Bird

[Joanna]

Any suggestions to make it better? I'm not sure if it's right yet.

Bird

I wish there was a category called "Ballad". I couldn't figure out where to put this one.

-- Joanna

[davajonah]

Wow - this is terrific! Real "Ella" stuff. What a great voice you have.
I think this would be really good if you could get some understated jazz drums and bass in there after the intro, a bit of rhythm, maybe after "frozen by fright" then end the song as you started. Only my humble opinion, it's just a real good song anyway

I love the "metaphor/soar" rhyme - real Cole Porter!

btw - did the dove get back to it's nest?

DJ

[Boris]

this is lovely, joanna... more musical sounding than ballad, i think. it sounds as though it were just a piece in a much larger production:

---

LEAD FEMALE CHARACTER:
"you know ms. tubbins, i just know there's something in this big old world for me!"

MS. TUBBINS:
"oh, my dear... so young, so eager. you'll figure out what you need to do."

LEAD FEMALE CHARACTER:
"gee, ms. tubbins, if i only had wings... if i only had wings..."

(stage lights go down, single spotlight on lead female character)

(orchestra slowly builds as lead female character breaks into BIRD)

----

i say this with humor, as this is my twisted interpretation of the song.

your voice is top notch and well suited for this style. music is jampack 4? it's very tight, yet loose enough to be swirly where it needs to be... you put together a very nice stage for your voice to perform on!

and while there are endless songs about flying, birds, and wings, this piece does not cross the bounds of being cliche whatsoever.

these two verses in particular hit home:

That lonely bird
Too afraid to ride the breeze
Grounded by unease
Through a long and dangerous night
Frozen by fright

and

Am I that bird?
Do my fears keep me from flight?
I think they might
I won't use my wings at all
Cuz I might fall

the only thing that let me down with this one is that there isn't another one right after it... another one to keep this "musical" going. seriously, there is a story here and this song tells only a chapter. maybe something to think about, maybe not.

thanks for sharing this wonderful piece!

[Joanna]

Davah: I tried it with jazz drums, but nothing worked. I think it's too orchestral for that. And the theme of the piece -- fear and eventual soaring -- made me not want to tie it to the ground (to me, drums tend to ground a piece of music, giving it a steady rhythm that ties everything together. I wanted this to be freer, more uncertain, and even a little uneasy in spots). I did add a small flute phrase in that empty spot before the chorus, so perhaps that will help.

You did make my day with the Ella and Cole Porter comments. Never thought I'd see either of those names evoked in relation to my stuff!

As for the dove, I just checked and the nest is currently empty, but I heard lots of mourning dove song this morning, so the whole family is probably nearby. The kid was no longer on the rail (nor was he a casualty) so I have to assume he figured out what to do later and is still whole and healthy.

Boris:: Yes, it is a bit theatrical, isn't it? Very interesting. Has that show tune feel. Something to think about. I wrote a musical when I was around 13 -- performed it in my basement to a paying audience. Even sold ads in the homemade Playbill, to finance the set. Had a lot of fun. Maybe some day I shall have to write a real musical. That would be a blast.


Thank you both for such kind words and help! Funny what causes us to write songs. I saw that bird and felt compelled to write about it.

-- Joanna

[Fosco]

I compare maturing in musical interest to eating When a person is growing up, if not encouraged to try new kinds of food one tends to have a limited range of enjoyment in food variety...

I'm sooooo glad me parentz introduced clasical, folk, etc. to us kidz az we grew up....

There waz a time I couldn't stand country music....

Az the yearz go by my range of musical interest iz almost unlimited.

Rock n Roll iz de best ta me, but there iz so much more out there ta enjoy.... Like Bird!

Thankz fer sharing Joanna

[cStu]

Boris:: Yes, it is a bit theatrical, isn't it? Very interesting. Has that show tune feel. Something to think about. I wrote a musical when I was around 13 -- performed it in my basement to a paying audience. Even sold ads in the homemade Playbill, to finance the set. Had a lot of fun. Maybe some day I shall have to write a real musical. That would be a blast
-- Joanna

I looked through the Genres and Musical is the closest fit to this tune imho. tempted by the Jazz category too, all that BigBand showtunes kind of stuff. So the Cole Porter/Ella thing rings true for me.

Nice track, Joanna. Lots of confidence in the vocal delivery, too.

[Gary_Secondino]

Hi Joanna,

Your Bird tune knocks me out! I love the space you've made for the voice so nothing gets in the way of the poetry of Bird. A fine piece of songwriting and performance. Thank you.

Gary

[Joanna]

Forgot to answer one of Robert's questions before: yes, the loops are from Jampack 4.

Fosco: Thank you for listening to something that was probably not your usual fare. I still have to work on listening to songs that aren't in my preferred genres. My musical tastes are still rather narrow, but places like MacIdol have pushed that envelope a great deal in the last year or so. I'm still in a growth pattern.

cStu I've changed the genre to "Musicals" now. Sometimes, there is no clear cut genre, but that one seems a little closer to me. Thank you so much for listening.

Gary: Wow, thank you! What a lovely thing to say -- I'm most grateful.

-- Joanna

[maggieo]

Very nice work, Joanna!

It reminds me of Nelson Riddle's arrangements/orchestrations for Frank Sinatra during his early Capitol years. I'd definitely call it Jazz!

[Boris]

Very nice work, Joanna!

It reminds me of Nelson Riddle's arrangements/orchestrations for Frank Sinatra during his early Capitol years. I'd definitely call it Jazz!

thx maggie... that's what i was thinking of! nelson riddle's work with linda ronstadt on What's New. it also sounded like it should have been part of a musical or something.

[clanger]

wowowowow

Really incredible.. both in terms of the performance and the composition. not much I can say but sounds like its from a screen musical maybe even a broadway hit. Very professional.

[Joanna]

Thank you Maggie, Boris and Clanger. It probably sounds a wee bit jazzy because I simply can't help myself. I'd probably make rap sound like jazz.

I always thought it would be cool to sing with an orchestra, so this was my way of indulging that side of me.

-- Joanna

[kilroydegeek]

And the theme of the piece -- fear and eventual soaring -- made me not want to tie it to the ground (to me, drums tend to ground a piece of music, giving it a steady rhythm that ties everything together.

Brave artists fly without drums. I like where you're going with this, I'll give it a proper listen when the midday bulletins are done.

[rcandrews]

ok if ever there was a sound trac written ya done it with this joanna.

i love that roll thing.

far as im concered its fine just the way it is