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how much to charge for a wedding?   You are logged in as Guest
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at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

how much to charge for a wedding? 
hey guys,
how much do you charge for weddings? she wants an hour set with a guitarist and a dancer. my usual dancer wont be around so i might have to get a student. we might not even be able to make it to an hour.

as an amateur, what's a fair price to charge?

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 13 2010 17:21:47
 
Pimientito

Posts: 2481
Joined: Jul. 30 2007
From: Marbella

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
Firstly and importantly......if you are getting paid its not amateur.
What I mean is don't cut yourself short. Act professionally, practice, turn up early and well dressed and you will be treated as professionals. You should ask professional pay too.

Wedding gigs are always priced higher than restaurants/music bars.
150 dollars per hour, per person is fine. You should probably think of 200 each for the first hour to cover travel etc. 350 dollars for 2 hours at a wedding per person is about right but you can negotiate down from there if its a friend. Dont ever charge less than 100 dollars per person per hour or you wont be valued or treated seriously.

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 14 2010 3:19:23
 
at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
thanks pim!
that was just what i needed to learn!

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 14 2010 6:36:27
 
mark indigo

 

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007
 

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to Pimientito) 
really good advice - i wish someone had told me all that 15 years ago (and in £)!
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 14 2010 10:09:49
 
Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005
 

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
It depends on your skill what you should charge or should not charge. I played very awful stuff at weddings.... 1hr playing easy rumbas and we charged 100-150Euro each guitarist. We were 2. Well,.. to be honest...for the quality we offered...we were very much overpaid.

Your photo in your new avatar reminds me very much on florian. Weird. ^^ Well, I liked your party pictures more.
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 14 2010 12:43:13
 
Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
$2000

First $1000 up front and the balance at the end of the gig.

They can only say no...

cheers,

Ron
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 14 2010 12:55:59
 
XXX

Posts: 4400
Joined: Apr. 14 2005
 

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
I personally wouldnt do a dance flamenco gig without percussion. The people who plan these events are not aware of the importance of it, so they just assume that flamenco only consists of dance and guitar... Except they really know about flamenco and wanted to give you an artistic guideline what they want to have (very very unrealistic though).
Once i rejected a gig because we had no percussions available, it would had been only me and a dancer. Besides Canizares was giving a concert that day, so that was more important to me.
Of course you can get the maximum out of the money with less people, but personally i wouldnt do it.

Lastly i think the prices posted he are the absolute minimum. I think wedding people generally would consider to pay 500-1000 Euros for live music (thats the bottom. I have read that some pay several thousands). That includes the equipment. If you already have the equipment your offer will be more valuable. But most probably they will already have planned some sort of equipment in there anyways.

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Фламенко
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 14 2010 14:36:38
 
at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to mark indigo) 
quote:

really good advice - i wish someone had told me all that 15 years ago (and in £)!


was this forum around 15 years ago? .

quote:

Well, I liked your party pictures more.


i haven't partied in a long time. so i have no recent party pictures. plus, those pictures are for special party threads where it's okay to post pictures of people puking and passing out.

quote:


$2000

First $1000 up front and the balance at the end of the gig.

They can only say no...


for my skill level, i'd probably have to sleep with someone to make it fair to get that amount of money.

quote:

I personally wouldnt do a dance flamenco gig without percussion. The people who plan these events are not aware of the importance of it, so they just assume that flamenco only consists of dance and guitar...


i personally would so i can get the money. we might get another girl to do palmas. but maybe not. anyways, i think it depends on the dancer. i've done some stuff with just a dancer and it was okay.

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 14 2010 14:56:42
 
XXX

Posts: 4400
Joined: Apr. 14 2005
 

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
quote:

ORIGINAL: at_leo_87
i've done some stuff with just a dancer and it was okay.


"okay" is the little brother of s*it

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Фламенко
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 1:54:39
 
Pimientito

Posts: 2481
Joined: Jul. 30 2007
From: Marbella

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
Deniz- Prices vary from country to country. Im sure in Germany you can charge a lot more than in Spain. Wedding bands that charge 2000 dollars generally are larger with 4 musicians, full percussion, sound system etc. and may be required to play for 2 or 3 hours. A 3 hour set with 4 musicians is 150 dollars an hour plus 300 for travel, sound system and expenses. 200 dollars an hour for a duo is a very good rate.

leo - Ive just been looking at your TV thread. Lovely photos! Its great that you've just been on TV and now you are getting asked to perform.
I think you have been presented with a golden opportunuity. you may not even realise how good. You must understand that in the minds of many people, once you have been on TV you are no longer just an ordinary club musician. That is wonderful publicity. You should use it as much as you can. It gives you a lot of status to someone wanting to hire you.

I would use that event to say something like "in 2010 we were featured in a ---minute long programme on ----network TV showcasing our love and dedication for this andalucian art" and link it to your website or written publicity. Definately use that experience this year to promote yourselves and you will get lots of work. You should consider emailing all the wedding planners in your area with some photos, info and link to the TV show. You will get more weekend gigs than you can handle and you can charge at least 200dollars per hour per person as a result. In the summer you could easily do a couple weddings per weekend. Thats a lot of pocket money! This will also give you good performing experience which in turn will lead to bigger shows etc. You can always consider percussion for those bigger events. I agree with you that if you know the choreography well you can do small events without a percussionist. Most duos and trios in Spain work perfectly well without percussion.

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Follow my blog http://pimientito.wordpress.com/

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 2:12:39
 
at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
Ok deniz you got a very good point

thanks for the great advice pimiento! It's very encouraging! Right now I'm getting all my gigs through Lauren. I guess the next step would be to make my own site where I can these videos up. It was only broadcasted in only one city but I think I can bring it to other public access stations and ask them to play it. Thanks for all the advice I will be sure to apply them as soon as possible! I think I will have to increase my repertoire first or do you think that's just something that will just work itself out as I go along? The other issue is finding a dancer that is readily available or enough of them that know enough to put on a good show.

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 7:32:14
 
Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to XXX) 
quote:

I personally wouldnt do a dance flamenco gig without percussion. The people who plan these events are not aware of the importance of it, so they just assume that flamenco only consists of dance and guitar...


....and a drunk man you pull off the street to sing, because the regular singer couldn't turn up on time...

I've got this old crappy LP of Sabicas and Carmen Amaya...absolutely no percussion at all.

Terrible IMO..

cheers,

Ron
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 10:45:10
 
Arash

Posts: 4495
Joined: Aug. 9 2006
From: Iran (living in Germany)

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
i was on a persian wedding and there was one persian DJ (some unknown guy), who just changed CDs and mixed them.
he got paid 500 euros for that.

unless they are friends, i would not charge less than what others said here

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 11:17:40
 
XXX

Posts: 4400
Joined: Apr. 14 2005
 

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to Ron.M) 
Ron, we are talking about an art form that has cultivated simple hand clapping into a rhythmical instrument . *coughcough* (i too have the Sabicas/Amaya recording btw)
I will stick to my words, if the artists are not hardcore skilled, a performance without any percussions will be, as you say, crappy. There is, artistically, no reason to get rid of cajon or palmas. But to update my post, i can imagine exceptions of course, if the piece itself has no rhythm, or doesnt need much of it, like in "light" Guajiras. Or financial reasons, but thats simply another topic.

For the record, i have seen horrible shows/vids with just one guitar and one dancer. Tangos and bulerias without percussion. Yikes! I actually feel embarrassed by that.
But of course thats just my view. Everybody can do what they like.

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Фламенко
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 11:35:37
 
Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to XXX) 
Hi Deniz,

I accept what you say man.

I just don't see what a cajon player could do here to add to it personally?

Just 3 people. (Baile,Guitarra,Cante/Palmas)

(Also Sabicas is playing very simple stuff, but it's spot on and effective.)

(Maybe that's why he got a reputation for being pretty good!. )

cheers,

Ron


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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 12:08:23
 
at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to Arash) 
quote:

there was one persian DJ (some unknown guy), who just changed CDs and mixed them. he got paid 500 euros for that.


man, forget this flamenco guitar non-sense. i'm just going to be a dj. do i have to be persian too? how can i start?

ron, i remember when i first heard that track, i listened to it about 6 times in a row.

i dont think palmas are absolutely crucial but they certainly do add a lot of energy to a show. but unless you're lucky, there's always going to be an element missing, cajon, palmas, singers (especially singers!), dancers. i dont think you can do a show without a guitar though, so i guess we're kind of important.

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 12:27:21
 
XXX

Posts: 4400
Joined: Apr. 14 2005
 

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to Ron.M) 
Now try to imagine the same track without palmas (they are percussion too...edit to your edit: we were talking about having NO percussions at all), and with not so super great artists like Sabicas/Amaya. If not sufficient i could mail you some examples, but i wont post them here openly.
Well, i dont want to extend this. Whats missing is the base to "improvise" on. A reference beat. Some phrases only live from pushing and dragging beats. Without the reference beat, the audience will not understand what is meant.

Anthony, i agree.

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Фламенко
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 12:28:25
 
Ron.M

Posts: 7051
Joined: Jul. 7 2003
From: Scotland

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to XXX) 
I agree actually Deniz,

(Even though there were not a lot of Palmas there, but simply Carmen supplying her own "reference beat" as well as doing the adornments. )

If we never had the superheros then we wouldn't have superalbums!

We are only mortal and try to do the best we can.

But it's still a thought that doesn't go away, regardless of how many palmeros or cajon or fretless bass players there are in a group.

cheers,

Ron
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 12:44:56
 
Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005
 

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to at_leo_87) 
Ok at_leo till now...much was said but without a knowing what we are talking about. Could yu upload a Rumba or whatever you would play at a wedding. Let´s say the best and the worst piece. And if only one, just the one you like most. And tell us how long is your program. How many pieces do you have down? What style exactly. With singing? Then I can and will honestly tell you what you should charge.
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 12:48:48
 
Pimientito

Posts: 2481
Joined: Jul. 30 2007
From: Marbella

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to XXX) 
Deniz...I sort of agree with your point about how much better it sounds with percussion but what you also saying is that you shouldn't do any performance with just guitar and dancer because it sounds crap. That doesnt make sense to me. Ive seen many performances with just guitar and baile. If both are keeping good compas then it can be great. It seems odd to me to suggest that you should never do a performance with a dancer unless there is a third person.

I see flamenco trios all the time with singer, guitar and dancer and there is only percussion if there is a 4th musician. Sometimes the dancer will play cajon if the singer and guitarist are doing tangos. A third person can also keep compas which helps a lot. Otherwise the guitar keeps heavy compas and the dancer keeps compas with finger snaps during the paseos.

As for the audience, if they understand flamenco rhythm then they will understand what the dancer is doing. If they dont, then no amount of cajon will help them anyway

_____________________________

Follow my blog http://pimientito.wordpress.com/

"Ceremonial" by Mark Shurey "Pimientito". CD and digital download vailable on Amazon and
CDbaby. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/markshurey
  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 13:19:50
 
at_leo_87

Posts: 3055
Joined: Aug. 30 2008
From: Boston, MA, U.S.A

RE: how much to charge for a wedding? (in reply to Doitsujin) 
quote:

Ok at_leo till now...much was said but without a knowing what we are talking about. Could yu upload a Rumba or whatever you would play at a wedding. Let´s say the best and the worst piece. And if only one, just the one you like most. And tell us how long is your program. How many pieces do you have down? What style exactly. With singing? Then I can and will honestly tell you what you should charge.


well, i dont play any rumbas at all. i'd probably learn one only if someone requested something. for this upcoming wedding gig, there will probably only be two of us, me on guitar and one dancer. there might be a second dancer. no singing, there's no singer around!

for dance pieces, there would be:
tangos
sevillanas
alegrias
bulerias
maybe seguiriyas and solea por bulerias

for solo guitar pieces, there would be:
tarantas
solea
tangos
bulerias (my own composition)

and i think that's about it. it'll last for probably a teeny bit under an hour, but probably a little more because there needs to be time to introduce and little breaks in between.

this is with a new dancer so i dont really know what her best and worst pieces are. i like playing my own composition the most. i dont know what my worst one is, probably the tarantas because it's slow and boring but some people seem to enjoy it.

i'm too lazy to set up my recording gear and upload something new, but maybe you'd like to see a rough draft of my composition? it's not my best playing, i wrote it in one day and only had a week to practice before recording.

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  REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |  Date May 15 2010 16:21:43
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