ARIZONA IRISH MUSIC SOCIETY

On Building an Irish Band in Arizona. - Part 5
Building the Band Repertoire
By George O'Brien - Arizona Correspondent
This is a series of articles on building an Irish/Celtic band in Arizona. In Part 1, I discussed the questions: "Do You Really Want To Be A Professional Musician?" and "Do You Really Want To Do Irish Music?" In Part 2, I looked at "Can You Fill The Role Of Band Leader?", In Part 3 I discussed "What Kind Of Irish/Celtic Band Do You Want To Build?" and "What Performance Style Should You Have?" In Part 4 I discussed "Who Should Be In The Band?."
WHAT YOUR REPERTOIRE BE?
Selecting the "right" songs and tunes the band will play is probably second in difficulty only to picking the right players. The band will draw a proportion of the pieces the band knows (their repertoire) to put together a set list for each performance. Some established bands can get away with making up their set list on fly, but new bands need to have a clear plan of what is going to be played and in what order.
HOW DO YOU PICK YOUR MATERIAL?
The starting point for developing a set list is to establish a basic repertoire of the band. These are pieces that the band members will know and rehearsed together. Most established band have an extensive repertoire. They can then choose pieces that can be mixed and matched to fit the needs of the venue and the make-up of the band (if someone is missing for example).
As a general rule, the repertoire is defined by a combination of the desires of the audience and the preferences of the performers. It is a mistake to do only what the audience asks for. They will always request familiar material and this may hold the band back from developing their own identity. At the same time, only doing what the performers like risks driving away the audience and eliminate the likelihood of future gigs.
The band's repertoire must reflect what the band is trying to do. A pub band that does not like doing pub songs is unlikely to succeed. Likewise, it is hard to imagine a new age Celtic group that tries to do drinking songs at their usual venues.
DEFINING YOUR MIX - Performers that perform only one kind of material only one way are likely to struggle. There needs to be a mix of high energy and slower material. Successful pub band mix drinking songs and ballads, airs with reels, and soft with loud. The style of the band will define how much of each kind of piece is needed.
The greater the size of the repertoire, the easier it is to change the mix to meet the requirements of the specific venue. However, it takes a while to build and polish enough pieces to do a complete performance, let alone develop material that is not to be used on a regular basis.
FIND OUT WHAT MATERIAL MEMBERS OF THE BAND ALREADY KNOW: One of the biggest challenges a new band faces is simply to have rehearsed enough material to fill the time required. I have seen cases where a new band was forced to repeat some pieces because they did not have enough material for three full sets. There are "tricks" that can be used to get around this problem, but no band can expect to go very far without a strong repertoire that matches the style identity they are trying to achieve.
Often new bands have a rather haphazard approach to selecting their repertoire. Sometimes pieces are picked because everyone knows the piece. In other cases, it is selected because one of the players really likes the piece. Some pieces are selected because of frequent requests. Often pieces are selected merely because one of the band members wrote it. One of the toughest jobs for the band leader is to pick material that best suits the band rather than just what he/she likes.
CHOOSING MATERIAL THAT FITS: The selection of material needs to fit a vision of what the band is trying to do. A pub band needs to be able to do up a considerable number of up-tempo vocals, a ceili band needs to have a strong repertoire of dance tunes such as jigs and reels, etc. Doing a lot of material that does not fit the band's identity is very risky for new bands.
Most successful bands do a mix of material that includes fast and slow vocals and instrumentals. Almost everyone has some "out of genre" material and many include original material as well. How the piece fits into the mix may be more important than how well the piece is received on its own. Some of the things to consider include:
1) Do We Need Another Song (Vocal) Like This? Pub bands usually run into problems when they try to do too many slower "ballads" in a row. Generally, folk performers can get away with a higher percentage of slow vocals than pub singers, but it depends on the audience. At the same time, doing too many rowdy drinking songs in a row can wear out their effect.
2) Where Will This Instrumental Fit? Most Irish instrumentals include a series of three or four tunes linked together. A common pattern is to start with a slower piece that blends into faster ones, while others do slow-fast-slow-fast. Harpists are probably the only players that can succeed with totally slow pieces, although some flute players have great success with slower pieces. There are some fairly standard ways that seisiun players put together instrumental pieces, but a band can create variety by using a new mix of material.
Some instrumental pieces are better suited for specific instrumentation and accompaniment styles. There are reasons why people don't do "Mason's Apron" on the harp or do "Dueling Banjos" on harmonicas
3) Should We Do Covers? Covers are standard songs that are frequently performed by other bands - especially other bands in the area. In general, most pub bands cover some material that everyone else does and mixes in original material and covers that no one else is doing. Folk musicians generally include far fewer standard covers and ceili bands do them only rarely.
It is a good idea to know how the other bands in the area handle the various covers. Doing the same material in a different way can make it sound like a totally different piece. Changes in speed, rhythm, intonation, instrumentation, and harmony structure can give a familiar piece a very different feel.
Pub bands are likely to get requests to do "Saint Patrick's Day Songs" (see below). It is dangerous to only do too many requests because it means that every Irish band ends up doing exactly the same material. The ideal is to have original material and cover songs that no one else does so the requests end up reinforcing the band's identity rather than diluting it.
4) How Long is the Piece? There are a number of Irish songs with a seemingly endless number of verses. Unfortunately, going through every verse can get boring for the audience. In reviewing some old Clancy Brothers and Dubliners recordings, I found almost no songs that go much over four minutes with most of them under three minutes. Some great songs are going to take longer. If they go much over four minutes they should be treated as if they were two songs. For a pub band, this may mean that a long slow piece should be put between two up tempo pieces.
5) How Should I Treat Out of Genre Material? For new bands, initially the repertoire should be tightly defined. Doing a lot of "out of genre" material such as rock oldies or country-western songs can hurt the process of building an identity as an "Irish" band. Established bands and entertainers can get away with more of that because they already have an identity. Eclectic bands are expected to do a lot of "out of genre" material.
Original material presents an interesting challenge. Some people write and perform in an "Irish/Celtic" style, while others do not. Some song writers such as John and Jerry McMorrow of the McMorrows and Shay Veno of The Clare Voyants write material that could easily be mistaken for "covers." This is a huge plus for a band that wants to maintain their Irish image while developing their own identity.
6) Does This Material Fit The Skills of Our Players? The selection of material should match the strengths of the band. Vocalists with limited range should avoid songs that cannot be comfortably done without straining. If a ballad singer has a problem with rowdy drinking songs, then this material should not be a big part of the repertoire. It is better to recruit another vocalist who is good at this kind of material than to do it badly.
The same holds true for instrumentalists. Some pieces are harder to do than others. Some pieces require more complex accompaniment than others. It would be nice to have a band made up of virtuosos, but that is rarely the situation.
7) What Key Should Be Used? Sometimes the problem with a performance is not the material but the key it is being performed in. Irish music is mostly performed in D major (which can be converted into E minor), G major (which can be converted into A minor), C major (which converts into D minor) and A major (which converts into G minor). A lot of Scottish material is written in B flat to match the key used by bagpipes.
A vocalist might prefer another key, but this can make it hard for to accompany on the fiddle, mandolin, or the Irish whistle. It is better to transpose the material into a key that everyone can play, than to force an unusual key signature such as F sharp or E flat on everyone else.
SONG INVENTORY - This means asking every member of the band to list every vocal and instrumental piece he/she knows and rank them by two criteria:
How Well Do I Know This Piece?
1. Very Well (ready to perform today)
2. Pretty Well (have performed it before but might need some brush up)
3. Somewhat Familiar (have heard it and done it, but do not really know it)
4. Not Familiar (have never heard it or only heard it a few times)
How Well Does This Piece Fit With What the Band Is Trying to Do?
1. Perfect (should be included in most performances)
2. Quite Well (should be used in many of the performances the band does)
3. Moderately Well (can be used when needed)
4. Marginal (use only in rare situations)
Obviously pieces that rank #1 on both lists are excellent choices for the repertoire. The hard decisions come when pieces are ranked #1 or #2 by everyone in that they all know the piece, but only #3 or #4 in terms of how well they fit what the band is trying to do. This is especially true with standard drinking songs like "Whiskey In The Jar" which may not fit the more traditional style the band wants to present. It is also true with rock or pop songs that might not fit a band that wants to establish a clear "Irish" identity.
The usual situation is that only one or two people know the piece but everyone agrees it fits what the band is trying to do. This means the rest of the band has to learn the piece from scratch. This can be quite time consuming, but may be the best choice. It is relatively rare that a piece will be selected that no one already knows, but it does happen with certain pieces recorded by famous artists.
The process of identifying the total potential repertoire is rarely done in one step. Most experienced musicians cannot tell you all the songs/tunes they know until they are asked about specific pieces. Thumbing through tune books and lyrics listings such as www.azirishmusic.com/songs.htm may trigger some memories, but even that is limited because songs and tunes often masquerade under different names.
SELECTING WHICH PIECES TO WORK ON FIRST - Once the potential repertoire list is made up, the next step is to cull it down into some kind of "phase 1" repertoire the band should start working on. This involves several issues:
1) How Well Does This Mix In? - For example, a pub band generally has no more than 40% instrumentals and vocals are generally have a majority of "up tempo pieces". Sometimes established bands can get around this formula, but new bands risk losing their audience if they too many ballads in a row. Similar issues apply to Concert Traditional Bands that mix "showy" pieces with slower or more complex material. Successful bands mix their material in such a way that avoids audience boredom and ensures they pay attention at least part of the time.
2) How Well Does This Fit Our Strengths? - A "perfect" song might require a wider vocal range or better tonal quality than the lead singer has. Some tunes might not sound right with the instrumentation the band has available. It is hard to do "fiddle tunes" on the guitar.
3) How Long Will It Take To Have the Piece Available? - Songs with 12 verses, tunes with extremely complex structures, and pieces requiring considerable amount of orchestration can take a while to add to the repertoire. The time it takes to learn the piece and get it rehearsed is a problem for any band. It is a bigger problem for a startup band that cannot perform until the repertoire is established.
SET UP PRACTICE AND REHEARSAL PLAN - Once the pieces have been selected, it is important that players begin learning the pieces and practicing. Many people listen to CD's by major artists to learn how to play a particular piece. Getting sheet music can be helpful for band members that can read sheet music. Song lyrics need to be printed up and the version used standardized. Slight variations in wording when players are harmonizing can make the band sound bad.
The players need to practice their parts at home to the point where they know their parts cold. A rehearsal is not the place to learn the pieces. It is the place to learn to play them together and get them to sound good.
ORCHESTRATION: It is one thing to sing a song and do a simple chord progression on the guitar to accompany it. It is quite another thing to tie together four or five instruments in a way that enhances the delivery. One of the reasons that established bands sound better than the typical "pickup band" (a collection of players just brought together for the gig) is that the orchestration of an established band is likely to be more sophisticated and the performance is more "together."
In the Irish music scene, it is much easier to put together a strong pickup band to do instrumentals than to do vocals. This is because there is a fairly standard seisiun repertoire that the players have played together over the years. Some seisiun players do not even try to accompany vocals and others will only join in between verses but not while the vocalist is playing. It is better to keep the orchestration simple than to do it badly.
ADDING MATERIAL TO THE REPERTOIRE - New bands can fall into the trap of trying to add too many new pieces too quickly. The material has to be practiced and honed. A large influx of material that is added merely because of boredom is likely to have sloppy results.
The opposite extreme happens with established bands that get stuck doing the same repertoire over and over. New material has to be added and some material dropped for a while to avoid boredom on the part of the players and by their regular fans. None the less, it is better to do the same material really well than new material badly.
WATCH THE AUDIENCE
Successful bands generally have an extremely good feel for the audience. They can tell what works and what doesn't work certain kinds of audiences. They connect with the audience and get control. Weaker bands tend to lose the attention of the audience.
Band members that feel they losing the audience needs to review their repertoire. Is it too slow? Are there too many similar pieces in a row? At the same time, repertoire is not the only factor. The body language and sense of energy the band communicates is just as important as the material.
SAINT PATRICK'S DAY SONGS - Once a year around March 17th, bands with even a slight connection to Irish music discover they are in great demand. The down side is that they are expected to perform material that may not be a regular part of their repertoire in a way that does not fit their usual style. The options are simple - learn a repertoire of pub songs or turn down some very lucrative gigs.
This is not really an issue for the pub bands, but many bands only do Irish/Celtic instrumentals and do other material for vocals. They can get away with this in certain situations, but it the band has to be careful that it is not misrepresenting itself. It does not take that many pub songs to satisfy most Saint Patrick's Day audiences, but at least a few are expected.
Most Pub bands get tired of doing the standard drinking songs during the year. But when playing on Saint Patrick's Day to a packed house, there is a special kind of energy that that comes from playing classics like Whiskey in the Jar, Wild Rover, Irish Rover, Black Velvet Band, Star of the County Down, Drunken Sailor, Finegan's Wake, the Moonshiner, Rambling Rover, Rocky Road to Dublin, Molly Malone, Tell Me Ma (Belfast Street Song), etc. The material is familiar to many fans who will clap and sing along on the choruses.
It is extra work to add material that may not be used on a regular basis, but it can come in handy when the need arises. It is not uncommon for bands to make as much in one weekend as they would usually do over a couple of months.
[This is the fifth in the series "On Building an Irish Band in Arizona".]

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