The Ninety-Second Cut That Wins: How to Design a Short Program Judges Remember
Introduction
Most music competitions aren’t trying to discover who can play the most notes. They’re trying to find who can make an idea land under pressure in very little time. That’s why a short program, often ninety seconds, is the great equalizer. You can’t hide behind a long arc. You have to choose the right repertoire, set the right key and tempo, shape a clear arc with contrast, and end clean. Do that and your score climbs, regardless of genre or instrument.
This guide shows you how to win a music contest even without buying votes for contest. We’ll work like a judge does. We’ll translate the marking criteria into actions you can control. We’ll map seconds to bars, plan a quiet moment and a peak, and script a button ending that reads in any room. You’ll get the capture plan for phone or camera, the export settings that avoid disqualification, and the practice plan that keeps you reliable without burning out. Along the way we’ll point to a handful of trustworthy references so you can double-check rules, technique, and tech specs when you need them.
How judges actually listen
Judges don’t score feelings. They score criteria. Time and rhythm. Pitch and intonation. Tone quality. Phrasing and dynamics. Communication and delivery. If you build your cut around those buckets, you’re speaking their language. It also means your plan can be simple. Put your best controllable skills in the first ten seconds. Place one true contrast move in the middle. Land a confident ending without rushing or fading. The rest is tidy stagecraft.
If you want to see how formal rubrics describe those buckets, browse a reputable performance marking document. Notice how “Pitch,” “Time,” “Tone,” “Shape,” and “Performance” are treated as distinct lenses. That’s exactly how your ninety seconds will be judged. abrsm.org
Why ninety seconds favors clarity
Short programs punish indecision. Every second counts, which is great news if you plan well. A judge gets your vibe inside five seconds, and they start scoring before measure ten. You can use that by placing an unmistakable hook early and by preventing dead air. You can also avoid mistakes that shorten your score: long intros that don’t add points, overlong vamps, and flabby endings that dribble over the time cap. The winning mindset is simple. Fewer unknowns. More intentional choices.
Step one: choose repertoire that lands on a tired day
Don’t pick the key that works only on your best day. Pick the key you can land when you slept badly or the room is cold. Reliability wins more points than bravado. For voice that often means two semitones under the top of your current ceiling so you can center vowels and control onsets. For strings it means passages whose shifts are mapped and whose contact point is stable. For winds it means phrases where the breath plan is obvious and the problem notes are tuned against a drone before speed. For piano it means voicings that keep the melody above the accompaniment without relying on heavy pedal. For drums it means a pocket that stays steady at soft volume.
If your genre is classical and you’re choosing between editions, consider a scholarly Urtext edition. Clear engraving, sensible page turns, and transparent editorial decisions remove friction and protect style choices. The point isn’t brand worship. It’s avoiding surprises so your cut stays honest and crisp. Henle
Step two: set your tempo by feel, not ego
Now decide the tempo that shows control. The test is simple. Can you sing or play the quietest phrase in perfect time at that tempo without losing tone. If the answer is no, drop a few beats per minute. You’re not getting points for speed if time gets messy when it’s soft. Judges notice when the groove only works loud. Build the groove at level three, then let the peak be a choice rather than a crutch.
Step three: sketch the arc in three scenes
Think in film scenes, not sections. Start with an opening that speaks in two seconds. Then a middle that proves contrast. Then a button ending that freezes for one beat and releases together. That’s your skeleton.
The opening. Start on sound, not on uncertainty. If you need a breath or a count, take it once before the camera rolls or before the MC says your name. Then land the first pitch centered and the first beat in time. No chatter. No fidgeting.
The middle. One contrast move is enough. It can be a true whisper that still sits above the noise floor, or a controlled peak that remains beautiful. The trick is obvious contrast without changing your tone. If the tone changes, it reads as strain, not design.
The ending. Decide the length of the last note in seconds, not vibes. Practice freezing still for one beat after the release. That tiny stillness tells a judge you’re in control.
Step four: build a cut map with bars and seconds
You don’t need a music theory dissertation. You need a map that protects your cap and your arc. Here’s a practical way to design it.
Write the form letters. A, B, C, bridge, tag. Write them on one page.
Time each scene. With a stopwatch, time the opening phrase until the hook, the contrast section, and the ending.
Count bars. Translate each timed section into bar counts at your chosen tempo.
Add safety. Save three to five seconds of silence under the cap for the upload platform. Some portals judge total file duration, not only musical content.
Mark the cuts. If you’re trimming a verse or repeating a chorus, mark the exact measures and copy cleanly to your score or chart.
Button check. Run only the last two bars five times in a row. Endings add points when they look intentional.
If you’re doing a medley, resist the urge to cram. Two ideas and one glue bar beat a three song sampler that never breathes. Your listener wants one clear shape.
Step five: program a contrast pair by instrument family
Your contrast move depends on your instrument. The idea stays the same. Show control in two directions without changing who you are.
Voice. Pair a quiet line with consonant clarity and a centered vowel against a controlled peak where you pull the mic back a finger’s width instead of pushing. Use air speed for crescendos and keep vibrato after the pitch center so intonation stays true. A cardioid handheld a hand-span from your mouth protects dynamics and tames room bleed. Shure
Strings. Pair a supple lyrical phrase with contact point near the fingerboard against a passage closer to the bridge with higher bow speed. Keep left-hand pressure light so fast runs stay fat rather than thin and scratchy. If your arc requires a cadenza-like flourish, map each shift with a guide finger and test anchors against open strings before speed.
Piano. Pair a no-pedal cantabile line where the melody is clearly voiced above accompaniment against a blooming chordal section with just enough pedal to connect harmony without blur. If your top octave goes brittle when loud, slow your key descent and voice away from the edges.
Winds. Pair a long-tone melody with light tongue and stable embouchure against a nimble articulated phrase. Decide breath plans per section. Tune known problem notes with a tuner snapshot and then reinsert them into the run.
Drums. Pair a low-volume pocket with level-one ghost notes against a brief spotlight fill that lands exactly on the one. Keep cymbal decay under control so melody instruments can speak. Judges reward quiet control more than loud chops.
Step six: write a cue map if you use an accompanist or band
Short programs fall apart at transitions, not at showy spots. If you perform with a collaborative pianist, rhythm section, or track, agree on a tiny cue language. One breath or head nod means start now. A small circle with the index finger means keep going. An open palm up means button ending and freeze. Decide exactly where those cues land relative to the barline. Practice them at least once a week. When the nerves hit, your body will follow the script.
Step seven: obey the rules that most often disqualify
Two rules trip people more than any others. The first is the single-take requirement. Many competitions insist on no edits, no punch-ins, and no multi-camera stitching. The second is the single fixed camera rule. If your cut needs a one-shot performance, plan it that way from day one and you won’t be tempted to “fix it in post.” mtna.org
Vocal competitions often add their own video rules. They may prohibit revealing teacher identities in the file or on your channel, require separate videos for each selection, and reject “private” links that judges can’t open. Read the document once at the start and again before you upload so you don’t lose on a technicality. nats.org
The capture plan judges trust
You don’t need a cinema rig. You need honest capture. That means a clear frame, stable focus, sensible mic distance, and healthy headroom.
Frame. Keep the camera at eye level for singers and most instruments. Pianists look best from the treble side at about forty-five degrees so both hands and a slice of keys are visible. Guitar and strings read well from a three-quarter angle that shows both hands. Drummers benefit from a hi-hat-side angle that includes snare, hats, and kick area. Keep the background calm. Stand two or three steps off the wall to create depth. Lock focus and exposure. The image is not a music video. It’s documentation that you can play.
Mic placement and gain. Decide your distance and stick to it. For voice that’s a consistent hand-span for normal lines with a slight pullback on peaks. Aim the capsule slightly off axis to tame plosives. For instruments, aim at the sound source, not the floor. Gain stage at your loudest five seconds. If you’re recording digitally, set peaks well below clipping so dynamics survive, and leave a tiny cushion near the top so your export limiter never has to work. If you want a deeper dive on practical miking techniques, one compact primer worth skimming comes from a manufacturer’s live sound guide. Use it to sanity-check your plan. Shure
Headroom and loudness. You don’t need broadcast loudness, but you do need sanity. Leave headroom for peaks and avoid brickwall loudness that flattens dynamics. If you want a number to anchor your thinking, the EBU’s widely adopted recommendation around integrated loudness is a useful reference point, even though you’re not delivering for television. It will remind you that peaks and averages are different things, and that clean dynamics beat raw volume. EBU Tech
Export settings. Keep it simple. MP4 container. H.264 video. AAC audio. 1080p at a constant frame rate. File sizes stay reasonable, judges can open them on anything, and most portals accept this without complaint. If you ever wonder, check a platform’s upload recommendations.
The point isn’t to chase every codec trend. It’s to avoid weird compatibility issues that waste your time or the judges’ time. Google Help
Avoid the hidden tech traps
Two traps are responsible for most “we couldn’t play your video” messages. The first is variable frame rate exports that drift over time. The second is oddball containers and codecs that school or association portals don’t accept. You can dodge both by exporting at a constant frame rate in an MP4 wrapper with H.264 and AAC. When in doubt, look at a real competition’s video page. The spirit is the same everywhere. One camera. One take. No edits. No multi-angle cutaways. Don’t include teacher names in your file or slate if judging is blind. mtna.org
Keep your slate and credits rule-clean
If your round is blind, don’t speak your name in the video and don’t put identity info in the description or channel name. If your round allows or requires a slate, keep it under five seconds and get to the music. The judges are measuring you against a rubric, not your résumé. If your category requires separate videos for each selection, label each file clearly with plain ASCII characters and the date. Read the current year’s document. Rules change. nats.org
Ethics: what counts as over-editing
You’re allowed to trim the top and tail. You’re allowed to set one consistent loudness and remove low-level rumble if it doesn’t smear the sound. You are not allowed to stitch best phrases from multiple takes into a “single take.” You are not allowed to pitch-correct notes or time-warp phrases to hide rush or drag when the rules say live capture. If your contest is a songwriting or production category with full-mix permission, state what you did when asked, and still avoid misleading edits. The story your cut tells should be simple. This is what I do, live, in one pass.
The practice plan that gets you across the cap
Ninety seconds rewards pressure practice more than hours of noodling. Here’s a plan that fits real life.
Week one. Decide the piece and key. Record one reference take at your target tempo. Use that to expose two ugly bars. Start slow loops on those bars and stop the moment your hands or voice start to grip.
Week two. Continue slow loops. Add a metronome routine that puts the click only on two and four for groove, and a gap-click tool that alternates one bar on and one bar off to test internal time. Your goal is steady time at soft volume, not just loud.
Week three. Add pressure reps. That means a one-take rule with a visible countdown twice this week. No restarts. Save one take per session even if you hate it. You’re training reliability, not perfection.
Week four. Taper. Run one full timed take early in the week, then stop doing full takes. Each day rehearse only the first ten seconds and the last ten seconds. Protect your voice or hands. The last forty-eight hours are for sleep and calm.
Throughout the month, tag four moments on every recording. First ten seconds. Hook or hardest bar. Entrance to the climax. Last ten seconds. Those four timestamps will focus your fixes.
Self-scoring that mirrors a judge’s sheet
Print a simple form. Give yourself a fifty-point “technique” block for time, pitch, and tone, a thirty-point “musicianship” block for phrasing, dynamics, and style, and a twenty-point “presentation” block for stage or camera presence and rule fit. Score one take per day against that form. When in doubt, ask two trusted ears to pick between blind A and blind B. Keep the calmer, clearer take. The point isn’t to punish yourself. It’s to verify that your choices translate for a listener who doesn’t know you.
How to keep your cut rule-safe across organizations
Competitions use different platforms and templates, but the backbone looks the same. They will specify how many selections, whether to compile or upload separately, whether to show accompanists, and what to put in titles or descriptions. Many associations spell out that video quality isn’t judged beyond clarity and rule compliance. Focus on the musical criteria, not cinematic tricks. When you need to check specifics, read a current year’s rules page or handbook rather than a social post. It will save you stress and keep your entry in the pool. mtna.org
Citing arrangements and editions without confusing anyone
If you perform an arrangement, credit it. If you cut a movement or transpose for voice, say so on the program or in the submission form. If you used a specific edition that affects articulations or ornaments, name it. Clear credits show honesty and help judges understand choices. If you’re unsure what “edition” even means in your context, a brief explanation of scholarly editions can help you decide which score to use and how to label it. You want your paperwork to be as clean as your playing. Henle
File names and exports that don’t get bounced
Keep file names short and plain. Date first in YYYYMMDD format, then your name or entry ID if allowed, then piece and duration. Avoid spaces, accents, symbols, and emojis. Export at 1080p, H.264, AAC, constant frame rate, and leave a sliver of headroom so your peaks aren’t slamming zero. If you’re ever unsure about upload specs for general platforms, the public upload guides are a decent compass and will keep you out of weird compatibility territory. Google Help
Quick checklist before you press upload
Read the rule sheet once more. Confirm your time cap with three to five seconds of safety. Watch the first ten seconds and the last ten seconds on a phone and a laptop. Check that audio peaks don’t clip and that voices and hands stay in frame. Confirm that your title or description doesn’t break blind rules. Make sure your ending freezes for one beat before release. Save the raw file in case the organizer asks for it later. If your category is strictly adjudicated for vocal submissions, review the current year’s video guidance and make sure your titles and channel presentation don’t leak identity where it’s not allowed. nats.org
When to worry about loudness
Some entrants normalize their file until it’s loud for loudness’ sake. That can punish dynamics and make you sound harsh. A better mental model is broadcast-style loudness with headroom for peaks. You don’t need to match a streaming service target, but understanding integrated loudness and true peak makes your export more predictable across devices. A short primer on the EBU recommendation will keep your meters honest and your ears sane. Then leave a decibel of space near the top. Your musical shape will thank you. EBU Tech
What to do the week of
Sleep and water matter more than another take. Anchor your wake time. Stop full-volume practice two days before your slot. Finish warmup ten to fifteen minutes before you perform so your body settles. If you’re shooting video, set lights and frame first. Run eight seconds of your quietest phrase and eight seconds of your loudest phrase to set gain on your loudest moment. Start recording, slate if allowed, and begin within two seconds. Afterward, label the file cleanly and back it up before you even watch it.
Examples of simple ninety-second shapes
Singer with piano. Verse one in the safe key, chorus hook by second fifteen, brief bridge for color, half chorus peak, button ending with a shared release. Breath and mic distance planned. No rubato except where both agree.
Solo violin. Lyrical phrase that establishes tone and intonation against a brief scalar burst with left-hand economy. A short harmonic flare, then the primary theme restated with a clean bow and a decisive cadence. No wandering off mic.
Piano solo. A clear subject without pedal to prove voicing, a mid-section with broader sonority and touch, a quick dynamic swell that never turns brittle, and a cadence with a measured fermata and release. Pedal mapped to the room.
Sax with rhythm section. Head in, quick two-chorus story where chorus one is melody-forward and chorus two moves register or articulation, then a tight setup fill from drums back into the head and a button ending on the one. Stage volume sensible so the lead stays above the band.
These shapes are not formulas. They’re reminders to show a complete musical thought rather than a scrapbook.
When to ignore cleverness
If a choice adds risk without adding points, skip it. Wild modulations, extended intros, and overdue endings eat time and attention. If you hear yourself saying “I hope I nail it,” trim or transpose. The judge can only score what you deliver in the room or on the file. Give them shape, control, and a feeling that you could do it again right now.
Closing: your ninety-second promise
A winning short program isn’t complicated. It’s honest. It starts clean, shows contrast, and ends on purpose. It respects the rubric and the rule sheet. It captures your sound clearly without technical drama. It’s built around decisions you can land on a tired day. If you do those things, you give the panel an easy job. They can hear the musical idea, they can check their boxes with confidence, and they can reward you for clarity under pressure.
When you want a checklist or two to keep you on track, lean on sources that live in this world every day. Review a formal marking grid when you plan your arc. Skim a competition’s video rules before you record. Confirm your mic distance and export settings with a practical guide. You only have ninety seconds. Spend them on music, not guesswork. EBU Tech+5abrsm.org+5mtna.org+5
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