Words in floor music: the deduction, and how to get an instrumental version.

The rule and the deduction

USA Gymnastics (Xcel and the Development Program). The Xcel Code of Points, in its replacement pages of 12 August 2026, says the Chief Judge deducts 0.50 from the average score for absence of music or music with words or song. USA Gymnastics’ errata of 26 August 2025 set the same 0.50 Chief Judge deduction for no music or music with words across the women’s program rulebooks; the 2022–2026 Development Program code had said 1.00. The 2026–2030 Development Program code is sold as a book and we have not read it, so check your current Code of Points for the Development Program figure.

FIG (elite). The Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points 2025–2028 lists absence of music or music with words as a penalty taken by the D-Jury from the final score. A signal or tone may open the recording, but the gymnast’s name may not be spoken.

NCAA. College competition runs under USA Gymnastics Level 10 rules with the NCAA’s own modifications. We found no modification about words in music, so assume the Level 10 rule applies and check with the meet.

Figure skating is different. The ISU Sports Rules 2026 say plainly that vocal music with lyrics is permitted in singles, pairs and ice dance. Cheer and dance rules set time limits and content standards rather than a lyric rule; read your own event’s rules.

Rules change. Check your current Code of Points or meet information.

What is allowed

• Human sounds without words. The Development Program code allows human sounds provided no lyrics are spoken or sung, and a single word used as a rhythmical sound. The Xcel floor chart puts it as “whistles, animal or human sounds are allowed”.
• Whistles and animal sounds. No deduction under USA Gymnastics rules.
• The voice as an instrument. The FIG code gives examples of the acceptable human voice: humming, vocalising without words, whistling, chanting. Any music which is not clearly a song or part of a song is accepted.

What draws the deduction is the song: a sung or spoken line of words, in any language, costs the 0.50 Chief Judge deduction. Foreign-language lyrics are still lyrics, and USA Gymnastics now asks the coach to translate them when submitting music for approval.

Not sure? Get it approved

USA Gymnastics has a music approval process for music with questionable vocal or lyrical sounds. The coach sends the music approval form and the music through the Regional Technical Committee Chairman; for 2026–2027 a subcommittee of regional chairs decides, and the decision comes back on the official form. The code says the coach should carry the approved form to every competition, where it is verification that the music should not receive a deduction. If the music contains words in a language other than English, the coach is responsible for translating them. Under the FIG code, in case of doubt, the federation or gymnast may submit music to the Women’s Technical Committee for evaluation.

A vocal-removed track that still carries a faint word is exactly the kind of music this process exists for. If you can hear it, assume the judge can.

Four ways to an instrumental

1. Buy the instrumental. Many songs are sold as an instrumental or karaoke version by the same label. Search the song title with “instrumental” in a store that sells song files (not a streaming service, whose downloads are copy-protected and cannot be edited). This gives the cleanest result because nothing has to be removed.
2. Use a competition music service. Several services sell floor music written or arranged to be instrumental and already cut to common lengths, with their own licence terms. They are made for exactly this rule. Check the length and the licence before you buy.
3. Choose music that never had words. Film scores, orchestral and electronic tracks, big-band and jazz instrumentals, flamenco guitar. Most of the classic floor music is here for a reason, and it needs no processing.
4. Remove the vocals with software. AI source separation can take the singing out of an ordinary song. It is the most flexible option, because the gymnast gets the song she wanted, and the riskiest, because the result varies from song to song and the deduction applies if a word gets through. The next section explains what to expect.

Whichever route you take, you are responsible for any music licence your competition requires. USA Gymnastics rules do not ask you to show one; some cheer and dance organisers do.

How vocal removal works, and where it fails

Modern vocal removal uses a trained model that listens to the whole mix and estimates which part of the sound is the voice, then subtracts it. It is far better than the old trick of cancelling whatever sits in the centre of the stereo image, but it is still an estimate. In practice:

• Lead vocals in a clean mix usually come out well, leaving a usable instrumental.
• Backing harmonies, doubled vocals and heavily processed voices are harder, and a faint ghost of them can remain, especially in choruses.
• Shouts, chants and vocal samples in the beat may be treated as instruments and kept. Decide whether they count as words under your rules.
• Reverb tails can leave a breathy wash where a word used to be. Usually harmless, sometimes audible.
• The instrumental itself can change slightly where the voice was loud: a thinner piano, a softer snare. Listen for it.

So the rule for using any vocal-removed track in competition is simple: listen to the whole file, at full volume, on good speakers, more than once, with the lyrics in front of you so you know where to listen hardest. If a word comes through, cut that section out, use the approval process, or pick another song. A faint “oh” may be fine; a faint line of the chorus is a deduction.

Where SongShrink helps

SongShrink is an app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android that cuts a song you own to a competition time. When you pick a USA Gymnastics floor limit it watches for words: the Words and singing section shows where it detects singing in your edit and says that it can cost a deduction. Often the quickest fix is to drop the sung sections and keep the instrumental ones; the editor lets you tap sections to keep or drop them, and its cuts prefer a nearby bar line or beat.

If you want the whole song, tap Remove Vocals. The first time, SongShrink offers to download its vocal removal model and tells you the size before anything happens: about 121 MB from Apple on iPhone, iPad and Mac, or about 120 MB from Google Play on Android. The model is made by ZFTurbo and released under the MIT licence, and the app shows how it is used, the credits and the licence before you agree. Removal runs on your device and can take a few minutes; the app shows the time left. No audio leaves the device. When it finishes, SongShrink points you to the moments where the original song had singing, so you know where to listen closely. Results vary from song to song and some singing can remain, so always listen to the whole file before you compete.

On Android, vocal removal needs a phone or tablet with at least 5 GB of memory, and the app says so before you download. It is slower than on an iPhone. Before the download the app shows the figures 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. While it runs, the app shows the time left.

Export is MP3 (192, 256 or 320 kbps), M4A or WAV, named with the event, the athlete and the length. SongShrink is free to download and try, including vocal removal; exporting is a one-time unlock, and the store shows the price.

Also on the Mac App Store Get it on Google Play

The time limits themselves, and how to cut to them, are in how long can floor music be?. The support page has the short version of how vocal removal works.

Questions

Are lyrics allowed in gymnastics floor music?

They are allowed, but they cost a deduction. Under USA Gymnastics rules the Chief Judge deducts 0.50 from the average score for music with words or song (the same deduction as for no music at all). Under the FIG code, music with words is penalised by the D-Jury from the final score. Figure skating is different: the ISU rules permit vocal music with lyrics.

Is humming or a voice without words allowed?

Yes. USA Gymnastics allows human sounds provided no lyrics are spoken or sung, and the Development Program code allows a single word used as a rhythmic sound. Whistles and animal sounds take no deduction. The FIG code allows the human voice as an instrument without words: humming, vocalising without words, whistling and chanting.

Does vocal removal take out all the singing?

Not always. Results vary from song to song. Lead vocals in a clear mix usually come out well; backing harmonies, heavily processed voices, shouts in the beat and reverb tails can leave faint traces. Listen to the whole file at full volume before you compete, and if a word still comes through, cut that section or choose another song.

Does my song get uploaded when SongShrink removes the vocals?

No. Vocal removal runs on your device and no audio leaves it. The model is a separate download of about 121 MB from Apple on iPhone, iPad and Mac, or about 120 MB from Google Play on Android, and nothing downloads until you agree.

Does vocal removal work on Android?

Yes, on a phone or tablet with at least 5 GB of memory; the app tells you before you download. It is slower than on an iPhone: before the download the app shows its test figures for a 3-minute song (about 8 minutes on a Galaxy S26, about 20 on a Galaxy S25 and about 37 on a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 phone), and it shows the time left while it runs.

What if I am not sure whether my music counts as having words?

USA Gymnastics has a music approval process. A coach submits the music approval form and the music through the Regional Technical Committee Chairman, and the decision comes back on the form, which the coach carries to competitions. For music in a language other than English the coach is responsible for translating the words. The FIG code likewise lets a federation or gymnast submit music to the Women’s Technical Committee in case of doubt.

Sources

Each document was read on 25 October 2026.

• USA Gymnastics, Xcel Code of Points, replacement pages of 12 August 2026 (Floor: music regulations, musical accompaniment, music approval, and the floor deduction chart).
• USA Gymnastics, Women’s Program errata of 26 August 2025 (Chief Judge deduction of 0.50 for no music or music with words).
• USA Gymnastics, Women’s Development Program Optional Code of Points 2022–2026, revised pages (Floor: music regulations, human sounds, single rhythmical word, approval route).
• USA Gymnastics, 2026–2027 Xcel Program Update (floor music approval process, translation of foreign words).
• NCAA, Women’s Gymnastics Rules Modifications, September 2026.
• FIG, Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Code of Points 2025–2028 (Floor Exercise: music requirements).
• ISU, Sports Rules, Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance 2026 (vocal music with lyrics is permitted).

This is general information for athletes, parents and coaches, not legal advice. Rules change; your current Code of Points and meet information take precedence over anything here.