Hiring Student Musicians??

Looking for String Duo or Trio Musicians to Play During Wedding Ceremony

Saturday June 24, 2017

(Wedding location)

$100 per musician

We require 15-30 minutes of playing prior to ceremony, music for processional, certificate signing and recessional, as well as while guests exit.

Approx. full length of time required would be just over 1 hour. Ceremony is from 3:30pm-4:00pm.

We ask that musicians be there before 3pm to set up before guests arrive.

Must be able to perform modern pop music and have general knowledge of wedding timing (when to stop/start playing etc.) We will also request to hear you perform at least one song of our choice prior to booking.

Please note, this is an outdoor performance. Shade & chairs will be provided for you.

Should you wish to receive any reviews or comments after the wedding we will be happy to do so!

Please e-mail inquiries to *...@*****.*** if interested!

My friend in college charged 300 to play at weddings and he wasn't even studying music. He just played in the school orchestra. I would say 100 is too low.

Please be aware that when you hire musicians, you aren't just paying for the 1hr of music on the day of your event, but also months of rehearsal time spent learning and perfecting the pieces you request. Also, copyright laws require that physical, legally purchased sheet music be present for any performance of a licensed piece. (E.g. When I played my senior recital I had the music memorized but was required to have a physical copy there because laws.) Photocopies are also illegal at a performance, you must purchase the music you play.

So please add in practice time and the cost of purchasing music when you negotiate on payment with musicians, even student ones.

Good to know Liz, thanks... I didn't consider any of that

I'm a big believer in you get what you pay for. I think $100 is way too low if you want good, confident performers. PPs already covered the extra details about music and practice.

@Fall Bride...that's why I was asking on here first before I did anything, because I clearly don't know the proper way of going about this. Now knowing more, I can take off the asking price and see what they would like to charge me, while keeping in mind travel, practice time & sheet music. No sweat!!

I know the local university has a referral list of student players (usually grad students). Normally these will be good players, but won't have much experience actually doing weddings. There is a learning curve... for example, one wedding it suddenly got dark and I couldn't read my sheet music. I had to quickly jury-rig my phone to sort of light it up. Or there was that time it was windy and I hadn't learned about paper clips yet

It's like anything else, if you go with a experience, you get a better chance of success. But it's possible the students could work out well for you, too.

@Chelsea you've already gotten great advice here regarding pricing. But I do want to reiterate what Miguel said about the professionalism factor. Student players have a lot less experience adapting to the nuances of a given performance situation. They'll do it for less money, sure, but you also run the risk of them not being prepared for the vagaries of your day. Just something to keep in mind.

I am a music student and did about 10 weddings while I was still in high school. While I played for a discounted rate, my playing was (unless the couple were also professional musicians) really no different in quality. In my town, we have a music academy that contributed to having so many high level musicians at the primary school level. My playing at these events, while not as refined as it is now after three years of college study, did the job. It was in tune, as expressive as I could muster at the time, and I definitely had a good idea of what music to suggest as well as how the typical wedding goes. So I don't think you're always better off going with a professional (unless your budget allows).

So much great advice here!

Occasionally, we'll get an inquiry from a bride or groom, and unfortunately, our offerings are just not within their budget. This is totally okay! We absolutely get that the concierge-style service we provide may not exactly mesh with what that particular client is looking for. However, sometimes that conversation leads into a request like, "Can you lower your price and just put together a quartet made up of students?" We always like to try to find creative solutions that will help more soon-to-be married couples afford live music (i.e., perhaps a trio would be a perfect option instead of a more costly quartet). Its the most special day of your life - every part should match that feeling! However, replacing our professional musicians with students is just never a request we will entertain.

Performing for weddings is different than any other type of performing. It requires extreme flexibility, quick thinking, the ability to seamlessly change gears on the spot, an intimate knowledge of the flow of a wedding ceremony. Even simply remembering to connect with the officiant prior to the start of the ceremony to find out what their last words will be before the recessional music should begin (will it be "You may kiss!" or "Introducing Mr. & Mrs..." or something totally different?) is something that only an experienced player will know to do. Will the student ensemble know to ask how many people are in the wedding party (this is super important for timing)? Are the groomsmen processing down the aisle with the bridesmaids (also important for timing)? The processional of the bride can be far shorter or far longer than expected. If you're in the middle of John Legend's 'All of Me' for the bridal processional, how do you coordinate when to stop (with your eyes! You won't be able to talk to each other)? Because processional timing varies so greatly (from 15 seconds to 10 minutes), we almost never stop in the same place during a particular piece of music from wedding to wedding. How do you gracefully and naturally end a piece of music in the middle of a song without it sounding choppy and abrupt? The wedding party processional has ended up taking twice as long as anticipated and you're at the end of the couples' chosen piece of music. What do you do now? Professionals know the answers and actions for all of these unexpected situations. Even if the ensemble is comprised of really excellent student musicians, in general, the ensemble will lack the experience that you pay a little extra for with professionals.

If you do intend to approach a student ensemble, I would actually not list any requirements (i.e. we require 15-30 minutes of playing prior to ceremony, 3 PM setup time, must be able to perform modern pop music and have general knowledge of wedding timing, request to hear you perform prior to booking). Those are all requests that would be appropriate for a professional group of musicians. I would simply ask the students what they are capable of performing and go from there. Its a toss up - everything may turn out perfectly wonderful! But often times, the "get what you pay for" mantra will apply!

Should you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out! We are not in your general area but are always happy to help or answer questions!

Yours,

Jessica

--

Jessica Kang, Founder

AVIVA Strings

www.AVIVAstrings.com

Thanks Jessica for your detailed advise. And everyone else as well!!

We have decided to book a professional violin & cello duo to perform, that comes highly recommended from my venue.