STINGS

Well, what the heck is a "Sting?"

"Sting" is a musical introduction I play when a batter for the home team leaves the on deck area and approaches the batter's box. A "Sting" is usually the beginning of a song, but there have are lots of edits and loops. The volume is lowered for the PA to announce the batter, then the volume is raised again and faded out when the hitter steps into the batter's box.

As audio engineer for the Tampa Bay Rays, I use this audio technique to create excitement when one of our hitters comes to bat. I also use a sting during rallies and after hits (while keeping in mind the next batter.) Generally, stings reflect the demeanor, ethnicity, personal preference, etc., of the batter. This past season, about half of the Rays batters had more than one sting, while other players were content to use a single piece of music the entire season. Sometimes, a musical selection will cause "bad luck" at the plate, and is discarded and replaced with something new. We occasionally have a player who prefers the basic PA introduction and no music when they come to bat. I guess for some players it's a distraction.

The "Stings" collection is now a seven CD set containing over 700 of my coolest stings and dozens of additional miscellaneous sound events!

Stings are a little tricky to create. Some tunes are naturals. A cool beginning, just enough time to get in the PA announcement, then the music and rhythm really kick in. Most of the time, however, a vocal part will start that necessitates some fancy footwork with my audio editing tools. Usually, I isolate an 8 or 16 bar section of the tune that can be "looped" or repeated near the beginning. Sometimes these sections are cuts from the interior of the song. A lot of them end up as vocal-free instrumentals between 20 - 60 seconds in length.

If you listen closely to Major League baseball broadcasts, you'll notice that musical stings are used by every team. It's great way to stimulate the crowd and inspire the batters!

Don't hesitate to use my stings for filling the dead air at your sports event. Whether it is Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, Football, Volleyball, etc., there will always be short periods of time where something is needed. That way you won't waste one of your cool tunes when only 15-30 seconds of "fill" is required.

Not every baseball program may find the use of stings of interest. For those that do, the seven sting discs will be included ( free of charge) with the purchase of Baseball Blips 2013, just for the asking!

So, when ordering, please request the sting discs, and they will be included in the shipment.

MicroSoft Word Doc files are available listing the contents of the BASEBALL BLIPS 2013 including the Sting Collection. If you'd like to receive these files, request them by e-mailing me at Stanley Sound Productions.