Wedding Music and Wedding Gigs

What goes into preparing for a gig? A little bit of administration and a sufficient amount of practice. Things never go according to plan, so you also need to be prepared for anything. I played at a wedding on Saturday. I don’t mind sharing it since it was an interesting gig (and the couple were wonderful to work with, so I hope they don’t mind that I share this).

The bride contacted me in the summer to perform at her wedding. We played phone tag for a couple of rounds first. She was in the process of finalizing the date and venue but wanted to check my availability.

One week later, she dropped of a deposit to secure my services, with the balance to be paid at the ceremony. By mid-September, we had enough information to negotiate length of the engagement and cost.

This wedding was a little different from the norm. The couple wanted cocktail music prior to the ceremony. No processional, signing of the register or recessional music. After the ceremony, they asked me to play Forever in Blue Jeans by Neil Diamond.

They made several special requests, which I was fine with since they gave me ample notice. A little My Fair Lady, a little classic rock and some rumbas. I wound up purchasing a fake book with over 1,000 songs in lead sheet format. It was a good excuse for me to learn how to improvise an accompaniment. Slowly but surely, I am getting better at it.

I began practicing in earnest for the gig three weeks before the wedding. However, a horrible cold impeded my practicing two weeks before the wedding. That’s when we finalized all the details that were required on the booking agreement. The bride paid the outstanding balance when she submitted the signed contract.

The families were in the throes of last minute preparations when I arrived. Musicians feed off of the excitement in the air on performance day. But my stomach churned when I reached the piano. The damper pedal was broken. Of all the pedals, it had to be the one pianists need the most for pop songs.

After a mild panic attack, years of lessons kicked in and I remembered finger pedalling, which involves holding notes longer than written and blurring the sounds together that way. It went all right but I was completely thrown off by the loss of my favourite tool. My right foot kept reaching for the pedal that wouldn’t work.

I had a couple of false starts in Forever in Blue Jeans but smoothed things over with comedic patter. Other than that, was quite pleased with my faking prowess that evening. I had a healthy break when I dined with the guests (prime rib, yummy!) and sat through speeches.

Want to know more about what it’s like to perform at gigs? I’m writing my first novel (it’s fiction but inspired by reality). Not sure when it’ll be published, seeing as I’m only on Chapter 3. Stay tuned!

Friday Fun Link #6

I stumbled upon A Passion for Jazz when I was searching for a good “How to use a Fake Book” resourse. There is a concise history of jazz as well as handy “cheat sheets”. The chord chart is extremely helpful!

Super Saturday Link #1

Friday came and went before I realized that I missed my Friday Fun Link entry. Here’s a Super Saturday Link instead: Ever wonder what a digeridoo is? How about a sitar? Or a da'uli da'uli?

The University of Michigan Department of Music has compiled a comprehensive online resource that includes an instrument encyclopedia, glossary, information on various instrument collections throughout North America and useful instrument-specific links.

Hmm...if memory serves me correctly, one of my university classmates works in that library.

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

Too busy to practice? Try the 10 minute practice session

With the school year well underway, students are busy with homework, sports and other extracurricular activities. This translates to the famous line many teachers hear on a weekly basis, "I didn't practice this week because [insert excuse here].” This is actually a discussion topic on the Canadian Piano Pedagogy Discussion Group I am part of. Both my brother and I were busy with extracurricular activities and school in our day, in addition to piano, music history, as well as harmony and analysis classes. How did we manage it and still do well? First, our parents made studying a priority, whether it was school or piano. We couldn’t drop either activity. Sure, we didn't practice as regularly as we should have but Mom was on our case if we slacked off too much. It helped that Mom gave us fun music on a regular basis for the times we were tired of our exam pieces.

At university, I learned how to practice more effectively. I suffered my first bout of tendonitis between my second and third year. The doctor said the best way to let my arms heal would be to not play the piano for several months. That simply wasn’t an option for me. With a careful regimen of icing, physiotherapy, rest and ibuprofen, my piano teacher completed the program by revising my practice routine. I started slowly, only playing for five minutes a day. Gradually, I built it up to the two to two-and-a-half hours a day I maintained for the rest of my studies.

With only ten minutes of piano time, I had to make them count. I learned to zoom in on “trouble spots”. No need to drill something that I can do well.

It also meant I had to find other way to keep up with my peers. My teacher advised me to study the music score for patterns and memorize the music as I would memorize a vocabulary list. I tracked down recordings of my repertoire and listened to them ad nauseum. I also learned to practice the rhythms away from the piano by tapping them on my lap or on a table.

Each of these activities can be done in a ten-minute session. It’s a routine I employ now as a teacher with limited practicing time. Warm up on scales, chords and arpeggios for one key, drill a trouble spot and improvise for a few minutes. If a student is late or doesn’t show, then I can squeeze in another ten-minute session. I try to squeeze in at least one ten-minute session a day if I’m pressed for time. After all, I know as well as the next person that it’s tough to practice an hour a day, every day.

© Musespeak, Calgary, AlbertaCanada, 2005. All rights reserved.

Friday Fun Link #3

This week, I’ve directed several students to MusicTheory.net . Ricci Adams, the site’s creator, has done an excellent job at preparing tutorials to musicians. The Flash presentation on rhythm has helped at least one of my students. My favourite part of the site is the Trainer section. Where was this when I was studying? The Interval Ear Trainer is set up like a game. The Trainer will play an interval (the distance between two notes) and the student must identify what the interval is. The Trainer even keeps score. The Scale Ear Trainer and the Chord Ear Trainer are set up similarly.

The Note, Key, Interval and Triad Trainers are like online flashcards.

It’s a great way for students to practice their ear training and note reading when they don’t have a study partner.

There is even a staff paper generator for those who want to try their hand at composing.

Check it out.

(c) 2005 by Musespeak(tm). All rights reserved.