Picking the Right Floor Music

What is the only thing you hear at a gymnastics meet besides cheering? If you answered “music” then I definitely have to agree with you!

There is nothing more overbearing than a million different lyric-less songs playing back-to-back for a few hours while you are watching your little gymnast compete. Some songs are definitely catchy, others are elegant and soft, others are epic and loud, and some are fast pace, and some are much slower.

It is not always easy when it comes to picking out your gymnast’s floor music. Sometimes the coaches just do it themselves and sometimes the gymnast and her parents are involved with the decision.

Below I have put together a short guide with tips on how your gymnast, yourself and her coaches can pick the perfect music for her routine.

How do I know what style to pick?

Usually, this goes by how your gymnast performs. If her routine is more elegant than the choice of music should be soft and gentle-like. If your gymnast’s routine consists of a lot of movement and tumbling, then I would go with something more upbeat.

You want something that will compliment your gymnast’s routine the best it can. You want it to match nicely with her skills and you also want the music to have different tones.

What I mean by different tones: If your gymnast is doing more skills that have to do with posture, flexibility, hand and arm movements than you would want the music in the song to be gentle during those parts whereas when your gymnast starts to tumble- you would want the music to start increasing when it comes to volume and pace because tumbling is exciting.

It would be off-key if your gymnast was tumbling to elegant music, wouldn’t it? I personally think that it just would not match up.

How do I know what to look for?

As much as you would like your gymnast to be 100 percent comfortable, you also want her to be able to come out of her shell. In general, gymnastics is a sport that will definitely help when it comes to getting out of your comfort zone, especially since you have to literally perform every routine in front of a big crowd of people.

When it comes to picking your gymnast’s floor music you have to think of choosing something that will inspire her. If she is tapping her feet to the beat or is swaying her head side-to-side than I think you found the perfect match. You want your gymnast to feel like she is competing for Gold in the Olympics.

The floor routine is your gymnast’s time to shine and express herself through the sport she loves. You want your gymnast to perform to the best of her ability while having fun at the same time.

You also want to consider her personality. To be honest, a lot of the music I hear at meets are more on the epic side; it makes me feel like I am alongside Gerard Butler in 300 about to fight for my life! Not every single gymnast’s music is epic. I had heard Harry Potter floor music and famous pop-songs.

The gymnast that I support has very bubbly music because she is definitely more on the goofy side. Her routine is more fast-paced anyway but it is entertaining as anything to see her flip and jump around! And come on, have you seen Laurie Hernandez’s floor routine during the Rio Olympics?

It is one of the best things I have ever seen and it definitely reflected on who she is as a performer.

Where can I find floor music?

Like I mentioned earlier in this post, sometimes your gymnast’s coach will pick her routine. If this is the case then your gymnast’s coach knows where to look. There are plenty of websites, companies, tracks, and choreographers that help when it comes to making this decision.

If your gymnast or yourself are helping with making a decision when it comes to the music, then I personally suggest listening to different soundtracks.

Another thing to try to do is look up stuff on YouTube. I love YouTube, I could spend hours on it looking up a million things about gymnastics and never get bored of it. If you or your gymnast watch a few videos on other gymnast’s floor routine, this can certainly spark up some ideas.

Other than that, some routines are even passed down to gymnasts. This is actually a good option for those that are looking for a cheaper routine and know what the routine already looks like. Floor routines and music can be pricey because a lot of it is customized, plus no one knows what it actually looks like until it is performed for meets.

What I mean by listening to different soundtracks: Literally put on Spotify or Pandora and listen to a variety of songs. If you know what genre of music your gymnast likes then internet radio is perfect because it mixes so many different artists and plays different songs.

If there is a beat that your gymnast likes, it does not hurt to listen to it without the lyrics and see if it is do-able when it comes to making up a routine for it.

Now what?

I would allow your gymnast to pick about two to three tracks and have her listen to them each over and over again. I would have her come up with a few skills to go along with the tracks to see which one works better with the way she performs.

It definitely does not do any harm to get opinions from coaches, family, friends, and loved ones because feedback definitely is beneficial.

I really do wish your gymnast the best of luck when it comes to finding that perfect floor music!

Please feel free to comment and give any useful tips or advice when it comes to picking the right floor music that we may have missed.

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