Northern Lights

AJerkin_Progress

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Description

This my first serious attempt at getting to know GarageBand. It's a very relaxed tune that was made with the idea that maybe my daughter could figure skate to it.

After poking around Garageband for a few days I came across the vibes samples, which for some reason really caught my ear, so I just went with it. They just seemed to remind me of seeing the Aurora Borealis when I was way up in Minnesota with my wife and daughter. It was really amazing to see it the first time. It started as a little green "flame" then spread out all over the sky. It whipped back and forth , retreated and danced around a little then lashed back out again like big silk blanket above us. Then, just a quickly as it came.......... it was gone.

I hope maybe this song captures what it "sounded like" to SEE that.

Feel free to like it or laugh at it. Maybe you have something to add to it? I tried different drums but that always seemed to ruin the feel so I left them out. Sometimes less is more.............? I at least added a little human acoustic and very faint electric guitar at the end just to say I did.

Enjoy!

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Lyrics

"Cricket."

Song Stats

Hits: 378
Comments: 21
Fans: 5
Plays: 52
Downloads: 22
Votes: 1
Uploaded: Jul 09, 2009 - 03:43:21 AM
Last Updated: Jul 08, 2009 - 06:26:06 PM Last Played: Nov 15, 2009 - 12:14:06 PM

Song License

Creative Commons License:
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Song Actions

Keywords:

Ambient (613), Open Collaboration (7), relaxing (56)

Hardware:

MacBook Pro, Lake K-60 acoustic guitar, Krammer S-100 Striker electric guitar, Beer.

Software:

GarageBand

Comments

drakonis	drakonis said 136 days ago (July 9th, 2009)
	soft washes Welcome to Macjams, and GarageBand... fun places to be, although I envy you seeing the Aurora. Someday I'll see it too. Nice gentle washes of aural color, and I agree, it needs no drums. Sounds like you have a good handle on this mixing stuff already. ttfn, Drakonis Check out my latest song called Lullaby for the Inner Child

AJerkin_Progress

AJerkin_Progress said 136 days ago (July 9th, 2009)

Numero Uno!
Hey Drak! You're the very first person to comment on a song I've posted on Macjams! That sure does make me feel good to get your input. After listening to everybody on here and GIVING feedback, it feels kind of odd to GET feedback.........

I really do feel like Garageband was almost made FOR ME already. It's so easy to use after goofing around with all kinds of Windows based programs...... don't know why I waited so long to get a Mac??

I sure do hope you get to see the Aurora someday too. My view of it was only about as long as this song..... Thanks again for the comments my friend.

Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

T_Being_esq

T_Being_esq said 136 days ago (July 9th, 2009)

Northern Lights
Avery good first try, much better than mine. Nice blend of sounds, the vibes do sound good. Only thing is it is a bit short, you should develop it further. Build it a little to some sort of climax by adding layers, perhaps strings or brass and then return to your original quite passage at the end, as it does end a bit abruptly. Welcome to the world of Macjams.

Check out my latest song called I have Been Away (LIOLI, Late Entry)

AJerkin_Progress

AJerkin_Progress said 136 days ago (July 9th, 2009)

Thank You T!
Thanks for the comment T. I agree with you that it is a short song. I guess there are 2 reasons for this. I needed to make a song for my daughter that was almost exactly 2 minutes long so she could use it for a figure skating competition, and what I actually seen of the Aurora was really only as long as this song. I like your suggestions of strings and brass though. One song posted and I'm already looking at buying a Jampack or 2! I can't wait to dig into your songs.....

Thanks

Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

Parichayaka

Parichayaka said 136 days ago (July 9th, 2009)

welcome to MJ!
great combination of samples, merge beautifully. really like the sound you have with the vibraphone and acoustic guitar accents. could be much longer, as it does have an ambient quality to it and is very soothing. i've used a similar synth on Harvest, and the fact the you left out the drums, makes your track very evocative and mysterious, with a warm and positive vibe. will come back for more. hope you will keep posting music like this!

Check out my latest song called f12

AJerkin_Progress	AJerkin_Progress said 133 days ago (July 11th, 2009)
	Thanks Thanks for the really descriptive comment Parichayaka. I wish it was longer too. But I had a time constraint of 2 minutes....... I'll try to come up with a tune or 2 more like this. ............ I really liked listening to Harvest........ Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

Ex_Silentio	Ex_Silentio said 135 days ago (July 9th, 2009)
	No drums required I'm glad you left out the drums. No drummers play when the aurora is visible. The synth washes make it for me. Beautiful. Excellent production quality also. Check out my latest song called Loneliness Becomes Pandora (MJ Space Race 2009)

johnwhitehead	johnwhitehead said 135 days ago (July 9th, 2009)
	Light show Loved this... avery nice blend of synth and acoustinc textures. Like the little bit 'o dissonance creeping in at end. A very musical & listenable track. Welcome and keep 'em comin! Check out my latest song called I'm Pluggin' In

AJerkin_Progress	AJerkin_Progress said 133 days ago (July 12th, 2009)
	Thanks EX, That's a great way of putting it. I think the crickets in the background did a pretty good job keeping time anyway. Thanks for the kind words John. I actually had to look up the word dissonance though. :-) Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

ziti	ziti said 135 days ago (July 10th, 2009)
	nice welcome to mj i can see a nice skate routine to this.... aint garageband the bomb?? enjoyed this a lot best z Check out my latest song called All Smokey

AJerkin_Progress	AJerkin_Progress said 133 days ago (July 12th, 2009)
	Oh yes I'm totally addicted to it already ziti. Don't know why I waited so long to get a Mac!!!!!!! Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

Jarvoid

Jarvoid said 133 days ago (July 12th, 2009)

Welcome on in
to the lunaticland that is MacJams.This a great first post and I get why it is so precise in it's timing,but hey maybe you can develop it or do it again with some of the suggestions already made because it sounds like it wants to live.

Umm,why 'Cricket' and are we talking Jimminy or Two leg byes past the off stump ?

Check out my latest song called Witches in Texas-'Hallowe'en Challenge 2009'

AJerkin_Progress

AJerkin_Progress said 131 days ago (July 13th, 2009)

Stridulation! (I had to look it up!)
We're talkin' those little guys who rub their legs against there wings at night to make noise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_(insect)

I thought it would be nice to have some night time ambience in the background. It's kind of funny though. My one friend asked after listening, why it sounds like there's a fan blowing in the background . (?) He lives in the city so maybe he's never been out there in the middle of nowhere at night to hear nature.

MacJams sure is Lunaticland! So hard to decide what to listen to first! So hard to let your own "Little Baby Songs" finally out into the world! I do feel like the last 20 years of messing around with stupid Windows based programs has really made GarageBand that much easier for me. I can't wait to listen YOUR music Jar! Thanks for the comment.

Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

Ren-Tin-10	Ren-Tin-10 said 133 days ago (July 12th, 2009)
	Nice Track. And Welcome. Looking forward to hearing more. Fav'd. Cheers, Jim Check out my latest song called SR-71

AJerkin_Progress	AJerkin_Progress said 131 days ago (July 13th, 2009)
	Thanks Thank you Ren-Tin-10 Love the name! I think I may have some of your music on my iTunes already! Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

scaustrita	scaustrita said 131 days ago (July 13th, 2009)
	Nice! Great choice of loops. Nice airy sound. I can picture a figure skater using this song. Check out my latest song called Just Bumps in the Road

AJerkin_Progress	AJerkin_Progress said 124 days ago (July 20th, 2009)
	:-) Thanks for the kind words Steve! Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

lengold	lengold said 124 days ago (July 20th, 2009)
	Sweet sounds. Cheers Len Check out my latest song called Dodgy Doughnut

AJerkin_Progress	AJerkin_Progress said 120 days ago (July 24th, 2009)
	Thank YOU! Thanks Len. I appreciate you taking a listen. Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

VicDiesel	VicDiesel said 120 days ago (July 24th, 2009)
	tingly Very nice piece, and it conveys the northern lights very nicely. Of course, I haven't seen them myself, but my imagination bone is suitably tickled here. Ambient music is usually pretty long. Nothing under 6 minutes or so. You can easily stretch this piece a lot more. Give my alpha waves a chance to settle into it. Check out my latest song called Desert Stars

AJerkin_Progress

AJerkin_Progress said 120 days ago (July 24th, 2009)

You're Right....
Vic,

I think you're right that this could be longer. I might try to add to it in the future. I was on a strict 2 minute timeline for my daughters figure skating music though. BUT. It appears that she may not want to use it for skating (sigh) so I guess I'm free to stretch it out now. I wonder where it will go from here?! Thanks for taking the time to listen to it!

Check out my latest song called Music in a Small Dogs Head

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Artist Info

Name: Jim Wissemes

Just a Jerk....uh.... I mean WORK in Progress.... [see more]

Check out some of my other songs:

Genre Info

Ambient music is a loosely defined musical genre that incorporates elements of a number of different styles - including jazz, electronic music, new age, rock and roll, modern classical music, reggae, traditional, world and even noise.

More songs in Ambient:

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