For our primary set lists, I use a Microsoft Word® document laid out in landscape form. The slots list Tune Number (in the set), Book Number, Title, Tempo, Count Off, Assigned Vocals (if a vocal number; almost all of ours are), and a space for stuff like auxiliary percussion assignments, solo prompts, special start instructions, and other information.
Every other slot (it's a table, actually) is shaded with light grey fill, and the three "roll slots" (tunes that I want to have on hand but may not use) are filled with a darker grey. These "codes" help the user to read the list and keep focused on a particular line.
At the bottom of the page are general notes concerning the break following the set, meal arrangements and stuff "like that there".
My vocalist have a different set list, one we are working on right now to put it in final form. There, it's Tune Number (in the set), Book Number, Title, Count Off, Assigned Vocals, and a series of one word prompts for the "inter-tune" narration/comments, all with the same shading). Thus, Almost Like Being In Love (which we frequently use as a second set opener) would read:
1.| 7A | Almost Like Being In Love | 2/4 | Sarah | 1947 Brigadoon Cole Ella Dean Frank
The brief notes on the tune would translate out as something like "Good evening! I'm Sarah XXXXX" (if this is the first time she's up) "and that was a tune from the 1947 musical Brigadoon, recorded by just about everyone on the planet from Nat Cole to Frank Sinatra. Next, we're going to do another Rat Pack favorite...", with this last phrase leading into the intro for the next tune.
(This would be after the tune in this instance, as we usually use it as an opener.)
Under normal circumstances, I try to have the next tune set and ready to go within thirty seconds. (We try to program the vocalists' tunes in blocks as well to ease the on and off the stand problem.) All of my vocalists save one can vamp for that long with these sorts of prompts without any problems. I've found that if you wait longer than that, the mood starts to shift and you lose the audience - in my experience at least.
Starting a tune while the vocalist is still speaking is risky, but you can pull it off if everyone is on their toes. The vocalist has to be completely comfortable with their starting mark, and the music has to be written so that the intro is suitable for background use (rather than a big flashy Sinatra opening, for example). If you have everything right, it's magic - if not, you learn to move on to the next challenge.
We also try to program "mini-sets" of the same style of music. For the third and fourth sets (almost always dance sets with our clientele), I'll often program three or four rock or R & B tunes, or two or three pop or country tunes in a block. This is often where I use my "dark grey" tunes, the ones that are in reserve. If the dance floor is cooking by the time we get to the last "normal" tune in the grouping, I can sub in the "dark grey" tune that follows to keep the mood going.
One little bit of stagecraft that I worked on for years is to use "Hit The Road Jack" as a set breaker in the middle of the third dance set. The whole thing goes something like this:
• We open with three high energy Blues Brothers male vocals, all with the same vocalist.
• Then, while he is doing some verbal vamping after the last tune, we start the rhythm-only vamp at the beginning of "Hit The Road Jack". At that point, the girls all parade out from behind the band (where I keep the vocalists stashed when not performing), done up in their 1960's "girl group" dresses into which they changed during the break. They each wave to the audience as they do a pivot and turn (to flare the opt art, short A line dresses out as they spin), then move on to their marks on the stand.
• The male vocalist keeps rattling on with his line of bull until he "notices" them, at which point they break into the opening chorus of the tune. He then does the male response part as it comes up in the song.
• At the end of the tune (which ends with repeated "Don'tcha come back no more" sung call lines from the girls and a set of matching spoken begging responses from the male vocalist), he retreats off the stage (with his metaphoric tail between his legs) and to the rear of the group. The tune ends with a "sting", on which the girls "vogue" a defiant "That'll show him!" pose.
• Then, after a brief pause for applause, we immediately go into a two or three part girl vocal tune like "Lady Marmalade", with the lead girl doing a brief verbal intro over the opening phrases before they start in singing.
Admittedly, it's a bit more work than just stepping up to the mike and singing. But, it is always well received - entertainment, rather than just performing, if you will.
Every other slot (it's a table, actually) is shaded with light grey fill, and the three "roll slots" (tunes that I want to have on hand but may not use) are filled with a darker grey. These "codes" help the user to read the list and keep focused on a particular line.
At the bottom of the page are general notes concerning the break following the set, meal arrangements and stuff "like that there".
My vocalist have a different set list, one we are working on right now to put it in final form. There, it's Tune Number (in the set), Book Number, Title, Count Off, Assigned Vocals, and a series of one word prompts for the "inter-tune" narration/comments, all with the same shading). Thus, Almost Like Being In Love (which we frequently use as a second set opener) would read:
1.| 7A | Almost Like Being In Love | 2/4 | Sarah | 1947 Brigadoon Cole Ella Dean Frank
The brief notes on the tune would translate out as something like "Good evening! I'm Sarah XXXXX" (if this is the first time she's up) "and that was a tune from the 1947 musical Brigadoon, recorded by just about everyone on the planet from Nat Cole to Frank Sinatra. Next, we're going to do another Rat Pack favorite...", with this last phrase leading into the intro for the next tune.
(This would be after the tune in this instance, as we usually use it as an opener.)
Under normal circumstances, I try to have the next tune set and ready to go within thirty seconds. (We try to program the vocalists' tunes in blocks as well to ease the on and off the stand problem.) All of my vocalists save one can vamp for that long with these sorts of prompts without any problems. I've found that if you wait longer than that, the mood starts to shift and you lose the audience - in my experience at least.
Starting a tune while the vocalist is still speaking is risky, but you can pull it off if everyone is on their toes. The vocalist has to be completely comfortable with their starting mark, and the music has to be written so that the intro is suitable for background use (rather than a big flashy Sinatra opening, for example). If you have everything right, it's magic - if not, you learn to move on to the next challenge.
We also try to program "mini-sets" of the same style of music. For the third and fourth sets (almost always dance sets with our clientele), I'll often program three or four rock or R & B tunes, or two or three pop or country tunes in a block. This is often where I use my "dark grey" tunes, the ones that are in reserve. If the dance floor is cooking by the time we get to the last "normal" tune in the grouping, I can sub in the "dark grey" tune that follows to keep the mood going.
One little bit of stagecraft that I worked on for years is to use "Hit The Road Jack" as a set breaker in the middle of the third dance set. The whole thing goes something like this:
• We open with three high energy Blues Brothers male vocals, all with the same vocalist.
• Then, while he is doing some verbal vamping after the last tune, we start the rhythm-only vamp at the beginning of "Hit The Road Jack". At that point, the girls all parade out from behind the band (where I keep the vocalists stashed when not performing), done up in their 1960's "girl group" dresses into which they changed during the break. They each wave to the audience as they do a pivot and turn (to flare the opt art, short A line dresses out as they spin), then move on to their marks on the stand.
• The male vocalist keeps rattling on with his line of bull until he "notices" them, at which point they break into the opening chorus of the tune. He then does the male response part as it comes up in the song.
• At the end of the tune (which ends with repeated "Don'tcha come back no more" sung call lines from the girls and a set of matching spoken begging responses from the male vocalist), he retreats off the stage (with his metaphoric tail between his legs) and to the rear of the group. The tune ends with a "sting", on which the girls "vogue" a defiant "That'll show him!" pose.
• Then, after a brief pause for applause, we immediately go into a two or three part girl vocal tune like "Lady Marmalade", with the lead girl doing a brief verbal intro over the opening phrases before they start in singing.
Admittedly, it's a bit more work than just stepping up to the mike and singing. But, it is always well received - entertainment, rather than just performing, if you will.
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