February 29, 2024 User Showcase Song - Old Empty Shoebox

Blame it on Alan David. The last song I posted Al left me some terrific comments and he concluded with a statement that was something to the effect of I could probably write a song about an empty shoebox. He generously meant it as a funny compliment but I ignored the humor and saw an idea. So if you make it to the end, AD gets the credit. If you don’t, Blame It On Al.

There may be another song there but I'll leave that to someone else.

Old Empty Shoebox on SoundCloud

Old Empty Shoebox on tommyadamsmusic.com

This was written in Biab using the following tracks. I then substituted my Acoustic, Electric and Steel. The bass and drums were built from loops. The only real tracks that made the final starting lineup were 1033:Guitar, 12-String Electric, Strumming Ev 120 Held and 864:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopRockWaltzPulsingClean Ev 140

1189:Bass, Electric, HardRockWaltz Ev 140
856:Guitar, 12-String Acoustic, Rhythm RockWaltzStrumming Ev 140
861:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm HardRockWaltzSustainHeld Ev 140
864:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopRockWaltzPulsingClean Ev 140
1033:Guitar, 12-String Electric, Strumming Ev 120 Held
900:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming FolkRockWaltz Ev 150
RockModernWaltz^8-a:Snare, Open HiHat , b:Snare, Ride, Busy Kick
Royalty Free Loops
Recorded in Logic Pro X
Plug Ins : Nectar 3, Neutron 4, Ozone 10, Tonal Balance, Waves LinMB, Waves, L3-LL Multi Limiter, Logic Pro Metering, Waves Vocal Rider, Scuffam Amps S-Gear
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Pedal Steel,Vocals, Tom Adams
Lyrics

Posted at 09:51 AM

February 28, 2024 User Showcase Song - She Took My Truck

I've always heard that in order for it to be a true country song, it has to talk about drinking, trains, Mama, or trucks. Well, I wrote a "tear jerker" about a man with a love with his truck.

She Took My Truck

_FARM.STY Farm Country Shuffle Soloist
617: Pedal Steel, Background Shuffle Sw 136
Tascam DP32SD Multitracker
Shure SM 58 Mic
Lexicon Alpha interface
Cakewalk by Bandlab
Lyrics

Posted at 10:01 AM

February 27, 2024 User Showcase Song - In These Times

I was getting rid of some old computers and thought that I'd remove the hard drives first and see if I needed anything on them...I found an audio file with some old tracks on it and discovered these vocal tracks...so I made some new instrumental accompaniment tracks with BiaB and some Genos stuff and voila! So...if you choose to listen I would love your feedback especially concerning the mix...thanks...Dan

In These Times

RealTracks in style: 2915:Bass, Electric CountryPopByron12-key Ev 085
RealDrums in style:BluesRockSlowEv^1-a:SideStick , b:Snare
RealTracks in style: ~~365:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 085
RealTracks in style: ~~362:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Ev 085

Yamaha Genos tracks: drums and bass

I added: Vocals and piano

Posted at 10:44 AM

February 26, 2024 User Showcase Song - THIS OLD TOWN

A song about lost love and regret!
THIS OLD TOWN

A big shoutout to Greg Johnson for reminding my about the Backpack Cajon 8 Folk Trio set! I wanted a James Taylor type sound for this song and that is a great set to get things rolling! Ron Helm assisted in the writing here! Thanks for listening, I always appreciate it!

BIAB
Drums - Cajon Folk Slow 8's
Bass - 700 Pop Half Note Push
Guitar - 2916 Country Folk 8ths Brent
Pedal Steel- West Coast Ballad
Me
Vocals, Electric Guitar- Peerless Archtop- Keyboards and Strings/synths/pads
Extra drum and cymbal hits
This Old Town
Words and Music By
Torrey Bliss/Ron Helm
©2024 Glass Gate Music BMI
Lyrics

Posted at 01:42 PM

February 23, 2024 User Showcase Song - Dragonflies

I haven't been feeling much like making music. But I had started feeling better, so figured I should take advantage of the three-day weekend and force myself to do something.

I was thinking about "Looks Like Rain" that Greg Johnson had recently posted, and figured I'd do something sort of James Taylor-ish. The _ASPEN demo had a bit of a Jackson Browne feel, so I went with that but changed the key and chords.

Dragonflies

The Technical Stuff
~683:Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesPush Ev 120
1533:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm PopPowerPushArp Ev 120
2935:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm FolkPulse8thsFintan Ev 110
2719:Guitar, Nylon, Fingerpicking CountryBrent Ev 120
1681:Guitar, 12-String Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 120
3707:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm 90sAcRockArpPick Ev 120
2452:String Quartet, Rhythm PopSwingHall Sw 110
RealDrums in style:NashvilleEven8^2-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, HiHat

Master Buss: Hornet ThirtyOneMk2, Lurssen Mastering Console (Pop)
Lead Vocal: SynthesizerV (Oscar), GregWells VoiceCentric (Natural Vocal), Pana, Abbey Roads Plate (Warm Voice)
Backing Vocal: SynthesizerV (Feng Yi), GregWells VoiceCentric (Backing Vocal), Pana, Abbey Roads Plate (Warm Voice)
Drum: RealTracks, EZMix2 (Room 2)
Bass: RealTracks
Piano: RealTracks, TrackSpacer (vocal), ReaEQ (No Mud), Pana (Piano)
Guitar1: RealTracks, TrackSpacer (vocal), ReaEQ (No Mud), Pana, Abbey Roads Plate (Acoustic Guitar 1)
Guitar2: RealTracks, TrackSpacer (vocal), ReaEQ (No Mud), Pana, Abbey Roads Plate (Acoustic Guitar 1)
Guitar3: RealTracks, TrackSpacer (vocal), ReaEQ (No Mud), Pana, Abbey Roads Plate (Acoustic Guitar 1)
String Quartet: RealTracks, Pana, Abbey Road Plate (Strings 1)

Edit 1: I fixed the glitch with the piano, and some phonemes in the harmony.
Edit 1: Manually balanced the vocal, extended the ending so it's not so abrupt.

Click here to read the lyrics and additional song details.

Posted at 02:29 PM

February 22, 2024 User Showcase Song - 夏の名残り(Translation: The Remnants Of The Summer)

This is my first post of the year and my newest song.
This time too, I have prepared a live band version and a BIAB version.
The live band version was recorded at my music circle's recording session late last year.
The BIAB RealTracks version was created prior to that in order to ask a group of lyricists to write the lyrics.
However, even as the session approached, the lyrics were not completed, so I wrote them myself this time.

Title: 夏の名残り(Translation: The Remnants Of The summer)
Vocal: 樹亜夏(Kiana), my music friend

Link of Live Band Version by Yamaha Teachers:
https://soundcloud.com/animarorecords/remnants-of-summer-live-band

Following additional VST instruments played with EastWest Symphonic Orchestra
Ist Violins, French Horns, Oboe, Harp
Strings from Style is ST_ELMO.STY

And also RealTracks below added
Harp (RealTracks in style: 2820:Harp, Rhythm ClassicalSlow8ths Ev 085)
String Quartet (RealTracks in style: 2335:String Quartet, Rhythm PopHall Ev 085)

Scored by me.

Link of RealTracks Version with Scat Vocal:
https://soundcloud.com/animarorecords/remnants-of-summer-scat

Style is _SJAZBL2.STY
RealTracks in style: 908:Bass, Electric, SmoothBallad Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: 910:Piano, Electric, Rhythm SmoothBallad Ev16 065
RealTracks in style: 1072:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm SmoothJazzBallad Ev16 065
RealDrums in Style: SmoothJazzBallad^1-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride RealDrums in Style: PopWaltzEven8^3-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride
Same Orchestration as Live Band version added

Additional song details & lyrics.

Posted at 01:54 PM

February 21, 2024 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!

Posted at 11:02 AM

February 21, 2024 User Showcase Song - Quan Yin

And NOW, the moment I've all (of me) been waiting for!

Quan Yin - YouTube

Quan Yin - SoundCloud

Around midwinter having accrued some new BiaB Chinese instrument samples I began working on this "Quan Yin" composition on 25th December and I finished it on 1st January, making it my first new piece for 2024. On 2nd January I began creating a new CGI Quan Yin character for the planned video as I hoped to use 8-12 new scenes, but ended up creating 30 - though only 24 are used - and I finally completed it in the early hours of the 25th. My new Quan Yin character is a young version of the compassionate Chinese goddess who's most often portrayed as an adult as while I'm able to morph my CG characters down in age, all the way in subtle stages to toddlers, the only assets I have for ageing them, which don't work in the same way, result in more of a crone. In one video scene Quan Yin is joined by her Mongolian parallel, Senjidema, and in another scene by Shakti, her Indian counterpart.

I ask the potential listener and viewer to first listen to the music without watching the video ~ ie: on SoundCloud ~ just for the music's sake as I've often found that the visuals distract from the full vibe, or if already viewed before reading this, please listen a 2nd time without any distractions. It's a big ask as this homage to Quan Yin is 6:44 in length, but it's worth listening to without distractions.

Guzheng: Snow Gentle World Flow ~ Dai Lin Hsieh
Dizi: Silk Smooth World Groove ~ Charlie Lui
Enya Warm Pad & Strings
Piano: Snow Gentle World Flow ~ Miles Black
Erhu: Avatar Relaxed Groove ~ Yun Song
Acoustic Bass 1: Avatar Relaxed Groove ~ Byron House
Drums 1: Snow Gentle World Flow ~ Jeff Lorber
Viola: Viola & Violin Ballad ~ Avery Bright
Electric Bass 2: Tin Whistle Light Folk Pop ~ Tobin Frank
Organ: Country Rock Guitar Solo Pop Ba ~ Gene Rabbai
*3 x Pixabay SFX: see below
Drums 2: Tin Whistle Light Folk Pop ~ Brian Fullen
Tin Whistle: Tin Whistle Light Folk Pop ~ Geoffrey Kelly

*Natural Thunder - SoundForYou
*Light Rain Ambient - Mikhail
*Evening Birds Singing In Spring - Background Sound Of Nature

184 bars; 4/4, G; tempo 105; Time 6:44

Posted at 10:58 AM

February 20, 2024 User Showcase Song - Roll Them Dice

My friend Christiane doesn't have her studio setup at the moment, she is moving soon, so you will have to suffer with another vocal from me

Video - Roll Them Dice

The Band:
~674:Organ, B3, Background Blues Roadhouse Ev 120
4249:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm BluesFunky Ev 120
FunkHalfNotePulse: a: Snare, Kick b: Busy Kick, Snare
Percussion: EZDrummer3
Marty Straub (BabuMusic) is playing the bass, and I'm playing the guitar leads.
Mixed in Reaper, mastered with Ozone 10.
Lyrics

Posted at 01:24 PM

February 16, 2024 Holiday Hours - Family Day (Mon, Feb 19)

As a province, we are celebrating Family Day on Monday, February 19th.

Our hours on this holiday will be:
Customer Service: 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST
Technical Support: Closed.

Regular hours resume Tuesday, February 20th.

https://www.pgmusic.com/contact.htm

Posted at 10:44 AM

February 16, 2024 User Showcase Song - Sleepin' Single

Some Breezy Pop.
Sometimes ya want music to just be fun.

SLEEPIN' SINGLE

The BAND:
RealTracks in style: 4214:Bass, Electric, SoulFunk70sAB Ev 100
RealTracks in style: 2619:Organ, Rhythm Funk Ev 100
RealTracks in style: 4229:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm SoulFunk70s Ev 100
RealDrums in Song: TambourineJanglyEv16
RealDrums in style:SoulFunk70sEv: a: Hat & Sidestick b: Hat & Snare
RealTracks in song: 3203:Guitar, Acoustic, Soloist RnBPopBrent Ev 110
There are 4 tracks of NI Sunburst Electric
Lyrics

All inside 3 minutes.
Hope ya get something outta this...

Posted at 10:33 AM

February 15, 2024 User Showcase Song - You Came Back

This song was partially based on some medicall experiences I had last year. But all I sing here did not happen!
Well..., the part about my wife is true
And also the duration of my recovery...
And it also has nothing to do with the return of a mummy...

It is called You Came Back

Style is _FACULA.STY (Facula Driving Slow Rock)

RealTracks in style: 1522:Bass, Electric
RealTracks in song: 3261:Cello, Rhythm CelticReelChopping
RealTracks in song: 4581:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm
RealTracks in song 2x: 4157:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm
RealTracks in song: 4584:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopMotionHeldSpaceySynth ev 100
RealTracks in song: 2687:Guitar, Electric, Soloist Blues
RealDrums in Song:FunkDisco: a: Kick, HiHat b: Kick, Closing HiHat
Keyboards: NI Mallets / Piano Colors

HWBerkhout (c) 020424
Lyrics

Posted at 10:18 AM

February 14, 2024 User Showcase Song - Lady Luck

This is a bit different for us three as it is all acoustic.

Lady Luck

Janice sang and played percussion on her cajon (no drums), Peter plays guitar (solos and rhythm) and Bud is on upright bass. The mix and arrangement are both a three way effort. As always your time to listen and, if interested, comment are appreciated. And thanks to the guitar man and PG Music. More info below tech stuff and on SC.

Vocals: Rode NT1 > Scarlett 212 interface > Logic Pro > Nectar (very light compression and reverb)
Piano: MIDI SuperTrack 2845 Piano, Rhythm BluesSlowSwing > Logic Pro Grand Steinway > Waves CLA Unplugged
Rhythm Guitar: RealTrack 556 Acoustic, Rhythm Jazz Ballad Sw > Waves CLA Unplugged
Cajon: Waves Magma BBT & Waves CLA Drums
RealDrums: ShakerSwing8ths
RealDrums: TambourineSwing8ths (tag) > EMT 140 Plate Reverb sim on both
Bass: 1953 Kay Swingmaster > Logic Pro EQ > Neutron 3 > Waves Bass Rider
Solos and rhythm guitar: whatever the man does smile

Post mix stuff: Ozone EQ > Ozone multi-compression > Ozone Imager > Ozone Maximizer > Izotope Tonal Balance > Logic Pro Loudness Meter

© 2024 J. Merritt, B. Merritt & P. Fulham All Rights Reserved
The tune is world wide public domain, first released by Clarence Williams 101 years ago, and was also sung by Bessie Smith in 1923. We tweaked the lyric and created a new chord structure. Being public domain we own all rights to our version.

Posted at 10:44 AM

February 14, 2024 Video: Volume Automation in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created a video to help you learn more about the Volume Automation options in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows.

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Volume Automation

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#volume-automation

Posted at 10:42 AM

February 13, 2024 User Showcase Song - She's The One

This song is a reply to someone who asked me why I always have a smile on my face like George Burns and Joe Riillo.

She's The One - SoundCloud
She's The One - YouTube

The fourteenth of February is Valentines Day, or Friends Day, or St. Gregory's Day, or something else depending on where you are on the planet. So this song is in lieu of flowers. Although the song says “she,” and I'll emphasis that part to my wife, there are an awful lot of folks here who have significantly broadened my smile. Thanks. Wait! Did I just call y'all an awful lot?

File:She's The One.SGU
Style is _DANGLE.STY (Dangle Relaxed 70s Soul)

RealTracks in style: ~689:Organ, B3, Background Pop Ev 085
RealTracks in style: 4233:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Soul70sRelaxed Ev 100
RealTracks in song: ~362:Guitar, Acoustic, Strumming Ev 085
RealTracks in song: 1058:Sax, Alto, Soloist SmoothJazzPoppy Ev16 090
RealDrums in Song: Tambourine2and4Dark
RealDrums in style:Soul70sRelaxedEv^1-a:Hat & Snare , b:Ride & Snare

I played bass and sang.
Lyrics

Posted at 02:07 PM

February 13, 2024 Video: Audio Input Monitoring with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created this short video to explain Audio Input Monitoring within Band-in-a-Box® 2024, and included some tips & troubleshooting details too!

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Audio Input Monitoring

3:17: Tips
5:10: Troubleshooting

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#audio-input-monitoring

Posted at 02:00 PM

February 12, 2024 User Showcase Song - Stabbed In The Heart

...This is one I wrote a few days ago. I was able to get back on to the forum just 20 minutes ago.

Stabbed In the Heart

It's a Smooth Jazz Fusion Piece. It's the first 12/8 time signature I've used in quite a while. It has a Bluesy character.

All The dark secrets:

Title: Stabbed In The Heart

File:Stabbed In The Heart.SGU

Key=A , Tempo 50, Length (m:s)=4:28

Style is _ATTRACT.STY (Attract Slow 12-8 Soloist)

RealTracks in style: 3546:Bass, Electric, AmericanaSlow12-8SteveAB Sw 040
RealTracks in style: 3086:Organ, Rhythm AmericanaSlow128Mike Sw 040
RealTracks in style: 2875:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm AmericanaTremoloSlow128Colin Sw 040
RealTracks in style: 3278:Vocal Mmms, Rhythm RockNRollGospel12-8 4-part Sw 065
RealTracks in song: 2744:Synth, Rhythm AltHipHopPadA-B Ev16 085
RealTracks in style: 3192:Guitar, Electric, Soloist Slow12-8Brent Sw 040
RealDrums in Song:AmericanaSlow128Fred: a: Snare, HiHat b: Snare, Ride

Posted at 09:11 AM

February 09, 2024 User Showcase Song - TANNERSVILLE

Here's another new one. This is called Tannersville.

BIAB Tracks:
2474: Bass, Acoustic, Held Ev 085
0364: Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking Ev 065
0841: Piano, Electric, HeldChords Ev 060

Other:
Vocal recorded with a Placid Audio Copperphone Mic
Waves Harmony
Mix / Master via Ozone 11 with various vintage settings
Izotope Vinyl setting
Lyrics

Posted at 01:23 PM

February 08, 2024 User Showcase Song - BRIDGE OF LOVE

Just a simple little silly love song that is a work in progress-still mixing!
BRIDGE OF LOVE

Boy is interested in the girl and will do whatever it takes to win her over. I usually do songs with a spiritual emphasis in them, but this one is purely secular!
This is actually a remodel of a song I posted about 5 years ago. I re-recorded vocal parts, bass and some other parts and did some re-mixing. I am relying on the inspiration I received from my favorite artists in my early formative years of learning guitar and music in general. I am leaning on the Beatles and Beach Boys in the chorus sections and Carole King and Todd Rundgren in the verses with a dose of CCR/John Fogerty with the rhythm guitar parts especially in the choruses! John Fogerty taught me how to play guitar a couple notes at a time back in my teen years! Thanks for taking a trip back through the years with me here!

BIAB
Organ 686 Background Pop Ev 120
Drums Nashville EV8
Piano 2812 Acoustic Rhythm Gospel Soul 8ths Mike EV 110

Me
Vocals
All guitars and Bass
Piano Rhythm and fills in a few spots
Oh yeah let's not forget the hand claps
Lyrics

Posted at 01:15 PM

February 01, 2024 User Showcase Song - BIG CHANGE OF HEART

So, this song had some major twists and turns in development.

BIG CHANGE OF HEART

It started off as a joke for Bob Dean to show him how (if he really wanted to sound like Lou Reed) he was going to have to use at least ONE minor chord somewhere. But then, when I recorded my guitar parts, I decided I actually like this song, and it was a real song, not a joke. Sorry, Bob. Maybe next time.

I also had a lot of fun combing through BIAB to find exactly the right Real Tracks (including some Brent Mason solo snippets) to get EXACTLY the sound I wanted, to create the "epic swell." Not "sort of" close but EXACTLY CLOSE. The right panned acoustic guitar I played was the very last thing to go in, as I was asking myself: "Something is missing. What is it?" :)

In this case I was able to get exactly the sound I was looking for by mixing my own tracks with Real Tracks.

Hope you enjoy.

All music and lyrics copyright 2024 by David Snyder
Day of Faith Records/ASCAP All rights reserved

David Snyder: Lead Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Additional Instrumentation, Engineering, Mixing, Mastering

RealTracks in style: 1592:Bass, Electric, Pop16ths Ev 065
RealTracks in song: 3729:Guitar, Electric, Soloist GrungePopGritty Ev 110
RealDrums in style:RockHardLA^1-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Loose HiHat
RT 636 Roots Rock Held
RT 1265 POP SHINING PAD

Posted at 01:29 PM