Are You New to Performing At Weddings?

Here Are Some Wedding Favorites to Get You Started

Do what you do best, and you’ll love what you do. The music you
play that resonates within you carries your own fingerprints.
Even if other musicians can play the same songs as you do, what
you bring to these songs is uniquely your own.

To get you started, this is a list of some wedding music
standards that you might want to consider including in your
repertoire:

Wedding Ceremony Music—The Common Requests

The Top Ten Classical Music Requests (in order by composer):

1. “Air in G” from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D (J.S. Bach)

2. “Ode to Joy” from Symphony No. 9(Beethoven)

3. “Trumpet Voluntary” or “Prince of Denmark’s March” (J.
Clarke)

4. “Clair de Lune” (C. Debussy)

5. “Hornpipe” from Water Music Suite (G.F. Handel)

6. “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (F.
Mendelssohn)

7. “Canon in D” (J. Pachelbel)

9. “Allegro From Spring”, first movement theme from The Four
Seasons (A. Vivaldi)

10. “Bridal March” from the opera Lohengrin or “Here Comes the
Bride” (R. Wagner)

Wedding Ceremony Music Alternatives (Because Not Every Bride
Wants to Enter to “Here Comes the Bride”):

Favorite choices for Christian weddings:

1. “Amazing Grace” (American Folk Melody)

2. “Ave Maria” (F. Schubert)

3. “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (J. S. Bach)

4. “The Lord’s Prayer” (A.H. Malotte)

5. “Simple Gifts” (Elder Joseph)

Favorite choices for Jewish weddings:

1. “Dodi Li” (N. Chen)

2. “Erev Ba” (O. Avissar & A. Levanon)

3. “Siman Tov” (traditional Israeli song)

4. “Sunrise Sunset” from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”

Favorite choices for Celtic weddings:

1. “Mairi’s Wedding”

2. “Star of the County Down”

3. “When Irish Eyes are Smiling”

4. “Skye Boat Song”

5. “My Wild Irish Rose”

This is a short excerpt from my new book, “The Musician’s Guide
to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings” published
by Hal Leonard Books. I’m sure you can think of more tunes to
add to these lists. Add them in your comments below and help out
other musicians to get a good start playing at weddings. Next
time in this blog, we’ll tackle timeless reception favorites.

View Anne’s new book--see some individual sample pages.



The book is available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers (including barnesandnoble.com, sheetmusicplus.com , and amazon.com.
I may sound like I'm shamelessly promoting it here, but I really would like to have some constructive feedback about it. I fully intend to write future editions, so your feedback would be of great help to me. Please feel free to respond with your kind constructive comments, and certainly, respond with wedding favorites that you would like to add to the above lists.


My best to you,
Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos

It's Not Too Early to Hire Your Musicians

Thinking About Holiday Entertainment?

If you are just getting your party plans together, start shopping
for your holiday entertainment early. Even at the end of
September, musicians begin to get booked for holiday events. If
your party budget needs to go through a committee for approval,
now is the time to start that process.

Thinking About Wedding Music?

Even if you are getting married next year, musicians are booking
for weddings now. You are actually ahead of the game if you hire
your musicians, and all of your wedding services, prior to the
holiday season.

Here is why: Statistically, most people get engaged over the
holidays and then start looking for their wedding services in
January. If you wait until then, you may discover that the
musicians you had your heart set upon are no longer available.

If you are getting married in 2010 or beyond, it's still a good
idea to begin your search for wedding music. Touring bands and
musicians will book concerts at least a year out, and they may
very well be reserving wedding dates far in advance, too.

I hope this information helps you land the perfect musicians for
your event.

My Best to you, Anne Roos Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos
http://www.celticharpmusic.com Visit my website for booking
information

A Wonderful Review from a Wonderful Friend

I was very excited and happy when my very good friend Kris of
Hanai Music sent me this review she had written on my book
"A Musicians Guide to Brides".

I would like to share it with you as well. Here it is as follows:

Dear Anne:

First of all, I've got to say WOW! What a GREAT job you did.

This is one of the most comprehensive guides to making money with
music that I've ever read. It's amazing that you put all of this
together. It shows your attention to details, organization and
planning skills are second to none.

Although I too make a living with music, the scope of your Guide
to Brides goes far beyond other volumes that proclaim to be the
'magic key' to making money with music. Weddings, receptions and
rehearsals require a much more professional approach by the
musician, which is explained and detailed in your book.

There are many excellent points, ideas and tips that should be
mentioned;

1. ) Your real-life stories are funny and clearly illustrate
your point. You always learn more when you laugh. You're not
afraid to share your embarrassing moments if it can help others
learn from it.

2. ) I love that each section is clearly numbered and indexed.
Too many authors just jot down a running commentary which is
poorly laid out for studying.

3. ) Every chapter can be utilized separately such as "Setting
Your Fees" or "Writing an Agreement". When taken as a whole, the
entire book is a superb guide for weddings, but almost every
chapter can be used OUTSIDE of the wedding format.

4. ) Your forms are wonderful. You've made this truly
interactive for the reader to clarify THEIR goals, equipment,
advertising and promotion ideas, while pointing them in the most
effective direction to accomplish them.

5. ) Best of all, you help eliminate the guesswork of what to
expect, how to communicate and exactly what to bring to cover all
contingencies.

At first I was excited about a possibility for another source of
income, but I realized after finishing that I should probably
AVOID accepting weddings, because of some of MY limitations
musically. But the lists, questionnaires, goals, and ideas I got
from it will MORE than pay for the modest cost of the book. In
fact, I think it was one of my most valuable investments I have
made for my business.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. This will be a
future reference book for me and I'll recommend it to any
musicians who book weddings. I'm so proud to know you...

Although we're 4000 miles apart, I feel like you're as
close as my phone. And who knows, I'm still up in the air about
my location. You and Tahoe are a VERY strong draw.

Kris Lee-Scott
www.HanaiMusic.com
"Beautiful Healing Music by Hanai"

Are You New to Performing At Weddings? Here Are Some Wedding Favorites to Get You Started

Do what you do best, and you’ll love what you do. The music you
play that resonates within you carries your own fingerprints.
Even if other musicians can play the same songs as you do, what
you bring to these songs is uniquely your own.

To get you started, this is a list of some wedding music
standards that you might want to consider including in your
repertoire:

Wedding Ceremony Music—The Common Requests

The Top Ten Classical Music Requests (in order by composer):

1. “Air in G” from Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D (J.S. Bach)

2. “Ode to Joy” from Symphony No. 9(Beethoven)

3. “Trumpet Voluntary” or “Prince of Denmark’s March” (J.
Clarke)

4. “Clair de Lune” (C. Debussy)

5. “Hornpipe” from Water Music Suite (G.F. Handel)

6. “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (F.
Mendelssohn)

7. “Canon in D” (J. Pachelbel)

9. “Allegro From Spring”, first movement theme from The Four
Seasons (A. Vivaldi)

10. “Bridal March” from the opera Lohengrin or “Here Comes the
Bride” (R. Wagner)

Wedding Ceremony Music Alternatives (Because Not Every Bride
Wants to Enter to “Here Comes the Bride”):

Favorite choices for Christian weddings:

1. “Amazing Grace” (American Folk Melody)

2. “Ave Maria” (F. Schubert)

3. “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (J. S. Bach)

4. “The Lord’s Prayer” (A.H. Malotte)

5. “Simple Gifts” (Elder Joseph)

Favorite choices for Jewish weddings:

1. “Dodi Li” (N. Chen)

2. “Erev Ba” (O. Avissar & A. Levanon)

3. “Siman Tov” (traditional Israeli song)

4. “Sunrise Sunset” from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”

Favorite choices for Celtic weddings:

1. “Mairi’s Wedding”

2. “Star of the County Down”

3. “When Irish Eyes are Smiling”

4. “Skye Boat Song”

5. “My Wild Irish Rose”

This is a short excerpt from my new book, “The Musician’s Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings" published by Hal Leonard Books. I’m sure you can think of more tunes to add to these lists. Add them in your comments below and help out other musicians to get a good start playing at weddings. Next time in this blog, we’ll tackle timeless reception favorites.

View Anne’s new book--see some individual sample page

The book is available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers (including Barnesandnoble.com, Sheetmusicplus.com , and Amazon.com). I may sound like I'm shamelessly promoting it here, but I really would like to have some constructive feedback about it. I fully intend to write future editions, so your feedback would be of great help to me. Please feel free to respond with your kind constructive comments, and certainly, respond with wedding favorites that you would like to add to the above lists.

My best to you,
Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos

The Musicians Cooler Podcast

The Musicians Cooler Podcast is a weekly podcast to help musicians get more gigs, more fans, and more music sales by harnessing the power of the Internet through relentless marketing, efficient use of music promotion tools, and a driving desire to spread their music to the world.


The Musicians Cooler Concept is simply stated as this:

When you go to a party, there will be that group of musicians in the corner trading advice, stories, and insights into their bands. That group is the Musicians Cooler, and now we have taken that concept of "Trading Advice" to a global level.

Jammin Dave Jackson, a dynamic personality with interesting questions and anecdotes, hosts the podcast. Here’s the info about my interview with Dave, from the Musicians Cooler website:

Show #208: Getting More Wedding Gigs
Posted August 26, 2008

Today I talk with Anne Roos, who is the author of the book The Musician’s Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings and has a huge amount of experience playing weddings. There are some great tips in the book (and this interview). If you’ve been afraid to play a wedding, this book walks you through the whole process. The tips in the book are great for the music business in general (so if you’re playing clubs, the marketing tips will work for club bookers as much as brides).

Some great points include:

“Showing up late with a great excuse does not equal “on time.”
“It’s all about the bride.”
“Coming up with the right price.”

She has had some fun experiences such as the time someone wanted to hear Chuck Berry’s “My Ding a Ling.” Keep in mind Anne plays the harp.

There are some strange issues with the audio where Anne occasionally drops out. This was a Skype satellite phone issue, but these weren’t anything that stopped us from understanding her main point.

Special thanks to Bob Baker at http://www.thebuzzfactor.com for introducing Anne and Dave.