OK, so I’m legally required to define my terms: iPod is now just generic name. Like my Nan still calls her vacuum cleaner “the Hoover
To start, let it be known that I’m a huge fan of my personal digital audio playback devices… I always take 3 of them as backup to every show I do. Pragmatist or pessimist – you decide.
If providing background & ceremony music or small/wedding breakfast vocalist shows, I can run all of my entire performance from my iPods if I have to – meaning I’m an even more discreet and streamlined presence. (If only it were the same of my physique!)
A carefully created playlist can work wonders and I notice a distinct lift in the room’s mood, even before I start singing. The little gaps between tracks are hardly noticeable as people chat and mingle, and it can therefore be a cost-effective alternative to typical classical/jazz quartets.
However, iPods are not the ideal answer when it comes the evening wedding party. Even for a seasoned pro. Let’s consider just three reasons why.
(1) Playlists for parties?
Many couples express concern that DJs won’t play their choices of music, and see iPod playlists as a remedy to this. It’s a point - but a decent DJ will consult with you on your choices ahead of the event and accept your specific requests. We normally suggest around 20 at most but always accept more.
Further, a good DJ will be able to construct your choices of songs (and/or his own expertly chosen selection if needed) into an order which will build the atmosphere through the whole night. (This could take you hours to do at home, without creating clashes of tempo and styles.)
DJs will cater for key moments at the right time & adjust timings if things overrun, adapting the styles and music in response to your guests. He can quickly add spontaneous requests on the night.
DJs will cater for key moments at the right time & adjust timings if things overrun, adapting the styles and music in response to your guests. He can quickly add spontaneous requests on the night.
If you ask a pro-DJ to avoid a certain style or specific song or artist, he will comply. The fee you pay is for him to use all his different skills to do everything he can to help you & your guests enjoy themselves within the limits you set down. A DJ is so much more than hitting ‘play’ on a music player.
(2) Sound & light system
Hiring PA & lighting systems can cost almost as much as hiring a DJ. You might have to hire inferior quality equipment to make significant savings. Buzzing speaker, anyone?
You also usually get hire of just one system that you or a friend will have to put up and wire together. You need to be aware of best placement of speakers and lights, and relevant health & safety issues. Plus consider the time to collect, assemble, take down and return. Time you could be at the bar, fellas! ;-)
If a hired system fails, you will unlikely have backup equipment – a decent DJ will.
Finally, how well presented it looks can also vary - consider that if you get a tatty hired system, this might detract from your otherwise fastidious theme-ing and décor. (That bit was for some of the ladies….me: I’m all about the “zhuzh”!)
(3) Gaps in the music
From an iPod, even songs without long fade-outs or intro will have a small gap between the end of one track and start of another. 7 seconds is a long time in showbiz ….and it can make the party feel ‘disjointed’ without an professional entertainer to keep the show going, so to speak…
‘Dead air’ (as the radio jocks call it) can result in dancers more likely wandering back to their seats. While all dance-floors can naturally ‘ebb & flow’, any good DJ will have a series of “re-ignition” tunes on hand to pull dancers back/coax new dancers on. You won’t necessarily have this built in to your play-list if your particular favourite Leonard Cohen track happens to clear the floor.
Good DJs are adept at a variety of techniques to create some segue (get me!) or continuous flow of music through the whole party – some methods are more technical than others but all help keep bodies on the dance-floor. Which is what you want, right?
Some audio software can be set to roughly fade between tracks but the success of simplistic auto cross-fade mixing is not suitable for all music styles and still vastly depends on the order of the music played – again the ‘playlists’ bit.
All this said, I’m sure there are literally dozens of successful wedding parties that have used iPod playlists. Ultimately, you might be utterly limited by budget or have all the skills yourself which make this a part of the day you can go DIY on – so in which case, one final piece of advice: avoiding ‘all one style’ is probably the best way to please a cross-section of your guests and push your party towards success.
Enjoy yourselves….and have fun.
Jon Paul
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