Sans Forgetica

Bash This Recording
#1

I’ve cranked out (seems a good way to put it) several songs quite recently of various types, some more ambitious than this one, some not as refined as this one, but with this one I intrigue myself on different levels.

First, this is a very simple acoustic singer/songwriter type song, I suppose. You can probably tell immediately it is virtual guitar, or can you? I know one can go to fairly easy lengths to strengthen the illusion, but I often prefer to ‘play’ the virtual instrument and exploit its unadulterated sound, and I do that here.

Personally, I think the recording sounds good, and I like the arrangement, but how does it stand up against real instruments to real instrumentalists?

This is a tongue in cheek love song playing on a recent science news story about this new font that is scientifically designed to make what you read more memorable.

As a footnote, vocal effects are all Boz Digital and ReaFIR noise reduction.

Sans Forgetica

By Steve Bancroft

I type you this letter, love
In Sans Forgetica
To reinforce the importance of
The way I really feel for ya

It’s hard to read is by design
What takes some work stays in the mind
It’s science assisting the language of the heart
Imprinting my words in your memory from the start

And so I tell you now what you need to know
How I want you here, how you make me grow
Why it sounds so cliche whatever we say
But my heart does not lie or lead you astray

So I type you this letter, love
In Sans Forgetica
To reinforce the importance of
The way I really feel for ya

So don’t get hysterical
Over characters alphabetical
Or cross-eyed from numerical
As you’re forced to be methodical

It’s hard to read is by design
What takes some work stays in the mind
It’s science assisting the language of the heart
Imprinting my words in your memory from the start

#2

What a great subject!
The song has a bit of a Robert Wyatt vibe (Stay Tuned), which I really like.

#3

Funny and strange! The virtual guitar sounds more like a synth than a guitar. The guitar riff has a weird metric pattern, like it’s short one note every 4 bars or so? And the background another guitar is playing seemingly disjointed chords which somehow fit in. And your wavy voice is singing about Sans Forgetica like it’s a love potion… Very strange and quite wonderful :woozy_face:

#4

It’s hard to tell what you were going for here; to me it sounds like a sort of “experimental” piece? I’m not very good with genres. I can’t get a feel for the time signature, but that could just be me. I think that’s what’s throwing me off though. I’m not sure if I would have thought it was a virtual guitar right away unless you’d said something. Maybe later in the song when it didn’t change. I think you could get more feeling/dynamics out of the song if it were a live recorded performance.

I have to say that I really like this line:

An interesting idea! Kind of like how audiences enjoy having a little bit left for them to figure out themselves.

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#5

Hi Christina,
Bit off topic (sorry Steban) but this is something that I worry about: I have no idea if my lyrics are too straightforward and leave nothing for the imagination or the opposite: no-one has a clue what the hell I’m on about. I want people to basically get what I’m trying to say, but I also want them to relate it to their own experiences, and that means taking a slightly broader, less literate stance. I try, but have no idea how this comes across. Maybe a new thread: “what do you make of this”? is an idea? Are you willing to join in? (And of course any one else)?

#6

Yeah that sounds fun, like interpreting poetry.

#7

This is a cool song, the lyrics tell a great story! The virtual guitar sounds pretty good, but the timing of the guitar notes is a bit odd. Since its virtual guitar, I guess this is MIDI notes triggering the samples. I think the timing could be tweaked a little bit, but to some degree I find some appreciation of what I believe is called “syncopation” where an odd timing actually grabs the listeners ear. Changing up the guitar pattern in parts of the song might help too, it seems like the same pattern all the way through which emphasizes the unusual timing of the notes. It might help to do this with drums for timing, then remove them later if you want.

If that first low note, G if I’m correct, had more of a pause after it before the next notes, it might help. The pacing/timing of the music seems to rush a bit ahead of your vocals. The timing of your vocals always challenges me a bit, as they don’t “lock to the grid” and are very organic. That’s fine I think if it ebbs and flows in a hypnotic way. But I think its a little unsettling if they are always running a bit behind the music. Perhaps the tempo of the music could be slowed down just a bit to help the vocals sync in more?

Those little acoustic strums in the background are nice, though their timing is also a bit unpredictable, and the tone seems too high-passed. Having them mostly high end and chimey is fine, but let a little more ‘beef’ back into them if possible.

#8

Hi Steve, clever lyrics & a very unusual song structure.

I’d echo the comments above about the guitar line’s timing. In fact I think Stan is onto something with the timing in general.

There is already a lot of off-kilter stuff going on, so it’s nice to have something solid in the song’s timing to hang a hook on… A song is like a meal or a drink - too much tang or heat and it crosses the line from tasty and interesting to unpalatable.

Very interesting piece, though.

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#9

Thanks for the compliment on the subject matter, Temp! I have a habit of snagging ideas from the news. I just listened to Stay Tuned, quite melodious and intriguing, and I can see the general comparison.

I think the skip in the pattern might have been accidental at first, maybe I pasted or drew a note not on beat at some point, but I decided it was befitting the song topic. I was hoping to make the music a tiny bit off-putting to our sense of correctness like the font is supposed to do.

It sounds that way to me, too!

It is a pretty sound, and by not humanizing it I think I exposed its virtualness by the end.

I’m not positive the font really works, but that was their claim.

Lyrics are challenging, Evert. I admire the broad and catchy and obvious, but I find the faux wisdom and hidden meaning maybe more exciting. For me, alas, there is no one formula for success or failure. A topic worth discussing.

Thanks for all the input, my friend. Admittedly I’m kind of afraid to fix it too much, although I am curious what a more normalized version might sound like.

All so true, Andrew. I concede my problem is I tend to err to the off-kilter odd timing due to my limited abilities, and so I often am guilty of unintentional consequences. Allowing other cooks in the kitchen oftentimes makes for a tastier meal!

I’ll take all this into account and maybe incorporate some ideas, folks, but I will let it soak in a while before acting. No hurry! Meanwhile, I have other songs for Planet of Beautiful People I want to get back to soon, and thankfully I can apply these ideas to those songs too.

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