COOL (EP)

Center Of It All (2018)

Instrumental Music

I'm trying to get back into instrumental composition after a year of doing other things. This little piece combines a free Kontakt library from Sonuscore, Orchestral Chords and Sustained String Chords. These sound so full and rich. I played a horn solo with Majestic Horn from Orchestral Tools (nearly free, just 2 Euros). 

https://sonuscore.com/free-orchestra-chords/
https://www.orchestraltools.com/store/collections/majestic-horn

Horn Of Plenty

Playing with arpeggiated chord progressions and violins and stuff.

Cumulo Nimbus In F-minor

The usual thing. I got some new sample libraries, including a cool new freebie from Heavyocity, Foundations Piano, which has some interesting arpeggio and synth-like effects. This became the basic track to which I added a marimba and some horns and pads. Then I got a new choir library on sale from Performance Samples, Oceania II, and I had to try it on something.

A Flying Machine

This is a song my brother Doug and I wrote to play at a Bee Gees tribute concert we did in November 2014. We played a lot of Bee Gees covers but decided to write a couple of Bee Gees inspired originals to add to the 3-part harmony fun. The words were inspired by a recent trip I took to London, though it wasn't this foggy and I wasn't really especially sad. I borrowed a foggy London photo by Cedric Leclere on Flickr (Creative Commons photo, https://flic.kr/p/v1Vuh). 

Foggy Morning, London Town
Words and music by Bruce Irving and Doug Irving (c) 2014
Recording produced by Roger Lavallee
Vocals by Bruce Irving and Caroline Irving

Foggy morning, London Town
Footsteps falling without a sound
Memories linger
Like the smell of an early rain

I move slowly through
Westminster squares
Their cobbled lanes and homes so fair
Feeling every bit a part of the history

chorus
Foggy Morning, London Town
The streets are empty
The building shapes so dim
Foggy Morning, London Town
I fear I won't see you again
Foggy Morning, London Town

Wandering places
We used to go
That zebra crosswalk
On Abbey Road
We were just as fab
And you were matching your steps with mine

chorus

There's a sadness all around
But no one sees the tears I cry
No one knows the loneliness I feel inside
Foggy Morning, London Town

chorus

Foggy Morning, London Town
Foggy Morning, London Town
Foggy Morning, London Town

Music/lyrics: Doug and Bruce Irving
(C) 2014. BMI

Foggy Morning, London Town

This is a song I wrote for my granddaughter's second birthday. She loves animals and knows a lot of the names of the animals at a zoo she has visited a lot, so I put those animals and names in the song. I made a music video for the song which is here:
  http://youtu.be/DoTObn2YOkw
(the video includes the lyrics)

Words and music by Bruce Irving (c) 2014

Animals Are So Cute!

CHORUS
Animals are so cute G D Em
Animals are so cute G D E7
From the tallest giraffe [Beau!] Am7 D7
To the shortest newt B7 E7
Animals are so cute! A7 D7 G D7

Lynxes and lions and a cougar named Zeus G6 F#7 Fmaj7 D7
The zoo’s got more animals than Doctor Seuss G6 F#7 Fmaj7 D7
Smokey and Bubba are two black bears C D7 B7 E7
Diablo the owl, he just sits and stares C D7 B7 E7
With his big black eyes… A7
he just sits and stares! D7

Chorus

Pins is a porcupine, he looks pretty prickly G6 F#7 Fmaj7 D7
And Sushi the otter, he can swim quite quickly G6 F#7 Fmaj7 D7
A Llama like Zena is kind of slow C D7 B7 E7
But foxes like Blizzard really go-go-go! C D7 B7 E7
Yeah those arctic white foxes… A7
They really go-go-go! D7

Chorus

Bridge
Who’s that swinging up in that tree? B7
Could it be a white-cheeked gibbon family? E7
If the mama is Iggy and Kien is the daddy A7
Then the other gibbon’s probably cute little Paddy D7

LAST CHORUS

Animals are so cute G D Em
Animals are so cute G D E7
From the tallest giraffe Am7 D7
To the shortest newt B7 E7
To the fruitiest fruit-bat filling up on fruit Am7 D7 B7 E7
To the capybara Scooter who is slow to scoot Am7 D7 B7 E7
From a jaguar named Chessy in hot pursuit Am7 D7 B7 E7
From a cotton-top tamarin who is quite hirsute Am7 D7 B7 E7
To a tiger named Anala in an orange striped suit Am7 D7 B7 E7
And don’t forget Gracie with her wet tongue salute Am7 D7 B7 E7
Animals are so cute! A7 D7 G E7
Animals are so cute! A7 D7 G E7
Animals are so cute! A7 D7 G C G


Animals Are So Cute!

Hummingbird
Words & music by Bruce Irving (c) 2014

From the 2018 album "Center Of It All" by Bruce Irving. 

This is the second of two songs I wrote in October 2014 for my granddaughter's second birthday. She loved seeing the hummingbirds at our feeders last summer, so I wrote this song to use in a music video of the cute little hummers. The video is here:
  http://youtu.be/IsvtJB88dvI
Lyrics are in video and also below (with chords)

Hummingbird (Bruce Irving)

A sunny yard. Cmaj7 [x35450]
A tiny bird. C#m7b5 [x45450]
A tiny voice. Dm7
The sound you heard. G7sus4
Hovering Cmaj7
Before your eyes. C#m7b5
She sees you Dm7
Then away she'll rise G7sus4

So fast away she almost seems. Am7 D7
To dematerialize B7 Dm7 G7sus4
This tiny wonder of the world. Cmaj7 Dm7 G7sus4
A hummingbird

Twelve hundred sixty b.p.m. Cmaj7 [x35450] C#m7b5 [x45450]
A little heart that beats within Dm7 G7sus4
And fifteen hundred times a min Cmaj7 [x35450] C#m7b5 [x45450]
The speed her wings are shiverin' Dm7 G7sus4

She has to rock around the clock Am7 D7
For food to make that ticker tock B7 Dm7 G7sus4
This tiny wonder of the world Cmaj7 Dm7 G7sus4
A hummingbird Cmaj7 Dm7 G7sus4
This tiny wonder of the world Cmaj7 Dm7 G7sus4
A hummingbird Cmaj7 Dm7 G7sus4

Bridge
Hungry babies in the nest Fmaj7
Believe that mama bird knows best E7sus E7
Filling them with bugs and nectar Cm walk down bass in 1/2 steps
So their little wings can flutter Dm7 G7sus4
Soon their little wings will flutter Dm7 G7sus4

Instrumental

She has to rock around the clock
For food to make that ticker tock
This tiny wonder of the world
A hummingbird

Repeat/fade/end...
This tiny wonder of the world
A hummingbird

Words & music by Bruce Irving (c) 2014

Hummingbird

A new song based on some cool jazz/rock RealTracks in Band in a Box. This work-in-progress demo has only a scratch lead vocal. I need to sing it better and work out some background vox and harmonies, probably in a couple of weeks.

STAY A WHILE
Words & music (c) 2014 by Bruce Irving

I cried when you called me baby
Talking bout running away
I tried every argument
To get you to stay
Burning up in a blaze of glory
I pray we're not the same sad story
You never wanna think it can happen to you

CHORUS:
I've seen how rays of sunshine always make you smile
I could be your sunny day if you could stay a while

I lied when my friends came over
Askin' what's up with you
I said something about your sister
And you'd be back soon
I lie awake till the cold, gray morning
I know you tried to give me fair warning
I got a lotta growing up to do

CHORUS

Bridge
I hope I can find the strength to turn myself around
Cause if I lose the light, the light I found in you
What will I do? I love only you

INSTR 1/2 verse

Burning up in a blaze of glory
This doesn't have to be our story
Look outside, the clouds are blowing away (?)

CHORUSES, fade



Stay A While (Scratch Lead Vocal)

This song is basically a pep talk to a friend by someone who's a sort of cockeyed optimist. After all, aren't we all living on a one way street that’s heading into the ground? Thanks to my friend and producer Roger Lavallee for his great arrangement and awesome playing of everything but acoustic guitar. Vocals are me. This is the first song we've done in my brand-new Studio One software. 

Hey O Way O

You may not even have a thing to your name
You may wonder why the answer is always the same 
You came a long way and you think it's a trap
Cause you got turned around and you can't find the map 

Hey o Way o (you’re way off base)
Hey o Way o (look at my face 
Hey o Way o (we'll get you outta this place
Get you out of the frying pan and back in the race

You got a monster living under your bed 
And the monster’s best friend is camping out in your head
It’s no coincidence they’re screaming at you
It’s just your worst fears all coming true

Chorus

Bridge
You better you better you better
You better face that scary sound
You better you better you better
You better beat those demons down

Hey o Way o chorus with synth lead...

Best you can do may never be good enough
When you are stuck in the basement and you’re drowning in stuff
Be optimistic you can turn it around
Even on a one way street that’s heading into the ground

Words & music by Bruce Irving (c) 2017

Center Of It All

Hey O Way O

Another recent rock song and another cool guitar performance (several actually) by my producer Roger Lavallee. I will probably add some background vocals.

Angels Are Hiding

"Vile" just means violin in this brief exercise with the composition and notation program Notion by Presonus, makers of the Studio One (S1) software I now use for recording. I got Notion on a whim when they offered a special price for S1 users. I later bought the iOS app for my iPad and iPhone, and I find I use that more than the Windows version. Files are shared between versions via iCloud. 

I am using Notion to explore songwriting and composition from a different angle, starting with music notation and a large palette of instruments. It's strange because while I understand a lot of music theory from years of informal study, I still can't read music fluently. But since the software plays it back, that's no problem. And it helps me to explore the effects of using different note values, rests, time signatures, etc. 

This little piece is just an exercise to explore different aspects of notation and articulation for piano and violin. The audio is rendered by the app directly from my score.

Vile Melody (Notion Exercise)

And yet ANOTHER rock song, this one played primarily by various studio performers via Band-in-a-Box "Real Tracks." Except for the voices. They are me.

Rough Days

This track is from the album Jardin du Luxembourg and is available for purchase on CD Baby here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bruceirving

Just Dancing

Roll (Like a River)

Daddy's Little Girl

Words and music by Bruce Irving and Rob Simbeck (c) 1978.

Yes, 1978! This was mostly Rob's lyric and I wrote the semi-jazzy music on a classical guitar years and years ago. This week I was fooling around with a music arranging program I have called Band-in-a-Box (2011), trying out some of their "RealTracks" which are prerecorded audio files of various riffs, chords, and drum parts played by professional musicians. BIAB normally produces MIDI output from chord progressions and other arrangement info, but with RealTracks, it can produce a really nice sounding audio file, if the style fits your song. So I tried this with Drambuie, and I liked it. Electric guitar and Sonar X1 recording help by Roger Lavallee.

Drambuie

This started out as a country song I wrote with Rob Simbeck in 2003. Thanks to Band-in-a-Box I reinvented it as a Motown-feeling song, which my producer Roger morphed into more of a blues rocker with new drum, bass, and guitar parts. The piano and sax are from BIAB.

This version is not final. Still needs work on vocals, drums, sax part, mix, etc.

Why Doesn't Somebody Stop Me? (in work)

This is a song I wrote for our first grandchild, who was born on October 5, 2012. Stella means "star" in Latin and Italian, and she's the new wonder of our universe!

Look at You (Stella's Song)

Tiny fingers, clutching Mommy’s finger
Tiny fingers, holding Daddy’s finger too          
Look at you

Love and DNA have scored a miracle             
It’s a wonder, everything they say is true
Look at you

Now you’re sleeping, now you’re crying                
Now you’re eating, now you’re sighing                 
Beams of photons bouncing off the moon
You’ll be sleeping through the night real soon        

Stay awake now, this is not a lullaby
Every moment fills your eyes with something new
Look at you

Hubble pictures, wonders of the universe
Biggest little wonder lying here it’s true
Look at you

Now you’re sleeping, now you’re crying                
Now you’re eating, now you’re sighing 
Sounds of music, sounds of laughter
ounds of happy ever after  

Wish upon a meteor
Can’t think what to wish for 
Everything is cool…            

Look at you – Look at you – Look at you – Look at you
Look at you!

Words and music by Bruce Irving (c) 2012


Look At You

Look at You (Stella's Song)

This is the title track from my 2020 EP "COOL," a little tongue-in-cheek blast of classic rock 'n' roll I wrote with my cool friend Rob Simbeck and recorded with my cool friends Roger Lavallee (guitars, bass,  production) and Ed Barnett on drums. Those guys brought all the cool. I mostly just sang it. 

COOL

Gonna sell my old sunglasses		
Down at the salvage store			
Give away my leather and my blue suede shoe 
I don't need em anymore		
I got something that makes me shine   
Like a diamond in a pile of coal    
Hotter than a pistol, Pretty as a picture   
Sweeter than my rock and roll    

Chorus:
I'm cool, yes I am			
Even when I'm fast asleep	
I'm cool, you know it's true 
And It's the company I keep 
If things get any better 
Don’t know what I’m gonna do   
I'm cool, yes I am  		
Since I hang around with you   

You’re a wax & buff & polish	
I’m a ’63 Corvette			
You’re a jump shot at the buzzer	
Hittin’ nothin’ but the net		
You got me shinin’ like a neon light   
I’m happy as a man can be   
It's time I told the whole wide world  
Baby, what you do to me    

Chorus

Instrumental

Bridge:
I’m cool	
I’m cool	
I’m cool	
I'm just so freakin' cool  

Chorus

Words and music by Rob Simbeck and Bruce Irving (c) 2019

COOL

I recently started composing some music using sample libraries from Spitfire Audio. Albion NEO is brand new and is the most extensive and beautiful sample library I have so far. So many great sounds. For this piece, I started by creating a "generative" piece by assembling elements in the amazing iPad app Scape (by Brian Eno and Peter Chivers). I imported this into Studio One and wrote the other parts around it.

Scape Meets Albion NEO

I was giving myself a pep talk one day and it turned into a song because I was holding a guitar at the time. Tuned to open D, as it happens. It was a simple acoustic song but my friends Roger Lavallee and Ed Barnett took care of THAT problem with Roger's crazy guitar parts and production and Ed's powerful drumming. I hear it and for 4+ minutes, I don't worry. Thanks guys!

"Worry" is from my upcoming EP "COOL," produced by Roger Lavallee, with cover design by another talented friend, Craig Collins. The cover depicts my first (and only) single to be released on 45 RPM vinyl, "Rolling" b/w "Born & Raised on Rock n Roll" by Rob Simbeck (1973!). The Weird Al guy is me in 1973 and the other guy is me now, more or less.

Worry

Another quick composition and recording test with Studio One, Spitfire Albion NEO, Kontakt, and some beautiful and free sample libraries from pianobook.co.uk (https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/the-9000ft-piano/  and https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/americana-granular-pad/ ). Plus a free harp sample library from somewhere.

Composition 2020

9000' Piano Test with Appalchian Granular Pad and AngelHarp

Orchestral Tools has a strange but interesting FREE virtual instrument called LAYERS that has high-quality orchestra samples that can only be played as chords through their SINE Player VST plugin. 
    https://www.orchestraltools.com/store/collections/45

LAYERS Orchestral Tools Demo

This song is from my 2020 EP "COOL," produced by Roger Lavallee, with cover design by another talented friend, Craig Collins. The cover depicts my first (and only) single to be released on 45 RPM vinyl, "Rolling" b/w "Born & Raised on Rock n Roll" by Rob Simbeck (1973!). The Weird Al guy is me in 1973 and the other guy is me now, more or less. Words & Music by Bruce Irving & Rob Simbeck (c) 2020. Guitars by Roger, Drums by Ed Barnett, vocals by me.

Whatever You're Looking For

"True Blue" is from my 2020 EP "COOL," produced by Roger Lavallee, with cover design by another talented friend, Craig Collins. The cover depicts my first (and only) single to be released on 45 RPM vinyl, "Rolling" b/w "Born & Raised on Rock n Roll" by Rob Simbeck (1973!). The Weird Al guy is me in 1973 and the other guy is me now, more or less. Words & Music by Bruce Irving (c) 2020. Guitars by Roger, Drums by Ed Barnett, vocals by me.

True Blue

Before It Fades Away

This started with a simple, repeating chord progression on marimba. I added some pulsing brass from Spitfire's Kepler Orchestra and played a melody on Spitfire Solo Cello. Then I added a  counterpoint of a sample sound from Pianobook, Cinematic Wine Glasses by Adri Mena and a couple of choruses for good measure. The syllables are the Latin default phrases from Aria Aurora Choirs (Mozart I think).

Marimba Cello Choir Piece

Piano Cello Farewell, virtual instruments from Spitfire (Solo Cello) and Pianobook  Yamaha Muted C7 Piano (https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/muted-yamaha-c7/) and Flute/Violin pad (https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/fluteviolin/).

Piano Cello Farewell

A percussion-heavy action-cue experiment.

Action Cue For No Movie Ever

I got some cool new sample libraries recently from Pianobook (free, https://www.pianobook.co.uk/)including Poly Sirin (Moog sampled by Bruce Crawford) and Isolation Collaboration (hard to describe, created by Dan Keen). I'm also loving the solo woodwinds from Fluffy Audio (oboe used here). I was playing with these along with a baritone guitar and a classical guitar and created this haunting little soundscape during COVID-19 isolation.

Haunted Isolation

A little morning improv with the beautiful Hoffman Piano virtual instrument from Pianobook (https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/the-hoffman/) with Spitfire Studio Strings and Solo Cello.

Morning Light (Piano Strings Cello)

A short and twinkly piece inspired by several free virtual instruments downloaded from Pianobook.co.uk including Confinement Celeste, Dan Bau Pad, and The Lockdown Mandolin.

Tinkerbell Lost In Space

Playing with chords with the new Mason & Hamlin free virtual instrument on Pianobook.co.uk. I couldn't resist repeating the progression and playing a melody with the Spitfire Solo Cello. Better than ketchup. Goes with everything. Since the sampled piano was apparently made in Boston, I chose the North Church reverb preset in Seventh Heaven. It's a pretty big space (3.2 second reverb time). I don't know if it's actually based on the Boston Old North Church.

Mason & Hamlin & Cello

Just a few distracted chords to try out a new Pianobook piano, "Willis & Co 2." I like it. It's not perfect but it has character. UPDATE: I uploaded a new version after discovering the mod wheel "surprise" I had missed in the description. So I added a bit of that effect. 
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/willis-co-2/

Sorry Willis

A short improv piece using the new iBach Dream Piano and Cinematic Wine Glass virtual instruments from Pianobook.

Go Back To Sleep

A brief Pianobook demo using Jon Meyer's Steinway and the Casio Flutter Pad from Joshua Meltzer:
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/steinway-grand/
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/mi-casio-tu-casio/

Baptisia

Improvised Pianobook demo using the new Micah's Choir and the non-Pianobook but free and cool Surge synth and Fluffy Audio's Solo Clarinet. 
Update 6/20/20: I remixed the track applying modulation effects to Micah's Choir to showcase the variety of vocal sounds captured in this instrument. 
https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/micahs-choir/

Surge Protection

Rose Campion is another one of my favorite flowers. Every June we have thousands of them glowing around our front yard. Here's what they sound like. OK, not really, this was just another case of fooling around with new, mostly free virtual instruments to make a miniature piece of music. The beautiful group vocals are Micah's Choir from Pianobook. The soprano is Clare Solo (free from Ivy Audio). The background pad is RIOT Audio's Bowed Glass Clouds (free today). And the wooden Jubal Flute is from Embertone (not free). I also used Bunker Strings Vol. 1 (also not free). https://www.pianobook.co.uk/library/micahs-choir/

We Are The Campions

I'm experimenting with a new tool (Scaler 2) for generating chord progressions and rhythms and it turned into this little Pianobook demo for the imperfect but lovely Hoffmann 114 piano.

PianoBook Hoffmann 114 Strings Clarinet

This started as a piano improvisation over a simple chord progression. I ended up using a Pianobook sampled piano called The Hoffman. I added orchestral parts using Spitfire British Drama Toolkit and Studio Strings.

Sunflower Rising

This is an original demo instrumental created using only free Spitfire LABS virtual instruments. I used Soft Piano, Music Box, Modular Pianos, Scary Strings, and Choir instruments. I used Fluffy Audio's Solo Oboe for the second half melody.

Moody LABS Demo Piece

I haven't been writing much music lately and I miss it. So Sunday I starting playing with some of my many Spitfire Audio sample libraries and improvised this little thing with a LABS piano, BBC Symphony Orchestra Horn section, Raven Bush baritone violin plucks, and shakuhachi (Japanese flute) by Andy Findon. It's a cute little thing.

Shakuhachi Shumthing (Spitfire Jam)

Latest EP (February 2020) "COOL" is available on BandCamp (digital only): https://bruceirving.bandcamp.com/
It is also on Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon Music, and other music streaming sites.
I'm a singer-songwriter in Central Massachusetts (www.bruceirving.com, http://flyingsinger.blogspot.com). I have five albums available at BandCamp.com, Spotify, and many other online music sites: "Jardin du Luxembourg" (2003),  "Message from Tomorrow" (2010),  "Look at You" (2013), "Center Of It All" (2018), and "COOL" (2020 EP).

FlyingSinger

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