How to Make a Custom Music Mix (for Cheer or Dance)

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Are you leading a cheer or dance team and wonder how those other teams get custom music mixes? It takes a little practice, but you can learn to do it easily. Once you get the hang of it, you can create simple pieces or get creative and make layered pieces for routines. We'll show you how.

Steps

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    Download a music editing program. There are some great ones out there.
    • Audacity is one that runs on Mac, PC, and Linux, and other operating systems—and it's free!
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    Let your team members help pick the songs.
    • Look for songs that have a similar beat or feel, or look for songs that are timed to the tempo of your routines.
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    At the same time, create a new blank sound document.
    • Find the pieces in each song that you want to use.
    • Cut each piece, in order and place into the empty sound file.
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    You can buy CDs or download thousands of sound effects to add flavor to your cheer routine. Cut these and overlay them in various places of your music.
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    Make sure the finished music meets your requirements. Listen through your mix with your teammates, and see what they think. After you do a couple of these, it'll be second nature!
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    Burn to a CD . Congratulations, you just made a great mix, and now it's time to use it. Make copies for your friends, pass them out, and get your team on the floor!
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Expert Q&A

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  • Question
    How do you make a good mix of songs?
    Emilia Richeson-Valiente
    Certified Dance-Aerobics Instructor
    Emilia Richeson-Valiente is an AFAA Certified Dance-Aerobics Instructor and the founder of Pony Sweat Aerobics. Located in Los Angeles, CA, Pony Sweat started in 2014 as a way to share joyful, non-competitive dance with others. Emilia has since brought Pony Sweat events to cities throughout the country like New York City, San Francisco, Boston, and more. She has performed at events ranging from neighborhood punk shows to Coachella Music Festival, and has choreographed dance aerobics routines for the music videos of Alice Bag, Hayley Williams, Gal Pals, Shark Toys, and Wallows. Emilia received a BFA in Acting from Emerson College.
    Emilia Richeson-Valiente
    Certified Dance-Aerobics Instructor
    Expert Answer
    Start with a warm-up song that has a slower BPM and a feeling of excitement and anticipation. You want people to recognize the beat and get on the floor to dance. Once their bodies have warmed up a bit on the dance floor, their inhibitions are down, and they're feeling more confident, transition to songs with bigger energy where people can really have big expressions of feeling.
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    Not Helpful 1 Helpful 0
  • Question
    Can I do voiceovers as well?
    Community Answer
    I would put voiceovers ONLY in the beginning of the mix. Just record yourself by hitting the "R" on your computer keyboard. I'd also recommend adding some echo to it and removing background noise.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 3 Helpful 12
  • Question
    How to choreograph a dance?
    Community Answer
    Choreographing a dance isn't that hard if you think of what your body would naturally do after a certain move. Find a song that opens your mind more to different moves. Get a song with a good beat in the back. Know all the dancers' best abilities and apply them. Creating a dance is a lot of back and forth. Don't get flustered.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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    Not Helpful 11 Helpful 8
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      Warnings

      • Be careful of downloading free music online. It may be illegal and certainly can lead to computer viruses.
        Thanks
        Helpful 19 Not Helpful 2
      • Don't try your skills for the first time with an important competition routine. Practice a while first!
        Thanks
        Helpful 15 Not Helpful 4
      • Be sure to make back-up copies of your custom mixes. You might want parts of those in future routines.
        Thanks
        Helpful 10 Not Helpful 6
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      Things You'll Need

      • Computer
      • Internet Access
      • Music (either on the computer or on CD's)
      • Music editing software (some can be downloaded for free)
      • CD's to burn the finished music on.
      • Sound effects (Optional).

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      Expert Interview

      Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about dancing, check out our in-depth interview with Emilia Richeson-Valiente .

      References

      1. Audacity
      2. Sony Creative

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