I do the set lists for our band (Blues). I have a few different lists saved in Excel. One is a festival list, which is a list that contains our best barn-burner songs, plus two or three alternates, in case we need to extend the play time by a few minutes. I also have a 3-hour and 4-hour set list. I can go in and tweak those, based on the venue and the event. If I am making a set list from scratch, I will start with the set-openers and set-closers. These are usually upbeat tunes that make a strong impression at the start of a show or set, and leave them wanting more at the end of a show or set. So, for example, a 3-hour show may have three sets. So I would fill in the 6 songs in those positions; 3 set openers and 3 set closers. Then, I like to fill in the middle of each set using the “1-to-5” rule: one slow song to five upbeat songs. That usually provides for one slow song per set; two max. Of course, I also have to factor in things like beats (rhumba, shuffle, swing) and song keys, etc. I don’t want 5 songs in a row with a shuffle beat or 5 songs in a row in the key of A. I always have a “power hour”, a 3-hour and a 4-hour list ready to print. As we learn new tunes, I swap those in and sweep the replaced songs into the alternates list. I always take the list of alternates to every gig, as well. Sometimes, you get to a gig and it is not what you expected. Having your entire song catalog with you, helps you to pencil-in changes to the set list before the show, or during the first break. This basic template has worked pretty well for me for about 10 years now.
In our band we will try any song as long as its dance friendly, well known and within our skill set. Yes we’ve played ‘Sweet Caroline’, ‘BEG’, ‘Mustang Sally’ and generally speaking they go over well. Over the years we’ve found that Motown is almost automatic. No song works 100% of the time, and we’ve had many songs over the years that we thought would absolutely slay an audience that was received to crickets. You can’t take it personally. Give it a couple of tries and if it doesn’t work, move on.
A fellow musician once told me: “Mustang Sally is for the ladies. They love it. You start that song and they pour onto the dance floor like water from a pitcher. And where the ladies go, the guys follow.” I still hate playing the song, but keeping that justification in the back of my mind makes it easier to stomach. It becomes more of a “musical tactic”, than a song.
@@alphatrion100 having been in all originals band, and having had 60 years of experience to reflect on the subject I can confidently state that most folks should NOT be writing their own material. LOL!
Thanks for the good advice. In addition to selecting the right songs for the audience you are performing for, you need to know the "type" of band you are - dance band, listening band, singer-songwriter, etc. Pick your gigs according to your type.
Excellent advice! Thank you! I front a three piece and spend alot of time on our set list as I sing everything and play lead. My drummer thinks its ok to just give our list to anyone which drives me crazy and messes up the surprise factor for my audience. To me these are sacred and its important to protect the wow factor of the secret set list. Thank s again!
I'm the bassist in an amateur band that played a dozen paid gigs in the last 3-4 years. I use a spreadsheet to keep track of the songs we played at each gig, and the ones we've practiced. I use it to compose our set lists. It's a balancing act! I consider the singer and the songs they find harder to sing (we have two singers). I consider tempo so that we don't mix high with low bpm. I need to consider whether a song is in French or English (we're a bilingual band). We generally play to - hum - more mature audiences.
One of the bands that I play with has evolved from being a strictly "listening" band to more of a "dance" band over the period of 33 years. So we have a setlist that includes somewhere around 170 songs, some of which are definitely NOT dance friendly. Yet we don't want to abandon our roots, so we tend to put those "listening tunes" like something from Yes or ELP at the head of our sets. Then pretty soon after that, we start up the "dance" songs and keep them going for 2/3 of the set. At the 2/3 mark, we have one or two "slow dance" songs. Then we crank it back up until the last song of the set, which is usually a barn burner. And here's something I've learned from performing from almost 60 years: Don't count the NUMBER of titles in each set, as in, "15 songs make a set". Count the TIMES for the songs and include a "fluff factor" of the time in between songs (in the case of the group I'm referencing, we multiply the times for the songs by 1.08 and come out dead on time every time). So one set may have 15 songs, another may have 10 or 11, just depending on the length of each piece. Once you have this figured out, you can get really close to having a set last exactly the amount of time you want it to. And that's a hell of a lot more professional than getting to the end of the night and arguing on stage about which songs to cut.
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Once again great video with great info Terence I'm glad I found you
Set List 101: A. Start Strong with an uptempo song with an interesting intro; B. Introduce the band members and then move into a second uptempo song; C. Go into slower tempo tune for third song (sometimes you may want to put three uptempo songs up first and save your first slow song for P4); D. Alternate tempos and rhythms; E. Plan your lowest energy song for about one hour into the show; F. Build from here to your best song; G. Play your finale (your biggest audience response song) as your next to last song; H. Follow with another popular uptempo song as your encore; I. If the venue allows multiple encores, follow your 1st (uptempo) encore with a moderate or slow tempo song followed by an uptempo song (essentially a double second encore). Ideal set/show length is 90 to 100 minutes, if you go longer than 100 minutes, you may need two planned low points. This strategy works for any type of music, cover or original. It's basically Showbiz 101. ua-cam.com/video/i38qD81XPPI/v-deo.html
Great topic! I’ve been a bandleader and a sideman for a couple of jazz and R & B style bands where the set list always involves my input. Most times, I’m the only one in the band with interest to create one and asking for band input (thumbs up or down on a tune). What complicates the process are old jazz standards and my originals that the band has played for years. We are constantly asking if we should add more smooth jazz or R & B to sound more contemporary (I guess). I’m comfortable with how we sound and the set lists that we’ve used, as the audience has generally provided positive feedback, and no one has said: “That song sucked!”. However, we do get the occasional “can you play Earth, Wind and Fire”…Lol.
Jazz guy pissed off *his* people by picking the wrong songs. The drummer and I grabbed the bass player and made up a new set. The Jazz dude sat out, we rocked the joint ! 4:40 am ...they wouldn't let us go home.
When the Grateful Dead went on tour, they brought 100 songs. So when they played a town for a 3 night run. They picked the songs on stage, took a long time between songs, but ya had time to roll a joint! So each night had a different sets. They played 2 sets each night. So guess what, ya had to go to all 3 shows! Ya can be boring & play the same set each night Or ya can have Deadheads that follow your tour!
A lot of artists end up hating their own songs because they want to do things differently from decades ago. News flash: Most audiences go to see artists to RELIVE THE PAST! If you don't want to relive your own past, GET OUT OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS!
😠I don't like the idea, of playing the same songs that every band plays!! Don't you think the audience would say, here's another band playing the same songs!! Being the drummer of my band, I definitely know which songs are danceable, & which are not!! We're mixing half they know, and that are danceable, and half that they haven't heard, but that are danceable!!
I do the set lists for our band (Blues). I have a few different lists saved in Excel. One is a festival list, which is a list that contains our best barn-burner songs, plus two or three alternates, in case we need to extend the play time by a few minutes. I also have a 3-hour and 4-hour set list. I can go in and tweak those, based on the venue and the event.
If I am making a set list from scratch, I will start with the set-openers and set-closers. These are usually upbeat tunes that make a strong impression at the start of a show or set, and leave them wanting more at the end of a show or set. So, for example, a 3-hour show may have three sets. So I would fill in the 6 songs in those positions; 3 set openers and 3 set closers. Then, I like to fill in the middle of each set using the “1-to-5” rule: one slow song to five upbeat songs. That usually provides for one slow song per set; two max. Of course, I also have to factor in things like beats (rhumba, shuffle, swing) and song keys, etc. I don’t want 5 songs in a row with a shuffle beat or 5 songs in a row in the key of A.
I always have a “power hour”, a 3-hour and a 4-hour list ready to print. As we learn new tunes, I swap those in and sweep the replaced songs into the alternates list. I always take the list of alternates to every gig, as well. Sometimes, you get to a gig and it is not what you expected. Having your entire song catalog with you, helps you to pencil-in changes to the set list before the show, or during the first break.
This basic template has worked pretty well for me for about 10 years now.
This is really great! Well thought out! Great job!!
In our band we will try any song as long as its dance friendly, well known and within our skill set. Yes we’ve played ‘Sweet Caroline’, ‘BEG’, ‘Mustang Sally’ and generally speaking they go over well. Over the years we’ve found that Motown is almost automatic. No song works 100% of the time, and we’ve had many songs over the years that we thought would absolutely slay an audience that was received to crickets. You can’t take it personally. Give it a couple of tries and if it doesn’t work, move on.
A fellow musician once told me: “Mustang Sally is for the ladies. They love it. You start that song and they pour onto the dance floor like water from a pitcher. And where the ladies go, the guys follow.” I still hate playing the song, but keeping that justification in the back of my mind makes it easier to stomach. It becomes more of a “musical tactic”, than a song.
@@chrisbalding3128and they love to sing “Ride Sally Ride” at the top of their voices while dancing
A cover band is never gonna be more than a cover band though
NOT a real artist in my book 🤷♂️
WRITE YOUR OWN DAMN SONGS!
Start creating!
@@alphatrion100 having been in all originals band, and having had 60 years of experience to reflect on the subject I can confidently state that most folks should NOT be writing their own material. LOL!
@@pedroV2003
Well, creating is the thing about music i love the most.
And no you're not gonna be good at it overnight.
Thanks for the good advice. In addition to selecting the right songs for the audience you are performing for, you need to know the "type" of band you are - dance band, listening band, singer-songwriter, etc. Pick your gigs according to your type.
Excellent advice! Thank you! I front a three piece and spend alot of time on our set list as I sing everything and play lead. My drummer thinks its ok to just give our list to anyone which drives me crazy and messes up the surprise factor for my audience. To me these are sacred and its important to protect the wow factor of the secret set list. Thank s again!
I'm the bassist in an amateur band that played a dozen paid gigs in the last 3-4 years. I use a spreadsheet to keep track of the songs we played at each gig, and the ones we've practiced. I use it to compose our set lists. It's a balancing act! I consider the singer and the songs they find harder to sing (we have two singers). I consider tempo so that we don't mix high with low bpm. I need to consider whether a song is in French or English (we're a bilingual band). We generally play to - hum - more mature audiences.
One of the bands that I play with has evolved from being a strictly "listening" band to more of a "dance" band over the period of 33 years. So we have a setlist that includes somewhere around 170 songs, some of which are definitely NOT dance friendly. Yet we don't want to abandon our roots, so we tend to put those "listening tunes" like something from Yes or ELP at the head of our sets.
Then pretty soon after that, we start up the "dance" songs and keep them going for 2/3 of the set. At the 2/3 mark, we have one or two "slow dance" songs. Then we crank it back up until the last song of the set, which is usually a barn burner.
And here's something I've learned from performing from almost 60 years: Don't count the NUMBER of titles in each set, as in, "15 songs make a set". Count the TIMES for the songs and include a "fluff factor" of the time in between songs (in the case of the group I'm referencing, we multiply the times for the songs by 1.08 and come out dead on time every time). So one set may have 15 songs, another may have 10 or 11, just depending on the length of each piece. Once you have this figured out, you can get really close to having a set last exactly the amount of time you want it to. And that's a hell of a lot more professional than getting to the end of the night and arguing on stage about which songs to cut.
Once again great video with great info Terence I'm glad I found you
Set List 101: A. Start Strong with an uptempo song with an interesting intro; B. Introduce the band members and then move into a second uptempo song; C. Go into slower tempo tune for third song (sometimes you may want to put three uptempo songs up first and save your first slow song for P4); D. Alternate tempos and rhythms; E. Plan your lowest energy song for about one hour into the show; F. Build from here to your best song; G. Play your finale (your biggest audience response song) as your next to last song; H. Follow with another popular uptempo song as your encore; I. If the venue allows multiple encores, follow your 1st (uptempo) encore with a moderate or slow tempo song followed by an uptempo song (essentially a double second encore). Ideal set/show length is 90 to 100 minutes, if you go longer than 100 minutes, you may need two planned low points. This strategy works for any type of music, cover or original. It's basically Showbiz 101.
ua-cam.com/video/i38qD81XPPI/v-deo.html
Thanks for the knowledge and encouragement
My pleasure!
You speak true. You touched and enlightened me.
Great tutorial 🎉
nailed it. thanks!
Good stuff 👍
Thanks ✌️
~ 🌺
I tell 'em "were gonna give you 60% that you like - and 40% that you didn't know you liked!"
Great topic! I’ve been a bandleader and a sideman for a couple of jazz and R & B style bands where the set list always involves my input. Most times, I’m the only one in the band with interest to create one and asking for band input (thumbs up or down on a tune). What complicates the process are old jazz standards and my originals that the band has played for years. We are constantly asking if we should add more smooth jazz or R & B to sound more contemporary (I guess). I’m comfortable with how we sound and the set lists that we’ve used, as the audience has generally provided positive feedback, and no one has said: “That song sucked!”. However, we do get the occasional “can you play Earth, Wind and Fire”…Lol.
As a fan ,love these vids, gives some insight into the music world.
What are the best songs to play then, for a classic rock band? I really do not like new commercial music.
Jazz guy pissed off *his* people by picking the wrong songs. The drummer and I grabbed the bass player and made up a new set. The Jazz dude sat out, we rocked the joint ! 4:40 am ...they wouldn't let us go home.
How do we decide what's on our set list? We argue incessantly, obviously!
this is so true. i try to explain this to band members and they just don't get it.
When the Grateful Dead went on tour, they brought 100 songs. So when they played a town for a 3 night run. They picked the songs on stage, took a long time between songs, but ya had time to roll a joint! So each night had a different sets. They played 2 sets each night. So guess what, ya had to go to all 3 shows! Ya can be boring & play the same set each night Or ya can have Deadheads that follow your tour!
A lot of artists end up hating their own songs because they want to do things differently from decades ago. News flash: Most audiences go to see artists to RELIVE THE PAST! If you don't want to relive your own past, GET OUT OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS!
😠I don't like the idea, of playing the same songs that every band plays!! Don't you think the audience would say, here's another band playing the same songs!! Being the drummer of my band, I definitely know which songs are danceable, & which are not!! We're mixing half they know, and that are danceable, and half that they haven't heard, but that are danceable!!