One of the things that you really want to achieve when you are trying to create cheerleading music is a moment. A memorable moment where everything hits perfectly, is choreographed to the music perfectly, and it inspires some sort of emotional response from those who are watching.
The question of course is how do you create this sort of moment? The answer is surprisingly simple: you create drama through dynamic manipulation.
What are Dynamics?
Dynamics are some sort of change in fundamental elements of your cheerleading music. When you think about a cheer music mix: it is generally the same tempo, the same volume, the same style of music throughout. By changing those elements during the routine you create more drama. When a mix has the same drum beats over and over again, it gets monotonous. There is no variation in the tempo or energy in music, but this is actually all you need to complete a cheerleading routine: the right number of eight counts for your routine allows you and your squad to synchronize all the elements in your performance. However, that monotony makes for a pretty boring cheerleading mix.
How can you manipulate dynamics?
You can play with music dynamics by taking elements of your cheer routine music and changing it to make it noticeably different so that it goes through peaks and valleys throughout the course of the routine. You can create drama, for example, if you take the volume of your cheerleading routine and suddenly drop it down to complete silence right before a big skill hits. This creates a response from the crowd because the stunt seems more impactful.
As another example, if your entire routine is hip hop and suddenly you change to an orchestral piece, this really changes the feeling of the music. Genre and style dynamics can be just as powerful as volume manipulation. Even tempo can be manipulated in cheerleading music. Manipulating tempo can be challenging since your squad has to jump, tumble, and stunt at an appropriate speed. Still, clever use of tempo can create different time signatures within your performance. Jumps typically have to be at a certain speed, but running tumbling can often be faster. By changing these dynamic elements of your cheer music mix you can create drama.
Thinking about elements like volume, tempo, and music style you can create a dramatic routine which inspires those who are watching it to feel it as viscerally as those who are performing it. As you’re looking for the perfect cheer music for your season at cheerleadingmix.com, think about those dynamic elements and how you can use them to maximize the effect of what you and your squad are doing in the routine.