Version", because life is short. LongVersion Thanks to Dan Simmons and floyd jane on this one. On his last song, Dan had used Suno to create the final track, and I'd asked how closely Suno copied the vocals. My motivation was partly to see if I could feed SynthV vocals into Suno. Dan was happy to oblige. But instead of giving him an existing song, I figured I'd just put together a quick dummy song and see what happened with that. Naturally, things snowballed out of control from there, though no fault of Dan. As usual, I first found a backing style I liked in BiaB - DELICAT. Simple and pretty. My prior songs had been loud and upbeat, so I figured I'd choose something a bit different. I changed some chords, and created a backing track. Nothing fancy, just some stuff I thought would be pretty. I hadn't done a sleepy ballad in a while, and this was definitely going to be in that style. Because this was just intended to be a dummy song, I just worked as quickly as I could. What would the song be about? A broken heart, of course. I thought it was a pretty melody, but (as usual for me), not a compelling chorus. Oh, well... this was just a throw away song, right? Normally, I'll use a female SynthV voice for something like this, but I'd been considering singing the vocal myself (Spoiler: Once again, I didn't), so I picked a male vocalist. I'd purchased An Xiao a while back, but he had too much of an accent to use. The updated version with the last release of SynthV was much improved, and he seemed a good match for the style. Slow songs are a bit difficult for SynthV, especially when it's low key. Although the vocal is clearly synthetic, I thought it turned out well. I worked as fast as I could, putting in as many cliches as I could. Since I often write songs about how the narrator feels - they literally say stuff like "I feel sad", because songwriting is the opposite of "show, don't tell" - I thought I'd try adding details like: you could always find me by the old oak tree This turned out not to be a great idea. Dummy lyrics are sort of like stains: they're tough to remove once they're in the song. Halfway through the write, it occured to me that the narrator was busy telling his ex-love how much he wanted her back, without a thought to whether she wanted him. And that was getting into creepy stalker guy territory. So I decided to make the second half as a sad acceptance of his fate. Pretty much full-on sad country song lyrics. Since the song was 85 BPM and I had a lot of notes in it, there wasn't room for a bridge or even an instrumental. That's OK, only a couple of people were going to hear it. Did I mention the chorus was weak? Too late to rewrite it now! I used the ending of the chorus - it's a bit long to be a chorus, but whatever - to close it off. There didn't seem to be a good place to put in a modulation, but if I asked Dan, you know he'd tell me there's always room for a modulation or three. There were some places that were resistant to getting lyrics added to them, but I pulled another late-night writing session, and just after 2:00 all the "la"s had been replaced by real, genuine words. Not necessarily good words, but good enough words. Of course, I had to add harmonies, just because. Suno would no doubt ignore them, but so what? If I ended up using my own vocals, it would be good to have something to distract the listener. Despite the fact that I only use harmony in a few places, I typically will create a harmony for the entire song, because that gives more options. Once that was done, I could move on to mixing it. I ended up exported a whole bunch of guitar tracks, but mostly only used bits and pieces. It's also got a pair of hard-panned guitar tracks, because it sounds pretty. Weirdly enough, I didn't use the original guitar track, either. That got me a basic mix, so I sent it off to Dan, who sent back a handful of Sunu "covers". They weren't exact covers, but they were quite good. Suno took a number of liberties, and made the chorus big, which was the opposite of what I had in mind. I probably should have stopped there, but by then I'd invested a lot into the song, so I was going to see it through to the bitter end. I asked floyd jane if he could give it a critical listen, and he graciously provided quite a lot of helpful feedback. One problem was the drums. I used a lot of "cuts" and "holds", and it had a very BiaB sound. I'd manually edited some of the guitars, but the drums - they had to go. I went through a number of UJAM kits because they're more contemporary, but that didn't fit. The Toontrack Singer-Songwriter kit had recently been on sale, and to my ears, it was a perfect fit. I used some MIDI tracks that came with it, making some minor edits and writing the intro and ending. Nice. In my mind, I heard the track as a simple, intimate arrangement. floyd jane heard strings. I have lots of string libraries, but I had intended for a while to write some string parts in MuseScore, because I hate working with keyswitches. There's a cool plugin for Reaper for making keyswitches easy, and I'd spent a bunch of time setting up for my libraries and then losing it all when I changed computers. Time to learn MuseScore! Since I was thinking small and intimate, I decided to go with a simple string trio. That's not going to produce a "lush" string sound that floyd jane had suggested! Many hours later, I had a better idea of how to do things in MuseScore. I also added a viola, although I notated it with the bass clef, because life is short and even though I "played" viola as a kid, I never learned to read the alto clef properly. (Thus explaining why "played" is in quotes). I already have a great appreciation for Shigeki, especially for his string writing. Doing this gave me even more respect for him. The results weren't great, and floyd jane politely told me that they didn't soar. So I had another go at it, this time focusing on writing for a violin section with smoothly connected block chords. But that just sounded like a string pad. I exported the MIDI and tried using a different string libraries, but the problem was the writing, not the sounds. MuseScore also exported some unexpected stuff, and I didn't have the patience to figure it out. And mixing a big string section is tricky. Well, tricky for me to mix. It eats up a lot of air. Because I'd already sunk many hours into writing string quartet, I went back and made some corrections. OK, lots of corrections. Eventually it sounded less terrible, but it still sounded small and thin, just like a real string quartet. You can especially hear it in the entrances to the chorus. If this was a real string section, I could just overdub it. That obviously won't work here. I tried using an ADT effect, and the result was terrible. I also added an oboe, because oboes are lovely. They also make small string sections sound bigger which is a win. floyd jane had a number of suggestions here as well, like holding off on the oboe until the second verse. With the oboe removed from the introduction, it needed something. I stole a leaf from Suno and gave the strings a bit of melody to play. Problem solved! Over the several days this was happening, floyd jane also had a look at my lyrics, and had a few things to say about that, too. I had put in a lot of words that I thought made the lyrics more conversational, like "No, ..." and "But, ...". I also used lots of filler words because I liked how it sounded. floyd jane made it clear that I needed to stop with that nonsense and excise that cruft. The result is more direct, less cluttered lyrics. He also suggested altering the line "Now that I'm the lonely one" to "I'm the lonely one", which made me super sad because I knew he was right, but it broke my heart to make the change. It's funny how I get attached to lyrics, or can't imagine the song without particular notes. But hey, it's just a song. It's weird looking at the lyrics written out, and realizing how few words there actually are in the song. What made it hard was somehow deciding that everything needed to rhyme with "...ound". Even after multiple rewrites, I was surprised to find that "around" had made it into the song three times. As usual, I sliced-and-diced the main vocal so I could equalize it in sections. I've got VocalRider, but this seems to do better. I made some changes to the vocals after making all those edits, but I think I got them all corrected. In any places where I missed fixing it, there's a small "click". I also adjusted the silibance while I was at it, but bumped it up in some places where I thought it needed the clarity. There were some places where the FX on the electric piano was causing some gravelly sounds. Putting a notch filter seems to have cleared that up. And I just had to re-render it in an attempt to get the lyric "gone grey" to not sound like "gone bray". Thanks again to Dan for showing off what Suno can do, and floyd jane for many, many helpful suggestions. Edit: I made some fixes to the string quartet part, and adjusted the volume a bit. As always, have at it! -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863247 Yesterday at 01:10 AM User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2012 Posts: 8,549 Originally Missouri ... Now Al... Al-David Veteran
Al-David Veteran Joined: Dec 2012 Posts: 8,549 Originally Missouri ... Now Al...	Deleted - Double Post. Duh! Last edited by Al-David; Yesterday at 03:13 AM. BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaksWin1132GB DDR5Rhyzen 9745xAT 2035 MicPeavey Nashville 112 AmpIbanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863248 Yesterday at 01:13 AM User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2012 Posts: 8,549 Originally Missouri ... Now Al... Al-David Veteran
Al-David Veteran Joined: Dec 2012 Posts: 8,549 Originally Missouri ... Now Al...	Hi, David, Throw-away song? Nope, not in my book. I think it's a great demo - excellent by demo standards.. Put as little spit & polish on this and i think you'll hasve a great song. I don't think your chorus is all that weak. This line is the only part of the chorus I think is a bit weak. "And I am helpless as a rabbit on the run" .Maybe something a little more nuanced to the theme, maybe something like, "I'm as empty as a day without the sun." You can probably do better than that, it's just a thought that crossed my mind. In what's left of my mind, "a rabbit on the run, breaks character with the other lines". I think it's somewhat extraneous to the theme. But heck, what do I know? Di once told me, "I have an extra ten minutes, tell me everything you know." I think you have a very solid foundation here. I'd pursue it a little more if I were you. Best to you. Alan BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaksWin1132GB DDR5Rhyzen 9745xAT 2035 MicPeavey Nashville 112 AmpIbanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863256 Yesterday at 02:53 AM User Showcase
Joined: Aug 2010 Posts: 8,302 Northeastern, USA rsdean Veteran
rsdean Veteran Joined: Aug 2010 Posts: 8,302 Northeastern, USA	David, Wow! That's a lot of work! Thanks for detailing all of the production attributes. So interesting. The song has a very cool 70s sound. At least it sounds that way to me. I also think your singer has an Al Stewart-esque voice. It fits the song perfectly. Outstanding production. The instrument choices and mix are excellent. This was a great listen. Bob Robert S. Dean - SoundCloud Song Channel

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863259 Yesterday at 03:52 AM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2016 Posts: 2,544 Netherlands, Haarlem Birchwood Veteran
Birchwood Veteran Joined: Sep 2016 Posts: 2,544 Netherlands, Haarlem	Hi David, I read your long version about how you created this beautiful song. It's a miracle you even finished it after all that consideration and advice! I think it's a sweet, straightforward song, with great vocals! As Alan already wrote, it's from the 70s, and all the girls used to sing along, because they always knew the lyrics by heart. There's one thing I would have done differently: the strings. They could use a bit more volume. They are so nice in this type of song. Hans Hans Berkhout (Birchwood) https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863262 Yesterday at 04:34 AM User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2024 Posts: 62 Changwon. Gyungnam. Korea A asom2me Enthusiast
asom2me Enthusiast A Joined: Dec 2024 Posts: 62 Changwon. Gyungnam. Korea	아름다운 노래 잘 들었습니다 아련하게 옛날이 생각 나네요 I enjoyed listening to this beautiful song. It brings back fond memories of the old days.

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863264 Yesterday at 04:40 AM User Showcase
Joined: Oct 2021 Posts: 1,510 Versmold - GERMANY PROJECT M Expert
PROJECT M Expert Joined: Oct 2021 Posts: 1,510 Versmold - GERMANY	Hi David, Very good song. Your info about the song almost reads like instructions for building a space shuttle ;-))) The sound of the mix is also very well done. Really good. (After initial admiration) I'm not really a fan of SUNO. And you write: “Thanks again to Dan for showing off what Suno can do”... Well, I would say that SUNO can't do anything, and without feeding the SUNO database with music from the best and most creative musicians in the world (which I assume is illegal), SUNO wouldn't even be able to produce a decent song. In any case, good work, David. Andi ;-)

Re: The Lonely One Al-David #863288 Yesterday at 09:01 AM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California dcuny OP Veteran
OP dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California	Hi, Alan. Originally Posted by Al-David Throw-away song? Nope, not in my book. I think it's a great demo - excellent by demo standards.. Put as little spit & polish on this and i think you'll have a great song. Thanks! After all the work, I don't think of it as a "throw away", even though it started that way. And I'm pretty sure that I'm all out of polish at this point. But... it serves as a reminder to me not to wait before fixing things if I think they might be a problem. Otherwise, it takes a lot more work to repair, because major sections need to be completely redone and a lot of effort is lost. On the other hand, it's a good way to trick my brain into not becoming overly fussy about things and just "get it done". Quote I don't think your chorus is all that weak. This line is the only part of the chorus I think is a bit weak. "And I am helpless as a rabbit on the run" .Maybe something a little more nuanced to the theme, maybe something like, "I'm as empty as a day without the sun." You can probably do better than that, it's just a thought that crossed my mind. In what's left of my mind, "a rabbit on the run, breaks character with the other lines". I think it's somewhat extraneous to the theme. But heck, what do I know? Di once told me, "I have an extra ten minutes, tell me everything you know." Ha! The irony is that's my favorite line in the song, even though I probably borrowed the idea from Pink Floyd's "Time". But I hear what you're saying, and I'll give it some thought. Quote I think you have a very solid foundation here. I'd pursue it a little more if I were you. Thanks! I appreciate the honest feedback! -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

Re: The Lonely One rsdean #863290 Yesterday at 09:13 AM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California dcuny OP Veteran
OP dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California	Hi, Bob. Originally Posted by rsdean Wow! That's a lot of work! Thanks for detailing all of the production attributes. So interesting. Thanks! If there were an easier way for me to write songs, I'd certainly be doing it. But I suspect that most people put in that much work in writing, they just don't need to think about it that much because it's ingrained from working on so many songs. Plus, they make good initial decisions and don't have to backtrack on them. I'm still learning, and that's OK. Quote The song has a very cool 70s sound. At least it sounds that way to me. I also think your singer has an Al Stewart-esque voice. It fits the song perfectly. I'm glad the voice works. I heard Alan Parsons say that Al's voice was difficult to record. Not that Al doesn't have a great pop voice, it's just a bit nasal or something, so it's hard to fit into the mix. But man, Al is a great writer. I don't think he's put out a single bad album (although I've never listened to his first four). I think my melodic sensibilities are firmly in the 70s. That's not a bad thing, but it means I need to really work at it to get something that sounds even vaguely contemporary. Quote Outstanding production. The instrument choices and mix are excellent. Thanks, that's always good to hear. Quote This was a great listen. I appreciate your positive comments! -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

Re: The Lonely One Birchwood #863292 Yesterday at 09:25 AM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California dcuny OP Veteran
OP dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California	Hi, Hans. Originally Posted by Birchwood I read your long version about how you created this beautiful song. You're a brave soul! Quote It's a miracle you even finished it after all that consideration and advice![quote] Oh, no - it was really helpful to get all that advice from floyd jane. It was interesting to hear what Suno did to the song. I suspect that we're about to be engulfed in a tidal wave of AI generated music, and I worry about the future of PG Music. This forum is a great community, and is one of the few places I enjoy being on line. [quote]I think it's a sweet, straightforward song, with great vocals! Thanks! Quote As Alan already wrote, it's from the 70s, and all the girls used to sing along, because they always knew the lyrics by heart. There's one thing I would have done differently: the strings. They could use a bit more volume. They are so nice in this type of song. Thanks for that as well. Mixing strings is a tricky thing, and I don't have a good feel for it yet. I tend to make them too loud (like the background vocals) instead of making them blend. My daughter had a listen to the song, and mentioned that she didn't even hear the strings. I also should have another go through the arrangement, now that I know use MuseScore better. When I wrote the arrangement, I didn't even know how to put the chord symbols in, or add section markers. There are spots where the strings are too busy, and others where what's happening doesn't match well enough against the melody. I ran the strings against the vocals last night, and certainly have more thoughts about it. Thanks for stopping to comment! -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863293 Yesterday at 09:27 AM User Showcase
Joined: May 2019 Posts: 4,576 Dallas, PA, USA BabuMusic Veteran
BabuMusic Veteran Joined: May 2019 Posts: 4,576 Dallas, PA, USA	Beautiful in so many ways, David. This is so well produced and mixed. Cool melody and lyics. Memories --especially the happy ones-- can bring us sadness. So far I listened 3 times and not once did I say, "Hey. where's that knock-me-down chorus." Your song is all about strong feelings. The hook for me is the last couplet: my world is small and sad because that i'm the only one It brought me back for more. I'm with ya, man. Enjoy whatever happens! marty YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@babumusic51 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/marty-straub Band in a Box, Reaper, Cakewalk, Ozone 11

Re: The Lonely One asom2me #863294 Yesterday at 09:27 AM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California dcuny OP Veteran
OP dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California	Hi, asom2me. Originally Posted by asom2me I enjoyed listening to this beautiful song. It brings back fond memories of the old days. Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed listening to it. 감사합니다! 즐거우셨다니 다행입니다. (Google 번역) -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

Re: The Lonely One PROJECT M #863295 Yesterday at 09:41 AM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California dcuny OP Veteran
OP dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California	Hi, Andi Originally Posted by PROJECT M Very good song. Thanks! Quote Your info about the song almost reads like instructions for building a space shuttle ;-))) Ha! It certainly has a lot more words than the song. Quote The sound of the mix is also very well done. Really good. Thanks! Quote (After initial admiration) I'm not really a fan of SUNO. And you write: “Thanks again to Dan for showing off what Suno can do”... Well, I would say that SUNO can't do anything, and without feeding the SUNO database with music from the best and most creative musicians in the world (which I assume is illegal), SUNO wouldn't even be able to produce a decent song. To be clear, none of this was done by Suno. The backing was done with Band in a Box and MuseScore, and the vocals with SynthesizerV. The melody is all mine, created by dragging notes across the piano roll in SynthV. I agree that Suno had many ethical issues. It has gone through the internet and taken music - vocals, instruments, melodic and harmonic ideas, arrangements, mixes - without compensating the artists who created the music. With no effort, you can have Suno create a polished song for you, using the work from those millions of songs. One of the reasons I post long descriptions is to acknowledge that songwriting is a lot of work - for all of us. For some, it's a team effort. But it's the creativity that we bring to the songs which makes them worth doing in the first place. Otherwise, what's the point? I also figured that listening to the Suno vocals would shame me into finally singing on one of my songs instead of being lazy and letting SynthV do all the work. I know that a human vocalist - with all their imperfections - is preferable to synthetic vocals. But it would be foolish of me not to at least see what Suno was capable of doing, and I appreciate Dan taking the time to show me.[/quote] Quote In any case, good work, David. Thanks again! I'm glad you could find some time to stop by, I know you're busy these days! -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

Re: The Lonely One BabuMusic #863296 Yesterday at 09:56 AM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California dcuny OP Veteran
OP dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California	Hi, Marty. Originally Posted by BabuMusic Beautiful in so many ways, David. This is so well produced and mixed. Thanks! Quote Cool melody and lyrics. Memories --especially the happy ones-- can bring us sadness. So far I listened 3 times and not once did I say, "Hey. where's that knock-me-down chorus." Your song is all about strong feelings. The hook for me is the last couplet: my world is small and sad because that i'm the only one It brought me back for more. I'm with ya, man. There are a lot of songs that walk that fine line of being sad, yet catchy. "Luka" is an example - it pulls you in with a bright pop song, and then wham - sucker punches you once you realize what it's about. That's some painful writing, as it should be. On the other hand, Suzanne Vega recently admitted that the song was about her, which explains a lot. (She's got lots of great songs, but nothing else like that). I'm glad I don't have that kind of emotional well to draw from. Yeah - that last line is the hook. There's a melodic bit at the end of the verse which also provides a bit of contrast, but not much. I have a tendency to write "flat" songs like that, and I try not to do that for obvious reasons. But this time, I let it slide, because I thought it matched the emotion well. Funnily enough, Suno did it's best to make the chorus as big and bold as possible. I think that made me dig my heels in a bit more in the other direction. Thanks for stopping and commenting, I appreciate it! -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863312 Yesterday at 12:14 PM User Showcase
Joined: May 2023 Posts: 1,766 UK WaoBand Expert
WaoBand Expert Joined: May 2023 Posts: 1,766 UK	What a lovely song and production, David! Love the strings. 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.

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863322 Yesterday at 02:14 PM User Showcase
Joined: Jul 2022 Posts: 2,497 3rd rock from the sun B.D.Thomas Veteran
B.D.Thomas Veteran Joined: Jul 2022 Posts: 2,497 3rd rock from the sun	Very cliché, but in a good way. After all, it's a love song A good (final) choice of strings, and since I have a soft spot for oboes, I just loved it when they join in with the strings. I'd probably make the oboe even louder, but that could drown out the male vocals. That's one of the reasons why I prefer female vocalists. Beautiful vocals, even if the voice is a little too nasal for my taste. Enjoyed my listen PS: since you mentioned Floyd ten times or so, his inbox is probably full of requests for collaboration now Goldmania Bella Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863329 Yesterday at 03:11 PM User Showcase
Joined: Mar 2025 Posts: 501 Adelaide, Sth Aust. Andrew Dee Journeyman
Andrew Dee Journeyman Joined: Mar 2025 Posts: 501 Adelaide, Sth Aust.	Hi David! I like where the song picks up intensity in the choruses, and to my ears, the peak was in ‘rabbit on the run / life has come undone’ sections - not lyrically (although I didn’t mind the words) but musically. I thought I heard a line cliche or two in the song, which always attracts me. Lyrically, I find songs that have a ‘woe is me’ theme to be emotionally tiring - don’t get me wrong - I am not critiquing your lyrics, but my reaction to these types of songs. I think that’s because I have to fight my own negativity and pessimism. It made think … what does his former other think of this situation? Interesting if there was ever a ‘their side of the story’ response song e.g. I had to escape because you were too clingy and stifling. Thank you for the write-up of your process - I find it interesting/enlightening to hear of the songs development through arrangement - the ideas that are inspired by the recording and arranging process. I don’t know where you find the patience for it - what seems like a lengthy process. I guess it’s about quality and the learning experience. I also thought while listening - acknowledging I have listened to very little, and never used, AI vocals - the North American accent and vocal stylings - what it would do to the song with a McCartney-esque or UK styled vocal? I am not suggesting you do this, but given us antipodeans have historically been exposed to as much British influence as we have North American, do these AI vocal generators have much in the way of UK (or even Aussie) library? And given your own interest in AI vocals, do you have any views or insights into how a song is changed by the AI vocal selected! I would think a lot if we say that a vocal is an instrument and the effect would be tantamount to change of solo instrument in an instrumental. Anyhow, a good song and I listened three times. Andrew Regards, Andrew D Adelaide, Sth Aust Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/SQE4btVvNVkLq74e9 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@andrewoftheantipodes

Re: The Lonely One dcuny #863332 Yesterday at 03:54 PM User Showcase
Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 10,519 Middlesex, NC Guitarhacker Veteran
Guitarhacker Veteran Joined: Apr 2009 Posts: 10,519 Middlesex, NC	That has a cool Seals & Croft kind of sound. That is a really cool bass track. The vocals could have stood to be a bit more front and center. ( A few dB louder ) I really enjoyed reading your long version explanation of the details. And yes... Suno as well as others will give a fairly nice cover version as well as the vocal track you give it. I'm curious how in the world you managed to get Floyd Jane to work on an AI song with you. As badly as he likes to talk s*** about AI and bots, who'd-a-thunk-it! Kudos on however you did it. He might get pulled into the dark side yet. Nahhh, probably not. Good song. And a lot of work. Last edited by Guitarhacker; Yesterday at 03:55 PM. You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add 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.

Re: The Lonely One WaoBand #863335 Yesterday at 03:59 PM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California dcuny OP Veteran
OP dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California	Hi, Chay. Originally Posted by WaoBand What a lovely song and production, David! Love the strings. Thanks, especially for the comment about the strings. But now I need to learn how to write "lush" strings. I thought I knew, but that clearly wasn't the case. -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

Re: The Lonely One B.D.Thomas #863338 Yesterday at 04:08 PM User Showcase
Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California dcuny OP Veteran
OP dcuny Veteran Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 7,774 Sacramento, California	Hi, B.D. Originally Posted by B.D.Thomas Very cliché, but in a good way. After all, it's a love song I've resigned myself to the fact that all the good words have been used already. Quote A good (final) choice of strings, and since I have a soft spot for oboes, I just loved it when they join in with the strings. I'd probably make the oboe even louder, but that could drown out the male vocals. Thanks! These are the strings that come with MuseScore, and they're pretty darned good. They don't have that "close mike" sound, but they have lots of nice articulations. My daughter already complained that the oboe was pretty loud, so I'm not going to make it any louder. Have I mentioned that the real reason for writing these songs is to use some of these lovely virtual instruments that I keep collecting? Quote That's one of the reasons why I prefer female vocalists. Beautiful vocals, even if the voice is a little too nasal for my taste. One of my problems with synthetic voices is that they're like temp tracks when scoring a film. You intend to replace them, but get used to them being there. Quote Enjoyed my listen Thanks! That's the best thing you can say. Quote PS: since you mentioned Floyd ten times or so, his inbox is probably full of requests for collaboration now He offered a few suggestions on the lyrics, but mostly on getting rid of cruft rather than trying to rewrite words. I appreciated that. Thanks for listening and commenting! -- David Cuny My virtual singer development blog Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

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August 22, 2025

XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!

XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!

The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!

Ready to take your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 experience to the next level? Now’s the perfect time! Expand your style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs—packed with a wide variety of genres to inspire your next musical creation.

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 1-9 includes 900 styles!

Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). With over 3,500 styles (and 35 MIDI styles) included in Xtra Styles PAKs 1-20, the possibilities are endless!

Get the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 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 Windows or for Mac.

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.

Get Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 19 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.

Note: 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 because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.

Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box setup—at a great price!

August 06, 2025

Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!

It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!

We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!

Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:

Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, 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, Playable RealTracks Set 4, RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark, and more!

Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!

July 27, 2025

New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2025!

We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!

Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!

Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.

Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles

Check out all the 202 New RealTracks (in sets 456-467)

And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.

You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.

Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!

The 2025 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2025 49-PAK!

July 23, 2025

Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac!

With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 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 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK: -For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles. -For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles. -For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
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
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.

Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:

20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe

Learn more about the Bonus PAKs for Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®!

July 21, 2025

New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!

Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!

We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!

In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!

All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.

Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 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.

July 21, 2025

New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!

We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows 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!

Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 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!

Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.

Video: XPro Styles PAK 9 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

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.

July 21, 2025

New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!

Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!

All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!

Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 20.

Video: Xtra Styles PAK 20 Overview & Styles Demos: Watch now!

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