This is my first creation for 2016.

The melody began simply by playing around with the latest tracks in BIAB 2016. The new cello Realtrack for a slow waltz is brilliant! and inspired me to write something.

This is the first song I've composed using the Audiophile version of BIAB.

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Regards,
Noel


WORKFLOW

• create in BIAB
• use multiriff in Realband to generate additional tracks for comping
• record vocals and mix in Reaper.

BIAB INFO

• Style: _CELLOWZ.STY (Slow Cello Country Waltz)
• RT 1121: Bass, Acoustic, CountryWaltz Sw 085
• RT 2450: Guitar, Nylon, Rhythm CountryWaltzBrent Sw 085
• RT 824: Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Country Waltz Sw 085
• RT 2557: Cello, Background SlowWaltz Sw 085
• RealDrums: NashClassicWaltzSw^4-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

LYRICS
© 2016 by Noel Adams

One two three, one two three, round and around
It's like we're waltzing together on our own clouds of sound
The orchestra leads us as we dance round the floor
And with you in my arms
I don't need anything more

The best day I've ever known, in all of my life
Was the day you said “Yes” and we became man and wife
As heaven is my witness, you're the one I adore
And with you in my arms
I don't need anything more

Since the music started, you've stayed by my side
Holding my hand
Being my guide
On the dance-floor of life, you've never once let go
You keep me calm
Confident
Following the flow

One two three, one two three, round and around
It's like we're waltzing together on our own clouds of sound
The orchestra leads us as we dance round the floor
And with you in my arms
I don't need anything more
You in my arms
I don't need anything more

Noel

Great effort again. Ideal Modern Waltz tempo, and the lyrics are superb.

The Cello fills in perfectly, capping off a very romantic delivery from all parts.

Great job for sure.

Trev

Thanks Trev!

I appreciate your taking time out to have a listen. The new cello Realtrack is magnificent.... a perfect addition to a modern waltz.

Thanks again.
Noel

Excellent vocal and lyric

Noel,

First a question... the acoustic guitar sounds great. It is spread across the stereo field perfectly.
Did you do something to accomplish that???? That is essential in making your band sound so good with the small group of instruments you have chosen. I seldom hear people do that. Please share!!!

The addition of the nylon guitar is excellent. They are hiddem gems in the BIAB stable.

The drums are at just the right level for this. The bass, too (subtle).

The late addition of the cello is a delight. Great touch in the tag at Bb -> Bbm (a guess).


"our own clouds of sound" << nice phrase!

The additional measure in your title line is a nice technique. At first, throwing the listen off just a bit - then becoming a real gem as the song continues and develops. When it comes around the second time, the ear says "Yes!"...

I love where the bridge goes melodically (and lyrically).

I like that you chose to repeat the first verse as the last. Works exceptionally well for a song like this.

A delightful vocal. A perfect mix. This is terrific. One of your very best.

Excellent write. Creating a lyric that is "simple", yet meaningful is one of the toughest task a songwriter can face. You've done that beautifully...

floyd

Noel, Very nice lyrics and once again very well sung. I agree with floyd that extra measure works very well. A great mix and the cello is perfect for this. A great sound and a delightful listen. Tom

Hi Noel,

it's all been said. I can only add that
I enjoyed my listens very much.
A good start for 2016.

Guenter

Man this is awesome.

I am glad you got audiophile, and I am so glad I did too. It is SO worth the extra change. The sound quality here is crisp and brilliant--ready for radio as they say.

I love the warmth and texture of this style. Keep going man, and welcome to Audiophile. It is addictive, though, I will warn you. My wife is starting to give me "that look"--I spend so much time in studio. I must be careful now!!!!

Real good song Noel, I enjoyed the listen. To me you always have a Beatle sound to your voice that I like. Some parts of this song sounds somewhat like Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Great job.
Sonny

Thanks Scott...

Hi floyd,

It's always good to see/read you! Thanks for the comments. I appreciate them.

On to your questions...


I'd love to take credit for being a master audio engineer but, in all honesty, I owe the sound to serendipity.

I think the fullness you hear is partly due to the audiophile edition in that there is slightly more depth/warmth to the guitar in its original wav (as compared to the wma) - it's not hugely noticeable but it's there. This gives more frequencies for the below effects to work with.

Mostly the stereo spreads comes from my settings in Reaper and Ozone. In Reaper, the acoustic guitar track is panned at 37% left. I also have two reverbs spread across the stereo field, I call them short (< 1 sec. decay) and long (> 1 sec. decay) for convenience, and they are panned at 60% right (short) and 50% left (long). The other instruments also have their own unique 'short' and 'long' reverb panning.

The preset I started with in Ozone used mid/side EQ (see below). This preset was found under "Balanced" (Ozone 6) and it's called "Enhance Stereo Image". The top image shows the 'Mid' settings and the bottom image shows the 'Side' settings... I didn't modify these.



The above Ozone preset also had a fair amount of stereo imaging from the IMAGER module which helped fill up the L/R field. As you can see below, the instruments' fundamental frequencies are pretty much in the range covered by Band 2 and this has significant stereo width added (51.9).




Yes indeed. Brent Mason has some great nylon guitar work. In the jazz arena, Oliver Gannon's nylon guitar playing is also brilliant.


Bringing the cello in late is something I picked up from Steve Young and from you. A number of his and your arrangements work on the principle of 'save the best for last'. Using this principle, I held off using the cello for as long as possible

.... and yes... it was Bb to Bbm...


As soon as I finish notating the music, I'll put it up on Soundcloud. Musically, the song is in F major and the bridge goes to Bb major. In Nashville notation, I've used a 2m 5 1 progression in Bb as the opening chords of the bridge. This progression seems to be very good at establishing a key change pretty quickly.

Lyrically, because I wanted to repeat the first section as my last section, I needed the bridge to give me somewhere to go and to create another perspective for the repeated section.

In my head, the first time through the "one two three, one two three..." section is literal... it's two people dancing on a dance-floor. The bridge becomes more philosophical and the dance-floor becomes a metaphor for life. Hopefully this perspective was sufficient to transform the repeated section into a 'journey through the years' for the dancing couple.

floyd, thanks again for the comments. After reading through them, I don't think the day can get much better...

All the best,
Noel

It's like we're waltzing together on our own clouds of sound

Very nice line!! This is a sweet listen, both in terms of the content and the mix/instrumentation. Really nicely done. Solo string works great, as does the nylon (love that patch!). Really nice stuff Noel!! Take care. Greg

There are just too many things that are right about this. I really loved listening to it. Thank you for such a nice song!

Noel
Lovely song. Had a nice overall Australian flavour to it as well (enjoyed the vocals).

Beautiful song and voice !

Noel,
wonderful soundscape.
and floyd again says it all for me.

You gave an interesting answer to his questions. I shall stop disrupting the class; move to the front and pay attention to that!

I don't use Ozone any more, my mixing "skills" (hahah!) are built from trial and error from vst's from the past BUT I will try and translate your methods to my way of working.

I do like your method of writing which is SO different from mine!

A great listen as usual from you

An impressive start to the New Year

Alyn

Noel,

Nice love song! The lyrics is nice. Your vocal is attractive. I especially like the part accompanied by cello. It changes the mood slightly but effectively. I enjoyed a lot!

Hiroshi

Hey Tom,

Thanks for dropping in. Appreciate it. The cello Realtracks are incredible! In this instance, they really helped the song fall into place. I had the cello playing throughout the entire mix while I was writing the words and music... it helped. It was only afterwards that I decided to delay bringing it in.

Hope 2016 brings good songs your way!
Noel

I think this is your best so far.

As heaven is my witness, this song I adore
And with its sound in my ears
I don't need anything more.

So well done, and the acoustic guitar Wow! Enjoyed the listen and the lyric.

Rob

Noel,

This is one of your best songs... Love the overall feel and the tempo - a great fit for your voice.

Bob

Hi Guenter,

Thank you for passing through the thread. I've still got a long way to go before I catch up to your productions but I'm having fun trying!

All the best,
Noel

David,

I agree... the audiophile version is terrific! I run it with wma files on my hard-drive while working on a song. Then, when I move into Realband, I load the wav tracks. The difference is noticeable. As you say, there's warmth and texture present in the wavs that's not in the wmas.

I probably spend too much time at my computer too! LOL... the perils of BIAB! Oh well...

Thanks for listening. I appreciate it.

Regards,
Noel

A beautiful waltz Noel and very well sung.
The Cello Bakckground Waltz works perfectly.
A very cool production as always!

Rob and Anne-Marie

Noel,

You make me smile. I've noticed every time I listen to one of your songs I find myself smiling, mostly because you sound so happy when you sing.

Beside your singing this is a very nice waltz to listen to. You've developed an interesting sounding space. There is good "ear candy" in this song. Truely wonderful to listen to.

Hi Sonny,

Thanks for taking the time... I appreciate the feedback. Ahhh The Beatles... now THERE was a group who knew how to do it right... I'm a huge fan of their work.

All the best,
Noel

Hey Greg,

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback.

This cello RT has such a great sound and it's so easy to work with. It didn't matter what melody I tried out, the cello somehow managed to work with everything. Band In A Box and Realband are such great programs!

All the best!
Noel

"One two three, one two three, round and around
It's like we're waltzing together on our own clouds of sound
The orchestra leads us as we dance round the floor"

That is a GREAT setup to the song. The whole feel is immediately
nailed and you are ready for the ride.

Like floyd we were immediately taken with the soundstage...the
stereo is amazing -- it just fills our room. Beautiful. Even my
old ears can hear that and it makes me rethink the notion of being
able to appreciate the audiophile version.

Love the vocal, the cello, the bridge -- heck, everything!! You set a very high
bar on this production.

Yep, one two three....

J&B

Hi HTL,

I really appreciate the comments. Thank you. I couldn't have done it without Band In A Box, though. To me and my songwriting, the program is like the proverbial manna from heaven... such a great tool.

All the best,
Noel

G'day Peter!

Thanks for taking the time....

Regards,
Noel

Hi Trygve,

Thanks for having a listen. I'm glad you liked it

All the best,
Noel

Hi Alyn,

Thanks for dropping in... you never disrupt the class. It's ALWAYS a pleasure to hear from you. In all honesty, I'd love to be half as creative as you! I don't know how you do it. The only way I can write lyrics is by being analytical...

Hope Winter is treating you there above the equator!

All the best,
Noel

Thank you for having a listen, Hiroshi! The cello is an amazing Realtrack. As you say, it brings an effective mood change.... I'm not quite sure how to describe what it does but it is noticeable!

Once again, thank you,
Noel

Hey Noel. Always love a waltz. Great job. "Clouds of sound" that is a great line. Your vocal is so laid back. Loved it.

Thanks for the smile, Charlie! Appreciate it. I also appreciate your giving the song a test drive.

All the best,
Noel

Thanks Rob. Things seemed to come together in a good way on this one! Appreciate the listen.

Regards,
Noel

Hey Bob. It's good to see you again. Thanks for dropping in and taking time out to listen. I appreciate the comments.

All the best,
Noel

Noel this is just gorgeous. Great write. I love the way the melody and lyrics flow together. Absolutely top drawer and my new fav. You really out did yourself on this one.

loved the first stanza . . . when lyrics can take you somewhere (other than where you are), that is accomplishing something great!

Hi Rob and Anne-Marie,

It's good to see you both. Thank you for passing through and having a listen. I have a theory that by using one of the cello realtracks in an arrangement the likeability factor of the song jumps up a few notches! They're such great tracks and the sound is fantastic. Band In A Box makes every so easy!

I appreciate your comments. Thanks again!

All the best,
Noel

Hey Jim.

I always enjoy reading what you write because you make me feel good! It's taken me a long, long time to feel comfortable singing and I'm glad that it 'works' for you. Thanks for dropping in. Much appreciated

Regards,
Noel

Hi, Noel !


How nice a tune, one
of your best for sure !

Cheers
Dani

Hi Janice and Bud.

It's great to see you. Thanks for having a listen. I always appreciate your comments.

To be honest, I think that the sound quality is improved by using the audiophile version. I didn't do anything all that much different from my other songs. (Under my reply to floyd I've outlined my Ozone setup.) Like I always do, I saved it as a 44.1 kHz wav (16 bit) and uploaded that wav to Soundcloud. I prefer it to be compressed only once and so I leave that to Soundcloud. Once I've done a few more songs, I'll have a clearer idea if using wav Realtracks helps significantly!

Thanks again and all the best!
Noel

Thanks Josie. I know you're a really busy woman these days and I appreciate your taking time out to have a listen. Hope all continues to sail along smoothly for you!

All the best,
Noel

Noel,

A lot to like about this one. First of all, your lyrics are really strong. Your arrangements keep getting better and better.

I really like how the last line (I don't need anything more) throws in that unexpected bar. It musically gives that feeling of completion. You could even title this song "I Don't Need Anything More".

Good job on this one! I like it!

Steve

Hi Josie,

Thank you. I appreciate your comments a lot.

All the best,
Noel

Hi Even If,

I appreciate your passing through and listening. Thank you.

All the best,
Noel

Dani!

It's always great to see you. Thanks for listening!

I hope good things are coming your way now after your stays in hospital.

All the best,
Noel

Love the cello, beautiful arrangement, great write.
Sorry that I hadn't seen this before, better late than never.
So glad that I got to hear this lovely waltz.

Kenny

Hey Steve. Thanks for the visit. Believe it or not, I kept tossing up which was the best title.... "With You In My Arms" or "I Don't Need Anything More". I couldn't decide. In the end I tossed a coin. It came down 'heads'.... actually, there were a couple of occasions in this song where I had to use chance to help out!

All the best,
Noel

Good song, good lyrics and vocal. Mix is good too, the cello sounds great when it comes in, nice addition.

Hi Kenny,

Thanks for passing through and thanks for taking time to listen and comment. I found this particular set of instruments really easy to work with.

All the best,
Noel

Thanks, Dave. Appreciate the comments.