Welcome to the intoxicating world of GarageBand and
MacJams :-) I thought you did a good job of blending
those loops into a piece that ebbs and flows. You also did
well at chopping them up and sprinkling them around for
more variety. Nicely listen-to-able ambience. One quick
suggestion, I thought the percussion/shaker at the end of
the piece was a little out of place, I'd have preferred the
piano and maybe some long string chords play their last
and end, without the percussion coming in at the end.
Hopefully others will jump in with their own opinions as
well, and I hope these are helpful observations.
ttfn,
Drakonis

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Only in California do we have such unimaginitively
redundant place names like "Ocean Beach"... I almost
recognize those waves, but there's no pier... I forgot to
ask, is this named after THE Ocean Beach in my native
Southern California, or just any old ocean's beach? Just
curious.
ttfn,
Drakonis

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Funny, I am in SoCal as well, but this particular Ocean Beach (picture and song) refers to the one in San Francisco, where I lived for four years. Like you I always found the name silly. How about Road Street, or Grass Park? Thanks (and to everyone else as well) for the comments. I was having major trouble finishing the thing so the ending is for sure a little tacked on.

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Overall a pleasant ambience although the piano / drum
rhythm at the outset felt a little disjointed. Other than
that, I thought the changes flowed well and the
arrangement was good.

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than most first loop songs here. I have no suggestions
others have not already given. Welcome to MacJams.

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It didn't sound like loops at all for the most
part...especially the guitar ( or was that real?) and the
piano. Nicely done...well mixed and nice changes.

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Much better integrated than most loop compositions here.

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As I...also lived near Ocean Beach in SF & in Ocean Beach
in SoCal.

Looking for my next...OB



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As I...also lived near Ocean Beach in SF & in Ocean Beach
in SoCal.

Looking for my next...OB



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even tho it's just loops, the way that you assembled them
shows off your background as a musician, i think. great
'performance'

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Moody and reflective. Nice work. I like the acoustic guitar
licks near the beginning. The drums come in a little
gradually -- well done. Seques between "thoughts" are
well-executed.

The elementary school where I teach has a large number
of HI students, so I am accustomed to having an
interpreter in my room. I almost always wear a mic when I
teach, because so many classes have 2 or 3 HI students.
So I have learned to find ways to help them out. I am
putting on a concert with my 2nd-graders this next week,
and I just finished getting a demo CD and complete lyric
sheet to my interpreters team. It was time-consuming,
but it's got to be done, if the interpreters are to have
something to work with ahead of time.

Nice track, Magritte.

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Thanks, all, for the kind words. I put this together before I found MacJams and learned that "loopy" songs are often frowned upon, so it's really nice to hear that you enjoyed this one. It's given me the impetus to move past loops-based songs and try some real composing.

John, all interpreters should be so lucky as to work with people who prepare them as well as you have! That is pretty much a dream for us.

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this was a great mix. i think the only reason it got such a low rating
was because it was made using loops... but it was very cool

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Hey, this is really pretty! Loved the chord changes, and the whole 'flow'!

Love, Jen

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Your ear for music is amazing. I have GB and have heard most of these loops but I could never arrange them in such an expressive way...Loving your style.....

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I like this, I am not a trained musician I just play things by ear. (well somethimes I use my fingers as well). II do find this whole loops debate interesting. The way I see it is like this, It's what you do with the loop in a creative way that counts.

This song is creative. Surely It's what you create that counts! - What comes from the heart & mind.

Well done - I love it!


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I like this, I am not a trained musician I just play things by ear. (well somethimes I use my fingers as well). II do find this whole loops debate interesting. The way I see it is like this, It's what you do with the loop in a creative way that counts.

This song is creative. Surely It's what you create that counts! - What comes from the heart & mind.

Well done - I love it!


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I like this, I am not a trained musician I just play things by ear. (well somethimes I use my fingers as well). II do find this whole loops debate interesting. The way I see it is like this, It's what you do with the loop in a creative way that counts.

This song is creative. Surely It's what you create that counts! - What comes from the heart & mind.

Well done - I love it!


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Must've taken a lot of labor to build such a refined work with LOOPS. And look st your song list now.

I like it because it reminds me of home, "Ocean Beach, San Diego's best kept secret"

Thanks for sharing. I did check out your blog. Now THERE is a lot of work.

-steve

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Magritte, you've used those loops very tastefully. I did a song with mostly loops and it came out nowhere near as well organized as this piece. The mix sounds great and I really have no suggestions on that. Composition wise, the song reminds me of someone who's trying to overcome some seemingly impossible obstacle and, in the end, succeeds, but not without a few pitfalls along the way. Speaking of the ending, I kept wanting to hear a reverse piano note for the finish instead of drums, like at the end of Bela Fleck's song "UFO Tofu." But that's just my ear. This is a great use of loops and I hope to hear more music like this as I listen to your other compositions.

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