This is a new song I'm working on. I finally got a new computer and some new audio software. Of course, I have no idea what I'm doing with all this crap. Anyway, I thought I would post this to see what kind of suggestions I get to improve the sound. Any other thoughts on the tune would be appreciated.

EDIT The lovely Jan Petter downloaded this and enhanced it a bit. Thank you so much Jan!
Hope
By Wendy DuMond

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9704065

Hope
There wasn't any hope for you
just a small town girl
looking for a thrill
who didn't mind being used

You were on your way
to your decay
when you were just thirteen
That was when I came to know
how the world could be so mean

Some flowers rise out of the earth
before the snow starts to melt
they push their way through the frozen ground
all alone with no help

But when the days are warm
and the trees are green
they've already lost their bloom
Hope
There wasn't any hope for you

I don't know why, late at night
you haunt me in my sleep
and the deeds you did, the seeds you've sown
are the memories that I reap
Sometimes I think that you and I
Were dying by degrees
Is knowing worse for the one who does
or for the one who sees?

They say that knowledge comes
from hearing
and hearing through the word
And now I wish I didn't know
And I wish I had not heard

Because it feels like I
was there with you
plucking the fruit
off that tree
Hope, there wasn't any hope
for you and me

Hope, there wasn't any hope
for you and me

Wow, a valid and superb point, how much guilt do we carry when we simply stand by and watch another self destruct. When apathy bexcomes sympathy for the loss of one who never shared our empathy. I like this, it might move a lot of hearts to get involved more when someone near them is failing. great write.~~~MFB III

Wow, such a sad song! You sang it hauntingly beautifully though. I am always so mesmerized by your voice!

Hi Wendy

Absolutely love your voice, always will, you sing it so beautifully.

My only nit would be when you sing "Hope, there wasn't any hope
for you and me" at the end of the song, I feel it would be nicer to stretch them lyrics out, in other words don't cut the end of the song short, hmm, I hope I'm explaining myself well enough.

Well done!

Hugs Michele

Hi Wendy

Another beautifully written and superbly sung song.... I like the tempo for this and your picking just gets cleaner and better... Very cool that you now have a computer for more possibilities. Sounds like progress in your work all the way around. ! Good stuff ! jm

Wendy , I really like your delivery .
Your perfomance is coming true so sincere to me .
I really enjoyed the listen and performance .

All the best
Jan

Another great song and a fine performance from you, Wendy.

Would love to hear this one with a cello on it.

You also asked for feedback on improving the sound.

There's quite a bit of hiss in the background. Not sure if that's because of the place where you recorded it or the technology. Perhaps you could specify the gear that you used - primarily the make/model of the audio interface (soundcard) and the software involved.

I noticed a pop/click around 0:45, which sounded rather like the sort of thing you can get when the buffer settings of the audio interface aren't quite right. If you find you're picking up those kind of noises fairly regularly, try experimenting with the buffer settings. There's no 'correct' setting that can be advised in advance, though, because each computer is different and the particular software being used may affect it too. It's just a case of trial and error.

Keeping the computer connected to the internet while doing audio work can also cause that kind of problem. Best to disconnect or disable your connection while recording and mixing. Also make sure that any software you're not actually using for the recording project is closed. Instant messengers and suchlike, popping up to demand attention, can cause that problem too. And there may be a setting to disable your anti-virus/firewall software while working on audio projects. On the BitDefender anti-virus program that I use there's a 'gaming mode', intended to optimise the machine for playing games, but it also helps to reduce the activity of the program while you're recording, thereby reducing the likelihood of pops and similar.

It's a good idea to edit the track in order to get rid of the shuffling around at the start (and at the end too). I don't know what software you've got, but a freeware program like Audacity can do that. Just block-highlight the part of the wave immediately before the music starts and 'mute' it. If the appearance of the instruments seems too sudden, apply a brief fade-in there and it will be subtler (I mean for a fraction of a second, not an elongated gradual start to the song).

Hi Wendy,

Good to see ya again.
You're too good, this is a very beautiful piece of work all around.


Calvin


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

Thank you for listening, MFB III. I was thinking of knowledge, how you hear something that you wish you never heard and what you do or don't do with what you learn. But becoming involved is a slippery slope and many people say they want help, but really do not. Anyway, thanks very much for listening.

Thanks for listening, Polly. I was trying to be kind of quiet and low key on the vocal. A "let the words do the talking" kind of performance, I guess. I played/sang this for my husband recently and he congratulated me for having mastered "the bummer" in my songwriting. I don't know why I always seem to write about stuff like this. I need to try and force myself to write something more upbeat and less heavy/moral.

Michele,

Thanks for giving this a listen. I hope you are well. That's a good suggestion about holding out the note at the end. Sometimes I tend to drop the pitch at the end of the note if I hold it out, so I was trying to get away from doing that. The vocal is such a challenge! I usually do these in one take, so it takes many times to get a decent one.

Thank you so much, Joice! I like the little rolling picking pattern I used on this. The only problem is that now when I want to fingerpick something else, I will automatically launch into that pattern. It's going to take some time to reprogram the hands/brain.

Thank you, Jan. I think I owe you at least three crits. I will get to them. You are very kind. I am sincere, like the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

Steve,

I'm using a program called MixCraft. I have an M-Audio USB Interface/external sound card. It is very basic set-up. I have one condenser mic. It's a Baby Bottle Blue that I bought used off E-bay about two years ago. I use the same mic for vocals and guitar. For guitar, I put about 6 or 7 inches from the 12th fret. I also use the pop filter when I play. Seems like that helps somewhat.

The MixCraft software has lots of stuff on it. I did use Audacity before on my old computer. I'm not sure if it was my old computer, Audacity, or my lack of skill, but I never could get the click track function to work and I had a hard time trying to edit in Audacity. Audacity did have easy effects (fade-in/fade-out and reverb). I'm still messing around with MixCraft, trying to become more familiar with it. At least I could record with a click track, which is nice. The room I record in is a converted garage and there is carpet, but it is noisy. There is a highway outside and the hot water heater rumbles, the air kicks off and on, etc. I also tend to try and sing quietly because I'm typically doing recordings at 1 or 2 a.m. when everyone is sleeping. My house is at its most quiet in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, that's also when I'm least functional too. It's a bad combination. I hestitated to even buy the software and put it on my new machine b/c I was thinking maybe the solution would be to find a small studio and just do one little project at a time in a studio enviornment.

I suppose there could be some things I could do to the room that might help the sound situation. Also, I need to learn how to do those basic things like edit the shuffling sounds etc. I'm always afraid to take that stuff out for fear it will make the tracks become misaligned and then mess everything up. That's what always happened when I tried it in Audacity. I would clip off that stuff at the beginning and the timing of the track would shift and then it wouldn't line up with the vocal. Rather than chopping the vocal to match it, I opted to just leave the shuffles and chair squeaks in.

I did hear that pop too. I wasn't sure what did that, but now that you mention it, I think my computer might have started running a back-up.

Thanks for listening and the audio pointers. I don't think the interface has any a buffer setting. It has two dials and that's it. I think they just control the recording volume.

Buffer settings are usually configured within your audio software - ie, MixCraft 5 - not on the audio interface itself.

I'm not familiar with MixCraft but I've just checked out their website and see they have some useful-looking video tutorials in the support area of the site.

Regarding the buffer settings, it's the video on latency and audio issues that you need. It shows you how to adjust the settings. It's best to use the ASIO driver (you can see the box to tick for that in the video) and then experiment with different settings until you find one that works reliably without audio pops and suchlike. I usually find it's necessary to reduce the buffer to a size below the one that's set by default in most audio software.

The video about noise reduction seems helpful regarding editing out the background noise.

Looking at that video, it seems likely that MixCraft will contain all that you need to edit the audio. However, the trick with Audacity, if you're using that, is to silence sections of a track without deleting them. Block highlight an area you want to mute (ie, get rid of the sound altogether, like at the begining and end of a song), go to 'Generate' on the toolbar at the top, and then press 'Silence' from the dropdown menu.

Thank you for posting this song Wendy. You've got a superb tone to your voice and the your delivery is so haunting it gave me chills. This track has made me go and listen to more of your SC page and I like what I hear.
You can hear that the step up in recording quality compared to some of your earlier tracks. But don't get me wrong those tracks are good, very good in fact, but the clarity of vocal is a lot better with this track. So I can't wait to hear more from you.

As for the slight hiss at the start of the track Steve has given some great advice. It's sounds to me like you might be getting a some mains hum or the gain is turned up a bit to much on the M-Audio input. Also if you're using an old CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor and not a lcd then that could cause a slight hiss on the track.
Best thing to do is switch of the monitor when you start to record.

Kind regards
Andy

Very nice song and performance. I like the melody in particular. I am listening on crummy speakers this morning so can't say much about the recording except that it is fine on crummy speakers.

Hi Wendy, "dying by degrees" loved it

That's a beauty Wendy - perfect marriage of music to lyric to vocal. Beautiful and heartbreaking.

Can't make any suggestions on the hiss but Steve and Andy have some stuff to try. Is it on both the guitar and vocal tracks?

Also, I second Michele on the ending - feels like it wants to really slow down there - particularly on the repeat....

Lovely song and performance though!

Scott

Hi Wendy,

Can't help you on the software issues, (being technologically impaired) but I see you received some assistance. Always love your writing and voice. Deep and impressive lyrics. Wow!

Best,
Lynn

Hi Wendy...what a truly beautiful song. Touching lyric set to a perfect melody and sung beautifully. Guess all that "art" kept me from noticing any issues with the recording. Loved everything about it.

Best,
Scott

Wow, Wendy...love this and your voice...great song..glyn

Hey - I just wanted to drop-in and thank everyone who has listened so far. I was out all day yesterday at a debate tournament for my kid and could not get back on my computer last night after we finally got home. I was shocked to see that this is at #2 in acoustic folk on Soundclick today. I've never had a song make it to #2 before. I know the Soundclick charts are what they are, but it still appealed to my vanity this morning. I'll be back later today to comment and crit.

Hi Wendy,

This is such a reflective song...love the visuals...and your singing is so crystal clear....very nice. Kudos to you for your efforts in working with audio software!

I agree with those that mentioned maybe slowing it down at the ending...Nice writing!

Kristi

Hi Wendy,

Nicely done. I didn't hear it before Jan got into it, but this sounds good. It's a really tight write and your playing just keeps getting better. Quite sad in content. She must be a friend of Jenny's?

Ricki

Andy,

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back over here and comment on your post. Thanks for checking out my stuff. I appreciate that you enjoyed this song. It's about a girl I went to middle school with. I'm not sure what happened to her. I believe she died pretty young. For some reason, about a month ago I was doing something mindless around the house and I remembered her. Thank you for the production tips.

Hey Colin,

Thanks for giving this one a listen. I'm not the greatest at melody. I feel like mostly my melodies are boring. One thing I did on this tune is that the chords are slightly different from one verse to the next.

Thanks, Louis. Every once in a while, I think of a good line but I'm not as consistent as Calvin or Scott.

Scott,

I think most of the hiss is on the vocal track. It's probably there for the guitar too but I think I turned my audio box up a bit to record the vocal b/c I was singing very softly.

I agree with you and Michele on the tag. It should be slower. I need to learn to use these little tricks (variation in time, etc). They kind of dress things up for the listener.

Thanks for listening.

Thanks for listening, Lynn. My husband says I've mastered "the bummer." I suppose he is right. I need to write something funny or whimsical. But it seems lately I've been writing only sad songs.

Scott,

You are very kind. Thank you very much for listening and enjoying it with the loud hiss. Where in the Atlanta metro do you live? I've managed to hook-up with a few writers in the area. We do a group now and there's also a folk song circle I attend called Jam Night. I'm over in the Tucker/Decatur area if you ever want to hang out with us. I actually wrote this as an assignment for our group (but there were some specific melodic requirements I kind of bypassed). They seemed to like it anyway.

Wendy,
Mellow, artistic, heartfelt and just beautiful. I loved everything about this song. Don't change a thing.

Rod

Wendy,

I’ve never heard any of your songs; this is a first for me. I have a confession to make; I think I just heard an angel singing! Wow, I’m serious if I could hear an angel sing I’m sure this is what it would sound like.

Someone said mesmerizing, I think that describes your voice very well too! Just beautiful!

Dottie

Hi Wendy, I like the sound of your new equipment. I'm sure with the help of good people and use/familiarity of the product, the tiny bugs that are there will be ironed out.

It sounds like you've changed this one up a bit since I heard it a few weeks ago. It is very nice.

I don't think that I would call them "bummers". Some of the most beautiful songs are sad songs. Writing it out is good therapy for the soul. You have definitely done a masterful job with this one and He Loves Me Not.

Your music has this wonderful connectivity to it and it reaches out to my soul.

Wonderful stuff Wendy,
Danny

Sweet tune.
Ott

Wendy...very well written and performed....really "right on" vocal....good job...Bob

Hi Wendy.

I like this song and your voice presents it well. Very touching.

Carlos

The voice is great... well written!

This is outstanding. The lyrics are well written and I love the guitar and your voice. Really nice work!

Todd