Registered: 09/27/06
Posts: 1706
Loc: Victoria, BC
We recently shared the project we worked on with Floyd Jane: The Birth of a Song with a short (under 6 min) video link.
But it can take longer than 5 minutes to explain the songwriting process! The project is complete, and in this extended version of the video (it's over an hour long!), Songwriter Floyd Jane shows in detail the songwriting process from inspiration to performance and publication. (YouTube link: https://youtu.be/qPrejgnwb4M)
The idea for this project came about when many members on this forum and elsewhere were asking questions about the song writing process. There are many aspects, and many parts of it necessary to create a song, get it arranged, performed, and then published on the internet. So we asked the great songwriter Floyd Jane, who is a regular member on this forum, if he could help. Floyd agreed and was even able to collaborate with other forum members, Janice and Bud. The result is this video we put together that you can see on YouTube, called "The Birth of a Song (w/Floyd Jane)".
We hope this video helps other songwriters with their songwriting process, and also shows them tools that are available to them along the way. Also, we mention this User Showcase Forum, and hope to see many new aspiring or accomplished songwriters join this community blush
A big Thank You to Floyd for sharing your knowledge with the community and making this possible, and to Janice and Bud for your great collaboration!
Table of contents for the full length video: CHAPTER INDEX: 1 - The Challenge - 01:23 2 - Inspiration for the Song - 01:57 3 - The Musical Hook - 02:58 4 - Writing the Lyrics - 03:21 5 - Writing the Chorus - 04:29 6 - Taking a Break and Refining the Lyrics - 05:53 7 - Adding the Musicians and Creating the Arrangement with Band-in-a-Box® - 10:56 8 - Exporting the Band-in-a-Box® Tracks to use in Studio One - 26:10 9 - Using Studio One to Record the Vocals - 26:59 10 - Importing Band-in-a-Box® tracks to Studio One - 29:14 11 - Microphone Setup - 32:51 12 - Recording the Vocals - 37:57 14 - Creating the Guitar Solo in Band-in-a-Box® - 42:43 15 - Recording the Electric Guitar Lick - 47:07 16 - Mastering the Song in Sound Forge & Follow up - 47:35 17 - Uploading Finished Song to SoundCloud - 51:09 18 - Posting to the Band-in-a-Box® "User Showcase Forum" - 53:53 19 - Concluding Thoughts - 58:28 20 - "A Little Bit Of Me" Music Video - 1:00:13
The original shorter version of this video:
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Callie Marketing Representative PG Music Inc.
Good idea to break it up into chapters too, I just finished watching a few of them, will watch more later when I have more time.
BTW, love your tele style guitar, Floyd! When I was a kid, 15 or so, I vividly remember seeing an off white tele with a white pickguard in the local music store, first time I had ever seen a Fender in real life (grew up in a very small town). Ever since then I've always wanted one with that particular colour scheme.
Registered: 05/12/12
Posts: 2554
Loc: South Africa
Really enjoyed this and learned a few things along the way. Very inspiring, which is what I need right before FAWM. Especially loved the music video at the end.
Thanks Floyd and PG Music for sharing this video – really interesting to see how others work with songwriting and the technical part of the production. Always some good tips and tricks to pick up. And the MusicVideo at the end – as Joanne mentioned above – great stuff!
@Dave (BlueAttitude) - Hey, Dave... tell you a "secret"... the tele is a G&L ASAT Classic that I picked up on the Musician's Friend Stupid Deal for $299. BEST! $299 I've ever spent! Out of the box, the intonation was perfect. The neck has a silkiness that is a pure joy to play - feels great, so smooth. It stays in tune amazingly well. I grab it most often now (over my Strat) as my "play a little guitar" guitar... love it. Keep an eye out for the Stupid Deal (they have run it again since I got it) - their return policy is good in case you don't want to keep it...
@Charlie - (congrats on your award!) Glad you enjoyed this - it is a lot to watch....
@Joanne - Thanks for watching. Really glad you liked the video at the end! We had a lot of fun making that!....
@Einar - Thanks! Pleased that you like the ending Video!
@Charlie Gannon - Thanks for all your work on this!
Registered: 12/27/13
Posts: 1724
Loc: St. Louis, MO. USA
Very enjoyable to watch Floyd!
I was really interested in your description of the harmonies and that you just use a 3rd above. When I did mine I wasn't sure and mostly did 3rd above with a 3rd below turned down much lower. Nice to know I won't need to work below.
Liked that you used the same 2688 Brent Mason soloist that I did. It's amazing that those soloists can cross genres so well. Took the tip in to generate the entire track a few times. I only did once. Like you, the solo part that was already aligned with my guitar solo section of the song and worked as-is and I didn't have to play with it.
Enjoyed the final music video on the song too. Good idea with the lyrics on the wall. Well done.
Thanks for spending the time in making this video for those of us that can use it as a learning experience!
I enjoyed this and learnt a few new things about BIAB. I just wish you also used Realband and Reaper! Seriously, I thought it was really well put together and I loved the Dylanesk bit at the end!
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Windows 10 Home 1809 Build 19037.1 BIAB 2020 (Build 706) Intel(R) Core(TM), i3-4160, CPU @3.60 GHz RAM 16 GB, 64 Bit X64-based processor Zoom UAC-2 (USB 3 interface-built in midi) VoiceLive 3 Extreme, Sputnik Valve Condenser Mic
@steve - typically in this type song and production (which covers MOST of them) all you need for harmonies are a third above. And you can do a bunch of them. That makes the background big and fat - AND subtle - all important things...
@Mr. Snyder - the acoustic is a Yamaha FG500. Fairly rare. A GORGEOUS instrument. Like a well worn Martin. It was damaged years ago, which caused the saddle to release. I replaced it myself (with Elmer's glue and a new saddle). Mic? That is just my wife's iPhone recording what we did (she did a GREAT job of handling the videography throughout)
@Terry - I use the standard version of BIAB. For most of my productions it is all I need. I have heard a few things using the Audiophile version that make a difference - if your song is mainly acoustice guitars - and the cymbals are sometimes noticeable - but for productions that include electric guitars, I can't hear the difference... a matter of choice and styles...
That was awesome. You gave me some good ideas and I liked how you used Studio One. Since I’m a sonar user, I was looking at studio one as a replacement since cakewalk seems to have gone belly up.
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He who is not busy being born is busy dying. - Bob Dylan
@Neil - glad you got a little out of this. I hadn't really thought of the ending video as "Dylan-esque"... I had thought about doing just a lyric video and then decided to try more of a "hybrid" approach....
@Dave - thanks...again!
@bodhi65 - Studio One is a great DAW (imo). You might give Reaper a try, too...
Registered: 04/13/16
Posts: 1670
Loc: Stanwell Park NSW Australia
I've downloaded the updated/extended version. thanks. It's a cool comparison of workflow as well as a few handy hints.
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Cheers rayc "What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe Pop on over to The Recording Rebels for positive, honest commentary, critiques and support. https://therecordingrebels.com
Top Notch!!!, anyone who writes music should watch this video. I will more than once. Floyd mentioned something about a line while riding a lawn mover, HA, how many songs have been started mowing a yard, or riding a tractor. A great video guys!!!
A big thanks to you, Floyd (and Janice & Bud) for putting this together. While PGM's instructional videos are very good, seeing another forum member use it really gives some insight into the creative process beyond the nuts and bolts of using BIAB. I'm thinking the only thing harder than the entire song creation process is DOCUMENTING the song creation process. So thanks for what I'm sure was a lot of work.
Floyd, I'd really like to see an interview style video on how you guys who were writing on music row went about coming up with song ideas and turning them into a finished song for a recording project. Hook, lyrics, music. Because of your 15 years on the row you have some unique insights to share. I think it would be fascinating.
Thanks for all your hard work and to the folks at PG Music who helped get it out there.
Late to the party, but just wanted to echo thanks for the video and demonstration. That dang song will be in my head until next week, at least. :-)
I smiled with recognition at the first parts, picked up some good pointers in the latter parts, and just enjoyed the video and complete play through at the end. I hope that lyric sheet is worth big money one day.
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BIAB 2019 Audiophile. Windows 10. Former user of old version. Prefer creating while learning over learning before creating. Passable, intermediate level acoustic rhythm guitar player. Songwriter, lyricist, composer loving all styles.
I'm almost a year late in finding this, but very pleased to watch and learn! Good job to everybody involved in the project!
Watching it I am reminded what an analytical thinker Floyd is... as well as being a heckuva nice guy! Not everybody would take the time to share their knowledge the Floyd has. His presence on the User Showcase has really made a difference.
And it was also fun to watch Janice's whole-hearted immersion into the song. I doubt she ever does anything half-heartedly. I mean that girl rides a bike up hills that most of us wouldn't even want to WALK up! Nuff said.
Heading to The NAMM Show? Make sure you stop by Booth 1015 (Hall E) - we'll be doing product demonstrations every hour, with some RealTracks Artists popping in for performances with Band-in-a-Box too!
Click here for more information about The NAMM Show, held in Anaheim California at the Anaheim Convention Center.
--SPECIAL PRICING ONLY AVAILABLE UNTIL JANUARY 15TH!--
We've added 164 fantastic new RealStyles in Xtra Styles PAK 8! These are imaginative new combinations of our existing RealTracks library that fall into four categories: Rock/Pop 8, Jazz 8, Country 8, and Celtic 1. To celebrate the release of Xtra Styles PAK 8, ALL of our Xtra Styles PAKs 1-8 are on sale for just $29 each! Learn more & listen to demos here.
Also brand-new is our Loops-with-Style PAK 1 for Band-in-a-Box®, which gives you the chance to expand your loops collection with 100 new loops! We've taken the RealDrums and RealTracks source audio and remixed, remastered, and combined it to create these original loops. All of your favorite genres are covered like jazz, funk, rock, pop, electronic, hip-hop, and more! To show them in action, we've created 50 new RealStyles that each include two of the loops. Plus, if you use the loops in Band-in-a-Box, we've included intelligent versions of the loops that automatically switch at A and B part markers. Each loop has a matching sister loop that works perfectly for another substyle! Get started with Loops-with-Style PAK 1 for the introductory price of just $19 until January 15th (reg: $29). Learn more & watch a great video demonstration here.
Note: Xtra Styles PAK 8 and Loops-with-Style PAK 1 require the Band-in-a-Box® 2019 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
-The built-in Audio Chord Wizard is now accessible from the [Audio Chord Wizard] button.
-The Audio Edit window now displays chords and tempos for each bar. They are shown when the Audio Chord Wizard mode is active so that you can see the tempo for each bar as you set the bar lines.
-When you start entering bar lines, the program automatically sets the tempo to the tempo of the first bar.
-Once the tempo of the first bar is set, the program automatically moves the location of the first bar of audio over so that the visual space of the count-in bars is visible.
-After you’ve added the bar lines, IF you adjust the first or second bar and the tempo of the first bar changes accordingly, the program automatically changes the tempo of the song to match.
-Multi-window display. This gives the Audio Chord Wizard a multi-window view so that you can see and edit both the Audio Edit window and the Chords Sheet at the same time. This display is best viewed with a small toolbar mode. This allows you to see the chords as they are being interpreted by the wizard.
-The Audio Chord Wizard can send the transcribed MIDI notes to the Soloist track for further analysis by the user (via Piano Roll or Notation window). Note that this is a "snapshot" view every 8th note of the pitches present, not an attempt at polyphonic transcription. To use this feature, enable the "MIDI to Soloist" check box.
Read more about these enhancements here, or jump to the New Feature - Audio Chord Wizard (ACW) Enhancements section of our New Features video here.
The Band-in-a-Box® 2020 for Windows® Special ENDS January 15th!!!
IT'S YOUR LAST WEEKEND TO SAVE UP TO 50% ON YOUR BAND-IN-A-BOX® UPGRADE!
Our SALE on Band-in-a-Box® 2020 Upgrade purchases ends January 15, 2020, so there is still some time to save up to 50% when you purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2020 for Windows Upgrade!
Customers LOVE Band-in-a-Box® 2020 for Windows with over 50 new features, plus the 202 New RealTracks, new RealStyles, 15 new MIDI SuperTracks, 170 new Instrumental Studies, 30 new MIDI Styles, 280 RealDrums Transcriptions, the 2020 Free Bonus PAK, 2020 49-PAK, and new Xtra Styles PAK 8!
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK with some amazing Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Windows 2020 packages, but for more even more Add-ons (including 40 Unreleased RealTracks) upgrade it to the 2020 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® 2019 for Windows Patch Update Available! (Build 642)
Still using Band-in-a-Box® 2019 for Windows? Build 642 is a free update full of updates for version 2019, and includes a VST DAW Plugin update to 1.16.29.
Note: this patch is not intended to update your version to the recently released Band-in-a-Box® 2020, which is available for purchase here.
Summary of Changes for Version 2019 Build 642 (Jan 08 2020): Changed: Default the 'include similar styles in the stylepicker' to false each bootup. Improved: BootupLog.txt will include more elaborate information when troubleshooting bootup problems. This only applies if WriteBootUpLog.txt is present in the Data folder. Updated: PDF and help (routine cleanup/updaes). Fixed: "There is no audio file currently recorded" error message when using Audio > Plugin. Fixed: [Video] > Render Video(s)... menu item should launch the Make Chordsheet Video dialog if Video RealTracks export is not available. Fixed: Access violation in Song Titles browser if no song is selected when clicking [Close]. Fixed: Applying audio effects using Audio > Plugins would fail with error "Plugin cancelled. Original file is preserved". Fixed: Audio > Edit Audio > Timeshift Audio would crash the program if the Audio Edit window was not open. Fixed: Audio will not import to a custom position if there is already audio on the Audio track. Fixed: Band-in-a-Box might crash during bootup if an ASIO driver was previously selected, and the device is no longer connected to the computer. Fixed: Band-in-a-Box might crash during bootup if there is a problem with font installation (usually after upgrading Windows 7 to Windows 10). Fixed: Band-in-a-Box might crash when opening a song that contains note-based lyrics. Fixed: Bar Lyrics and Section Text layers do not line up with bars in Notation window if there are repeats in song, and fake sheet mode is enabled. Fixed: Clicking OK in the MIDI/Audio Driver Setup dialog should not close the floating Mixer window. Fixed: Close button in Select chorus start/end dialog should behave like Cancel, ie user clicking on bar afterwards shouldn't do anything. Fixed: Crash with error "external exception C06D007F" while launching if using Windows XP. Fixed: Dragging a single track to export MIDI causes that track to be permanently soloed. Fixed: If an ASIO driver cannot connect during bootup, the default WAS driver should be used instead. Fixed: If using the 64 bit version of Band-in-a-Box, the BB2Go window would display an erroneous QuickTime version, and converting files to .m4a would fail. QuickTime is only available for the 32 bit version, but is only required if using Windows Vista or earlier. Fixed: Lyrics would not display in the Big Lyrics if "Show chord symbols above the lyrics" was enabled. Fixed: melodists were getting quantized incorrectly. Fixed: Possible crash if editing a text layer while using the floating Notation Window. Fixed: Possible freeze when importing compressed audio files. Fixed: Practice window | Master Solos | Blues Piano, displays N/A. Fixed: RealTracks #2975 (Vocal Oohs-Aahs) sometimes played incorrect chords for m7b5 and C7. Fixed: Rebuilding styles list was causing errors sometimes. Fixed: Several Piano and Organ MIDI SuperTracks have been edited to remove spurious MIDI events (e.g. mod wheel sometimes caused 'warbling' effect). Fixed: Sforzando might not automatically be added to the VST list, causing Hi-Q patch selection to fail. Fixed: Some bars for the B section of RT 2529 were dropping out. Fixed: Some Bass and Nylon Guitar RealTracks (including 2718, 2724, 2722, 2725, 2719) have RealCharts added. Fixed: StylePicker: User Category list wasn't refreshing after choosing a new user category. Fixed: The About dialog said 'for Macintosh' instead of 'for Windows'. Fixed: The Drop Station would not update if dropping a file onto Presonus Studio One. Fixed: When choosing a compressed format for rendering files, and "One file per track" is enabled, the resulting files are .wav format instead of the compressed format. Fixed: Wrong notes on Oohs and Aahs RealTracks.
Summary of changes for Band-in-a-Box DAW Plugin 1.16.29: Added: copy selected cell if nothing highlighted Added: shift-arrows to select in chord sheet Added: SHIFT-ENTER to go backwards in chord sheet Added: SHIFT-TAB to go backwards in chord sheet, TAB to go forward Added: support for all Biab file types Fixed: Added message if attempting to drag tracks before generating Fixed: Alert window buttons "punch hole" when pressed Fixed: Audio stutters when resizing plugin in some DAWs Fixed: auto gen after open feature not working in Studio One 4 Fixed: bounds when highlighting in chord sheet Fixed: C#7b5b9b13 to chord sheet Fixed: distortion when stopping playback in pro tools Fixed: losing focus in chord sheet Fixed: make selected cell at the end after pasting Fixed: Open dialog in infinite loop Fixed: plugin stops playing non-synced tracks when closing and then opening plugin Fixed: Send space bar keystrokes to DAW Fixed: some styles not dragging all tracks from blue button Fixed: track text not resizing correctly Fixed: Transpose not working Fixed: Verify folders before each call to Biab
New Left-Handed & Student View Guitar Window in Band-in-a-Box® 2020 for Windows!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2020 for Windows, the Guitar window has been remade and now supports the left-handed (in addition to right-handed) guitar and student view!
The student view is the view a student (or YouTube video watcher) would have of the (right-handed) guitar facing him with the head at the right and low notes at the top. There's also a left-handed student view, so all 4 possible views are supported.
To change the view, press the [Guitar] toolbar button to open the Guitar window and then the [Settings] button.
See this new feature in action when you jump to the "Left-Handed & Student View Guitar Fretboard" topic in our 2020 New Features video: Click here...
Loops with Style PAK 1 - Just $19 Until January 15th!
The recently released Loops-with-Style PAK 1 is your chance to expand your loops collection with 100 new loops!
To show them in action, we've created 50 new RealStyles that each include two of the loops. Plus, if you use the loops in Band-in-a-Box, we've included intelligent versions of the loops that automatically switch at A and B part markers. Each loop has a matching sister loop that works perfectly for another substyle!
We're offering Loops-with-Style PAK 1 at the introductory price of $19, but only until January 15, 2020 (reg. price $29). Purchase here.
Note: Loops-with-Style PAK 1 requires the Band-in-a-Box® 2019 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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