Get the "wow" factor without the "holy cow" price!
"Wow, that sounds AWESOME!" Nathalie Martin
Do you want popular songs for your freestyle without the full expense of studio band recording? Are you a rider who needs a strong, steady beat to stay in sync with your dressage music? Maybe you would just love unique dressage freestyle music unlike any other rider's. We can take several approaches to remix music, depending on the type of music you want, and create a one-of-a-kind program.
Synthesizer plus karaoke: Many of our clients want music they hear on the radio. Only a few instrumental versions exist on CD and those arrangements tend to be full orchestra. Until now, the only way to produce popular music freestyles was taking the very expensive approach of putting a band in the studio. If you're interested in instrumental arrangements of popular music, we can create the illusion of full studio band. Karaoke recordings lack melody and expression, but can be used as the rhythmic and harmonic basis for your freestyle. We can even blend karaoke and original versions, if you want a certain amount of vocal in the freestyle. The melody will then be performed and recorded on synthesizer by a staff keyboardist, complete with improvisation to make your recording varied and original. Plan to add 2-3 weeks to your freestyle production time with our synthesizer/karaoke option.
Listen to the canter sample below and you'll be blown away by the quality and excitement of the music.
*Many karaoke versions are only available with back-up vocals in the mix. These vocals can't be removed from the music.
Music plus drums: The second approach is to add rhythm, impact, and a stronger beat to light music by recording drum parts to mix with your selections. New Age and World music especially benefit from added percussion. Our studio band producer, Kevin Hall, is a session and club drummer in Austin, Texas and has backed up such legends as Willie Nelson. He can record live percussion to enhance many styles of pre-recorded music and play your favorite beat, from rock to hip-hop, reggae to Latin, or techno. He'll play distinct rhythms to match your horse's footfalls, establishing a strong relationship between music and horse. All percussion instruments are available for recording, not just basic drum set. Our added percussion is primarily acoustic (live) with a few synthesized accents. Plan to add 1 week to your freestyle production time for our music plus drums option.
Give a listen to our drum remix samples below. The percussion is so convincing, you'll think it was part of the original recording.
Scroll down to the price section to find costs. We can remix your music at a fraction of the cost of studio band.
Here's how it works: For synthesizer plus karaoke, you make music selections and a keyboardist records your pieces using a karaoke track as basis. Beth will cut and splice this recording to work with your choreography and then the edited version is engineered.
For music plus drums, Beth edits your music first to match choreography. The music is engineered and Kevin records drum parts to fit the music. Percussion is then mixed and balanced in final engineering.
"The judge's first comment was 'great music'." Victoria Martin
Remix Custom Freestyle Prices
Hiring a musician to record parts is an add-on to your custom freestyle; fees to remix your freestyle are in addition to costs listed on our Custom Freestyles page.
"It sounds awesome! The transitions are perfect!" Tracey Wilson
Synthesizer Plus Karaoke Remix Music Sample
We think you'll love our rendition for canter of this Grammy award-winning song from 2006. The rhythm has bounce and swing to match the gait with ad lib parts to update the song with a fresh and interesting sound. The keyboardist enhanced the karaoke track with full horn section, 2 separate string ensembles, and organ to make you believe you're listening to a band perform onstage. For fun, we added improvised vocal parts.
You'll hear a musical transformation as percussion gives our "Acoustic Alchemy" freestyle the Wow! factor. The rider selected New Age flamenco guitar music to which Kevin added a distinct Latin beat. Kevin recorded 6 separate drum parts on kick, snare, rack, floor toms, hi hat and cymbals. He then over-dubbed shakers, woodblock, claves, triangle, tambourine, bongos, guiro, congas, cowbell and assorted splash cymbals. Finally, he added a few synthesized parts like djembe, hand claps, and miscellaneous sound effects.
The original music with no added drums is pleasant, but uninspired. The remixed freestyle is more rhythmic and more fun. You'll hear the horse's footfalls in the music and a sense of build to the end. Medium and extended paces are highlighted with percussion. Cues are provided in drum parts to help the rider prepare important movements.
The music is narrated with gaits and important movements from the rider's actual choreography, designed by Beth Hall.
