Just prior to Christmas I visited my pulmonary doc and she said things looked good, but the tests revealed that I now only have 27 percent of my lung capacity remaining - a significant decrease.

On NYE Carol and I were invited to bring in the New Year with some old school mates, about 8 of them. Wouldn't you know it, the only person in the room that had a bad cold decided she had to give that NYE kiss. Damned! Two days later I was running a fever, hacking my guts out and wondering if I would make it to the next day. After three weeks, the coughing still persist, and I cannot go without supplemental oxygen for more than 15 minutes.

Today, sitting in the office, I decided to see if I could still manage to squeak out a song or two. This song has always been among my favorites, but in order to perform it I had to crank up the mic gain a bit higher than normal. Hope you folks enjoy listening to it as much as I did recording it.

Here's my rendition of With You I'm Born Again This was a one shot take, no edits other than using Audacity to change it to an MP3 file format. It was recorded directly on my PSR-S950 using an onboard style. The mic is my aging Sennheiser E855 running through the Harmony-M and into the keyboard's line in.

Gary

keep them coming!

Gary...You are an Amazing Person You Always have been...Beautiful Song... As I listened to the Words It Makes Me realize how Blessed I am ...As You also believe Your Wife's true Love for You and Your Love for Her... I can Express the Same for My Wife...She is My Life as are My Children(two Sons)...You Give Me strength and willingness to be a better person each Day...Believe Me I'm always a work in progress, a lot of the time I have stop and Look at My Weakness and try to Improve...Thank You So much Gary...Harold

Gary, Nice job, got to give credit where it is due, for a guy who has only 27% lung capacity you’re doing great.

What style did you use for the tune?

Done in true Gary D style..don't stop just yet..

Favorites of mine too...the song AND the player. Been playing it almost every night since Billy Preston first recorded it.

All the best, bud!

R.

You still have "it" Gary... despite the lung capacity problem. Thanks for sharing. I play chess twice a week with a guy who suffers from COPD and wonder how you guys function as well as you do. Get better soon, Mr. Talent!

Gary, I expect to hear you playing at your own funeral, but let's put if off a few more years. Nice work my friend.

Gary

Thanks for reminding me a a great song I've forgotten. Keep on playing and singing and sharing with us. Get over that cold soon and have a shot of Jim Beam.

Thanks Donny, and I'm sorry we did not get together this fall, but maybe this winter you will find some time to mosey down below the Mason/Dixon Line.

Harold, I really appreciate you taking time to listen and those very kind words of encouragement.

Steve, I used the Romantic Ballad style, which came from an earlier model Yamaha Keyboard. It's a great style, and I think it came from my old PSR-740. If you wish, I can email it to you.

Sparky, thanks for the compliments, and every time I see your Avitar with you and your boxer, it brings back some fond memories of when we had a boxer many years ago. She was a wonderful dog and loved frolicking with my children.

Dave, thanks for listening, old friend. Unlike COPD, where a persons lungs no longer have any elasticity, I have asbestosis and pulmonary fibrosis, which makes the lungs like shoe leather that does not stretch. There is no getting better with this disease.

Captain Russ, it's always good to hear from you, both here on the forum and during our frequent phone conversations. If you get over this way when spring arrives, I hope to have the boat in the water by April 15th and I hope to sail until I no longer have the stamina to do so. You are always welcome aboard.

Don, you're not the first person to say that. You have been a major inspiration throughout these many years we have been friends, and I hope to hold off the Grim Reaper for at least another year. No way to determine when he'll be here for a visit, but when he does, I'll crank up the keyboard and sing Devil Went Down To Georgia.

Bill, thanks for listening old friend, and I'm pouring the Jim Beam Honey as soon as I hit the Submit Button for this post.

Thanks again everyone,

Gary

Gary, your the epitome of a real trooper. Rock on!

Thanks 124, for the compliments.

Gary

Gary , he's the best dog ever. Always by my side.

Great singing and playing Gary. You're one of my inspiration in facing life's challenges. Thank you for sharing.

Hey Gary, I really liked the song, I don't recall hearing it before, so it's new to me. Also I thought I'd let you know that I'm absolutely loving the Crown headset mic. I should've gotten one years ago!

Guitpic, Jim and Paul, glad you folks enjoyed my rendition. Paul, I was confident you would like the mic and it will serve you well for many years.

All the best,

Gary

Good job Gary, I could tell you had the gain up as there is a little feedback, but it's amazing you can do that with with 27% lung capacity ...
Be well

Thanks old friend, and I hope you are managing to stay warm up there in Little Old Roady. Heard you folks got lots of snow this past week. Brrrrrr!

Gary

Sorry to hear you're still having such problems Gary. Hang in there buddy.

Glad to see you are still playing music Gary, hope you feel better very soon.

Actually, our area got very little snow, then rain and temps dropped into single digits ... lots of ice around ... then it started to warm up ... we got lots of rain and wind today with temps in the 50s ... welcome to Southern New England !!!

This is a beautiful song and you performed it quite meaningfully.
I think that since you are now focused on a studio type of recording, you can take advantage of this type of technique. I mean, today at studio an artist does not record his part all at once. Each line can take a lot of takes. For this type of work I use Magix Samplitude. It’s easy to connect the PSR to a computer with an audio cable and to record instrumental parts and vocals separately. It’s also easy to make basic editings. .
Also, I use closed headphones to record the vocal. It eliminates the feedback noise.
I believe that it can be a useful tool for you. On the other hand, if the method you’re using now suits you better, it’s great too.

Thanks Kabinopus, for those kind words and helpful information.

Gary