Choose program music you love hearing over and over, with a beat you can hear clearly over the rink and a tempo that suits how you skate. Lyrics have been allowed in singles and pairs skating since the 2014-15 season, so vocal music is an option for most events you're likely to enter. Check the program length for your event and have the music edited to fit before you start on choreography.
Key takeaways
- Pick something you love, because you'll hear it hundreds of times. If a piece makes you want to move, that's a good start.
- Skate to your shortlist before you commit, and ask your coach whether the tempo suits your skating.
- Every competitive event has a set program length. Find it in the competition announcement or rulebook, and edit your music to fit.
- Read the announcement for how and when to send your music, and bring a backup copy on the day.
Choosing your music is one of the best parts of building a program. It's the moment skating starts to feel like yours, and a lot of adults spend longer on it than they expected. It can also be the hardest decision, because there's so much music out there. Here's how to narrow it down without losing the fun.
This page is about picking music for your own program, for a competition, a test, a showcase or just for practice. If you're curious why skaters pick the music they do and how the rules have changed over the years, our article on the music rules of figure skating covers that side.
Start with music you love
Start with music you love, because you're going to hear it a lot. You'll play it at practice and catch yourself humming it on the drive home. A piece that makes you want to move tends to show in your skating, and people watching can tell when you're enjoying yourself. Music you picked because you thought you should will get old fast.
Make a long list first. Skaters use all sorts of music, from classical pieces and film or musical theatre soundtracks to jazz, pop songs and instrumental covers of them. Listen with skating in mind, imagining where you'd glide, where your spin might go and where the big moment would land. Then take your shortlist to your coach, who'll have ideas about what suits the way you skate.
Tempo, beat and shape
The right tempo is one you can skate to comfortably. Too slow and it's hard to keep your energy up, and too fast and you'll spend the whole program rushing to keep up. A clear, steady beat you can hear over the rink's speakers is easier to skate to than music that drifts along without much rhythm. Your coach can tell you whether a piece suits the way you move.
Skate to each piece on your shortlist a few times before you decide, during a lesson or a quiet practice session. Check whether you have time to set up your elements and still breathe in between, and whether the music lifts at the moments you'd want it to. A piece that sounded perfect in the car sometimes falls flat on the ice, and it's much better to find that out now.
Think about the shape of the music too. A lot of programs open by setting a mood, build through the middle and finish strong, and a piece with a natural rise and a clear ending makes that easier to skate. Long quiet stretches can be hard to fill when you're starting out, and it's fine to cut them.
Lyrics and the rules
Singles and pairs skaters have been allowed music with lyrics since the 2014-15 season, and ice dancers since the 1997-98 season, so vocal music is an option for most events. Some skaters still prefer instrumental music, or an instrumental version of a song they love, because words can pull attention away from the skating. Either choice is fine.
Each event has its own requirements, though, and dance events come with extra music rules of their own. Check the competition announcement or ask your coach before you settle on a piece. If you're skating purely for fun at practice, you can skate to anything you like.
Program length and editing
Every competitive event has a set program length, and it depends on the event and your level. You'll find it in the competition announcement or the rulebook, and your coach will know it too. Your music has to fit within that time, so a full song almost always needs cutting. Choose the piece first, then edit it to fit.
A good edit is hard to notice. Cuts should fall on the beat and keep the feel of the music, without sudden jumps in volume or key. Decide whether you want the music to end on a clear final note or fade out, and plan your final pose to match. Keep the edited file, and a note of the original track, somewhere safe.
| Option | Good for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Your coach or choreographer | Most adults, especially for a first program | They know your skating and the event rules. Ask whether they edit music themselves or work with someone who does. |
| A music editor who works with skaters | Tricky cuts, or a polished result | Ask your coach or other skaters at your rink who they'd recommend. |
| Doing it yourself | Simple cuts, if you're comfortable with audio software | Free audio editing software can handle basic cuts. Have your coach listen before you start choreography. |
Themes and characters
A theme isn't required, but it can help. Some programs tell a story or play a character, some are about a feeling, and some are simply fun. If your music suggests one, let it shape your arms, your face and your costume. If it doesn't, skating well and enjoying the music is plenty.
Facial expression is part of it, and it's the bit a lot of adults find awkward at first. Practice smiling, or looking fierce, or whatever your music calls for, in your run-throughs and not just on the day. It feels silly until it doesn't. Our page on preparing for your first adult competition has more on getting ready to perform.
Getting your music to a competition
The competition announcement tells you how and when to send your music, so read it early. Have your edited file ready well before the deadline, named the way the announcement asks, and play it through once to make sure it's the right version. Bring a backup copy on the day as well, just in case.
Know exactly how your music starts, whether it begins straight away or after a few seconds, so you can take your starting position calmly. Practice the whole program to the final edit, so the music feels familiar by the time you compete. If your music is for a singles test rather than a competition, your coach will know what the test needs, and our guide to U.S. Figure Skating tests explains how tests work.
A word on music rights
Music rights have become a bigger topic in competitive skating over the last few years, especially at the elite level, and the music rules article linked above explains what changed. If you compete, ask your coach or the event organizer whether you need to do anything about the rights to your music before you build a program around it.
Rules change from season to season, so check the current competition announcement or ask your coach before you rely on any detail here. The choosing part is all yours, so enjoy it.
