Any Other Day


I wrote this just for the heck of it - not for any particular opportunity or reason other than I wanted to. Although I've written quite a few, I hadn't written a piece of film music in quite some time. It features trumpet and jazzy-bluesy piano taking the lead. My biggest concern is if the strings are too loud - I tend to do that sometimes.

The piano solo and intro is a BIAB midi track. This is the best I've ever got a midi acoustic piano to sound. I was very happy with that.

The trumpet is very temperamental! I tried to even out the volume fluctuations with compression and track adjustments, but never got it as smooth and even as I wanted. I tried a third compression on it but that took away too much of the trumpets character. So I left it alone after track adjustments (lowering and raising the trumpet volume in various individual bars) and 2 mild compressions.

Thanks in advance for any listens and comments. Wishing everyone well.

Alan




File:Any Other Day.MGU
Key=Eb , Tempo 89, Length (m:s)=4:40
4 bar intro, 32 bar chorus, from bar 5 to bar 36. Repeat x3 choruses
Melody has 988 notes, Melody harmony is < no harmony >(0)
Soloist track has 715 notes, Soloist harmony is < no harmony >(0)
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,
Song is saved with bar changes for Volume Changes,


Style is C_CLOUDS.STY (Clouds - Top 40 Country R&B)

Style MIDI Instruments are : Fretless Elec. Bass (36), Slow Strings (50),
RealTracks in song: ~~365:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 1409:Piano, SynthLayer, Rhythm Soul70sSteady Ev16 100
RealTracks in song: ~~1069:Trumpet, Soloist SmoothJazzCool Sw16 100 (Bluesy)
MIDI Drums :41 Brushes Kit (41)

RealDrums substituted :NashvilleEven16^1-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

Great job on this, Alan! I really, really enjoyed this. It sounds wonderfully cinematic, and it wouldn't sound out of place at all as part of a movie soundtrack. I love the sound of the trumpet in this tune. The whole song has a cloud of eerie-ness hanging over it, but it still got stuck in my head.

Thanks so much for sharing

Thanks, Deryk,

Glad you enjoyed it. And yes, there's an edge of eeriness - by design! Thanks again. Best to you and your colleagues at PG Music.

Alan.

Very cool piece of music. Trumpet was excellent. Love this instrument. My brother played the trumpet when we kids. Loved it when he was practicing. Just filled the house with the coolest sound. Song brought back some very dear memories. Thanks for that....Well done

For all the fiddling you did with your trumpet, I think it came out sounding absolutely lovely! And I don't think the strings sound too loud at all. Altogether I think this is quite the successful song!

Thanks for sharing! <3

Excellent song. Super real tracks in it.
Great trumpet. Very enjoyable.

Sergio

Thanks so much, Scott. It's always such a nice compliment when someone tells you your music brings back nice memories. I'm delighted I was able to do that. Wishing you the very best.

Alan

Hi Ember!

Always a delight to hear from you. Of I fiddle around with my trumpet, does that mean I can also trumpet around with my fiddle? Just wonderin'!

Thank you for the time to listen and your wonderful comments. I appreciate both very much. Wishing you and the entire PG Music staff the very best.

Alan

Hi Sergio. Thank you very much for your very nice comments. I'm glad you enjoyed the song! Best to yoi.

Alan

I had wondered if you would catch my pun! Really excited for your next one!

Al,
I enjoyed this - it has the space for your film music purpose and the balance sounds good.
Best of luck with getting your music picked up!

Robert

I completely agree with Deryk, it sounds really cinematic. But that was the point I guess. Thanks for sharing Alan.

Ember ... I also write novels and have a series that's in the humor genre ...I always look for little things like that!

Thanks so much. I appreciate the nice comments and good wishes. Wishing you the very best,

Alan

hello,

First,welcome to the PG Music Showcase Forum. There are many fine and talented people here.Hope you enjoy your time listening to their great creations as I have. Also, it's good to get constructive feedback from other forum members.

I appreciate you very nice comments and encouragement. And yes, i wrote this specifically with the intent of creating a film soundtrack piece. I write in many genres and Film/TV is one of my favorites.

Again, welcome and many thanks. Wishing you well. It's always a little special to be the recipient of a new member's first post!

Alan

Yeah! Nice one, Alan, you set a great mood with this piece. Trumpet is the cats meow! Strings sound perfect to me in the mix, but I'm no expert when it comes to strings.

Man, that midi piano sounds great! Which VSTi are you using on that?

Hi Dave,

Thanks so much for the listen and those great comments - they put a smile on my face! I'm happy you enjoyed your listen. I didn't have to mess with the trumpet track too much - it fell into place pretty quickly, other than the significant volume fluctuations. That was quite a chore!

The midi piano is an indigenous BIAB track, as follows -Instrument: 1 Piano. I worked it over in Audacity for quite some time but was happy with the results. I EQ'ed with emphasis on the middle high range, dropped the lower EQ a slight amount and added some plate reverb. It took me multiple attempts to get the right mix of those things.but, I think it was worth the time and effort.

Again, many thanks for kudos! Best to you,

Alan

Nice job,

very relaxing and smooth sound

love that piano sound, nice tickling gain' on

I find that I have to "ride" volumes on many guitar parts

you da the man!

Kenny

Can hear how hard you worked on this.
Midi is always a challenge to get it sounding right.
However you succeeded with very well with this work.
Could see this in a movie.
Rob

Hi Alan.

Been missing over the summer, but back now and it's great to listen to the showcase again.

Well, this would be worth the listen just for that piano solo. I can see why you're pleased with the sound, but on top of that I just loved the blues timing. Anyone who's ever tried to play off-the-grid timing like that will realise what an art it is. It's similar to Albert Collins on guitar.

But the piano is just part of it. The trumpet is inspired and the whole atmospheric feel is pure cinema. Personally, I couldn't fault the mix.

Loved it.

ROG.