A friend once told me that their band played most all of their upbeat material at 120 bpm (back-beat every second) because that's what got people onto the dance floor.
Any opinions ?
AND...
Do people dance when you play ?
Do people dance when you go see a band ?
Does your band try to get people dancing ? Or doesn't it matter ?
What age group generally comes to see you ?
What IS the focus of entertainment when you play ?
Best Dance Tempo ? Does anyone dance anymore ? multi ?s
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floodcitybrass
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 527
- Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2003 4:13 am
Tempo does not equal dancability.
You can't play say "rock this town" or "jump jive and wail" at 120. Its closer to 185.
So just because the tempo is 120, does not mean people will dance.
Here are some important factors whether people will dance or not:
1) Is there a dance floor? Sometimes you have dance grass or dance pavement but there should be some designated area.
2) Not all audiences are dance audiences. Some ppl dont feel comfortable dancing. You may not have a dance crowd if you are playing for say a corporate ribbon cutting ceremony.
3) What time of day is it?
4) How well lit is the dance floor. Darker = more dancers
5) Are people drinking? (That always helps)
6) DO you play consecutive dance songs or are they mixed in with other tunes? If you play Old Time Rock n Roll then play Comfortably Numb, people will probably sit down.
In particular, our band has lots of dance music. However, we do play gigs that are definately not dance gigs.
As for your other questions:
Do people dance when you play ?
Usually - as long as the event was designed for it
Do people dance when you go see a band ?
I don't because I am too busy learning by watching other bands.
Does your band try to get people dancing ?
Yes - Tom Hoaky Pavic is the front man who works is magic on the crowd
What age group generally comes to see you ?
Lots of middle age people for some dances - say 40's 50s
Weddings - People in their 20's and 30's hire us and invite people of all ages
Older folk (sometimes referred to as blue heads) that say go to church festivals. 70's 80s 90s'
....so all ages
What IS the focus of entertainment when you play ?
Usually dancing but we have played events in theatre enviroments where people sit and listen.
You can't play say "rock this town" or "jump jive and wail" at 120. Its closer to 185.
So just because the tempo is 120, does not mean people will dance.
Here are some important factors whether people will dance or not:
1) Is there a dance floor? Sometimes you have dance grass or dance pavement but there should be some designated area.
2) Not all audiences are dance audiences. Some ppl dont feel comfortable dancing. You may not have a dance crowd if you are playing for say a corporate ribbon cutting ceremony.
3) What time of day is it?
4) How well lit is the dance floor. Darker = more dancers
5) Are people drinking? (That always helps)
6) DO you play consecutive dance songs or are they mixed in with other tunes? If you play Old Time Rock n Roll then play Comfortably Numb, people will probably sit down.
In particular, our band has lots of dance music. However, we do play gigs that are definately not dance gigs.
As for your other questions:
Do people dance when you play ?
Usually - as long as the event was designed for it
Do people dance when you go see a band ?
I don't because I am too busy learning by watching other bands.
Does your band try to get people dancing ?
Yes - Tom Hoaky Pavic is the front man who works is magic on the crowd
What age group generally comes to see you ?
Lots of middle age people for some dances - say 40's 50s
Weddings - People in their 20's and 30's hire us and invite people of all ages
Older folk (sometimes referred to as blue heads) that say go to church festivals. 70's 80s 90s'
....so all ages
What IS the focus of entertainment when you play ?
Usually dancing but we have played events in theatre enviroments where people sit and listen.
Do people dance when you play ?
Absolutely. People dance to our band all the time. However, some places have more dancers than others based on the crowd, the venue, the event, size of dancefloor, etc. There are also some people who will only dance to slow songs and then we have lots of single ladies who only dance to the fast songs.
Do people dance when you go see a band ?
I have gone to see other bands and depending on the type of music the band plays determines whether people dance or not. I usually go just to listen to the band.
Does your band try to get people dancing ? Or doesn't it matter ?
We encourage people to dance and there are certain songs that always get them dancing. We try to keep people on the dancefloor for several tunes in a row as well. We also can shift gears with our songs depending on the crowd as well as we can do requests if we know them without sticking to a specific setlist. We perform the same whether people dance or not because some people enjoy just listening to our music and we appreciate that too. Of course, there is usually an energy the band feeds from when the dancefloor is packed, which makes it more fun to play.
What age group generally comes to see you ?
For our band, we can perform for a wide age group that covers kids to senior citizens depending whether we play for a festival, party, wedding, or nightclub. Having a vast variety of music helps for that.
What IS the focus of entertainment when you play ?
We play quite a mix of party dance songs that covers 6 decades and that is what works well for us to play to any crowd. We are family friendly and joke around with the crowd as well as be energetic and not boring.
Absolutely. People dance to our band all the time. However, some places have more dancers than others based on the crowd, the venue, the event, size of dancefloor, etc. There are also some people who will only dance to slow songs and then we have lots of single ladies who only dance to the fast songs.
Do people dance when you go see a band ?
I have gone to see other bands and depending on the type of music the band plays determines whether people dance or not. I usually go just to listen to the band.
Does your band try to get people dancing ? Or doesn't it matter ?
We encourage people to dance and there are certain songs that always get them dancing. We try to keep people on the dancefloor for several tunes in a row as well. We also can shift gears with our songs depending on the crowd as well as we can do requests if we know them without sticking to a specific setlist. We perform the same whether people dance or not because some people enjoy just listening to our music and we appreciate that too. Of course, there is usually an energy the band feeds from when the dancefloor is packed, which makes it more fun to play.
What age group generally comes to see you ?
For our band, we can perform for a wide age group that covers kids to senior citizens depending whether we play for a festival, party, wedding, or nightclub. Having a vast variety of music helps for that.
What IS the focus of entertainment when you play ?
We play quite a mix of party dance songs that covers 6 decades and that is what works well for us to play to any crowd. We are family friendly and joke around with the crowd as well as be energetic and not boring.