How do I cut music to the exact length a competition requires?

Step by step

Steps 2 and 3 cover a single song (length tool), steps 4 and 5 a montage of several excerpts (studio).

1. 1

   Step 1. Find the length in the rulebook

   Write down the maximum length (or the minimum-maximum window), any tolerance, and when the clock starts: at the first movement, the first note or the first sound, depending on the governing body. The table below gives the rules for the main disciplines.

2. 2

   Step 2. One song: enter the length you need

   Open the length tool, add the music, type the length (2:30 or 150 seconds both work), then pick the mode:

   • Exact duration: the requested length is matched to the millisecond, and the tempo may shift by under 2%.
   • Original tempo: the tempo never changes, and the end lands on the nearest bar.
   • Then click Analyze and suggest.
3. 3

   Step 3. Listen to the suggestions

   The tool looks for the least noticeable passages to remove or repeat, on the beat, and suggests several edits with their number of joins. Listen to the joins above all. If no edit is subtle enough for that length, it says so and suggests a realistic range rather than a clumsy version. Download with Get my track (€4.99).

4. 4

   Step 4. Several excerpts: trim in the studio

   In the studio, add your excerpts and trim each one with the purple handles, using the “1” of an eight-count magnet to cut at the start of a phrase. In the transitions, set Where the fade goes to Centred on the passage: the mix then lasts exactly the sum of your selections. A Hard cut doesn’t change the length either.

   
5. 5

   Step 5. Check the total length

   On the transitions step, the Run sheet shows each excerpt’s start time and the total length. Too long? Shorten the last selection by one eight-count phrase. To end cleanly on the final pose, set the Fade at the end of the mix, below the last song.

   
6. 6

   Step 6. No silence at the start of the file

   The clock often starts on the first sound, and the sound desk hits play when the dancers are in place: a gap at the start throws everything off. For a competition, leave Silence at the start of the mix with no silence.

Official lengths, discipline by discipline

These lengths change with the season, the age group and the category: your competition’s rulebook always prevails. The references below come from the official documents listed at the bottom of the page.

What a timing mistake costs

In figure skating, a program outside the tolerance loses 1 point for every 5 seconds too long or too short (ISU, Rule 353). In artistic gymnastics, floor loses 0.10 from the 91st second, and the FIG code also deducts for poor editing of the music. At RADIX, a routine that runs past the grace period is no longer eligible for placement.

Hence the simple rule: build to a target, not to the limit. For a 1:15 to 1:20 window, aim for 1:17 or 1:18; for a 2:30 maximum, aim for 2:27 or 2:28.

Where to cut so nobody hears it

An edit is heard when it breaks the structure of the music. To avoid that:

• Cut at the start of an eight-count phrase: that’s the “1” of an eight-count magnet in the studio.
• Cut on a change of section (verse, chorus, bridge): the Change in the music magnet finds them.
• Remove a whole chorus or bridge rather than a few seconds in the middle of a phrase.
• End on a final chord or a 2 to 3 second fade timed to the final pose.

What MixClap does not do

So you can choose with your eyes open, here are the tool’s limits for this task.

• The length tool works on one song at a time. To chain several excerpts, use the studio.
• In Exact duration mode, the tempo may shift by under 2%. If your choreography can’t take that, choose Original tempo.
• Too big a gap, such as taking a 4-minute song down to 1:30, may not sound natural: the tool then declines and suggests a realistic range. Trim in the studio first.
• MixClap doesn’t know your competition’s rules: check the length and the timing with the organiser.

Common problems

Frequently asked questions