But I don’t want to go there, (T)
Ya gotta go der, (CB)
But I want to go home, (T)
Ya canna go ‘om. (CB)
I want to stay with you, Cap’n Bill, (T)
Ya canna stay wit me, Trot, (CB)
I want to learn from you, Cap’n Bill, (T)
Ya canna learn no mo’ from me. (CB)

But I want to sail the seas, (T)
Ya’ll not be sailin’ yet, Trot. (CB)
But I want to fish, and catch a whale, (T)
Ya’ll not be fishin’ today, Trot. (CB)
But I want run and catch the wind, (T)
The wind be ever’where ye be, (CB)
There’s more to learn, and more to see, (T)
Dat be true, and dat be why yer leavin’ me. (CB)

But, but, what will you do without me, Cap’n Bill? (T)
I be jus fine, Trot, (CB)
But, won’t you miss me, Cap’n Bill? (T)
I be missin’ ya a lot, Trot, (CB)
But what’ll all my friends say? (T)
Dey be awaitin’ for ya, here. (CB)
But… I can’t leave just yet, (T)
It be yer time, I’m willin’ to bet. (CB)

Why? (T)
Cus it’s dat way. (CB)
But why? (T)
Der’s no more ta say, (CB)
Why? Why? Why? (T)
Ya’ll know, my darlin’, ya’ll know someday. (CB)

Oh Joy! Oh Bliss!

I am so, so, sooooooo looking forward to hearing Ken sing.

Life just doesn't get any better.

hee hee hee hee hee


(Drat. He'll probably be good at this too.)

Is Trot supposed to sound
a) Whiney (e.g. think Luke Skywalker saying "But I wanted to go to Tashi Station with my friends and pick up some power converters!")
Sad
c) Stubborn/Determined

Each of those would result in very different songs.

You just had to do it Martin didn't you. One strangled cat coming right up.

This song is integral to the story. For one, the audience learns Trot & Cap'n Bill's name, and the lyrics set up the story conflict. The song should convey the feelings between Trot (age 10 or 11) and Cap'n Bill (who obviously raised her), and her sadness and non-understanding of why she has to leave, and Cap'n Bill trying not to show his own sadness.

hee hee hee hee hee.

Note to self: Get the hot buttered popcorn ready...

These lyrics are kind of difficult to fit in a consistent melody, since the lines are of very different length. It came to me today that a sea shanty type feel might be totally appropriate, which would help with the different lengths of lines (because you can add extra notes and syllables easily) and add to the feel. If the voice actors are at all inclined, they could ad-lib on the melody lines, as well. I tried to make Trot's lines start with a simple and straight melody, in a descending pattern to show her sadness. Cap'n Bill turns it more into a shanty, and Trot picks up on that as the song goes through.

Anyways, attached is a MIDI file (.mid extension, in a ZIP file because it wouldn't let me upload a .mid file) with just one verse (melody only). The notes don't exactly match the words, but are close enough to get the idea. Also, Cap'n Bill's last line now repeats once.

I was just wanting to know if this is a direction you'd be interested in taking the song.

Chris

Yes, the melody sounds good.

Slow it down and give us some intruments.

Will do. I'll probably first try just an accordion to see if that can sound both authentic and good. I probably won't have time to make significant progress until Thursday night.

Next version. Just added an accordion to accompany. I transposed it while trying to record some scratch vocals (which took longer than I expected and are not ready to share). The accordion sounded a little better in the previous key, so I hope Ken is an tenor.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. Next version will be on Saturday.

ETA: I'm thinking I might have slowed it down a little too much.

I'm hearing the words in my head! That's good. Sounds like a nursery rhyme right now but when you fill it in, I suspect it will be perfect (except, you're right, it is a bit slow... Pick a speed that goes well with your scratch voice track. Sing it to your friends... Get a feel for the speed.)

I'm attaching an 14-second example of the genre I was hoping to get (I hope that counts as fair use). It's of course totally different subject matter, sung by all men, but it's just meant as an example of the genre. "Bully in the Alley" by The Fisherman's Friends from their album "Suck 'em and Sea".

Got the right cadence. I can tell you're wrapping yourself in the subject matter so you can deliver a performance with the right atmosphere.

Here's a scratch recording of the first verse. Unfortunately, I don't have much of a sea shanty type voice, and I can't put on the accent required for the part. I grabbed someone off the street for Trot's part (slight exaggeration there). I added a harmony part to Captain Bill's part, which makes it a little more shanty-like; I might need to add a 2nd harmony part. The accompaniment currently consists of just an accordion (recorded from MIDI) and acoustic guitar. I'm trying to think what else would be appropriate to add. I might have some fiddle music I could listen to to get a feeling what to add. I could maybe add a bodhran (Irish drum).

I put the speed back almost to the original (150bpm now, 160bpm original, 120bpm was the too slow version). When it was slow, the voices sounded like strangled cats (well, at least mine did).

Anyways, suggestions welcome.

Oh, yeah! I'm lovin' it.

Go ahead and try the fiddle & drums.

Time to get Ken (Cap'n Bill) Heslip involved... Send him a scratch recording to sing over and ask him to sing his side of the lyrics.

It....sounds.....like......a....hymn. Is it possible to speed/liven it up abit? When I think sea shanty, I think of pirates swigging rum and pinching bottoms. Oh and singing fast too. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum and all that.
Just a little faster.....not like a "techno shanty" or anything. I mean, that's one verse and it takes about 50 sec. That's about three minutes for the whole song. Damn, lullaby's are shorter than that. We don't want to put the audience to sleep do we. Though, that could be good for parents with kids.

I'll do so. Unfortunately, Thursday is probably the earliest I'll have time. I might be able to sneak it in on Tuesday.

I'll be able to make a couple of different versions in different keys, and hopefully on Thursday I'll be able to resurrect an old Windows 3.1 program I had that could turn MIDI into sheet music, so you can see what the notes are (if you read music).

Sorry for the delay, I just had prior commitments.

No problem. Just do the minimal work....I can sing it fast. I don't really read music so.....

I've got my own problems here with my computer setup, so no rush.

I didn't have as much time tonight as I had hoped. Tomorrow (Friday) is the company summer party. I will have the day for Saturday and Sunday to work on it.

In the meantime, I made a version with just the first verse, one with melody (DWTGT_M.MID) and one with harmony (DWTGT_H.MID).

Maybe try to sing along with either one and give me a feel for whether it is too high or too low?

Go for it, Ken.

We've got our Trot, and if you sing your lines, we can get her to do hers, and we'll have our first song!

OK, I've recorded it. I really wasn't sure how the chorus went so I can record it again (or anything else) if needed. Where should I upload the 6mb file (bearing in mind I want to keep it away from Nancy...especially before there's music in the background)?

Put it on the FTP. (Nancy's turn is coming.)

Oh Ken...you just had to go and put ideas into my head...just remember it's your fault...I hadn't thought of making a singing and dancing feathered KenLoon doll until just now.

EDIT:



Oh crap....

Done. I wasn't sure Mouseman had access to that.

I found the file in /SO/Audio, but I can't download it. The connection times out through a browser URL or through command-line Windows FTP. Through a Linux FTP program, I get:

550-This file has been uploaded by an anonymous user. It has not
550 yet been approved for downloading by the site administrators.

Still not able to download and see Ken's vocals.

Anyways, here is an mp3 version with still just the first verse plus a little intro tag. Inspiration for that came from Great Big Sea (from St. John's, Newfoundland).

I agree with Ken, at the previous speeds, it would have taken WAAAAAAY too long. It's current speed is 200bpm. I did not record new scratch voices for it (sorry!), because every time I change the speed the old vocals and non-midi recordings (e.g. acoustic guitar) no longer match up.

The instruments now include:
Accordion (MIDI)
Drums (MIDI)
Acoustic Guitar
Oboe (MIDI-Trot)
French Horn (MIDI-Captain Bill)
Electric Grand Piano (MIDI-Captain Bill harmony)

I was hoping to hear Ken's version so I could tell how well his vocals would match up before doing the next two verses, plus the ending. (I haven't composed the ending yet.)

Wow! I'm definitely ready to hear singing now... I asked Will to give you permissions - I'll ding him again.

Should we be putting things into subversion instead of passing around on the forum and on FTP? I noticed there is now an Act I\Seq_03-Bill_and_Trot\Sc01\Audio folder ...

(And if so, would that be the right place?)

The music is too big for every person to have to download but if the FTP thing isn't going work out, we'll do what we have to.

Do I have to log on to put it on ftp. I can't remember the password if I do. Let me know and I can re-upload.

A version with instruments, vocals are me and a person off the street (that joke never gets old -- well for me, anyways). I don't think the mixing is done as well as the previous one (slight offset of the tracks in time), but it gives the idea.

I've kind of been waiting to hear what Ken recorded before getting the entire song recorded and coming up with the end. I'll just go ahead and put the entire thing together, and if we have to change keys I'll re-record the acoustic parts. I'll try to have something together by the end of Thursday night.

Still not got it yet? Do you have svn? Will I put it up there?

Will got the FTP thing going! I'm still looking at Thursday for working on it next.

Ken, I took the files you recorded, cut them up in Audacity line-by-line, imported them into the piece. The pitch was decent and matched the key of what I had. It looks like you had recorded it with an earlier version, which was at a slower tempo. I adjusted the MIDI arrangement to try to match. I got the first verse lines to match close enough at about 165 bpm, but the 2nd verse was at a different speed. I spent some time trying to get it to work, but it doesn't really work.

Would you be willing to record one more time? If so, I'd like to also take the opportunity to record at a higher tempo. Maybe 180bpm, which would make animation a bit easier.

180 beats/min = 3 beats/second. At 24 frames/second, that would be 1 beat every 8 frames. (We are doing 24 fps, right? If 30, then 1 beat every 10 frames.)
I thought of this because of The Animator's Survival Kit, page 110.

If you're okay with this, I'd like to create a WAV file for you to use to record with.
- It would be at 180bpm.
- It would be the entire duration of the song, not just one verse.
- It would have your part highlighted louder than all the other parts.
- There would be a note per syllable (or on occasion, multiple syllables per note).

I'll also create a copy of the text that matches the music, with all words (e.g. repeats at the end of verses), and with beats highlighted/bolded. I might change a phrase or two slightly so they fit in better.

If you'd like, I can create an additional copy with my voice as a scratch track.

I should be able to do it by my end-of-day on Saturday MDT, which would be available Sunday morning for you (GMT? IST?).

Let me know what you think.

I have uploaded the full-length version of the song here:
http://home.intranet.org/~mouse/creative/music/SO/

There is a "scratch" mp3 of me singing as an example (4.5MB).
There is a "singtest" wav file that has your part played by a MIDI instrument that is louder than everything else (12.3MB).

I'll create a corresponding version for Trot tomorrow morning.

What follows are the words. There are extremely minor changes (repeating the last line of each verse, one of which is not a complete repeat, plus adding a missed word "to"). Syllables on beat 1 or 4 (in 6/8, if you think of it in 2/2, then on the beats) are bolded. Syllables that have more than one note are italicized.

I Don't Want To Go There

But I don't want to go there, (T)
Ya got-ta go der, (CB)
But I want to go home, (T)
Ya can-na go 'om. (CB)
I want to stay with you, Cap'n Bill, (T)
Ya canna stay wit me, Trot, (CB)
I want to learn from you, Cap'n Bill, (T)
Ya can-na learn no mo' from me, ya can-na learn no mo' from me. (CB)

But I want to sail the seas, (T)
Ya'll not be sailin' yet, Trot. (CB)
But I want to fish, and catch a whale, (T)
Ya'll not be fishin' today, Trot. (CB)
But I want to run and catch the wind, (T)
The wind be ever'where ye be, (CB)
There's more to learn, and more to see, (T)
Dat be true, and dat be why yer leavin' me, yer leavin' me. (CB)

But, but, what will you do without me, Cap'n Bill? (T)
I be jus fine, Trot, (CB)
But, won't you miss me, Cap'n Bill? (T)
I be missin' ya a lot, Trot, (CB)
But what will all my friends say? (T)
Dey be awaitin' for ya, here. (CB)
But… I can't leave just yet, (T)
It be yer time, I'm willin' to bet, it be yer time, I'm willin' to bet. (CB)

Why? (T)
Cus it's dat way. (CB)
But why? (T)
Der's no more ta say, (CB)
Why? Why? Why? (T)
Ya'll know, my darlin', ya'll know someday. (CB)

I'll get the Trot voice artist lined up to record. We're expecting you to do the mix, pitch correction, reverb, etc., to make the result pretty.

Still a bunch of songs to go. What do you want to do next?

No problem Chris. I'm not much good with beats and notes, but now I have something to hear and follow, I'm OK. I'll have it for you in a day or two.

Ken, a couple of "production notes"

Here is what Martin wrote:
This song is integral to the story. For one, the audience learns Trot & Cap'n Bill's name, and the lyrics set up the story conflict. The song should convey the feelings between Trot (age 10 or 11) and Cap'n Bill (who obviously raised her), and her sadness and non-understanding of why she has to leave, and Cap'n Bill trying not to show his own sadness.

Here's one possibility for "playing" it. I can imagine that Captain Bill starts off pretty adamant with the slightly rough sailor voice, but has a hard time remaining adamant as the song goes on. In other words, he's an old softie! See also the notes below for Trot's part, and see if that gives you any ideas.


Martin's comments
"We're expecting you to do the mix, pitch correction, reverb, etc., to make the result pretty."

I've not done much mixing, but I can certainly try. For reverb, they are out on the open ocean, so that probably would not come into play much for their voices. However, I might be able to apply some to the instruments to see if that improves things. I see pitch correction is in Audacity, but I haven't used it yet. I have used the noise reduction in Audacity before. I can certainly experiment with all of that, but it might not be super-efficient. If there's anyone else that can give pointers, that could help. I can definitely give a semi-final version with the timings set in stone for animation, and then provide an "upgrade" later on.

Martin: "Still a bunch of songs to go. What do you want to do next?"

I'm not sure. I'm going to have a 3-week or so crunch coming up at work that will suck up my free time. I will have a look and pick one.

Trot's part
I have uploaded the full-length version of the song here:
http://home.intranet.org/~mouse/creative/music/SO/

There is a "scratch" mp3 of me singing as an example (4.5MB).
There is a "singtest" wav file that has your part played by a MIDI instrument that is louder than everything else (12.3MB).

See the song words in this post for where the beats are.

Some production notes:
The vocal is limited in range. I did this for two reasons ... first, Trot is a 10-11, and wouldn't have a wide range to sing. Second, since Captain Bill's part has a wider range, I wanted to be able to transpose the song to him and not have a big risk for Trot's part being able to be sung.

Don't be afraid to try something other than what I've done if you think it fits in with the character. "These are more guidelines than actual rules."

Trot's part gets slightly more complex as the verses go by. The first verse just has 4 notes, always descending. For following verses, there are more syllables in each line, and more flourishes. I think this can be viewed as Trot picking up on Captain Bill as the song progresses, showing that she does learn from Captain Bill.

In the second verse Trot is pie-in-the-sky, and in my scratch voice version, I tried to have a little fun with a couple of the phrases (e.g. catch a whale!). You can try this out and see if you can get it to work. If not, don't be afraid to just "sing it straight".

For the third verse, I think Trot moves to "desperation" phase, where she's running out of good ideas/excuses and throwing out anything she can think of. I put the extra "But..." right at the beginning of the verse to try to show she is putting extra thought into it. I sang the notes a little differently (i.e. I messed up) on "But what will all my friends say?" in the scratch part; you can do either way.

For the final chorus, Trot has given in, accepts her fate without really understanding it.

Hi Chris. I've uploaded it to the ftp as "Bill sings take 2". I hope you can get it easily from there.

I tried to follow your timing as best I could.

550-This file has been uploaded by an anonymous user. It has not
550 yet been approved for downloading by the site administrators.

Hey mouseman, have you been able to get Ken's recording yet? If not, I just tried this link and was able to download it through a web browser.
ftp://ftp.hash.com/SO/Audio/IDon'tWantToGoThereSong.zip

I hope you have it by now MM!

Hide that link Holmes! Nancy lurks around here!

LOL. She will give you no rest once she hears your lyrical voice Ken. I almost shot Pepsi through my nose when I listened Don't worry, I will have to record Krewl singing Greed. You can laugh at me then.

Oh happy day!

That was charming, just charming - so charming that I was charmed right off my chair in a fit of blubbity blub giggles...

Thanks Holmes - made my day.

(actually I hate to admit it, but it wasn't as awful as I was hoping - and it's way, way better than I'd ever be able to do...rats and double rats.)

Hi, I've got Ken's parts now, thanks! From the quick listen, it sounded really good. I didn't try to cut it up and mix it together with the rest of the music yet, since I've been either working late (for example, today - 8am until 9:45pm) and on weekends or meeting family/social obligations. I'm not 100% sure when I'll be able to free up some time, maybe a little over 1 week or so.

I played around a little with one of the other songs. I came up with 2 possibilities, but didn't record one and forgot it! Doh!

Well guys, we had Eve (Trot) and Heath (Pon) sing their respected songs. Both are zipped up and being uploaded to the FTP as I type. Eves mic input could have been a little louder, she did well though.
Heath...well...did the best he could.
Let me know how these work out.

Thanks, James! I see it there, I'll have to wait for Noel to do his magic so it can be downloaded anonymously.

I probably won't have time this week due to overtime to get it put together, but next week should be doable.

If you can't get the files via ftp.
Open up a web browser and download them that way.
ftp://ftp.hash.com/SO/Audio/

The file seemed to get "released" and I was able to download it. I hope to have some time this weekend or maybe Tuesday night (1 week from today) to focus on mixing it.

Myron gave me tons of great mixing advice, I can't wait to try it out!

I found another one, also written over a year ago...

I hesitated to upload this one, unless changed, I think it gets pretty annoying after the 2nd chorus, although it will be sung with different voices, which will add more 'sjeu'(dutch), judge yourselves.

Greetings from Holland,
Niels