Do you get bookings to 'play out'?

[Hugh-AR]

I know that things have changed and it is much more difficult these days to get bookings to 'play out'. Maybe for dancing, or old folks homes for them to have a 'sing-along'. But from what people tell me, it is much easier to get a booking if you sing as well as play.

On Christmas Eve our family decided to go to our local Pub, and I was thrilled to see that at 7pm they were having a 'Musical Evening of Live Entertainment'. Just the one person doing it, and he had already set up his amplifier .. with two speakers, so the music was going to be played in Stereo.

Then, just after 6:30pm, pieces of paper and a pencil were passed round the various tables for us to write down the names of any songs we wanted to hear. This was looking even more promising and I wrote down a couple of 'oldies' I would like him to play (not Christmas Music). These sheets were collected up and passed round to him at the back.

On the dot of 7 o'clock he appeared, with the sheets of our requests. And with him he had his mobile phone .. which he connected to his amplification system. Then one song at a time, he did a YouTube search for our requests and streamed them directly from YouTube through his speakers for us to listen to. Everybody was happy to hear their songs being played, and the evening was a great success. No playing or singing from him.

I kid you not! As Punch would say on Weston-super-Mare seafront, "That's the way to do it! That's the way to do it!".

Hugh

[dentyr]

Hello Hugh, When I played at Skegness, Nevil Sharman told me that if you don't sing you only have a 10% chance of getting a gig. I don't sing so I am out of the general running. However, I have heard some awful noises from people who purport to "Sing". Recite the first line of something that they have supposedly written themselves then go off screaming totally away from any tune. Watching these entertainers with their guitars it is more than obvious that 90% of them can't play the thing. Three chords and their screeching or moaning is the "melody" and the guitar is the "accompaniment". People don't know what you are supposed to be singing so they lose interest.

I learned from a very early part of my music playing you play something that everybody knows. Then they are only listening to you 50% of the time, the other is the fact that the song is in their head. They KNOW it and they sing along with in in their head. This goes far more for dancing. Play a song that they know to start the dance and their feet will go in time to the music and dance. They are dancing to the song in their head. After the first song of the medley you can play almost anything, they will keep dancing to the beat.

Playing to an audience for entertainment you should NEVER play a medley. People hear the first song and are singing it in their mind. You change the song and they are lost. They know that it is something different but it take a while for them to catch up with what you have done. By that time you have changed to your third song of your medley. The audience have lost the track and start chatting amongst themselves. A new song should be introduced at about number 3 or 4. in your performance and the last song must be something that everybody knows. They go away singing that one in their mind. Entertaining is an art in itself.

Experience from the last 50 years or so.

Regards, Den.

[dentyr]

One venue I played at I was criticized for taking too long between songs. I had to get the registration into my T4 and also set up the music sheets.
Now, having learned to do otherwise, this is what I do.
Put the registrations into a folder on the hard drive. You may elect to do this on a USB for the SX.
Put the associated style folder onto the same USB.
Renumber the registrations in the order that you plan to play and save the folder. Check now that the registrations and styles are still linked.
All that happens now is that you start playing number one. When that is finished you press the registration plus button and that puts the next song into the memory all ready to go. Press registration memory button 1 and you play.
Only takes a second and you are playing again. It is the Registration Bank Select +/- on the panel face.
Hope that this helps.
Den.