Random thoughts about music choices
- Thread starter moriel
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THIS!
I LOVE classical music, especially opera and even I go :curse: every time I see those warhorses listed as the skater's music choice, because you just know they are going to skate to exactly the same sections as everybody else. As you say, there are tons of classical pieces that have never been skated to, but even if one cannot think of any other opera besides say Carmen, how about skating to something other than Habanera or Intermezzo for a change? The piece is over 2 hours long and it's not like these are the only good parts in it.
Me too! & I totally agree with you there, it's so frustrating having to hear the same 4 things over and over... I mean, I like Habanera as much as the next guy but can we let it go please?
They don't even really have to dig that deep to find something good and fairly "safe" - for example, has anyone skated to Ma vlast? That would be wonderful. I really liked Zag's Don Quixote program for that reason - fun, energetic classical music that the audience can even clap to, and it's not overdone to death (hopefully it doesn't become a warhorse now... )
I suspect no chance there, RIP us.Me too! & I totally agree with you there, it's so frustrating having to hear the same 4 things over and over... I mean, I like Habanera as much as the next guy but can we let it go please?
Me too! & I totally agree with you there, it's so frustrating having to hear the same 4 things over and over... I mean, I like Habanera as much as the next guy but can we let it go please?
Oh yes, Má vlast absolutely! Btw, it actually is má vlast (being Czech, you know), so I'm all for it. I remember seeing at least one Vltava skated at an international competition recently (by a Czech skater, suprisingly) and I bet there were more of them, but as for the rest of the set, I'm not sure. :think:
I also cannot understand why even the Russians don't use the Polonaise from Eugen Onegin! It's such a hit and should be very skateable too.
It would also be great to see some skater with good acting skills do the Don Pasquale overture one day, but unfortunately I don't think that is ever going to happen.
And I could go on and on, but that would probably be
topic:.I do like that we're seeing more modern/fan based programs starting to sprout up among the warhorses. Satoko sprinkled a bit of Star Wars into her The Planets program in 2016 (it was glorious and not over the top), Kevin Reynolds had his Cowboy Bebop program in 2016, La La Land programs are becoming more common, Mirai's Imagine Dragons (cover) program was lovely, Sam Smith is more commonly used, Jimmy Ma's "Turn Down for What" turned some heads, Jason's Hamilton program was fun, and I know people are split on Vincent's "Chasing Cars" short but I loved it, and honestly Vanessa James and Morgan Cipre's Sound of Silence program is one of the best "with lyrics" programs to date.
ETA: Forgot to add the Shibutanis' Coldplay programs.
I'm going to be that person vouching for video game osts (One Winged Angel and Skyrim programs please). Again, it's been used sparingly in the past, Nobunari Oda skated to Mario in 2005, Kevin Reynolds has been skating to video game OSTs here and there (Chrono Trigger and Legend of Zelda even though he skated that once before getting injured), and the first half of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's 2017 free dance was to music from the Child of Light OST. It can work and when it does it's lovely. I hope it's not being looked over simply because warhorses are safe and/or choreographers don't want to give it a shot.
ETA: Forgot to add the Shibutanis' Coldplay programs.
I'm going to be that person vouching for video game osts (One Winged Angel and Skyrim programs please). Again, it's been used sparingly in the past, Nobunari Oda skated to Mario in 2005, Kevin Reynolds has been skating to video game OSTs here and there (Chrono Trigger and Legend of Zelda even though he skated that once before getting injured), and the first half of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's 2017 free dance was to music from the Child of Light OST. It can work and when it does it's lovely. I hope it's not being looked over simply because warhorses are safe and/or choreographers don't want to give it a shot.
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Branching off of video game music to be in skating, I think there are some theme songs from TV shows (Doesn't matter if it's for babies, kids, teens, or adults.) that would work so well. A few years ago, I was listening to playlists of cartoons from the 80's (And I can sort of distinguish if a cartoon is from the 80's by a number of components), 90's, and beyond to find songs that would work well. One can include a mix of the "Family Matters" and "Full House" theme songs since both are sung by the same singer (And btw, I can see Jason Brown skate to it). Which will lead to less of a dramatic transition into the next song. Several children shows have theme songs that would work for figure skating. But it's more of the obscure ones that I'm talking about like "The Puzzle Place," "Liberty Kids," and "Cyberchase." Some ending themes can work well.
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I would LOVE to see and hear a Skyrim one.
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It is not just about the choice, but whether skaters are able to deliver it faithfully with genuine self interpretation and musicality. Otherwise it is just souless movements for the sake of COP.
A great Carmen is still a GREAT Carmen despite it is a just... well...Carmen.
A great Carmen is still a GREAT Carmen despite it is a just... well...Carmen.
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I think that's unlikely because hip-hop music and therefore dancing tends to be more percussive/staccato with more up-and-down movement, whereas skating is primarily about horizontal gliding.
However, it can be good for contrast in a program with several different selections, especially in a step sequence, or possibly for the duration of a short program.
And ability to do isolation-type movements to the rhythm in the upper body while maintaining glide across the ice on the blades is impressive, for those who can manage it.
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Oops! Sorry about the misspelled word. & don't even get me started on Russian music! So much great stuff to chose from. The Polonaise is practically made to be a free skate, there's one fast section at the start for jumping passes, then a "break" for SS/choreography, then speeds up again for later jumps. Now that I'd really want to see
topic: 
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I really love the JGP. A lot more interesting music choices and not as much fighting when you're watching all the groups.
I have a gigantic music list of things I'd like skaters to skate to which mostly contains some less popular movie scores and video game OSTs. While of course only good programs will actually get the attention of non-skating fans and convert them to fans, it's important to get people even interested in the first place. I don't think they need to cosplay or really try to portray the theme/events of the movie/game song you're skating to and they can go the Eteri route where they ignore the source material without going so far as to make up a new story for the program.
The day someone skates to any song from Umineko is the day I die and swear to follow them for life lol:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVr0IUQ6BwE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq-HbOF1xvI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hJ7SfceTWw
Oops! Sorry about the misspelled word. & don't even get me started on Russian music! So much great stuff to chose from. The Polonaise is practically made to be a free skate, there's one fast section at the start for jumping passes, then a "break" for SS/choreography, then speeds up again for later jumps. Now that I'd really want to see
Oh no, I didn’t mean to criticize your spelling, which was correct anyway. I just wanted to say that Má vlast (My homeland) actually happens to be my homeland, so it was really nice having this music brought up by someone from a different country!
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Choosing good music for a figure skater is a very challenging, and tricky process. First of all the skater has to have good skating skills to be able to skate to the music. Classical music works well for figure skating because of the dramatic and melodic changes. Not every skater is a Kurt Browning, able to move to just about any beat and interpret a piece of music well. One also has to consider the judges, they don't always respond well to something too outlandish. That's why a lot of skaters stick to the tired and true music. Personally I prefer classical music.
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Just to quote a Danish colleague of mine who has no interest in FS... his response after I showed him Yuzu’s PW and Seimei, Med’s Sailor Moon, and Javi’s aerobics was “Wow, this is cool, I never knew figure skating uses these fun music! I always thought they only use boring clasical music. I should look up more of these...” and sure enough, the next day he excitedly came to show me some fanmade starwar-themed programs. He didn’t convert to a FS fan but I guess non-classical does help in getting the interest and change people’s perspective of the sport.
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I think one of the things that's triggered the sea-change in Pairs has been the ability to use a wider range of music. J/C's Sound of Silence going viral after Europeans 2017, for example, wasn't solely about their skating, though that was an exceptional skate: it was about a fantastic skate to a really good metalised cover of Sound of Silence OMG that's awesome, or at least that's the reaction I saw all over Tumblr. 
S/M's That Man, J/C's Earned It and Make It Rain, S/H's Hallelujah...same thing. Even T/M with their poor reviled Candyman program were seeing that shift in the discipline and trying to follow it, they just couldn't make it work.
The lyrics, the contemporary or pop music, the familiarity help an audience that's not overly familiar with classical music to connect to the performances and perceive the sport as relevant. Same thing with film scores, though those date more quickly. And these days, with the scores of TV series being available too, I'd expect to see more of those cropping up, even if not skated as 'character' programs. There are how many series of Doctor Who scores out there now? Somebody give me the Eleventh Doctor on ice - or better yet, the Twelfth Doctor vs. Missy! Or a Bear McCreary score - Battlestar Galactica has some amazing pieces, from Dreilide Thrace Sonata no 1 to Gaeta's Lament and Farewell Apollo, and the theme from Black Sails would make an amazing alternative to Pirates of the everlasting Carribean...
S/M's That Man, J/C's Earned It and Make It Rain, S/H's Hallelujah...same thing. Even T/M with their poor reviled Candyman program were seeing that shift in the discipline and trying to follow it, they just couldn't make it work. The lyrics, the contemporary or pop music, the familiarity help an audience that's not overly familiar with classical music to connect to the performances and perceive the sport as relevant. Same thing with film scores, though those date more quickly. And these days, with the scores of TV series being available too, I'd expect to see more of those cropping up, even if not skated as 'character' programs. There are how many series of Doctor Who scores out there now? Somebody give me the Eleventh Doctor on ice - or better yet, the Twelfth Doctor vs. Missy! Or a Bear McCreary score - Battlestar Galactica has some amazing pieces, from Dreilide Thrace Sonata no 1 to Gaeta's Lament and Farewell Apollo, and the theme from Black Sails would make an amazing alternative to Pirates of the everlasting Carribean...
I think one of the things that's triggered the sea-change in Pairs has been the ability to use a wider range of music. J/C's Sound of Silence going viral after Europeans 2017, for example, wasn't solely about their skating, though that was an exceptional skate: it was about a fantastic skate to a really good metalised cover of Sound of Silence OMG that's awesome, or at least that's the reaction I saw all over Tumblr.
The lyrics, the contemporary or pop music, the familiarity help an audience that's not overly familiar with classical music to connect to the performances and perceive the sport as relevant. Same thing with film scores, though those date more quickly. And these days, with the scores of TV series being available too, I'd expect to see more of those cropping up, even if not skated as 'character' programs. There are how many series of Doctor Who scores out there now? Somebody give me the Eleventh Doctor on ice - or better yet, the Twelfth Doctor vs. Missy! Or a Bear McCreary score - Battlestar Galactica has some amazing pieces, from Dreilide Thrace Sonata no 1 to Gaeta's Lament and Farewell Apollo, and the theme from Black Sails would make an amazing alternative to Pirates of the everlasting Carribean...
Yes to all of this. Also might I offer up Babylon Berlin's excellent score as an alternative to Cabaret and just straight up fantastic on its own. Or Stranger, a Korean murder-mystery, as has some fantastic music.
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