Classical/acoustic guitar wedding music??

hassleham

I've been booked to play classical guitar at the drinks reception of a wedding and today (two weeks before the date) the client has turned round and said that they want 'popular music covers' and not classical style music..  What can I learn that's quick and easy and will bulk out my repertoire?! I've got Blackbird by the Beatles and a few other finger style tunes but not enough well known stuff.

ARGH

guitars4you

Sounds to me that you have a licence to play 'cocktail jazz' versions of many songs - As such you can 'busk' as required

The end list is vast - They don't have to be songs like Blackbird that was written as a fingerstyle song - Take say Bryan Adams 'everything I do' - You can play your own loose 'fingerstyle' arrangement as required - Especially as a non -dancing format, within an easy listening format and no backing band 

Kittyfrisk

https://open.spotify.com/album/5ml1rcsUdLs1GAAgg37Scw
https://laughingsquid.com/classical-guitar-cover-of-bohemian-rhapsody/

Anything from Nirvana 'unplugged'.
Good luck with the gig  

DulcetJones

I went through this 20 years ago so given what's "popular" today would totally stump me.  At the time I brushed up a few gems like "Dust in the Wind", "Wish You Were Here" (Pink Floyd), "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (maybe not appropriate for a wedding but I was asked if I could play some Led Zep so I did),  "Can't Find My Way Home".   I also improvised a weak version of "Time of Your Life" and was looking into "Wake Me Up When September Ends"  but didn't get time to do it.  One more easy one to consider is Leonard Cohens "Hallelujah"  which can be easily arpeggiated  and  is loved beyond belief.

simonhpieman

If that's not what they booked then tell 'em to get stuffed and do what you do best.

I had a girl of Latin descent come up to me at a wedding I'd just finished playing to tell me and my 3-piece indie/rock trio that we were failing to cater for a diverse audience (her words said everything but the word racist but that was very much what she was implying) by not playing any "ubran" genres of music or, specifically, any Reggaeton.

I held my tongue but I was close to pointing out that you wouldn't book a Beatles tribute band and expect them to play Metallica just as you wouldn't book a top hip-hop DJ and get him to spend all night spinning classical records. Especially when our promo shows us playing 3 rock tunes.

Anyway. I don't know how you were booked but check your contract if you have one. Two weeks' notice on someone's totally unreasonable whim is not fair.

Even better, stand your ground if you can afford to potentially lose the gig and tell them that's not what you do. Three outcomes:

1) They cancel
2) They say no worries and you do your normal set
3) They cancel but panic and realise there's not much time to find and organise another act so come crawling back

hassleham

@simonhpieman ;
Sadly it's not that simple as my band is playing the evening do and I don't want to cause complications with that side of things. They asked for background music for the drinks reception so I suggested keys and vocals (standard procedure for us) but they requested solo guitar instead. The fee is very good so i'm willing to put some extra work in and hopefully get more gigs from it. So i'm hoping to stick mostly to my classical repertoire but throw a few good fingerstyle covers of standard wedding stuff in there.

I've thought of a few more so far like: Son of a preacher man, stand by me, generic ed sheeran stuff etc. 

Blaendulais

My acoustic version of Motorcycle Emptiness always goes done well.  With me anyway

not_the_dj

Van Morrison "Have I Told You Lately". There's a few finger style covers on you tube for inspiration.

munckee

Love will tear us apart?  : )

Like you say a million Ed Sheeran songs, hold back the river james bay, what about byrds style mr tambourine man?

simonhpieman

hassleham said:

@simonhpieman ;
Sadly it's not that simple as my band is playing the evening do and I don't want to cause complications with that side of things. They asked for background music for the drinks reception so I suggested keys and vocals (standard procedure for us) but they requested solo guitar instead. The fee is very good so i'm willing to put some extra work in and hopefully get more gigs from it. So i'm hoping to stick mostly to my classical repertoire but throw a few good fingerstyle covers of standard wedding stuff in there.

I've thought of a few more so far like: Son of a preacher man, stand by me, generic ed sheeran stuff etc. 

Bugger. Fair enough. Still drives me nuts, though!

gordiji

Gypsy Kings,  quite good guitar & a few knee slappers to choose from.

ESBlonde

You are background, some dire straights/Knoppfler songs, a bit of Shearon, dare I say Cold play? Lady in red, Wonderful tonight. Things you like and can strum/pick a simple tune to. you'll probably get someone come up at the end and say they enjoyed it. More likely they will be nattering and getting drunk.

ToneControl

Yesterday sounds good
And I love her would be appropriate - Pat Metheny did this

Some Bob Marley
Redemption song and No woman no cry

Classical tunes should generally work the best if it's background music and they want it to be classy

Lesgrandepotato

Sex on fire :-) 

JerkMoans

Lesgrandepotato said:

Sex on fire :-) 

Top it off with a fingerstyle cover of the Dead Kennedys' timeless paean to sensitive romance, 'Too Drunk to Fuck'.

Matt_McG

If you have the time to work it up, Toru Takemitsu's arrangements of popular music, in 12 Songs, are amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gGN9yTO5XA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz7fxTAzan8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9q9Q81MJtI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPQ5hesDhkU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkZIislMXUQ

It's fair to say, though, that they aren't easy.

Blaendulais

Got to be said that ruins yesterday for me big time I like the others though

jimmyguitar

I do a lot of these gigs, trust me, the happy couple won’t catch any of it as they’ll be doing photos/talking/drinking etc so just do what you were going to do and all the guests will love it!