Mercy-Prayer for Tsunami Victims by Hannah Ford

I would appreciate any arrangement/production ideas for this song which can be downloaded HERE

Hannah did the original 6-string guitar track (I added a sampled 12-string part) and vocal. I produced the rest.

There are some minor issues that still need to be addressed such as the metronome click at the beginning and some additional vocal punch-ins in a couple of places.

Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Jonas

ORIGINAL: hornplayer
I would like to hear the strings replaced with a more analog-style pad.

There is an analog sytnh pad in there as well (actually an Alesis Micron). I could mix that element up a bit and the sampled strings down. I originally was going for a sort of Bruce Hornsby-ish drum machine/string pad vibe anyway.

I don't think there's any reverb on the loop. That's just the way it sounds.

Hi Jonas. Please give my best to Hannah. Very sincere effort.
Since the tsunami is from the East, I would personally paint the picture a bit more ethnic. Great start in the beginning. I would keep the groove going, but drop the bass completely till the drums come in. (more on drums later.) If you really want the bass, I would suggest to make it more log or latin sounding where you don't here the note so much but feel the warmth-kind of a movie theme sound. The movement of the bass I would suggest more 1/2 note and whole note movement-moving only where it is absolutely necessary, and no inversions for a while-sounds kind of jazzy which works great on some songs, but I think doesn't work so well for this song. I would leave it bare and desolate. Have an air pad (do you have a Triton-I can suggest one) playing 2 note chords (5ths)G D D A with the ethnic groove and the simple 6 string without the glorious 12 string chords. THe pad can give than almost spooky barren feeling of a deserted beach, the girl and her lone guitar looking at the devestation with the wind blowing in her hair, and the sound of tablas/log drums lightly grooving hynotically in the back.
When the drums do come in, have them be brushes to again give it a bit more of the desert sound. Instead of a rock beat give it the same movement as the tabla groove (kind of like the drum beat in Truly, Madly, Deeply but slowed down and played gently.) A real shaker could be added for momentum and to once again give it that feeling that you are on the beach.

Hey that was fun.

edit-bare not bear-Ha!!!! Hope I'm out of the woods now.

I would appreciate any arrangement/production ideas

Jonas,

The opening acoustic sounds dark, which makes sense for this song. I'm just not a fan of the chorus on the acoustic or maybe it's the 12 string sample you mentioned. The first thing I thought of was the guitar(s) were slightly out of tune.

The bass guitar sounds artificial to me. I recommend you recruit a human bass player because I think it would make a big difference (if it's a real bass player then I'm eating crow of course).

Thanks for sharing. It's cool to see you writing & producing songs on the forum.

Darryl

ORIGINAL: jsaras

ORIGINAL: michael japan
and no inversions for a while-sounds kind of jazzy which works great on some songs, but I think doesn't work so well for this song.

Dude, I like to put the major 7th in my dominant 7th chord voicings (not kidding)! Restricting myself to just root and root/3rd was tough enough :)

Just the root? I may try it out but then the song just becomes Emi, D, G, C which has been done countless times.

Michael, I don't have a Triton but if you think you've got the ultimate pad for this could you perhaps record about 5 seconds of middle C (single note) as well as an octave above and an octave below? I could fly that into my sampler and give it a whirl.

All terrific suggestions/observations from everyone, BTW. I think this one's gonna be terrific when it's all finished.

take a deep breath. Slowly repeat after me-13ths are nice but not always. 11ths are nice in bossa nova but not folk. I can do this. I can do this. <g>. Yes, it's "been done countless times. Do you know how hard it is some places to go find an authentic Italian restaurant? So many chefs think they need to find a new take on a recipe that's been tried and proven for centuries. It's like making Puttanesca. So few ingredients- "butta I wanta putta the bacon and the cipolla in za salsa"-restrain yourself. This isn't jazz. (you know I'm teasing you right-I know you can probably play circles around me with one hand behind your back.) Anyway, I wasn't saying forever. I'm talking about in the beginning to paint the picture. All you need is a pencil sketch at the beginning and then later bring in that talented genius that you are. Too much happening too fast. I speak as a man.-Let the song speak. Don't "produce it". Just help it along. And then as it builds you do that cool stuff that not everyone can do.

Loved your post. Your sense of humor is getting better and better. Send it to me with a chord chart and I'll do the pad work for you if you want. Or I can send you different pads as you asked.
I just had this guy http://www.gregchako.com i in my studio. Talk about jazz? We did some cool things together-smart and dumber-you know like fusion. He brought his golden retriever over to play with mine all day. Very interesting. You jazz cats always fascinate me. What a gift. Keep me posted. You know how to reach me offline, but we could keep it online as for others interest.

God bless-late.

ORIGINAL: sfripp
..But what chord were you playing at 2:05/2:18/2:16???....ARRRG...it keeps moving!!!
I'm OK now!

I think you're referring to a Dsus chord. The first time it's played, it doesn't resolve to a D chord. That's probably what threw you off.

I need the mp3 I think. Or shall I just play the chords and you sync them in ? <g>. It's 1:00 a.m. Great gig tonight. Off to bed. Email me with mp3 minus pad and bpm. I'll do it tomorrow morning

I enjoyed this. Very nice clean production.

Most of this may have been covered, but here goes some opinions:
- The openning percusion (RMX?) is too intense, and it never comes back. It probably could be dropped, I don't miss it during the wind down (2:30+)
- The snare at 1:20 is to hard. Side stick at most.
- Personally, I like the chords. I think the popular ear has grown accustomed to more harmonically rich material

I'd like to hear it sung in a more simple way

Ok, I'm piling on here, but I heard that as well. Simpler would be more heart felt.

ORIGINAL: kiwisdontdrinktea
I did not like the accoustic guitar. It was too sweet because of some effect (reverb?) and/or EQ.

I didn't do that much to the acoustic guitar. I matched its EQ to that of the sampled 12-string part that I added for reinforcement (although the latest version I removed the 12-string...which will probably be more to your taste at the end of the day, less 'produced" sounding perhaps). Another person perceived the guitar as sounding too dark. When it comes to guitar tones you're never gonna make eveybody happy. Hannah does like chorusing on her acoustic guitar, but that send can very easily be toned down or even turned off. The nice thing is that the quality of the initial captured track is very good and it can be shaped in any number of ways. The final direction on all of the parts has yet to be decided. There's a chance that the guitar part will be replayed completely either by Hannah or a pro (Brian Price, if I have anything to say about it).

I love pads, whether they be from a Hammond organ, synth whatever. It can fill up the chorus of a song with a wall-to-wall carpet of sound or just provide simple unobtrusive harmonic glue during a verse. Though it can be overdone, I waited until later on in the song to introduce that element, hopefully adding variety to the arrangement. Even without the pad, there's plenty of bass (especially the on latest version which I haven't posted yet) and the harmonic framework is clearly laid out by the guitar voicings. If you've got any suggestions on what I could do at the chorus (loud distorted guitar!?!) I'm very open to suggestions.

If you wanna get togther for a drink at Coffee Bean some Saturday morning I'm sure I could swing that.

Later,
Jonas

thanks Dave

mfskATgreenDOTocnDOTneDOTjp

Me likey very much (and thats a lot coming from a hardcore atheist about a song about god!) !! Very nice!
Beautiful vocals, though I guess sometimes the words could be sung just a bit more clearly, as it can be hard to hard to understand it all (at least for me).
I absolutely DIG (super dig actually) the opening, its practicly what I enjoy most about the song. I love the "dark" feel you get from it. I'm not sure if I like the drums or not, I'm sure I like it without them, not sure if i like or not like it with them. I like the guitar and how it plays out. I say nicely done :)