As a part of our service as wedding musicians, we work with our clients on “building” their wedding music programs.  Usually, a client will provide us with a list of their choices of music for a wedding ceremony and at that point we can edit it as needed, giving our suggestions, making sure that their wedding music selections are suitable for a ceremony.
     Here is an example from a client who sent us an e-mail with her choices for the ceremony. We are looking at the pieces chosen for the processional, before the start of the wedding ceremony: 

Groom’s mother – Trumpet Voluntary

Bride’s mother – Amazing Grace

Pastor and bridesmaids – Canon in D

Ring Bearer, flower girl – Arioso

Bride and Father – Bridal Chorus by Wagner

    At a first glance, the choices seem to be excellent, providing plenty of processional music for the wedding party walking down the aisle. However, here are a few negative points on the above music selections that might not be obvious at first.
 One:
Having that many wedding music pieces for the processional IS quite unusual and can be overwhelming, not for musicians but for guests. For musicians the only issue might be is changing pages from piece to piece, leaving “gaps” between the music as a bridal party is walking down the aisle.
Two:
A very obvious contrast between the two wedding music pieces for mothers: Trumpet Voluntary is a happy, upbeat  wedding music piece, whereas Amazing Grace is a mournful, solemn piece, most commonly played at funerals, not weddings. Hence, it might not be a good idea to play them side by side, they might sound odd.  
Three: 
Another issue with Trumpet Voluntary is its’ style.  The most “prominent”, spectacular piece of music during the wedding ceremony processional should be reserved for the entrance of the bride, not the bridal party.  Trumpet Voluntary IS very bright, loud, attention-attractive piece, used very often as a bride’s processional piece. Even though Bridal Chorus for the bride is a perfect choice, it clashes with Trumpet Voluntary.  Either one or the other, but not both.
Here is the solution we came up with for the bride in this case, altering the wedding music choices as follows:

Groom’s mother and bride’s mother – Arioso (same piece for both, gentle yet very pleasant piece of music, easy to fade as needed)
Pastor,bridesmaids and the rest of the bridal party – Canon in D(very beautiful, well known piece, and long enough for a large wedding party)
Bride and Father – Bridal Chorus by Wagner (as in the original selection; very appropriate choice of a wedding music piece that will especially stand out after softer sounding Canon in D)

Most of the times when our trios and quartets play at wedding ceremonies, they usually play anywhere between fifteen and thirty minutes of prelude music in different genres.  It is a nice way to make a transition from the “before” the ceremony time into the actual wedding ceremony.  It keeps the guests occupied as they are coming in, and in case if the ceremony runs late ( happens more often then some might think!), there is no awkward silence – the musicians will keep on playing. I work very closely with brides in helping them select the wedding music for their ceremony. However, ninety nine percent of time they ask me to come up with our own choices for the Prelude music. I have an extensive music repertoire for all group combinations, from duo to quartets and it is very easy to put together a program of the music for preludes. 

I mentioned in one of my other posts that Prelude music plays a bigger role in a wedding ceremony than it might seem. It is a period of time when guests are waiting for ceremony to start, either sitting in pews if the wedding is in the church, or simply meandering around if it is an outdoor ceremony.  It is also time when some people meet for the first time – distant relatives and friends from both sides of the wedding party, that can be uncomfortable as well.  Believe it or not, a familiar piece of music can be a start of a conversation. I have observed people listening to us while we play a very familiar piece : “..Oh,I know that! I played that in high school!… It is my mother’s favorite song!  I heard it on the radio and really like it!.. My friend’s daughter played that at her wedding, too..” Comments like that can lead to people opening up and talking to each other, creating a comfortable atmosphere during the rest of the wedding ceremony, making people feel at ease, and make them pay more attention to the ceremony and not their cellphones and I-podes ( I’ve seen that, too!). 

So, what is a good way to choose appropriate Prelude music? It might not be a bad idea to ask some of your wedding guests what their favorite pieces are, may be even include that question in their wedding invitation. When you get the invitations back – make a list of the pieces that guests mentioned in their invitation and then pass it along to us so we can add them in our Prelude music list.  If you really want to please your future in-laws early on – ask them the same question and we will make sure to play their favorite piece as well.   

Since most of the jobs that our string quartets and trios play at are wedding ceremonies, the question that I am asked quite often by brides is “What is wedding music and how do I know if it is wedding related piece..?” 

There is really no one way to answer it. Really, it is your day and you may choose any pieces for your wedding music. The choice for wedding music is very personal. The first thing to decide is how personal you want your wedding to be, and that will give you direction in choosing wedding music. After many years of playing at weddings, I divide all weddings in three categories: traditional weddings, semi-traditional weddings, and non-traditional/unconventional ceremonies.  This division also helps me when I work with a couple on selecting music for their ceremony.

Traditional wedding will most likely include prelude music, ceremony music and postlude music. It also will have some key components such as seating of the parents, processional of the bridal party and the bride, communion, presentation of flowers to the Virgin Mary, possible Homily, Unity Candle and recessional. For each of these aspects there are specific pieces of wedding music that are played. Moreover, certain pieces of wedding music are almost expected to be heard by the guests since the ceremony is traditional. You wouldn’t want to play a Beatles song during a communion. More likely, a piece such as “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” would fit here.  In my opinion, in a traditional wedding you have some flexibility with music choice, but you also have to choose it from a set wedding music repertoire that has been around for years and is expected to be played. 

In a semi/traditional wedding you have a lot more room for deviation from standard wedding music repertoire, and yet you still keep the element of tradition. We played at many weddings where the music for the processional was a pop-tune that meant a lot to the couple, and yet, the wedding music for the Unity Candle and the recessional was more familiar to the guests. Speaking of guests, and it is my opinion only. Over the years, I observed a lot of guests during wedding ceremonies and how they behave at them, whether or not they are bored or not, looking at their watches or cellphones, or if they are completely engrossed in the ceremony and the couple.  I think the choices of wedding music always made a difference in the way the guests were acting. If the program was put well together, and the guests got to hear pieces that they recognized or liked, it made it more interesting for them, verses the wedding music that was totally obscure for the guests, who ended up counting minutes until the ceremony was over.  I do understand that wedding day is for bride and a groom, but it also involves guests who are spending their time, money and effort to be there for the couple, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make a day memorable not only for the couple but for their guests.  Careful choices of wedding music is one way of doing so.

The last category, the unconventional weddings are the ones where musicians play either the songs that have an exclusive meaning to the bride and a groom and quite often unfamiliar to guests, or some popular rock and pop music. These ceremonies usually do not last more that fifteen minutes, with a very short prelude and just as short of a postlude. At these ceremonies it can be challenging to combine classical wedding music and wedding music that was requested by the bride or the groom. 

I guess anything can be referred to as wedding music as long as it fits your ceremony set up. The choices are unlimited among wedding music in classical, sacred, pop repertoire. You only have to be careful of how you combine the different genres in one wedding ceremony, making sure it all fits together.

If Johann Pachelbel was still alive today, he probably would have a heart attack after hearing many versions of his famous Canon, and all the debates over that piece.  I have many clients, mostly brides, who  ask me to explain to them what Canon is. First, here is the definition of a Canon from a musician’s point of view.

“…Pachelbel’s Canon combines the techniques of canon and ground bass. Canon is a polyphonic device in which several voices play the same music, only enter one by one, each after a delay. In Pachelbel’s piece, there are three voices engaged in canon (see Example 1), but there is also a fourth voice, the basso continuo, which plays an independent part.  The bass voice keeps repeating the same two-bar line throughout the piece. The common musical term for this is ostinato, or ground bass… “

Now, to the simple version for non-musicians.  Let’s use the string quartet as a basis, since it is one of the more common group combinations that the piece is performed by. I will dissect the piece as follows:

1) First, the cello comes in with a bass line, playing the same eight notes throughout the piece

2) First violin comes in with the main melody

3) Second violin comes in a few seconds after the first violin with the same melody

4) Finally, viola comes in a few seconds after the second violin, again, with the same melody.

Thus, we created a “canon”, or a round…  

The reason why I bring up the issue at all, is I just played at the wedding where the bride had requested the Canon for her entrance. It was played only by two instruments, myself on viola, and a cellist. Afterwards, I spoke to the bride, congratulated her. She was really grateful that we were there since it was a last minute wedding, and she loved the music. She also mentioned that I was right when originally I suggested for her to hire three musicians, not two, especially because she wanted to include Canon as her processional piece. She did say it sounded “..sort of empty, not like a round..” 

I usually don’t like to push my opinion on people when it comes to hiring musicians. I will tell my clients what I think would work best for them, but the final decision is theirs. I don’t like sounding as if I am pushing more musicians so we can get more money. However, in this case I tried to insist on at least three instruments because of  bride’s choice of wedding music. So, please keep in mind that if you decide to hire a duo as opposed to a trio or a quartet – some of the pieces that you might love and want to use for your wedding ceremony, might not sound anything like you expect them to. My opinion? The best combination is a trio – violin, viola, and cello,  unless you have a very large wedding. You may still use two musicians for a ceremony, but then think about omitting some of the pieces that will not sound “full” with only two instruments…

This is mostly for brides and families that are hiring our musicians for weddings.  Once the music is selected and pieces to be played for the wedding ceremony are solidified, we are all set to go.  The only other thing that we need to know is when to stop playing the prelude music and when to start the first piece for the ceremony, usually the piece for the seating of the parents or grandparents.  We do need a cue from someone who will be familiar with the flow of the ceremony, such as a wedding coordinator. That person could give us a nod from a distance (we do watch for those even while we play), or simply come up to us and tell us to stop the prelude and begin the ceremony music.  Even though we are usually told the specific time for the start of the ceremony – it almost never works out exactly on time.  We don’t like to take the risk of staring the first requested piece at, for example, 5:30 and the parents for whatever reason are not being seated yet.  Once we have a cue – we know what to play, and after that everything flows accordingly, with the entrance of the bridal party, then the bride, or any order that was established.  Sometimes, however, there is no such person as wedding coordinator who can give us the cue for the start of the ceremony.  In that case, the solution might be to use the entrance of the groomsmen or of the person administering the ceremony as a cue.  Once we see them – we quietly fade away the last piece of the prelude, wait until they are present and then start the first piece for the ceremony itself.  Basically, a cue is needed for the musicians to let them know that prelude is over and ceremony is about to begin. 

This topic has come up several times with our clients.  Sometimes our musicians are asked to play along with a singer, especially at wedding ceremonies:  it could be  a classical piece of music, or a popular song that has a special meaning for a couple.  The misunderstanding comes when we are asked to see if we have that piece in our repertoire.  Quite often we do, and in this case we did have the needed song.  However, speaking in musical terms, our version of the piece was in the key of D, and, as I found out by contacting the singer directly, her version was in the key of F, which means that these two versions could not be played together since they are in different keys.  

The concept of a piece of music being  in a specific “key” is not familiar to non-musicians.  Here is an attempt to present it in a different way. People’s voices are of different pitch, which is why we recognize the voices of our relatives and friends among strangers.  In music, we also have more than one pitch, more than one note. A piece of music or a song can start on ANY of the primary seven existing notes in music (there are more than seven, but I am keeping it simple). In order for us to play with a singer, we have to have the same version of a piece, one that starts and ends on the same note, otherwise our parts will “clash”, and not fit together in harmony.  Another way of saying it – the pattern of notes within the piece has to be the same, they have to match, and in terms of music theory – they have to be in the same “key”…

This is mostly for those who book musicians for wedding receptions and dinners. When our groups play at these,  we usually put together our own program, mixing classical pieces with a few oldies, Beatles and such.  However, keep in mind that we can play some pieces for you on request.  You might have a special song for the bride and groom upon them being introduced, or may be another one played during the Father/Daughter dance, or the Bride/Groom dance.  If needed, we can always arrange a song to fit your requests.  During one of the wedding dinners we played “Happy Birthday” for a grandmother who turned ninety on the day of the wedding – it was a simple gesture and she loved it! So, please remember that these options are there – let us know and we will make it happen for you!

I tend to stay very involved with my clients when it comes to selecting music, especially if it is a wedding. The other day a client of ours (we are to have a string trio at her wedding  in April) requested, or rather asked if we could play “Adagio for Strings by Barber “for her processional. Many people, including my husband, know the tune from the movie “Platoon”. It is a slow, solemn piece, funeral – like. In fact, our string quartet had played it at the Pittsburgh County Courthouse on April 6, 2009 where the bodies of  three Pittsburgh Police Officers were laid for viewing after they were shot and killed on April 4th… We played there all day, alternating musicians. Some of us stayed late into the evening. “Adagio for strings” was the piece that we played several times throughout the night. It is also a piece that was played by different orchestras throughout the country after 9-11 attack. For some, it became a symbol on 9-11. It is a wonderful piece and the bride told me  she absolutely loves it. However, I can’t imagine playing it as she is walking down the isle towards her future husband! At first, she seems let down, but after I e-mailed her several videos of where that piece was played – she thanked me, saying she didn’t realized what the piece meant and how people can perceive it.  We finally settled on a piece a bit more upbeat and suitable for a spring day wedding. The point is: you might love a certain piece, but be careful in your decision on where you want the piece to be heard. You n ever know how it might affect those around you, especially if it is a wedding, supposedly a happy occasion. 

This should help you in your decision on selecting your wedding music:

• is the ceremony indoors or outdoors ( acoustics will differ)
  

• the month of your wedding: there are a lot of “seasonal” music 
  

• number of musicians that are playing for your wedding: repertoire will differ
  

• any additional musicians for the ceremony such as singers
  

• the length of the wedding ceremony: longer pieces might have to be cut short
  

• is the ceremony traditional or contemporary
  

• how big is the bridal party: length of the piece for the processional music will differ
  

• what kind of music do you like: classical, pop, sacred, country, hymnal
  

• limitations (if any) on music if your wedding is taking place in the church
  

• any music that has to be arranged in advance: we usually ask for a four week notice

The first thing to consider is the number of musicians involved. Are you hiring a string quartet, a string trio, or a duo..? Usually larger group gives you more extensive music choices.  Next step is to set up the wedding program, and what you will have in it. Things like processional, unity candle, communion, readings and more. Once you have that set, then it’s time to insert music between or during those parts.  More often then not I end up suggesting different pieces to be played, making sure they are appropriate for the ceremony.  If needed, I meet with brides to discuss the music, making sure that we don’t only follow my suggestions, but a bride likes what we have chosen. I think that is the most involved part for me – working with brides on their music selections (and then playing them!). I have had several people who in the past have requested music that was not their best choices, and I am not afraid to point that out. However, the final decision is with the bride. I will give as much input as wanted…