November 30, 2023 User Showcase Song - I'm Not Bruce

very now and then I like to roam through my old songwriting notebooks.

I came across this particular song that I wrote in 1976. I figured after 47 years it was probably time to record this one... :)

Anyway, this is called I'm Not Bruce.

BIAB Tracks:
2474: Bass, Acoustic, Held Ev 085
1765: Guitar, Acoustic, High-Strung Fingerpicking Ev16 085
0362: Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Ev 085
2505: Piano, Electric, HeldChords 085
RealDrums: PopPromiseEv16^1-a: Snare on 4, HiHat
Lyrics

Posted at 01:30 PM

November 24, 2023 User Showcase Song - Crazy

And now for something completely different...

Crazy

Dusted this one off for a proper mix and master. Was thinking of Amy Winehouse and Tony Bennett trading off lines and harmonizing when I arranged this. Miss them both...

Style is _JBSLBPD.STY (Jazz Ballad w/ Pollwinners)
RealTracks in style: ~2311:Bass, Acoustic, JazzBalladRonA-B Sw 085
RealTracks in style: ~2314:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm JazzSwingSlowKenny Sw 085
RealTracks in song: ~555:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm Jazz Ballad Freddie Sw 085
RealDrums in style:JazzSwingLewis^01-a:Brushes, Snare , b:Brushes Swirl, Busy Snare

Used only the MIDI transcript for the piano and not the RealTrack. Played with Waves Grand Rhapsody plugin.

Lyrics: R.W. Davis
Vocals: D.A. Hughes
Other stuff: me

Posted at 11:18 AM

November 23, 2023 User Showcase Song - Moonshine Express

Ok, I guess we all get inspire by something, right? Ok the other day I watched a documentary about the illegal Moonshine production in Florida and aside from interesting gave me the idea to create this one. Use small containers, is pretty strong!

Moonshine Express

Style is _BLUGRSF.STY (Classic Bluegrass w/ Fiddle)
RealTracks in style: ~427:Bass, Acoustic, Bluegrass Ev 130
RealTracks in style: ~426:Banjo, Bluegrass Ev 130 (Rhythm)
RealTracks in style: ~431:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Bluegrass Ev 130
RealTracks in style: ~428:Fiddle, Rhythm Bluegrass Ev 130
RealTracks in song: ~433:Banjo, Bluegrass Ev 130 (Soloist)
RealTracks in song: ~~434:Fiddle, Soloist Bluegrass Ev 130
RealDrums in Song:WashboardBluegrass^04-a:Deep Sync , b:DeepSteady

Enjoy (with moderation)
-Mike B.

Posted at 12:52 PM

November 22, 2023 User Showcase Song - Baby Won't You Please Come Home

Another one in our Public Domain series.

Baby Won't You Please Come Home

"Baby Won't You Please Come Home" is a blues song written by Charles Warfield and Clarence Williams in 1919.

The song's authorship is disputed; Warfield claims that he was the sole composer of the song.

The song has been covered by many musicians and has become a jazz standard.

The first hit version was Bessie Smith's 1923 recording, which stayed on the charts for four weeks peaking at No. 6

Arranged and mixed by the 3 of us, Bud Mastered the song.

The Band
Janice Merritt - Vocals
Bud Merritt - Acoustic Bass
Peter - Guitar
RealTracks in style: 2167:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm Country12-8John Sw 065 MST
RealDrums in style:PopRock12-8^02-a:Sidestick, Kick , b:Snare, Kick
RealTracks in song: ~~937:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm JazzBalladFreddie Sw 060
Lyrics

Posted at 10:04 AM

November 21, 2023 User Showcase Song - Meadow Lark

I put this together a couple of months ago. Just now having the time to upload it.

Meadow Lark

I realize the name of the bird is spelled "meadowlark", but this song is not named after the bird. An old friend of mine has a daughter named Meadow Lark - her real name. I couldn't come up with a name for the song, and for some reason, I thought of her - thus the name of the song.

I tried very hard to get a sound on the pedal steel similar to that of Sarah Jory - a fantastic pedal steel player from Ireland. I've followed her for quite a few years.

The particulars:

File:Meadow Lark.SGU
Key=F , Tempo 70, Length (m:s)=3:53

Style is _CAVERNS.STY (Cavernous Ctry Pop Ballad Solo)

RealTracks in style: ~700:Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesPush Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 1667:Pedal Steel, Soloist CountryPaul Ev 065
RealTracks in style: 871:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ModernRnBRockWarmStrum Ev 065
RealTracks in song: 1543:Synth Pad, PopBelieve Ev16 065
RealTracks in song: 1705:Guitar, Electric, Soloist CountryBrent Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 1409:Piano, SynthLayer, Rhythm Soul70sSteady Ev16 100
RealDrums in Song:PopCountry16ths^04-a:Closed Hat, Rock-kick , b:Closed Hat, Push-kick

Mixed in the latest version of Audacity, Ver 3.42 - which has many new options.

Posted at 10:25 AM

November 17, 2023 User Showcase Song - Mystery Vibes

This song was created from the name of the Style, Noir Mystery Vibes.

Mystery Vibes on Soundcloud
Mystery Vibes on YouTube

The band is one I'd send to audition is one of Mike's Cuban Pete Clubs –with a better singer of course. Since I no longer own an upright bass, the more-than-capable BiaB bassist took the gig.

File:Mystery Vibes.SGU
Style is _NOIR.STY (Noir Mystery Vibes)

RealTracks in style: 397:Bass, Acoustic, Jazz Paul Sw 140
RealTracks in style: ~~1096:Piano, Acoustic, Rehearsal Showtunes Sw 085
RealTracks in style: 3766:Vibes, Rhythm PopSwing Sw 110
RealTracks in song: ~~484:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Jazz Ballad Sw 085
RealTracks in song: ~1222:Vibes, Soloist JazzSteve Sw 110
RealDrums in style:JazzTerryClarke^05-a:Brushes , b:Brushes Loud
Lyrics

Posted at 11:19 AM

November 16, 2023 User Showcase Song - A Fragile Piece

Here is a new song I've been working on.

It's called A FRAGILE PIECE, which is a play on the words "piece" and "peace".

The song is hard to describe; maybe "ambitious" is a fair comment.

I’d love you to have a listen or two and let me know what you think of the song, arrangement, sound, production etc.

All opinions, flattering and flattening, are encouraged.
Cheers,
Mike

The intro piano part is edited from SuperTrack 1892: Piano, Solo accompaniment PianoWaltzJohn SW140.
The intro drums are RealDrums (JazzWaltzLewis).
The other parts are mine.

Posted at 10:30 AM

November 15, 2023 User Showcase Song - VERDI: Va, Pensiero

This is an arrangement of Giuseppe Verdi's world-famous "Va, Pensiero" chorus, from the opera "Nabucco". It was originally known as the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves", but was extensively used in Italy's fight for independence and reunification, and subsequently became an anthem for any person, or group of people, who have no place to call home. Hope you enjoy what I've done with it, and (hopefully) Verdi won't haunt me, at night or indeed at any other time, for perhaps butchering his masterpiece ... :)

VERDI: Va, Pensiero (arr. Delsono)

****** Song Summary *************
Title: VERDI - Va Pensiero - backing track - 5 November 2023
File:VERDI - Va Pensiero - backing track - 5 November 2023.SGU
Key=C , Tempo 65, Length (m:s)=3:34
1 bar intro, 53 bar chorus, from bar 2 to bar 54. Repeat x1 chorus
No Melody
No Soloist track.
Song is saved with Volume, Pan, Reverb, Chorus, Bank0,
Style is _RAINDAY.STY (Rainy Day Slow Gospel Jazz)

RealTracks in style: ~732:Bass, Acoustic, Jazz Ballad Sw 060
RealTracks in style: 3783:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm NewOrleansGospel128 Sw 065
RealTracks in style: ~937:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm JazzBalladFreddie Sw 060
RealTracks in style: 3996:Organ, Rhythm BluesSlow128LHcomp Sw 060

I slowed down the backing track (through time stretch) and mixed it with my voice, in Mixcraft Pro Studio 10

Posted at 01:39 PM

November 14, 2023 User Showcase Song - Never Gonna Get A Life

So man, I just got sick and tired of sitting around waiting for someone to write me a song that would sound like the Smiths. So I decided to do it myself!!!

NEVER GONNA GET A LIFE

There's been a lot of androgynous 80s stuff coming out here.

Lyrics and Music by David Snyder, copyright 2023, ASCAP/Day of Faith Records

David Snyder: Electric Guitars (vibrato, rhythm and slide), synths, vocals, piano, production, mixing and mastering

RealTracks in style: 1254:Bass, Electric, PopShiningSync Ev 120
RealDrums in style:PopRock8ths^02-a:Closed Hat, Snare , b:Ride, Snare
RealTracks in style: 2743:Bass, Synth, AltHipHop8ths Ev16 085

Posted at 10:05 AM

November 10, 2023 Holiday Hours - Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is Saturday, November 11th. Our hours will remain the same that day (8am - 4pm PST), however we have adjusted our Monday hours to 8am - 4pm PST.

Our regular hours resume Tuesday, November 14. Review our hours and additional contact information at www.pgmusic.com/contact.htm

Posted at 01:16 PM

November 10, 2023 User Showcase Song - Time

This is a song I wrote over 30 years ago, semi-inspired by Tom Waits' Time. I made a couple recent attempts to record it, but my voice isn't up to the task.

Time

I decided to have a go at it with SynthV. I'd envisioned it with a male lead, but I auditioned all the voices I had, and Natalie sounds great.

After rendering out the song in BiaB, I imported it into SynthV and worked out the notes. I'd already had the lyrics, so that part was - for once - simple.

Once that was done, I decided to try out some harmonies, so I've got Kevin, Hayden and Weina on the background vocals. I ended up shuffling some of the sections around.

The piano part was very MIDI-ish, so I ended up redoing that myself on a sampled Rhades piano. There's a string pad already, but I thought it might be nice to have a string trio, so I played that using SWAM instruments my EWI.

The extra instruments are playing "gestures" more than melody, and my daughter complained that it needed more melody. So I added a SWAM english horn, also using the EWI.

There's a spot for an instrumental, which after trying various instruments went to the cornet... also played on the EWI.

The music box/celeste was a last minute addition, as the introduction wasn't really working that well. I'd gotten the Mister Rodger's Celeste some time ago, and it's got a lovely sound. I'm glad I finally got a chance to use it.

I added a bit of tremelo string swells, and thought I'd call it a day.

Then my daughter complained that the english horn after the instrumental didn't really fit... something I'd been hoping could slide by. So chopped out half the instrumental so it merged into the chorus, and repeated the chorus. It was something I'd arrived at by accident, but intended to do from the start. So after a bunch of cutting and pasting and making a general mess of things, I think I've got a final version of the song.

The mix might be a little hot, I've been playing around with various mastering effects.

And yeah... I really need to work on coming up with better song titles

Read the complete notes and song lyrics for this project here.

Posted at 01:11 PM

November 09, 2023 User Showcase Song - Ain't It Wonderful

A co-write with Danny Mayo and Bucky Jones.

A Stupid Love Song.

And I mean stupid!
You cannot help but think "...it took THREE songwriters to write THAT?!?"

Ain't It Wonderful

The BAND and various rascals:
RealTracks in song: ~950:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm CountryBoogieA-B Sw 110
RealTracks in song: 4299:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ModCountrySlowSw16GroovingChords Sw16 060 (Half-Time)
RealTracks in song: 1148:Fiddle, Background CountryBoogie Sw 110 (Outside)
RealTracks in song: 4261:Guitar, Lap Steel, Background BluesShuffleRob Sw 120
RealTracks in song: 3951:Guitar, Lap Steel, Soloist BluesSlow128 Sw 065 (Half-Time)
RealTracks in song: 4264:Guitar, Lap Steel, Background BluesFunky Ev 120
MIDI SuperTracks in song: 2843:Piano, Rhythm BluesShuffleMike Sw 130
MIDI SuperTracks in song: 2166 Piano, Rhythm NewOrleansSwinginPop Sw 130
RealDrums in style:BluesRockShuffle^3-a:Snare, Open HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

Read the complete notes and song lyrics for this project here.

Posted at 12:41 PM

November 08, 2023 User Showcase Song - A Fool (How to Cause a Complete Disaster, Part 1)

A Fool (How to Cause a Complete Disaster, Part 1)

After (finally) watching Floyd's "The Birth of a Song" video where he mentions that every song should be a love song I decided to, well, write a love song.
A simple, cheesy love song. With a simple, cheesy video.
Blame Floyd, it's all his fault!

The song is basically about the same problem as in the movie "Harry and Sally": a boy and a girl are best friends until one of them falls in love with the other and from then on everything gets complicated.

Feedback (the good, the bad and the ugly) as always highly appreciated.

Some background information that no one asked for:
I'm sorry to start 2 songs in a row with a piano arpeggio, but that was the only way my chord progression for the intro
(C#m A D G# G#m G) creates this enchanting mood that made me write this song.
the arrangement started with tons of instruments (mostly guitars, as usual), and during the mixing/production phase the song became
better with every instrument I removed.
Now I know how John Cage wrote 4′33″ :-)
I was never 100% happy with the song, but not 100% unhappy either.
But it wouldn't make sense not to release a finished song just because of the author's usual doubts.

As always, a BIG "thank you" to Marty for linguistic advice. Love ya'

Some technical information:
Style: BACH_1.STY (yes, really!)

The band:
Bass: 4363
Drums: SkaSlow70sWesPerc + PopRock8ths
Guitars: 4383, 3307, 3931
Synth: 1543
Piano: 1264 + yours truly (with a Bosendorfer 290)
Viola: 2336
Vocals: Natalie
Lyrics

Posted at 02:40 PM

November 06, 2023 User Showcase Song - Gambling Blues

This is a Blues Rock - sung by a guy who has lost all his money at the BlackJack table.

Gambling Blues

I wrote the chords, melody and lyrics and I used these styles from BIAB:-

RealTracks in style: 1417:Bass, Electric, RootsRock
RealTracks in style: 2634:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm CountryBluesRock
RealTracks in style: 3443:Guitar, Electric, Soloist BritPsycFunky
RealDrums in style:PopPromise

Vocalist is the SynthV singer called Nine Zero and I produced the track in Cubase.

Lyrics

Posted at 10:17 AM

November 06, 2023 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).

Learn more about Build 707 and download it here.

The Band-in-a-Box® 2023 for Mac German, French, and Italian language patches have also been updated with Build 707! Download your Build 707 language patch here.

Posted at 10:03 AM

November 03, 2023 User Showcase Song - You Could Be My Everything

After venturing into different territory on my last song, here’s one in a more familiar genre for me. I’ve gone pretty minimalist in the production, and limited my time laboring on it . . . so it likely has some shortcomings . . . but it’s done enough to share (I think) and I hope you enjoy the listen.

Thanks much in advance for the feedback and suggestions.

Here’s the song: YOU COULD BE MY EVERYTHING

Here are the lyrics.:

And here’s the band:

RealTracks 2475: Bass, Acoustic, HeldSimple
RealTracks 2914: Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Folky16thsBrent
RealTracks 4166: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm RockNewWave80sHeldArpChorus
RealTracks 1856: Cello, Background PopCountry Ev 085
RealTracks i3203: Guitar, Acoustic, Soloist RnBPopBrent Ev 110

Posted at 11:55 AM

November 02, 2023 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!

So, while waiting for their Gudrun Brunot episode, take 30 minutes and to listen to this episode from Eyes on Success. To download and listen to the podcast, use the link www.EyesOnSuccess.net/eos_2344_podcast.mp3

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

Find their podcast on iTunes or use the URL: www.EyesOnSuccess.net/eos_podcast

Posted at 02:23 PM

November 02, 2023 User Showcase Song - A Love Remembered

A love remembered! Was it the one that got away? Or the one you had to push away? Was it the one you were glad to get away from as they turned out to be a nut case? Maybe the one that passed away? You chose which one this song reminds you of if in fact it reminds you of anybody.

A Love Remembered

BiaB Style = Untended MIDI New Age Rock
Tempo = 80 PBM

I deleted the guitar and bass
Piano = ToonTrack-EXKeys2 - Dream Machine - preset - Vibra Vibes
Strings - Kontakt - CL Projects - Bronze Pads - preset - Farside of the Moon
Utility track - Syntronik 2 - preset - A Blowing Glass

I am playing my fretless bass, my Kramer Strat guitar, and via my wind controller the Swam Tenor Sax.

As always all comments are welcomed.

Posted at 12:59 PM