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"Music for Special Events" - Jim's article from The Planner

In my years of performing for corporate and social events, I’ve found that live music falls into three categories: foreground, background, and production.

Production music can range from a live band playing emcees onto the stage to a keyboardist accompanying custom-written sketch comedy for a trade show. As it’s very specific to a given event, let’s focus on the others categories.

Foreground music generally falls into two categories: feature entertainment, and dance music.

Generally, feature entertainment is self-contained, and the style or theme of the event will guide your choices. Booking agencies such as S.L. Feldman & Associates have extensive rosters of both “name” acts and “up-and-comers”.

My main advice on “name” acts would be this: check the riders! The act may be in your budget, but what about their additional requirements? (Van Halen’s insistence on “a large bowl of M&M’s with the brown ones removed” is entertaining, but far from the priciest demand.)

Dance music is always in demand; I’ve had clients request bands ranging from a rock’n’roll trio to our nine-piece R&B band, complete with two singers and a horn section. (As is common with such groups, it’s available in smaller configurations.)

As with any group of professional musicians, a good band can cover a number of styles, but generally speaking, larger ensembles can include more genres. For example, the R&B band can include a swinging Sinatra number in their set (the horn section will add that big-band sound); meanwhile, the rock’n’roll trio can’t pull off pop songs requiring a keyboardist.

If the audience includes a range of ages, my recommendation is the R&B band (which can easily include “retro” disco, pop, and R&B, along with some rock classics and even some big-band and reggae). Meanwhile, the rock’n’roll trio can be the perfect choice for baby-boomers. Of course, there’s dance bands for specific themes: 1980’s, salsa, hard-rock, tribute (or “clone”) bands, and big bands, among others.

Background music can be described as either thematic or ambient.

Thematic music could include a clown band for a circus-themed event, or an organist performing haunting themes for a Halloween gathering. It’s akin to production music, in that the event dictates the musical requirements; also, it’s often simply an “ambient” musician performing in costume.

Ambient music would include a jazz trio for cocktails and dinner music, and a solo pianist during dinner.

For cocktails and dinner settings, I sometimes get requests for a singer.  I always recommend instrumental music for dinner. Vocals command more attention from an audience, and are more likely to evoke applause – and when your guests have utensils in hand, this gets awkward. Perhaps it’s a “polite Canadian” thing, but audiences here can be uncomfortable just letting a singer do their thing in the background.

On occasion, I’ve had a singer perform with a jazz trio for cocktails, and then had just the trio perform instrumentally once dinner begins. The vocals are a better fit for cocktails, if only because guests are moving about, and can easily turn to watch the performer, or set down their drink to clap.

Volume is a concern for background music, of course. The perfect volume is one that enhances the socializing, and doesn’t intrude upon it. Think of it as a classy way to encourage your guests to converse at a comfortable volume.

My jazz trio is my most requested group, and one of the reasons is that there’s no drums, just piano, guitar and upright bass. The volume is easily controlled, and we’ve performed for groups as small as twenty without intruding on their conversations. That’s not to say that a professional drummer can’t play at low volumes; it’s a common perception, however, that drums are loud.

But if you’re looking for guests to dance, bring those drums! In situations where the dinner music ensemble is also serving as the after-dinner dance combo, the drumless jazz trio won’t suffice. Guests look for the beat, and even though almost all music has rhythm, the average dancer listens for the drums.

Live music is a sure-fire way to boost production values, and I hope these ideas will help you find the perfect music for your events.

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Jim Clayton is a three-time national award-winning musician, as well as a music director with The Second City. To contact him, visit www.jimclaytonjazz.com
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