erichenryus
New member
....or "another eric henry song with a bad ending." any suggestions?
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1445&alid=-1
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1445&alid=-1
not alone
- Thread starter erichenryus
- Start date
P
Phyl
Guest
Wow.
First of all, your voice sounds great. The vocal line begs to have a harmony part added at some point, especially in the places where you hold the last syllable of word for a while. A female voice would work well.
Some minor performance issues (timing) here and there with the guitar, you can probably easily punch in corrections. Great guitar tone.
The synth was a nice touch and done very well.
More subjective comments - the vocal and guitar could use just the slightest touch of reverb or ambiance, I'd hate to obscure your voice though.
First of all, your voice sounds great. The vocal line begs to have a harmony part added at some point, especially in the places where you hold the last syllable of word for a while. A female voice would work well.
Some minor performance issues (timing) here and there with the guitar, you can probably easily punch in corrections. Great guitar tone.
The synth was a nice touch and done very well.
More subjective comments - the vocal and guitar could use just the slightest touch of reverb or ambiance, I'd hate to obscure your voice though.
Kramer
Well-known member
Nice tune with a good melody.I've always like your voice.The synth adds a nice touch to the piece but It would sound a lot better if the string parts were more thought out with certain notes placed more strategicly throughout the song.
Guitar sounds decent and the vox shine as always.
Good job.
Guitar sounds decent and the vox shine as always.
Good job.
Guernica
Active member
Hey Eric,
...man, sweet vocs here. I would almost like to hear the levels of the guitars and the vocs reversed (vocs being louder). Your vocals are just pristine. Your clean approach really works for them imo. Might be a couple of timing/accentuation issues in the bridge/chorus section w/ the git. I love the strings, ....very classy, and quite tastefull approach.
.....but them vocs.... Damnit, ...really beautiful man.
Nice stuff Eric!!
Mike
...man, sweet vocs here. I would almost like to hear the levels of the guitars and the vocs reversed (vocs being louder). Your vocals are just pristine. Your clean approach really works for them imo. Might be a couple of timing/accentuation issues in the bridge/chorus section w/ the git. I love the strings, ....very classy, and quite tastefull approach.
.....but them vocs.... Damnit, ...really beautiful man.
Nice stuff Eric!!
Mike
erichenryus
New member
thanks guys.
the synth was really a scratch/first take thing. you're right kramer, not very well planned out arrangement wise. i think it could carry the flow much better than it does. i'd rather find a local orchestra that records for free but......
Phyl, I actually wrote this song for a specific female singer that i know and when she heard it she offered to just do a backup vocal instead. She doesn't want to sing the main vocal. Maybe that's a subtle hint of some sort?
I was really concentrating on the singing in this. I cranked up the preamp to the point of almost having to whisper the vocal line and really watched the volume trying not to clip (i don't have a compressor). I've realized just how hard it is to sing softly and hold pitch, not that i'm able to hold pitch when i'm singing loud, but it just seems so much less stable at a lower volume.....
What happened to that singing forum that dragon was going to put up? I need help.
the synth was really a scratch/first take thing. you're right kramer, not very well planned out arrangement wise. i think it could carry the flow much better than it does. i'd rather find a local orchestra that records for free but......
Phyl, I actually wrote this song for a specific female singer that i know and when she heard it she offered to just do a backup vocal instead. She doesn't want to sing the main vocal. Maybe that's a subtle hint of some sort?
I was really concentrating on the singing in this. I cranked up the preamp to the point of almost having to whisper the vocal line and really watched the volume trying not to clip (i don't have a compressor). I've realized just how hard it is to sing softly and hold pitch, not that i'm able to hold pitch when i'm singing loud, but it just seems so much less stable at a lower volume.....
What happened to that singing forum that dragon was going to put up? I need help.
erichenryus
New member
sorry g, missed you on the last post. thanks for the comments. been spending some time trying to get some better technique with the mic. i got some pointers from someone i know. so far, i think having a very quiet environment to sing in is helping. i can crank the preamp without catching a lot of background noise and unwanted reverb.
Khompewtur
*Retired*
Very sweet song.. aren't you sounding cherubic. I liked the strings that came in behind the vox at the last time through. Very good job eric.
This song could really use some CRASHING BANGIN DRUMSZ though.....NOT
haha, i just wanted to say that before anyone else thinks about adding it. I think not using percussion here was definitely the right choice.
This song could really use some CRASHING BANGIN DRUMSZ though.....NOT
haha, i just wanted to say that before anyone else thinks about adding it. I think not using percussion here was definitely the right choice.
Toki987
Rock Steady
very pretty tune, I'd buy.. Only on thing I noticed listening on the small speakers. There`s a resonant frequency in the guitar when playing the root chord that is found in the voice as well Sounds like its on the g string, or b . They seemed to blend at that one frequency at the levels you have. Raising the voice a tad or tuning that one guitar freq.
erichenryus
New member
bharis - signal chain is as follows:
git left: studio projects B1 mic -> joe meek vc3 w/no compression or enhancement -> echo mona -> computer
git right: studio projects B1 mic -> echo mona -> computer
vox -> same as git left.
toki - glad you noticed the resonance too. I eq'd the shit out of the gits and vox around the 400-600 range to try and tame it. i also used a multiband compressor there but still it's jumping out at me! it's in the tracking room. i'm gonna correct that with some slot resonators when i get a chance cause i'd rather stop it before it happends than try to tame it with software.
khomp - everything is better with drums isn't it? that HRC tune you posted is awsome!
git left: studio projects B1 mic -> joe meek vc3 w/no compression or enhancement -> echo mona -> computer
git right: studio projects B1 mic -> echo mona -> computer
vox -> same as git left.
toki - glad you noticed the resonance too. I eq'd the shit out of the gits and vox around the 400-600 range to try and tame it. i also used a multiband compressor there but still it's jumping out at me! it's in the tracking room. i'm gonna correct that with some slot resonators when i get a chance cause i'd rather stop it before it happends than try to tame it with software.
khomp - everything is better with drums isn't it? that HRC tune you posted is awsome!
participant
New member
Lovely, eric... preamp... the gtr has that "warmed", almost analog tone... probably your joe-meek... that pleasant "harmonic distortion" that fills the head with pleasant "audio phat".
Have you been colluding w/dobro? Sounds like some influence is rubbing off... (intimate vocal, warm gtr)
Some weird compressor/gate stuff is going on... at 0:38 on vocs & 0:41 on gtr... it's like the threshhold setting is just BARELY over what the gate is set to... hear it? The vocal ducks almost like it's going away... same w/guitar... that's the gate closing too early.
Really like the strings here... would be really nice to hardpan those... and keep the gtr in tighter... maybe 40/40 on gtr and 85/85 on strings (if you could do the same patch in stereo)...
Also... is there a way to import your strings into N-Track, or whatever you're using? Slap the same 'verb on them as on the vocs/gtr... only more of it... it will "glue" your tracks together better, make the performance sound like it's happening in the same room.
Very pretty song... good vocals.
C
Have you been colluding w/dobro? Sounds like some influence is rubbing off... (intimate vocal, warm gtr)
Some weird compressor/gate stuff is going on... at 0:38 on vocs & 0:41 on gtr... it's like the threshhold setting is just BARELY over what the gate is set to... hear it? The vocal ducks almost like it's going away... same w/guitar... that's the gate closing too early.
Really like the strings here... would be really nice to hardpan those... and keep the gtr in tighter... maybe 40/40 on gtr and 85/85 on strings (if you could do the same patch in stereo)...
Also... is there a way to import your strings into N-Track, or whatever you're using? Slap the same 'verb on them as on the vocs/gtr... only more of it... it will "glue" your tracks together better, make the performance sound like it's happening in the same room.
Very pretty song... good vocals.
C
powderfinger
New member
very nice warm recording.......i'm not crazy about the synth part...i'd almost rather hear some vocal harmonies to add on instead, but that's all a matter of taste i supose.......
wonderful vocal recording....nice song too
wonderful vocal recording....nice song too
studioviols
New member
Real orchestra for free
This is an absolutely beautiful song. Like ... totally gorgeous. The sincerity you are singing with here, is very real.
Your voice has stunning qualities. Your effort at perfectionism has created a unique vocal ... triumph. Tears to my eyes.
The guitar is so sweet, so simple.
DavidK should rush in here and steal this opportunity away !
I will duplicate your string part with the real instruments. Real violin, cello and viola.
Please PM me.
This is a great opportunity for all of us to hear what mediocre samples can turn into by re-doing them with the real instruments. And you are going to get a high quality job here. I'll do everything I can to call in some favors from other players here to.
I'm already going to work with MC Guitarz doing something similar. He's an older voice, and you are the young voice, couldn't be better.
The quality of the string samples is the only thing from holding this song back from being a number one hit on http://artists.mp3s.com or anyone of a number of online sites like that, and I'm not kidding.
I hope you are using SONAR, are you ?
Your voice and youth reminds me of what I just did last night at a popular Austin Band's website, http://www.echoset.com ... I took a piece of prose that a band member had written in their forum and wrote a song out of it, here it is :
VERSE 1:
I think about all of the what ifs in my life sometimes,
lying in bed, trying to sleep late at night,
looking back at my life, like a book fumbling through,
the chapters of coincidence and remembering what I'd do.
I beat my brain to death.
What if I could go back ?
And change my childhood.
Everyone has their what ifs.
CHORUS :
What if I could go back into childhood moments ?
Would I change any of it, even the horrible circumstances ?
VERSE 2:
I miss the bicycle rides through the woods with my friends
I miss the sleepover summers when we'd talk about things
like the girls we had crushes on, but were afraid to talk to,
while watching scary movies the whole night through.
I miss a lot of things.
CHORUS 2 :
What if I could go back into childhood moments ?
Would I change any of it, even the horrible circumstances ?
VERSE 1:
What if I would have never, picked up a guitar ?
What if I never married, went to college instead ?
Would I never have met the people I don't know.
If you could really go back, and change it would you ?
Well I don't think so.
- INSTRUMENTAL SOLO -
VERSE 3 :
No not even the bad things, just stop and look,
at who you are today, and the opportunity for change.
This present moment is your greatest pain.
I'll always ponder, and sometimes I'll miss,
those feelings of peace and innocense.
REPRIEVE OUT :
Looking forward to nostalgia, once the next year has passed.
Looking forward to a new day, and it's scary and I miss, a lot of things.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Older folks, like when we hit our late 30's and early 40's we start having these like fears ... of getting old, and withered, and like ... well ... dying. You understand where I'm coming from. I mean, some of us older folks have had people we really, really love ... die. I'm not saying younger folks haven't had rough times, but as you get older, you encounter some pretty dark moments. Almost universally we all do as we get older. That's life.
You are a ray of sunshine, a breath of life, literally, you are the archtypical youth, shining. And this song is dripping with marketability. But probably only if you sing and perform it.
The string part you have written is nice. You certainly are correct in writing a string part for it. A gentle piano would be very effective also ... might ruin it.
The strings are mixed much to loud. To encroach on your voice and lyric in the least amount, is unforgivable. Man, you get a compressor and you are going to be awesome.
In a song like this, your vocal and lyric must shine like a 'sainted jewel' of pure innocence for the entire song. And I'm not making fun here, I just think this is 'where you are'.
You are the hook in this song.
Like I say, the strings are a little to loud and they 'move' to quickly. The 'harmonic movement' is to fast and that keeps you from using a solo string instrument effectively in a song like this, so I would like to re-write a little bit, simplify the strings.
I'm not saying the song needs a solo instrument. For any solo instrument to be effective, you would need to re-arrange the song. I'm not asking you to re-arrange.
Step one is to add the real strings.
To explain further about 'harmonic movement'. The strings should cover whole measures. Whole notes. Sometimes, elements in the strings should be covering two whole measure, without moving. The movement of another string element ... (note) ... can cause quite a bit of harmonic change when you build up those long tensions with the strings.
When the harmony between the vocal and the guitar changes, there is an opportunity there to maintain dissonance with those long lasting strings, or change with the vocal and guitar.
I think the strings should hold notes for entire phrases of the vocal in some points with tiny minor imperceptible changes, and this can create a great amount of tension that you then 'break' with the change in the vocal line.
Yes, a simple string arrangement can actually be quite powerful and moving, when it has good material like this in front of it.
Let's collaborate on this one please.
This is an absolutely beautiful song. Like ... totally gorgeous. The sincerity you are singing with here, is very real.
Your voice has stunning qualities. Your effort at perfectionism has created a unique vocal ... triumph. Tears to my eyes.
The guitar is so sweet, so simple.
DavidK should rush in here and steal this opportunity away !
I will duplicate your string part with the real instruments. Real violin, cello and viola.
Please PM me.
This is a great opportunity for all of us to hear what mediocre samples can turn into by re-doing them with the real instruments. And you are going to get a high quality job here. I'll do everything I can to call in some favors from other players here to.
I'm already going to work with MC Guitarz doing something similar. He's an older voice, and you are the young voice, couldn't be better.
The quality of the string samples is the only thing from holding this song back from being a number one hit on http://artists.mp3s.com or anyone of a number of online sites like that, and I'm not kidding.
I hope you are using SONAR, are you ?
Your voice and youth reminds me of what I just did last night at a popular Austin Band's website, http://www.echoset.com ... I took a piece of prose that a band member had written in their forum and wrote a song out of it, here it is :
VERSE 1:
I think about all of the what ifs in my life sometimes,
lying in bed, trying to sleep late at night,
looking back at my life, like a book fumbling through,
the chapters of coincidence and remembering what I'd do.
I beat my brain to death.
What if I could go back ?
And change my childhood.
Everyone has their what ifs.
CHORUS :
What if I could go back into childhood moments ?
Would I change any of it, even the horrible circumstances ?
VERSE 2:
I miss the bicycle rides through the woods with my friends
I miss the sleepover summers when we'd talk about things
like the girls we had crushes on, but were afraid to talk to,
while watching scary movies the whole night through.
I miss a lot of things.
CHORUS 2 :
What if I could go back into childhood moments ?
Would I change any of it, even the horrible circumstances ?
VERSE 1:
What if I would have never, picked up a guitar ?
What if I never married, went to college instead ?
Would I never have met the people I don't know.
If you could really go back, and change it would you ?
Well I don't think so.
- INSTRUMENTAL SOLO -
VERSE 3 :
No not even the bad things, just stop and look,
at who you are today, and the opportunity for change.
This present moment is your greatest pain.
I'll always ponder, and sometimes I'll miss,
those feelings of peace and innocense.
REPRIEVE OUT :
Looking forward to nostalgia, once the next year has passed.
Looking forward to a new day, and it's scary and I miss, a lot of things.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Older folks, like when we hit our late 30's and early 40's we start having these like fears ... of getting old, and withered, and like ... well ... dying. You understand where I'm coming from. I mean, some of us older folks have had people we really, really love ... die. I'm not saying younger folks haven't had rough times, but as you get older, you encounter some pretty dark moments. Almost universally we all do as we get older. That's life.
You are a ray of sunshine, a breath of life, literally, you are the archtypical youth, shining. And this song is dripping with marketability. But probably only if you sing and perform it.
The string part you have written is nice. You certainly are correct in writing a string part for it. A gentle piano would be very effective also ... might ruin it.
The strings are mixed much to loud. To encroach on your voice and lyric in the least amount, is unforgivable. Man, you get a compressor and you are going to be awesome.
In a song like this, your vocal and lyric must shine like a 'sainted jewel' of pure innocence for the entire song. And I'm not making fun here, I just think this is 'where you are'.
You are the hook in this song.
Like I say, the strings are a little to loud and they 'move' to quickly. The 'harmonic movement' is to fast and that keeps you from using a solo string instrument effectively in a song like this, so I would like to re-write a little bit, simplify the strings.
I'm not saying the song needs a solo instrument. For any solo instrument to be effective, you would need to re-arrange the song. I'm not asking you to re-arrange.
Step one is to add the real strings.
To explain further about 'harmonic movement'. The strings should cover whole measures. Whole notes. Sometimes, elements in the strings should be covering two whole measure, without moving. The movement of another string element ... (note) ... can cause quite a bit of harmonic change when you build up those long tensions with the strings.
When the harmony between the vocal and the guitar changes, there is an opportunity there to maintain dissonance with those long lasting strings, or change with the vocal and guitar.
I think the strings should hold notes for entire phrases of the vocal in some points with tiny minor imperceptible changes, and this can create a great amount of tension that you then 'break' with the change in the vocal line.
Yes, a simple string arrangement can actually be quite powerful and moving, when it has good material like this in front of it.
Let's collaborate on this one please.
Pedullist
Stop it, I can't breathe
I'm with Erland all over. 
Very delicate. Peculiar vocal melody...seems difficult to sing, especially the timing. Very good!
At the end you're singing a tiny bit louder, and that's where your vocal quality is getting really appealing (it is appealing all over already, but this the point where I start screaming things like: 'yay', 'hoorah' and 'woohoo'...it's the little vibrato I guess)
Excellent job, Eric!
Very delicate. Peculiar vocal melody...seems difficult to sing, especially the timing. Very good!
At the end you're singing a tiny bit louder, and that's where your vocal quality is getting really appealing (it is appealing all over already, but this the point where I start screaming things like: 'yay', 'hoorah' and 'woohoo'...it's the little vibrato I guess)
Excellent job, Eric!
joro
The Pie Guy
Great vocals....nice guitar but could be a little bit warmer....
Good songwriting man...
I actually like the string pads....but real strings always kick ass...a little violin soloing lightly in the pad...hitting/repeating you vox melody with a slight delay....mmmmm...would be cool...
maybe a bass guitar and a shaker....no drums though man...alternative percussion...heard a couple squeaks inbetween 2: 59 and 3:01.....right at the end......
Great song man...and again...super vox...
Joe
Good songwriting man...
I actually like the string pads....but real strings always kick ass...a little violin soloing lightly in the pad...hitting/repeating you vox melody with a slight delay....mmmmm...would be cool...
maybe a bass guitar and a shaker....no drums though man...alternative percussion...heard a couple squeaks inbetween 2: 59 and 3:01.....right at the end......
Great song man...and again...super vox...
Joe
B.SABBATH
New member
wow! I really got into those vocals.. excellent job there.. Either the guitar is a complex riff that I had trouble getting, or the timing is hammered.. Either way the vocals kept my attention, but I would fix the timing mistakes because they sounded VERY distracting.. great vocals!!!
erichenryus
New member
Re: Real orchestra for free
um..........lemme think aobut that for half a second......that would be very cool! i'll pm you later when i have time.
studioviols said:
um..........lemme think aobut that for half a second......that would be very cool! i'll pm you later when i have time.
boydrj
New member
Very nice piece of music. I like the pads that come in about the middle of the tune. Very warm sounding and not too overbearing. They provide a nice backdrop.
The guitar sounds real nice...some of those accents are a little hot -- imho --
Very nice vocals on this!
I really like this piece. Very nice!
The guitar sounds real nice...some of those accents are a little hot -- imho --
Very nice vocals on this!
I really like this piece. Very nice!
WATYF
...happier than you.
eric... this is great man. Very delicate. Very clean recording. And frankly, I wouldn't replace/change a thing. The snyth isn't too "obvious". I actually like it when the lower synth comes in. You need to take it down a bit at the end. (And take the higher synth down over-all a bit.)
But other than that.... this is great stuff.
WATYF
But other than that.... this is great stuff.
WATYF