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I've been listing to AABA style compositions lately. I really love the simple format. Here is my first attempt into the genre. The song features the Magothy River, which is between Baltimore and Annapolis, Maryland. After WWII many residents of Baltimore spent the summer in beach houses they built on the shores of the rivers south of the city, including the Magothy. Today, all those small beach "cottages" or "shore shacks" have either been torn down and replaced by million dollar homes or they've been converted into expensive real estate.

Song references: "Gibson Island" is an exclusive, gated island, of expensive mansions, at the mouth of the Magothy River, on the Chesapeake Bay. "the Bay" is the Chesapeake Bay, which the Magothy River empties into.

The particulars:

BIAB 2012 (still clearing out old projects before moving on to BIAB 2020)

J!Mancni Jazz-Mancni-Slow pop sw.bal.

110 BPM
Key G

33 Acoustic String Bass
1 Acoustic Piano
1 Standard Drum Kit
50 Slow Strings

Yamaha PSRE403 (I play the high octave piano on the track)

I recorded the vocals on my LG smartphone in my car. I put padding around me to absorb the sound waves. I then transferred the recording to my PC.

Everything mixed in Mixcraft 5.

Thank you for any listens and comments:

Moonlight on the Magothy River

Here is the Youtube version:



Moonlight on the Magothy River

Moonlight on the Magothy River tonight
Sailing away with you, our future looks bright

Moonlight on the Magothy River is fine
Passing Gibson Island, I know you are mine

I remember lonely days in Baltimore
I couldn't find my way back down to the shore

Moonlight on the Magothy River is bliss
By the time we reach the Bay, you give me a kiss

I remember lonely days in Baltimore
I couldn't find my way back down to the shore

Moonlight on the Magothy River tonight
Sailing away with you, our future looks bright


Copyright 2021 Sean Tully
All Rights Reserved

Last edited by jptjptjpt; 07/09/21 04:04 PM.

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This interesting. I spent a few summers in the Chesapeake bay area as a kid...... not that that matters....



The cool aspect to this is how you recorded the vocals. In a car, with your phone. Because, yeah, they actually sound really good. I'd have never guessed by listening. I'll assume the car was parked in the driveway, but if it was during rush hour on the highway... a whole new level of respect is due.


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I reckon this lively, lovely tune would benefit from either a more subtle drum track or none at all...


Cheers
rayc
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Originally Posted By: Guitarhacker
....................


The cool aspect to this is how you recorded the vocals. In a car, with your phone. Because, yeah, they actually sound really good. I'd have never guessed by listening. I'll assume the car was parked in the driveway, but if it was during rush hour on the highway... a whole new level of respect is due.


I was thinking the same thing!

I liked this, good mix and a super vocal. After reading your intro information I thought this vocal is going to be weird but man was I wrong. This is an excellent vocal and backing track.

A super tune.


I went line dancing last night. Well it was a roadside sobriety test, same thing.

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In your car with your phone? Man, that sounds really good. Interesting that you decided that approach --that impromptu vocal booth. What were you thinking? haha. If the idea was to challenge your ability to make it sound just right in the mix, you have definitely accomplished that. Cool song. It sounds like one that will be sung by those at the Magothy River forever. A great sing along. Well done, Sean.


Enjoy whatever happens!
marty

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Very cool song Sean. I really like the way you recorded the vocal as well. Very unique. Gave the song a very cool feel. Excellent vocal and lyric. Well done


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jptjptjpt

Solid composition & melody. Vocals sound very interesting. There is an interesting split in the mood (which I think is a good thing) between verses and choruses.
I think it would benefit if you use a different drum beat and / or a better sounding VST drum kit.
"vocals on my LG smartphone" smile cool.

Thank you for sharing.

Misha.

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Hi jptjptjpt,

Well-chosen suite of chords with a pleasant harmony. The whole thing makes us relive your memory with a certain nostalgia. Well done.

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Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash


Kindly regards
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Thank you everyone for your listens and comments.

There seems to be an interest in the vocal recording. Here is the story:

I find it very hard to record vocals if I think someone can hear me. I don't know why. I can sing at open mics. But, if I think someone is listening to my recording vocals I freeze up.

Anyway, I live in a small Baltimore City rowhouse. I used to have two old neighbors and they were both very hard of hearing, so I could belt out my vocals with no worries. But, atlas, both of my neighbors have passed away and younger people have moved into the houses. And, because of the COVID shutdown, someone was always home (in my house and the neighbors). I basically stopped recording new song vocals for much of the shutdown, with a few exceptions.

Then, one day, the idea came to me, to record my vocals in my car using my cell phone recording app. I found a quiet place behind a small shopping center. I put padding in the car (a yoga matt) to absorb some of the sound.

I then played the music track on my laptop through headphones and sang into the phone.

One of the main problems is that you don't really know how your takes are until you get home and transfer the recordings to the PC.

I am glad the recording seems to have come out good. Thank you.

I will come up with something better, but, for now, this recording method will have to do.

Last edited by jptjptjpt; 07/09/21 04:17 PM.

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Dear 'jptjptjpt'...

It's always a treat to listen to a song with a romantic subject that celebrates what's good about a relationship, instead of what is wrong with it! Your sang your lyrics as though you were overwhelmed by loving memories of a time, a place, and a person that's been burned into your heart. Also, I agree with 'Guitarhacker' that the vocal recording through your smartphone sounded surprisingly good! If you had not informed us of that, I wouldn't have known. The video image magnifies the sweet and sundown feeling of the song, too.

'Precious' is the word that comes to me when I consider the total impact of the production. Thank you posting a song with such a nice 'vibe'!


"Music is what feelings sound like."-- borrowed from a Cakewalk Music Creator forum member, "Mamabear".
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Thank you bluage. I appreciate your listen and comments very much.

guitarhacker, I think it does matter that you spent some summers in this area when you were young. Hopefully they are good memories.


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Originally Posted By: jptjptjpt
Thank you everyone for your listens and comments.

There seems to be an interest in the vocal recording. Here is the story:

I find it very hard to record vocals if I think someone can hear me. I don't know why. I can sing at open mics. But, if I think someone is listening to my recording vocals I freeze up.

Anyway, I live in a small Baltimore City rowhouse. I used to have two old neighbors and they were both very hard of hearing, so I could belt out my vocals with no worries. But, atlas, both of my neighbors have passed away and younger people have moved into the houses. And, because of the COVID shutdown, someone was always home (in my house and the neighbors). I basically stopped recording new song vocals for much of the shutdown, with a few exceptions.

Then, one day, the idea came to me, to record my vocals in my car using my cell phone recording app. I found a quiet place behind a small shopping center. I put padding in the car (a yoga matt) to absorb some of the sound.

I then played the music track on my laptop through headphones and sang into the phone.

One of the main problems is that you don't really know how your takes are until you get home and transfer the recordings to the PC.

I am glad the recording seems to have come out good. Thank you.

I will come up with something better, but, for now, this recording method will have to do.


That is cool, thoughtful and creative. A lot of us don't like to sing when the only thing others hear is our voice belting out the song. But on a cell phone? Man, that worked out so good, but I can imagine how nuts I'd get when I got one or 2 phrases wrong. Drag the yoga mat & laptop back to the car, cue the song, punch in, then take it all back inside to see if it's better. Sheesh. Well done, jptjptjpt. But now I need a better phone.


Enjoy whatever happens!
marty

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Sean,

A nice write. Good images, nice melody. You always "say a lot in a short space".

An interesting way to record your vocals! A full closet (maybe a coat closet?) that has enough room to get into might give you the same kind of sound isolation without having to leave the house...? I thought the vocal could use a bit of EQ shaping to pull the mid-highs down slightly to increase the "warmth" of the vocal.

Looking forward to hearing what you do with the new BIAB stuff!!

fj

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Hi Jptjptjpt, or Sean,

Everyone here discussed your way of recording your vocals and I do the same. I am amazed they sound so good! A car is not exactly a surrounding where you can expect good recordings. At least I think.
But you did a good job there. It gave the song a vintage image. And because of the topic that is the right image! I liked that.

I can agree with all that was said about the drums. I think you better take them out. Louder drums will spoil the sphere you achieved here. And the thin drums do too. But it's a matter of taste, as always.

Nice weekend,
Hans


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jptjptjpt,

Wow, as others have mentioned, your use of a phone for recording the vocal deserves praise! I've heard recordings done with a studio condenser that didn't come out that well! Nice job with your tune also! It's kind of got that Bob Seger "Shame On The Moon" vibe going on! Thanks, Torrey




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Thank you everyone for the listens and comments. I appreciate it very much. This is what makes this forum (and others like it) tick.


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Originally Posted By: jptjptjpt



guitarhacker, I think it does matter that you spent some summers in this area when you were young. Hopefully they are good memories.


Camp Sandy Hill near the town of NorthEast Md. looks to still be there.... changed quite a bit over the years.

How can a summer camp not be a good memory? I went there every year for 7 years until I turned 15.... Horses, rifles, bow and arrow, crafts, swimming in the pool twice a day, lodge devotion time, the Chesapeake Bay right down the path to the boathouse and canoes, the Wednesday night camping trip I always sighed up for the horse ride trip to the girls camp at Camp Sandy Cove.... which is still there to this day...... bug juice and Sandy Hill stew on the beach..... man.... great memories. It's also where I first played Capture the Flag using the entire camp as the playing ground.... Yep... fun. And Chief Billy Neff playing taps on his trumpet at night to tell everyone another day is done.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 07/12/21 07:20 AM.

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Good vocal! And good song, nicely written and produced.

Cell phone in your car?! I have to try that sometime. wink

Enjoyed!

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Thank you for the listens and comments. I do appreciate it very much.


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That was a cool listen and a great backstory.

Not only the history of the topic but also the mic story.

We would say you win the gold medal for the User Forum's most interesting vocal recording technique!

Enjoyed it all.

J&B


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