JIM COURSEY
COMPOSITION, SOUND, & INTERACTIVE DESIGN
Songs
Language Tapes "Bodies, Numbers and Time"
Description: Pop music project / German language instruction, 2015.
Role: Creator, songwriter, producer.
Notes: First release in a series of releases featuring pop songs that use English and German lyrics. Most of the German comes from phrasebooks, and songs follow common phrasebook themes (numbers, body parts, etc.). Repetitive listening would support language learning, but mostly the music is intended for listening pleasure.
"Pirates and Emperors" by Eric Henry
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Project: Animated short film, 2004.
Role: Songwriter, audio producer, and sound designer.
Notes: Toured the world with Resfest and was a viral hit on the internet. Said Cory Doctorow of Boing Boing, "Pirates and Emperors is a pitch-perfect send-up of the 'Schoolhouse Rock' musical civics cartoons of the 1970s... in which the dark history of US international policy... is set to jaunty music and simple animation."
LeapFrog's "Touch Magic Learning Bus"
Description: Alphabet learning toy, 2012.
Role: Songwriter, audio lead, casting and voice director, sound designer.
Notes: Wanted a song style that was modern, catchy and cute. Many customers reviewed the songs favorably, and noted the attention we paid to making the piano keys change tuning to match each individual song, so kids could never play a bad note. 4.4 / 5 stars in 211 reviews on Amazon.
"Cake" by Cristie Dagley
Project: Short digital video, 1999.
Role: Songwriter, audio producer.
Notes: Created this song to capture the spirit and tone of some temporary music Cristie had been using. Cristie did all the vocals and vocalizations, and Rahi Karnik played the santoor.
This song also appears on a digital video document of a public art piece entitled "Wood & Water Murals 1: Gone but Not Forgotten" by Jennifer Maria Harris, 2011.
LeapFrog's "Scout's Music"
Description: iPhone/iPad app, 2011.
Role: Song arranger, audio producer.
Notes: Recorded, arranged and produced several songs for an interactive song player featuring LeapFrog's popular Scout character.