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Hi, all:

I'm a new member to BIAB, and after an agonizing few months of frustration with BIAB (totally lost), I gave it another go and seemed to a least make things works for this simple song. I was recommended to this site by another user, whose been way supportive. Please let me know if I'm not following etiquette here, as it's a new site for me, and I certainly want to make sure I start off on the right foot.

At any rate, here's a link to the song. Most all of it, but for the vocal of course, are from BIAB, though there is one track that's me on the guitar, but very muted. Per the guidelines, I think I'm expected to provide specifics on which BIAB or RealTracks were used, but I kinda mixed and matched and don't think I can resurrect them. I'll be more careful in the future about tracking that. I did the vocal and guitar in GarageBand, after moving over a mix of WAV files from BIAB.

I'm really interested in how to get better at BIAB. For example, I've already got feedback regarding "markers" (BTW, there are none in this song--who knew?). But any other advice you can give on future efforts to a somewhat pathetic newbie would be very welcome. It's why I'm here.

Thanks in advance for your patience and kindness.

Here's the tune: Won't Be Hard to Say Goodbye

Kindest regards,

Deej
Deej,

Welcome to the Showcase!

This is a terrific early BIAB effort. Nice choice of instruments. Excellent mix.

Really like your vocals! Brings to mind early Bee Gees... strong.

A lyric to follow along would be nice. (Oh...nevermind...I see them on SC...duh)

Fewer drums rolls for this type song would "work"...

Enjoy the listen. Looking forward to more...

floyd
Hey Dee. Welcome to the forums. You're gonna love it here for sure. Great first song. Sound's a lot like Jim Croche and just as fine songwriting.
Good job!
Good song, love your vocal!

I agree with Floyd about too many drum fills. Other than that, the rest of the "band" sounds good!

Best place to get advice on BIAB in general is the beginners forum.

Welcome to the showcase, looking forward to hearing more from you!
Great song!!! everything sounds just right Welcome !!
This is excellent.

You know the New Guy buys the coffee, right? grin



Regards,


Bob
Man, you have really got something here. Great vocal. The structure is really good with the bridge and choruses. Good selection of real tracks. Get the drum fills worked out better and you are on your way. Excellent 1st post! Tom
Welcome aboard!

Tom pretty much nailed our thoughts. The write and vocal are very engaging. It really sticks with you.

Thanks for including the background info as that is always appreciated here. It's always helpful to provide the BiaB tracks used and it's definitely easier to do so if you used a style. Like you we tend to make up our own bands and use tracks from many styles on one song. By the time I'm through I often forget as I mix them in Logic Pro X...so being an old guy I have to keep notes smile

Anyhow, folks here do appreciate the "how ya did it" stuff. The deeper you get into BiaB the more you're gonna love it.

Great entry to the forum and much enjoyed by us!

J&B
Hi Deej, welcome along. I got a fantastic welcome when I joined here 100 years ago.
Nice song, good arrangement, and I DO like your vocals too
Welcome to the forum Dee.
Already I can hear you are a talented song writer and what a great tune to introduce your self with. I agree with Floyd very Bee Gees.
You may want you experiment with song intro in BB. Can be found under Edit, Song form. Great production. Rob
Welcome to the forum. Some good advice posted.
Really nice vocal and a good composition.

Peter
Welcomed to the most friendly site on the planet.

This is a excellent first post. I also agree with Floyd about the drum fills and that this does sounds like a BeeGee's song. I really like the lyrics also.
Deej,

What an outstanding song! You've got an incredible amount of skill on show... writing, singing, producing... everything worked for me.

I was so focused on and even a bit envious of your singing that I didn't pay attention to the drums so I have no idea about the drum breaks. You have a great voice that is very easy to listen to.

I'm looking forward to your second post!

All the best,
Noel
A really good song - some hard won wisdom in the lyrics and your vocal delivery is very convincing.
Your talents are sure to be appreciated and honed here -welcome to the forum!

Robert
Deej,
You vocal & guitar tracks are cool. A tip I eventually learnt was to max levels for individual track in BIAB, centre panning & zero the reverb before exporting - that allows max flexibility in your DAW of choice.
You drum track is too busy but so was my 1st one - learning when & where takes a little time - ind you I'm still happy with my fist BIAB assisted track.
Terrific lyrics, very interesting vocal and a cool song - well done.
As has already been said welcome to the Forum! Really nice track, I enjoyed the listen!
Deej,

Great to hear your material! You have a terrific voice and your song sounds really good. I feel that you are a little too hard on yourself here concerning your lack of experience with the program. You have your mix sounding pretty good to me. The only thing I hear in this that I would change would be to go back and reduce several of the part markers to limit the amount of drum fills. Great first song post and looking forward to more! Thanks, Torrey
Floyd, Joanne, BlueAttitude, cliftond, 90 dB, tommyad, Janice & Bud, furry, Rob4580, PeterF, MarioD, Noel96, Roberkc, rayc, Tano and Torrey:

First off, thanks to all of you for the warm welcome—it’s very much appreciated. And, of course, thanks again for listening to the tune and providing both your feedback and encouragement. Some great suggestions here that I can use. And I know I will learn more from all of you and (hopefully) get better as I go along—that’s exciting.

I hope to listen to all your songs as I get more immersed in the site, and return the favor in kind.

90 dB: Happy to do the buying. Is there such a thing as virtual coffee? smile

rayc: Thanks for the tip on maxing maxing levels and making other tweaks before exporting. I think that will be vey helpful going forward.

My best to all of you,

Deej
Very well done, and welcome to the forums Deej smile Not a bad first effort at all. The first thing that stood out to me is your voice - you have some nice pipes! Others mentioned it, but it is very reminiscent of the Bee Gees. That aside - you really did a good job with the backing tracks too. And with time you'll only get better and better, and more and more confident with the program.

You should be proud of this one - thanks so much for sharing!
Welcome Deej. What a cracker to start with!
The most important thing is the song. This is a good one, and delivery is first class; you have an exceptional voice.
You'll soon learn all the other techniques and wrinkles that go to make up good mixing, mastering and so on.
Let us know if you need any help!

John
hi deej great vocal ever thing fit perfect on this peace and welcome to the forum thanks eric
Welcome to the forum. Nice job. Wont be long you will have the software nailed down. You did an excellent job of this tune. Super vocal and lyric. Well done
Hello, Deej

Welcome to the forum!
Nice and catchy melody with wonderful vocal!
I think that the structure of the song is also done very well.
It reminds me of the music of the British group in the 60's.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

I'm looking forward to your second post!
Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi
Deryk, Skyline, F.M.M., Scott, and Shigeki:

Thanks as well for the warm welcome and a ton for stopping in and giving this one a spin. Your feedback and encouragement is very much appreciated.

My kindest regards to you each,

Deej
Deej,

Welcome. This is a great first post. Love the song and your vocal.

Look forward to hearing more!

Bob
Well, this simply goes to show that perseverance pays off.

Yes, certainly a Robin Gibb feel to the vocal track. And.... a really good write right out of the box. Yep, I really liked the song and look forward to what your tunes will sound like as you become more accustomed to the software and getting the most from the tracks in your DAW.

Well done.
DJ...I’m another recent discoverer of this forum, and sounds like your BIAB history sort of mirrors mine. As you have discovered, this is just a fantastic place, with warm support and honest constructive critiques, from songwriters and performers that you can’t help but have tremendous respect for. And it will up your game constantly.

Excellent tune, well constructed, artful lyrics. I didn’t think about the drums when I was first listening (if it wasn’t for BIAB I wouldn’t have drums at all because I’m so clueless about them). On a second listen I get the critique. And there’s one tiny example of the power of this forum and family.

Cheers ... Rob
Rsdean, Guitarhacker, and Rob: Thanks for listening and taking the time to comment. Your support is much appreciated.

Guitarhacker: I think it will take me a while to figure the software out, but I'm encourage by this effort. Actually has me thinking of moving from GarageBand to Logic X, but not sure it makes sense at this point given my limited skills.

What think you and others? Worth the investment?

Best regards,

Deej
Nice song. The first line really catches your attention and draws you in. Great lyrics and nice use of BIAB. Keep at it and you'll be a pro at it in no time.

Man,

I do not know how I missed this. Must have been when I was on vacation or something.

Anyway this is wonderful.

Excellent vocals dude!!!!!

Great write as well.

Send more please.
Excellent song. Very good effort with the write, mix, performance and production.

Enjoyed this a lot and i'm looking forward to hearing another one from you soon.
Love the song and love your voice! Glad I didn't miss this one. Other than too many drum fills great job.

Josie
David, Charlie and Sundance (and another shout out to Samuel):

Thanks for the listen and chiming in. I will play with correcting the over-drumming at some point; as I learn more, hopefully I'll get a little better at those things. But glad you all enjoyed the tune (despite the heavy metal drummer!). Appreciate the support and kind feedback.

My best to you all,

Deej
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