Break Music Breakdown
by Rand
The band is taking a 15 minute break, what CD should you play? While you dig through your stash of scratched ‘best of’ discs you think to yourself I really need to put a break music CD together. Take a few minutes, read the guidelines below and run your breaks as well as your show.
When provided with break music:
1. Check the disc! Playing a scratched disc with varying song qualities and volumes will surely get you harsh glances from your employer, even if he/she provided the disc.
2. Obtain/create a track listing. Write down the name, number and length of each track for reference during playback.
3. Know what you’re getting as early as possible. Put a clause in your contract requesting all break music be burned on a single CD or, better yet, be given to you a week in advance so you can make your own disc.
Guidelines for choosing break music:
1. Know your employer. If the band hired you, play what you think they would like to hear (do your research!). If the venue hired you, entertain the audience.
2. Profile the audience. Note the age and clothing styles of the people who paid to be entertained. People generally want to hear music that was popular when they were in their teens and early twenties.
3. When mixing a cover/tribute band stay away from the artists they cover. Look for music in the same genre/time period (check the billboard charts if you have time).
4. Normalize the volume of your break music cd/mp3 player.
5. Stay away from vocal-heavy music in a crowded room. Give your audience a chance to talk and hear themselves.
6. Listen to your break music before the gig. Glitches are best fixed before your employer has a chance to hear them.
7. Stay away from controversial music (swearing, politics, religion…)
During the breaks:
1. Turn down the PA! Break music should be loud enough for everyone to hear clearly but quiet enough for people to talk without shouting.
2. Time the length of the break by the track listing. A quick glance at your song lengths will tell you what song will be playing when the band should be starting their next set (if the break is scheduled for 15 minutes check what song is 15 minutes into your break cd). Tell the band what song to listen for and save yourself the trouble of tracking them all down, they can (and will) be hard to find.
3. Check in with your employer, clean up the stage, make repairs, etc… just don’t leave sight of your mixer! You’ll be surprised at what people will do when they see an unattended PA system. If you need to leave the room tell your employer and find someone qualified to stand guard.
If you run your breaks professionally you’ll find yourself getting frequent requests for business cards and compliments from the crowd. Who knows, play the right songs and maybe that cute brunette will hang out with you at the mixer during the next break…