I just did a complete reinstall to see if I could figure out what was wrong here. When I got done, the demo button worked again. I also suspect that part of the problem might’ve been that I had been designating Audacity as the default player for.WMA files Either way, it works now. And thanks very much for your response. I still wish that they would go back to the days where you could sample your chords over the style that you are auditioning without loading it onto your project, potentially messing up your project. That was a pretty good feature, I felt.
Just got the 'Band-in-a-Box 2026 for Mac Build 1003' and there's another bug I want to report. You probably know about it already but I wanted to mention it. When clicking the 'Song Button' it freezes up the program necessitating a force close. I do really like the new GUI compared to the archaic predecessors and I look forward to learning the new features. Thank you!
Hi Ron, Man, 1981! Nice to see you bring this to life, good song, very well written. Seems your brother has had the gift of producing great lyrics for quite some time! Love your vocal, and nice to hear you playing the fills too, very effective. Enjoyed!
Thanks, Dave. Yes, he's a gifted and prolific lyricist for sure. Posted a song last year from lyrics he had written 50 years earlier. They still sound fresh to my ears. My fondness for his lyrics is pretty much the reason I'm producing any songs at all. Besides, it keeps me out of trouble, and is WAY cheaper than golf... Ha! Thank you for the compliment on the vocals and fills. I'm no pro, but I try to stay within myself and serve the song. SOMETIMES...it works. THANKS AGAIN!
Hi J&B. Once again, you and Peter have shown us all how 'the blues' is done. What an introduction! And when Janice started singing, floyd's comment from a decade or more ago sprang into my mind.... "Janice could sing the phonebook" and if she did, I would still hang on to every syllable. It is easy to hear that this genre is home-base for you all. Everything about this radiates expertise, enjoyment and sincerity... and then some. I thoroughly enjoyed listening and letting your musical journey lead me along. --Noel
Thank you Noel. We hugely appreciate your support over the years! J&B
Hi Bob, Andrew, Ron, KDY and Brain, Thank you all for your nice words about this waltz! I feared a waltz wont do much, alike a Dutch song, but your replies were great! And -of course- I'm late with my replies. My excuse is that the end of April is a very busy time. We have Kings day (all children will try to sell stuff they got from the attic. And in every city they sit in the streets to do that. And they also have all kinds of games you have to join.In one of the cities, our King and his family come and join these games. Beside that, we have to file our tax returns before the first of may. Nothing to return, only to pay. And a lot of birthdays, so that's why I'm late.
Originally Posted by rsdean
Hans, This is such a beautiful and relatable song... Love the melody and exquisite arrangement. One of your best vocals. The mix is also perfect. A new favorite for me! Bob
Hi Bob, I didn't know a waltz is the style you liked. If I knew before I would have invited you and Joliz to join this song! Thanks for your very nice comment. I think Tamar will shine too! (haven't told her yet...)
Originally Posted by Andrew Dee
Hi Hans! Those instruments do work well together! Good choices. The 3/4 time was a good choice also. My ears are now attuned to the sound of a minor iv chord, and I’m sure you featured this in your song - it’s a sound that never grows tired IMHO. I love it when the BVs come in for the chorus - that sounds like there are many others singing along that have the same thoughts as you. I would have preferred the soloists to be a little louder during the solo (or the piano softer) but this was only because I read the ‘solo’ heading to that section, otherwise I wouldn’t have noticed - it is so good anyway. Loved it! Andrew
Hello Andrew, yes, it was a wild guess, those different instruments together. I doubt if that has ever been done before. But when I combined them, just for fun, I liked the sounds and kept them in the song. As I said, it wasn't my intention to make a waltz. I almost threw the idea for this song in the trash. I couldn't find a melody. And suddenly, when I changed the time signature to 3/4, a melody popped into my head. Tamar complained that my songs are very difficult to sing along to properly, but she eventually managed it. And her singing added something that I really liked! As for the solo; here, just like in my previous song, these instruments are very difficult to make sound louder. If I had turned the piano down, it would have sounded like a dip in the song... You wouldn't have liked that either!
Originally Posted by DC Ron
Superb, Hans! Great concept and executed in a unique but compelling way. The unpredictably winding chord progression reflects the uncertainty of the narrator in a very cool way. GREAT lead vocals. LOVE the multiple harmony voices. The entire arrangement and mix are outstanding. The ending is indeed hopeful, though happy endings to these tales are SO rare. The last held note might have decayed a bit more naturally, but, like relationships, songs can end in unexpectedly abrupt ways, can't they? Fantastic stuff.
Hi Ron, thanks for your words. If you read what I wrote to Andrew, you'll see how much trouble I had finishing this song. The story was in my head first (and I even had someone in mind who I hoped would hear it. Especially the ending.) But as you said, these are rare occurrences. And apart from that, I am also very happy with my current relationship. It has lasted well over 40 years...
Originally Posted by K-Dub Ya
Great subject matter Hans, and supported well with the instrument choices and style. I can relate to the subject, as I often wonder where someone is, what they look like and what they're doing. In fact I've just located a cousin I last saw in the 1970s. We'll catch up soon and share life stories for the last 50 years soon. That aside, the song is very listenable. I particularly enjoyed the solo, but everything is great. Kind regards
Hello KDY (forgot your real name, sorry) What a nice story you wrote! Hope you can keep that contact "alive|". Sorry the solo couldn't be louder, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Originally Posted by B.D.Thomas
It's a rather unusual choice of instruments for a waltz, but it suits the song very well. Well sung, I think your vocals get better with every song. Enjoyed my listens
Hi Brain, Yes, I like to experiment (sometimes) with unusual sounds or instruments. And in this case, they sounded good together. Not all the time, but still... I once used a sitar for a solo in a song. I think Marty almost had a heart attack then! But it turned out well too. And I am very happy that my singing still sounds good enough. I was afraid that wouldn't be the case at my age. Thanks! Hans
Nice to hear about your inspiration, especially when they are my favorite songwriters like Neil Finn. Good message and I really like how the picture sums it up, I think I should hang it on my wall Bit dark and dry sound is nicely refreshed with those synth sounds, reminding me of early 80's Brit new wave artists, and the soloist guitar. Versatile arrangement and I enjoyed your vocals once again. The song was worth listening, not only in the end, but through all 3:43. Maybe I'll get inspired by that chord progression, too.
Thanks Janne. I was pretty pleased with how the guitar solo turned out. I have to remember to save the effect chain for that one so I use it again. I originally thought the chord progression would be constraining and sound too much like ‘Hey Joe’, but not so in the end. Thanks for listening! Andrew
Hi BD. Wow! That opening piano is brilliant. Then the song came along. I'm literally completely spellbound. Everything about this is music par excellence. This is one of the most lyrically powerful songs that I've ever heard. Moreover, what you say really does need to be said (over and over again), and there is no other word in the English language that can amplify feelings and transmit anger like the f*** word. The music is amazing. Not only do you have a sublime melody, but your arrangement and video are also extraordinarily good. By every measure, this is super-polished and superbly engaging. --Noel
"This is one of the most lyrically powerful songs that I've ever heard." Since writing lyrics is the most important thing I want to improve, that really made my day, Noel. Thanks a LOT
The BIAB "Foundation" tracks: Drums: PopPromiseEv16 (Shannon Forrest) Bass: 683:Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesPush Ev 120 (Tobin Frank) Organ: 686:Organ, B3, Background Pop Ev 120 (Gene Rabbai) Style: _12STPOP.STY Recorded tracks: Vocal MainVocal HarmonyVocal Background (panned left) Vocal Background Harmony (panned right) Guitar (me, Fender Electric Hi-Gain) Harmonica (me, AmN harp) Cowbell (me, 2 tracks, one panned left, one panned right) Written and produced by AurealiusB with lyrics by Kathy Keogh Key: Am Mixed and mastered with REAPER
Thanks, Hans. Can't remember writing one about my father. I did write one about my Great Uncle who went to live in Pennsylvania. Maybe that was the one. Not sure about the effect. I did have some heavy breaths there which I have now deleted. Other than that, maybe it was the delay effect. I'll have another listen. Vic
Love the instrumentation in this song Marty. Love how the song climbs the scale. What a stellar mix. Sounds so cool on my studio monitors. Excellent vocal and lyric. Well done..
Very pretty piece Mario. Loved the violins. Excellent mix. Love that wind controller. My songs also start with a date. Usually what I am doing at the time will end up having something to do with the title. Well done
Floyd, Now that was cool and different. I really like the sound of the mandolin with these tracks - so light & nimble. The switch over to the guitar works completely - it's a great arrangement. Your playing is great. Amazing actually for only a few months. Very much enjoyed! Bob
Really appreciate that, Bob...
Originally Posted by laurent4114
The mandolin sounds good (very beautiful) and the accompaniment is well chosen. It sounds like an open session. Laurent
Thank you dcuny! It means so much to me that you liked this old tune I wrote using lyrics by Kathy Keogh, just singing solo and playing an acoustic guitar back in the early 1980s.
Hi, B.D. Excellent vocal performance. It sounds like you've got a bit of notch filter on the lead vocal. Whatever the process, it sounds great. The arrangement works well, going from heavy, bombastic power chords to light arpeggios on an acoustic. Cool contrast. 👍
I haven't heard this PD song before. Good choice. Instrumentation sounds era authentic. And again, that harmonica is primo. Good delivery on the vocal. I like it real. The scat was great!
You're welcome. In the Audiophile version before 2025, The RealTracks and Drums folders combined were nearly 2TB. Going to FLAC in 2025 reduced the file sizes considerably and now the combined folder is just under 816GB. Having a couple of 8TB USB 4 SSDs hanging off my Mac Studio, It's convenient for me to just move the RT/Drums folder to one of my VI drives rather than add the drives I receive from PG Music—I only connect them to add the extras that I've purchased over the years and run updaters as released.
I was late to the party so I saw this on page one. Loved the finished mix and master. Cool vocal and lyric. Loved the driving guitar on the right and the groove from the basslines. Really well done. Excellent video as well..
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
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Bit dark and dry sound is nicely refreshed with those synth sounds, reminding me of early 80's Brit new wave artists, and the soloist guitar. Versatile arrangement and I enjoyed your vocals once again. The song was worth listening, not only in the end, but through all 3:43. Maybe I'll get inspired by that chord progression, too.
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