I don’t know how freestyles are written. I believe there are people out there who write freesyles, with an edited piece of music, and a diagram of movements. Is this so? (I have never seen a coreography of a freestyle). If so, who is writing these productions?
Any references?
Not sure, but I think Mike Matson here on COTH does that.
Yes, you can. There are a number of people who will find the music, edit and choreograph the movements. Just Google dressage freestyle designers and you will come up with a number of professionals who do this. Here are just a few I found by googling dressage freestyle designers :
Www.lunatunesfreestyles.com
Www.applausedressage.com
Www.woodwindstudios.com
Www.goldbarfreestyles.com
Beginthdance.com
MiraclEmusicfreestyles.com
There are many more.
We’ve used a few different folks to do freestyles for us, and a few different approaches, from the simple (someone just identifying songs that matched the horse’s walk, trot and canter rhythm, and then assembling them together, letting me do the choreography after the fact) to the complex (riding a pattern on video, then the arranger picking songs and editing them to match the movements with the phrasing of the music, ie quieter and swirly for the pirouettes, bolder for extended canter, percussion for the changes, whatever).
Beth at Woodwind Studios has done a few pieces for us now, and I love her. She is very polite about it but I’m sure she found me incredibly annoying in the putting together of Ella’s freestyle, because I really knew what I wanted, and it required a tremendous amount of work. But she did a fantastic job, and the piece is stunning.
You can spend as little as a few hundred dollars to $2000+, depending on the level of the ride (arrangers charge more for the higher levels, as there’s more editing involved). I’ve had prices north of $5k quoted to me, and if you involve an actual musician who will custom-compose music for you, the sky’s the limit.
Beth does pre-made freestyles available for purchase at very reasonable prices; you can see them on her website at www.woodwindstudios.com.
Cynthia Collins (LunaTunes) created my freestyle a couple of years ago. We had a 2 day clinic with her where she helped us identify music that made both rider and horse happy, and then designed choreography for the appropriate level to show off the pair’s strengths (and minimize weaknesses, which IMO is equally important.)
I also love that my freestyle could easily be adapted to suit the level I was working up to (third, at the time) with minimal renovation.
She did a great job and was very reasonably priced. I will use her service again when my new baby horse is ready to have a freestyle of his own!
You can hire a consultant for start-to-finish project, or just for touching up the music, as an hourly consultant. The most important part to pay for is the music editing - even with your own selections, the editing can make or break your freestyle. A good music editor can adjust portions of your own music selection (“I just need four more beats here to finish the transition…”, ie, repeat a musical phrase,) and listener won’t even notice.
For certain this thread is incomplete without mentioning Terri Gallo at Klassic Kur!
http://www.klassickur.com/Klassic_Kur/Home.html
Terri was 2014 USDF volunteer of the year, and she runs training programs training the JUDGES how to score a musical freestyle. Yes, there is a system for scoring the artistic portion, not just “did I like the music and did it suit the horse?”
She will prepare freestyles even for the lower levels, not just the big guns at Grand Prix.
I have done it three different ways, and been happy with the results of all:
Do it yourself: more work, much less cost. The final result was not as polished, but was quite acceptable. I had a lot of fun with the process, but also some frustration with the technology, and also just feeling like I didn’t know the music world well enough to find the “best” pieces for what I want. I definitely want to do it again. You really can make something acceptable for the rated shows with a couple weekends of work. This is a good option for a freestyle that you might only get to ride a couple times, or at a level where you are “passing throug,” but not really your focus. For the freestyles that matter the most to me, I will go to a pro, they do a better job than I ever could. There are a few books and websites out there that can help - do some searches.
Doing a freestyle clinic with someone who will then put the music together. If you have the money and can find a clinic, this is definitely THE BEST! You get to discuss face to face with the clinician what type of music you like, and you get to ride your horse to the music in real time. You will get a certain “feel” for what fits with your horse, and the clincian can tell you her opinion about what makes your horse look his best. Also, as you ride through coreography, the clinician may notice strenghts or weakness and adjust the choreography accordingly. What surprised me about this process is how much I learned about how to put a freestyle together, arrange the choreography, etc. My next home-made freestyle will definitely benefit from this experience. I have worked with both Karen Robinson (Applause), and Cynthia Collins (Luna Tunes) this way, and both were EXCELENT.
Working long distance through video and e-mail. This is a good substitiue for #2 if you can’t get to a clinic. The process can vary - from a “canned” freeestyle where the designer has you ride a pattern and video it, then gives you a finished CD – to an interactive process where you can express preferences and try out different things at each step. The designers I have worked with have been more than willing to make it an interactive process, but taking a CD to the barn, riding to it, videoing it, comming home to watch the video, and then e-mailing the designer, just isn’t the same as being there to discuss in real time.
There is also option #4, which is to purchase a Freestyle musical piece already made, from the site that AZTD mentioned for example (marvins music). Or from http://www.musikur.com
If you have some knowledge of your horse’s tempo, you can pick one that suits your horse by listening to all the options on those sites and having the file sent to you.
If you have a video of one of your tests from a show, you can play it on your computer while simultaneously playing music.
It’s phenomenally less expensive to order from a ready made vendor, compared with having music designed for you and edited by a pro. And as for splicing your own music-- if you have any challenges with using the editing technology, there can be blips and bleeps and abrupt shifts from one gait to another as the music shifts. I’ve heard that type in performance, and it’s not terrible. But it’s not fluid, either.
I ordered one from Marvins for First Level and I’m very happy with what they sent. All of the shifts from Trot to Walk to Canter are extremely fluid and professional. The downside was that I really didn’t get to hear much of what it sounds like, prior to ordering. They only provide small sample clips on their site.
But when it came I was truly impressed. It’s very nicely done and very polished.
I was not happy with their choreography so I completely rewrote it. But I’ve played drums, can sight read music, and was a theater major. So it suited me to do my own choreography. Of course you are bound by the length of time allotted to each gait and also to the order. It’s set, and you must choreograph to match what’s playing.
In any case, Pre-made music is an option used by many in my area. And it makes a lot of sense to save that money, especially at lower levels, or when you’re new to riding to music.
I believe that a blogger for Equine Canada does freestyle music as a business.
She and a rather well known European composer have had some rather contentious discussions on the EQ website.
I plan on using a consultant and am really looking forward to being able to ride to music that moves me and suits my horse. It’s the one area in dressage where we can express a little individuality and a canned freestyle would defeat that objective for me.
[QUOTE=skydy;8447882]
I believe that a blogger for Equine Canada does freestyle music as a business.
She and a rather well known European composer have had some rather contentious discussions on the EQ website.[/QUOTE]
That’s Karen Robinson, mentioned by rjr above.
I am thinking of doing a lower level freestyle with one of the ready made freestyles just to have fun until my horse is ready to move up a level. I can’t justify the expense of using a consultant for a freestyle that I will use for a year. Now, if I were looking at a FEI level freestyle that I would use for years, I would spend more money. I think one can be creative with the choreography, and since I will be doing that on my own, will express my creativity that way. Anyway, I think the idea of freestyle is to have fun!
I lost track of this thread but thank you so much for your answers, this is a great piece of info, thanks.
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