Monday, January 25, 2010

The Wonderful World of Interactive Gigs

I started the New Year off performing for Edie’s 70th birthday party. What a blast. Her husband, Jack, invited me to play for the birthday dinner at a popular Chinese restaurant in old town Folsom, California. Jack made all the musical selections with me beforehand, and he asked many questions about the tunes. I just thought he was interested, but he made a game of it at the birthday party.

Once everyone was seated, Jack announced to all guests the instructions to the game: They would hear one tune played on the harp that was the love song from the movie “Ghost”, and another tune that was made popular in the movie “Ordinary People”. As soon as someone hears the song, they need to raise their hand and shout out the answer. That person would get a prize (a free sandwich coupon at a local eatery).

Not only did the guests become attentive to the music between their courses of egg rolls and chow mien, it struck up all kinds of conversations about music. And Edie, the guest of honor, was having a great time, as everyone sang “Happy Birthday” accompanied by me on the harp.

My next gig this year was performing for a corporate dinner party at the lovely Edgewood Country Club here at Lake Tahoe. A meeting planner booked me for the performance, and she didn’t know the age group that would be attending the party. So I brought along a wide assortment of sheet music, just in case guests would have requests. Turns out they began requesting music from the moment I began playing Sting’s “Field’s of Gold” and the Beatle’s “I Will”.

In the middle of the festivities, the host announced me by name and said I’d be playing something unusual on the harp for everyone. I selected “Stairway to Heaven”, which was met with “Woot! Woot!” from the crowd. Then, they held up their cell phones, lighters, and candle centerpieces to show their appreciation. I received a big round of applause, quite unexpectedly.

When a gig becomes interactive, it’s great fun for the musicians and the guests. It’s the reason to have live music at an event—getting the guests involved in music that is organically created at any moment.

Tips for Brides, Event Planners, And Anyone Hiring Performers

Invent ways to have your guests interact with the musician. You could include a musical guessing game, allow your guests to throw out requests to willing musicians, do live karaoke with your musicians, pair up songs to announce different events at your party, and more. The music can become the party game or centerpiece of your event, and people will long remember the music afterwards.

Tips for Musicians

Extend your repertoire. Be willing to take requests, accompany others, or simply show off a tune that people won’t expect. Learn to read the crowd by their age ranges and trust your instincts to play what you know they’ll enjoy. It’s a lot of fun to be flexible and surprise your audience.

I have a friend who leads a string quartet, and to this day, one of the most surprisingly popular tunes his ensemble plays is the theme from the Flintstone’s cartoon. Blows the socks off of anyone who may think they are a stuffy string quartet. And I can’t tell you how many people crave hearing “Stairway to Heaven”, “Free Bird” and perhaps a Nirvana or Metallica tune on the Celtic harp. You become a popular commodity when you can think outside the box and provide some unexpected entertainment for your guests. Word gets around about your abilities and you’ll get more bookings.

Have a wonderful New Year and make sure to check out more tips for musicians in my book “The Musician’s Guide to Brides” (which also contains great marketing ideas for all gigs) available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com , and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=9
I’m looking forward to reading your stories, comments, and feedback.

Anne :-)

Anne Roos
Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos

(And contact me at anne@celticharpmusic.com for personal consultation and mentoring—Make a living while gigging)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Finding the Perfect Bridal Fair to Show Off Your Talents


I will an exhibitor at the Dream Wedding Show on February 28, 2010 at 11 am-4 pm.
Located at the Cal Expo
1600 Exposition Blvd.
Sacramento, California

Before committing to a Bridal Fair, ask the following questions:

1. Has the promoter produced any other wedding fairs or is this one of their first events? If they produce shows on a regular basis, request statistics of how many brides walked through the front door. This way, you will get an idea of how many bookings are possible at the show (but if they quote 1,000, remember that you will only have time to talk with a small percentage of these brides). Keep in mind promoters may quote the number of people in attendance, not brides. If this is the case, this figure will be inflated, since brides often bring parents and friends along with them to shows.

2. Where is the show located? Brides are likely to attend shows that are in the same towns where they plan to get married. If you live in a rural town fifty miles away from where the bridal fair is held, are you willing to drive this distance for each wedding you book at the show?

3. What are the dimensions of the booth? You’ll need to determine if you, your ensemble members, your performance equipment, several chairs, and a table can fit comfortably in the space provided. After your visit to another bridal fair, you should have a good idea of how much space you will need to eff ectively promote your musical talents to brides.

Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

3 Money Saving Tips for Audio and Video Demos

When a potential client is intrigued by the services you have to offer for their wedding (perhaps because of your wonderful business cards and brochures), the very question they are likely to ask is, “Do you have a demo?”

If your answer is "no", read on for 3 money saving tips:
  1. Incorporate video clips of your live performances at weddings into your demo tapes. As long as the film quality is apparent, you can save a bundle in shooting costs. You’ll need to get permission from the bride to use the video as a demo. As a gesture of goodwill, you will also need to credit the videographer in the film.
  2. Record the video demo first, and then use its soundtrack for your audio demo.
  3. Extract stills from your video demo to use as promotional photos.
Copyright © 2008 by Anne Roos, excerpt from "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings", published by Hal Leonard Books. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced in any form, without written permission, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review.

Hundreds of additional tips, are available for musicians (and all entrepreneurs) in my book, "The Musician's Guide to Brides" available wherever Hal Leonard Books are sold: music and bookstores, and through online retailers including sheetmusicplus.com, amazon.com, Sylvia Woods Harp Center catalog, and of course, at my website at http://www.celticharpmusic.com/.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

For Musicians and Entrepreneurs

If you want to keep up with how to use the Internet to reach new customers and fans, and to stay in touch with them, you've got to read Joan Stewart's great free e-book, "The Best of The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week 2009". It's a compilation from Joan's fabulous weekly e-newsletters, which I always can't wait to receive.

I got introduced to Joan when I heard her teleseminar with my friend Bob Baker called "Do-it-Yourself PR Tips for Songwriters, Musicians & Bands on a Budget" . But to me, her very best e-book is her "How to Be a Kick-Butt Publicity Hound", the up-to-date bible on how to get the word out about any business. It contains some very novel ideas. Not your run-of-the-mill business book.

For musicians, you'll find Joan's helpful advice, along with more business advice in my "The Musician's Guide to Brides: How to Make Money Playing Weddings" book, available on Amazon.com, SheetMusicPlus.com, and of course at my website, Celtic Harp Music by Anne Roos.