Blog#2 Choosing Songs For 'ENERGY' Part 1/3 'The Three Golden Rules'
Welcome to Energy's second blog. Thanks for joining us.
There are thousands of well known songs out there that everybody loves, so choosing songs for a wedding/party band is easy right?
. . err . . no . . it's not quite that straight forward, so I thought I would share some of the decision making process that we go through to make sure our set list is top quality and sparkling every time we perform for our clients.
A Clear Objective Helps Us Choose The Right Song
We want people to enjoy our music and have a fantastic time by singing and dancing to every song.
The above will be split up into three separate blogs.
1) The Three Golden Rules for choosing songs.
2) Exceptions to the rules.
3) Constructing a Set List.
The Three Golden Rules
1) The song must be popular and known by almost everybody
No matter how great the song, if our clients don't know it they are unlikely to emotionally connect to, and appreciate hearing it, and are therefore be unlikely to get up, dance to and enjoy it.
2) The song must be upbeat and uplifting
Even if people know and love a song, if it has a downbeat vibe or feeling it will project the wrong atmosphere for a party. Think of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Joy Division. No doubt it would be loved by a select few regardless, but the lyric is negative and it's downbeat feel would certainly clear a number of feet from the dance floor. Or 'Hero's' by David Bowie, although evoking and anthemic, and known by nearly everyone it does plod a little and for me doesn't have the right dynamic upbeat feel.
3) The song must be easy to dance to
Even if well known and uplifting if a song is too fast or slow, the feet can awkwardly grind to a halt, clear people from the dance floor and leave the the evening feeling like a damp quid. So the perfect tempo, feel and groove to help people shimmy to their fave tunes is essential.
So every song that gets suggested by anyone has the above three questions asked of it, and if it passes the acid test it's definitely worth a rehearsal to see if it can make the final cut . . . the Set List
Thanks,
Phil
Band Leader and Drummer
There are thousands of well known songs out there that everybody loves, so choosing songs for a wedding/party band is easy right?
. . err . . no . . it's not quite that straight forward, so I thought I would share some of the decision making process that we go through to make sure our set list is top quality and sparkling every time we perform for our clients.
A Clear Objective Helps Us Choose The Right Song
We want people to enjoy our music and have a fantastic time by singing and dancing to every song.
The above will be split up into three separate blogs.
1) The Three Golden Rules for choosing songs.
2) Exceptions to the rules.
3) Constructing a Set List.
The Three Golden Rules
1) The song must be popular and known by almost everybody
No matter how great the song, if our clients don't know it they are unlikely to emotionally connect to, and appreciate hearing it, and are therefore be unlikely to get up, dance to and enjoy it.
2) The song must be upbeat and uplifting
Even if people know and love a song, if it has a downbeat vibe or feeling it will project the wrong atmosphere for a party. Think of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Joy Division. No doubt it would be loved by a select few regardless, but the lyric is negative and it's downbeat feel would certainly clear a number of feet from the dance floor. Or 'Hero's' by David Bowie, although evoking and anthemic, and known by nearly everyone it does plod a little and for me doesn't have the right dynamic upbeat feel.
3) The song must be easy to dance to
Even if well known and uplifting if a song is too fast or slow, the feet can awkwardly grind to a halt, clear people from the dance floor and leave the the evening feeling like a damp quid. So the perfect tempo, feel and groove to help people shimmy to their fave tunes is essential.
So every song that gets suggested by anyone has the above three questions asked of it, and if it passes the acid test it's definitely worth a rehearsal to see if it can make the final cut . . . the Set List
Thanks,
Phil
Band Leader and Drummer
Norwich Norfolk Wedding Party Band
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