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Position:Home>Performing Arts> If i book my own gig at a bar, how many songs will i need?Question: If i book my own gig at a bar, how many songs will i need!? I've been playing acoustic guitar at open mic for a while now, and i have about 30 or 40 solid songs, is that enough to fill a Friday night gig at a bar!? Please don't try to answer if you're not in the bar and/or music business!.Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: You should have at least 2 sets--about an hour each!. If you have 3 that's great!! play for an hour and take a 10 minute break, that will give you a minute and will give the crowd something to look forward to!. Usually in bars you are playing for about 4 hours!. By the time you hit the third hour the people that were there the first hour aren't there anymore or are too drunk to remember!. Make your second set your strongest and end with it!. Leave them wanting more not wishing you would get off stage!.Www@QuestionHome@Com you can play 10 - 15 songs an hour est!. avg!.3 min per song 10 min break every 50 minWww@QuestionHome@Com American Pie is always good for 10 minutes!.Www@QuestionHome@Com You need at least twelve to fifteen songs to fill a set!. If you have some patter, or a story for the songs you can by with a little less!. If you just play straight through, you might need a couple more!. Figure most songs to be between two and four minutes long, if you do any soloing this affect song length as well!. The other thing you need is a few songs to change things up so your act doesn't get stale!. You need to change at least two to four songs every two weeks unless you get a following that wants to hear the same songs all the time!. That can be dangerous because followings tend to disappear with little or no notice!. The other thing you want to think about is pacing!. You want to have a variety of even tempo and up tempo songs to keep the audience's attention!. You want to have a reason for pretty much every song you play, and you want to be able to defend your choices because you may eventually have to do that!. A big part of playing as a solo artist is the ability to take requests!. You have to decide how much you will do and what the turnaround time will be!. I used to keep a notebook up by my tip jar so people could request songs without interrupting the flow of the performance!. I noticed that the morre of these songs I could work into my set, the more my tip jar got filled with bills of larger denominations! I wouldn't say that I was only there to make money, but since I was using the tips to buy strings and books for my students it was definately a factor!. Ballpark figure however, if you book for two hours, have at least 25 - 30 songs under your belt!. If you book for three hours, have at least 40 - 60!. The more you have, the better prepared you will be if the manager asks you to stay over because the room is still full!. Don't be afraid to play from a lead sheet or even a chord sheet, especially toward the end of the night!. In most disciplines reading sheet music is considered a sign of legitimacy!. This is especially true if you are considering taking requests!. I bring at least four "Real Books" with me on any gig, and they don't all contain music that I would normally play on a gig!. If someone is willing to drop a twenty in my jar because I was willing to take a stab at (and maybe even totally butcher) Confirmation or Some Skunk Funk, I am just as willing to take a chance on making a bit of a fool of myself!. Sometimes those songs end up in my own lineup and even end up being personal favorites!. Best of luck no matter what you decide to do and I genuinely hope this helps you!. By the way, it never hurts to pick up a stopwatch and time your performances!. I usually do this during a rehearsal, but I may ask my wife or a friend to take a look at their watch while they are listening in!. I also ask them to listen for remarks or reactions!. It's even better if they don't know that they are with me, since they will get more candid responses that way!.Www@QuestionHome@Com Have them all ready just in case you get requests!.Www@QuestionHome@Com |