there's a pawnshop down in jacksonville that owns about half my guns the title to my boat, my fishing gear and the rights to my first born son they've got my skil saw and my socket set and that black and decker drill i have my cookouts down at the pawnshop 'cause that's where i keep my grill
i spend a lot of time down at a-1 pawn since my wife used my clothes to decorate the lawn i may be only guessin', but i got the firm impression she wanted to see me gone between the pawnshop and that woman i'm giving it all away between the pawnshop and that woman i'll take the pawnshop any day
that woman kept my 4x4 the house and my mobile phone the pawnshop's got so much of everything else it's starting to feel like home one day i'll get back on my feet clear these pawnshop selves take everything back except that woman i'll leave her for someone else
that woman cleaned out the back accounts so i'm hocking what's left for cash she was one of those things in life you can't afford if you have to ask between the pawnshop and that woman i'm giving it all away between the pawnshop and that woman i'll take the pawnshop any day
the pawnshop's been like family i've got a cot and a place to stay so if your woman puts you down, come on around i'll buzz you through the gate between the pawnshop and that woman i'm giving it all away between the pawnshop and that woman i'll take the pawnshop any day
The Band... RealTracks in style: ~539:Bass, Electric, Pop Sw 120 RealTracks in song: 625:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Rascal Sw 075 RealTracks in song: ~959:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm CountryBoogieA-B Sw 140 RealTracks in song: ~975:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm CountrySwingCleanMuted Sw 140 RealTracks in style: ~1117:Fiddle, Background CountryBoogie Sw 140 RealTracks in song: 617:Pedal Steel, Background Shuffle Sw 136 RealTracks in song: 2165:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm NewOrleansSwinginPop Sw 130 MIDI SuperTracks in song: 2248:Piano, Soloist CountryShuffleJohn Sw 120 RealTracks in song: 1283:Guitar, Electric, Soloist CountryShuffleBrent Sw 120 RealTracks in song: 1279:Guitar, Electric, Soloist CountryBoogieBrent Sw 140 RealDrums in style: NashvilleShuffle^01-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride
again a masterpiece. Everything fits. (And there are a lot of RTs that had to be puzzled together). Very entertaining lyrics. I learned two new words (cot and skill saw). And your vocals delivery is spot on. You see me toe tapping while I'm writing this. Most enjoyable.
floyd, Once again you have displayed clever wordsmithing. A very fun and enjoyable listen. Great editing . The mix sounds good and the vocal is on point. Anyone who has spent as much time as I have in pawnshops knows that there is much joy in discovering good deals and much sadness in the stories that surround them. Very interesting places indeed for a number of different reasons. Another keeper in your catalogue of good uns. Tom
In principle I am not the biggest fan of Country music, but I noted some very interesting things in your song : first of all, the orchestration, many instruments and a mix which is very well done ; One other thing that interests me is the voices in the background, is it your voice with reverb or samples?
Deliciously humorous!! Crafty and fun. Everything this type of song should be. When I saw the title, I knew it'd be great but I wasn't sure what type of song it was. The last line of the chorus delivers the humorous blow after a great setup. The master is back in town!! Great work Floyd! Take care. Greg
Count me among the impressed as well. I'm always amazed by the unexpected lyrics you come up with. Not sure how you do it, but I like it. Thanks for sharing this.
That's quite a list of realtracks used here! Man, how do you get these mixes so crispy clear, uhm, yes you already explained once... We are trying to do the same in our recordings, but haven't managed to get this crystal clear audio quality yet. Anyway, another country song very well done!
Rob
We are Rob Meulman and Anne-Marie Bovenkamp from The Netherlands.
But the arrangement and mix were simply stunning - lots of variety, and the licks fit in like they were played just for the part, but never crowded or blocked the lyric.
What a great musical journey! A terrific drive through the countryside of down-to-earth humour. Scenery, laughs and smiles all the way. And a toe-tapping beat to keep the feet actively involved as well. All wrapped up in a first class arrangement, top notch performance and outstanding production. Excellent stuff!
After reading Herb's comment, “That's a true country song.... clever lyrical crafting, with more truth than should be the case”, I nodded my head in agreement. He summed up the lyrics well.
When I first saw the song's title in the forum, I sat looking at it and thinking about it for around 15 minutes. It's one of the most intriguing titles I've ever seen. I was fascinated and I found myself wondering how anyone could use such a title in a song. What theme links a 'pawnshop' to 'that woman'? While vivid images appeared when I thought about either 'pawnshop' or 'that woman', I could not, for the life of me, think of a link between the two that had sufficient potential to create a whole song lyric. I'm envious of your ability to find a song in the most unusual and unexpected places.
I can't remember which song it was but, a while back, I recall commenting on how you used the rhyme scheme found in limericks to complement the emotional journey of a serious song. In “Pawnshop”, you've chosen a different path. You've taken the rhyme technique of a limerick (AABBA) and used it to enhance the effect of comedy.
Quote:
i spend a lot of time down at a-1 pawn since my wife used my clothes to decorate the lawn i may be only guessin' but i got the firm impression she wanted to see me gone
While it's a little different in that the meter of the first two lines scans as one foot longer than those found in the traditional limericks, the last three phrases parallel the limerick's design.
After I heard you sing the above sequence of phrases, I burst out laughing. It wasn't until later when I was looking through the lyrics that I saw the format and realised how you made me laugh out loud. That was a very clever touch. If it's possible to be a 'Le Cordon Bleu' songwriter, you are definitely one.
Like with your song's title, I was also intrigued by the song's form. It's a very effective variation of AAA. The song travels along as ABABAB where the B-section is lyrically different each time and tagged with a refrain. The third A-section is an instrumental section. In the greater scheme of song formats, it's possible to group A and B together and simply call the pair a single section. This means that the song is essentially three song-sections: thus my comparison to AAA. I have to say, your use of the ABABAB format gives quite a different feel from the standard form where the B-section of a song is the chorus. I like it.
Having the third A-section as an instrumental is a terrific use of the 'Rule Of Two' that Steve Seskin introduced me to a few years ago. I've mentioned this a couple of times before in other songs. Using standard 'Applied Rule-Of-Two 101', after you've gone through the AB sequence twice, you go somewhere different before coming back to the third B section. It worked for me!
For those who read this and are not familiar with what Seskin means, his theory is that decades of popular songs and centuries of classical music have demonstrated that if one wants to achieve musical contrast without creating boredom for the listener, it's necessary to play a sequence and then to repeat it once. This establishes a feeling of familiarity. Then, after the familiar has been created, the power of contrast kicks in when the music goes somewhere different. Following the contrasting section, the music then returns to the familiar and the familiar section is more strongly emphasised because of the contrasting section. Seskin says that listeners generally feel a sense of satisfaction from this structure.
If anyone is interested in finding out more about the 'Rule Of Two', here's Mozart to help explain what I mean.
Quote:
This is the music performance...
...and this is some public domain sheet music that I've annotated. Simply left-click on the link and the pdf should open in a web page.
By hovering the mouse pointer over the comment boxes (#1) in the pdf, what I've written (#2) becomes visible.
In relation to the first page of music only, if I put the various sections of Rondo Alla Turca into letters, I get the layout pattern...
A A B A' B A' C
(where A' = A-section with slight variation)
That is, by the end of page 1 of the music...
First the A-section is repeated twice (establishing familiarity); then the music moves into a B-section (contrast). The B-section then leads back to the A-section (return to the familiar) with a slight variation to accommodate an ending. This sequence of BA' is then repeated again and establishes the larger pattern of B+A' as the new familiar section. The playing then enters into a C-section (a new contrast).
More succinctly...
A-section twice
The B-section is heard as contrast (Rule Of Two)
The BA'-sections play twice
C-section starts and is heard as a new contrast (Rule Of Two)
This pattern is one of a number of ways that Steve Seskin's 'Rule Of Two' appears in music.
Quote:
Out of interest, and if my analysis is correct, the full performance of Rondo Alla Turca maps the following sequence of musical sections.
A A B A' B A' C C D D E D' E D' C C
...change key...
A A B A' B A' C' C' Ending
Lastly, I liked the way that you ended each song section with a refrain that finished with an open, long vowel sound. The “-ay” sound felt comfortable. If my memory serves me correctly, I'm pretty sure that I've read somewhere that Oscar Hammerstein II (of Rodgers and Hammerstein, “Sound Of Music”, etc.) liked to end the lyric of his song sections on an open vowel wherever he could, too. Seems like you're in good company.
Quote:
In an attempt to verify my above comment, I've just checked out the ultimate syllable of the songs in the "Sound Of Music". Out of 11 songs, 7 of them ended with open vowel sounds, 1 ended with an open vowel sound terminated with 'm' (i.e. "dream" where the 'm' can be musically sustained), and three songs ended with a hard consonant 'd'.
It seems as though my memory wasn't playing tricks on me this time around. That's a relief
Once again, thank you for letting me work my way through your songs. I really enjoy trying to apply what I've picked up from books and seminars. It's through these analyses that I learn such a lot. In so many ways, your works are a terrific resource for understanding the finer points of song craftsmanship.
All in all… an excellent creation, an excellent presentation and a brilliant production. It seems to me that you have definitely discovered how to output the quality of a professional studio. This really doesn't sound like BIAB at all.
There are over 30 new features to RealBand 2024, including 256 available tracks, 32 VSTi/DXi synth instances, modern color scheme for some windows, Playable RealDrums support, new arrow buttons to change the current time, chord symbols to display in the Track window, 48 tracks to display in the Mixer, the ability to hide any extra masters or auxes in the Mixer, improved handling of VU levels in the Track window, better VU levels display when recording to mono tracks, song preview in the StylePicker, the ability to initiate track generation from the StylePicker, and much more!
RealBand 2024 is included with all Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Windows orders - and our 2024 upgrades are ON SALE until December 31st! Until then, save up to 50% - upgrade for as little as $49!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows is here with over 50 new features and an amazing collection of new content, including 222 RealTracks, new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 3, Playable RealDrums Set 2, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17, and more!
We're having a SALE on Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Upgrade purchases until December 31, 2023 - save up to 50% when you purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Upgrade!
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK with some incredible Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Windows 2024 packages, but for more even more Add-ons (including 50 Unreleased RealTracks!) upgrade it to the 2024 49-PAK for only $49. You can see the full lists of items in each package, and listen to demos here.
Band-in-a-Box® 2023 for Mac is macOS Sonoma Compatible!
We're over the moon to announce that the latest Band-in-a-Box® 2023 for Mac Build 707 is compatible with macOS Sonoma!
Refresh your Band-in-a-Box® 2023 for Mac today with this free update to resolve visibility of notation in the Notation Window, apply smoother use of notation features, update to the Drums VU meter, and add the newest version of the DAW Plugin (5.5.13).
Revisit: Eyes on Success featuring PG Music Inc., Band-in-a-Box®, and the Updated JAWS Script
In the past, Eyes on Success featured an episode that discussed our company history and Band-in-a-Box® program with Tobin, our chief development officer, including how Band-in-a-Box® is even more accessible with the help of their JAWS screen reader scripts!
Later on this month, Eyes on Success will be releasing an episode that features Gudrun Brunot talking about her new tutorials about how to use Band-in-a-Box® with JAWS.
It's a great idea to pair the two episodes together!
Eyes on Success is a weekly radio show / podcast geared to the visually impaired called "Eyes On Success" and that can be found at www.EyesOnSuccess.net.
Find out more about the show and get links to past episodes at www.EyesOnSuccess.net
User Tip: How to add drum fills without changing any other tracks
MarioD has shared some great advice when it comes to adding drum fills without changing any other tracks in your song:
There have been a number of questions asking how to add drum fills without changing any other tracks in a song. This is especially important if one is holding a chord for a few measures and wants to add a drum fill prior to the next chord. The following is how to accomplish that:
1-get the instruments/tracks to play like you want but don't worry about the drums for now.
2-generate the song.
3-freeze all tracks
4-unfreeze the drum track
5-add your fills where you want them
6-generated the song again - note this will only generate the drum track and not the frozen tracks
7- when you get the drums like you want them freeze the track
Review - Band-in-a-Box® 2023 for Windows is Overflowing with Features!
Dennis posted his very thorough Band-in-a-Box® review recently, where he dives into some of the new features added with version 2023: Sound-Guy's Band-in-a-Box Review
Read his thoughts on the Download & Install Manager, partial track regeneration, Playable RealTracks, Audio Editing, the addition of SynthMaster, the VST DAW Plugin, and more!
"Band-in-a-Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is, without negative connotation, a monster of a program. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. No DAW can do some of the things BIAB does, while BIAB can do a lot that DAWs do."
Band-in-a-Box® Tutorials for Low-vision and Blind Program Users
Our friends at EyesFree_Tutorials have just released their Band-in-a-Box Tutorials, Bundle 2!
Created for low-vision and blind program users, this collection of Band-in-a-Box for Windows tutorials includes 31 audio instruction files and 19 music files for practice, plus help documents. Specific topics include "ABACA, let's make a song form," "Recording melody and lead-in," "Playing and editing: part markers; the handy clipboard. The play function. Search and replace," and more!
Learn more about their new tutorials, and connect with Roy & Gudrun to order the Band-in-a-Box Tutorials, Bundle 2 here.
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