Hi all,

Brenda and I wrote this song a couple of years go. Recently, I revisited the production and had a play around with some things I've picked up since first putting the song together. Hopefully it's improved things.

The song is all Realtracks/Realdrums and can be found at ...

... Heaven's Stairway (on Vimeo; better quality audio/video)

... Heaven's Stairway (on Youtube)

If anyone is interested in the music for this, a pdf of the lead sheet is available at the below link.

... Lead sheet - pdf (right-click and "save as")

Please feel free to critically comment on any aspect of the song, arrangement and production.

Regards,
Noel

SONG INFORMATION

STYLE
_DRDUN_G.STY (Slow Rock Ballad (85 RS))

REALTRACKS
518: Bass, Electric, Pop HalfNotes Ev 085
508: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dire Ev 085
542: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Dreamy Ev 085
363: Pedal Steel, Background Ev 085


LYRICS

Heaven's Stairway
©2013 Noel Adams and Brenda Smith

He came to Earth with Heaven's peace
The gentle man from Galilee
He came for you, and me, and all mankind
With tender words, He spoke of love
He showed us how to walk with God and built a way of hope
For all of us to climb

[CHORUS]
Come to Him
Run to Him
Jesus always hears us when we pray
He's the one
God's only son
He helps us, step by step, up Heaven's stairway

Trust in Him and trust His words
Share the love of His holy church
Believe in Him with all your heart and mind
Endless days of peaceful grace
And endless joy that never fades await in paradise
For all of us to find

[CHORUS]

hi noel great lyrics and mix everything fits well very good production plus 10+ thanks for sharing eric

Hi Eric,

Thank you for having a listen. I appreciate it.

All the best,
Noel

Hi, Noel and Brenda !:)

I enjoyed this tune very much !:)
I only have superlatives for you
two on this lovely tune !:)

Cheers
Dani

Noel,

There is SO much to like about this! Best vocal ever. To begin with.

Best cadence to the lyrics - ever. EVER! They roll off the tongue SO nicely. Nothing ever in the way, just a natural feel. Big time bravo on that. The words SING.

Cool instrumentation. The guitar... the steel... perfect. Great tracks and a great mix. Cool.

floyd

Outstanding! Production is superb! Thanks for sharing!

Hi Dani,

Thank you I know that when Brenda reads your comments, a huge smile will appear on her face (like it did on mine). I appreciate your dropping in and having a listen.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Floyd,

It's always good to hear from you. I've got to say, though, you've done it again! My computer monitor blushed a bright shade of red when I put your comments on-screen.

Thank you for taking time to listen and to pass on your thoughts. Your ideas always help me see my songs with new eyes and I always find that extremely beneficial. Much appreciated.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Robert,

Good to see you! Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate them.

Best wishes,
Noel

Very nice work. I have seen quite a few groups in some local churches who perform this style of music.

Christian country is one of my favorites. I love a steel guitar.

Hi Noel and Brenda,

I'm not a fan of Christian country.
But this song is completely rounded:
good lyrics, vocals and mix.
Congratulations.

Guenter

Noel,

There's nothing left for me to say....

Well done ya'll.

Noel,

Very well done.


Regards,


Bob

Nice all the way around. Great mix -- particularly the way it supports the vocal. Really cool the way the song has such a relaxed, loose feel (and I mean loose in a very positive manner). I agree with Floyd re the way the lyrics flow -- nothing forced. I'm an old Southern rocking gospel fan and don't listen to much of the new Christian music as it seems to always have a breathy/overly angst vibe. This production is very different as it really draws you into the words - and the vocal is outstanding.

An enjoyable listen.

Later,

Hi Herb.

Thank you for the thumbs up. I'm with you regarding steel guitar. It's an amazing instrument. I appreciate your comments and I know Brenda will too when she reads them.

Best regards,
Noel

Hi Guenter,

Thank you for taking time out to have a listen - especially so when this is not a genre you like. We appreciate your time and your comments.

Best wishes,
Noel

Hi Josie,

Thank you for popping in and listening. It's always good to see your smiling avatar in a thread. Brenda and I appreciate your time and thoughts.

All the best with your songwriting,
Noel

Hi Bob (90 dB),

Thank you

All the best,
Noel

Hi Janice and Bud,

I really appreciate all the positive comments. I know you'll give Brenda a huge smile, too. She'll be over the moon when she reads them. To be honest, I think good fortune was on our side when we wrote this song!

Once again, thank you!
Noel

Hi Danny,

Thanks for dropping by and listening. Appreciated.

All the best,
Noel

Noel,

I'm a little late to the party... So I'll just second whats already been said, especially Floyd & Bud... I totally agree!

Great Job!

Greg

Nice listen - it's already been said.

It seems your vocal seems to be EQ'd differently than usual. It seems a bit deeper, less strident, and perhaps a bit less up front. Not that your prior vocals were bad, I just think it's a clear improvement.

Hi Greg,

Always good to see you. Thanks for the positive endorsement. Appreciate it.

All the best,
Noel

Hi David,

Thank you for taking time to have a listen and comment. These days I use Nectar on my vocals. The preset that I selected this time gave a little boost to the 160 Hz region. I think I'll be trying that one again as it definitely seemed to help my voice sound better.

Best regards,
Noel

Hi Noel and Brenda,

OK, I only hear you in this song... did Brenda write the lyrics? Whatever contribution each of you made, your offering reinforces the well-established reputation of "NOEL & BRENDA: SONGSMITHS"

You have mentioned in the past that one of your goals is to sell your songs. FWIW, at a time when the music industry in general seems to have lost its direction, the field of Christian music appears to be exploding. Good luck in marketing your music in general, and especially this and any future Christian music.

I think its interesting and perhaps significant that your music tends to be uplifting and full of good news... and "good news" is the meaning of the word GOSPEL... so it makes sense that you would participate in the genre of GOSPEL music.

Hi Pat,

When I work with Brenda, it's literally the both of sitting side by side at a computer, BIAB strumming away in the background and we brainstorm melodies and lyrics. At the end of song, it's impossible to say who did what!

We enjoyed working on this one. It fell into place with relative ease (by comparison).

Thank you for dropping by. It's always good to see you.

Best wishes,
Noel

Noel, awesome song, LOVE IT!

Danny

Hi Danny,

Thank you I bet Brenda will beam when she reads your comments.

I appreciate your taking time-out to have a listen.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Noel. I listened a couple of days ago but only got round to commenting now. Wonderful work as usual.

I hope you don't mind the re-review!

The rhymes like "God/love" and "grace/fades" are nice and subtle.

But... I mis-heard a couple of the opening lines.

"He came to Earth" initially sounded like "He came to us"
"The gentle man from Galilee" came out for me as "The gentleman from Galilee"

Maybe I need to get the wax cleaned from my ears!

On the sheet music, there's an extra 16th note rest on measure 41.

As always, nice work!

great mix and vocal, and loved all the images in the video

Hi Jo,

Thank you for following the link and having a listen. It's always good to see you on this forum.

I'm looking forward to hearing your next one! It must be just about ready now

Best wishes,
Noel

Hi gruverider,

Thanks for the positive comments. Appreciate them.

Regards,
Noel

Hi David,

Feel free to pop in and (re)review as often as you like! Your comments ALWAYS give me an insight I would never otherwise come across. These new thoughts of yours have added to that insight. When I read "He came to us", I wondered why Brenda and I never thought of that. It's so obvious and I think it even works a little better. We knew that "gentle man" would probably be heard as "gentleman" and decided that, while there are shades of difference in the meaning, both possibilities work in their own way.

I appreciate your finding that notation mistake in bar 41. One of the quirks of MuseScore is that it doesn't always read the MGU files with 100% accuracy. The error you noted is the program's most common misinterpretation. I completely missed this one. I've now updated the pdf.

Thank you for the re-review

All the best,
Noel

P.S. Love "Loch Lomond". It's incredibly inventive.