Background
I find myself pushing my composition and arrangement boundaries more and more. Hopefully I didn’t extend myself too far on this.

My Sweet Rose Petal

For any farmers in the crowd, this is not about a run-away goat that got into the flower garden

Technicals
Song Form: Intro-A-B-C-A-B-C-A-Outro
Tempo: 75 BPM
Key: ??? Multiple?

BiaB:
RealTracks in style: ~904:Piano, Electric, Rhythm SmoothCool Sw16 075
RealTracks in song: ~688:Organ, B3, Background Pop Ev 065
RealTracks in song: 1690:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm PopPromise Ev16 100
RealTracks in song: 2019:Sax, Tenor, Soloist PopCountryMark Ev 085 - Solo
RealDrums in style:SmoothJazzCoolSw16^2-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

Me:
Bass
Korg “Mahoosive Pad Surge” (Intro & Outro)
Korg “VS Bell” (Motif on the verses)

Recorded and mixed in Studio One.
Thanks for any comments.

HI Bass Thumper ...

That's a really cool song. I like the Smooth RnB influence on the over-all production. Nice chord progression and key modulations. The transitions were very smooth and worked really nice.

One suggestion: bring the sax quite a bit more forward in the mix and give it a little more reverb. Other than that, really, really nice! I enjoiyed my listen very much!

Alan

Bass Thumper, you have come a long way in a very short time!

Every song shows improvement in your bass and composition skills

Excellent work

Hi Bass Thumper,

This is your best yet I think, of the ones I've heard anyway. I like the chord progression, the laid-back groove, and also the arrangement.

Solid work on the bass, and I liked the Bells you played via the korg.

Well done!

Great work, it's been fun listening to you grow, and this piece is a fine example of that growth. Keep it up!!

Many thanks Alan.
Regarding adding reverb; a great suggestion, I just need to find out what reverb is and how to apply it

Many thanks Mario. I have a long way to go. It's hard to believe that a guy like me is actually running with the "big dogs" here. This is more a testament to the ingenuity of BiaB than anything else. I don't even know what reverb is !

Wooof Wooof !

Hey Attitude, many thanks for the kind words.
You are one of the many "big dogs" I admire here.

Regarding the groove, yeah, this took several takes on the bass to get it where the song demanded. My normal inclination is to provide plenty of rhythm but this one demanded a much more laid-back or reserved groove to let the other instruments carry the day. [I apologize if I'm not using the correct musical vocabulary to describe this.]

When searching for a voice, the bells came naturally as well as the notes I came up with. Truth be told, I don't even know what the notes actually are, to me they're just a nice sounding keyboard pattern that my fingers were somehow led to.

Thanks Monger,
I'm certainly going to try to keep the growth growing. These past 2 years have been quite rewarding.
Not sure if anyone else can relate, but each song I post is a risk of being a total flop. But the fun of wrestling with the dozens of choices I'm faced with on each arrangement is worth it.

Sweet soulful music, relaxing and beautiful. Nice chord progression and good selection of instruments. Bells work very well. The bass gives the solid foundation, and the sax has that guaranteed melancholy I always enjoy (I agree that more reverb for it would be nice).

Janne

Bass Thumper,
Seems you are getting better and better at arranging. Neat tune, many cool passages. Good structure and clear mix. Keep doing what you are doing and thank you for sharing.

Misha.

Nice work BassThumper.
I'm not sure the sound of the bells is the perfect vehicle for the motif given the rest of the band but the motif works anyway.

Glad you liked this Janne and you always offer insightful analysis. Thanks so much. I need to explore reverb for sure.

Hey Misha, glad you like the passages. [By chance are you familiar with Time Passages by Al Stewart?, a great song.]
You also offer insightful analysis. Many thanks.

Thanks Ray, I appreciate the analysis. Picking vehicles for my motifs is always something I struggle with. And thanks go to Dan MusicTeacher music man for bringing "motif" into my vocabulary.

Hi Bass Thumper,

Very relaxing atmosphere. The sax playing is very pleasant. Well done

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

Steve,

Nicely done.
Everything in this sounds good.
Terrific Bass sound. Nicely played.

A really nice listen. Smooth.

fj

Hi Bass Thumper,

Cool composition.
We agree with AL, that the sax might be a bit more forward in the mix.
Nice listen.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Derochette, fj, Rob and Anne-Marie, many thanks for the listen.

I admire all you folks and your comments mean a lot.

Cheers to all,
--Steve

Lovely song Steve. Very cool laid-back piece of music. Well done

I'm grooving to the music, bobbing my head to and fro. Sweet sound!

What they said - sounds good to me!

Many thanks Scott, I was hoping it would be percieved as laid-back.

Wow, bobbing to and fro, that's quite a compliment.
Thanks Storm.

Glad it sounded good to you, I appreciate the listen and comment.

You laid down a good groove with the progression and your bass along with the RT's.
The mashup of sw and ev tracks seemed to work well.

Nice clean not too "edgy" and not too "round" bass tone also.
The sweet spot.

And we are always down with an expressive sax.

Enjoyed it!

J&B

PS: Regarding reverb ... its been the primary track effect since Elvis and earlier. The right reverb and the right amount will help a track seem to both move forward and melt into the mix while still maintaining its presence. Google is your best friend! You could spend a lifetime researching it but no doubt there are plenty good summaries. Oh, and I guess you have noted that BiaB puts reverb on its tracks that you can increase or decrease.

Pretty instrumental and some good advice from the forum.

Nice work.

Peter

Many thanks J&B, glad you liked the groove and enjoyed this arrangement. And I agree, there's nothing like the sax !

Thanks Peter, I appreciate yours and others listens and comments.
Glad you like this, that's always my goal.

Really sweet jazz tune...loved the way you weaved the instruments in and out...the sax steals the show and the bass is a great foundation to build on...great listen! Dan

Very nice work, BT. Smooth with a really good feel



-----------------------------
Kajun Jeaux
https://www.reverbnation.com/louisianasblackwaterstudio

Oooo. Such a strong and engaging composition, Steve. Your bass is session-man quality. The band and the mix are fine. The sax sometimes seems a bit to the back, but that is a matter of opinion. The way you mixed it is perfect. My first time through I listened as a fan and loved it. The second time I listened for something I could say to make it better. That feeble sax attempt was all I got.

Thanks for the comments Dan. You are quite an astute listener.
Yes, instrument weaving. I really like the element of call-and-answer where two or more instruments are communicating with one another. I try to use it when it makes sense.

Hey Kajun, thanks for the listen.
Glad you enjoyed the feel.

What can I say about your comments Marty? "Session-man quality" is way over the top but mighty appreciated. I'm not even a teenager on my instrument yet.

Regarding the sax that sometimes fades to the back. Man, you have a good pair of ears underneath that coyote skin hat. I too noticed that. It came straight out of the BiaB box. I had no influence on it. But when I first heard it I said, "wow, I like it". It has a live feel to it where the sax player might not always be able to maintain 0dB variation thru out the song. I wonder if this was an intentional feature programmed by PG Music?

This is one of those subjects that could deserve it's own thread . . . how much "error" or humanizing should we strive for vs how much computer-generated-microsecond-perfection. Not having thought about this much, I'm leaning towards "error".

Bass Thumper,

Keep expanding those boundaries! This has a great smooth jazzy sound! Adding the sax really nails it down! The bass playing sounds great too!

Thanks, Torrey

Many Thanks Torrey, I agree, there's no instrument like the sax especially when Mark Douthit is involved

I agree with the others that you've done a nice job of the write, arrangement, performance and production. You put a nice band together.

Charlie

Smoothly done, Bassthumper.

Vic

Hey Charlie, really appreciate the listen and feedback. I'm still relatively new at this but is has been one fun ride so far. Very little of what I've done would be possible without this wonderful tool called BiaB

Thanks Vic, glad you enjoyed it.

How great ,deep sound has this beautiful song!
So easy to listen
enjoying all the way

Jona

Hey Jona, thanks for the listen and I really appreciate the feedback.
Glad you enjoyed this.