by Christine Hawthorne | Apr 1, 2017 | Instructor Training, KEEPING IT FUN, Music
Whether you are looking for a climb or a flat road for your next class, you'll find both of them here. Check out these two new releases that are ready to be added to your next ride profile.
The first is a new release from one of my favorites, ZZ Ward. She has some great stuff that I continue to rotate into my profiles such as Put The Gun Down, Move Like You Stole It, 365 Days, If I Could be Her and Blue Eyes Blind. At 95 rpm, we will be riding on a nice steady flat road to this one:
Help Me Mama by ZZ Ward iTunes link
This new track is from Cold War Kid's forthcoming album LA Divine. It's a slow, steady seated or standing (or alternating) climb just above 60 rpm.
Restless by Cold War Kids iTunes link
by Christine Hawthorne | Feb 24, 2017 | Instructor Training, Music
When you're reaching the end of your class and your riders look like their losing their motivation, throw this song their way and they are sure to gain their second wind. You and your riders will love the amazing beat that trails in and out as the song progresses. (67 rpm) To use these teaching notes, make sure you are using the original version which clocks in at 6 minutes and 26 seconds. Here's the rundown:
:00 seated flat/ :30 standing climb, add gear every 15 seconds / 1:30 seated flat (recover) / 2:00 standing climb, add gear every 15 seconds / 3:00 seated flat (recover) / 3:30 standing climb, add gear every 15 seconds / 4:30 seated flat (recover)/ 5:00 standing climb, add gear every 15 seconds.
On your standing climb sets, start out on a moderate hill and and gear every 15 seconds until the final 15 is a very steep hill.
iTunes link On The Drums (Original Mix)
You could also use the remix with the same teaching notes- it has a bit of a different sound but is around the same length:
iTunes link On The Drums remix
by Jim Karanas | Feb 15, 2017 | Music
With over 1800 articles in our archives there's a good chance that our ICI/PRO members may have missed some of our best stuff. So every Wednesday we are republishing some our of our favorite articles and podcasts – enjoy!
By Team ICG® Master Instructor Jim Karanas
My last two articles were on video because it will affect our industry dramatically in 2012. Long before video, however, something else inspired us to ride bikes indoors: music. There’s no denying music’s powerful impact on the class experience. One way that happens is through emotion.
Music inspires emotion through genre, lyrics, vocals, harmony, tempo, rhythm, and more. But many indoor cycling instructors overlook emotion. It’s easy to understand why.
I taught my first aerobics class in 1977. Like other instructors at the time, I used popular music and older rock that was good for dancing. Then something happened. Workout Music.
Workout Music used a square rhythm of 32-count phrases, was always high-energy with a fast tempo, was typically dance or house music, and often remixed popular songs by speeding them up and punching the downbeat. Because teaching back then involved 32-count choreography, the energized remixes were useful and called
“aerobicized”.
(An example is “Let’s Get It Started” by the Black-Eyed Peas. Listen to the original, and then compare the workout mix made popular on The Biggest Loser.)
But while aerobicized mixes kicked up our workouts, they also buried a critical musical element — emotion.
Music stimulates every area of the brain. The emotion it evokes can be life-changing. Everyone has a special song from a special time that they’ll never forget. Odds are it was not a piece of workout music.
When Indoor Cycling was introduced 20 years ago, it completely reversed the workout-music trend. It was the very nature of cycling that did that. When you ride a bike, the road changes and forces changes in cadence and rhythm. Different music genres and tempi simulate those terrain changes, so “regular” music is back.
Indoor cycling also permits individual interpretation. Since people don’t have to be doing exactly the same thing at a given time, the movement doesn’t have to be synced to the music. This Freestyle approach is an effective way to ride to music. You ride more to the nuance or the feeling than to the beat. So emotion’s also back if we want it.
Emotion is a powerful tool for creating an indoor-cycling experience.
When creating a class profile, you might want to ID your own emotional response to a piece of music so you can use it at the right time. Download and listen to the following songs in the order below and note your response. You may even choose to ride to them.
Distinguish between good music and emotion. Music with a great beat may make you feel like riding, but focus on how you feel (happy, sad, neutral, etc.) if and when you try this.
Slid (Glid) Fluke
L.A. Woman (Single Edit) Billy Idol
This Is Us Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
Stevenson George Winston
Link to this playlist in Spotify
Next week, I’ll predict how you felt and suggest ways to use emotion in your classes. I’ll also compare Freestyle and Beatmatch. Freestyle uses music as briefly mentioned above; Beatmatch pairs cadence with the beat and is practiced throughout the world. There are important reasons to bring both to teaching.
John's note: We're highlighting some of Jim Karana's past articles this week.
by Christine Hawthorne | Nov 18, 2016 | Instructor Training, Music
I love finding remixes of great songs to add to my music library because I'm often looking for a specific song length to add to my profiles. This week's favorite track features remixes of the song Kill the Lights (with Nile Rodgers) by Alex Newell, Jess Glynne, DJ Cassidy. If you're looking for a 3, 5, or 7 minute song to fit in to your profile, you're sure to find what you're looking for here. The original and the remixes clock in between 62-65 rpm, so they make great climbs. I hope you find one that works for your next class!
Kill The Lights iTunes Link
by Christine Hawthorne | Jan 1, 2016 | Instructor Training, iTunes, Music, Spotify
Happy New Year!! It's been a great year for music and I always like to start my new year with two special playlists. One being a “Best of” playlist and the other a “New Year” themed playlist. I'll be sharing both of these playlists later today on my blog. In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite New Year themed songs as well as two new releases that I'm sure you're going to want to add to your playlists soon!
The first song, Auld Lang Syne by the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a rockin', short and sweet version of the traditional New Years song. It starts out slow and builds throughout the two minutes so your legs should follow suit. I like that you can use this one as a working song, but there are many slower versions you can use as a cool down/stretch. Check out 10 excellent versions of the song here.
The second song, New Year's Day-Ferry Coston Remix, is one that I know most of us have used if we've made a New Years playlist in the past. If you haven't seen this remix though , it's got more of a beat to it and can be used as a hill, seated or standing at around 68 RPM's. The Spotify link is for a 4:37 version, the iTunes link is a version that clocks in at 9:41.
And the last song is one of my favorites to pull out each New Year. I've used it as both a flat road and a warm up, but I particularly like it for a warm up because I just love the lyrics, and it's a great way to start both the new year and your workout!
“Another year you made a promise
Another chance to turn it all around
And do not save this for tomorrow
Embrace the past and you can live for now.”
iTunes links:
New Year's Day remix
This is the New Year
Finally, I'd like to share a few new releases to help you ring in the new year:
Her Fight Song was one of my favorites from 2015, and I'm excited about using this one as a heavy climb.
iTunes link
Another climb at around 65 RPM's. If you enjoy house music with a driving beat every once in a while, then this one is definitely for you: (sorry, I was unable to find an iTunes link)
Have a great new year and here's to more great music in 2016!
What was your favorite song in 2015?
