Mastering and Musing
Well, I’ve finished recording the 20th song and so it is time to release my second album! I am going to release the last song along with the second album, so be on lookout. I’ll keep you posted here and on my Newsletter, which you can sign up for on the right menu of this page.
I’ve been going through a process called “mastering” which basically is the art and science of making all songs sound consistent across the whole album. This includes volume, dynamic range, the amount of silence between tracks, etc. One problem I was experiencing was the Yamaha seemed brighter and louder while the Steinway seemed dark and soft. I decided that since some songs really sounded better on the Steinway, I converted them all to Steinway. As a result, the overall consistency between tracks is much more aesthetically pleasing.
That being almost done, I’ve started working on the CD design. I’ve been looking at OasisCD.com (where I had The Golden Road CDs produced) and Diskmakers.com for their “short-run” services. I figure the first run will be 100 CDs. Then when those sell I can order more. Both sites offer an online CD design where you can upload graphics and modify the layout of the CD label, Front cover, tray cover, etc. via the browser. It sure beats going to the local publishing company to have them create “film” with separate colors and registration marks for each part of the CD.
Bottom line, there is SO MUCH work that goes into creating one of these projects. But in the end, when you can hold a shrink-wrapped product with your name and your music on it, it’s such a rewarding experience! My biggest desire, though, is not to become famous and have my name printed on a CD cover. God produced this music in my heart long before it flowed from my fingers. My deepest desire is that this music, despite its imperfections, would serve as a magnifying glass to the beauty and grace of our Heavenly Father.
Music is the back door to the heart, and He keeps the spare key. He enters by this door when words no longer affect us and our hearts have grown cold and hard toward Him. We can’t get away from it. In an incredible display of merciful imagination, He designed us and surrounded us with the materials and capacity to create and appreciate this second language. It is a sacred language so powerful that it transcends most barriers. In fact, the Bible tells us that it is an eternal language, one that even the angels understand. Can we doubt that He wants to communicate with us when He built His entire Creation as one big musical instrument such that a star produces wind that blows across the ocean and over the plains and through our willows and reeds, causing our ears to tickle and our hearts to stir with thoughts of Him? We cannot fathom the brilliance of such a Creator! Instead of just making us functional beings like servant robots, He built into us the ability to enjoy and create things of beauty, to love and be loved, to move and be moved. That is worth thinking about!
John Albert Thomas began composing original, melody-based piano works when he was 12 years old. His compositions have the simplicity and thinly-layered delicacy of Mozart, combined with a contemporary sound reminiscent of Enya, George Winston, and Jim Brickman. In 1995, John graduated from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, with a bachelors degree in Music Theory and Composition. Upon graduation he moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he now lives with his wife, Rebecca, and their four children. John has released several solo piano albums, and continues his work on future projects. 
