Tag Archives: learning

The Disclosures – The Secret to Being Rich

The Secret to Being Rich CDs arrive

The Secret to Being Rich CDs arrive

Mixing and mastering has been completed by yours truly for the forthcoming The Disclosures CD, titled The Secret to Being Rich. This fantastic set of songs from the singing and guitar-playing duo of Chad Helminak and Christopher Morris will be hitting the stores on December 10, one week from today.

It’s been truly a pleasure to mix these incredible inventive songs, which are aimed at kids, and designed to help them grow up thinking about their finances in a smart way (all the while being quite silly and entertaining). I think this album has a lot of legs, and is highly recommended for any parents who have kids in the range of 4 to 10 years old. It could be a great asset to teachers of kindergarteners through fourth graders as well.

Adults will appreciate the catchy tunes, and kids will appreciate the entertainment, silliness, and humor of the CD.

Here’s the complete track listing:

  1. Money Moola Dinero Dough
  2. I Want, I Need
  3. Save!
  4. Won’t You Be My Money Buddy?
  5. The Tale of Kidd Silver, the Savviest Pirate to Ever Sail the Seas
  6. Thank My Piggy Bank
  7. Captain Smartmoney vs. Dr. Greedypants
  8. Spend, Save, Give
  9. Too Good To Be True
  10. The Secret to Being Rich

Follow The Disclosures on Facebook to stay informed about the latest from this fun duo.

Now that I’ve put the mixing and mastering on this album to bed, I’m looking for my next mixing project, so hit me up!

A primer for editing dance music

I was scouring the intertubes to see what is already out there for information about techniques for editing music for dance routines destined for competition. I came across an excellent PDF by a dance dad in Oregon named Jim Lambertson, aimed at other dance moms and dads, but really, it’s great for dance studio owners and dance teachers as well.

Here’s the page where you can download this 3-page PDF called Music for Dance Competitions. It’s a good read, and quick too. Here’s an excerpt:

Music Quality
Music quality isn’t scored at competitions because it isn’t considered to be a creative element of a dancer’s performance. This outlook is somewhat ironic because, as you will discover in this article, a great deal of creativity is needed to produce high quality dance music.

Why Quality is Important
If music quality isn’t judged at competitions, why should dancers be concerned about the quality of their dance music? Music quality is important because the dance music is part of a dancer’s overall presentation, and every dancer’s goal is to put forth the best possible presentation.
Although music is not explicitly judged, it can definitely influence scoring. Pops and clicks, muffled music and poor splices all serve to distract the judges and give the impression that a performance is somehow less than professional. In fact, the better the music quality, the more attention the dancer, rather than the music, will receive from the judges and audience.