Making Wedding Music Selections Easy

It may seem strange that today’s blog is about wedding music. However, people are known to get engaged over the holidays, when family and friends are together. Next month, bridal fairs will begin another wedding season. Usually, when I meet with a couple, they have no idea what music they would like performed at their ceremony. I normally run through a selection of songs and wait as the couple discusses whether they want happy or sad, fast or slow, bouncy or majestic music. The sole exception was the wedding of a classically trained pianist. She asked for Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata as well as other classics. She walked down the aisle to O mio babbino caro by Puccini.

Here are some useful links to help engaged couples choose ceremony and reception music:

• Our Wedding Songs

• Complete Guide to Wedding Music

• The Top 250 Wedding Songs for Each Moment of Your Big Day

September 4, 2020 update: updated a few links.

Careers in Music

Growing up, the only music careers I knew about were: teacher, pop singer, composer and orchestra musicians. However, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are countless more career options available for those who love music. Here are just a few (in no particular order):  

• Music publisher

• Talent agent

• Recording engineer

• Music therapist

• Concert promoter

• Radio disc jockey

• Community arts manager

• Marketing Director for a symphony

• Fund Development Coordinator for an opera company

• Composer (classical, movie, video game, commercials, etc.)

• Accompanist

• Transcriber

• Arranger

• Conductor

For more information about careers in music, check out the following sites:

• Berklee - Careers

• National Association for Music Educationi

• Music Careers

Happy exploring!

© 2005 Musespeak™, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. All rights reserved.

Friday Fun Link #7

Q: What do you get when you put a diminished chord together with an augmented chord? A: A demented chord.

It’s been a long week (and I’m not quite done yet). I went in search of some comic relief and came upon this site riddled with music jokes. Enjoy!

Friday Fun Link #5

When checking the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s website for concert information today, I noticed a link titled “Musician Demos”. What a treat to find short video clips of various orchestra members talking about their instruments. For instance, did you know that there are over 1,000 “noise-makers” in their percussion section? What made the treat extra special is that I know some of the musicians in those clips.