LessonCues

For music and dance

Slow down the hard bar, then work back up to tempo

Loop a riff, a passage or an eight-count and slow it down. You never lose your place, and the speed trainer brings you back up to full speed.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcuts work when you’re not typing in a field. If you clicked the video, click anywhere on the page first — the YouTube player keeps its own keys.

Play / pause
SpaceK
Seek 1s (hold Shift for 5s)
←→
Seek 0.1s
,.
Set start at the playhead
I
Set end at the playhead
O
Move start 0.1s earlier / later
[]
Move end 0.1s earlier / later
{}
Preview clip, or pause it
P
Toggle loop
L
Create a new clip, or save changes to an open one
Enter
Start a new clip
N
Mark while playing: press at the start, again at the end. Saves a new clip, or with “Several parts” on, adds a part
M
Show this help
?
  • Free, no sign-up to try
  • Nothing downloaded
  • Plays in YouTube’s own player

How it works

How to practise a song or dance section from a YouTube video

  1. 1

    Clip the passage

    Paste the link to the lesson, cover or performance, and set the start and end around the passage. A lead-in lets you start a beat early.

  2. 2

    Set your practice speed

    Slow it down until you can play or dance it cleanly. Or turn on the speed trainer and let it add a few percent each loop.

  3. 3

    Build a practice set

    Clip each section of the piece. Sign in to keep them together in a folder, or put them in order as a lesson for your students.

Slow and clean first, then faster

Any teacher will tell you the same thing: get it right slowly, then speed up a little at a time. The speed trainer does that for you. It starts at the percentage you pick and goes up a step each loop, so your hands stay on the instrument.

Add a pause between loops if you want time to play the phrase back. A repeat count stops after, say, ten times, so you move on instead of drilling one bar all evening.

For teachers of music and dance

  • Send a student a link to the exact section, already slowed down and looping.
  • Write fingerings, counts or cues in the notes. A timestamp in a note jumps to that moment.
  • Play two clips side by side at the same speed, like the original next to a student’s own video.
  • Turn on private feedback, so comments are pinned to moments in the clip.

Questions

Does slowing down change the pitch?

Not in most browsers. YouTube’s player keeps the pitch when you change speed, although very slow speeds can sound a bit rough.

Can I split a song into sections quickly?

Yes. When you’re signed in, paste a list of timestamps with names (0:32 Verse, 1:05 Chorus and so on), or use the video’s chapters, and every clip is made in one go.

Does it work for dance videos with mirrored moves?

No. Clips play the video the way it was uploaded, and there’s no mirror option.

Related

Try it with a video of your own

Paste a YouTube link at the top of this page. Your first clip takes about a minute.

Paste a link to start