One question that I get a lot from my clients is “..for how long should I hire the musicians… an hour, two..” Obviously, the price will change with the duration of playing. Here is a little lesson from one of the jobs our string trio did this summer. You read it and decide for yourself.

One of our string trios was hired to play at the wedding in Pittsburgh for an hour and a half, from 2-3:30. Beforehand, bride was not sure if she should hire us for one hour, or for 1.5 hours: her ceremony was very short, with guests going to a different location for the dinner. Finally, she was set on 1.5 hours, and stated so in the contract. Our string trio started playing at 2:30, fully expecting to start the music for the ceremony at 2:30, after 30 minutes of prelude music. As it turned out – we didn’t start the ceremony music until 3:05, 35 minutes later than was scheduled: bride’s father fell ill right before, and had to be attended to. The lesson? If she booked us only for one hour, from 2-3, we would have had two choices: either walk out without playing for the ceremony at all, or stay and charge the family overtime ( which is more than a regular fee)… Again, I am not attempting to scare clients  and force them to book us for longer than needed. However, unexpected circumstance do happen, and it might be prudent to keep them in mind, especially for such events as weddings, where you have so many people involved that you don’t know much about. During another wedding, we had a minister coming 45 minutes late, almost giving a bride a nervous breakdown. Again, this bride did book our quartet for two hours, leaving enough time for the unexpected…

There is a difference between hiring musicians for a wedding and for an event other than a wedding. Mostly it has to do with repertoire:  a lot of wedding music should be played by at least three musicians to make it sound decent. I have played at weddings with a duo, usually violin and viola, but personally – it is something I would have never done at my own wedding.  Imagine playing a piece such as the famous Pachelbel Canon with only two musicians! It sounds “empty” and unfinished. However, if you have a small business gathering and looking for a light background music without any flare – two musicians would be just fine. 

Prior to having my own business, I have played with some musicians whose competency on their instrument has a lot of room for improvement, to say the least. Make sure you know what you are hiring: professional, or someone who “does weddings on the side” as a hobby. I can only speak from a personal experience. Several years ago, I was asked to play with a string quartet for a wedding out in Latrobe, PA. The cellist and the second violinist were still college students at the time, whereas myself and a first violin player have been playing for a lot longer. The cellist and the second violinist were half an hour late for the wedding ceremony, both had their own cars, and both had pretty unsatisfying excuses.  Thanks to them – I started my own business, vowing that I would hire only the most professional, reliable musicians in Pittsburgh, musicians that I have known and played with for a long time and trust to do the job right. All of our players are usually at the site of the wedding/event at least half an hour before hand, just to set up and be ready… The Latrobe story is by no means a reflection on all college musicians, but it IS an example where experience and maturity play a role. Since then I was involved in a couple of more jobs with the same people and the same thing happen. I am proud to say – it is never the case with our musicians. Bottom line -never be afraid to do a thorough check on musicians that you hire for your needs, especially if it is a wedding. 

Here is another concern that surfaces sometimes, especially from brides: “how do I know if musicians that I hire for my wedding will play well if  I’ve never heard them before?”. 

I’ll be honest here: you don’t know that. In the case with myself and our musicians – you have 100% guarantee of our skill level and the quality of our performance, which is why I do my best with informing people about who we are. Our professional biographies are on the web site, so is the demo CD. We all have been playing our respective instruments since ages five and six, engaging in professional performances in our teens.  I also started taking photos of people’s “thank you” cards and testimonials, putting them up on the site – that way it is clear how someone felt about our musicians, especially brides.  It is scary to get a group for a one time event and not know how it will turn out. I guess the same can be said about the wedding cake – you won’t know how it tastes until you bite into it! 

That seems to be the first question that my clients ask me. First of all, consider your budget, which is why we ask that you call us to give you an exact price for your event. It will vary greatly depending on the distance the musicians have to travel, how long you would want them to play, and other factors. Second, how many guests will be attending your event? Usually, the more people are at your gathering – the more musicians should be there, so they can be heard. Also, the location:small banquet rooms, hotels, churches, auditoriums. Acoustics play a big roll in how a string quartet, trio or a duo will sound. Another factor – your music selections for the group. I will elaborate more on some of these in later posts. (more…)