Valuable Lessons for Wedding Musicians and Brides

Wedding season is winding down. Phew! Today's wedding should go well. The bride and I met months ago and got all the songs selected. I've played at this church before and last night's rehearsal was a snap.

The jury is still out on the one scheduled in two weeks. There are quite a few special requests for this one, which I didn't get until recently. Over the summer, Bride #2 rescheduled our meeting twice. She finally came with her fiance late this week.

At the meeting, she said that she wants five hymns sung. That was three more than what I was told initially. One thing I've learned is that if you want singing at a wedding, bring in singers. Don't expect the congregation to sing with enthusiasm. Most will mumble, if at all.

To make a long story short, she's going beg her friends over the weekend to form a choir and then we'll have to work out some time (when I'm not teaching, at meetings, etc.) to rehearse.

A few lessons here for brides:

1. If you plan on having numerous special requests, book your musician(s) well in advance. Yours isn't the only gig on the roster. We musicians want to make your day special by playing well. Many musicians have busy music studios. Most musicians/teachers' schedules are extremely tight. The more time you give us, the better.

2. Factor in rehearsal time and fees if you book more than one musician, such as a pianist and a singer.

3. Meet with your musician(s) well in advance. If they are not familiar with some of the music you would like played at your ceremony, they need time to prepare it.

4. If you put off booking a musician to one month or less before your wedding - good luck finding one. If you find someone willing to take you on, most likely, no special requests will be allowed.

And for musicians:

1. If the client has to reschedule once, fine. If he/she must reschedule twice, unless it was for a dire emergency, drop the client. The money is not worth the hassle.

2. If you decided to take on a client and are presented with several last minute requests, take control of the situation. Be very firm about what you require, your availability and what you are willing to do.

3. Do not bend over backwards for problem clients. You should not compromise your other loyal clients (or your sanity) for this. The money is not worth the hassle.

4. Charge for rehearsals. This is above and beyond the contracted terms.

*** Ironically, as things turned out, I choked on the third line of the Recessional at today's wedding (Jeremiah Clarke's Trumpet Tune). I drilled it a lot at home too. How frustrating. I stumbled my way back to the beginning of the piece as quickly as I could, segued into an improvisation on Canon in D and finally, segued into Houki Boshi, the Japanese pop tune I performed at the APTA Festival.

I guess I'm too used to playing Clarke's Trumpet Voluntary. I really should review the other, less requested recessionals more often, just in case.

*** (Sept. 22/07) Wedding #2 went more smoothly than I thought. To my surprise (and the bride's delight), the wedding guests did sing with enthusiasm and reverence, even on the hymns that were earmarked as just background music.

The only bumps occurred at the start when I thought the groomsmen were ready to enter the Sanctuary. They weren't, so I had to segue from Doxology to an improvisation on Canon in D; which I did so I could keep both eyes on the back door. The first bridesmaid entered too soon, so I had to make up some transitional chords in my left hand as my right quickly flipped to the bridal party's song. Other than that, everything went well.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Gig Music Selections

I just drafted up my playlist for the "rock music" wedding this upcoming long weekend. The book I am using for most of the ceremony is a lot better than I thought it would be. Pretty decent arrangements.Here are some of my favourite books that I like to use at gigs throughout the year:

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Classic Rock - Creative Piano Solo By Various. Piano Solo Songbook. Classic Rock, Rock. Softcover. 96 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.138517).

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Lounge Music Composed by Various. Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook. Vocal Standards and Standards. Songbook (softcover). With vocal melody, piano accompaniment, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 208 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.310193).

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The Best Fake Book Ever - C Edition - 4th Edition C Edition. Composed by Various. Hal Leonard Fake Books. Country, Fake Books, Jazz, Pop, Standards. Fake book. With vocal melody, lyrics and chord names. 856 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.290239).

I recently purchased a jazz fake book but the title escapes me. I'll add that onto the list at a later date, once I've had a chance to try it out.

(c) 2006 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Popular Wedding Music Selections

What a busy day! I was up around 8 this morning (unheard of for a musician) and doing yardwork. I have a love/hate relationship with my yard. I love nature, but I'm allergic to most grass and weeds. As the sun touched the flowers surrounding me, I could almost hear "Morning" from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite, swelling into a brilliant crescendo as the sunlight burst through the clouds. I needed to take a break from housecleaning and decided to do a quick blog entry. Since I'm meeting a couple this evening regarding their wedding music, I decided to muse on popular wedding songs. Common processionals include: Canon in D and Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring. Common recessionals include: Halellujah Chorus, Trumpet Voluntary and Ode to Joy.

I wind up playing Canon in D and Trumpet Voluntary at many weddings. As for the most unusual? It's a tie between Forever in Blue Jeans and Born to be Wild for a recessional. You can find out more about popular wedding songs at these sites:

• Wedding Ceremony Music & Song Lists

• Wedding Music - Piano Solo

Here are two of my favourite wedding music books to use:

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The Classical Wedding Piano Solo. Composed by Various. Piano. Classical, Wedding. 160 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.220029).

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Wedding & Love Fake Book - 6th Edition Over 500 Songs For All C Instruments. By Various. Fake Book. Love, Wedding. Softcover. 456 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.239950).

Seeing as it's summer (aka off-season for teaching), I'll cut down on my posts to one a week. Time to go enjoy some sun (er...houseclean, I mean houseclean). Really.

(c) 2006 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Fun Music Ideas

Around this time, it's a big push to keep students focussed and motivated to practice. Several of my students are exploring other genres to keep their interest or to simply give them a break from their main pieces. Here are just a few, which may serve as ideas for other musicians:

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Very Best Of John Williams By John Williams. By John Williams. Edited by Carol Cuellar. Arranged by Dan Coates. Artist/Personality; Piano - Easy Piano Collection; Piano Supplemental. Piano arrangement mixed folio (Easy piano). Easy Piano. Movies. Songbook (softcover). With chord names. 104 pages. Alfred Music #0656B. Published by Alfred Music (HL.321939).

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Lord of the Rings for Easy Piano Music from the Motion Pictures Arranged for Easy Piano. Composed by Howard Shore. Edited by Jeannette DeLisa and Zoby Perez. Arranged by Dan Coates. Piano - Easy Piano Collection; Piano Supplemental. Piano arrangement mixed folio (Easy piano). Movies. Songbook. With black & white photos and chord names. 56 pages. Alfred Music #00-AFM0408. Published by Alfred Music (AP.AFM0408).

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The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Music from the Motion Pictures Arranged for Solo Piano. Composed by Howard Shore. This edition: Piano/Vocal. Piano Collection; Piano Supplemental. Movie. Book. 104 pages. Alfred Music #00-32034. Published by Alfred Music (AP.32034).

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Microlatin 20 Pieces Based on Latin Rhythms for the Beginner Pianist. Composed by Christopher Norton. BH Piano. Educational, Latin. Softcover with CD. 36 pages. Boosey & Hawkes #M060119651. Published by Boosey & Hawkes (HL.48019809).

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Harry Potter -- Sheet Music from the Complete Film Series Easy Piano. Composed by John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Alexandre Desplat (1961-), and Nicholas Hooper. Arranged by Dan Coates. This edition: Easy Piano. Piano - Easy Piano Collection; Piano Supplemental. Movie. Book. 140 pages. Alfred Music #00-39075. Published by Alfred Music (AP.39075).

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Corpse Bride - Main Titles By La Sposa Cadavere (Corpse Bride). Arranged by GC. Individual Part. 5 pages. Published by Giuseppe Cataldi (H0.622575-SC001203006).

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The Best in Movie Sheet Music Composed by Dan Coates. Piano - Easy Piano Collection; Piano Supplemental. Movie. Book. 88 pages. Alfred Music #00-AF9760A. Published by Alfred Music (AP.AF9760A).

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The Disney Collection Composed by Various. Easy Piano Songbook. Children, Disney, Movies. Softcover. 304 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.119716).

Visit your local music store or explore my affiliate links for some gems:

Sheet Music on Amazon

Happy exploring!

(c) 2006 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Overcoming Stage Fright

Call it what you want - performance jitters, butterflies, stage fright - it all comes down to the same sickening feeling people get before performing. It doesn't happen all the time but when it does, it can be paralyzing. Here are some interesting articles on how to overcome stage fright (some are music related, some are general):

• Stage Fright

• Stage Fright - Music

• Overcoming Stage Fright

Also, I hear these books are very good:

• The Inner Game of Music by W. Timothy Gallwey

• The Young Musician's Survival Guide: Tips from Teens & Pros by Amy Nathan

Happy reading.

(c) 2006 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.