How to remix music for dance

21 Helpful Tips for Making Remixes

So you want to remix a song?

Well, there’s good news and bad news.

The bad news is that unless you know the fundamentals of electronic music production, you’re going to have a hard time. The good news is that once you do, making a remix is pretty damn straightforward.

So what if you don’t know the fundamentals?

Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, I’ll cover 21 tips to help you on your way, covering topics like:

How making a remix/bootleg is different from an original
Thinking ahead to create remixes faster (instead of wasting time)
Creative ways to mangle stems (that most producers neglect)
Incorporating your signature sound into a remix
Why using fewer stems can help you make better remixes

Whether you’re remixing a song for a competition, have been contracted an official remix for a release, or cooking up a cheeky bootleg of a popular song, these tips are for you. Read on to learn how to remix a song.

Note: If you’re a new producer, I’ve put together a free 50-page remix guide on everything you need to know about remixing. This thing will get you set up with making remixes in no time.

1. Pick the Right Song to Remix

Pick a song that you think would benefit from a remix. You’re more likely to follow through with the remix if you like the original song.

This is even more important if you’re making a bootleg and don’t have access to any stems; you need to pick a song that leaves room for work to be done.

As great as Iglooghost’s music is, this one would be tough to remix well.

That’s why acoustic/minimal songs are great to remix. Petit Biscuit’s ‘Sunset Lover’ has such a strong hook but a lot of creative potential, which is why there have been a few remixes of it.

Note: this also applies when being asked to do remixes. If a label asks you to do a remix and you aren’t a fan of it, why not ask if there are other releases that need to be remixed?

2. Listen for the Gaps

After choosing a song to remix, take a good listen to the original and write down any ideas that come to mind.

Maybe you like the chorus but feel it needs stronger drums or a heavier bassline.
Perhaps the verse is too long for your liking.
You could even replace the existing melody with a more unique one.

Whatever comes to mind, write it down and take notes. You’ll use them when you start working on your remix.

3. Form a Game Plan

Having a general plan that you can refer back to when stuck in a rut is invaluable. It helps you stay on task and work on the important. And despite what many argue, planning does not inhibit creativity!

Before starting a remix, why not do a bit of brainstorming? If you’ve got ideas from tip #2, then this is the time to write them down.

Even just a few ideas are fine!

The result? You’ll sit down to produce your remix with clear intentions and objectives instead of blankly staring at the screen feeling sorry for yourself.

Tip: Consider the audience. If you’re trying to win a remix contest or gain attention from the original artist, think about how that should influence the remix. Are they looking for a club friendly remix, or something more radio friendly? Keeping these in mind will increase your chance of success.

4. Listen to Other Remixes

Listening to other remixes is a great way to spark some thought and creativity. I recommend listening to remixes of the same song you’re trying to remix, or remixes of similar songs.

Do a quick YouTube search of the song you’re wanting to remix to hear the other ones.

Just be careful when doing this as it’s easy to end up copying the remix too closely. There’s nothing wrong with being inspired by a remix and gathering a few ideas, but be wary of similarity.

5. Cut and Choose Your Material (Bootlegs)

If you don’t have access to an acapella or any other stems, you’re going to need to identify which parts of the original track you want to, and can, use.

You’ll find that certain sections can’t be used at all, simply because there’s too much going on. I might, for example, take out the intro, outro, and choruses of an original track and only use the breakdown which contains a vocal, then build upon that.

Note: some songs have very little going on, e.g., piano and vocals. These tracks are a joy to bootleg as a lot of the content can be used.

6. Work WITH the Material

Respect the original track and its content and you’ll have a much easier time remixing it.

This is why working with the material given to you instead of against it is essential.

Flume’s remix of ‘You & Me’ by Disclosure is a great example of this – even though it’s quite different from the original it doesn’t shy away from featuring that main vocal hook and the background vocal effects.

It isn’t wise to turn an original track that’s in 4/4 time signature into 3/4, and a label won’t accept your “remix” if there isn’t a trace of the original track in it. Respect the original and work with the content given to you.

Tip: Listen through the stems and find ones that inspire you. Delete the rest, and build upon those.

7. Arrange your remix ASAP

One of the main reasons people don’t finish remixes is because they don’t get the arrangement down soon enough. Just like building a game plan, the arrangement gives you a sense of direction and allows you to step back to look at how your remix is developing as a whole.

As soon as you have ideas down, sketch out a basic arrangement. You should have it down quicker than you would normally when working on an original, because you already have a few ideas handed to you.

Note: I find it helpful to drag the original track/vocal into my DAW, marking each section of the song. This way, I have the arrangement in place from the start. I may change the arrangement later on in the production process, but I benefit from building on a solid foundation.

Want tips on how to write and arrange better music? Check out Songwriting For Producers.

8. Feature Parts from the Artist’s Other Songs

This was brought to my attention quite recently as I listened to Estiva’s remix of Only For You by Mat Zo. As you can hear, he included the melody from Lucid Dreams, which is one of Mat Zo’s other popular tracks from the same album. You can hear it at 7 seconds in:

Heard any other remixes that do the same thing? Let me know in the comments!

9. Keep it Similar

A remix doesn’t have to be incredibly contrasted to the original. Sometimes you might just want to add a little extra to the original, or expand on ideas.

For example, you’ll often hear remixes where the artist has changed just the bassline and drums, but kept the overall vibe of the song. This is the case in What So Not’s remix of ‘Major Lazer – Get Free’:

This doesn’t work for every remix, but sometimes it’s exactly what’s needed. Don’t be afraid to keep it similar and add a slight touch.

10. Use Parts of the Original Track

Using parts of the original track for fills and transitions is a great way to spice up your remix.

For example, you could take 1 bar of the original, stick it at the end of a 16-bar phrase in your remix, automate some phaser and filters to create an awesome transitional effect. There are many other ways to use the original audio, so get creative!

Oh, you want some more ideas?

Pitch shift syllables or note stabs from the original to use in build-ups.
Reverse bass and synth sounds from the original to add complexity and flavor.
Sample drum sounds from the original to add another layer of familiarity.

11. Process and Mangle Stems

Want to impress the listener? Get creative with stems! You can make stems your own with enough processing. Reverse and chop up acapellas, apply heavy distortion to bass sounds, the possibilities are endless.

Warping and time-stretching options are fun to play with in your DAW.

A few ideas to get you started…

Use parts of the bass stem(s) to fill in your bassline groove.
Chop, loop and reverse slices of the original vocal to create your own melodies and effects
Chop one note from an instrument stem, put it into a sampler, then process it to create something that’s new yet familiar.
Add phasing, reverb, and filtering to the main melody stem in parts of your song to tease the listener.
Apply reverb, delay, and distortion to FX stems to significantly change their sound.

If you’re in Ableton Live, check out some of these creative tips which can be applied to processing and mangling.

12. Treat it as an Original

Sometimes we get too involved in the concept of “remixing” that we forget remixing requires originality to actually work. I find it helpful to think of a remix as an original track. This is easier when you’re not familiar with the original track, and less likely to copy its style.

Sometimes, it can even be fun to take an existing original and incorporate a few of the main stems from a remix pack in. This works particularly well when you’re in a creative rut.

13. Create Your Own Melody

Creating your own chord progression or melody in a remix offers yet another level of originality and can often be a tasteful twist. Take the Teqq Remix of Tritonal’s “Now or Never” for example.

Listen to the original:

Listen to the remix:

Tip: A great way to create a remix that’s unique and create is to start the remix without listening to the original. This will force you to reinterpret the original stems, creating something that varies from the original. It’ll take a bit more work to get started, but it can yield fantastic results.

Read: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better and More Memorable Melodies

14. Collaborate

I can’t overemphasize the importance of collaboration. Not only is it ultra fun, but you learn a lot about how other people work and often end up in a more motivated and creative state than you would working by yourself.

Collaborating on a remix is just as fun, if not more fun than collaborating on an original. You’ll both have different opinions on the original track, and you’ll both come up with different ideas.

15. Keep the Original Breakdown

Producing a remix doesn’t mean you have to change everything. If it’s bootleg, you may be forced to change the drop, but there’s nothing wrong with leaving the breakdown how it is.

The same applies with an official remix, if the original breakdown works well and flows with your remix, then leaving it in isn’t a sign of laziness or incompetence, it’s just an artistic decision.

Listen to any popular mashup and you’ll see how a breakdown can be extracted from its original surroundings and still work effectively.

16. Use What’s Needed

I once downloaded stems for a remix competition (that I never finished) and ended up with a 1GB file containing WAV files for every single track. There was no way I was going to use everything.

Just because you’ve been gifted with an abundance of audio and MIDI files it doesn’t mean you have to use all of them. Take what’s necessary and build your remix on top.

17. Train Your Ears

Often you won’t get any MIDI files in a remix pack, for some people this can be a big problem as they aren’t confident in their ability to work out notation from audio and while some DAWs have audio to MIDI conversion, it’s well worth learning to transcribe yourself.

A tuner device can be helpful while you learn.

The best way to do this is to practice; remake a melody every day. You could also check out the music theory ear training exercises here.

This also helps with Tip #13. If your ears aren’t primed then you’ll have a much harder time creating your own melody underneath an acapella or something else. Learning music theory is important as well.

Tip: It helps to know the key of the original track. Try to find the key online, or use a software such as Mixed in Key to determine the key of the original.

When creating a remix, it’s essential that it adds to original.

A great way to do this is to add your musical signature to the track. This helps add character to the remix, making it stand out amongst all others.

Further, having your own musical signature is a great way to give the listener a sense of cohesion among all your tracks, making them more likely to remember you and your music.

Not sure what I mean? Learn about how Pharrell Williams always has the same intro on all his songs.

19. Add a Second Hook to Your Remix

Does the main idea in the original track not do it for you? Too weak? Too boring?

Why not add a second hook?

Jaytech’s remix of Blood Groove and Kiki’s progressive masterpiece known as Mirage features a memorable vocal chop in addition to the serene chord progression from the original.

The original:

Jaytech’s remix with the vocal hook:

20. Make an Alternative Mix

Every now and then you’ll come across a remix project where you’ve got too many ideas. While it can be fun to try and incorporate 20 different ideas into one track, it typically doesn’t turn out great.

My suggestion? Make an alternative mix.

If you’ve been contracted a remix then send the label both and ask for their opinion (worst-case scenario is they don’t want it and you keep it as a private remix) You can also save the extra ideas in a folder and use them in any original productions.

Additionally, remixes are a great opportunity to flex your ‘producer muscles’, so if you have too many ideas, you can create a different verse or chorus in each section, as long as the overall progression of the remix feels natural.

Note: this can also be applied to original tracks if you have too many ideas.

21. Ask for a Deadline

Whenever I get contracted to do a remix this is the first thing I ask for. Deadlines help you stay motivated and finish tracks.

Remix competitions have deadlines by default, and picking one that ends fairly soon is a great way to get back into gear (I often do this if I’m stuck in a rut with production to test myself and see how fast I can work). If you choose a remix competition that ends in 60 days then you’re less likely to feel driven and pressured to finish the track.

Wrapping it Up

This isn’t an all-encompassing guide to remixing (more on this soon), it’s simply a collection of tips that I and others use. Remixes should be enjoyable, they shouldn’t take months, and you should aim to be creative. Next time you do a remix, why not use a few of these tips?

Need More Help?

Learning how to make electronic music is hard.

There are tons of mistakes to be made, hundreds of YouTube tutorials telling you the right and wrong way to do things…

It’s confusing.

If you want to master the fundamentals of electronic music production and remixing, then I’ve put together a FREE PDF guide. You’ll learn everything, from the basics of remixing, to making your very own original.

How to Remix - Mixed In Key

Remixing is the process of taking different parts, or ‘stems’ of a song and mixing them again in your own way. Since the days of Tom Moulton manually cutting up Disco tapes in the 70s, remixing has become a mainstream staple of Dance Music culture.

It’s not uncommon for remixes to be even more popular than the original track – take 4Hero’s legendary remix of Nuyorican Soul’s Black Gold Of The Sun, for example, or The XX’s magnificent take on Florence and the Machine’s cover of You Got The Love.

In fact, if you’re seeking inspiration, you could do worse than digest NME’s list of 50 Greatest Ever Remixes.

In the mix

photo by Gavin Whitner

Remixes vary from faithful reproductions of the original, with subtle tweaks, structure changes or volume alterations to enhance certain aspects, to totally deconstructed affairs, almost unrecognizable from the original.

They are an excellent opportunity to try out new techniques and new plugins, and a great way to learn from professionals.

Simply being able to see how an artist has arranged their track can be a real eye-opener.

Remixes offer a route to increased exposure, and can make for devastating dancefloor weapons. Giving people a little of what they know, in the form of a popular track, and taking it somewhere different can be thrilling.

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Here’s our guide to creating a killer remix:

But before you start…

… there are some crucial questions you should be asking yourself:

Have you picked the RIGHT song? Does it genuinely excite you? Simply plumping for the hottest ‘track du jour’ can be a recipe for frustration and unfinished work.

What makes it stand out? Are there any parts you particularly dig? Are there any bits you find yourself skipping or losing interest in?

What do you want from your mix? Are you trying to ape a particular genre or artist?

Be honest with yourself, formulate a game-plan and listen to some examples of music you aspire to make.

PRO TIP

The best artists listen to as much music as possible.

It may be tempting to think great artists make great music simply because they have ‘the gift’… while of course they are also phenomenally talented, I guarantee they listen to more music than the average producer too.

I also guarantee they listen to a wider range of music. Even if you only want to make an ultra-niche brand of neuro-tech-minimal-house, your music will be better if you listen to more music

Use Mixed in Key to establish the key of the original track

Mixed In Key is the industry-standard when it comes to key detection. This is vital in approaching a remix. If you know what key it’s in, you can make informed choices about adding additional notes and/or samples

The sum is greater than the Parts

You’ve established its root key, you know where you want to take your remix, you’ve fired up your DAW of choice… now what?

Naturally, the first thing you’ll need is the stems, or parts, of the original song.

There are plenty of websites offering users the chance to remix tracks by up and coming or established artists – Metapop is one such site.

Artists themselves often run remix competitions, and many sites such as Beatport offer Stems for sale, to be used either in DJ sets or the studio.

Of course, you may have been commissioned by an artist directly, in which case they will send you the relevant stems.

The format can vary from 50+ channels of individual instruments, percussion and SFX, to an ultra-basic Drums, Bass, Melody, Vocals package. Regardless of the complexity of the ensemble, you’ll need to know what BPM the track is and what Key it’s in. You’ll also want to use WAV, AIFF or other lossless file formats – MP3s, even at 320kbps, aren’t ideal.

Remixes can be as faithful or destructive with the original as the remixer chooses, so don’t be afraid to change the tempo or the track – just make sure you warp the stems individually first.

PRO TIP

Make sure your stems are at the same Sample Rate as your DAW project. Most DAWs will automatically convert them, but if things sound too fast or too slow, check the Sample Rates in your DAW Preferences panel.

A remix can be as straightforward as simply taking the original stems and re-balancing them to suit your tastes.

Since mixing styles have changed over the years, often dictated by the speaker technology of the day, this is particularly useful when remixing older songs.

Today, drums and bass are generally emphasised more than they were in the 60s and 70s. This makes sense when you consider that today’s nightclub speakers can reproduce far greater bass frequencies.

Artists such as The Reflex are experts at remixing classic songs and making them perfect for modern reproduction, only rarely adding new parts to the song.

Check out his take on Stevie Wonder’s classic ‘I Wish’ – it takes an exceptional ear and a deep understanding of your tools to nail such a simple-seeming technique so perfectly – don’t be fooled into thinking it’s an easy option!

Captain Plugins helps you write advanced chord progressions and melodies faster

Once you know which key you’re working in, you can start adding additional instrumentation to your remix. Captain Plugins lets you set the key, and then offers you intelligently selected chords, rhythms, timings and notes to allow ultra-fast, ultra-creative musical experimentation.

Try Captain Plugins today!

Melody Maker

Most remixers also add their own sounds to the track – an obvious way to make it unique.

Since you know what Key your song is in, you can start fooling around with melodies within that key.

PRO TIP

Many producers find writing melodies on a simple piano patch is a good way of ensuring the melody fundamentally works in the track. Some synth sounds can mask bum notes and key clashes so you might find starting with piano, and then auditioning new synth sounds is a foolproof way to ensure tonal perfection.

Whatever sounds and melodies you add, make sure they work with the original, not against it. Less is often more! Another tip is to use the add/subtract formula – only add new melodies if you take away a sound in the same frequency range first. Of course, rules are made to be broken, but try to avoid a cluttered mix.

Structurally sound

Great remixes need great structures – particularly true if you’re making Dance Music.

A good starting point is to identify the original structure. Color-code each section in your DAW. Then try cutting and pasting sections into a structure that suits your vision.

Generally speaking, Dance Music runs like this:

Dance music song structure

PRO TIP

Use Colour-coding within your DAW’s Project Window to mark out your structure. A different colour for each section can save a lot of hassle down the line!

Get creative

Take this opportunity to consider which parts of the original would make great candidates for the various segments of your mix. Perhaps there’s an awesome little synth line you could loop and filter? Or maybe there’s a vocal line that you’d like to hear more of… try cutting and pasting it in new spaces in the track. Be as creative as you like, and don’t be afraid to chop things really short – looping is a great way to build tension.

PRO TIP

A remix doesn’t need to follow the same structure as the original.

Drumming up business

The vast majority of remixes completely revamp the drums, even if faithful to most other parts of the original.

You want to make the mix your own, without cluttering an already fully-composed song. Plus, you like the original, so don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

The drums, however, are fair game… many producers don’t even load them up in their project to start with!

Choose a drum palette that you love – whether from sample packs, records you dig, or live recordings. Make sure that you’ve got a range of options for Kick, Snare, Clap, Hi-Hats, Cymbals and Percussion.

Create a basic beat that suits the style of your remix, and loop it throughout your carefully crafted structure.

You’ll want to bring in new patterns, add and remove sounds and make plenty of space for your builds and breakdowns as you go.

PRO TIP

It may seem obvious, but drums actually need to be in tune with the rest of the song. Traditionally this is done by ear. Solo each drum with the main melody or bassline and pitch the drum until it sounds ‘just right’. Great training for your ears!

You can automate the tuning process if you have an EQ that provides notation information, such as Waves H-EQ. When playing the drum in question through the EQ, watch for where the main spike occurs, and simply follow that down to the keyboard below, where you’ll see it matched to a root note. This technique is particularly useful when layering drums together.

Plug-in Playground

A great way to invigorate your stems is to play around with FX, filters, Delays, Reverbs and so on.

Using them in combination or on their own, there’s an almost limitless array of ways to manipulate sound at your fingertips. DAWs like Ableton and Logic have exceptional plugins as standard, so anyone can create beautiful soundscapes – all you need is imagination, creativity and a little patience!

Write your own tracks using Captain Plugins

It’s super easy to create your own ideas from scratch. Visit the official Captain Plugins homepage and see how it will help you explore music and write your own original productions.

The 4 Best Ways to Put Songs Together

There are different situations where you might need to put songs together: to dub a TikTok video, to put together a DJ set cut into fragments, just for fun and create your own remix. You can connect music on a computer or on a smartphone, and this is not as difficult as it seems. We carefully studied many desktop editors, mobile applications and online services with the function of combining audio tracks and selected the most convenient ones. In the article we talk briefly about each, and also give step-by-step instructions on how to glue music together and save the result in MP3 or other audio format.

How to merge songs in Movavi Video Editor

Have you downloaded your favorite DJ's mix, but it was cut into separate tracks? Or do you just want to merge several audio files so that you don't have to switch music, for example, when staging a play or dance? A great solution is Movavi's simple audio trimming and merging software. You can glue both ready-made melodies and recordings of your voice from a microphone.

To learn how to combine songs, two or more, into one, download Movavi Video Editor and follow our step by step guide!

Step 1. Install Song Linking Application

Download Music Linking Software, launch the distribution and install Movavi Video Editor following the instructions. After installation, the program will start automatically.

Free Download

Download

Step 2.

Add Files and Merge Tracks

Click the Add Files button and select the audio files you want to merge. Your uploaded audio files will be automatically placed next to each other by Timeline on a separate audio track, indicated by a note icon. In fact, after adding the tracks will already be glued together. You will only need to change the order of playing fragments if necessary. To do this, simply drag the audio to the desired location on the Timeline .

Step 3. Trim the audio if necessary

If you need to not only merge audio files, but also delete certain passages, set the red marker to Timeline where you want to split the record and press the button Split . Delete an unnecessary segment: select it, then press the key Delete .

Step 4: Save the audio

Click the Save button, then click the Save as audio file tab. Specify the desired audio format (MP3, WAV, WMA, etc. ) and save folder and press Start . After that, it will be exported to an audio file.

How to join music online

Online tools are a versatile option when you need to quickly join songs without wasting time downloading, installing, learning programs or mobile applications. A common drawback of such services is a smaller set of features compared to mobile and computer audio editors.

123apps

A simple service where you can combine two songs into one in a couple of clicks or glue an audio track from more fragments. Supports more than 300 formats, and the result is saved as MP3, M4A, WAV or FLAC supported by most players and portable players.

How to join music in 123apps

Open the main page of the audio editor.
Click Add Tracks or drag files to be glued into the editing area on the page.
Adjust the timing of each track by dragging the edge of the track, or by adjusting the start and fade times at the bottom of the editor window.
Click the curve icon on a track if you want to turn on the crossfade function - the sound flows smoothly between tracks without pauses.
Select the save format in the lower right corner of the editor: MP3, M4A, WAV or FLAC.
Press Connect to start audio mixing.
Download the result to your computer or cloud storage using the link that will be displayed on the screen after the processing is completed.

Pros

Supports an unlimited number of tracks to connect
Choice of result saving format is available
You can download a mix directly into the Google Cloud Disc or Dropbox

Bessions

No way to edit transitions
Slow processing
You can not configure the quality of the result

9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000 9000

0 9000

0 0 permissions. Ideal for simple cross-fade mixing of songs, for example, to build your superset of this summer's hits.

How to join music in Clideo

Open the Clideo website in any browser.

Click Select files to download audio tracks to merge from the device, or the arrow on the same button to select files from your Google Drive and Dropbox cloud storage accounts or add songs via a direct link from the Internet.

Drag and drop tracks to arrange their sound order in the finished mix.

If necessary, turn on the smooth transition by checking the appropriate box on the right side of the editor window.

At the bottom of the online editor window, select the format in which you will export the finished mix: 10+ options are available.

Click on Export and wait for the process to complete to download the result to your computer or to the cloud.

Pros

Merges an unlimited number of songs

Supports smooth transition setting

Cons

0080
Lack of fine tuning and export quality control

MP3CutterPro

Service for gluing audio from a cut or connecting different songs into one set. Supports more than 10 source formats and exported merging result.

How to merge music in MP3CutterPro

Open the main page of the editor.
Drag to workspace or add files to be processed by pressing the green button Select file . You can also download songs via a direct link from the Internet, to do this, go to the URL tab.
Select the result format at the bottom of the page.
Activate Crossfade by checking the appropriate box (translated as "The cross disappears in the Russian version?").
- An unlimited number of songs for gluing
- many formats for import and export audio
disadvantages
- Service translation into Russian leaves much more slowly slow processing
- no subtle setting of the quality of exports
  How to join songs on your phone
  
  Online services work on both computers and smartphones. But if it is possible to install a separate application for editing audio, it is better to do this - applications have more functions, settings, and opportunities. In addition, you can work in applications from anywhere, even from places where you cannot get high-speed Internet access via Wi-Fi or mobile data networks.
  
  MP3 Audio Merger and Joiner
  
  A free audio merging tool for Android smartphones and tablets. The application is not demanding on hardware, therefore it works even on old weak smartphones on OS version 4.4 or higher.
  
  How to merge songs into MP3 Audio Merger and Joiner
  1. Install the application on your smartphone or tablet.
  2. On the main screen of MP3 Audio Merger and Joiner, click the plus icon to add songs to merge.
  3. Click the green button Merge at the bottom of the window.
  4. Select the result format File type .
  5. Select the type of gluing Process type - mixing (mix) or sequential combination - join.
  6. Click Continue , set the save path and file name.
  7. Press Done .
  8. When the merging process is completed, the application will offer to listen to the result - Play - or share it -
    
    How to merge songs into MP3 Cutter and Audio Merger
    1. Install the application on your device.
    2. Select Audio Merger from the main screen.
    3. Click on plus (+) to upload audio files to be combined into one.
    4. Click Merge to go to export settings.
    5. Set the export format and other options, then click Continue .
    6. Listen to the result - Play , - or share it - Share .
    pluses
    - Allows you to not only glue, but also cut and convert files
    minuses
    - No Russian
    - not too convenient management