Program Music

[Skates]

Hi,

Right, im looking for some music for a program, but A, i dont know how or where to get music with no lyrics and B, i cant decide what kind of music i want.

Basically i want music that hasnt really been used before so i dont want like Harry Potter music or Pirates of the carribbean or Titanic, thinking of something along the lines of Ronan Keatings 'When you say nothing at all' from Notting Hill because it starts off quite slow and the beats picks up quite well and its not boring to listen to. i want something along those lines.

so if anyone has any music that they have used and think it would fit, i would really love to hear from you. i need to be quick in choosing to, so the sooner the better

Thanks:D

[TimDavidSkate]

what level are you skating? i have tons of edited music :halo:

[Skates]

im Gold, its for a few competitions for this season. What sort of music do you have? or what would you recommend?

[TimDavidSkate]

So its going to be 2:40, Are you gold Men or gold Ladies?
I have Kwan's SP repertoir
Spartacus
Dream of Desdemona
Rachmaninoff selections
Totetanz
Romanza
East of Eden

Other:
Snowstorm - Kimmie's SP from last year
Nesun Dorma
Esperanza

* I have to check the rest of my collection, thas just from the top of my head *

[Skates]

Ladies gold but the program will be 1.30.

[desabelle]

Music box dancer is always fun. Starts slow, and really picks up.

[wasabi]

What about a less used soundtrack? Maybe:

--something Danny Elfmann? this is a little out there but can make an amazing program
--the Prince of Egypt soundtrack
--anything by Phillip Glass (I particularly like The Illusionist), though his music tends to be less exciting
--Arthur and the Invisibles, Finding Nemo, and Spirited Away all have great soundtracks, particularly if you're not terribly strong artistically. Finding Nemo in particular definitely doesn't sound like "kid music."
--the theme of Life is Beautiful isn't used nearly enough but is phenomenal
--I normally hate John Williams, but the soundtrack for The Witches of Eastwick -- particularly Dance of the Witches -- is great
--I've also never heard anyone skate to Jean de Florette or Manon des Sources but it's great music. They're both old French films though, and may be a bit difficult to find; similarly the soundtrack to Jules et Jim (it's on amazon and some songs are on iTunes) is great and very upbeat

You could also look into some classical music:
--Shostakovich has some really great, slightly quirky pieces. Try Movie Madness or the Jazz Suites
--Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije is also wonderful and very underused
--Aaron Copeland has some good stuff -- Rodeo makes a great program if done correctly
--Vaughan Williams (his stuff tends to be less exciting, but his Sinfonia Antarctica and the Wasps are very good and certainly unusual)
--Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique
--Finlandia (Jean Sibelius)
--Bizet (L'Arlesienne -- stay away form Carmen!)
--Procession of the Nobles
--Ziguernerweisen or Gypsy Airs (Sarasate)
--Curiolan (Beethoven)


My best advice is to figure out what you want -- do you want strings? brass? percussion?, do you want romantic era? classical? modern? baroque? Then, go on iTunes, look up a few pieces that you like, and click the "listeners also bought" links. This is how I found my music! Then, once you find a composer you like, look up everything by the composer or post again here for recommendations. Remember, too, that just because something starts out fast doens't mean it can't be edited otherwise. You can also mix in another piece or choose a slow section from the middle to put in the beginning of your program and have it build. Any skilled editor should have no problem doing this and making it sound as if the music was written that way.

[Derek]

What about a less used soundtrack? Maybe:
--Shostakovich has some really great, slightly quirky pieces. Try Movie Madness or the Jazz Suites


The much played second waltz in Shostakovich Jazz Suite no 2 lists as one of my favourite pieces, and could well be MY choice if and when I get to do my Passport Gold ... (editted to 1:30 again of course ...)

[SynchroSk8r114]

I agree with listening to some Danny Elfman music. He's got a bunch and most are really good and versatile.

You can also check out some of the songs from The Notebook movie. There's lots of pretty instrumentals...

If you're looking for instrumentals with no lyrics, a great place to look is Limewire. You can download it via the Limewire Web site (just Google it). I've got lots of my students' music from this program...you can also use GoldWave (also available on the Web) to edit it down to the time you need, select different chunks, etc.

Good luck!

[WeirFan06]

So I don't know if this is true or not (maybe you folks can tell me) but my coach told me once that if you have unfamiliar music, the judges could judge you down for it. Like not officially or whatever, but sort of an "I don't know your music so I don't like your program" type thing.

I have music for my technical that I love (it's the theme song from that show Cold Case... if you've ever seen it), and he told me after my last competition that we need to change the music to something more well known. But I like the music, so I told him "NO!" lol. And then we argued a little bit. Personally if I was a judge, I would get sick of hearing East of Eden all the time, and would welcome something new. But that's just me.

What do you guys think??

[SynchroSk8r114]

So I don't know if this is true or not (maybe you folks can tell me) but my coach told me once that if you have unfamiliar music, the juges could judge you down for it. Like not officially or whatever, but sort of an "I don't know your music so I don't like your program" type thing.

I have music for my technical that I love (it's the theme song from that show Cold Case... if you've ever seen it), and he told me after my last competition that we need to change the music to something more well known. But I like the music, so I told him "NO!" lol. And then we argued a little bit. Personally if I was a judge, I would get sick of hearing East of Eden all the time, and would welcome something new. But that's just me.

What do you guys think??

A lot of it is personal preference, which isn't fair, but that's what judges do: they judge. I've had a panel of judges where one loved my music while another judge tore apart my program saying that certain things "fit" certain parts of the music better, blah, blah, blah...

I say, select what you like, but definitely take your coach's advice. He/she knows what they're talking about - after all, that's what you pay him/her for! I've had to take some control over my own skaters' music choices when one of them wanted to skate to Aretha Franklin's "Respect," for instance. Nothing wrong with the song, but it just wasn't right for this skater. (Waaay too overpowering!) But then again, I'm more of a traditional, conservative coach, so I make my skaters select music without lyrics and that isn't too out there. Generally, I select a few instrumentals and then have my skater pick which one out of my choice they like best. If they don't like anything, I go back and pick a few others or I sit down with them and listen to their ideas and my ideas and decide on something we can both deal with.

As for selecting overused music, I tend to steer my skaters away from popular music of the time. I remember about ten years ago, Titantic was huge - every competition, at least three or four skaters had it. Then there was Les Miserables and "A Whole New World" from Aladdin. Now it seems like every pre-teen has to have that one piece from High School Musical, selections from Carmen, Pirates of the Carribbean, or The Phantom of the Opera. In certain cases, yes - I would get sick of hearing the same piece over and over. But then again, most judges are older/more conservative/more traditional and likely would not appreciate some new age/techno music echoing throughout the rink.

[techskater]

It depends specifically on whether the program fits the music. I have music that is recognizable (OK, some might call it overused ;) ) but has a totally different sound and twist to it that makes it fresh. At my first competition with it, a couple judges commented that they really liked it.

[Mrs Redboots]

If you have a song you really want to skate to, but it has lyrics, see if you can get a karaoke version. These are actually quite good for skating, as the beat tends to be emphasized.

[wasabi]

I've always had less used music with a recognizable quality to it -- Shostakovich pieces that were rarely used for skating, for instance, but still sounded like Shostakovich. I never had any problems. Lately, both of my pieces are very different with little recognizeable to them (both are by fairly obscure foreign composers), but I still haven't had any problems -- on the contrary, all I've gotten are positive reviews.

[Skates]

It depends specifically on whether the program fits the music.

I decided this time that i would choose my music then create a program to go with it. i want something with a beat and doesnt sound the same throughout. a medley of music would be good or a change in the pitch etc.

Thanks for all your ideas so far, there helping loads :D

[Skates]

Hi,

Does anyone have the music of Sasha Cohens Olympic Free 'Romeo and Juliet'
That they could email me?

[luckeylasvegas]

There is some really good music on the sound track from the movie The Grestest Game Ever Played. You can listen to it on itunes or amazon.

[techskater]

Hi,

Does anyone have the music of Sasha Cohens Olympic Free 'Romeo and Juliet'
That they could email me?

Please don't use this! It SOOOOOO overused.

[wasabi]

Hi,

Does anyone have the music of Sasha Cohens Olympic Free 'Romeo and Juliet'
That they could email me?

Do NOT use any version of R + J if you want something not incredibly, painfully overused.

[SynchroSk8r114]

Lovely song, but I agree: it's far overused.

Personally, I'd avoid anything:
* Phantom of the Opera
* Carmen
* Romeo and Juliet
* Pirates of the Carribbean
* Cirque du Solei
* Sing, Sing, Sing

...although they're all great, classic skating songs! :)

(C'mon guys - I know there's more overused tunes out there...I'm just drawing a blank right now...;))

Anyway, how about some selections from the soundtrack to West Side Story? Maybe it's just from the rinks I've been around, but I've rarely heard this used. I once heard it at a competition (skated at a Junior FS level) and it included a great variety of music from the movie: Mambo, America, Cool, Tonight (yeah, this one can be overused, but...), I Feel Pretty, and Somewhere. It was all instrumental, very beautiful. Just a thought...

[wasabi]

West Side Story is way overused where I am. I'd actually put it on your list, and add:

Chicago
Swan Lake
The Nutcracker
Malaguena
The Feeling Begins
Don Quixote
Kalinka
Scheherazade
The Mission
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter

[littlerain]

how about the marie antoinette movie soundtrack? I like it

[Mrs Redboots]

And anything from Cats!

The only thing about doing something that everybody else has done is that at least the judges know what the music is!

[techskater]

Don't dismiss all the music on the list too quickly. I am skating to a really hip version of an "overused" piece which is kind of hard to identify. You have to be clever about the overused music! Mel on Ice and Flying~camel and Kristin can all atest to it's coolness and uniqueness. :)

[TimDavidSkate]

West Side Story is way overused where I am. I'd actually put it on your list, and add:

Chicago
Swan Lake
The Nutcracker
Malaguena
The Feeling Begins
Don Quixote
Kalinka
Scheherazade
The Mission
Lord of the Rings
Harry Potter

I have skated to all of those, except I will never ever use Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter :giveup:

[looplover]

is there a way to edit vocals out of music with an equalizer or something? Maybe not on Audacity but another program? I'm so musically clueless...

[doubletoe]

Do NOT use any version of R + J if you want something not incredibly, painfully overused.

Yes, it has been used quite a bit, but there's a lot of other music that has been used much more (Carmen, anyone?). Although I was hesitant to skate to something Sasha Cohen had just skated to, I had already chosen Nino Rota's R&J before she used it for her 2006 LP so I went ahead. I've been skating to it for the past season and it has been a very successful program for me so it clearly doesn't hurt to skate to something that has been used a lot. I think that, ultimately, you need to skate to the music you really feel, since that is what will get the best skating out of you. BTW, if that's the music you really want to use, this is the best version of the soundtrack: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000066SF9/102-0776124-9918500

[wasabi]

Doubletoe, I don't disagree -- but Skates particularly said she wanted something that "hadn't been used before."

[doubletoe]

Doubletoe, I don't disagree -- but Skates particularly said she wanted something that "hadn't been used before."

Excellent point. ;) I'd forgotten that part. (I loved your list, BTW!)