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Posted By: jakestone161 I Wish I Could Say - 10/26/21 01:06 AM
I WISH I COULD SAY

I Wish I Could Say
Hybrid Style:
Key C, Tempo: 97 bpm
Bass: ~2474:Bass, Acoustic, Held Ev 085
Drums: RealDrums=RockHardLA^7-a:Snare, Bellride , b:Snare, Crash Ride

This started as poem was inspired by the lyrics of “It’s Been A While By Stained” and “Wishlist” by Pearl Jam. When I got the copyright notice for the poem, I decided to write some music for it as just an acoustic guitar piece. I ended up recording it on electric with a light chorus. Over a year later, I got BIAB and decided to add some drums and bass.

I recorded guitar and vocals myself before getting BIAB, used the AutoChord analyzer and then loaded up my WAV file into BAIB and played with the styles until I found something that I liked. I think the drums have a Bad Company feel. That wasn't at all the direction that I was going when I wrote the song, or what I had when it was just guitar/vocals. BIAB made it a different song, and I think a better one.

I recorded and mixed with a combination of Reaper and Audacity. Reaper has better effects and EQ, but it is a real pain to use. The interface for Audacity is so much easier. I don’ understand why the interface for “real” production software has to be so counterintuitive.
Posted By: CaptainMoto Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/27/21 11:54 AM
This is quite a eclectic presentation.
I like the ever-present guitar riff and the drums sound great.

moto
Posted By: CaptainMoto Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/27/21 11:54 AM
This is quite a eclectic presentation.
I like the ever-present guitar riff and the drums sound great.

moto
Posted By: jakestone161 Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/29/21 01:02 AM
Thank you, CaptainMoto.
Posted By: Scott C Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/29/21 02:32 PM
Very cool tune. I remember tunes like this from the late 60's early 70's. Well done. Brought some back some memories from some very cloud times lol..
Posted By: rayc Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/30/21 12:09 AM
It'd be cool if you'd add the lyrics so I don't have to listen so hard.
You are aware that the timing and phrasing between your guitar and the BIAB stuff aren't exactly in synch.
I suspect this could be really powerful with some work.
Posted By: Birchwood Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/30/21 06:36 AM
Hello Jakestone,

An interesting song, although I agree with Ray about the missing of the lyrics and that synchronicity, especially with the drums.
I'm still puzzled if I like it or not. Feels a bit strange...
And what a sudden end. Cool!

Hans
Posted By: jakestone161 Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/30/21 05:38 PM
Many thanks, Scott C!!!
Posted By: jakestone161 Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/30/21 05:49 PM
Rayc,

Here are the lyrics:
I wish I could say I've always done what’s right,
I wish I could say that I’m your shining knight.
I wish I could say I've always been by your side,
I wish I could say that I’ve never lied.
I wish I could say I've always know just what to do,
I wish I could say I've always lived by the Golden Rule.

But I fall short of perfection,
Wrongs in need of correction,
Apologies and excuses, I obsess,
I know the lessons that they teach,
All I covet lies beyond my reach.

I wish I could say I've never been that confused,
I wish I could say that I've never been used.
I wish I could say that I've always been tough,
I wish I could say that I've never given up.
I wish I could say that this isn’t overdue,
I wish I could say I've always been good to you.

But I fall short of perfection,
Wrongs in need of correction,
Apologies and excuses, I obsess,
I know the lessons that they teach,
All I covet lies beyond my reach.

I wish I could say that I've never taken more than I need,
I wish I could say that I've never made you bleed.
I wish I could say that I've never caused you pain,
I wish I could say that I can stop the rain.
I wish I could say that I always think things through,
I wish I could say that I'm truly good for you!

But I fall short of perfection,
Wrongs in need of correction,
Apologies and excuses, I obsess,
I know the lessons that they teach,
All I covet lies beyond my reach.



As far as the timing, I think that this is probably due the fact that I had guitar/vocals already recorded and forced them into the BIAB bass & drums. I was recording as a scratch pad, just not wanting to lose the idea. I was really happy with the vocals, so I wanted to keep it. Unfortunately, I didn't keep all of the tracks, so what I had was a vocal & guitar that was just vocal & guitar for more than a year. Then I forced it to fit a drum & bass track. I had to sacrifice some of the precision to do that. I'm not a great musician. I'm a songwriter, and I was hoping that I can communicate my ideas to more talented people who can make them even better.
Posted By: Mark Hayes Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/30/21 06:42 PM
You know, I like the out-of-syncness, at first. It feels polyrhythmic, not broken.

But when it gets louder, I find myself wishing things would come together, rhythmically, more than they do.

You could certainly adjust things in a DAW if not BIAB (maybe even in BIAB, I don't know such things), but maybe you're happy with it this way?
Posted By: TuneMonger Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/30/21 08:07 PM
This was decidedly unmusical for me, yet I can hear the potential. I'm a fan of Captain Beefheart and maybe I can hear some of that in this piece. I would say keep working on it and see where it takes you. Bonus points for creativity.
Posted By: Mark Hayes Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/30/21 08:13 PM
Originally Posted By: TuneMonger
I'm a fan of Captain Beefheart and maybe I can hear some of that in this piece.


I was thinking that too.
Posted By: rayc Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/30/21 08:50 PM
Thanks for the lyrics...I enjoyed reading them.
Are the vocals and guitar on the one track?
Did you go through Audio Chord Wizard to set up a backing?
What DAW are you using?
If you can provide answers we might get you to a stage at which you can decided how much time slip suits you etc.
Posted By: Ghostgum Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/30/21 09:55 PM
To echo Captain Moto, this is indeed eclectic. Some might add, "bold, evocative, alternative or even psychedelic."
Musically, it's like a plugged-in, 21st Century take on the seminal work produced by the Portsmouth Sinfonia Orchestra (1970-79). It certainly pushes the envelope and, in my opinion, it definitely has a certain educational value.

Thanks for sharing.
Posted By: Mark Hayes Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/31/21 12:26 AM
Just to mention, even tracks that are married by mixdown can be divorced by AI:

https://www.algoriddim.com/neural-mix

It separates this recording fairly well into drum, bass, guitar, and voice tracks.
Posted By: bluage Re: I Wish I Could Say - 10/31/21 02:11 PM
'jakestone161'...

Whoa! Look out, townfolk, there's a new Sheriff in town, and you're a fool if you think that gee-tar ain't loaded.

Man, your song is some kind of great, staggering, free-form explosion of rock ballardry that barges in with big, shiny boots and some in-your-face attitude. If I was in a bar, I'd hide behind it to give you even more room to 'talk your talk' and 'walk your walk'.

I truly believe User's Forum member 'Ghostgum' touched the edge of truth in his perceptive comments on your song. What's more, even, is that the absence of melodic/rhythmic continuity could be interpreted as an attempt to free the song from the confines of beat/meter/measure
/tempo rules just like avant-garde jazz musicians have done. Regardless of your own intentions, the effect is exhilarating and musically liberating.

I like this! I like it a lot. It's freshly conceived, original in its sound, and powerful good, performance-wise.

Well done, sir, well done. Would you put your lyrics in, please? They're too integral to the impact of your song to be omitted from your post.
Posted By: jakestone161 Re: I Wish I Could Say - 11/03/21 09:03 PM
bluage,

You are very kind. How do I put the lyrics into the post? I'm new at this whole PG Music Forum thing.
Posted By: Greg Johnson Re: I Wish I Could Say - 11/04/21 08:48 PM
Originally Posted By: CaptainMoto
This is quite a eclectic presentation.
I like the ever-present guitar riff and the drums sound great.

moto


Agree with the Cap'n! I would make the vocal a bit louder relative to the instruments. Nice job!! Take care. Greg
Posted By: bluage Re: I Wish I Could Say - 11/06/21 05:04 PM
Originally Posted By: jakestone161
bluage,

You are very kind. How do I put the lyrics into the post? I'm new at this whole PG Music Forum thing.

Hello, again, 'jakestone161'...

You would simply go back to your original post, select the 'edit' option, and then insert the lyrics.
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