Medley length calculator
How long should your medley run, and how many seconds should you keep per song? Enter the context and the number of tracks — the arithmetic is shown in full, no black box.
Optional. Leave it empty to get the recommended length.
Your medley
- Total length
- 4:00
- Per song
- 66s
- Transitions
- 3
- Overlap per transition
- 8s
(4 × 66s) − (3 × 8s) = 4:00
- This length sits inside the usual range for that kind of medley.
How this result is calculated
total length = (songs × excerpt length) − (transitions × overlap)
The overlap is subtracted because a crossfade plays two excerpts at the same time: the finished file is always shorter than the sum of its parts.
The number of transitions is always the number of songs minus one. With no target length, the tool starts from the middle of the recommended excerpt range for your context, then pulls the result back inside the total-length range. If you do enter a length, it is respected as-is and the per-song figure adjusts instead.
These ranges are practical recommendations drawn from what each format imposes (competition time limits, audience attention, the block structure of a class) — not measured standards. Your event’s own rules always take precedence over this tool.
The reference ranges
These are the ranges the calculator applies. They are deliberately wide — adjust them to your real constraint.
| Context | Excerpt per song | Total length | Overlap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wedding first dance | 45 s – 2 min | 3 min – 4 min | 8 s |
| Stage show | 25 s – 45 s | 3 min – 5 min | 4 s |
| Dance / cheerleading | 15 s – 30 s | 3 min – 3 min | 2 s |
| Fitness class | 2 min – 4 min | 45 min – 60 min | 6 s |
| Birthday / retrospective | 25 s – 40 s | 5 min – 8 min | 4 s |
| DJ set | 1 min – 2 min | 20 min – 60 min | 12 s |
| Something else | 25 s – 45 s | 3 min – 5 min | 5 s |
Frequently asked questions
How long should a medley be?
Three to four minutes for a wedding first dance, three to five for a stage show, around two minutes thirty for a dance or cheerleading routine, five to eight minutes for a retrospective, 45 to 60 minutes for a fitness class. When a maximum is imposed, aim 5 to 10 seconds under it.
How many seconds should I keep per song?
The 20 to 45 second range covers most medleys. Under 15 seconds nobody has time to recognise the track; over 60 seconds the medley turns back into a playlist. Save the long excerpts for the opening and the finale.
Why is the total shorter than the sum of the excerpts?
Because transitions overlap. An 8-second crossfade between two excerpts removes 8 seconds from the finished file. With 6 songs and 5 crossfades of 8 seconds, the file is 40 seconds shorter than the sum of its parts.
Where do these recommendations come from?
From the concrete constraints of each format: the time limit in a competition rulebook, how long an audience needs to recognise a track, the block structure of a fitness class. They are working reference points you can adjust, not measurements from a study.