Three important questions:
- Do you want your guests to dance at your function?
- Do you want your guests to enjoy the music at your function?
- Do you want the music we play at your function to be a major contributor to the total enjoyment of your guests on the night?
We’re guessing that the answer to each of these three questions is “Yes!” Please advise us ASAP if this is not the case.
The Mr Bojangles team have been working in the mobile DJ business for more than 20 years and there has never been such a massive diversity of music as there is these days. And everybody has his own list of favourites. Some people like dance music in its many different forms; some like rock music in its multiplicity; some like easy-listening either in the chill-out way or smooth groove style or anywhere in between; some like hip-hop or rap or ragamuffin; some only want Swing or Heavy Metal or Top 40 or Latin or Punk or Jazz or Reggae or Country or the music of the 90s or the 80s, the 70s, the 60s or before. Everybody’s different!
Even though most people are prepared to consider favourites from more than just one style of music, no two lists are the same. As professional entertainers, we receive lists of music from our clients all the time. Every single function we attend has its own special music list. Some of our clients are not “musically oriented” and therefore have only a small request list. They generally say, “You guys are the experts – I’ll leave it up to you.” Other clients have sent us a list of 200 songs or more and said, “These are some of our favourites – please choose all music from this list.” And we do.
Because we’re good at what we do, we know that there are only two things that really matter to a professional DJ. They are: the music that we play and the order in which we play it. If we’re working in a club, 95% of our music is modern dance and the order in which it is played is dependent on the tempo, the style and the familiarity. If we’re working in a pub, 95% of our music is modern pub rock but the order in which it is played is still dependent on the tempo, the style and the familiarity. If we’re working at a family or corporate function, there’s bound to be a wide range of requests (because of the varying ages of the people attending) but the order in which they are played is dependent on (once again!) the tempo, the style and the familiarity.
Tempo is easy; it’s measured in beats per minute. Style is easy; a certain song will fit into one of the many categories of modern music. Familiarity is easy; if the song has been played a lot on the radio or music shows or music channels on TV, people are going to be familiar with it. But if that certain song has not been heard by particular people at the function, they won’t dance to it. And if it’s in a style that they’re not familiar with or not a fan of, they won’t like it. And when people don’t like several songs in a row, they’ll complain to the DJ. How do I know? I’m the DJ.
At a club, at a pub and at most functions we never get complaints. The reason is simple: we don’t play songs that large numbers of people don’t know or don’t like. But at a function when we get a really specific list of lots of music known to only a small number of people, particularly in a style which can’t be fitted into the category “Popular Music”, we’re in trouble, unless all of the guests at the party are of a similar age and music-style-preference group.
Examples of this trouble are sometimes found at weddings when the Bride and Groom provide a list of their favourite music without keeping in mind the taste of the majority of their guests. The most common list of this type has a whole bunch of rock songs, often album tracks, from relatively unknown artists, frequently played on JJJ. If this music is preferred by the Bride and Groom and some of their closest friends at the wedding, of course we’ll play from the list. The trap is that sometimes the list contains too high a percentage of this type of music. Will your parents enjoy it? Will your older relatives enjoy it? Will your workmates or sporting club mates enjoy it? Will they get up and dance? Does this matter?
We recommend that the function organizer takes a long, hard look at his guest list and analyses who will be attending. The simplest way to break down the list is by age. And then work out what proportion of the whole is represented by each age group. For instance, there may be 100 guests and the age groups are as follows:
18-28: 30
28-38: 30
38-50: 20
50-60: 10
60+ : 10
The organizer should allocate the music in similar proportions, ie: 30% of interest to 18-28s, 30% for 28-38s, 20% in favour of the 38-50s, and 20% for the older groups.
So what music is going to suit a 37 year-old with a house in the suburbs, a part-time job in the city, a husband and two children? That particular Bride and Groom might not know but we do. And do all of those 30 under 28s want to hear the same style of relatively unknown rock bands playing album tracks? Or do many of them prefer popular music?
The point is:
- Do you want your guests to dance at your function ?
- Do you want your guests to enjoy the music at your function?
- Do you want the music we play at your function to be a major contributor to the total enjoyment of your guests on the night?
If yes, please cut the DJ a little slack. If he works for Mr Bojangles DJE, he really does know his job.