Beautiful Star


Hi folks, apologies for not commenting lately but we've been on the fly - big time. Recently a friend asked if Janice and I could put together a couple of tunes for his young daughter to sing along with at her uncle's church. Beautiful star is listed as PD or traditional by many sources while others credit it to a couple of writers who never received credit for it. It seems to be one of the typical songs songs that has significantly earlier roots than once thought.

We were somewhat limited in our production given the small number of 3/4 time Bluegrass realtracks available. So we were compelled to cut and paste rhythm tracks to try and create a "lead" feel in places. Additionally the 3/4 Bluegrass bass realtrack was, well, odd. It rarely played on the first beat and had none of the lilting feel of waltz time -- there was also a lot of odd syncopation. Good for jazz - not good for Bluegrass. As a bass player, I ended up cutting out the notes I wanted and creating my own track for the bass part FWIW.

My friend's just turned 10 year old daughter sings the lead and Janice sings counter point and harmony. BTW, this is an amazing kid. I saw her last night blowing everybody away at a piano recital with her own arrangement of the song from the Star Wars barroom scene. Music teacher said he wants to © the arrangement! And, she rode two 100 mile bicycle rides last month. She's got some proud parents for sure.

Blue USB mic: vocals
All other tracks: PG Music Realtracks
Mixing and effects: Garageband

Bud,

They have every right to be proud. She did a wonderful job on the vocal (Janice, too, of course).

And so did you (a wonderful job, I mean). If there was a lot of "cut and paste", you certainly cannot tell. Well done. The bass seems a bit low to my ears (but keep in mind, they are old and very used).

floyd

hi guys bravo great job little one enjoyed thanks for sharing eric

excellent arrangement! Another home run for you and your whole team!
Its a special treat to hear a Christmas song that is traditional yet unfamiliar to my ears

Thanks guys and I'll definitely check the bass level. I did a bit of a quick mix and only listened to the results on my small studio monitors.

Such a joy to hear this song.

It took me back almost 60 years to our
church's Christmas programs.

Such a beautiful song to hear at this time of the year.

Thanks to you all for the hard work and sharing.

I tweaked the bass volume a bit today and experimented around with the compression, EQ and reverb on the kid's voice. interestingly, this is the first time in quite a few years of recording that I've ever worked with a child's voice. I initially thought I'd just treat it as a higher pitched adult voice but there seems to be more to it than that. Might be the attack -- dunno. Anyhow, the changes are minimal and likely not worth another listen. But if you've recorded kids before and have any suggestions on the lead vocal lemme know.
know. Thanks!

Antwort auf:

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Its a special treat to hear a Christmas song that is traditional yet unfamiliar to my ears

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A very fresh voice. Liked listening.

Guenter