As a wedding singer, your demo is your calling card. It is your chance to prove to potential clients that you have the pipes to make their wedding music special. Although demos are standard music industry tools, wedding singer demos are unique. Instead of showcasing your own music, your demo needs to demonstrate your vocal ability and how you interpret popular songs. With that in mind, you need to choose the music for your demo accordingly.
Popular wedding music changes over time, as different songs become fashionable, so hard and fast rules about songs for your wedding singer demo are to come by. Instead, keep these general guidelines in mind:
- Think themes. Love songs are a must, naturally - your demo should include at least one romantic ballad. In addition to the love theme songs, think of popular party songs that get people up singing and dancing. Think of songs that people like to sing at karaoke nights - these songs are also often popular party songs in general.
- Consider special parts of the wedding/reception that will require music. If you will be singing during the actual ceremony, then a hymn might belong on your demo. You may be called on to sing during the father-bride dance or during the introduction of the couple during the reception - choose songs that would be appropriate for those events for inclusion on your demo.
- Consider the crowd. Remember that weddings are family affairs and happy occasions. This is not the time for songs featuring bad language or adult themes, nor is it the right place for your death metal side project.
So, those are the general rules, but what about the specific songs? The most important things to keep mind is that your demo isn't the place to show off your entire catalog. Rather, your demo should offer a broad overview of your range. A well balanced demo might include one classic love ballad (visit About.com Top 40 for wedding love song suggestions), one party/dance song, one hymn and one currently popular song - with this set up, you have three songs you can use indefinitely, and one song you swap out periodically as new songs become popular requests at weddings.
Do you need more help with music demos generally? Visit Demos 101. Visit About.com Weddings for tons of wedding music suggestions.
