As filmmakers learned decades ago, the right musical score can turn an otherwise mundane scene into an unforgettable piece of filmmaking. It's true with Flash presentations and games, too, but unfortunately, producing original music is still a daunting task for many.

Sure, there are plenty of "cut-and-paste" audio collections out there, and I'm often amazed at what people can do with them. But there's nothing more disconcerting than hearing the melody you just included in your client's online jewelry promotion also being used to sell hemorrhoid medication on TV!

Unfortunately, soundtrack music today is distributed the same way clip-art has been since the 90s — it's easy and cost-effective, but when used wrong or often, it defeats the purpose. A developer often loses the "hook" he'd been trying to set in the first place: Rather than creating something as memorable as the three-tone audio signature of NBC ('ennn-BEEE-seee'), he ends up with "Generic Bassoon and Harp #32," a tune he now shares with local radio commercials, a Flash banner ad for tennis shoes and the seat-belt buzzer on his wife's 2004 Hyundai sedan.

Recently, I decided to forego the canned music often associated with Flash development and sought the help of an honest-to-goodness studio musician and producer with talents far beyond my own (Thus, RealMusician). The results are promising so far, and I can hardly wait to show off the finished version of the next Turdhead.com game, tentatively named Cosmic Bounce and scheduled for release next week.

The game will feature original music so far unreleased in canned-melody form — a track produced by McKay Garner of Bounce Inventive Audio in Los Angeles. I'll go ahead and say the new score fits the mood of the new game perfectly.

So in short, be careful when using that mass-produced audio library you've got on your hard drive. Perhaps a look at your local independent newspaper's classifieds (maybe "Services" or even "Musicians Wanted?") might help you find local talent that can push your next project further than you ever thought possible.

Editor's Note:Yes, we're aware the use of the capitalized compound word "RealMusician" was a cheap trick to lure people seeking quick software solutions to soundtrack production. The point is, no software package can do everything a Real Musician can do. (And sometimes, Real Musicians are cheaper.) Try one today!