How to choose songs for your repertoire.

Start your Engines:

One of the most difficult things that musicians are confronted with is choosing songs that will appeal to a crowd.
In most cases your choice of songs will be defined by the following guidelines:

• The type of gig you are going to be playing
• Your musical ability

What's the Gig?

To address the first guideline is fairly easy. Although this may seem fairly obvious to seasoned professionals, for the newbies out there pay attention. If you are going to be playing in a jazz lounge common sense should prevail...learn as many jazz standards as you can.
Pick songs that are popular within the genre that the venue has asked for. This really is a no brainer guys n gals. I have mentioned this in a few of my previous posts. If the client asks for South American Bossa give them just that. Learning to follow specific directions can really assist you to progress and please the client.

Your Musical Ability:

This is where it gets interesting. Musical ability is so much more than how fast your fingers fly over the fretboard, or the amount of double kicks that you can deliver in a minute. It covers a vast range of skills such as:

• Sight-reading/notation/chart reading etc
• Education
• Experience
• Memory
• Stage presence

In this day and age working musicians are having to become increasingly knowledgeable across different genres to stay employed. So any abilities you have should be utilized to the fullest. 

Borrow and Blend:

An astute individual or band can pick tunes that are can cross over into several genres. For example songs by Sade or Norah Jones can easily cross genres. There are many others that lay on the fringes too. The primary reason for choosing songs in this manner is so that the number of contracts that you could do increases.
Also you may find that a lot of your songs can be changed and manipulated to resemble songs from other genres. I have heard Iron Maiden tunes being played in a Bossa nova rhythm, jazz versions of Pink Floyd tunes and numerous other examples. So you could look through your repertoire and devise other ways to play the songs that you already know.

Dull Wins the Day:

As dull as it may sound you can't really go wrong with picking easily recognizable songs from any given genre. It is nice to pick obscure tracks but the risk of displeasing the crowd increases. The reason for this is due to the fact that most people you entertain are not die-hard music fanatics that know every track ever written by Metallica, or Michael Jackson's birthday. They are simply general people that enjoy hearing and seeing a band play stuff that is regularly played on commercial tv or radio stations.

Some gigs are really quite specific about what they want played. I saw a recent request for a jazz trio that should only be playing Charlie Parker type jazz. For those of you that don't know Charlie Parker was one of the prime movers and shakers for the 'Beebop' era of jazz. In a case such as this there is every possibility that the crowd or possibly someone in management has detailed knowledge about the genre. A request that is so specific almost inevitably means that you need to really understand and be able to deliver a convincing performance within that narrow, well-defined genre.

Get to Know the Locals:

As time passes and you get to know your audience and see the requests coming in then you can adjust your repertoire accordingly. Get to know the regulars and ask them what they like to hear. The regulars are your guiding light to success at a venue. With most contracts the regulars are there before you and will probably be there long after you and your band have departed. Managers always give their regulars special treatment as they are the lifeblood of the business. You can do yourself huge favors by getting to know the regulars and getting to know what music they like and playing it for them, possibly even giving them a shout out before and/or after you play the song.

New Kids on the Block:

If you haven't done a contract and you're wondering what to put into your repertoire you must firstly decide what kind of gigs or contracts you want to do and then go from there.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What type of music do I want to play?
• What songs do I already know?
• What kind of venues/clubs/cocktail lounge etc do I want to play in?
• Where are my musical strengths and weaknesses?

Answering those questions honestly and comprehensively will help you to decide what you can and can't play and what is likely to be suitable and unsuitable for any given venue.

Summary:

Repertoire lives and breathes. Try to pick your songs wisely and do your due diligence. Research well and apply the information to create a practical repertoire that will serve you well.

Get yourself some references...NOW!

References defined:

Having references from reputable firms or well-known sources can greatly increase your chances of cooking the competition when pitching yourself to potential clients. If you don't know what a reference is here is brief outline relevant to musicians.

 'A written statement about how you performed at a given venue'.*

A reference can also detail how well-organized you were, or how easy your were to work with, or how great you or your band was at boosting revenue for the venue.'


* A special point to note is that it doesn't necessarily have to contain only references to your onstage abilities.

How important is a reference?

As a 'stand alone' document the importance of a reference is easy to overlook or dismiss as superflous to your needs. But this is absolutely not the case. When juxtaposed with the other components of your press kit the addition of references is like whipped cream on top of Mommas' hot apple pie.

Although your ability to play great music may seem to be the single most important factor for a client deciding to award you a contract or not, it is merely a subset (albeit a very important subset) of the superset of factors and considerations that a client will take in to account when assessing your merits or suitability for a venue. Clients usually want cherries, whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate sauce AND Mommas' hot apple pie when they are assessing how tasty you are.

Different clients place importance upon different facets of you and your music in accordance with their goals, image, and needs as required by their venue. I have worked for clients that valued 'friendliness and personalities' very highly because public relations and drinking with customers was a critical element of their bars' success. So often, during breaks we would be out drinking and socializing with guests, roaring and partying as if there was no tomorrow. My current gig is quite different. Here, the clients value discretion and and a more subdued approach. If we are not invited to sit at a guests' table then we are expected to make ourselves scarce during breaks. Now the only roaring I do is when my level 53 Hardcore monk gets killed in Diablo 3 (but that's another story!).

Anyway, clients can give you references and will usually give you a glowing one if you did a good job. Most managers I know will even let you write your own reference and they will endorse it with a signature after you have written it. This of course has multiple benefits in that it gives you complete artistic licence to write something great about yourself and or your band, saves the manager time, and as long as it is truthful and not misleading it will immeasurably enhance the appeal, respectability, and 'tastiness' of your press kit.

Halloween Night, Bahrain, 2010

How many references do I need?

Two or three references are all that you need to include in your press kit. I have seen press kits and promotional materials that contained twenty or thirty references dating back as far as fifteen years! Whilst there isn't really anything wrong with that it can be viewed as overkill and trying a little too hard to impress. A couple of well-chosen, recent references from reliable sources that portray you to be 'the last word in any venues' success should suffice. A client will ask for more if they feel compelled to dig a little deeper into your history.

Tips for creating and securing a great reference:

• Ask the person responsible for giving you a reference to write it and/ or sign it BEFORE your contract finishes or at the end of the night when you are receiving your payment
• Ask them to keep it short and concise.
• Ask them to formalize it by writing it using the letterheads and company images, logos etc of the venue
• Ask them to provide their contact details just in case clients of the future want to contact them to confirm the validity of the reference

Character references:

If you don't really have any references about your performances your next best step is to get some character references. A character reference informs people about who you are as a person, your attitude to work, diligence, appearance, reliability etc.
A character reference can enhance and underpin work references and if you don't have any work references per say, it can help to fill in the blank spot in your press kit where work references would usually be.

Sources:

• A teacher or Principal of your school, University, College
• Your music teacher
• A leader at your respective religious institute (if you are a religious person)
• An employer*
• A person held in high esteem in the community that knows you personally (e.g. the butcher, the baker, or the candle-stick maker)

* I included an employer in this section because there is a good chance that you have done some non-music related work at some time and they can provide you with a non-musical reference.

Also worthy of mention is the point that people that provide you with a character reference should have known you for a period of years. In most cases a client will not call a person that you have used as a referee, but it can happen and you should be prepared for that. Therefore it is in your best interest to be honest in all matters when seeking out a referee and subsequently including their reference in your press kit.

Conclusion:

Don't forget about the inclusion and importance of good, solid references when you are compiling your press kit. In comparison to the other components of your press kit a reference is one of the easiest and most powerful items that you can procure. A good reference will provide a client with an external and purportedly unbiased appraisal of you as a musician and as a human being. It can bolster your credibility and give you some much needed third party support in your bid to winning a contract or a gig. 

I'm going to impart you with a tenet that my Secondary school teachers at Lindisfarne College in New Zealand would incessantly drum into our heads near exam time.

"Answer every question in your exam. Even if you don't know the answer write something. You may gain just one mark for that but it can be the difference between passing and failing"

Stay the course!

The Ten Questions

The life of a full-time touring musician is rather unique amongst occupations in this world. It can be an extremely rewarding job full of variety and surprises. On the other hand, it can be quite a lonely and treacherous path to travel too. During my time on the road I have experienced amazing highs and lows, euphoria and fatalism, trials and tribulations. At various times I have loved and loathed my work. I guess in some respects we all have, irrespective of our chosen vocation.

I have made a list of ten questions which I believe will help you to determine whether or not you think you can do this job for the long-term. If you answer most of these questions with a 'yes' then you are a likely candidate for this job.

These ten questions are by no means exhaustive regarding this subject, yet I have found in my years of playing, performing, and traveling with people that it was a failure to answer some of the questions below with a 'yes' that lead them to becoming discontent with touring and subsequently leaving after a short-period of time.
.

The Ten Questions

1. Am I a team player that can commit and align my goals with others?
2. Can I both live AND work together with a group of people for months at a time?
3. Can I handle playing covers of other people's music night after night?
4. Can I handle playing music I don't like night after night?
5. Do I have a partner and/ or children and if so can I handle being apart from them for extended periods of time?

If you have answered 'no' to any of the above then maybe this lifestyle is not for you. However, continue reading anyway. Here are the last five:

1. Can I live out of a suitcase for months on end?
2. Do I love traveling and living in strange places?
3. Am I comfortable living in a country where I don't speak the National language?
4. Do I have the necessary self-discipline to work steadily and without supervision?
5. Can I leave behind a career, musical or otherwise that is just starting to blossom?

If you have answered 'yes' to all of the questions then there is every chance that you are a perfect candidate for the life of a Top 40 touring musician.

If for any reason you have answered 'no' then you may have to reassess your priorities and ask yourself why you answered 'no' to any particular question.

Don't get me wrong. Everyone's circumstances, needs and desires change as time passes. You may find that after a period of time that you find that you can't bear to be away from your kids or that you are tired of playing covers so you leave. The questions are however formulated for those of you that are contemplating embarking on this type of career. It reminds of a very famous saying 

"prevention is better than the cure"

A friendly chat...

I am not going to expound and elucidate any further in this article as I think it takes time to fully self-explore and analyse your answers to the questions. Take your time when answering these questions and be honest with yourself.

The life of a touring musician comes with consequences and its own set of rare and trade-specific challenges. Sit down with your loved ones and friends, and other musicians or people that you know that travel as part of their job and chat with them. Tell them about the questions and ask them to give you their opinions and real-world experiences and their thoughts about how they think you would or could cope with life out on the road.

Halloween night, Rockbottom Cafe, Abu Dhabi

Peace out everyone!