Music Tips for FLL Competition

[DUCKIE]

Danny:

I also use iTunes for all my music, and for when I DJ. (Duel on the Delaware FRC Offseason, DE State JFLL/FLL/FTC Tournaments, and for the Girl Scouts)

Some General Things I've Learned...

• If you have iTunes or something similar... grouping all of your music ahead of time can help keep you from playing a completely inappropriate song at the event. (For example - I sort all my music into Clean, Not-Yet Rated, Book-On-Tape, or Dirty)
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• Never trust "Clean" or "Radio Edit" ratings. All ways listen to the whole song beforehand!
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• Create a playlist before hand. But not one that is too long, because then you are giving yourself too many options. Which makes it harder to choose what to play next.
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• Be prepared for delays. Sorting out scores, deciding who gets what award, and setting up for the awards can take longer than expected. I always keep a second "Dance Music" Playlist to keep the kids busy between the last match and the awards ceremony (And exhaust them so they zonk-out for their parents on drive home.)
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• Parents usually appreciate calmer/quieter music over lunch breaks.
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• Make friends with the Emcee... they can help boost lagging energy by getting people to join in on dance songs or sing-a-longs like Bohemian Rhapsody (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme was a winner at the Duel this year... got me how they all knew it... but they did!)

I've been completely guilty of creating playlists that are WAY too long. (In 2006 my playlist was 3.5 days worth of music) So I've started tracking what I play. This past October, at the Duel on the Delaware I only used about 140 songs (~8.2 hours) not including the lunch/planning break playlist I made which I accidentally deleted last month. It will probably be a bit large of a playlist if you plan to run each song from start to finish... which I was not... I played one ~2min. song during the match, and 2-3 songs in between matches. [Similar to most FRC regionals on Saturday when they actually have a DJ in.] Either way you decide to run the music... I'd try and cap the playlist at a 150-160 song maximum.

With FLL as your target group... you'd best have at-least 2-3 Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus songs. And some stuff from the High School Musicals, Jonas Brothers, and some Pop songs off the radio closer to the event. White & Nerdy by Weird Al is also usually a winner at FIRST events.

I've attached a copy of the music I played at the Duel. Just in case it might give you some ideas.

I hope it helps.

-Andrea-