Audio Editing Tips
When editing, cutting or mixing music yourself, don't let the audio degrade. Be careful when you do audio editing. Sometimes I get requests to fix or clean already-edited songs, and when I hear the edit supplied, it sounds like a bunch of squirrels have gotten in and trenched
Audio Editing Tips
There are many reasons why it's a bad idea to extract audio from YouTube. It's illegal. Even pristine audio is somewhat degraded since YouTube uses mp3 encoding of any audio submitted. In many cases, it's an mp3 of an mp3 of an mp3..... and
Audio Editing Tips
A recent comment on a dance facebook group asked for some further explanation on the differences between CD-quality audio (lossless or uncompressed) and mp3-quality (lossy or compressed) audio. I thought I'd share my explanation on the subject here. Because mp3s were created when the internet was new, and
Audio Editing Tips
Definition of Button, from a Broadway Glossary: Button: The payoff moment in a song; the moment when the song is "buttoned up" and finished. On Broadway, music composers know that nearly all of the time, they need to deliver a button on their songs.... that point in the
Audio Editing Tips
Competition season for dancers is here in earnest. This past weekend featured two studios utilizing Squirrel Trench music for their routines at the same competition (27 routines!). We're thrilled to report a slew of 1st Places, Platinum, High Golds and Overalls were garned by these dedicated and hardworking
Audio Editing Tips
Just finished bringing up the volume of another movie soundtrack song (based on a Broadway show tune) for a dance teacher in Tennessee. We can raise the volume (without distortion) of any tracks that are playing too quietly compared to commercial releases today. This service is quite different than simply
Audio Editing Tips
Most group music is probably now finished for the season. Perhaps a few solos still need to be created. In any case, with the bulk of the primary music editing season behind us, now is a great time to fix any glitches that might exist in the music you are
Audio Editing Tips
Here's a tip that will make all of your music edits (or cuts) much, much easier. I just got an emergency assignment to edit a popular remix/dubstep song down to the routine length of 2:30. The dance teacher just couldn't make it happen. This
Audio Editing Tips
I realize that there are many people coming to this site who may not be aware of what can be done to music to get it into shape for a dance routine. So here are just a few of the things that can be changed or re-shaped in getting a
Audio Editing Tips
For those of you who make, create, remix, cut, or edit music for dance competition, there is NO worse feeling in the world than watching your dancers get announced, take their opening position, and then..... nothing. Silence. The competition emcee then asks the dancer to leave the stage while the
Audio Editing Tips
Have you ever had this experience? You are at the dance competition and the CD with your competition music won't play. The judges ask you for a backup CD, you give it to them, and it also won't play. You look at the underside of your
Audio Editing Tips
If you edit, cut or remix music for dance, gymnastics, figure skaters, vocalists or any other purpose, this is perhaps the most important article you can read on the subject. What's the Plan, Stan? Most music has a structure... a road map that that takes the listener on