Hi everyone,

I made a song about three human values, but also about "my skills" to address this issue. Of course this is meant with a big wink It is called Not so tactful:
https://soundcloud.com/user-296497130/not-so-tactful-290721bmv2oz

I starts as an acoustic ballad and becomes a kind of rock ballad.
Some background vocals i made with the help of melodyne. Always a lot of work, but I think it sounds natural, although it is for you to decide!

The lyrics is about the three sisters Truth (Verity), Honesty and Respect (Esteem) and how they are treated.
These lyrics can be read on SoundCloud.

Let me know what you think of this song.
Thanks,
Hans
===========================================
Some technical information on the song:

Style: BATON.STY, Key: Bm , Tempo 90
Instruments:
RT: 908 :Bas, Elec. RT: 1538 :Guitar, Elec,
RT: 3059 :Guitar, Ac, RT: 3394 :Guitar, Ac, RT: 3057 :Guitar, Ac, Fingerpicking
RT: 3152 :Fiddle, 5-string Sw, RT: Drums: Americana 16
Plugins:
Ceilings of Sound for Percussion: Clap
Fabfilter: EQ and Processors, Reverb and Delay for vocals and instruments (no Delay)
Melodyne for BG vocals
Others: Transient Master and Vari compression on drums, Fresh Air (Slate digital), Space Designer Room Reverb
Daw: Logic Pro X,
Mixing: Neutron3 / Relay
Mastering: Ozone 9 advanced.
Canva: Art design software for album cover[color:#000099][/color]

I like that opening acoustic.

Good melody. Harmonies work. Meladyne is quite the useful tool, isn't it?

Fiddle is a good choice. Nice contrast against the rock.

Love the build to the ending!

Hello Hans. The intro grabbed my attention right away.
You did a really nice job on the vocals.
Good choice of band. Great production.
Very passionate tune. Rob4580

Hans,

Great intro and feel right out of the gate—slick chord progression. The harmonies are stellar. That clap (I think) in the chorus, staring with “If my words”, works very well (though I may have dropped it when you went back into the second round of verse, then pick it back up on the chorus). Nice feel to this—really like what you do. You have a gravitating vocal that rings in your tunes. Great work!

My very best to you,

Deej

Really good song Hans.
It's a pity about the term "woke" - it was a messy attempt at a new/trendy meaning and was quickly co-opted to be a derogatory term used by reactionary folk to slap down folk who were more thoughtful and sensitive to the nuances of communication..

I don't read you lyric as reactionary or offensive - you've taken the word according to its currency.
The narrative is cool.
To my ears the Melodyne harmonies are a little loud and add a harshness that isn't in your lead vocal.
The actual harmonies you're arranged work really well though.

Hans,

Another great one! Your vocals and production are really evolving.

Loved it.

Bob

Good song with a good message, and well sung. Nice work!

Hi Ezekiel, Rob4580 and Deej,

Thanks a lot for your posts on this (sort of) protest song.
Once in a while I like writing / singing them, because some issues really worries me.
How we deal with truth, respect and honesty is -unfortunately- not exactly an eye-opener, nor is that behavior I've sticked on myself ;-)
The main reason was that I got annoyed by the (mis)use of the word 'Woke'. I woke up on that word after reading articles about why many teachers (and people in general) avoid discussing sensitive topics in their classrooms. They are afraid of being accused of racism or whatever. At least they are not 'Woke' according to a growing number of people, who themselves have lost their sense of nuance.
But that's my opinion and probably yours (how I read them).

Now let's get back to the song and it's technical aspects. I used four tracks on the harmonies (BG). All were sculpted in Melodyne. Two found their origin in Biab (vocal harmony), the others were made "feminine" in the Daw. It took me years to deal with Melodyne, but it's paying off now: less time needed than before and better results. And I didn't read someone saying it did not ;-)



Hi Ezekiel, that's a nice comment and you underlined my statement about Melodyne. And yes, that fiddle worked out fine. I like using strings and the 5-strings even more on sad songs. They give a sensitive touch...



Hello Rob, thanks for listening and your nice comment. when composing the song I wanted an accoustic part, but I was hesitating about keeping the song with that one, or two, accoustic guitars or with more instruments coming in. Well, you heard what won. And you told me that was a good choice. Thanks!



Hi Deej, thanks for your reply. I love your opinione about the harmonies! And the "clap"? After you wrote about it, I immediately listened to the song, afraid I might have forgotten to turn it off during the verse. But it was doing what you would have liked. Still I re-mixed the song to get the "claps" louder in the chorus (and adjusting some other minor settings as well). And also thanks what you said about my voice. At home I told them about that. They think I faked your post. I think they're too Woke...

Have a nice day,
Hans

Hi Ray, Bob and TuneMonger,

Thanks a lot for listening to my song and your comments on it.
In my reply above to Ezekiel a.o. I went into details about the topic of the song and the use of Melodyne.
I will not really repeat this here, so I hope you will read that post too!



Hi Ray, thanks for your compliments. But first about the word 'Woke'. We think alike (on this)! Could you make some cool Punksong ont this topic too? Let Misha's wife sing it with you.
I did some adjustments on my drums (read my answer to Deej), and also on the Harmonies. I don't want them to sound harsh. That was my part. And you are right I am not so tactless or offensive as I sang I was. It was meant to be a bit ironic. The Dutch are 'famous' for their bluntness and tactlessness, that's why I used it.
I appreciate it very much you liked the arrangements on the harmonies. And also very relieved, I must confess...



Hello Bob, well, that's some kind of a compliment! Thanks a lot! But you set the bar high for me now...



Hi Tunemonger, what I wrote to Bob also applies to you. Like what you wrote about the message. Thanks, man!

Enjoy the weekend,
Hans

Truthfully honest I have deep respect for your ability to create masterpieces out of the ideas that come to you, Hans. I really like how this develops from "an acoustic ballad and becomes a kind of rock ballad" like there is desperation in the message. Very well done.

What a good sounding song Hans! Your vocals are emotive and sincere sounding! Super job constructing the band! Everything sounds like it's supposed to be there! Nothing is out of place! Lovely melody happing in those verses! The chorus section is memorable like a good song should be! Great job! Torrey

Hans,
Very artful and unique vibe on this tune! Good subject. Love the phrasing and harmony on it. And those drums! I wanna! Overall it sounds wholesome. Three listens, can not find anything to bite you with. Solid mix. Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

P.S. What did you use for the drums? Ceilings of Sound for Percussion - this?

Awesome Hans. Loved the intro. Fiddle was a very cool fill. Well done. Every new generation will be reduced to a label. Woke is derogatory term referred to left leaning generation. Now Trumper is the derogatory term for a right leaning individual with allot of hate in between the two. My generation was Hippie. Hope the two terms just become foot notes in history like the hippie term did and the hate is reduced to reasonable level. Very cool song by the way. Well done

Hans,

Excellent.

Good write. Super production. Excellent mix.

COOL drums.

Excellent use of Melodyne to create the harmonies. They sound really good.

GOOD vocal. Sits perfectly in the mix.

This is really well done. Maybe your best. You knocked this on OUTTA-THE-PARK!!

(To answer your earlier question - a while back - I never make comments on SC - I don't ever log in there unless I'm uploading a song).


fj

Hans,

This is really cool.

I really like the vocals on this one.

Hi Marty, Torrey and Misha,

Thanks for listening and replying on the song.
It's always nice to see that 'Woke'songs are still being listened to...



Hi Marty, I can only say 'wow' on this nice comment of you! It is true, I like it when my songs do that. Some say I often use too many instruments and then yell "keep it simple!", but that's too simple for me. That's why ballads become rock ballads. Thanks Marty!



Hi Torrey, I think I have to say 'wow' again, because of your words. Very nice said! I had some moments of doubt when constructing those harmonies. In the past I tried to make them sound natural, but they always felt a bit unreal. This was my first time I got these harmonies right. I was so happy, I wanted them much more upfront! But luckily I came to my senses again. And your post told me that was a right thing to do. Thanks!



Hi Misha, just now I saw you made a new song about the sitar. Well done!! And great you had nothing to bite me on my song too! Things are going well, I think. I'm very happy you mentioned the harmonies as something to be loved.

I wrote you about the drums, but for the sake of others who are interested: Yes, I used something that came on my (email) path, the ceilings of sound for percussion. Why I bought it was the way the programm compared the used drums with their database of 'marvellous drums' and apply these settings on your drums. Well, I've seen a lot of drum software and I'm not sure if this one is more special. I am still experimenting with it, but also with Machine3 from Native Instruments. Will be continued...


Have a very nice monday today,
Hans

"These wise sisters; Verity, Honesty and Esteem
Soon become a dream
They are real diamonds, only hard to get
But what they try to teach us, we forget"

Great write and in particular that chorus.

If there were a fourth sister her name would be Empathy.

Fine vocals and good Melodyne work (we received a freebie copy but have never learned the use of it ... too old for another learning curve :))

We liked the band, the arrangement and the mix. Good build and the fiddle solo was a great choice.

Enjoyed it!

J&B

Hello Janice and Bud!

Empathy, Hope and Love are their cousins...

Thanks for your very nice reply on my song. Especially the mentioning of the vocals.

I can tell you, the free Melodyne stuff won't be of much use. You need the full version. It has a steep learning curve (took me some years), but than it sounds acceptable or even good (like in this song). On the other hand, you don't need it. Janice has a beautiful voice of her own! And she can sing high or low, so a background is easy done.
And I don't think you're that old? I am maybe older and still learning. But maybe you don't have to. Your songs are always very good!

In my songs I sometimes want female vocals, but my wife, sons, friends and relatives can't sing that well, or even not at all.
One friend has a daughter singing in a band. Unfortunately she only wants to sing with me when I make a punk song.
I gave her Ray's address...

Cheers,
Hans

Verity, honesty and esteem are strongly alive in the lyrics, admitting not being so tactful and still not provoking too much in any direction. Beautiful melody and chording.
Very good instrument development from the acoustic start to the drums and the fiddle suits well the mood.
Vocals and mix are in perfect balance.

Janne

Hi Birchwood,

Beautiful guitar playing. Melodyn is a nice tool for vocals but also for rectifying realtracks generated by Biab. In any case, the result is excellent and it is very pleasant.

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

Hi Hans. Excellent acoustic intro and builds nicely. Thoughtful lyrics and good vocal.
Regards,
Leon

Hi Jannesan and Derochette,



Hi Janne, I'm very glad you liked it! Thanks for your nice comment. Will be continued...



Hello Deochette, Yes Melodyne is very nice, also on instruments I read. I haven't tried that. I was happy to learned the vocal harmonies. Thanks for listening and your comment!

Have a very nice day,
Hans

Hi Leon,



I'm happy you liked it. And the lyrics as well!!
Thanks for your comment.

Regards,
Hans

Hi Hans,

I really, really like this.

Your arrangement is spectacular. The beginning acoustic sound leading into a full rock band is perfect. It's easy to see the effect of this arrangement in the shape of the waveform on Soundcloud. The wave's amplitude is smaller at the start and progressively gets larger and larger as intensity increases because the arrangement develops. This overall "megaphone" shape is not something I've ever seen before on Soundcloud.

The standout for me was how you structured your verses. It was very, very effective. That is...

(1) "word-1," repeat "word-1" with more information
(2) add more meaning to the previous line (1)
(3) "word-2," repeat "word-2" with more information
(4) add extra meaning to line (3) and rhyme with line (2)

This structure strategy is a brilliant way to add emotional development to lyrics. You captured my imagination with it. I'm going to have to try my hand as creating some lyrics using this approach!


I'm heading back for another listen now!

All the best,
Noel

P.S.Thanks so much for the lessons in arranging and lyric writing. I sincerely appreciate them. That was the proverbial "icing on the cake" for me.

Hi Hans,

What a great "tactful" track...

As always your vocal performance is very good and the production is spot on! I think you did a nice job with melodyne and with the track in general.

Thanks a lot for sharing,
Will

I like it.

Last song I published here, like a year ago was a bit of a protest song on the same topic. It kind of helps when you don't get TOO explicit, though we both dropped single keyword hints ... it makes it more likely that a listener will get sucked in and start relating it to their own point of view, and then when that word hits ... they actually have to stop and reassess their worldview if it's not in line with yours. All in the privacy of their own heads, which is the best place to do it :-)

And if it is in line with yours, well they're going to like it anyway.

Nice job.

Hi Noel, Will and Phil,

Thanks for your so nice comments on this song. Sorry for the delay in answering them. Lots of things have caused this.




Hi Noel that was some post! I didn't know my song caused this all. Of course I'm very pleased to read all it did.
I hope to continue these 'lessons' in lyric writing. For me it doesn't feel like doing something special. I like writing, thinking about words and their (possible) meanings. But it's always a challenge to write them in correct English or (better) plain English. And rhyming too! Your example with Mary and her lamb is a very nice one.
I loved that last line of yours...



Hi Will, I'm very pleased with your comment! I thought Melodyne had no more secrets for me, but in a new song it totally messed up and I had to do the background vocals myself. So, ups and downs with that piece of software.



Hello Phil, Thanks man! Yes, protest songs are always some challenge. Some like it, some don't. I made a couple of songs on Trump some time ago. I realized there are people who want you to mind your own business and others that enjoyed them. Well, isn't that always the case? And if they like the lyrics, of course they have their own images the relate too. But that doesn't mean you can't make that kind of songs. As long as you can sound sincere, a little humorous, at least not sour! ( I think...)

So thanks everyone and have a very nice day,
Hans