Hi Dan,

Superb stuff...really shows what can be done on the 3K with some tweaking.

Lovely sax work as well.

Ian

Oh, haha. I thought it sounded like a real sax at first. Then I read your comments. I then was thinking it was one of those electric sax thingys which I think are called an EMI, electronic musical instrument. I know they have them with trumpet and sax fingering.

this is just plain good, better and best. I love it.
thanks for sharing this fine talent you have.
Bebop

Dan has always been one of my heroes. He took the time to master the keyboard's vocal harmony, then spent lots of time explaining exactly how he made it all work. He posted the information at the PSR Tutorial forum where a huge number of members have benefited from his expertise and generosity.

Thanks Dan,

Gary

Hello once again, frequenters of the Synth Zone BBS.

As always, thank you for taking the time to have a listen, and thank you to those who left a comment. Music should be shared (or sold if you gig or write), enjoyed and discussed (or sometimes maybe just cussed ).

I must say that I'm a bit overwhelmed at the number of listens and replies - my sense of whelm is easily pushed over the top now-a-days. Did I mention I had an exceptionally crappy summer?

Hi Tony. I'm pleased that you liked it. Thanks very much.

Hello Beakybird (or do you prefer Larry?). I agree with you about the strumming. I tried a few multi-pads to try and vary it somewhat, but I couldn't really find what I was looking for. Ideally, I should have waded through my style collection and borrowed another guitar part, but apathy (laziness?) got the better of me, I'm afraid. I also tried to shake it up a bit with the some sus 4's and 2's, but ultimately decided that I'd use them sparingly, and hope that the guitars didn't come off as monotonous. Only partially successful with that, methinks. I agree, the lyrics are strong - that's partially what attracted me to this song. That and the way it weaves back and forth between major and minor keys. This song is actually public domain, and according to Wikipedia, can trace its roots back to 1800's Appalachia. I left a few verses out in the name of brevity (and it's still 5:35...). Nice job on your tune, BTW. I've been following your compositions here on SZ - keep on writin'!

Thanks for the tip, Nigel. I suppose that's what I get for posting before I've had my second cup of coffee. I thought my password was something I could remember... Oh yeah - thanks also for all of your hard work in keeping the Synth Zone up and running. I hardly ever post, but I do come here almost every day.

Hi Ian. Thanks a lot. So far, I haven't got the bug for new gear (fingers crossed). My 3K works really well in my little studio for what I need it for. I usually use it to make backing tracks and to record harmony. I could sing my own harmony, but I like to use the VH in keeping with the arranger theme, as I often put my material up on other forums.

Hi Scott. The instrument you're thinking of is an EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument). They're made by Akai. I actually do have a Yamaha WX7 MIDI wind controller, but I really don't have any newer gear that it works well with (it works best with patches that respond to breath control). Too bad, because as a sax player, it's a fun instrument to play.

Thanks Bebop. I'm not sure about best, but on a personal note, this is probably one of my better recordings. I've been trying to successfully record the sax for a few years, experimenting with mics, reverb, compressors, etc. It's not quite there yet, but this is the closest I've come to the sound I'm looking for. It's one of those sounds which you don't know what you want until you've got it.

Geez Gary, you've got me blushing! High praise indeed coming from one of the most helpful and knowledgeable PSR players I know of. Thanks - you're no slouch yourself, you know.

Thanks for listening,
Dan

I play guitar myself, but if I didn't, and I was serious about recording, I might look into some guitar strum software such as
http://www.applied-acoustics.com/strumacoustic/overview/

or
http://www.musiclab.com/products/rg2_info.htm

This is cool stuff, because once you get the strum pattern you want, you can choose any guitar on your keyboard or from software samples made up of many gigabytes.

I think your song has a great feel to it, and lyrically it carries a lot of weight. However, some variation on the guitar strum would really spice things up.

Beakybird

Hi Beakybird,

Thanks for the links, I'll be sure to check them out. To be honest, I'm not all that serious about my music. I'm a stay in the basement musician nowadays (this wasn't always the case). I do music only as a hobby now, and not even all that regularly.



I get the feeling from this sentence that perhaps you think I wrote this song? I wish it was so, but I'm not that talented, I'm afraid. I had a hard enough time playing it, let alone writing it. This is an old American folk song, and has been covered by dozens of artists, the most recent being me. I'm sorry if I somehow mislead...

Thanks for listening,
Dan

Hi Dan, may I say there have been some excellent critiques and replies in this thread so far, so all I have left to say is - good job - nice feel and mood!

But - watch your Pitch - please!

I do understand the style you were going for in this song, a melancholy, laid back style, but don't be fooled, it still takes a certain Energy and Intensity to sustain this kind of Vocal and keep it interesting and in tune. You will hear what I'm talking about particularly in your first line "I am a Poor wayfaring stranger" and a little later in "this world of War (?)" and "in that Bright Land" and the notes you bend vocally throughout the song.

Vocals are my main focus generally speaking, so I notice this sort of thing straight away.

...and yeah - great Sax work!

P.S. I see you're ahead of your time (in the MP3 Info, you put the year of this track at 2209... !)

Hello hellboy44.

Hey! Someone finally noticed! Thanks! As a sax player, I'm reasonably aware of intonation. You have to be with a horn - because of physics, you must adjust practically every note as you play it to stay in tune.
I know this probably comes off as an excuse,(I hate excuses - an excuse is a reason that doesn't cut it) but I've been trying to sing material a little outside my comfort range. I was especially uncomfortable bending notes in the middle of a lyric (phrase) as I know this can go south quite easily. It's especially easy to hit the note slightly flat, which is what you heard, I think. On the other hand, I really don't like to use pitch correction or other tricks, so I do my best at the time. One thing I should have done (which I often do), is go back and redo the first verse after doing the rest, and then pick the best take. This works for me as by that time I'm more relaxed and warmed up. And of course there's always practice, practice, practice!

If you listen close to the horn solo, you'll also hear a few out-o-tune notes; particularly the F (concert F, G on the horn). Again, it comes from not playing consistently (flabby diaphragm and other necessary muscles).

Thanks for listening (and noticing),
Dan

No problem Dan, and thank you for taking my notes as they were intended - constructively.

Ya know, I used to hate the very IDEA of Pitch Correction, but really, these days, it's par for the course, and not necessarily for the reasons you might expect - i.e. to fix the vocals of someone who can't sing.

Pitch correction is employed routinely for many reasons (as an effect, to evoke a mood or even to do "lazy backing vocals" - I've heard it!) but I think a fundamental and constant reason these days - PARTICULARLY with some styles of contemporary music and very often with Home recordings - is because there can be very little live instrumentation used these days (samples are everywhere - we all play them, even if it's just using patches on our Arrangers/Workstations) and they are of course in PERFECT pitch. Seeing as you (and I, and MANY others) use almost nothing but samples & patches at times, you should consider this as a valid reason to use PC and "level the Playing field" between your vocals and the rest of your backing tracks.