Hello all,

My granddaughter just turned 2, and like many grandpas, I am quite smitten with her. One day in August she and my daughter came out to our house which to them is "in the country." We have flowers, birds, and gardens that Stella really enjoyed. She had never seen hummingbirds before and she was fascinated watching them at our feeders. A couple of weeks later I was watching them myself, strumming my guitar and wondering what to do with all the hummingbird video and photos we had taken this summer - and this song sort of happened. I wrote it on classical guitar but the RT Bossa style was perfect for it so I just used that. It took me a while to find the right solo instrument, but I like the trombone feel on this. I introduced the video at her birthday party last weekend.

The lyrics are in the video so Stella can learn to read them as she watches this over and over, as my daughter says she inevitably will (I hope she gets an increase in her screen time for this). The photos and video up to the bridge are mine, but when I needed mama birds on nests and some amazing close-ups, I went to the talented Creative Commons sharers over at Flickr. Credits are at the end.

Hummingbird by Bruce Irving
http://youtu.be/IsvtJB88dvI

Thanks,
Bruce

BIAB info
tyle is _BOSSAGT.STY (Bossa Guitar Trio Ev (70-190))

RealTracks in style: ~~921:Bass, Acoustic, Bossa Ev 110
RealTracks in style: ~~923:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm BossaFreeComp Ev 110
RealTracks in song: 477:Trombone, Bossa Ev 140
RealDrums in style: BossaTerryClarke^2-a:Brushes , b:Blastix
Vocals are all me, recorded and mixed in Sonar X3.

Hi Bruce,

Very impressive indeed! The songwriting is A++ and the relaxed, latin-jazz feel both mesmerises and entertains. In addition, your creativity is wrapped in a video presentation that's delightful and an audio production that's outstanding.

I'm a fan.

All the best,
Noel

So informative! I enjoyed the clever rhyming too.

Well done.

Bruce, Nice write. Very well sung. The whole package is put together very well. Trombone was the right call. Bravo! Tom

Hi Bruce,

Stella can be proud. Good writing and singing.
I like the arrangement and the video.

Guenter

Nice work. Great video & pics....

Those little birds have attitude far above their weight class. We used to watch them fight over turf when we had a wonderfully large mimosa tree. One bird, it seemed, spent most of his time protecting what he apparently thought was "his" tree. The tree is now gone (it died) but they still come around to our flower garden all summer long.

Excellent work on the song, video is outstanding as well! Thanks for sharing!

Great write and audio production to go with a superb video. Nice touch on the outro during the credits. Favorite picture was the hummingbird and bee. I'm sure Stella will treasure this video in years to come.

Charlie

Hello Bruce,

A very nice and jazzy song. The hummingbird is a beautiful animal.
Video is very well done. The "bends" of the vocal, and the arrangement sometimes have a Paul Simon feel.
One tiny nit: the ss's are pretty sharp on my speakers. Maybe some slight de-essing with a vst plug-in would work.

Regards,
Rob

Thanks to all for your kind comments - if any of this music stuff can be called "labor," this little project was a labor of love, and as much for me as for Stella and her mom and dad. I've captured a little of the feeling of that gorgeous sunny day with Stella running around the yard, eating red peppers from our garden and pointing with glee at all the hummingbirds (my wife had 5 feeders going this year).

Rob, anyone who mentions me and Paul Simon on the same computer screen has my attention and gratitude (he's a major idol of mine for writing, singing, arranging, mixing genres, etc., etc.). Good point to check on sibilance. The esses all sound OK on my speakers and phones, but I will check it more carefully in Sonar. I'm sure there's an app for that. Or a bit of automated EQ.

I just noticed where you live - I will briefly be in the Netherlands in a couple of weeks, on one of my bi-annual customer tours with my European distributor, unfortunately just for a day this time, for ESA in Noordwijk (I'm an optical engineer in real life, and ESA is one of our software customers). This time it's a one-country-a-day tour so not much time to enjoy your lovely country.

Thanks again,
Bruce

Extremely clever and creative!! This song shows a great command of music and lyrics. Excellent work! Take care. Greg

Nice job, Bruce. Good choice of RTs. Solid mix.

Nice production -- audio and vid wise.

We ponder the wonder of hummingbirds
7 months out of every year. Never get
tired of it.

Enjoyed it.

J&B

Hi Bruce.

I loved everything about both the song and the video.

Very, VERY smooth and professional production.

Singing was excellent and just the right feel for the track and yes, the trombone fitted perfectly.

Thanks for sharing.

ROG.

Hi Bruce - greetings from Sunny Sydney.
I’m a 78 year grandad with a tribe of grandkids, and Hummingbird had me in tears. What beautiful gift you’ve given Stella. I know she’ll treasure it more and more as she grows older.
All the best,
Geoff

WOW!! Very cool tune. Sweet, fun, and educational! I have to admit I don't think I've ever heard the word "dematerialize" used in a rhyme......or maybe used at all. I love the Rock around the clock/ticker tock rhyme. Music is great and your vocal excellent as well. Very sweet stuff!! Take care. Greg