Do's and Dont's for Hip Hop Competition Music

GeTfUnKy | Oct 20, 2009 | there are 3 comments 3

It is that time of the year when dance teachers and choreographers are choosing music or have already chosen several tracks for a hip hop number for competition. Every year sitting behind the judges table I hear great mixes and ones that need a lot of work.

First of all, make sure the music is edited; I and many other judges will count off while judging due to profanity and suggestive lyrics that are inappropriate for the age group performing.

Another thing that hurts the flow of a number is if you have way too many songs in a mix. It is very choppy, and can take away from your performance. I have seen some numbers with at least 8 different songs in the mix. That is way too much, and it does not allow you to get into a groove.

Lastly, if you are really committed to winning with your hip hop piece, the quality of the music is really important. I always use my DJ friends when it comes to my music. Even though I DJ on the side and spin records, I am not great at mixing. I know a lot of you teachers out there have computer programs like Looplabs, or MixMeister, which can be very helpful. But without someone mixing that has the knowledge of levels, flow and BPM (Beats Per Minute), it can be very hard to match the speed from track to track. Most Hip Hop music is 106 bpms, for all you home mixers out there that wanna save money and do it yourself. But be careful with the bpms or you can get the vocals sounding like the chipmunks, and lets be honest, us judges don't want to hear shrill, chipmunk like hip hop.

Good luck, and keep those tracks bangin'!

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tags Hip Hop, Teacher, Enthusiast, Parent, Studio, Competitions & Conventions, Performance (all tags)


Do's and Dont's for Hip Hop Competition Music | 3 Comments | Post a Comment
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Hip hop competition music

Thank you for this post.  I'm actually in the process of deciding what songs to mix for one of my competition pieces.  I was having trouble deciding how many songs to mix together and how to get it to flow correctly.  I agree that the music has to keep a certain groove to it so the students don't get lost because then it starts to just become different combinations thrown together instead of one dance.

I plan on posting a similiar blog about this after I have the music edited together tomorrow.  I think that it is also helpful when the songs still create a sense of one idea or story and aren't just thrown in there for filler!

-Katie Hopper
567wait.wordpress.com

user icon 567Wait | Oct 21, 2009 | rated none by 0 others

re: Do's and Dont's for Hip Hop Competition Music

Hip hop dancing covers a large range of styles and specific moves and techniques, but the cornerstone of the style is undoubtedly break dancing. Over time, that so-called old school way of dancing and participating in hip hop culture has evolved into many different off-shoots. Funk dancing, popping and locking, jigging, freaking, krump, and hyphy are examples of types of hip hop dance, and each style contains certain moves that distinguish it from other forms. Throughout the world, there are competitions and there is no doubt as to the influence hip hop and that style of dancing have had on the cultures it touches. Here in the United States, many people opt to take hip hop dancing lessons, and although some critics believe that teaching orchestrated steps in that fashion is adverse to the true roots of the culture and the history of the dance, many people enjoy taking the lessons and learning how to break with the best of them, so the payday loans that they used was worth it.

user icon CaseyU | Oct 24, 2009 | rated none by 0 others

Payday Loans?

Thats the great thing about dancing and the art of movement. It can spawn from a certain style, such as break dancing. Which started upright, without doing windmills and stalls. Its the puerto ricans of NYC that took it to the ground and started spinning on the ground and on they're heads. This reply was totally off topic of the original blog post, and what does payday loans have to do with Hip Hop, or break dancing?

user icon GeTfUnKy | Oct 26, 2009 | rated none by 0 others

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