Tag Archives: studio

Welcome Dance Studio Life readers

I am pleased to welcome readers of Rhee Gold’s fabulous magazine Dance Studio Life. If you opened up to the inside back page (the Dance bag) section, you may have seen Squirrel Trench’s very first print ad, reproduced here.

Welcome and thank you for taking the time to find this web site! Squirrel Trench Audio has been serving dance studios in North America and worldwide since 2011. (more background here.) We create lyrically cleaned-edits and edits crafted specifically for choreography, of your favorite songs, as well as custom mixes for dance studios, pom teams, gymnasts, figure skaters, fitness competitors, pole athletes, and vocal competitors.

We have an archive of more than 1,000 song edits and remixes, of which 400 are listed here: Squirrel Trench Archives.

We also take custom edit and mix requests; however, due to popularity, we currently have a large backlog of music work. Requests from the archives are fulfilled immediately however. For more information, please email me: morriss@squirreltrenchaudio.com.

 

Edited songs for your dance recital

It’s that time of year again; time to select music for your dance studio’s recital. The good news is that Squirrel Trench is here to save you the time and frustration of aligning waveforms. Instead, browse the Squirrel Trench Audio archives of clean edits and remixes. Every edit and remix is created with recording-studio standards of quality, optimized for choreography. The archive now shows about 400 out of a total of more than 1,000. Special consideration if you’re interested in more than one song:
Squirrel Trench Audio archives

Installation of acoustic foam can lead to death

This type of foam can turn deadly in the event of fire.

I was reminded today of a very somber and deadly episode of club music history. The fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island on February 20th, 2003, killed 100 people. While certainly the lack of a sprinkler system contributed to these deaths, equally contributory, or perhaps even more so, was the MISTAKEN NOTION THAT ACOUSTIC FOAM IS A SOUNDPROOFING MATERIAL.

FOAM IS NOT A SOUNDPROOFING MATERIAL.

It does not prevent sound from transmitting. Not even a little bit.

In a misguided attempt to soundproof the club so that the high volume of music inside would not reach the neighbors, the owners of The Station installed a polyurethane substance that they thought was acoustic foam. (A kind of black foam that is commonly referred to as egg-crate style.) Not only does this type of foam NOT even do ANYTHING to reduce sound, it is flammable, and also emits thick, toxic smoke when set on fire. Polyurethane foam is a packing material, not a soundproofing material.

As someone who has studied and done research on materials that affect acoustics, it angers me that most reporting of the incident describe the polyurethane foam on the walls as a “soundproofing material”. This type of material does NOT function as soundproofing.

That night at The Station nightclub, outdoor pyrotechnics were used indoors, and the sparks emitted ignited the polyurethane foam on the walls near the band. If the foam had not been placed on the wall, there is a chance that the structure might not have caught fire. But with the flammable foam on the walls, not only did it ignite, it filled the entire space with deadly, blinding, and asphyxiating smoke in LESS THAN TWO MINUTES. Here is the Fire Safety Institute’s re-creation of what happened that night. Notice that visibility is near-zero at only 1:30 (90 seconds) after ignition:

With only two exits and black smoke filling the venue rapidly, many people were unable to escape and perished. If the polyurethane foam had not been placed on the walls of the nightclub, there may not have been any fatalities as the space might not have filled with smoke so rapidly. A working sprinkler system would have also delayed the onset of the debilitating smoke.

NEVER USE FOAM to try to sound proof or absorb sound. Period.

Rock wool is a completely inert material

In contrast to “acoustic” foam, rock wool (also known as mineral wool) is naturally inert. (Fiberglass insulation is also naturally inert). Rock wool can withstand a blow torch for more than three minutes and will not ignite. Rock wool is found in the U.S. under the trade name Roxul. Watch this video for proof that a blow torch applied directly for three minutes will not ignite Roxul, and after that much heat is directly applied, the wood behind it is barely warm:

Elsewhere on this web site, I explain how you can make 2′ x 4′ broadband acoustic absorbers using Roxul, fabric and furring strips. For even better flame retardation when making Roxul sound absorbers, use flame retardant fabrics.

Use inert Roxul for sound absorption. 

Never use foam. If you want to reduce echoes and sound ambience in a space such as dance studio, recording studio, or music club, use Roxul as the primary material. Also make sure that a sprinkler system is in place and working.

It is tragic, but there have been several similar fires in music clubs in other parts of the world and the U.S. since The Station tragedy. For all readers of this article, please take heed and use the proper materials to ensure the safety of the people who use your building and spaces. Never, ever put “acoustic” foam on the walls, ceiling or floor of an interior space. Only use rock wool (or fiberglass) insulation.

If you currently have acoustic foam or fabric in your interior space, I urge you to remove it as soon as humanly possible. It is a dangerous fire hazard that could result in loss of life in the event of a fire. If you want to absorb sound, use absorbers made of rock wool. They are relatively easy to build and inexpensive to boot.

Legitmix has shut down; Squirrel Trench continues

It is with great sadness that the music web site Legitmix has ceased operations. Squirrel Trench Audio had a terrific two-year relationship with that company. We hope all of the fine professionals working there have a very productive future ahead of them.

In the meantime, Squirrel Trench Audio will continue to supply you with the clean song edits and remixes that you have come to expect and love. We are still in business, and have been fulfilling dozens upon dozens of orders directly. We are working to find alternatives ways to present you with our catalog of clean edits and remixes, which at this point may be well over 1,000 edits and remixes.

I have begun work on a Google Spreadsheet listing just a few of the clean song edits and mixes created. As always, all music prepared by Squirrel Trench Audio is designed expressly for the needs of choreographers and dancers, and is musically seamless.

View the Google Spreadsheet of completed clean song edits and mixes here.

Importing songs from iTunes into Audacity

audacity imageFor dance teachers who need to edit their songs for length, it’s not always clear how to get songs from iTunes into Audacity. There are several ways you can do it:

  • You can drag-and-drop the song file from where it’s located in your iTunes folder onto the Audacity program icon.
  • You can choose File -> Import and then select the song you want to edit
  • You can drag-and-drop the song file icon from where it’s located in your iTunes folder straight onto the open blank Audacity edit window.

If you haven’t done so before, you will also need to download and enable the FFmpeg import/export library in order to convert the m4a file. There is no cost to do so, and it can be done quickly and easily by going to Preferences -> Libraries and clicking “Download” under the FFmpeg library listing.

If you want to export your edit as an MP3 file, you will have to download and enable the MP3 library, which can be done from the same place as mentioned in the previous paragraph, namely Preferences -> Libraries, and then click Download under the MP3 library option.

For more information, check out this Audacity Importing help page.

If you want to save the time and hassle of editing songs yourself, be sure to check out the Squirrel Trench Audio library of more than 300 edited songs and remixes (almost all of which have been cleaned of objectionable lyrics), ready for purchase and instant download on Legitmix. Below is a small sampling of what is available. Click through to the Squirrel Trench catalog on Legitmix to see more selections:

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

How to avoid taking a financial loss on music at your dance studio

piano keyboard money billsMusic is a part of every dance studio. Music is used in just about every dance routine. Therefore, it’s important to have a good understanding of the costs of music in your studio, and how to charge appropriately for it, so that you don’t take a loss on your studio’s music expenses.

There are two major expense areas associated with music in the dance studio, Performing Rights Organizations (PROs) licensing fees, and music editing and remixing costs. In addition to these two costs, there are potentially other expenses if you have a competitive studio and audio CDs must be created for competitions. Also, if students expect to receive rehearsal CDs, there is a cost associated with that as well. However, for this article, I will ignore CD-creation costs since today there are online options for sharing music privately with students, and many competitions accept music uploads or submission via iPod or flashdrive.

To find out dance studio’s Performing Rights Organization costs, I contacted the two primary PROs in North America, ASCAP and BMI, and found their published annual fees for different sized dance studios. (Size is determined by total number of students.) I ignored SESAC licensing fees since the number of music artists they represent is a very small fraction of the other two major music PROs, and many dance studios don’t use any music represented by SESAC.

This leaves us with the last major expense in music for a studio; editing or remixing music to optimize it for dance routines. No matter what avenue you use to get your dance studio’s music edited or remixed, whether it’s done yourself, left up to each dance teacher, or if you hire a professional, there is a value associated with music editing that should never be absorbed by the studio nor the choreographer. In my experience, $29 is an average value for editing a song optimally for dance routines. In addition to editing a song, many popular songs today need to be cleaned of inappropriate lyrics, which requires skill and time to do. Also, competitive studios may benefit from having unique remixes created for group routines, especially high-calibre or “elite” teams. These unique remixes can be created at an average price of $99.

I have prepared a spreadsheet, below, showing the total music costs using average studio sizes shared by members of the Facebook group, Dance Teachers’ Network. I have divided the spreadsheet up into three typical studio sizes; a smaller studio with 130 recreational students and no company students; a medium studio with 352 students of which 77 are competitive; and a large studio with 690 students of which 115 compete.

Dance studio music financials 2015

The important thing to note is that in order not to have a loss on the studio’s music costs, these example studios charge a modest annual music fee per student. For many studios, $19 per student will cover all music expenses, and create positive cash flow for the studio, an extra $800 for the small studio example. However, each studio is unique, and will have a slightly different cost structure. After analysis, you may discover that you have a high number of routines per student (such as the Medium-sized studio in this example), and if that’s the case, the annual music fee you charge might have to be $24 or $29 per year in order not to take a loss.

Bear in mind that every studio is different in its approach, in terms of number of students and number of routines performed, and therefore the annual music fee needed to result in a profit and not a loss for each studio is different as well. The important thing is to run the numbers for YOUR studio, so that you come out ahead, or at the very least, break even. (It’s best to build in a small profit cushion to guard against unexpected expenses that always seem to crop up.)

If your studio has never charged an annual music fee before, you may have some dance parents question this new charge (even if it’s pretty small). Keep your explanation simple and straightforward; that this small annual fee covers all of their student’s dance music expenses for the year, including obtaining the license to use the music in their routines from the relevant Performing Rights Organizations, as well as all editing and remixing costs.

Alternatively, in your studio’s market, it just may not be feasible to have an annual music fee to be competitive with other studios in your area. If that’s the case, the music fee of approximately $19 could be added to your regular annual registration fee.

In the spreadsheet above, I have shown two different options (out of many) that a studio could choose in order to create positive revenue associated with the studio’s music. In Plan A of the spreadsheet, the same annual music fee is charged to both Recreational and Company students. However, it’s reasonable to charge Company students a slightly higher music fee since they often perform in more routines, especially solos, or in elite groups which have more expensive custom remixes. Therefore, in Plan B of the spreadsheet, I show the studio’s net music profit if Company students are charged an additional $10 over what Recreational students are charged.

In all cases, this spreadsheet shows how smart dance studios cover their music costs (and even have a few dollars left over). Conversely, studios that don’t charge an annual music fee wind up having to absorb their music expenses from other studio revenue.

If you are a dance studio owner, and have any questions about properly handling music income and expenses for your studio, please feel free to send me an email at morriss@squirreltrenchaudio.com. I’d be happy to provide you with a modification to this spreadsheet using your studio’s exact number of students and routines.

As always, if you have music editing or remixing that you’d like to have done flawlessly and professionally, please email me, visit my Legitmix library, or use this online Request Form.

Happy dancing!

Hot Hot Hot New Dance Music – Uptown Funk!

markronsonbrunomarsvideograb600Bruno Mars is the lead singer on Mark Ronson’s new, ultra-funky song, Uptown Funk. The groove is MASSIVE, and will get you up and dancing with its infectious beat. The only problem with this song, from a dance teacher’s point of view, is that it’s long (4:30), and there are lyrics inappropriate for dance students throughout. (As example, the background singers sing “hot damn” through the verses.) There are some other inappropriate lyrics sprinkled throughout as well.

Good news for dance teachers, Squirrel Trench Audio has been hard at work, editing the song into FOUR different lengths to get you exactly the right length for your students! The four timings are 2:45, 2:32, 2:16, and 1:59. And in all four versions, the lyrics have been CLEANED, so that there is no objectionable content in it.

This song is SO hot, it should come with a warning label:
Warning: Uptown Funk is so hot that multiple playbacks on your stereo system could cause dancers to lose control and overheat.

What are you waiting for? Click on one of the players below to get your clean copy of Uptown Funk to use in your next dance routine!

Get more Squirrel Trench remixes at Legitmix

Congrats to Joleen’s Starz of the South

Starz of the SouthA huge congratulations to Joleen’s Starz of the South studio who took home some serious hardware from the NYLA Dance Nationals in Biloxi Mississippi from June 12-15. “Music of the Night” featured a five-minute-plus Squirrel Trench-mixed soundtrack for this production number. In addition to Music of the Night, Starz of the South won in many other categories with routines featuring Squirrel Trench edited and mixed music, including Oceans, a Baseball-themed mix, My Flawz, Egyptian Style, Dirty Laundry, and Crazy in Love. Three additional special numbers were: a remix of Lady Gaga’s Applause, a moving 9-11 tribute, and a NYC street drumming scene. Here are the complete results from Starz of the South’s Nationals.

Here’s what studio owner Joleen had to say:

“We absolutely loved all of our music you created for us. 🙂 Music of the Night won an overall highest scoring group/production and 1st place at Nationals. All of our music sounded amazing and we received great judges comments on all of our mixes and cuts. Thanks again!”

– Joleen Sanders, studio owner
Starz of the South, Vancleave MS,
July 5, 2014

True dedication: The dancers of Bethel, Alaska

Bethel Alaska aerial viewIn the online world, vast distances can be spanned with a single email. Thanks to the internet, working from Western Massachusetts, I have edited and remixed songs for dancers, not only all over the United States, but also in Australia and Canada.

So it wasn’t too big of a surprise when I got a music remix request from a repeat client who lives in Bethel, Alaska last week. When Delilah Hodge contacted me last year, I noted that she was in Alaska, but didn’t really think much further about it. But when she emailed me for a couple of new songs to be edited and remixed, I was a little bit more curious since my brother and his wife live in Fairbanks, Alaska. Not being completely familiar with the state, I searched on Google Maps to find out how far of a drive it is from Bethel to Fairbanks. You would think that that is a reasonable request to ask of Google Maps, but there is only one hitch…. you can’t! There are no roads from Bethel to Fairbanks, nor from Bethel to anywhere else. The only way in or out of the town is via river or air.

So this got me curious…. what is life in Bethel like? And even more interestingly, what is DANCE in Bethel like? I mean, how many dance students can there be in a town of 6,000 people, where the people are probably outnumbered by moose, and surrounded by miles upon miles of vast frozen tundra? I had to find out, so I asked Delilah to tell me a little bit about her dancers! If there is a dance studio in Bethel, I would like to know what their name is and more about it!

Here is what Delilah told me about dance in Bethel:

“The name of our dance team is Delta Illusion Dance Company. To make a very long story short, our town is extremely transient and if you’re not born here you came up to work. For three years we had a lady teaching dance in our town. She worked full-time at the Dental Clinic, and taught dance classes in the evenings and on weekends. Looking back, I realize how much she truly loved dance because she must have been dead tired after working all day, yet she never got frustrated or upset when children didn’t listen or parents (who knew nothing about dance at that point) complained about the price of tap shoes and leotards.
 
In 2008, the dance teacher asked the parents if they would be interested in forming a competition team. Five parents agreed, although we had no idea what she was talking about. We we lured in by the costumes, the fact that our girls would keep active (which is important in a small town), and the added bonus that we would all get to travel to San Diego. When we got to StarPower in San Diego, we were amazed by the level of dance and intensity the other teams brought. Not to take away from our teacher, but we were recreational dancers with girls who still needed reminders about pointing toes and looking up. That trip opened our girls’ eyes and made them more serious about dance. It made them realize there was more to dance than just going to a class every evening. They were hooked.
 
In 2009 the dance teacher and her husband decided they wanted to move closer to their roots and start a family. We were devastated, but she agreed to do a year of classes/comp routines via Skype. She met us for a comp in Vancouver and that was our last time with her.
 
This part is where the true blessing/kismet/miracle happens. In 2010, four parents were determined to continue dance for our girls but were struggling with figuring out how. One of the parents contacted a studio in Florida she had sent her daughter to for summer camp. The owner of [Studio] in Florida has been an absolute blessing to us! She agreed to have the four girls come down for 2 weeks in the summer and lent us a studio and her two comp team instructors. We have been working with them ever since! Over the years, through pure randomness (or miracles, as I believe they are) We have found other people who help. Two women who live in L.A. help with choreographing and cleaning routines. One of the staff members for our school district took tap from the age of 2 and offered some classes when she was here. She moved in 2012, but this fall we finally got her to come up once a month and instruct. An Optometrist in town has danced since she was little and will help out when she has time. The biggest stroke of luck occurred when we found out that one of our teachers in a tiny village is married to a well-known Russian dancer, who retired after 20 years with the Russian Ballet. We try to fly him to Bethel as often as we can, but as of right now that is one weekend every other month. His wife is talking about transferring to Bethel next year!
 
The four original parents got a business license and pretty much started a dance studio. Although we have no actual studio hence the name Delta ‘Illusion’, our community has been very supportive by letting us practice free of charge in school gyms and cafeterias along with the gym at our local college. We do the the comp team which has traveled to many cities in the lower 48, but we also offer dance classes and a week long bootcamp for the community to give back and spread our love of dance. When teachers are not in town, one of the parents holds practices and cleans routines. You would be surprised at how much we have learned about dance, considering only one parent had any dance experience and that was high school cheer.The team started with just 4 girls but has now expanded to 23 members (including 3 boys).
 
Although this condensed version of the story makes it seem as though everything just fell into place (which in a way it has), there have been many ups-and-downs and obstacles. The one thing I have learned is that if you are truly passionate about something, there is a way to make it happen.”
 
I’ve known for many years how dedicated dancers are to their craft, but Delilah’s story takes it to a whole new level. Please feel free to share your thoughts about the Delta Illusion Dance Company and send them your regards and encouragement!

Pom Routine for 1852 Dance

Cheerleading_Pom_Pom_Wet_Look_00036-2Just got finished creating a custom pom routine remix for a dance teacher in Lexington, Tennessee. This fun remix was just under two minutes in length, and featured five songs with spiced-up rhythms and beats, all at a tempo of 142 Beats Per Minute (BPM). I hope the studio has great results with it! If you need custom music for a Pom routine, just send an email! Here’s what Whitney had to say about the finished mix:

“Thanks Morriss! I love it!!!! You will definitely have a repeat customer! Thank you for giving so much attention to the details- you created a lot of depth with this piece of music.”
– Whitney Durham, Nov 6, 2013
1852 Dance, Lexington, Tennessee