Did You Do It..song Video

[Top Cat]

This is a song I wrote around 2015 after we moved to Florida to be near my 91 year old mother.
I recently decided to do a video for it, for a DVD I'm putting together of all of my music videos(17)

There is so much negative news lately, I thought it would be nice to post something upbeat and fun, take a deep breath and have some fun. I wrote this after I surprised my then 91 year old mother by showing up at her apartment on one of my wellness visits with a mop, bucket, pine sol, vacuum,etc. She was a proud, independent woman who did not like people doing things for her. I had noticed over time her apartment needed a good cleaning, but she loudly refused when my wife and I mentioned it, or tried to straighten things up when we visited. My wife was working then, so I had to do it solo. Mom saw my determination and gently gave in by saying, "well, ok". After a couple of hours I headed home, and the feeling of accomplishment and happiness was so great, I felt like I was soaring like an eagle.
This song is dedicated to anyone who has overcome obstacles, anyone who has achieved a goal, and all of you, because, I love you. ❤ Hope this brings a little lightness to your day. Did You Do It by Richard Hermans

[battema]

Ha ha, was the clapping at the end of the song what you mentally did in your mind after you finished cleaning the whole place on your own? Because that's what *I* would have done

Fun song! Still those nice Rick Wright vibes in the vocal timbres, and a fun little shuffle groove Thanks as ever for sharing!

[Top Cat]

Ha ha, was the clapping at the end of the song what you mentally did in your mind after you finished cleaning the whole place on your own? Because that's what *I* would have done

Fun song! Still those nice Rick Wright vibes in the vocal timbres, and a fun little shuffle groove Thanks as ever for sharing!

Yes, the clapping at the end was after I was able to get home, take a shower and rid my body of that horrible Pine Sol cleaning stuff.
It's strong, but it will nuke germs and even cockroaches will take a pass on entering any crevice with that wretched smell! lol

I was telling Hans on Youtube, the crowd clapping was from a sound effects cd I found at Walgreens for $5 when they carried close out cds in a bin.
I first thought it would represent a crowd clapping someone crossing the finish line or winning a competition, but later felt it was after the performance of the song in a small smokey club. lol

Rick Wright..

Thanks for listening John.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

2 minutes 9 seconds. Congratulations on defeating one of the worst enemies of good songwriting -- stretching the song out beyond what the idea supports. This song is, I think, its own ideal length.

And, yes, fun.

[Rarebird]

A nice little song and a beautifull clip. How did you do that?

[Top Cat]

2 minutes 9 seconds. Congratulations on defeating one of the worst enemies of good songwriting -- stretching the song out beyond what the idea supports. This song is, I think, its own ideal length.

And, yes, fun.

Oh I so agree about the length, and thank you for mentioning that. I think it's one reason a lot of music is overlooked because it takes too long to get into the meat and potatoes, and listeners are in a hurry and lose interest quickly and bail on the rest of the song.
At one point in my writing history, I tried to go the intro verse chorus middle, verse chorus out, but it's difficult and too formula based for me.
I generally will have a section of music that I create from just improv-ing, and find myself if it's the ending first, having to find a middle or beginning, and as I begin to do that, the song gets longer, resulting in 5 or 6 minute long songs.
Funny thing is I did most of the vocals on the first couple of takes, and realized You and Me was not grammatically correct, but if felt right. I tried replacing it with You and I and it just didn't sound right, so there it is..you and me! lol

Thanks so much for listening and your comments are right on!

A nice little song and a beautifull clip. How did you do that?

Thanks Renate, I use a video editing software from a company called NCH.
My major source of video clips is from a website pixapbay.com.pixapbay.com.
They have a huge library of images, photos, illustrations and videos posted for free.
The clips in this video are from artists who have posted video clips for free, including the wonderful one where the camera zooms in and goes deeper and deeper.
Once I download the video, my software VideoPad will let you import the mp4 into your new project(I usually upload my music WAV to the audio track first).
Once you've uploaded the various video clips to the clipboard in the project, you can drag them to the video track(you can drag the ending and make it shorter to fit the music). You can mix images and video clips in the same video track, or if you want you can use still images, or the same image such as you have on your SoundCloud page).

I have a basic Video Editor as well that came with Windows 10. works great, just doesn't have as many bells and whistles.

Thanks for listening and your comment. Hope my response helps.
If you have more questions, let me know here or with a PM.

[EBES]

2 minutes 9 seconds. Congratulations on defeating one of the worst enemies of good songwriting -- stretching the song out beyond what the idea supports. This song is, I think, its own ideal length.

And, yes, fun.

Yeah definitely something a few of us could learn from... [points at self]

[Rarebird]

Yeah definitely something a few of us could learn from... [points at self]

Keeping it short is not really my strength as well. My last composition was more than 16 minutes and my current composition, which I'm going to make ready for recording is a bit more than 13 minutes.
But I suppose I'm not a songwriter.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

I'm not saying all compositions should be short! By no means! No fan of Magma -- or King Crimson -- or Yes -- or early Genesis (not to mention classical music) could possibly say such a silly thing.

I'm saying that a piece of music not be longer than the musical material that makes it up.

You know who are masters of not making songs too long? They Might Be Giants. Delightful little two or three minute chunks of sheer musical delight, with typically one musical idea per song.

But a composition with more ideas, or more complex ideas, or both, should obviously be longer. Otherwise, how would we get "Supper's Ready", "Close to the Edge", or Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh, all pieces without which my life, at least, would be poorer.

So, Renate, EBES, please, write your longer songs, if that's what they need. More power to you!

[Rarebird]

I'm not saying all compositions should be short! By no means! No fan of Magma -- or King Crimson -- or Yes -- or early Genesis (not to mention classical music) could possibly say such a silly thing.

I'm saying that a piece of music not be longer than the musical material that makes it up.

You know who are masters of not making songs too long? They Might Be Giants. Delightful little two or three minute chunks of sheer musical delight, with typically one musical idea per song.

But a composition with more ideas, or more complex ideas, or both, should obviously be longer. Otherwise, how would we get "Supper's Ready", "Close to the Edge", or Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh, all pieces without which my life, at least, would be poorer.

So, Renate, EBES, please, write your longer songs, if that's what they need. More power to you!

I was more or less joking. I love Magma, for long pieces. Gentle Giant was a group that also made more or less short songs. Perhaps not 2 minutes, but I don't think they ever stretched things to a Suppers Ready.

I've always problems with writing short songs. The ideas often keep coming, like "Well, I could add this, or that, or I could do this, like getting the theme come back in the keys, of the notes of the original theme."

[EBES]

I was more or less joking. I love Magma, for long pieces. Gentle Giant was a group that also made more or less short songs. Perhaps not 2 minutes, but I don't think they ever stretched things to a Suppers Ready.

I've always problems with writing short songs. The ideas often keep coming, like "Well, I could add this, or that, or I could do this, like getting the theme come back in the keys, of the notes of the original theme."

Yeah I was joking as well. As Tony Banks likes to remind us, a great short song is harder to write than a good long one.

[Rarebird]

Yeah I was joking as well. As Tony Banks likes to remind us, a great short song is harder to write than a good long one.

I can remember some discusion where someona stated that writing short songs was easier than writing long epics like Genesis did. I doubted it then and I still do.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

After I posted that, I went and looked at both of your things. I quite enjoyed both: Renate's mostly because I do like minimalism (Nixon in China is my favorite modern opera), and EBES's mostly for its moodiness and melodies.

[Rarebird]

After I posted that, I went and looked at both of your things. I quite enjoyed both: Renate's mostly because I do like minimalism (Nixon in China is my favorite modern opera), and EBES's mostly for its moodiness and melodies.

I love minimalism, Philip Glass and my favorite composer is Wim Mertens. I also like Steve Martland - Danceworks. Alas I only have a recording of that on video.

[Guitarplyrjvb]

Nice song and sentiment, Richard! The hook in the chorus is rather infectious, too!

[Top Cat]

After I posted that, I went and looked at both of your things. I quite enjoyed both: Renate's mostly because I do like minimalism (Nixon in China is my favorite modern opera), and EBES's mostly for its moodiness and melodies.

I am so happy you checked out their music, there is so much good music posted by home studio artists here, that unfortunately gets overlooked on this forum(but I understand it).
I agree with your assessment on both Renate's and Hans' music. I also commented Renate's latest song reminds me a bit of early Synergy..and Hans is masterful at creating a mood.

Nice song and sentiment, Richard! The hook in the chorus is rather infectious, too!

Thanks Joe, appreciate your comment and for listening...glad that earworm found a home. lol

[EBES]

After I posted that, I went and looked at both of your things. I quite enjoyed both: Renate's mostly because I do like minimalism (Nixon in China is my favorite modern opera), and EBES's mostly for its moodiness and melodies.

Thank you! I've never had the discipline to be an accomplished instrumentalist but I do love melodic writing and trying to evoke moods.

[Rarebird]

Thank you! I've never had the discipline to be an accomplished instrumentalist but I do love melodic writing and trying to evoke moods.

I'm not an accomplished instrumentalist myself. I tickle the keys, but can't play what I write.

I hope to record my current composition within a week or two.

I suppose my next piece will take a lot more time, because I want to honor my dad by using all instruments, or sounds he had some influence on, or paid for, like:
Akai Z4 sampler (got this after my mom died)
Waldorf Blofeld (birthday present)

I have to try to imitate my first synthesizer a Roland System 100 model 101 (which was paid for partly by my parents)
The same goes for my first polyphonic synthesizer a Bit 99 (which I got from my parents)

[Top Cat]

I'm not an accomplished instrumentalist myself. I tickle the keys, but can't play what I write.

I hope to record my current composition within a week or two.

I suppose my next piece will take a lot more time, because I want to honor my dad by using all instruments, or sounds he had some influence on, or paid for, like:
Akai Z4 sampler (got this after my mom died)
Waldorf Blofeld (birthday present)

I have to try to imitate my first synthesizer a Roland System 100 model 101 (which was paid for partly by my parents)
The same goes for my first polyphonic synthesizer a Bit 99 (which I got from my parents)

I think that's so wonderful how you want to honor your dad Renate, and I'm looking forward to listening to it once it's ready for release.
I did a search on the internet for Roland M100 vst clones and found a website where the developer offers the download for free.
I did a search on "scamaider" to see if it was safe, and so far everything looks 100% legit.

Here is the link for the M100 M101 and several versions of the modular for free download, but they are in 32bit only if that's an issue.
https://kbrownsynthplugins.weebly.com/

The video demo is

[Rarebird]

I think that's so wonderful how you want to honor your dad Renate, and I'm looking forward to listening to it once it's ready for release.
I did a search on the internet for Roland M100 vst clones and found a website where the developer offers the download for free.
I did a search on "scamaider" to see if it was safe, and so far everything looks 100% legit.

Here is the link for the M100 M101 and several versions of the modular for free download, but they are in 32bit only if that's an issue.
https://kbrownsynthplugins.weebly.com/

The video demo is

Looks interesting, though the system 100m is not the same as the system 100, which is basicly one basis-module, which I own, an expander, a sequencer, a mixer (which I once owned but sold) and 2 speakers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_System_100
It seems to be available as soft-synth, but you have to become a member.

Would it being 32 bit be a problem with 64 bit programs?

[EBES]

I think that's so wonderful how you want to honor your dad Renate, and I'm looking forward to listening to it once it's ready for release.
I did a search on the internet for Roland M100 vst clones and found a website where the developer offers the download for free.
I did a search on "scamaider" to see if it was safe, and so far everything looks 100% legit.

Here is the link for the M100 M101 and several versions of the modular for free download, but they are in 32bit only if that's an issue.
https://kbrownsynthplugins.weebly.com/

The video demo is

This looks pretty interesting, Richard. I've been interested lately in working more with modular synths but it's such a potential money pit and something like this seems like a good way to mess around with a similar system without as much financial outlay, at least for long enough to get a sense of whether I want to spring for something physical.

[Rarebird]

This looks pretty interesting, Richard. I've been interested lately in working more with modular synths but it's such a potential money pit and something like this seems like a good way to mess around with a similar system without as much financial outlay, at least for long enough to get a sense of whether I want to spring for something physical.

Let me know about your experiences.

A relatively cheap option would be Arturia, either the complete package, or just the V Modular.
There is also the Voltage Modular.

[Top Cat]

This looks pretty interesting, Richard. I've been interested lately in working more with modular synths but it's such a potential money pit and something like this seems like a good way to mess around with a similar system without as much financial outlay, at least for long enough to get a sense of whether I want to spring for something physical.

That sounds great, I think you would adapt well using modular, and I agree, going hardware modular is a deep deep moneypit.

I agree with Renate, Cherry Audio's Voltage Modular is an excellent system, and the basic modular is free(I think it comes with 20 or 25 modules).
They have a massive selection of modules you can buy, most are very reasonably priced.
I have the basic system, and I've purchased a couple of modules($30USD).
Sounds great, but like any modular system, you can lost for hours just having fun making sounds or exploring what things do.
As I said, you can download the basic system for free, so it's worth it just to see if it's for you.

https://cherryaudio.com/products/voltage-modular

[battema]

Random tangent (but you all started it so it's not my fault ).

There are two "families" of modular synths. Because of where they originated, they are sometimes called East Coast and West Coast synthesis.

Moog is East Coast and is pretty much what we think of when we think about "analog synthesizers." Subtractive synthesis with resonant filters. It's obviously capable of so much more but many times our musical muscle memory gravitates toward the most common paths (VCO -> VCF -> VCA, with mod sources applied throughout). The VST modulars above aren't strictly East Coast but they certainly bias strongly in that direction. It's "that" sound, it's bread and butter for fans of synths, and it's lovely. I use it all over the place.

The other school is West Coast and is centered around Don Buchla and his weirdo synths. His philosophies were different from Moog's, with a very 60's California "music should be accessible to everyone regardless of training" mindset. His early synths explicitly omitted a piano-style keyboard because he felt that would restrict their accessibility to trained musicians. Morton Subotnick and Suzanne Ciani both did pretty amazing stuff with Buchlas though. There's much less emphasis on resonant filters with West Coast synthesis, instead the focus is on things like wavefolders and low pass gates. In some ways I feel like West Coast set the stage for FM synthesis later on with additive processes creating complex waveforms. He also did cool things like very musical random event generators.

I don't know of a ton of VST west coast options, although the Buchla Easel V from Arturia is one (the Easel is to his Buchla systems what the Minimoog was to the Moog Modular). IF you enjoy the more customizable experience with modular synths (even VST ones), I'd encourage you to seek out some west coast stuff as well. It's a nice stretch of the grey matter and can yield some pretty unexpected and cool results.

Just throwing my lame $0.02 into the party

[Rarebird]

Random tangent (but you all started it so it's not my fault ).

There are two "families" of modular synths. Because of where they originated, they are sometimes called East Coast and West Coast synthesis.

Moog is East Coast and is pretty much what we think of when we think about "analog synthesizers." Subtractive synthesis with resonant filters. It's obviously capable of so much more but many times our musical muscle memory gravitates toward the most common paths (VCO -> VCF -> VCA, with mod sources applied throughout). The VST modulars above aren't strictly East Coast but they certainly bias strongly in that direction. It's "that" sound, it's bread and butter for fans of synths, and it's lovely. I use it all over the place.

The other school is West Coast and is centered around Don Buchla and his weirdo synths. His philosophies were different from Moog's, with a very 60's California "music should be accessible to everyone regardless of training" mindset. His early synths explicitly omitted a piano-style keyboard because he felt that would restrict their accessibility to trained musicians. Morton Subotnick and Suzanne Ciani both did pretty amazing stuff with Buchlas though. There's much less emphasis on resonant filters with West Coast synthesis, instead the focus is on things like wavefolders and low pass gates. In some ways I feel like West Coast set the stage for FM synthesis later on with additive processes creating complex waveforms. He also did cool things like very musical random event generators.

I don't know of a ton of VST west coast options, although the Buchla Easel V from Arturia is one (the Easel is to his Buchla systems what the Minimoog was to the Moog Modular). IF you enjoy the more customizable experience with modular synths (even VST ones), I'd encourage you to seek out some west coast stuff as well. It's a nice stretch of the grey matter and can yield some pretty unexpected and cool results.

Just throwing my lame $0.02 into the party

I think on the K Brown website there are several Buchla-like synthesizers https://kbrownsynthplugins.weebly.com/