Smooth Jazz.

Mike

It's Time To Dream.mp3  (File Size: 10371KB - Downloads: 480)

Although I’m not too keen on smooth jazz, your productions are always pleasant. Without your contribution, these forums would be much less active than already is, so thank you.

@SteelyFan,

Thanks for listening and commenting. Yeah, I don’t know why it is so dead here… is this a shot at Yamaha MOTIF?  Perhaps a new workstation is afoot?

Mike

I’d wager that a lot of people who use Yamaha music products would rather upload to sites with more traffic and only visit Motifator when in need of technical advice.

While I registered here last summer (while shopping for my first keyboard), I surfing the forum very recently as I made my purchase over the holidays (MOXF), glad I stumbled on this post!

I don’t know if you are looking for comments, but in case you are interested from a new musician but an avid jazz (and many other genres) listener, see all the way down the post.  If you are not, here is the summary: great piece, thanks for sharing!

BTW, I’d be interested to hear how you’ve produced it… How did you go about recording the tracks?  Which instruments & patches have you used?  What challenges did you face and how you got over them? etc.  If you are interested to share, I’m listening...well reading!

Comments:
Great composition, great arrangements, great smooth jazz tune Mike.  Really liked it.  Only critic I have is that I was caught off guard by the ending.  It ended a bit too quickly after the final flute & guitar part ended.  A bit too hard contrast with the beat and mood of your piece.  You’ve got more to share with us?

psychobabble, the thread clearly displays the total number of views + listens/downloads. Most threads get about 75-100 hits a week, from my estimation. Maybe one or two new songs are posted each week. I’ve been here long enough to know how things go.

callmejs - 14 January 2015 02:31 PM

While I registered here last summer (while shopping for my first keyboard), I surfing the forum very recently as I made my purchase over the holidays (MOXF), glad I stumbled on this post!


I don’t know if you are looking for comments, but in case you are interested from a new musician but an avid jazz (and many other genres) listener, see all the way down the post.  If you are not, here is the summary: great piece, thanks for sharing!


BTW, I’d be interested to hear how you’ve produced it… How did you go about recording the tracks?  Which instruments & patches have you used?  What challenges did you face and how you got over them? etc.  If you are interested to share, I’m listening...well reading!


Comments:
Great composition, great arrangements, great smooth jazz tune Mike.  Really liked it.  Only critic I have is that I was caught off guard by the ending.  It ended a bit too quickly after the final flute & guitar part ended.  A bit too hard contrast with the beat and mood of your piece.  You’ve got more to share with us?

-------------------------

Thanks for your terrific comments and congrats on a wonderful board you have purchased - you won’t be disappointed.  You asked for some info - here are some quick answers.

I don’t use any of my Yamaha keyboards for sequencing, I record each track as audio, through my MOTU Audio Express, into my Windows 8 computer and directly record audio into my current DAW, SONAR X3 Producer. I typically work first on determining a nice chord soundscape that I think will make the grade as a decent song basis.  Then I determine the type of beat to use (I use arranger keyboards for the drum tracks and sometimes the bass lines (if I am lazy) - otherwise just the drum tracks. Then I start adding the instruments, tracks at a time, some utilize arps (e.g., guitar and other percussion instruments). When it comes time for the leads, I typically go to my favorite bread and butter Yamaha voices (flute, saxes, guitar (acoustic - nylon and steel, and electric), vibes, acoustic pianos and electric pianos, and brass instruments.  SONAR X3 Producer is a terrific DAW that is quick to use and really aides with the creative process.  As you add tracks, you become aware of what is missing and what needs to be added and where in the mix it should be. Once that is all done, then to mixdown and final audio editing. I use AVS Audio Editor (part of AVS Audio4You package - powerful and cheap) to arrive at the final master mix.  Then it’s convert to mp3 and upload. Hopefully that answers some of your questions.

Mike

P.S. I use Yamaha, KORG, and Roland keys/sound modules for my productions.

P.P.S. Regarding the ending of the song, I agree, it ends abruptly and I am now going to remix with a long fade.

psychobabble - 15 January 2015 10:00 AM

You can’t base overall traffic or activity in just the first week of a post.

I was speaking about forum activity in general.

psychobabble - 15 January 2015 10:00 AM

Posting is also different to views in terms of activity.

This place is crawled by multiple search engines and appears in the top results of almost any query for the Yamaha products it features. That makes it rather accessible from the outside at almost any time after it has been crawled.

Posts of 6 months to 1 year old and beyond might hold some more valuable data.

Moving the goal post. All I said initially was “I’d wager that a lot of people who use Yamaha music products would rather upload to sites with more traffic and only visit Motifator when in need of technical advice.”

psychobabble - 15 January 2015 10:00 AM

Additionally, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here and it is not an answer to understanding how active this forum is.

I understand it well enough, thank you.

psychobabble - 15 January 2015 10:00 AM

Also, if you maintain that because you’ve been here for so long and that “most threads get about 75-100 hits a week” and you “know how things go”, at least one interpretation of that could mean you disproving your own point, because that could mean, according to you, that the forum is no less active now than it has been during your tenure on it.

Just how did you extrapolate all of this from my initial comments? From my observation, these forums were much more active back when I first began posting, with songs posted on a much more routine basis.
You sound defensive, almost confrontational, to which I’ll inform you that I’m not the sort of person who will back down.

psychobabble - 15 January 2015 10:00 AM

Sorry if my reply sounds a bit snarky, if you are going to pull the internet based forum longevity gag on me...you know how it goes.

I know that I don’t answer to you.

psychobabble - 16 January 2015 05:12 PM

How passive aggressive and MOST of all, how completely, absolutely and categorically butt-hurt.

Err, YOU started the confrontation in this thread pal, not me, when you announced that your forum longevity ruled over all.

More like you decided to take exception to my observations and were looking to pick a fight.

psychobabble - 16 January 2015 05:12 PM

Also, suggesting that you do not answer to me and suggesting that you do not back down are also NOT confrontational at all are they? lol. They are the words of a TRUE pacifist aren’t they? WOW!

Are you even compos mentis?

I’m a pacifist? This is news to me.

psychobabble - 16 January 2015 05:12 PM

So, if your only point is all about how long you’ve been a registered member, then you will LOSE your argument, because the REAL WORLD does not work that way and if it did, then people would be dressed head to toe in stats about age, longevity doing this or that and various other pertinent info, just so we can all see it and judge them, just like your forum badge.

Idiotic statement. Anyone can go back and read what I originally said. As I’ve been frequenting Motifator for years, I am in a position to state my observation that people don’t post music as frequently as they used to. That’s all there is to it.

psychobabble - 16 January 2015 05:12 PM

We are NOT our forum badges, we are all different people.

Well, look who’s up on his high horse. Point out where I made an argument pertaining to individuality. You cannot.

psychobabble - 16 January 2015 05:12 PM

Your problem, like many people, is that you just don’t like being challenged because you registered in 2008 or whatever and you think it means something.

It is NOT a vehicle for you to act like you own people and be pompous and arrogant to them.

All your badge and the info on it means is that you are at least 7 years of age.

Uh, yeah. More like you found an excuse to go on a self-righteous screed.

psychobabble - 16 January 2015 05:12 PM

I bet you I’ve been reading this forum since it started, so YOU can answer to ME!

See? that’s exactly how YOU sound.

No, actually, that isn’t the case at all. You think that you’re going to preach down to me for stating my observations? Think again.

psychobabble - 16 January 2015 05:12 PM

Don’t like it huh, so, don’t dish it out Mr ‘personality.’

Lay it on me, show me how you don’t back down.

Please, I’d like to see it.

I bet you I will break you with common sense and rather easily.

God bless you.

There would’ve been no argument if not for your pathetic ad hominem attacks, wrapped in self-righteous indignation. But thanks for interjecting yourself into a conversation which didn’t involve you and ruining this thread. You must be very proud of yourself.

Even Mike agreed when I commented that these forums aren’t as active as they were, so I made a guess as to the reason why. Of course it’s just speculation, but just from that, you decided to get on your soap box and spew.

It’s one thing to make conversation and another to make barbed comments. You assumed, falsely, that I was holding up my “seniority” over an observation about forum activity. When I said activity, I specifically meant songs being uploaded. Many of the regulars either no longer post their works here or have moved on to other media channels. (For what it’s worth, I’m not leaving.)

Now, hopefully, rather than bicker back and forth, we can find a common ground and try to get along. That would be in everyone’s best interest.

Hey guys,

this is supposed to be comments regarding this song…

Hey there, Mike ~

This song is really beautiful and (IMO) is very aptly titled.  This is my favorite genre of music, and this piece kinda makes me think of Bob James.  I could listen to this day in, and day out - while never tiring of hearing it. 

Glad I stumbled across it, and thanks for sharing it.

Hi,

I am so glad you enjoyed it and disregarded all the bickering between two other fine musicians that chose to use my song as a place to argue...LOL.

Thanks again for listening.

Mike

Generally I’m not often in the right mood for Jazz, but today I thought I’d give a go. The sun is shining, the birds are in the trees ( somewhere else I might add being in Central London today !! ), and Mike’s Smooth Jazz is playing on ma poota whilst I work....

...what could be better…

Really nice Mike. I can envisage a good vocalist over the top, but it’s very pleasant without.

...just excuse the two ladies in the background with the “handbags at dawn"… HEY WATCH IT !! - THOSE HANDBAGS HAVE SPIKES !!!! ROFL

Mark.