Guide
How long should a medley be?
Too short and the medley feels like a teaser. Too long and the audience starts checking their phones. Here are the numbers arrangers actually use.
The quick answer
| Occasion | Total length | Songs | Per song |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wedding or party set | 6–12 min | 4–8 | 1–1.5 min |
| School or community concert | 3–5 min | 3–4 | 45–75 s |
| Choir concert | 4–7 min | 3–5 | 1–1.5 min |
| Competition or show choir | 3–4 min | 3–5 | 30–60 s |
| Opening or closing number | 2–3 min | 2–3 | 45–60 s |
How much of each song to keep
Most medleys keep one chorus per song, sometimes with the verse before it. In bars:
- Hook only: 8 bars. Good for quick-fire medleys and the middle of a long one.
- Chorus: 8–16 bars. The standard choice.
- Verse and chorus: 24–32 bars. For the songs the audience most wants to hear, usually the first and the last.
At 120 BPM in 4/4, 8 bars is 16 seconds, so a 16-bar chorus is about half a minute.
A simple formula
Total time ≈ (bars of music + bars of transitions) × beats per bar × 60 ÷ tempo.
For four songs with 16 bars each and 2 bars of transition between them, at 120 BPM: (64 + 6) × 4 × 60 ÷ 120 = 140 seconds, or about 2 minutes 20.
How to cut a song down
- Start just before the hook. Audiences recognise a song from its chorus, not its intro.
- Skip the second verse, almost always.
- Keep the last chorus of the final song complete, including the ending. It gives the medley a proper finish.
- Don't cut in the middle of a phrase. Cut at the end of a 4 or 8-bar phrase so the music still breathes.
Pacing a long medley
In a medley longer than five minutes, vary the energy: start strong, put a slower song in the middle, then build. Lifting the key a tone before the last song gives a natural climax. The medley key planner helps you place the keys.
Medley Writer lets you pick the exact section of each recording to keep, and shows the running length as you build the medley.
Let Medley Writer do the transcribing
Upload the songs, choose the parts and the order, and get a full arrangement for your band with the transitions written in. Free during the beta.
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