Does anyone else think that the couples use too much new/up to date music, for their dances.
I was particularly looking forward to the Quickstep week, because their are some fantastic traditional quickstep tunes out there, and it brings a whole kind of Hollywood/Broadway 20s/30s glamour to the show.
I also think that popular music just does not work, in most cases.
It made Matt and Alionas dance far too frenetic and jumbled, when the Quickstep should be light, stylish and fun.
I know that Len prefers traditional music, just as I do. Perhaps their choice had some effect upon his score, of SEVEN !!!

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I know the pros have some say in the music they use, but the end decision is with the BBC. I also think that part of the problem is the band - they haven't grasped that you can take any piece of music but need to speed it up or slow it down, according to the dance. I have one piece of music "Somewhere in Time" recorded as a waltz (3-time); a foxtrot (4-time), a rumba and a samba. Every one works because it has been recorded at the correct pitch.

But my real hate is seeing tangos and pasos danced to music that has nothing to do with the dance. I'd rather hear Spanish Gypsy for every paso ever played than some of the rubbish they dish up!

Absolutely.
I think it greatly detracts from the romance and ambiance of the dance, to have some vacuous pop song blaring out, often in the wrong tempo.

I am very much with you on this .

Though there was an item with the band on ITT last year and one point made was that they have to reduce each piece of music to 90seconds and change the time signature on occasions and have it recorded by the following Monday for individual rehearsals having been given the list on a Saturday .

Reducing a piece of music to 90 seconds is no problem -you just don't necessarily play the whole thing.

Any piece of music can be played for dancing - it's the speed and beat that is important, and unfortunately I don't think the band has the slightest idea of the nuances of strict tempo music, so they simply try and imitate the original sound and singers.

I thought the music was chosen for them, or at least they had to put numerous suggestions forward and it was then picked from that.

I think some of the celebs and pro's do request certain tracks - but it is very clear this year that the new executive producer has instructed that more 'modern' music be used.

This would be fine if it worked but there were some shockers on Saturday. Kara clearly has potential but since when was Jet's Are You Gonna be My Girl a quickstep?! The music choice for her was so bad - again - that it grated appallingly with her routine, so much so that I couldn't concentrate on it properly.

Moira Ross has made some good changes to the show but the new music policy is not one of them. The music should work with the performances - not against them.

This is what Brendan wrote on Twitter to answer the music question:

"we choose the songs but sometimes with help from BBC. Depends on show and other numbers etc but Series 8 getting Difficult!"

Converseley, some of the hits of the past few decades have lent themselves admirably to some of the dances, there have been numerous threads on here discussing past successes and potential future choices as well as how many of us hear songs on the radio now and immediately think what a good waltz/cha cha etc they would make. FWlW I am a fan of lots of types of music going back centuries not just decades

Me too. It pains me. The paso has been danced to some really vile tracks. Why they think rock is a good choice is beyond me. Bet we have another wretched Queen track again this year. Yuck!

Mind you the band isn't up to much, let's face it

they should have the dude that was singing on the pro tour - he was AMAZING

I don't mind which songs they use, old or modern aslong as i like them

I couldnt agree more with the OP, i love the older music for the Quickstep and missed it a lot at the weekend, im worrying about the Charleston music now

I know! The singers were excellent on the tour. I had the same thought.

I don't mind if they are old or modern (competitive dancers use a mixture all the time), and I don't even mind if they are songs I don't really like, providing they are appropriate and played at the proper timing for the dances.

As for the singers, I wish they'd ditch the lot of 'em; music for dancing is much better without vocals, especially for ballroom.

Maybe it's the DWTS influence again as the music choice on that show is even worse.

On the other hand, there's been some brilliant music choices over the years. Scott & Natalie using Bare Necessities this year was inspired. I loved it!

I thought the music choices for most of the quicksteps were absolutely dire. It spoils the dance, as it did in Matt and Aliona's case. I don't know what that new producer is on, but she is wrecking SCD this year, and I wish she would clear off back to America.

Music? There's music? I'm watching the wrong programme

Mind you, there's not much dancing some weeks. Not thinking of anyone in particular, Ann and Michelle.

The music has been pretty bad since series 1. On the otherhand, some people might think it's great - it's all a matter of taste.

I must admit that I do sometimes like the "inappropriate" music selections (mostly because I just happen to like the particular piece of music) but I agree that perhaps they might be best relegated to the showdance, where anything goes!

The popular music is an element of entertainment, and a way of making what could (and often was before SCD) seen as an elitist art that bit more accessible to the layman viewer.

For me, a non-dancer without any appreciation of specific dance music, I enjoy it when people make choices as bold as AYGBMG or what I think was a Coral song for the quickstep, or Gwen Stefani for the tango, or even The Darkness for the paso last year (which wasn't nearly as horrible as I feared).

As a singer, I think I find it more annoying when the sentiment of the song gets in the way of the type of dance, hence my fears about The Darkness last year.

Again as a singer, I'm reasonably musical and can find and count a beat quite happily. If you can do that, then most of the music choices on SCD make sense. And if you can't do that on SCD then you haven't got a hope in hell anyway.

I'm not denying there have been some disasters - Flavia's 4/4 waltz for Craig last year, the Hey Soul Sister quickstep - but for the most part, the timings are OK and the music is all good fun for me.

I was really worried about the Charleston music. Thankfully on the whole though it was good. Loved 42nd street and the numbers from Bugsy Malone and Chicago were brilliant. That's more like it.


If you like the piece of music, go look/listen on you tube, to the original artistes. It isn't good for the dancers, so leave it out.

But the Pro dancers used the same track for a group quickstep 2 years ago and it worked very well... if anything I had trouble concentrating on Karas routine because I was reminiscing on that routine

Didn't enjoy " Love is the Drug " for Pamela's tango, and "Toxic " for Gavin's was a terrible choice - something more traditional would have helped him do a better job maybe.