Skating Music?

[sunshine_sk8er]

hi everyone - i'm currently searching for music that i can use for a future skating program..i've settled on two pieces so far but unfortunately i'm not sure where i can obtain a copy of them so i can cut and manipulate to my liking..does anyone have any ideas?
1) Otonal - Raul di Blaisio(?): Johnny Weir's Olympic Long Program
2) for the second one, i have no clue about the title nor performer/composer..however, it was the 2004 Worlds long program for Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin (the one where they wore blue costumes; a video of them can be found on YouTube)..Evgengy Plushenko also used a version of this some years ago..I think it's called Art on Ice??
Thanks in advance!!

[sk8er1964]

I'd be careful about using music recently used by an elite skater. I don't know about anyone else, but when I see someone skate to, for example, Otonal, all I can think is Johnny Weir - and the person skating to it generally fails by comparison. Just my 2 cents.

[doubletoe]

On the other hand, you need to skate to something that moves you. I have the misfortune of having chosen a piece of music last year, gotten attached to it, then discovered that one of the top skaters in the world was going to using it for her long program. Yes, now everyone will think I'm copying her, and yes, I will suck by comparison, but I'll skate better to this than I would to a piece of music that didn't move me.

I always just search on Amazon.com for music. "Otonal" by Raul diBlasio is on this CD:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000005LEV/104-8781234-7143969?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=music

"Art on Ice" by Edvin Marton is more difficult to buy, but his website says it is available for download on iTunes.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/

[xofivebyfive]

^Oh are you the one who has a selection from Romeo and Juliet, and it was different than the one Sasha originally had, but then she changed it? I remember reading that somewhere... If you are, that sucks. I would be really upset.. But proud that we had the same taste in skating music. :P

[doubletoe]

^Oh are you the one who has a selection from Romeo and Juliet, and it was different than the one Sasha originally had, but then she changed it? I remember reading that somewhere... If you are, that sucks. I would be really upset.. But proud that we had the same taste in skating music. :P

Wow, what a great memory you have, LOL! Yeah, I just figured I must have really good taste in skating music, since she ended up changing it to sound more like mine after getting input from some expert choreographer. . . ;)

[sunshine_sk8er]

thanks doubletoe! that helps a lot with my search for music
sk8er1964, i never really thought about that..but i suppose since johnny weir sort of annhilated his program at worlds and the olympics (no offense to anyone, im sure he tried), maybe it won't be such a problem?
i'm having such a tough time trying to figure out program music, so many selections, so little time..

[sk8er1964]

I can understand that. It ususally takes me months to find something that isn't overused, fits me, and that wouldn't drive me nuts listening to it over and over and over! :lol: :twisted:

I found my current piece at Barnes & Noble - it's music written about the Lord of the Rings books (not the movie) by a couple of unknown composers. Bought the cd based on those little exerpts that you can listen to. Didn't end up using the piece I bought it for, but did fall in love with the next piece on the cd. My coach was very skeptical, both because it is different and because it is unlike anything I have ever skated to before. Got a great choreographer, and I really like both the program and the music.

Re the comparison issue, I think if you are either a different sex than the elite skater, or you wait a year or so after they use the piece, there's less chance of comparison. Or maybe I'm the only one in the world who makes those comparisons and it doesn't matter one little bit! :P

Best of luck in your search!

[techskater]

You aren't the only one who makes that intuitive leap. Also, if you and I are doing it, I'm sure some judges are too

[doubletoe]

Fortunately, we aren't even in the same league as those skaters, so I'm counting on the comparisons being set aside fairly early on in the program, LOL!

P.S. As for skating to Johnny Weir's music, does "androgynous" count as a different gender? ;)

[Tessa]

Does anyone know the hard and fast rule regarding vocals in program music? I know years ago they were forbidden; but I have a piece I want to cut and it has la's. Like, "La, la la la, la la la la," all la's and no words. Can this be used? It will make up about the first 20 seconds of my program before the other music I'm cutting in. Oh -- it's music from the Bway musical NINE.

Thoughts anyone?

[doubletoe]

Vocals are allowed, but no words are allowed. Since "la la la" isn't words, I would think it would be okay. But just to make sure, you should still look it up in the USFS rulebook.

[sk8er1964]

Vocals are allowed, but no words are allowed. Since "la la la" isn't words, I would think it would be okay. But just to make sure, you should still look it up in the USFS rulebook.

Or contact the USFS directly. I did that with a combo spin/rules question and they responded back promptly.

[mdvask8r]

I skated FS at AN this year with music full of voices singing "ba ba ba dah, ba ba bah da dah da dah . . ." The voice is considered an instrument when used this way.

[Debbie S]

I have the misfortune of having chosen a piece of music last year, gotten attached to it, then discovered that one of the top skaters in the world was going to using it for her long program. But hey, didn't Sasha skate to R&J for an exhibition piece on and off for the past few years? ;) (that was meant in jest :) )

Actually, I have skated to several pieces of music Sasha has skated to (I told my coach at the time that I was worried people would think I was some sort of Sasha fanatic - lol!). One was "I'll Fly Away" (from Moulin Rouge) that I did for a club show (actually, Kristi Y and Denis Petrov also skated to that in a duet in SOI one year) and my previous comp program was to Rach Concerto #2 (of course, Sasha isn't the only person to have skated to that). My current comp program is "Rhapsody in Blue", and I swear I'm not a Katy Taylor nut! :lol: Nor am I a crazed Ilia Kulik fan, and those on this board who have seen me compete know I am not wearing a yellow shirt with black polka dots. :lol: :lol:

[doubletoe]

But hey, didn't Sasha skate to R&J for an exhibition piece on and off for the past few years? ;) (that was meant in jest :) )

Actually, I have skated to several pieces of music Sasha has skated to (I told my coach at the time that I was worried people would think I was some sort of Sasha fanatic - lol!). One was "I'll Fly Away" (from Moulin Rouge) that I did for a club show (actually, Kristi Y and Denis Petrov also skated to that in a duet in SOI one year) and my previous comp program was to Rach Concerto #2 (of course, Sasha isn't the only person to have skated to that). My current comp program is "Rhapsody in Blue", and I swear I'm not a Katy Taylor nut! :lol: Nor am I a crazed Ilia Kulik fan, and those on this board who have seen me compete know I am not wearing a yellow shirt with black polka dots. :lol: :lol:

I'm not all that worried about it, really. Heck, I had already seen R&J and fallen in love with the soundtrack before Sasha was even BORN, so I think I can say I claimed it first, LOL!

[flo]

As did Kristie Yammaguchi - and I prefer her program and choreography. Those timeless pieces belong to all of us!

[doubletoe]

As did Kristie Yammaguchi - and I prefer her program and choreography. Those timeless pieces belong to all of us!

I never knew Kristi Yamaguchi skated to it. I would love to see it! I think a lot of people forget how good she was. . . She was doing beautiful, clean triple triple combinations!

[Debbie S]

IIRC, Kristi skated to R&J (movie version) in one of her first few years as a pro. She may have performed it in SOI - I remember her performing it as her artistic program at the World Professional Championships one year (maybe 1992 or 1993?). I really miss those pro comps - you got to see such a variety of skating and so many different programs, instead of just the 1 or 2 programs skaters would perform on either COI or SOI. Of course, that was harder on the skaters (but they certainly were well-compensated) but much more enjoyable to the TV audience. I wish the current crop of "retiring" skaters, and some astute and creative promoters, would bring back pro skating.