The finished product – “What I Love About America”
Piano/Vocal Arrangement
When Rod Stone contacted us back in 2019, he wanted a piano/vocal arrangementrefers to the structure and order of musical elements in a composition, such as melody, harmony, rhythm, and instrumentation. of a song he’d previously produced and recorded:
We wrote one for him –
– and here’s the Finale playback file for this piano/vocal arrangement (with sample ooh-aah for the vocal):
Vocal Arrangement With Rhythm Section
In early 2020, we heard from him expressing interest in creating an expanded arrangement for choir, but in more of a gospel style, with an eye toward creating a demoA recording created to preview the content of a show or song. Demos can also become master recordings. of the song to pitchThe perceived highness or lowness of a sound, determined by the frequency of the sound wave. to choirs around the country.
We wrote an arrangement –
Given the efficiencies in today’s music technology and reduced cost of production, we suggested if you’re going to record it, why not go for a master1. Intellectual property consisting of a sound recording 2. The process of optimizing a mix through further signal processing to adjust presence, timbre, loudness, and tone recording? – given the potential for licensing the finished recording as an intellectual property asset for possible use in media.
We delivered a Finale playback file of our arrangement to Rod –
to demo the arrangement itself, prior to going into production in a digital audio workstation (“DAWDigital Audio Workstation. Some are: Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro X, Cubase, Pro Tools, Studio One, Reason, Reaper, Digital Performer, Bitwig Studio, Samplitude Pro X, GarageBand (Mac), Cakewalk by BandLab, Presonus Studio One, Tracktion Waveform”), using ProTools as the production app for the music.
Music Production
We began the process of replacing midiA protocol for communicating musical information, such as notes and control signals, between electronic musical instruments and computers./sample tracks with human players, sending out “stemsIndividual tracks extracted or exported from a mix as individual sound files” (individual audio files) and sheet music partsIndividual pieces of music, each designed to be performed by a single musician or section of an ensemble. to musicians we’ve worked with who have their own at-home recording setups. The musicians on the track are Mike Eckroth on piano and organ, and Alvester Garnett on drums, and me (Jon Burr) on bass. We found a remote choir in the person(s) of David and Tiffany Spencer, and were able to get my old friend and colleague Ty Stephens on lead vocal.
Ty was the only one without a studio on his own, but he was able to record at Kaleidoscope Sound in Weehawken, NJ – a large space that enabled “social distancing” during the pandemic, engineered by Jeremy Delaney.
As the various artists completed their parts, they delivered their “stems” (audio files) to us. We put them into our ProTools production session, then mixed and mastered. In the mix1. Collection of individual tracks or parts 2. The process of adjusting relative sound levels, processing and placement within a sonic realm 3. The result of sonic recording and processing, we used some DSP plugins for sound enhancement, including WAVES’ Brauer Motion for organ, Smack Attack for drums and bass, and Valhalla’s Plate reverba type of audio effect that simulates the natural reflection of sound in a room..
The YouTube video (top) was assembled by Rod’s son Newell.
Editorial note…we usually look at all incoming material as “work to be done,” avoiding making judgments about it – but we were particularly excited by this song. It becomes clear that this song is a call to our better angels as Americans – a hymn of inclusivity, a call to unity and shared purpose. My sense was that this song could do some real good, particularly at this time in America, serving as a sort of Trojan Horse of a message of universal brotherhood.
To download, go to:
- https://music.apple.com/us/album/what…
- https://www.deezer.com/us/album/17357…
- https://open.spotify.com/album/6WoMkb…
A bold, fresh, patriotic, feel good song for these difficult times in America. For the sake of our future it’s time to come together and rise above. For permission to use in all events, televised or otherwise, contact Rod Stone: [email protected]
Sheet music available upon request.
© 2020 Stonecap Music ASCAP
