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The Silence of Snow Drifts


Barry Seymour

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I'm asking for real scrutiny on this one. It's quiet and contemplative; if there are any hiccups that distract, I need to know about them.

My bassist friend Jack provided upright bass on this, both for the pizzicato bass and the solo. I am indebted to him.

I've been working on it for a long time, I need some perspective. Thanks in advance for any / all guidance you can provide.
 

 

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I'm gonna get banned from this website for this but , I  think this is fkn fantastic and probably the best story told in song  ... bought tears to my old eyes and I've heard quite a few deep meaning songs ..I will be listening this for quite a few times it really hits a chord with me .. so thanks mate !

ATB

Steve

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4 hours ago, SupaReels said:

I'm gonna get banned from this website for this but , I  think this is fkn fantastic and probably the best story told in song  ... bought tears to my old eyes and I've heard quite a few deep meaning songs ..I will be listening this for quite a few times it really hits a chord with me .. so thanks mate !

ATB

Steve

It means a lot to me that the song moved you. That is, after all, the point! ? Thank you for saying that.

Edited by Barry Seymour
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That was beautiful Barry; well done!

Its hard to criticize, but that's what you want so here goes...

I hear what I believe are open strings in one of the guitars that are just "loud" (0:43 on the time line for instance),
minor thing really but I went back to be sure what I was hearing; found it a bit distracting (again minor thing).
The string pad in the right can is a bit "static", again a minor thing, but you asked for "critical" so that's my 6 bits...

t

As always tremendous piece of storytelling.
You know how I am with song length, and seeing it was 5 plus minutes I thought "oh boy".
BUT, it was perfect, you used that 5+ to tell your story; wouldn't change a thing...

?'s

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On 3/26/2021 at 7:20 PM, DeeringAmps said:

That was beautiful Barry; well done!

Its hard to criticize, but that's what you want so here goes...

I hear what I believe are open strings in one of the guitars that are just "loud" (0:43 on the time line for instance),
minor thing really but I went back to be sure what I was hearing; found it a bit distracting (again minor thing).
The string pad in the right can is a bit "static", again a minor thing, but you asked for "critical" so that's my 6 bits...

t

As always tremendous piece of storytelling.
You know how I am with song length, and seeing it was 5 plus minutes I thought "oh boy".
BUT, it was perfect, you used that 5+ to tell your story; wouldn't change a thing...

?'s

No, this is good. Critical is what I want. So one of the strings is 'pinging' a bit too loudly?

As for 'static,' what do you mean? It needs more movement? I'm playing the keyboard with my thumbs here, but I am getting better at editing the notes in the piano roll. Suggestions / clarification welcome. And thanks.

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7 hours ago, Barry Seymour said:

As for 'static,' what do you mean? It needs more movement?

Exactly.
Are you playing chords here, or is it a "patch" that a single note gives you a chord?
(and trust me, I get the "playing with my thumbs", I'm not a keyboardist, nor am I an "arranger")
I would try for a little more "motion" in the "pad", and again not being an "arranger" I can't be more specific...
As to the "second" guitar. Use the "dim solo" to play it against the mix, its just a couple of spots were it
sticks out a bit to me; again a very minor thing. A little automation on that track maybe.
(just a note, when I listen to Get Back, there's a guitar in there, George maybe?, that misses a change.
As far as I know I'm the only one who ever noticed or mentions it...)

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Barry....  what a beautiful song mate.
Love the vocal and great lyrics.
Beautiful.



We all paint very different pictures... and I'm not saying my picture is better than yours.
I would de ess a little more.... maybe its coming from the verb.

De-essing the verb
1. Insert a de-esser after the reverb in the signal path.
2. Set the frequency anywhere from 3khz to 5khz
3. Set the range for the most clarity in the vocal.
Adjust release control to prevent chatter

https://we.tl/t-KqQwAZv7jD

I would like a little more flow...  try riding the faders with automation.
Just close your eyes and ride the string parts

Pads could have a little more space.


 

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Mix comes across nicely on laptop speakers. I like the way the vocal sounds so effortless and whatever you are using for reverb sounds nice.

As for crits (bearing in mind lappy speakers)  the vocal line at 2:36 is a little buried compared to the rest, a little sibilance here and there (1:25 as an example) and the string pad is too much there all the time for me and as the song progresses becomes almost annoying. If it were me in the production chair that is the main thing I would want to change.

 

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Barry
Beautiful song, beautiful story.
Since you asked for scrutiny I'll point out a couple of spots that stood out to me.

0:42 "hot"  sounded glitchy

Your lyrics came across nice and clear most of the time except at
1:19, 2:36, 3:47  where the words got a bit buried.
I liked the part about the house your father built but I didn't catch the rest of the story.

Putting that aside, you got the emotion through loud and clear. Love the imagery of snow drifts on a cold and silent winter night. Very effective string accompaniment too.

-Bjorn

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8 hours ago, Barry Seymour said:

Thanks, everyone, for the detailed feedback.

I re-did the lead guitar as there was a ringing string in there that I didn't hear until I soloed the track. I boosted the bass a touch.

https://soundcloud.com/barry-seymour/the-silence-of-snow-drifts-0328
As for the other remarks, I will digest and remix. Good stuff, thanks!

 

 

 

I listened to this once again Barry,
Really great poetry.

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On 3/28/2021 at 8:06 AM, DeeringAmps said:

Exactly.
Are you playing chords here, or is it a "patch" that a single note gives you a chord?
(and trust me, I get the "playing with my thumbs", I'm not a keyboardist, nor am I an "arranger")
I would try for a little more "motion" in the "pad", and again not being an "arranger" I can't be more specific...
As to the "second" guitar. Use the "dim solo" to play it against the mix, its just a couple of spots were it
sticks out a bit to me; again a very minor thing. A little automation on that track maybe.
(just a note, when I listen to Get Back, there's a guitar in there, George maybe?, that misses a change.
As far as I know I'm the only one who ever noticed or mentions it...)

I basically wrote this by plunking a few keys to get the basic rhythms down; I then transitioned to fleshing the parts out by clicking in the piano roll. Then I quantized it.

I think I used my elbows at one point. ?

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Barry  . . . this one tells a story, and paints many mental pictures,  and it reaches deep into the listener, young or old, I think . . . one of those rare poetic moments where it's painful and beautiful all at the same time.  Mix wise, not sure how you could do it different, the vocals and lyrical poetry takes most of my attention as I listen, and the gentle guitar flows along with it, none of the other instruments take away from that, they only add to it. I sincerely hope more people of the world get to hear this.

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Just now, Lynn Wilson said:

When you put your voice to a melody and lyrics like these, you're bound to hit a homerun.  I really appreciate your restraint because some would embellish the hell out of this when it isn't necessary.  Good job, Barry!

Thanks for the kind words. My actual problem is that my voice is not as solid and effortless as it was when I was younger. It took several passes and multiple takes for me to get this, and even then I hear places where I'm not quite on the note the way I want to be. So I'm definitely not inclined to try and show off!! ?

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