On Golden Pond with the new Garritan Steinway

[DPDAN]

Hi folks,
I created this version of Dave Grusin's theme music
from the movie "On Golden Pond" (http://www.dankury.com/music/OnGoldenPond.mp3)
All instruments are Garritan.

Enjoy!

Dan

[DDW]

Stunning work, Dan!

Grusin writes beautiful stuff, and you're realization of this theme is absolutely "spot-on". Just gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

You've reinforced your status as "the master" once again with this! )(~)(~)(~)(~ ("attention to detail" ;))

Thanks for bringing this gem to the forum (bet you couldn't wait! :)). The Steinway sounds incredible, as everyone is now discovering thanks to you and the other demo guys.

Danny

P.S. Were the birdie parts written, or were they just winging it??? :D

[jmpaquette]

Dan -

You don't surprise me, but may I say that you often delight in unexpected ways?

Your renderings are always artistic . . . and yet there are often those very special pieces where your art shines even more brightly than usual. In this instance I'm dismissing the mixing/mastering because without the phrasings and articulations you chose the rest wouldn't matter. Truly masterfully performed.

"On Golden Pond" just set me back and relaxed me--"centered" me without my even thinking about "letting go." Thank you for a nice space.



Joe

[etLux]

Absolutely gorgeous job on this, Dan -- you've got
the golden touch on material like this, and the
Steinway just sings in your hands with it, my friend.

One of my all-time favorites, too, Dan. Thank you
for this one... I could listen to this all night long.

And maybe I will, too.

Always my best,



David
www.DavidSosnowski.com

[AlanPerkins]

Dan this is inspiring.

What else can I say?

I know:

Thank you!

[rpearl]

Beautifully done, Dan. As always, but needs saying, nonetheless: you are a master!

[Styxx]

)(~ Dan, your work always puts a smile on me face. Very nice! :)

Another testimony of how awesome GPO sounds at the hand of a master.

[Rhap2]

Absolutely awesome, Dan. Doesn't get much better than
this. Dave would be proud to hear this rendition of such
a beautiful arrangement and melody.

"When it's time to beautify sound, Dan's around."

Jack

[jovan]

What have they done to your ears, GPO friends?

Steinway sounds absolutely fastastic.

But why the hell do you blend such a great instrument with a low budget orchestra?
The sound of the orchestra is (regarding the quality) in this example milesstones away from the piano.

And this drops the whole piece down!

Sorry!

:-) Jovan

[jjloving]

this is absolutely beautiful. am I correct in that you aren't playing this live, but entering notes manually? I mean either way it's stunning, but if thsi is the case it makes it even that more so. wow.

incredible work, as always!

jon

[rolifer]

Dan

This sets the bar for all of us. I knew it was possible, just not quite within my reach yet.

A masterful job

Ron

[Pingu]

Wow!! I can't wait to get my hands on the Steinway.

Dan, if you get bored, could you do the opening of 'Meet Joe Black'

[trentpmcd]

Sounds great. A great example of the Steinway’s tone color. You do have a wonderful ear.

I looked through all the Garritan libraries and couldn’t find a Garritan loon call. The closest I got was a Garritan Forum loon, but that is a different story…

[Kinvint]

This is a superb rendering a beautiful piece of music. For many years, has it been in my collection. Dan is such a master with the tools and software! This sounds very real and your work with the GPO Steinway is outstanding.

My only 'niggles', if I may, are with the pitch bend/portamento on the violins right after the last harp gliss. They temporarily remove me from "the world" of the piece, and are very synthetic in their movement. That is not to say the finished product isn't wonderful. On the contrary; in fact, I often find, that when I hear a piece as well assembled and real-sounding as this, my ears become far more critical, picking up on even the slightest of oddities. I think it's due to an admiration of the work; I am enjoying listening to it so much, that I do not want to hear it falter even in the slightest. I am rooting for it to be perfect throughout. Does this make sense?

My other issue was with the bird samples. :D They seemed forced. Could just be me. I spend a lot of time with ambience, foley & ennvironmental sound FX in film and sometimes, I hear sounds so many times that nothing ever sounds real to me!

This really was a pleasure to listen to, Dan.

Thanks so much once again, for more of your wonderful work.

Paul

[DPDAN]

Danny, "were the birds wingin it?"
he he he
even your humor is clever,
you bet they were, me and the birds both :)
Thank you!

Joe, your articulation with words is so elegant,
I am humbled, thank you!

David, as always, thank you for listening with you ears and your heart!

Alan, you have such a calmness about you, I really like that.
Thank you for always posting such kind words.

Ron, Thanks for taking your time to post, these musical tools are getting better and better all the time. My best to you!

Mike, I made you smile, that makes me smile too!

Jack, you never fail to put me on a pedestal, I don't deserve to be there.
I am so grateful of your friendship!

Jovan, I don't do midi music for a living, well I have made some money with it. I have been a recording engineer practically my whole life, back in 2004 when I bought a Mac computer and Digital Performer to do my recording and mixing with, I then decided it was time to learn midi stuff.
It has been fun to finally be able to vent some of the music and emotion that is in my head, but only because of these tools. It is extremely satisfying for me to sit back and say, "wow!, little ol me did that."
Personally, I think the orchestra sounds real nice, far better than some I've heard in real life.

JJ, I picked this piano song out many years ago by ear from Dave Grusin's CD of some of his movie music. Although I only am able to play about the first 90 seconds or so (and not without mistakes) I enter chords at a time, and most of the time I enter notes one at a time to create the chord that Dave played. A very long and tedious process, but I know that's how I have to do music. Even though the process is painfully slow, it is still very satisfying to listen to when I am done... well, most of the time. :D
Thank you for such a nice post, and thanks for listening.

Rolifer/ Ron, you have been such a great member here on Northern Sounds.
I appreciate you taking the time to listen to this cool song written by Dave Grusin and posting your thoughts, thank you!

Pingu, I have not heard the theme from Meet Joe Black, where can I hear it?
If it is "up my alley" I would be happy to do a Garritan version for you just for fun. :) Thanks !!!

Trent, I downloaded those loons and birds after a google search for free sound effects. The sounds were all mono :( so I cut and pasted a bunch of them and made sure they were all out of sync with each other, that way, I could have them chirping in LIVING STEREOPHONIC SOUND :hp: Thanks for always listening and posting!

Paul, you are absolutely correct, the portamento, portamenti??? is overdone. I have gone overboard trying to make it sound real, you are so right, and I am going to redo it because it needs to be worked. I shall :)
Thank you.

To Dave Grusin if you are out there,,,,

what a gorgeous piece of music you wrote, and what an amazing gift you have!!!!!

Thank you everyone,
and thank you Gary Garritan, Tom Hopkins, Jeff Hurchalla and David Plogue for all your long hours and hard work.

Dan

[pianodoc]

Dan:

Absolutely stunning.

I am at a loss to know what to say about this. Your musicianship is astounding. This is absolutely lovely.

I really don't know what else I can say about this other than to thank you for posting this and allowing us to hear it.

Your friend,

David Mauney

[DPDAN]

Thank you David Friend! :)

[Pingu]

Sorry Dan, short of ripping the track and sending it to you (which isn't my style) I couldn't find any way to play you Meet Joe Black. There's a few seconds' preview in a couple of places:-

http://www.gomusic.ru/album.aspx?id=11831

http://www.amazon.com/Meet-Joe-Black-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B00000DHZU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1207175117&sr=8-2

Have a listen to what you can of the track 'Yes' which is just stunning.

The soundtrack is also around as a torrent, but, again, I couldn't be telling you that.

[DelCarry]

Dan - wonderful arranging, rendering and mixing job on this. I have always admired Dave's writing as well. The piano sounds great although I find most piano libraries do a fair job of the high end but tend to fall short (a bit muddy) in the low end. Lack of definition. It was hard to judge as most of your piece was in the upper end. What there was sure sounded good though.

Your recording abilities of course really help out here. Wish my DP sounded like yours!:(

Del

[DPDAN]

Thanks Pingu,

Del, I'm glad you like it too.
Thank you for posting such nice compliments!

Dan

[sunbird]

Dan,

A magical sound, wonderfully expressive, and I love the natural background of the birds' songs, especially the loon.
Thank you for creating and sharing this joy to the ears, heart and soul!

Yudit

[Larry G. Alexander]

What a wonderful, crisp sound. You did a magnificent job, Mr. Dan, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the music and the nature sounds.

Thanks for posting your fine rendering.

My best,

Larry

[LouisD]

A very pretty piece of music, beautifully arranged and performed. The piano is indeed awesome. Thank you.

[DPDAN]

Thank you Larry and Louis both for your support!
Dan

[Kinvint]

Pingu, I have not heard the theme from Meet Joe Black, where can I hear it?
If it is "up my alley" I would be happy to do a Garritan version for you just for fun. Thanks !!!
Dan

Dan,

I can post a link to the piece "Yes" from Meet Joe Black, by Thomas Newman; that is, if the forum permits it. I wouldn't want to be the cause of any copyright infringement lawsuits! However, I believe that, for non-commercial purposes (which this would be), there can be no consequences other than a 'take down notice', which has to be served twice before legal action can begin.

Let me know if you want me to upload the file.

Regards
Paul

[DPDAN]

thanks for the offer Paul,
I ordered the DVD of the movie,
I just realized, there may be a ton of other sounds covering that particular piece.

You have a PM.
Dan

[Kinvint]

Excellent! It is a GREAT movie!

Checking PMs now :)
Paul

[DeltaRomeo]

Beautiful, stunning. The rendering is indeed impressive!

You have done an impressive job


Dave

[germancomponist]

What a wonderful sounding with only the Garritan libs! )(~

Dan, as always, you did a so very good job here!

I have to agree with all the others here. This is absolutely excellent!

My best,

Gunther

[Jun Yamamoto]

"On Golden Pond" (http://www.dankury.com/music/OnGoldenPond.mp3)
All instruments are Garritan.


Wonderful! I immediately taking the file into my iPod!

With admiration,

[DPDAN]

Thank you Dave and Gunther,
I had a fun time making it.
It pleases me that it sounded good enough
to cause you to post your thoughts.

Jun, that really humbles me that you put it on your iPod.
You are always such a kind spirit here.

Thank you all alot!
Dan :)

[Pat Azzarello]

Nice job, Dan. I remember when I bought Grusin's Cinemagic - It was one of those pivotal moments for me as a musician...

[maticomp]

Stunning! Unbelievable really! I can't wait to get my hands on the new Steinway... it's sooooo good. I haven't for even a minute thought it would be that great, with all Akoustik Pianos and Ivorys around. Thanks Dan!

[schneb]

Dave Grusin would be pleased with this rendition. I have his Cinemagic album, and would love to hear how you would handle The Champ.

[Martin Taylor]

Outstanding. Crisp, serene, and blissful. The loon capped it.

Shihan.


Martin

[EricH]

Hi folks,
I created this version of Dave Grusin's theme music
from the movie "On Golden Pond" (http://www.dankury.com/music/OnGoldenPond.mp3)
All instruments are Garritan.


Wow, there's a Garritan Loons library? :D

Fantastic work - enjoyed it very much!

[DPDAN]

Nice job, Dan. I remember when I bought Grusin's Cinemagic - It was one of those pivotal moments for me as a musician...

Awesome! I remember too, except I was just an engineer then :)
Thank you so much for posting! Great to see you here too!

I can't wait to get my hands on the new Steinway... it's sooooo good. Thanks Dan!

maticomp, WOW thanks alot!
So glad you enjoyed it too.

I have his Cinemagic album, and would love to hear how you would handle The Champ.

OH MY WORD!
I cry when I think of that song. That movie was the most tear jerking thing I have ever seen. It is such an accurate depiction of what divorce can be like. The love between a father and son, and how the son looks up to his Dad.

Gosh :( Anyway, in the name of Dave Grusin, I am going to make a GPO/GOS version with the Steinway at your request.

I started it two hours ago and could not quit, but I have to get to bed.
So far I have the oboe, flute, clarinet, and bassoon roughed in. Here it is so far.

http://www.dankury.com/miscuploads/mostwoods.mp3

I will post the next version when I get the next chance to do some more. I am going to keep tabs here on this topic of just how long this "picking it out by ear" takes. (2 hours)
This will be fun!

Thanks for the request. :)

WOW Martin and and Eric,
thank you so much for listening and posting your kind thoughts!

Dan

[schneb]

Oh man, I can't wait. Already it is sounding great. Once it is done, will you do me the honor of sending me the MIDI file (if you have the ability to export, that is). If not, I understand. - Schneb

And yes, that movie made me cry as well. That Ricky Schroeder was some little actor! And he didn't stop there, for now he is a great character in the television series 24.

[DPDAN]

Schneb,
I will for sure email you the midi file.

Everything will be GPO except for the strings,
also, the Fender Rhodes electric piano will be from JABB.
And I am so happy to say that the piano will be the Garritan Steinway (http://garritan.com/steinway.html)!
Dan

[schneb]

Schneb,
I will for sure email you the midi file.

Fantastic. I'm curious, what are you using for strings?

[DPDAN]

how dumb of me,
they will be Garritan Orchestral Strings with a
Strad and Gofriller sprinkled in for extra shine :)

I will have some more done later tonight.
Dan

[DPDAN]

another 3 hours and 45 minutes to do the brass and finish the woods.

here's the next session. Of course nothing is panned so each instrument is still mono, no reverb EQ or anything except some fader automation to keep things somewhat tame. Still extremely rough sounding, but I can hear it getting there. Next I am dying to do the strings, so I will do that next. After that the harp, then Fender Rhodes, and finally the PIANO!!!! YES!

http://www.dankury.com/miscuploads/woodsandbrass.mp3

Dan

[steve martin]

Hi Dan,

what a beautiful rendition of this music.)(~ I must say that you are truly a master of mixing - a genius actually. And all of these Garritan Steinway demo's are truly breathtaking. I am seriously considering buying this with every new demo I hear!

Thank you again for all the work that went into this demo. When I heard it, it was like everything stood still. That's what a great performance does for you!


thank you,

Steve:).

[schneb]

I feel like Antonio Salieri sitting at the foot of Mozart's bed dictating the notes and listening to each section as it is being developed.

"Yes, yes? the brass section for The Champ... go on... I'm not tired in the least!"

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0086879/961.jpg

[DPDAN]

Steve Martin, you sure do know how to pump up a person's self esteem!
I wish you knew how much I treasure your words.

Schneb, I am no Mozart. :) I promised I would continue the theme from "The Champ" by Dave Grusin, so here is the

woods, brass and strings session. (http://www.dankury.com/miscuploads/woodsbrassandstrings.mp3)

No solo strings have been added yet, but the piece is getting to the point now where I need to hear some reverb, so I set the panning of the instruments quickly, and slapped an Altiverb reverb on the master.

There are (of course) sections that sound very naked it is those sections where the featured instrument (piano) plays the melody lines accompanied by a harp.

Lots of notes are sloppy time wise with regard to entrances and cutoffs, but
that will get taken care of mostly in the fluffing and buffing before the final mix.

Tonights session was 4.5 hours to do the strings and correct some harmonies in the horns. I gotta remember to add that trumpet.

Have fun!
Dan

[schneb]

And I'm no Salieri either. ;)

[DPDAN]

And I'm no Salieri either. ;)

HA HA HA HA

[DPDAN]

I am calling it done. It has some issues, but I need to be done with it.
It's not like me to stop before it is as good as it can get, but I need to quit.

What a great song Dave Grusin wrote when he wrote this for the movie
The Champ (http://www.dankury.com/miscuploads/TheChamp.mp3)
starring Ricky Schroeder and Jon Voit.

Thanks Schneb for having me do this one.
So,.... seven hours today picking out the harp and piano and mixing.

All together a total of 17 hours, not as bad as I thought.
Enjoy!
Dan

[Rhap2]

Can't get much better than that DPDan. WOW, that was
an emotional trip, theme and orchestration.

Awesome engineering, Dan.

BRAVO, )(~ )(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~)(~

Jack

[schneb]

Fan-flippin-tastic! As I was listening, I pictured in my memory T.J. (Rick Schroder) weeping over his father (Jon Voight) not to die and leave him.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=04aot7Gq1MI

Oh my, what emotion this orchestration brings out--and you exercised it masterfully!

Please send me the MIDI via my email address which can be found at my Web site, if you would be so kind. I would love to see how I could mix it.
http://www.schneblin.com

What I love about your taking time to doi this is that this is one of my favorite pieces, and I have only had ONE rendition of it. Which is fine, seeing that it is extremely well done on the Cinemagic album. But now I can have another that has, say, a little more emphasis on the Oboe, or another with more on the Piano. This is one of the main reasons I bought GPO. Also, this will be a great learning tool for my kids to teach them how different instruments evoke different responses and how they work together to form an orchestration. This song will be perfect for that! Thank you!

[DPDAN]

Thank you Jack very much!
It was fun making it.

Rick, I am glad you can get some good
educational use from the midi file.

Dan :)

[germancomponist]

I am calling it done. It has some issues, but I need to be done with it.
It's not like me to stop before it is as good as it can get, but I need to quit.

What a great song Dave Grusin wrote when he wrote this for the movie
The Champ (http://www.dankury.com/miscuploads/TheChamp.mp3)
starring Ricky Schroeder and Jon Voit.

Thanks Schneb for having me do this one.
So,.... seven hours today picking out the harp and piano and mixing.

All together a total of 17 hours, not as bad as I thought.
Enjoy!
Dan

WOW!

Dan, as always when I listen to a work from you I have only to say: It`s
greaaaaaaat! Well done my friend!

My best,

Gunther

[DPDAN]

how nice of you,
thank you Gunther!

Dan

[efiebke]

Dan. . . Dan. . . Dan. . .

I didn't know that bird wildlife sounds were included in any of the Garritan libraries! :confused: :confused: LOL! :D

This is very beautiful and makes for a WONDERFUL representation of the Garritan Steinway! I plan on purchasing this "bad boy" later on this year (once some of the bills and April's taxes are paid ~| LOL).

I'm another "Dan Fan!" :D I learn so much when listening to your music, especially in the whole area of sound engineering. Great work, Dan, and thank you for sharing! :)

Ted

[DPDAN]

awe ;)
thank you TED!!!
Dan :)

[sosmus]

Dan:

Words are cheap.
Your arrangement (and orchestration) is priceless!

Steve

[DPDAN]

Thank you Steve!
I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

Dan :)

[Sleutelbos]

I agree with an earlier poster about the orchestra not being as good as the piano but what you're gonna do about it? Sell your house and rent a real one? It might not be the real thing yet but I think we should feel very lucky that we have what we do. And if people like Dan keep on pushing the limits with these libraries then you won't hear me complain. I enjoyed listening to it very much, and that's what it's all about in the end I guess.

[jovan]

I agree with an earlier poster about the orchestra not being as good as the piano but what you're gonna do about it? Sell your house and rent a real one?

In this case I prefer sittting in the virtual house only in the "piano room" - listening to the piano solo and waiting for the next release of GPO.

Jovan

[DPDAN]

I enjoyed listening to it very much, and that's what it's all about in the end I guess.

Hi Sleutelbos, I too am very pleased to have the tools at our disposal. I am 52 years of age and have been a recording engineer all my life, but have never been able to express anything musically except by mixing of other people's music. I had just three months of piano lessons when I was seven and the rest was self taught. I can play a few things on piano by ear but that's about it. I hunt and peck, but it is good enough to make midi recordings with, thanks to editing.

It is because of these sounds that I can at least make something that brings me some joy, musically. There is hardly anything better than hearing a professional orchestra play their instruments with impeccable accuracy under the direction of a fantasticly "gifted" maestro.

These libraries that are available today can come very close to the "real thing", and can even sometimes fool the very best ears, BUT, they will not in my lifetime replace real people and their instruments.
Thanks for listening and posting,

Dan

[DPDAN]

In this case I prefer sittting in the virtual house only in the "piano room" - listening to the piano solo and waiting for the next release of GPO.

Jovan


Ha Ha Ha, like many, I too am eagerly waiting to see what GPOA is going to bring to our palette.

Thanks Jovan!
Dan :hp: