With so many events, weddings and musical functions happening all year round, a Vancouver DJ will get lots of questions on song choices and asked for suggestions from many clients looking to plan their special musical occasion. So, without going into specific song choices, here are some guidelines to help you plan your song choices.
There are literally about 95 million songs in the world to choose from…Yes, I Goggled it! It is impossible to hear all of your favorites but many clients do try to fit all of them in at their events. Time wise, most functions will only allow forty to fifty dance songs to be played. The best way to help keep the number of songs to a manageable number is first decide if you want to allow your guests to request. If you would like your guests to have some input into the music they would like hear, pick ten, but no more than fifteen, of your favorite songs and have your Vancouver DJ mix them in with guest requests. As a DJ in Vancouver, I find this option works best for most events. However, if you are a hands on person and you know your guest’s taste in music quite well, then pick about fifty songs that you and your guests enjoy dancing to and have the DJ play those with no requests. I would only recommend this option if you know the musical tastes of your guests very well or if you are fine only having yourself and a few of your friends dancing.
Today’s music is a lot more liberal with the lyrics and some popular songs are sprinkled with one degree of profanity or another. Depending upon the event, this might be fine. You should be aware of your guest’s tolerance for swearing in the music though. In the case of weddings, children at the event and with your older relatives attending, it is often a good judgment call to stay away from profane laden music. Keep in mind that family events are not like being at the club and weddings are more a celebration of light on which profanity can have a negative impact. The radio version of songs, if available are often a good way to go for most events.
With all of the ways to store music, a DJ has to be aware that sometimes it is best to limit the influence of guests upon a client’s event. By this, I mean a guest wanting to plug in a phone or stick into a DJ’s board. What happens when this is done is that it gives the opportunity of the guests to hijack the client’s music with their own. Once a phone or stick is plugged in, the guest now as their music available and will often take advantage of that by pressuring the DJ to play their songs. It is always best to not plug in a guest’s phone or device into the DJ setup. This helps to make things run smoother, follow the client’s wishes and to avoid conflict. The same holds true of non plugged in guests. I have had a number of clients that allow themselves to be pressured by an aggressive bridesmaid or guest. It is a good idea to be aware of letting a guest dictate the play list above the concerns of other guests and even yourself. Remember, it is your event and not theirs.
Choosing songs for your function does not need to be a daunting task. Attack it in bite sized pieces and follow the suggestions above to have an event where you are happy with the music and have had your musical voice heard.