Wedding Band Rep preparation

[surferbob]

Hi Everyone-
For those of you who play in wedding and GB bands, do you have any advice for preparing for gigs? I have a wedding gig coming up and all I was provided with was a list of songs with the keys we will be doing playing them in. It's a wide variety of styles- jazz standards, pop songs, rock songs, hip hop tunes, etc. I was only given charts for a few of them but the rest I have nothing. Especially for songs where the originals don't even have horns I'm kind of at a loss for what to do.

Any advice from players who have experience with GB bands/wedding bands is greatly appreciated. How do you prepare for these situations?

[bach_again]

Make your own charts for everything that has horns. Chart out things that might fit the other stuff: string hooks, BVs etc... speak to the keyboard player and other horns and get an idea of what they do. Phone them in advance, wouldn't hurt.

If you are on with seasoned players take their lead, on tunes without horns you might be playing string lines, keys, BVs, pads or you might be improvising horn lines.

The trumpet is the leader of the section. If you are cutting your teeth, lead the stuff you can, and learn how you should lead the rest.

Keep your ears open. Play in tune, play in time. Lock in with the kick and snare. Take your tuning off the keyboards or bass.

Don't overblow... you'll never win. Those bands can be loud.

Articulation!!! I've done a lot of these gigs. It is a serious drag if someone is bringing their classical bag to the show. It is the wrong articulation style. In the same way that playing Let the bright seraphim like it's "September" would make you cringe, playing "Call me Al" with a Mahler 5 approach will really suck.

Learn and sing BVs on appropriate tunes.

Be early. Dress clean. Don't ask for much, don't complain, smile, shake hands and say thank you. Be embarassingly over prepared. You want to get called back? That's all first impressions.

This may be a dumbass comment, but listen to the music you are gonna play. I know when I am working with someone reading a pad who has never heard or listened to the music, and superficially it might not be that big of a deal, but come on.

Play Superstition right. (pet peeve)

Have fun too, the gig is smiling, dancing, looking like you are enjoying being at a party, so don't stand there like a lamp post looking like you just backed over your dog. Enjoy yourself, your body language is telling the audience how to react to the music more than your playing is (within reason).

Good luck!
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https://youtu.be/iLVMRvw5RRk

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https://youtu.be/OnCnTA6toMU

[Jaw04]

Yep bach_again covered it. At first it seems daunting how many tunes you are expected to know inside and out without being handed parts, but after a year or so doing these type of gigs you realize that you will be playing many of the same songs for the rest of your career. Might as well really learn them well now. The songs that don't have horn parts - learn something. It might be strings, keyboards, or the vocal melody, but be ready to play SOMETHING on every song. Because you will look awkward up there not playing and the whole point is to put on a show and make it a party.

[Steve A]

I'm not an expert, given that I've only subbed into bands playing this repertoire from time to time, and it's definitely not my primary job or area of expertise, so certainly don't take me as being an authority, but here are a few thoughts which may or may not be useful for the OP, but hopefully is useful for someone:

- Depending on how the mics/monitors, etc. are setup, it can be really hard to hear yourself playing with amplified instruments, which for many people turns very quickly into a recipe for overblowing, and quickly following pitch and stamina problems. People use different strategies for dealing with this, like sounds reflectors for instance, but I've found that playing with fitted earplugs that evenly block all frequencies A: save my hearing and B: mean that I can always hear myself, and don't have the temptation to try to match the volume of the drumkit or electric guitar. It took some time practicing playing with them to be comfortable, but I find it a really valuable thing to be comfortable with.

- A lot of the charts/arrangements of popular wedding band rep are not terribly professionally put together. (Like, badly notated, or irregular ways of writing repeats, or confusing roadmaps, etc.) Really knowing the songs themselves (including the words where possible) can make a big difference to make sure you keep your place in the charts when everyone else already knows them, so if you do anything wrong, you'll really stand out.

- Getting really comfortable playing in F#, B, and some other comparatively tricky keys to read can be a lifesaver, because songs that guitarists write tend to be in our least favourite keys. (And vice-versa.)

- bach_again already mentioned this, at least indirectly, but September and Superstition both have some very prominent and relatively tricky horn parts. If those are on the set list and you don't already know them, take a look at them as soon as you can.

[tptptp]

The part about looking like you’re having fun is really important. If you think about it, none of us look like we’re having fun when we’re sitting in an orchestra or a concert band or in church. We’re stiff and subdued. But it’s really important in a small dance band like this, that the folks on the floor who are looking at us most of the time, feel that fun vibe coming off the stage, even if it’s very unnatural and even uncomfortable for us to display it. It’s part of our performance.
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Craig Mitchell

[Jaw04]

[kettyberry]

Playing alongside a DJ and doubling the horn parts must be a unique experience. But hey, when you're up there, the key is to keep the vibe alive and kicking! A serious face is definitely not the way to go when you're trying to get everyone on their feet and dancing.

And speaking of looking sharp, if you want your band to have the perfect lighting and sound setup to complement your performance, check out this awesome website: https://lalightingandsound.com/ They'll help you set the stage in style and make your gigs even more memorable!

[donovan]

[tptptp]

[Uberopa]

You may be wise to ask the band leader if you need to have your own mic and cord and stand. A roll of gaff tape is handy to tape cords down or to anchor your instrument stand(s). If the band is set up on the same level as the dance floor make sure you have enough space to avoid intoxicated dancers. Politely redirect people with requests or complaints to the leader. It's helpful to be able to play Happy Birthday in different keys. The Anniversary Song and the Anniversary Waltz are different tunes. There is a good chance you will have to play Cherry Pink and the Bird Dance or the Macarena. Memorize a few ethnic dance tunes. If it's an Italian wedding, the theme from the Godfather will be called. Bring your own water. Some bars charge for it. Be careful you don't spill any beverages on a floor littered with electrical wires. Be as gracious in receiving an angry, slurred demand to "tone it down" as you would a compliment on your playing. Be discrete in handling payment. Count your cash when the leader isn't watching. Oh and have fun. 😁

[Brad361]

[BeboppinFool]

Michael Barkley summed up perfectly why I don't get called for these gigs anymore. When I was younger I had the energy for all that (and more) but today I encourage such bands to hire somebody else.

I have a HUGE collection of horn charts I transcribed for such bands. I am willing to send a zipped file of all those PDFs for free to anybody who is interested. Most of them are very accurate. Some of them were "arranged" for horns where there were only strings present, etc. But you can get over with them.

PM me your email address and I'll wetransfer.com a zipped file for you.

Age does have its advantages!


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Puttin’ On The Ritz

[bach_again]