New Year, new recording!

[Alison]

What better way to kick off the new year than with a new recording? It's another mushy one but hopefully, I'll be out of that phase soon.

I am playing piano for the very first time! Never recorded piano before so any suggestions about the sound are very welcome! I'm certainly not much of a pianist so it's a simple structure (with a few flaws). Tried a bass line on this but was really not happy with the sound of it, I seriously need to consider getting a real bass. . .

So, the song was inspired, of course, by my family and a few other friends who have new humans in their life. It's a tough job! My son and daughter-in-law have come through the trials and tribulations of Carter's birth well and are doing a great job with him. He smiles and laughs a lot but when he does cry (I should say, scream), it's hard to understand it. This too shall pass. . .

Anyway, first recording in quite some time so I'm sure you'll have some suggestions for me.
Happy New Year and thanks for listening!

This heart, These Hands.mp3

Mix 2 with bass, thanks to Armi!

This heart, These Hands.mp3

Version 2 with the piano split left and right. Changed the piano line a bit too.

This Heart, These Hands v2.mp3

[rayc]

Lovely one.
I reckon you could experiment with dropping the 2nd arpeggio on some piano chords just to leave space...the timing seems to push the song a little with them.
The piano as bass thing - can work, needs to be centred and doubling something else...alternately use a clavinet voice.
Lovely song.

[Armistice]

I can hear what ray's getting at with the arpeggios - something else you could try is to do one and a half arpeggios. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3 and breathe.

You do it in places already.

I'd actually turn the piano down a smidge and turn the acoustic guitar up a smidge - it's not always obvious it's there.

Apart from that, sounds good to me.

And yes... buy a damn bass already. How much did you just spend on relocating? I'm sure a bass isn't out of the question... It will anchor the bottom end for you.

Also, there are plenty of average bass players around here, me included, who could knock you up a track for something like your song in about 15 minutes. Just ask...

[Alison]

Lovely one.
I reckon you could experiment with dropping the 2nd arpeggio on some piano chords just to leave space...the timing seems to push the song a little with them.
The piano as bass thing - can work, needs to be centred and doubling something else...alternately use a clavinet voice.
Lovely song.

Thanks, Ray. I'm such a novice with piano! It was in my old music room for years but in a spot that wasn't convenient for use. Now it's close and I am hoping to improve my playing. I did keep the piano centered but wasn't sure if that was the best thing. As for the arpeggios, I definitely need to work on that (it's a skill issue)! We've had this piano for years, I can't remember the last time I sat down to try and play!!

Glad you liked the song, thanks for listening!

[Alison]

I can hear what ray's getting at with the arpeggios - something else you could try is to do one and a half arpeggios. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3 and breathe.

You do it in places already.

I'd actually turn the piano down a smidge and turn the acoustic guitar up a smidge - it's not always obvious it's there.

Apart from that, sounds good to me.

And yes... buy a damn bass already. How much did you just spend on relocating? I'm sure a bass isn't out of the question... It will anchor the bottom end for you.

Also, there are plenty of average bass players around here, me included, who could knock you up a track for something like your song in about 15 minutes. Just ask...

A bass is definitely on my priority list! Finding room for it in my much smaller music room may be a challenge but when there's a will, there's a way! Interested in adding a bass line for me? I'll take you up on that!!

[Armistice]

I can hear what ray's getting at with the arpeggios - something else you could try is to do one and a half arpeggios. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3 and breathe.

You do it in places already.

I'd actually turn the piano down a smidge and turn the acoustic guitar up a smidge - it's not always obvious it's there.

Apart from that, sounds good to me.

And yes... buy a damn bass already. How much did you just spend on relocating? I'm sure a bass isn't out of the question... It will anchor the bottom end for you.

Also, there are plenty of average bass players around here, me included, who could knock you up a track for something like your song in about 15 minutes. Just ask...

A bass is definitely on my priority list! Finding room for it in my much smaller music room may be a challenge but when there's a will, there's a way! Interested in adding a bass line for me? I'll take you up on that!!

Happy to have a go tomorrow... Need BPM from your DAW & key though..

[Alison]

A bass is definitely on my priority list! Finding room for it in my much smaller music room may be a challenge but when there's a will, there's a way! Interested in adding a bass line for me? I'll take you up on that!!

Happy to have a go tomorrow... Need BPM from your DAW & key though..

I'll send it shortly, thank you!!

[paulman]

Sounds really nice! The mix is really tasteful, just needs that bass to round it out.

[CeeBee]

Another mushy one, well that's what songs are for, expressing emotion, which you do wonderfully. A nice start to the new year.

[Alison]

Thanks @CeeBee, I'm glad you like it! @paulman got bass coming up, thanks to @Armistice, will post the new mix in the morning. Thanks for listening!

[JD01]

This is really good as usual Alison - decent performances on good instruments which must make mixing much easier.
Think you could do with a bit of reverb on the piano, it feels very close to the vocal and would be nice if it was pushed back a bit.
Its also a bit loud in the mix.

I agree it needs a bass - I could almost hear a bass coming in, when the band came in.
As Armi said, if you ever need a bassline give me a shout, Armi probably has more time than me though.
Regarding you getting a bass, look up Squire Jazz or P-Basses, they're probably only about $300 - 350. Coupled with a little bass amp emulator pedal for about 50 bucks it would likely be all the bass sound you'll ever need.

Don't think I'm capable of writing something this direct yet... maybe in 20 years when I'll be due some grandkids. Good tune.

[vomitHatSteve]

The song is pretty.

My major mix critiques would be that the right cello at the beginning is unbalanced. I'd move it to the center until the guitar is there to offset it.
The guitar is much darker than the cello, so the overall mix is dark on the left and bright on the right. If you're going to redo the piano part, it might be worth trying a stereo recording and putting the bass end on the right to offset the guitar a little.

[Alison]

This is really good as usual Alison - decent performances on good instruments which must make mixing much easier.
Think you could do with a bit of reverb on the piano, it feels very close to the vocal and would be nice if it was pushed back a bit.
Its also a bit loud in the mix.

I agree it needs a bass - I could almost hear a bass coming in, when the band came in.
As Armi said, if you ever need a bassline give me a shout, Armi probably has more time than me though.
Regarding you getting a bass, look up Squire Jazz or P-Basses, they're probably only about $300 - 350. Coupled with a little bass amp emulator pedal for about 50 bucks it would likely be all the bass sound you'll ever need.

Don't think I'm capable of writing something this direct yet... maybe in 20 years when I'll be due some grandkids. Good tune.

Thanks, JD, in the new mix (posting in op shortly), I did bring the piano down a tad and added a bit more reverb. Armi was kind enough to put some bass on it, hopefully, I have it at the right level.
As for a bass. . .it's on my priority list once I recover financially from the move and spoiling my grandson at Christmas!! Got a birthday coming up. . .

[Alison]

The song is pretty.

My major mix critiques would be that the right cello at the beginning is unbalanced. I'd move it to the center until the guitar is there to offset it.
The guitar is much darker than the cello, so the overall mix is dark on the left and bright on the right. If you're going to redo the piano part, it might be worth trying a stereo recording and putting the bass end on the right to offset the guitar a little.

Thank you, Steve! I am having a hard time hearing the darkness you hear. My biggest issue, I think, was muddiness (too much mid-range). I'll definitely do some more listening for that!
I will definitely look into recording piano in stereo, an intriguing idea. Have you done that? I have another piece I'm working on and will give it a shot. Not too sure I have the courage to redo the piano on this since it took FOREVER to get it right! Not being much of a pianist even simple stuff is difficult!
Thanks so much for listening!

[Alison]

New mix in the op!

[vomitHatSteve]

Thank you, Steve! I am having a hard time hearing the darkness you hear. My biggest issue, I think, was muddiness (too much mid-range). I'll definitely do some more listening for that!
I will definitely look into recording piano in stereo, an intriguing idea. Have you done that? I have another piece I'm working on and will give it a shot. Not too sure I have the courage to redo the piano on this since it took FOREVER to get it right! Not being much of a pianist even simple stuff is difficult!
Thanks so much for listening!

Darkness and mud are pretty similar concepts. They both stem from a build-up of lower frequencies; the difference is more or less a subjective call on whether or not there are clarity problems.

I have recorded stereo piano, yes. I think only like maybe twice tho. Usually, piano isn't so central to my recordings that a stereo signal would be crucial. (Plus, one of the mics I used has failed)
For those songs, I had a matched pair of SDCs that I pointed into the (open) top end of the upright on opposite sides. There's not a ton of stereo spread the way I did it, but you can hear that in general the left-hand chords lean left, and the right-hand melodic lines lean right.

[Alison]

Great info, thank you @vomitHatSteve! I have an electric piano, I use the headphone plugs to run a line to my interface, there are 2 headphone plugs so, I might be able to use a line through both. Something to check out anyway.

[JD01]

Great info, thank you @vomitHatSteve! I have an electric piano, I use the headphone plugs to run a line to my interface, there are 2 headphone plugs so, I might be able to use a line through both. Something to check out anyway.

Alison, look up a stereo to dual mono Y cable. You plug the stereo end into your headphone out, each of the mono ends into a separate preamp on your interface, record them to different tracks and then hard pan them.

[Armistice]

Better yet, connect its MIDI out and use a VST piano in glorious stereo automatically... and you can fix up your playing mistakes along the way...

[Alison]

Oh damn, @JD01 and @Armistice now I have to go and learn something new thanks for the challenge it keeps my mind from melding into senility