Having recently read the superb book by Adam Nicolson (The Seabird's Cry), which explores the lives of 10 of our different seabirds, I collected together images to accompany my piece of music which I entitled the same and posted it on YouTube (see link below)and released through Distrokid.
I recorded the piece using Cakewalk using the following RealTracks from BIAB:
BASS: 683 - Electric Pop Half-note push
DRUMS: A combination of '=Prayer& Worship Shine'; Country Even 16 (Brushes & Snare)'; Metal Slow Big Toms Groove'
AC. GUITAR: 385 Acoustic Finger Picking (one hard L and one hard R)
AC. GUITAR: 634 Ac Strumming
ELEC GUITAR: 634 Rhythm
ELEC GUITAR: 512 Solo Dire Ev (Bluesy)
MARRIMBA: Dimension Pro VST
PIANO - American Grey: Analog Lab 4 VST
PIANO - Standard Grand Tight : Addictive Keys VST
CHORAL - Choir Long: Spitfire Audio Labs VST
STRINGS: Dimension Pro VST
FLUTES: Amadeus Symphony Orch VST
YouTube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSw-_vpOfsUMany thanks for your time, Mark Rogers
Hi Mark ...
I missed your first contribution, so I'll take this moment to say "Welcome To The Forum!". I really enjoyed this! The slight bit of extra reverb on the lead instruments nicely defines the soundscape that suggests the feel of being high above the ground and a sense of freedom.
Your piece is nicely structured and weaves the various elements smoothly. I enjoyed the lush, airy ambience of this. I truly enjoyed my listen. It's a beautiful piece. Job well-done!
Wishing you the very best. Please be safe ...
Alan
Many thanks Alan - that's very kind of you. You obviously have experienced ears to correctly pick those things! I'm very grateful for your comments.
You take care of yourself too.
This is absolutely fantastic! I loved everything about this. Your mixture of RTs and MIDI VSTis is phenomenal. Your mix is spot on.
Outstanding work here!
Well you're a quick study. Sounds great.
Did you play all of these on a keyboard?
MARRIMBA: Dimension Pro VST
PIANO - American Grey: Analog Lab 4 VST
PIANO - Standard Grand Tight : Addictive Keys VST
CHORAL - Choir Long: Spitfire Audio Labs VST
STRINGS: Dimension Pro VST
FLUTES: Amadeus Symphony Orch VST
Thank you Mario. I think I got 'lucky' with that bass track - it was just what I needed. I much appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment. Cheers.
Hi Frank,
Thank you very much for your comment. Yes, I played the other VST tracks on keyboard. I'm afraid I'm not a drummer or guitarist - hence my love of the BIAB real tracks!!
Nice soundscape. I like the way the music feels like it's moving forward and telling a story.
The mix does a good job placing the instruments in space. I thought the flutes were a touch too dry, so they didn't meld as nicely with the rest of the instruments.
Very pleasant!
Very pleasant but I found the change of lead instrument a little off putting. Any one of them could have sustained interest for longer and provided more cohesion.
Thank you very much David, that's a really useful comment and I shall give it consideration and try it out. Many thanks for your time.
Mark
RAYC Many thanks for your comment. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to listen and provide constructive criticism. Many thanks.
Mark
Mark,
Very nice composition / arrangement! Excellent usage of VST's with BIAB Rt's. Listens well! I agree with David about the reverb on flutes. Thank you for sharing!
Misha.
Misha,
Very kind of you to take the time to leave a comment and thanks for confirming the thoughts on the use of reverb. Many thanks,
Mark
This is absolutely lovely!!! Beautiful score music! So well done in every way!! Take care. Greg
As a bird watcher myself, this one really spoke to me. The extinction of those majestic animals is really sad thing, but I'm glad to see how your music and video express the beauty of seabirds and love of nature. The soundtrack fits the melancholy mood very well, the reverb in the melody instruments gives its a nice lift to the bird perspective.
Janne
Hi Janne,
Great to hear it from an ornithologist's viewpoint. Thank you so much for your kind comments regarding the music. Cheers.
Mark
Masterful use of the BIAB elements in a very pro-sounding enviro track. Liked the wide variety of instruments, and the steady progression in volume and density as it went along. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your work!
Thank you very much Tano. I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and then give a considered comment. BIAB is wonderful for me at those times when I need drums and guitars (instruments I don't play) to enhance a piece. Stay safe. Kind regards, Mark
Beautiful piece. Very calming, serene, and reflective.
Exceptional composition.
Music fits well with the images in the video.
This is a really well done - especially if this is only your second time working with BiaB. Very good job!
Keep them coming!
Will
Hi Mark
Lovely composition, really well suited to the images in the video. So sad, the impact we humans are having on the other species who share our planet.
Regards,
Leon
I greatly appreciate your comments Ezekiel's Storm.
Thank you Will. I'm very grateful for your encouragement.
Hi Leon,
I totally agree. The superb book 'The Seabird's Cry' by Adam Nicolson highlights the plight of many of our seabird species that live 'on the edge' of our world. A key theme in his work is that these creatures perceive our world in different dimensions using senses that are lost to us.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments.
Keep safe
Mark
That's a lovely and professional composition from start to finish. Perfect mix!
Thank you very much Olemon. Extremely kind of you to take the time to listen and comment.
Thanks for listening Captain Moto. I've just enjoyed House Arrest!
Wow! Very well done. It seems like every song I click on in the forum takes me in totally different direction, musically speaking. This instrumental piece is heavenly, uplifting, airborne and nostalgic, all at the same time. Certainly raised my consciousness about the state of survival of the world's seabird population. This is an inspired act of musical composition, sir, seamlessly orchestrated and transparently mixed, too. I pray these animals will survive the environmental havoc wrought on this planet by a so-called 'dominant' life-form -- us human beings, that is -- who confuse acts of physical destruction of the Earth with the concept of 'progress'.
Your response to the comment by 'Leon1' about your composition intrigued me: "The superb book 'The Seabird's Cry' by Adam Nicolson highlights the plight of many of our seabird species that live 'on the edge' of our world. A key theme in his work is that these creatures perceive our world in different dimensions using senses that are lost to us." That is true, and the reasons for that loss are well-documented by aboriginal indigenous people all over the globe, particularly those tribes/nations of the North American continent, who have oral traditions that tell stories (what we questionably call 'myths') about how 'man' and the animals once lived together peaceably a long, long time ago, spoke each other's languages, and praised the same gods/goddesses, until 'man' got too big for his britches and upset the order of things...
Lovely evocative piece, well played and composed.
Really nice work.
Peter
This is simply beautiful! Beautiful chord progressions, beautiful folk-like melodies - and the video, too, is stunning. The entry of the guitar I found great, a nice change of timbre. You also have a great control of pacing yourself in this piece, so nothing happens too quick, too soon. By the ending, I was spellbound. Bravo ... superb job, full stop!
Gosh, thank you so much Ardent for your thoughtful response to this piece. I am extremely grateful for you taking the time to listen and comment. Your interesting remark about the indigenous peoples relationship with other animals got me thinking. I read that in many of the North American cultures, the Great Auk was an important part of their culture - both as a food source and as a symbolic item. Of course, as you noted that was fine when man and such creatures lived alongside and respected each others part in the great cycle/chain/web of living things.
The last two pictures in the video are that of the Great Auk and a painting by Conrad Bakker of a replica auk egg which he sculpted and then painted. Just one of the many creatures that we seem to have eradicated from the planet. As you rightly say: 'progress' - it has a lot to answer for.
Thank you once again,
Mark
Many thanks Peter - glad you found it a pleasurable listen.
Hi Musician17, really kind of you to comment on this piece.
I’m glad you picked up on the ‘entry of the guitar’. I got lucky with that little phrase that BIAB (ELEC GUITAR: 512 Solo Dire Ev) threw up and used it as a link phrase earlier in the piece which helped to make it feel part of the overall piece.
Extremely generous praise – thank you again, I really appreciate a considered listen.
Mark