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The Dimension of Sound
One of the great ways to add level of professionalism to your
show is to add music and sound effects. This is not always an
easy task, especially on a budget. I have fought this battle for
a little while and I have yet to find the perfect solution. I
sincerely feel that I'm not a good source for advice on music,
but let me share where I am now.
(1) I have try locate CD's of royalty free music. That means
that you have paid the artist for the rights to use the music in
a public performance by paying for the CD. This does not
necessarily include TV broadcast, but chances are the TV station
has that covered if you ever get to perform on TV. Some of the
CD's I have used include:
Bill White
www.billwhitemusic.com
White Magic
Ultimate Magic
Life's Magic
Mystic Magic
World Magic
Jay Scott Berry
www.jayscottberry.com/Ecom/music.aspx
Steve Wilford and Rand Woodbury
Illusionworks
Music for Modern Magical Performance
Richard Wayne
Instrumental Magic - Signature Series
I bought these at Denny & Lee's Magic Studio
www.dennymagic.com
(2) Then I got an IPOD Nano. It is solid state, small, and
light.
(3) I want to pick a tune and repeat it softly
in the background until I'm finished the routine. The IPOD Nano
repeat mode for one track will not let me forward to the next
track so I have to make one track with the song repeated that
will easily cover the maximum length of the routine. To do
this, I use a few pieces of software (all the software is FREE
or comes with Windows):
Using Windows Media Player:
(comes with windows)
Change Rip Format to MP3
Change Bit Rate to Best Quality (320 Kpbs)
"Rip" the CD's, meaning convert the CD's to MP3 format.
I had to look around to find where the MP3's were stored.
I copied those MP3 files to a directory.
Use Audacity to read MP3 file
audacity.sourceforge.net
I edit (copy and paste, etc)
Export as MP3 files (remember where you put them)
mpTrim
www.mptrim.com
I use this software if the only thing I have to
do is trim a few seconds off the music.
Side Note: There are times when I choreograph my
routine to match my music. My ring routine is a primary
example. When the music ends, my routine ends, and I would
like to music to stop, but my hands are too full of rings to
reach for the remote. What I do in this case is pad with
empty space. Oddly enough, these programs can not make an
empty space easily. I used the internet and obtained an
empty track, a track with no sound or volume, but consumes time,
and I append it to the end of a track repeatedly until I have
plenty of time to put my rings down and am ready to move on.
If you need an empty track, email me at the address below and
I'll send you one. I'm pretty certain nobody has put a
copyright on it yet.
(4) Then I need to import it into a music library into my IPOD
Nano.
ITunes to import into my IPod
www.apple.com/itunes
I use ITunes to organize my tunes in order.
I use ITunes to set up a Playlist for my show.
First I import the MP3's into my library, then move them to the
Playlist
Set Edit>Preferences>Advanced>Audio CD>Gap Between Songs>None
This is handy when you burn CD's for your music.
You don't want pauses between your tracks when one flows into
another.
Sync your IPOD with your computer
Note: You don't want to be dependant on an IPOD in case someone
else is running your sound on a CD player. Make it easy to burn
CD's for your music. If you can, have multiple copies as well as
cassette tape. Cassettes are looked down on, but, they don't
start skipping endlessly. They are in many ways more dependable
than CD's.
(5) I need something that can broadcast the sound to the
audience. I bought a cable to connect my Nano to most stereo
systems. If you can, by an Boom Box, or portable stereo that has
a stereo inputs. That will make setting up your sound easier.
For my large gigs I do have an amp and speaker
system. I would charge extra to bring it along. It is a Fender
Passport (www.fender.com)
Specifically, I have the Passport 250 (250
Watts)
Fender 250 Link
If I had to do it again, I would go with a smaller system like
the 150 (150 Watts)
Fender 150 Link
Why? Weight and size. I can only fit so much in my car. I
have to admit that the extra power of the 250 helps me with
large crowds where the 150 would not have handled it. You
get a large multi-purpose room full of cub scouts or the open
space of a festival and you might want that 250 Watts.
(6) How do you move from tune to tune? Hopefully you have a
friend that can do this for you, but if not, you have to carry
some kind of remote. I have this:
IJet
www.abtech2.com/iJetiPodNano.htm
It is a radio transmitted remote. It claims a range of 150ft,
but I'm not one to challenge it.
Well, that's it. That is where I am now. If you
have any advice, please send me email at the link below. I
would love to hear from you.
Your prez,
Keith
President of SAM 252
Feel free to send him some email at
magicalpass2@aol.com |
