How much songs to gig?

Hello,
For the giggers, how much songs did you have in your fingers when you started gigging?
Are 80 songs enough to start to play out with the keyboard?
Thanks
Stam

Yes. The rule of thumb is about 40 songs minimum (5 minutes per song, 8-9 songs per 40-45 minute set, four hour gig).

Esh hit the nail on the head. Of course you could do Allman Brothers all night with 4 songs. ;-)

Performing with just 80 songs in your list is like getting into a gunfight with a half empty gun! If you're playing backgroud music in a restaurant setting, you may be able to get away with 80 songs, but that's even a bit doubtful.

The best rule of thumb is to learn as many songs as possible, and be very diverse. Set a goal of learning at least one to two songs per week, including lyrics, and make sure you can perform those songs flawlessly before going on to the next one. By the end of the year you will have 50 to 100 new songs in the can. Then when someone asks for a specific song, you'll autimatically pull the information from your head, hit the correct style file, tempo and begin playing. It takes some hard work and dedication on your part, but the end result is you'll be very successful. If you only have 40 to 80 songs, you're performances will begin to all sound identical, and that's not a good thing.

Good Luck,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

Gary is right....if you are performing at a Restaurants, like in most places, they have regular patrons....you do NOT want to play the SAME songs over or repeat them frequently...and in MY opinion, the songs should last 3 to 3 1/2 minutes....(in terms for pros.....radial time), unless is a meddley.
I perform in the Phoenix area in "Tea dances", special events, Restaurants and the people notice that I do not repeat songs often.....Is one of the biggest mistakes most make, you want to keep "fresh" the music to your audience, and do it also for yourself, at least, I also could get bored with my own music...but I don't let that happen, I play perhaps the same song, but I do not use the same style, alternate various styles, key, in a meddly formats, etc.... I also try to remember what songs I play in everyplace...I can remember music, not phone numbers or names...well, there are many different ways to keep music FRESH. My repertoire is somewhere around 600 songs on ALL types, styles, tempos, time lines...etnic, dance, slow, medium, fast....etc.

Its quality not quantity

Also you have to take the question literally: "are 80 songs enough to START playing out on keyboard?"... yes, it is. It won't take long before customers give you their opinion of what the next 80 songs you should learn are, and the 80 after that, etc.

Twelve


YES. Of course.

When I first started out performing years ago filling in at a local piano bar, I only knew 10 songs well by heart. The rest of the evening I played with the assistance of a fakebook. I was admittedly very nervous at the start of each set, but luckily my audience was extremely supportive, and in no time, both my confidence & repertoire grew quickly. The point I'm trying to make is that the only way to becoming a successful performing musician is by gigging. You can memorize all the songs you want in the comfort of your home, but until you 'get out there' playing for an audience, you'll never develop the onstage confidence needed to really sell your talent. I learned long ago from the pro's, that the best way to become a successful performer is to get out there 'right away'. If you only know 10 songs, go ahead & book yourself for one set somewhere. In no time you'll have 20, 40, 80, . . . 100 under your belt. The other important thing about this biz is developing the ability to 'take a few risks'. When starting out, I was frequently worried about not playing or sounding good enough. I had to always make a conscious effort to forge ahead on a new tune even if I was insecure about showcasing it, yet found, after taking that (high dive) plunge, and performing it successfully, as evidenced by wildly enthusiastic audience response, that it's 'the audience' that inspires us to perform even better the next night (or week), and with yet more new songs to showcase.

Scott

Well said!!
You have to start somewhere.
Also, IMO, it is better to be able to play 1 song different ways and to improvise so it sounds different everytime you play it than to have 20 songs played the same way everytime every place.

That is why i always promote style creation.

I probably know 80 MERLE HAGGARD songs! And another 80 Frank Sinatras.
You can start out with that many, but as others have said, you must constantly be adding to your repertoire.
Unless of course you are a big star and only need to do a medley of your million-sellers!
Just start with what you have and EVERY time somebody requests a song you don't know, tell them you will learn it and play it the next time. Then do it.
DonM

Thank you all for the replies.

Gary, to learn 1 new song every week is my goal, but honestly, it is hard to me because it's not my main job. It's a hobby first, but I am so impressioned by that technology that I would like to play out sometimes.

mdoranes, 600 songs!! It will take 20 years to me to learn so much songs. Congratulations.

Scott, to the genesys, DonM, Thanks for your encouraging words.
In fact I will consider myself ready to start when I will be able to play 70 to 80 songs (an entire gig without play the same song twice).
I have now +/- 35 songs.
But the way seems to be sooo loooong!
Ther is also the fact that I play alone.
Don't you feel sometimes tired to play alone? I mean psychologicaly!

Stam