|
Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11 |
Here is a new piece of ambient new age/spa music that I created last night. I was talking with a friend of mine who likes to create ambient music for his own enjoyment, and since I had never created anything in that genre, I thought it was a good opportunity to try. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I've shared lots of details so you can try to create it yourself if you want to, since I have learned a great deal from what others have shared. I figured it would be a good piece of music to share. Enjoy! -- Mark Knight Final Mix: Ambient-Experiment-01-03.mp3Raw Band in a Box Render for an interesting comparison to how much difference it makes doing extra music production: Ambient-Experiment-01-BIAB-Render.mp3****** Song Summary ************* Key=D, Tempo 65, Length (m:s)=1:58 No intro. 28 bar chorus, from bar 1 to bar 28. Repeat x1 chorus No Melody No Soloist track. Style is _OORT.STY (Oort Spacey Ambient Synth) ******************* [Chords] |a) D|%|%| D6| D|%| G6/D|%| |a) G|%| A7|%| Bm| Bm/E| Em|%| |b) FMaj7| F/A| A|%| G|%| Em7|%| | DMaj7|%| D6| D| |a) D|%|%|%| [ChordsEnd] DAW: Cubase 12 Pro Track 1:Shakuhachi virtual instrument from UVI World Suite, playing the modified MIDI of the Shakuhachi RealTrack. The RealTrack was recorded very quiet and I wanted it to be more prominent, but when I increased the volume, I discovered that the RealTrack had far too much breath and wind noise for my liking, so I used the RealTrack MIDI, but some of the notes were outside the range of the virtual instrument so I changed some of the phrasing. MIDI from RealTrack 2328:Shakuhachi, Synth, Background NewAge Ev 110. I disabled the virtual instrument reverb, so that all reverb will come from the send effect channel in Track 2. - Insert Effect: None - Send the signal to Track 2 Send Effect channel Track 2:Shakuhachi Reverb Send Effect Channel with the following insert effects: - Insert Effect: Plugin Alliance Maag EQ4 to reduce some high end before going into the reverb - Insert Effect: Eventide Blackhole for reverb, 100% mix - Insert Effect: Elysia Mpressor side-chained to the Shakuhachi instrument track so that the amount of reverb will be reduced when the flute is playing a note, and once the note has finished, the reverb will return to full volume. This helps improve the clarity and detail of the flute while still benefiting from a lot of reverb Track 3:RealTracks in style: ~2579:Bass, Synth, RnBModernSub Ev16 065 - Insert Effect: None Track 4:RealTracks in style: 2666:Pedal Steel, Rhythm LushChordsSlow Ev 075 - Insert Effect: Eventide Shimmerverb to add shimmery reverb Track 5:RealDrums in style:WorldPercKeitaSlow16ths: a: WorldPercKeitaSlow16thsb: WorldPercKeitaSlow16ths - Insert Effect: Eventide Blackhole Track 6:Spitfire Audio London Contemporary Orchestra Textures playing the MIDI from the chords from the Cubase chord track - Insert Effect: None Track 7:Steinberg Padshop 2 Crystal Ball playing the chord progression up 1 octave. Adds a nice higher pitch sheen and movement. This sounds a bit like multiple pitches of the tonal components of playing crystal bowls but without the scraping noise - Insert Effect: None Track 8:RealTracks in style: 3621:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm AmbientBalladArp Ev16 065 - Insert Effect: Eventide Blackhole - Insert Effect: Izotope Neutron EQ to darken the sound after the reverb Panned to Left Track 9:Orange Tree Samples Evolution Vintage Gent DirectInput instrument track playing the MIDI of the Ambient Guitar RealTrack 3621:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm AmbientBalladArp Ev16 065 - Insert Effect: Amplitube 5 to create the ambient guitar effects, - Insert Effect: Izotope Neutron EQ to tame the highs a bit after Amplitube Panned to Right I double-tracked the ambient guitar RealTrack with the virtual ambient guitar so that there was a slightly different timing and tone between the guitar sounds in left and right channels to add more motion and interest to the music. You can hear occasional guitar tones poking out from the left and right channels at different times. To fill the stereo field and to create a lot of singing air in the background, making the sound very three dimensional, I used the MIDI from the Cubase chord track to play the chord progression using a vocal pad from Spitfire Audio London Contemporary Orchestra Textures along with a Crystal Bowl pad from Steinberg Padshop 2. Each of these instruments has subtle movement to keep the audio interesting. These tracks made such a huge difference. Mastered the mix using Izotope Ozone 10 and Brainworx bx_limiter True Peak.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 20,772
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 20,772 |
Jedi, a very good piece of music.
You did ambient very well.
FWIW - I found the Shakuhachi to be overpowering. I would lower that volume and raise some of the pad's volume, have a better mix. Note that is just my opinion and others may or may not agree.
Regardless this is a very good song.
Me, it's not about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get back up.
Cop, that's not how field sobriety tests work.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 7,428
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 7,428 |
Hi Mark ...
Good to "meet" you! Lived in San Antonio for most of the 70s and had many friends from Austin and New Braunfels.
This is really nice! I'm a big fan of the Shakuhachi flute. The Waggaki Band from Japan is one of my favorite groups to listen to, and their Shakuhachi player is one of my favorite band members.
I agree with Mario about bringing the flute down a bit and bringing the synth a little more forward in the mix. Nonetheless, that doesn't detract from the overall ambiance of the piece. It's soothing and relaxing, as ambient should be.
For a first effort in the genre, this is really good! Tip of the hat for the final product!
Alan
BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaks*Win11*16GB DDR5*Rhyzen 9745x*AT 2035 Mic*Peavey Nashville 112 Amp*Ibanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6,630
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 6,630 |
Nice mix, but tempo and hot mix makes me think you've discovered a new flavor of ambient.  I enjoyed the listen!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 5,784
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 5,784 |
Mark, Nice experimental piece. Full of flavor  All elements work very well together. Good mix too. Thank you for sharing. Misha.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 1,559
Expert
|
|
Expert
Joined: Jul 2022
Posts: 1,559 |
I don't think it's exactly "Ambient", but it has a nice New Age atmosphere that I like a lot.
Well done!
Oh, and welcome to our little place!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,016
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,016 |
Hi Mark, welcome to the forum. Nice piece. To me "Ambient" and New Age are always kind of mingle together, so classify them ether one or the other is a little difficult, at least to me anyway. I have done a few of these in the past. I like the genre. Well done.
Mike B.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 6,248
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 6,248 |
Not "ambient" by any means but a pleasant, and pleasantly brief, piece.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 3,367
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: May 2019
Posts: 3,367 |
Mission accomplished, Mark. This is good. Ray and others had me looking up the definition of "ambient." Whatever. This is the kind of music that naturally swells up around us in life, and you make life even better. Fun feel. Well done.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11 |
Jedi, a very good piece of music.
You did ambient very well.
FWIW - I found the Shakuhachi to be overpowering. I would lower that volume and raise some of the pad's volume, have a better mix. Note that is just my opinion and others may or may not agree.
Regardless this is a very good song. Thanks MarioD for listening, for your kind words, and for your great advice on volume of the Shakuhachi. I agree it is a bit too loud. I'll work on making those adjustments and share the updated piece
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11 |
Hi Mark ...
Good to "meet" you! Lived in San Antonio for most of the 70s and had many friends from Austin and New Braunfels.
This is really nice! I'm a big fan of the Shakuhachi flute. The Waggaki Band from Japan is one of my favorite groups to listen to, and their Shakuhachi player is one of my favorite band members.
I agree with Mario about bringing the flute down a bit and bringing the synth a little more forward in the mix. Nonetheless, that doesn't detract from the overall ambiance of the piece. It's soothing and relaxing, as ambient should be.
For a first effort in the genre, this is really good! Tip of the hat for the final product!
Alan Hi Alan! Good to virtually meet you, too! It is amazing how many people I have met online who have lived or currently live in Central Texas. I just moved to Austin from Utah 9 years ago when I transferred to a new position in my company. New Braunfels is such a gorgeous characterful town. My wife and I drive down there every couple of months to explore different parts of it and to visit the parks and little shops. I really like the Shakuhachi as well. It is a very expressive instrument with a rich history and amazingly talented players. Thanks for listening and providing your opinion on the piece. I really appreciate it, and I am going to modify my mix a bit to reduce the volume of the flute to blend better with the rest of the track Thanks, Mark
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11 |
Nice mix, but tempo and hot mix makes me think you've discovered a new flavor of ambient. I enjoyed the listen! Hey Dcuny! Thanks for listening ;-) Yep, ha ha! I think you are right. I may have listened to too much New Age music and Spa music and have been influenced by that more than pure ambient music. My wife was a massage therapist for a couple of years, and I listened to a lot of spa music in the background during those years. -- Mark
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11 |
Mark, Nice experimental piece. Full of flavor All elements work very well together. Good mix too. Thank you for sharing. Misha. Thanks for listening, Misha, and for your kind words! -- Mark
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11 |
I don't think it's exactly "Ambient", but it has a nice New Age atmosphere that I like a lot.
Well done!
Oh, and welcome to our little place! Hi B.D. Thomas! Thanks for the warm welcome and thanks for listening to my piece! Yeah, I agree. My experiment to achieve ambient music could only fit in a very loose definition of ambient if that definition also encompassed New Age music and Spa music ;-> -- Mark
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11 |
Hi Mark, welcome to the forum. Nice piece. To me "Ambient" and New Age are always kind of mingle together, so classify them ether one or the other is a little difficult, at least to me anyway. I have done a few of these in the past. I like the genre. Well done.
Mike B. Thanks Mike B for listening to my piece and giving your kind words! Genres can be tough to define some times and they don't have hard boundaries. Ambient and New Age are two that have lots of overlap. Glad you liked it! -- Mark
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11 |
Not "ambient" by any means but a pleasant, and pleasantly brief, piece. Hi RayC! I smiled at the "pleasantly brief piece". Sometimes we can be grateful that a specific piece of music doesn't go on for too long. Glad you found it at least pleasant! Thanks for the listen! -- Mark
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11
Newbie
|
|
OP
Newbie
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 11 |
Mission accomplished, Mark. This is good. Ray and others had me looking up the definition of "ambient." Whatever. This is the kind of music that naturally swells up around us in life, and you make life even better. Fun feel. Well done. Hey Marty! Like you said, the definitions of genres are less important than the music itself and how that music makes us feel. Truthfully I agree with the others that I didn't quite achieve the strict definition of ambient and that the piece probably better fits into other genres a bit more than ambient, but that doesn't lessen the value of the music itself. Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the listen and for your kind words! -- Mark
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.
ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Update Your PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 Today!
The Newest RealBand 2024 Update is Here!
The newest RealBand 2024 Build 5 update is now available!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
This free update is available to all RealBand 2024 users. To learn more about this update and download it, head to www.pgmusic.com/support.realband.htm#20245
The Band-in-a-Box® Flash Drive Backup Option
Today (April 5) is National Flash Drive Day!
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
Learn more about this free update for Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/support_windowsupdates.htm#1111
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!
There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums66
Topics81,578
Posts734,624
Members38,499
| |
Most Online2,537
Jan 19th, 2020
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean