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When I was either in middle or high school, the band director played a number of recordings of the same Viennese waltz. He told us to listen to how the different conductors rushed the second beat by different amounts. It was a valuable lesson in critical listening, instead of just hearing. It also taught me that musical notation is not exact, but in many cases just an approximation. … All of my ensembles are told at some point, "The black spots are just marks on a page—that's not where the music is. The music always comes from you."
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Views 172
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A good song, and particularly well sung. Bravo! Laurent Thanks Laurent! I appreciate it! TB
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Views 394
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I was thinking the other day that it's been a while since we heard a new song from Torrey, and here it is! Wonderful message, love the chorus especially. Those first two lines pretty much says it all: "Life is a gift we open each day Oh don't throw it all away" Taking life for granted is so easy to do, and I think most of us are guilty of doing that at some point. Love your vocals and playing, top notch arrangement and mix too. Great to hear a new one from you, Torrey, very much enjoyed it! Thank you Dave, I always highly value your comments! TB
Replies 24
Views 394
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Excellent. Everything to love from origin story to mix n master. My only nit would be the clickiness of the kick BUT that's a person bugbear. TOP stuff. Thanks, Ray, for having a listen. The kick drum never was a concern for my ears. I will give it some attention! TB
Replies 24
Views 394
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Thanks Janne. Appreciated. Vic
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Views 280
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Cheers Floyd. Worth spending a little time on. Vic
Replies 23
Views 280
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Hi Laurent, Chay, Mario, Rob and Arri, Thanks for your comments! The intro and accompaniment with the guitars are really good. Great atmosphere and beautiful video. Laurent Hey Laurent, Thanks for that. To tell you the truth; every time (even accidentally) the song starts to play, I feel the same as you said. I didn't make this video, but it is indeed very nice! I'll tell the lady who made it! I love the rhythm section in this song - it's a brilliant arrangement and choice of instruments, plus the lead guitar is superb! I wish I'd come up with this chord structure and arrangement!  Hi Chay, I wanted to make a song with a heavy beat and bass, because of what I've been through. And with the help of BiaB (and a little imagination from me), it worked out! Thanks! Hans, this is a fantastic song Your voice sounds great. Even after throat surgery your voice is much better than mine. Great arrangement, instrumentation, and mix. I really liked this one. Hello Mario, I think my voice was already better than yours even before the surgery... That is to say, that is your own opinion about your singing! I think it is better than you think. I was just proud that I managed to get you to sing once or twice (I begged you for months). Maybe a 3rd time? You're really on a roll, Hans. The production is primo. Vocal was perfect for the subject matter. To my ears, this is pretty much the same chord progression you've been using for quite a while, but it's a good one. I'm so happy your surgery turned out well. We would not like to lose your talent. Hi Rob, thanks a lot! But do I use the same chord progression for all my recent songs? I didn't know that. To be honest, I don't think so myself. I often use the same key for a song because my vocals fit well with it (D or F). And my songs have a similar structure: an intro, 2 verses, chorus, verses, chorus, solo, verse or bridge, sometimes a transposition for the last 2 choruses. Not everything is like that, but think of it as a structure I like to use. But you see that in many other songs too. Only modern songs do it differently, for example by having their verses transition into a chorus. Great groove, Hans. It's so nice to hear people singing with their own voice with rendition and making your story sound real. Something bothers in your vocals sound, some effect making it a bit muddy? Hello Arri, thanks for your compliments! But regarding the lack of clarity you mentioned, you have told me that before (about another track of mine). I asked you back then where you heard that "muddyness" in that track. But perhaps you didn't read that. I ask you to do the same for this track. It might be my ears, but I haven't heard any "muddyness" (yet). Could you indicate this? Thanks everyone and have a nice day, Hans
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Views 368
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I feel her cheek next to mine, and wonder if i had too much to drink tonight. Her hair smells delicicious. I step on her shoeless toes and she doesn't complain. I wonder if she had too much to drink tonight. We leave without touching our last-calls on the table, wave goodbye to the band, and head home to find out. Thanx Marty. It sounds like you have been there and done that!
Replies 14
Views 131
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Hey Mario, Had to check out your tune! Very smooth, very atmospheric. Nice work! drew Thanx so much Drew.
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Views 131
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Nice one, Mario. Your played instruments sound especially vibrant and PRESENT tonight. The backing band is keeping it together nicely although, honestly, they'd have every reason to be dragging given the hour and length of the set. Well, they're probably going to an after hours club after this anyway. The night's not over until the sun is above the horizon... Play on! Thanx Ron. I haven't had "The night's not over until the sun is above the horizon" in a long long time. Today my midnight is around 10 o'clock!
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Views 131
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Hi Mario! My wife being a classic introvert, we don’t dance. But if we did, and this tune was playing, I’d be whispering sweet nothings in her ear, like “You’re the most beautiful here tonight” or “You make me want to be a better man”. Andrew Thanx Andrew. Since I was playing in bands since I was a high school freshman I never learned how to dance, I was always on the bandstand. Thus when I slow dance with the wife I say "sorry" or "I didn't step on your toes on purpose"!
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Views 131
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Mario, There is no one better at creating these nostalgic jazz pieces. You capture the era, feel and tone of the music. Love the sax & trumpet. Amazing arrangement and mix. Loved it! Bob Thanx Bob for this wonderful review. I really like those Swam VSTis.
Replies 14
Views 131
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You really caught the vibe of the last slow dance. Great instrumentation and Swaming again. I particular like those vibes and the trumpet. Very cool. Thanx Chay. I'm glad that you liked my last slow dance. I like recording them.
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Views 131
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That trumpet really stole the show for me. The piano was nice as well. Only a couple of times in my life was I in a late night scene like you described, but it was weird and cringy. As a result, I never became a lounge lizard. But you captured the scene well. Kudos. Thanx Bob. Since my band was playing a lot on the weekends there were only a couple of times I went to a jazz lounge; most around here were only open on the weekends. Thus I was never a lounge lizard either. Yes, the Swam trumpet is the best sounding VSTi trumpet I have ever heard.
Replies 14
Views 131
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One way to vary the amount of swing and where to replace straight notes with a little bit of push or drag is to convert all or part of a Realtrack to a Playable Realtrack. Playable Realtracks works really well with a monophonic instrument patch like an acoustic or electric bass since the notes of a Playable Realtrack are audio samples of the instrument so you're replacing like with like. You can also select if a bar is based on straight 16th or triplet based.
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Views 172
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Hi John, Hans, great combination of words and music, and an old story told in a new, unique way. The chorus is a great unforgettable hook. This is a great song that cannot be overlooked and really should be picked up by a popular recording artist. I very much like the Mark Knopfler style of guitar at the beginning. Beautiful job of songwriting! Well, that's a very nice compliment, John! And i think you are right, but I had my mobile with me and quess what? No one called. Maybe they are still thinking if they can sing it the way I did. Until now, the answer is negative... ;-) Thanks a lot, John!
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Views 3,612
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I feel her cheek next to mine, and wonder if i had too much to drink tonight. Her hair smells delicicious. I step on her shoeless toes and she doesn't complain. I wonder if she had too much to drink tonight. We leave without touching our last-calls on the table, wave goodbye to the band, and head home to find out.
Replies 14
Views 131
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OH YEAH!! Rock works so well, Chay. I really like the vocals --very tight, and i like the softness in this rock song. Definitely my favorite of the 3 of them. You always manage to give your music such amazing backing bands, and then you do a great job of featuring them. Excellent in many ways!
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Views 111
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So well done, Bob & Joliz. The best thing i ever did on YT was Subscribe & get all notifications from Robert S. Dean. Man, you put them out so quickly. Each one a real gem. Always great story-lke lyrics, fine vocals and the best production to put it all together. Glad i "know" ya.
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Views 100
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What a great experience that started this outstanding song. Love it, Scott. Man, happy you had the experience and now share it with us all. Such a good write, and a fine production. I like the breakdown and how it comes back out --very dynamic. Excellent vocals and harmonies.
Replies 10
Views 148
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Always very interesting, Arri. Your knowledge of these classics is phenomenal, and so glad we get to hear it here. Yeah, very cool solo by Louhivuori, too.
Replies 9
Views 118
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Well, Marty, when I heard the first opening chords I thought, "Oh no! Is this another nauseating country dance hall tune filled with cavalier macho cliches with a polished twang? Then it straight into a wildly abandoned wacky good time song with you belting out unpolished down home vocals and was IMMEDIATELY GREAT!!! I loved it!!! The nondescript words at the end is the perfect touch. If you're going to write a fun cut it loose type of song, serve it up sloppy on a big oval platter, go for the gusto and let it rip! And that's exactly what you did and it brings out the mood, emotion, with a lot of punch like nothing else can. Great job, my friend! Ha! Thanks, John. Glad it wasn't that dance hall rag you dreaded. I bet that pedal steel in the opening didn't help. Right? You get it. If it's a song promoting apathy, it should be simultaneously careless and carefree. Marty, You are such a "breeze" of positivity in this forum! This place would certainly be a lot less interesting if you were not here posting these wonderful songs! Man, you were getting busy with that bass towards the end and that scat stuff put a smile on my face! Keep on rockin' Take care, TB Ha! Thanks, Torrey. Hope i'm not the cool breeze that Chuck Berry sang about. Glad you made it to the end. Really cool Marty. I would have liked the intro to continue under the 1st vocal line for a few beats as it seemed to end abruptly BUT that's absolutely noting to worry about as it's just my expectations getting in the way. Fab song, fab vocal and a bass line that is all Marty: in the pocket, moving confidently and always in support of the song. Thanks, Ray. This song was done for like 18 months, but I couldn't get a satisfactory soloist. SO i ended up using 3 different ones (and by then i just wanted to get it done ) Thanks again, my fellow bassist. This song, Marty, is a breath of fresh air, and the video makes you want to get away from it all. Laurent Thanks, Laurent. Sail away from all of stuff that tends to trim your sails. That's the message, i guess. Brilliant production again! Love the backing vocals and solo. When I first saw the title my robot mind automatically read "Sailing Through the Red" as it's the title of a poem I wrote in the early 70s. It inspired a friend to create a single acoustic guitar instrumental, which I just played lead to. I still have it on tape, but it's very poor quality sound. Anyway, love the song! Thanks, Chay, and i really enjoyed the poems.
Replies 16
Views 269
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When I was either in middle or high school, the band director played a number of recordings of the same Viennese waltz. He told us to listen to how the different conductors rushed the second beat by different amounts. It was a valuable lesson in critical listening, instead of just hearing. It also taught me that musical notation is not exact, but in many cases just an approximation. In rock/blues/pop music, I'd call it the groove. We not only use variations of the swing feel in the sub beats, but often either rush or delay the 2nd and 4th beat of a 4/4/ measure. Which direction and how much depends on the song and the interpreter. In a recording session, and in most live bands, the groove is established by the drummer, and everyone else fits into the pocket. It's also why with my user styles, I recommend that you don't substitute the 'real drum' function. My bass player and drummer work as a team, the same groove, and parts that work together. Plus, the particular groove depends on the style. If you substitute something that is not in the pocket, it won't sound nearly as good, even of the tone is better. While there are songs that favor quantizing the notes to the exact divisions that the notation specifies, in pop music, these are the exceptions. When I listen to music, the groove is something I pay attention to. Plus how all the parts various musicians are playing work together to build the song. I also listen to the melody to hear phrasing and how it plays with the groove, either by complying or contrasting. There are so many things to listen to in a song sometimes I never even get to the words. Instead of the singer singing words, it's just various ways of articulating the note. Which IMO, if you don't listen to the words, but everything else the singer is doing, it can teach you how to play better solos and melodies. OK, I guess I've drifted far enough from the swing.
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Views 172
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Wow what a cool change up. Loved the production and sound processing. Super vocal and lyric. Peters guitar was very cool and kudos on the harp playing. Perfect bass lines. Really well done. Thank you Scott. It was fun all the way around and we’re glad you liked it. Thanks for all and for mentioned the bass track. J&B Bud, Janice, and Peter, Great production! A very hard blues song. Doubling Janis 2016 and Janis 2026 is a very nice idea. It's a wonderful doubling. Peter's guitar and harmonica are fantastic too. Enjoyed my listen a lot. Best regards. Shigeki Adachi Thank you Shigeki. We appreciate all you wrote and are glad you liked the vocal double. J&B
Replies 45
Views 4,120
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Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
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Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® users: Build 904 now available!
If you're already using Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, make sure to grab the latest update! Build 904 is now available for download and includes the newest additions and enhancements from our team.
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