How to cut routine music to a time limit on an Android phone.

Why the usual advice doesn’t work on Android

Two names come up in every coaches’ group, and neither runs on an Android phone.

• GarageBand is Apple’s. Its page describes GarageBand for iOS and iPadOS, available on the App Store, with a separate GarageBand for Mac. There is no Android version and the page does not mention Android.
• Audacity is a free editor for computers. Its download page offers Windows, macOS and Linux, and no Android, iOS or mobile version.

So on Android you have three real choices: an audio editor made for Android, a computer with a desktop editor and a cable or cloud folder to move the file, or an app built for this exact job. All three can produce a competition-ready file. The difference is how much of the work you do by hand.

Before you start

1. A song file you own. An MP3 or other audio file bought from a download store, or a file from your coach or a competition music service. Songs from Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music and other streaming services are copy-protected, even when saved offline; they are copies for that app only, and no editor can open them. A song bought in a web browser usually lands in the phone’s Downloads folder.
2. The rule, not just the number. Is your limit a maximum, or a required time with a window either side? Does the clock start with the music or with the first movement? The floor, skating and cheer answers are in our other guides: how long can floor music be?, figure skating music length and dance and cheer music length.
3. The format the event wants. If the packet doesn’t say, MP3 plays almost everywhere and stays small enough for an upload form.
4. Headphones. Phone speakers hide the click at a bad join. Judge every cut through headphones.

Three ways to do it

1. An audio editor app on Android

Google Play has many general audio editors, free and paid. The good ones show a waveform you can zoom into, let you select and delete a region, cut and move pieces, fade in and out, and export MP3 or WAV. Few of them know anything about bars and beats, so you count the music yourself and place every cut by eye and ear; the method below shows how. Watch for apps that add a watermark sound, limit export length until you pay, or need an account. Read the permissions: an editor needs access to your music files and nothing else.

2. A computer, then copy the file

If there is a Windows, Mac or Linux computer you can borrow, Audacity or GarageBand on a Mac will do the job with the same method. Export MP3, then copy the file to the phone by cable, by a cloud folder, or by sending it to yourself. The phone only has to play it and upload it to the event.

3. SongShrink on Google Play

SongShrink is made for this job and nothing else. It finds the beats, bars, phrases and sections of the song on the phone, suggests finished edits that land on your time limit with cuts that prefer a nearby bar line or beat, and exports a file ready to upload. The details are in where SongShrink helps below.

How to cut a song cleanly, in any editor

These steps are the same on a phone or a computer. SongShrink does the counting, cutting and crossfading for you, but it helps to know what a good cut is so you can check its work.

1. Map the song. Play it once with a pen: introduction, verse, chorus, bridge, ending, with the time each starts. Decide the story: a strong opening, the big moment for the hardest pass, jump or section, and a clear ending.
2. Drop whole sections, not random seconds. Most popular music is built from phrases of 4 or 8 bars. Removing a whole verse or a repeated chorus keeps the music making sense; trimming an odd 7 seconds out of the middle of a phrase does not.
3. Cut on the bar line. Count 1-2-3-4 along with the song and place each cut just before a “1” on both sides of the join, so the beat carries straight on. A cut on another beat is the next best choice. Zoom the waveform right in and put the cut at the very start of the drum hit, not after it. Join like with like: a chorus into a chorus, the same key, the same instruments.
4. Crossfade the join. A crossfade of a few tens of milliseconds hides the click where the two pieces meet. If your editor can’t crossfade, a very short fade-out on one side and fade-in on the other does the same job. Too long and you hear two rhythms at once.
5. Decide the ending. Keep the song’s real ending if it lands on your time, fade out over the last few seconds, or stop on a beat where the final pose lands. A sudden stop in the middle of a phrase sounds like a mistake.
6. Level and export. Make the pieces the same loudness, keep the peaks under the clipping point so gym and rink speakers don’t distort, and export in the format the event asks for.
7. Check it like a judge. Play the exported file from start to finish through headphones, read its length in the player, and time the routine to it with a stopwatch. Then back the file up somewhere other than the phone.

Two things to avoid: cutting a streaming download (it won’t open; buy the song as a file instead), and changing the speed of the music to hit the time. SongShrink’s own thresholds are a fair guide: it says nothing up to 8%, notes that a change of 8 to 15% may start to sound odd, warns that above 15% most music sounds unnatural, and stops at 50% either way. A routine choreographed to the original tempo will no longer fit anyway.

Where SongShrink helps

SongShrink is on Google Play for phones and tablets with Android 10 or later, and on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Mac. On Android it does the steps above for a song you own, on the phone.

Getting the song in. Tap Import a song file to pick any file, with no permission needed, or Import from music on this device to choose from the music files already on the phone. It reads MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV and OGG files, copies only the song you pick into its own storage, and tells you if a file is copy-protected.

Picking the time. Choose a limit from the built-in list. Each one names its rulebook and season, except the USA Gymnastics Development Program levels, whose note says to check your current Code of Points. The list covers ISU and U.S. Figure Skating Excel, USA Gymnastics Xcel and Development Program, NCAA and FIG floor, rhythmic gymnastics, USASF cheer and dance, UCA and NCA, UDA and NDA, and the FEI, British Dressage and USEF/USDF dressage freestyle windows. Or type your own and save it.

The cut. The app finds the beats, bars, phrases and sections on the phone, using the open-source beat_this model and its own section analysis, then suggests up to four finished edits: keep the ending, most energy, smoothest joins, or fade at the time. Each suggested cut prefers a nearby bar line or beat and aims for the edges of phrases and sections; joins are crossfaded by default. If the song is too short it can suggest repeating a section instead. Turn on Land exactly on the target and, when the music is long enough, it trims and fades the end so the music is exactly your time; shorter music stays short unless you repeat a section. Tap sections to keep or drop them, nudge any cut by a beat or a bar, reorder or repeat pieces, build a medley from several songs with the tempos matched, set the pace of each part for a routine that follows a beat, and undo everything. The length is shown to the tenth of a second. Music without a steady drum beat, such as many classical and film scores, is harder to analyse; the suggestions still cut between sections, but listen to every join.

Words and singing. Some events, such as USA Gymnastics women’s floor, deduct for lyrics, song or speech. SongShrink can remove the vocals on the phone with an optional model of about 120 MB that downloads from Google Play only if you choose it; the app shows the size and the licence first, and nothing downloads until you agree. It needs a phone or tablet with at least 5 GB of memory, and the app says so before you download. Before the download the app shows the estimates from its own tests: removing the vocals from a 3-minute song takes about 8 minutes on a Galaxy S26, about 20 on a Galaxy S25 and about 37 on a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 phone, and in those tests the model alone used up to about 2.6 GB of memory. Those are estimates; your phone may differ. You can leave the app or lock the screen while it runs, and it carries on with a notification. When it finishes, the app points you to the moments where the original song had singing. Results vary from song to song and some singing can remain, so always listen to the whole file before you compete.

Export. MP3 at 192, 256 or 320 kbps, M4A or WAV, with the loudness evened out and peaks kept safe for gym and rink speakers, named with the event, the athlete and the length. The app recommends MP3 at 192 kbps, which keeps the file small for an upload form. Save it or share it from the phone.

Private, and what it costs. No account, no ads, no tracking. The song, the project and the exported file stay on the phone and are never uploaded; the app leaves them out of cloud backup. SongShrink is free to download and try, including vocal removal; exporting is a one-time unlock through Google Play, which shows the price in your currency. One purchase covers your Android devices signed in to the same Google account. Google Play doesn’t share in-app purchases with a family group, so on Android each Google account needs its own unlock, and a purchase from Google Play doesn’t unlock the iPhone, iPad or Mac app, which is bought separately from Apple.

Get it on Google Play Also on the Mac App Store

More answers are on the SongShrink support page: which songs work, getting a song in, how vocal removal works, restoring a purchase, and which format to use.

Questions

Can I use GarageBand or Audacity on an Android phone?

No. Apple’s GarageBand page describes it as an app for iOS and iPadOS, with a separate version for Mac, and does not mention Android. Audacity’s download page offers Windows, macOS and Linux and has no Android or mobile version. On an Android phone you need either an audio editor made for Android, a computer with a desktop editor, or an app built for this job such as SongShrink on Google Play.

Can I cut a song from Spotify or YouTube Music?

No. Songs from streaming services are copy-protected, even when downloaded for offline listening. Those downloads are copies for that app only, not song files you own, so no other app can open or edit them. Use a song file you own: an MP3 or other file bought from a download store, or a file from your coach or a competition music service.

Where is the song file on my phone?

A song bought in a web browser usually lands in the phone’s Downloads folder, and a file sent by a coach lands wherever your messaging app saves attachments, often Downloads as well. SongShrink can list the music files on the phone with Import from music on this device, or you can pick any file with Import a song file, which needs no permission. On Android it reads MP3, M4A, FLAC, WAV and OGG files.

Does cutting music on the phone need an internet connection?

In SongShrink, no. The analysis, the cutting, the preview and the export all run on the phone, and the song is never uploaded. An internet connection is needed only to download the app, to download the optional vocal removal model from Google Play, and to make the one-time purchase that unlocks exporting.

How long does vocal removal take on Android?

It depends on the phone. Before you download the model, SongShrink shows the estimates from its own tests: removing the vocals from a 3-minute song takes about 8 minutes on a Galaxy S26, about 20 on a Galaxy S25 and about 37 on a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 phone. Those are estimates, and your phone may differ. The model is about 120 MB, needs a phone or tablet with at least 5 GB of memory, and in those tests used up to about 2.6 GB of memory on its own. You can leave the app or lock the screen while it runs; it carries on, with a notification. Results vary from song to song and some singing can remain.

Which format should I export for a competition?

The one your competition asks for. If it doesn’t say, use MP3: it plays almost everywhere and keeps the file small enough for an upload form. SongShrink recommends MP3 at 192 kbps and can also export MP3 at 256 or 320 kbps, M4A or WAV. Play the exported file through once and check its length before you compete.

Sources

Read on 27 October 2026.

• Apple, GarageBand for iOS and iPadOS (platforms, and the separate GarageBand for Mac).
• Audacity, download page (Windows, macOS and Linux).
• Google Play, SongShrink: Song Time & Tempo (the Android listing), and the SongShrink support page for the vocal removal, import and purchase details. The vocal removal estimates and the memory requirement are the figures the app itself shows before the model downloads.

This is general information for athletes, parents and coaches. Your competition’s own rules and music requirements take precedence over anything here.