The Benefits of Practicing with an 8-count Track

2020-01-16

Using pre-recorded 8-count tracks provides various benefits for routine practice. An 8-count practice track is a piece of music or beats with a voice counting 8 count measures for the duration of your routine.

1. Easier to hear - Playing the track over your sound system is usually easier to hear than a coach or choreographer shouting counts. This also frees up the coach/choreographer to give encouragement and instructions instead of counting.

2. Prepares you for competition -
The track is at the tempo that your final music will be so that the team can learn to move at the appropriate speed instead of spending weeks learning a routine only to have to adjust to the tempo once the music is complete. This will assure smoother transitions and a more uniform performance. It may also help to determine the appropriate tempo for the skill level of the team.

3. Helps to complete your 8-count sheets -
During choreography it will be easy to see how many 8 counts are required for a certain section of choreography and exactly where movements hit. This can easily be translated to your final 8-count sheets for submission to the music producer. This may also help to avoid any possible errors that could occur in finalizing 8-count sheets.

4. Increased practice time at full-out speed -
Many teams have to wait until they receive their final mix before being able to practice the routine "full out". Sometimes the final music isn't received until just days or weeks before a competiton. By practicing to an 8-count track, the team can get more reps and work which will translate into a better competition performance.

If you are not used to practicing with 8-count tracks, give it a try! We believe you will see the benefits immediately. We offer a Practice Mix Bundle which includes 8-count tracks at various tempos and competition time lengths. You can find them on our site under the "Cheer Mix" tab.

Blog Archive

2017
   September (2)
   October (2)
   November (1)
   December (2)

2018
   January (2)
   May (1)
   July (1)
   October (1)
   December (1)

2019
   February (1)
   June (1)

2020
   January (2)
   February (1)
   March (1)